VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE: ENCOURAGING BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO REDUCE NUTRIENT LOSS

Nitrogen fertilizer runoff in the Mississippi River Basin has caused a hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Through efforts such as the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy, farmers are being challenged to voluntarily make production changes to limit the amount of nitrogen they lose from their fields through runoff. If these issues are not resolved through voluntary compliance, there is a possibility that policy actions may be taken that will require farmers to change their production practices. Best Management Practices (BMPs) currently recommended to reduce nutrient loss include cover crops, different application timing, bioreactors, wetlands, and buffers. However, the adoption of new or unfamiliar farming practices such as these BMPs is inherently risky for farmers. We have conducted a thorough review of the available literature on Best Management Practices, farmers\u27 risk perception, and risk tolerance as we study ways to encourage on-farm decision making that will voluntarily reduce nutrient loss. With the help of nutrient loss experts at the Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA), we surveyed the membership of the ICGA. This survey helps us gain a more detailed understanding of how farmers view and are responding to concerns about nutrient loss, and their willingness to voluntarily comply with nutrient loss reduction goals. This group of individuals was chosen because they would be most affected by regulation limiting nitrogen timing or application. The survey was designed using the Internet, Phone, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method handbook (Dillman, Smyth, and Christian, 2014). Questions addressed farmers\u27 awareness of and concern for nutrient loss issues, implementation of BMPs, and demographic characteristics. We received 762 completed surveys. The majority of respondents (90.9%) believe that nutrient loss negatively impacts the environment, and 88.1% are very or somewhat concerned about the implementation of regulation because of nutrient loss. This study will help us understand the steps farmers are already taking to voluntarily address nutrient runoff, and will contribute to encouraging more widespread adoption of Best Management Practices

WiiHopp

Childhood obesity is becoming a growing problem in the United States. According to the CDC, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years [7]. It can lead to health problems previously reserved for adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. For the team WiiHopp project, we plan to turn a JumpSport mini-trampoline into a controller for the Nintendo Wii console. The hope is to help turn the problem of video games and the laziness surrounding them into an active solution to combat the problem of childhood obesity. Our goal is to produce an add-on device for a mini-trampoline capable of interfacing with a gaming console. The device should be able to recognize typical trampoline motions, such as bouncing, stepping, and running along with bounce frequency and height. This will be done by integrating a series of sensors designing to interpret these motions. The device will then produce an output recognizable by the gaming system, thus allowing the user to use their trampoline to play their video games

NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY TO ASSESS EXERCISE-INDUCED CHANGES IN SKELETAL MUSCLE OXYGENATION IN PATIENTS WITH SOFT TISSUE SARCOMA: A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

The initial purpose of this study was to examine the effects of single-joint resistance exercise on NIRS measurements, tumor necrosis percentage, functionality, and the rate of wound complications in patients with STS of the extremities undergoing preoperative radiation. Due to extