Benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation on the supply, management, and use of water resources in the United States

Climate change impacts on water resources in the United States are likely to be far-reaching and substantial because the water is integral to climate, and the water sector spans many parts of the economy. This paper estimates impacts and damages from five water resource-related models addressing runoff, drought risk, economics of water supply/demand, water stress, and flooding damages. The models differ in the water system assessed, spatial scale, and unit of assessment, but together provide a quantitative and descriptive richness in characterizing water sector effects that no single model can capture. The results, driven by a consistent set of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and climate scenarios, examine uncertainty from emissions, climate sensitivity, and climate model selection. While calculating the net impact of climate change on the water sector as a whole may be impractical, broad conclusions can be drawn regarding patterns of change and benefits of GHG mitigation. Four key findings emerge: 1) GHG mitigation substantially reduces hydro-climatic impacts on the water sector; 2) GHG mitigation provides substantial national economic benefits in water resources related sectors; 3) the models show a strong signal of wetting for the Eastern US and a strong signal of drying in the Southwest; and 4) unmanaged hydrologic systems impacts show strong correlation with the change in magnitude and direction of precipitation and temperature from climate models, but managed water resource systems and regional economic systems show lower correlation with changes in climate variables due to non-linearities created by water infrastructure and the socio-economic changes in non-climate driven water demand

Laboratory Evaluation of Five Chitin Synthesis Inhibitors Against the Colorado Potato Beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata

Results of laboratory experiments are reported that tested the effects of five chitin synthesis inhibitors, diflubenzuron, cyromazine, lufenuron, hexaflumuron and triflumuron. on second instars of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) (Coleoptera: Crysomelidae), originally collected from potato fields of Bostanabaad, a town 66 km southeast of Tabriz, Iran. In bioassays, the larvae were fed potato leaves dipped in aqueous solutions containing chitin synthesis inhibitors. The mortalities and abnormalities of the treated larvae were recorded 72 hours after treatments. LC50 values were 58.6, 69.6, 27.3, 0.79 and 81.4 mg ai/ L for diflubenzuron, cyromazine, lufenuron, hexaflumuron and triflumuron, respectively. Compared with phosalone, which is one of the common insecticides used for controlling this pest in Iran, lufenuron and hexaflumuron seem to be much more potent, and if they perform equally well in the field, they would be suitable candidates to be considered as reduced risk insecticides in management programs for L. decemlineata due to much wider margin of safety for mammals and considerably fewer undesirable environmental side effects

Toxicity and side effects of three insecticides on adult Chrysoperla carnea (Neu.: Chrysopidae) under laboratory conditions

Green lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens), is an important predator of arthropod pests such as aphids, psyllids, thrips and whiteflies. Toxicity of endosulfan, imidacloprid and indoxacarb was assessed on male and female C. carnea in the laboratory. Contact bioassays were carried out in glass Petri dishes. The LC50 values for indoxacarb, imidacloprid and endosulfan were 0.011, 0.053, and 0.343 g AI/L for males, and 0.019, 0.098 and 0.398 g AI/L for females, respectively. Males were more sensitive than females to all three insecticides. To assess the sublethal effects, using IOBC (International Organization for Biological Control) method, adults were treated with LC25 of each insecticide. Analysis of variance did not show significant differences among treatments regarding the developmental time of the first, second and third instars, pupae and sex ratio. Differences between treatments and control were significant regarding pre-oviposition, oviposition and post-oviposition periods, fecundity, fertility, longevity of male and female. Mean longevity for control, imidacloprid, endosulfan and indoxacarb were 30 ± 2.3, 24.3 ± 3.3, 21.3 ± 2.4 and 19.7 ± 1.4 days for males, and 36.9 ± 2.5, 31.8 ± 2.9, 27.7 ± 1.7 and 26.7 ± 2.6 days for females, respectively. The highest and the lowest rates of fecundity were 540 ± 49 and 206 ± 42 in control and indoxacarb, respectively. Based on the IOBC classification method, imidacloprid, endosulfan and indoxacarb were slightly harmful (%30 < Total Effect Index < %79) against adults. The adult stage was very sensitive to indoxacarb, imidacloprid and endosulfan. Hence, these insecticides should not be applied when the density of adults is high in the field

Development of constitutive model for precast prestressed concrete segmental columns

The interest of using precast segmental columns in construction of concrete bridges has significantly increased in recent years. One research area of concrete bridges is the application of Precast Prestressed Concrete Segmental (PPCS) Column in any structural analysis software or FE program code. Modeling a PPCS column, which consists of various materials with interaction between them, is complicated and time-consuming. This research attempts to formulate the stiffness matrix of PPCS columns in order to form the constitutive model in linear form to evaluate the response of the columns. A two-dimensional finite element model is presented in the finite element package ANSYS. Parametric studies are conducted by finite element models to verify the constitutive models for the PPCS column with a different number of concrete segments. Comparison between the constitutive model and the FE program results indicates that the constitutive model is accurate enough to predict the deformation of the PPCS columns

The Unseen Face of E-Business Project Development

The purpose of this paper is intent on identify and analyze the unseen factors of successful or failure of e-business project development. The IT managers must take into account both all costs involved in e-business development and all phases (analysis, design, testing, implementation, maintenance and operation) according to principle of project management for software/systems life cycle development. There are many solutions to exceed these factors of failure among could be counted outsourcing, a good project management, involvement of senior management, a real cost estimation etc.Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 zostało dofinansowane ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej nauk

Health-related quality of life and associated factors in adults living with HIV in Rwanda

In Rwanda, as in other sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, life expectancy of people living with HIV (PLWH) has increased dramatically as a result of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART). People living with HIV can now live longer but with increasing rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Thus, prevention of NCD comorbidities in PWLHI is crucial to maintain and gain health-related benefits and to maximise the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in the long-term management of PLWH. This study determines the association between physical and mental health-related dimensions of quality of life (QOL) with behavioural and biological risk factors, after controlling socio-demographic and HIV-related factors in adults living with HIV in Rwand

The modalities of Iranian soft power: from cultural diplomacy to soft war

Through exploring Iran's public diplomacy at the international level, this article demonstrates how the Islamic Republic's motives should not only be contextualised within the oft-sensationalised, material or ‘hard’ aspects of its foreign policy, but also within the desire to project its cultural reach through ‘softer’ means. Iran's utilisation of culturally defined foreign policy objectives and actions demonstrates its understanding of soft power's potentialities. This article explores the ways in which Iran's public diplomacy is used to promote its soft power and craft its, at times, shifting image on the world stage

Integrating a suicide prevention program into the primary health care network: A field trial study in Iran

Objective. To describe and evaluate the feasibility of integrating a suicide prevention program with Primary Health Care services and evaluate if such system can improve screening and identification of depressive disorder, reduce number of suicide attempters, and lower rate of suicide completion. Methodology. This was a quasi-experimental trial in which one community was exposed to the intervention versus the control community with no such exposure. The study sites were two counties in Western Iran. The intervention protocol called for primary care and suicide prevention collaboration at different levels of care. The outcome variables were the number of suicides committed, the number of documented suicide attempts, and the number of identified depressed cases. Results. We identified a higher prevalence of depressive disorders in the intervention site versus the control site (� 2 = 14.8, P < 0.001). We also found a reduction in the rate of suicide completion in the intervention region compared to the control, but a higher prevalence of suicide attempts in both the intervention and the control sites. Conclusion. Integrating a suicide prevention program with the Primary Health Care network enhanced depression and suicide surveillance capacity and subsequently reduced the number of suicides, especially in rural areas. © 2015 Seyed Kazem Malakouti et al

Toxicity of some biorational and conventional insecticides to cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and its ectoparasitoid, Habrobracon hebetor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)

Insect growth regulators and spinosyns which are physiologically and ecologically selective, respectively, have been investigated as replacements or complements to non-selective conventional insecticides. The effects of diflubenzuron, hexaflumuron, profenofos, spinosad and thiodicarb were assessed on the 1st instars of cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) using dietary and leaf disc bioassay methods. Based on modes of action of the insecticides tested, the mortalities were recorded after 24 h in profenofos, thiodicarb and spinosad experiments and after 120 h in hexaflumuron and diflubenzuron treatments. The LC50 values for diflubenzuron, hexaflumuron, profenofos, spinosad and thiodicarb in dietary method were 595.05, 0.31, 3.69, 0.13 and 11.2 mg ai/L; and in leaf disc method, they were >2000, 0.46, 9.55, 0.2 and 15.52 mg ai/L, respectively. The effects of these insecticides on adult Habrobracon hebetor Say, an ectoparasitoid of cotton bollworm were tested using residual method. The mortalities were recorded after 24 h in all treatments. The LC50 values for diflubenzuron, hexaflumuron, profenofos, spinosad and thiodicarb for females were >2000, >2000, 12.44, 15.64 and 81.04 mg ai/L, respectively and for males, they were >2000, >2000, 6.91, 11.73 and 40.39 mg ai/L, respectively. In this study spinosad and hexaflumuron seemed to be more useful than the other insecticides due to their higher toxicity to H. armigera and lower toxicity to H. hebetor

Lethal and sublethal effects of endosulfan, imidacloprid and indoxacarb on first instar larvae of Chrysoperla carnea (Neu.: Chrysopidae) under laboratory conditions

The common green lacewing is an important natural enemy used for pest control in greenhouses. It is also very common in many agricultural systems. Hence, studying lethal and sublethal effects of insecticides on this predator would be useful. Toxicity of endosulfan, imidacloprid and indoxacarb was assessed on 1st instar larvae of Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens) in laboratory. Residual bioassays were carried out in glass Petri dishes. The LC50 values, for endosulfan, imidacloprid and indoxacarb were estimated 251, 24.6 and 133 mg ai/l, respectively. Imidacloprid was the most toxic among insecticides tested. To assess the sublethal effects, the 1st instars were treated with LC25 of each insecticide. Thereafter, these effects were studied using fertility life table experiments. The analysis of variance revealed significant difference between treatments and control with respect to developmental time of the 1st instar larvae. However, no significant difference was observed among endosulfan, imidacloprid and indoxacarb treatments considering the larval developmental time. Differences between treatments and control were not significant for the developmental time of the 2nd and 3rd instars, pupae, sex ratio, adult longevity, and adult fertility. The results showed that only net reproduction rate (R0) was significantly affected by treatments. The gross reproductive rate (GRR), intrinsic rate of increase (rm), doubling time (DT), mean generation time (T) and finite rate of increase (λ) were not affected. The highest and the lowest amounts of rm were 0.178 and 0.169 in control and indoxacarb, respectively. Imidacloprid was the most toxic of the insecticides tested on the 1st instar followed by indoxacarb and endosulfan. If results similar to laboratory findings are obtained in field conditions, these insecticides might be appropriate candidates for IPM programs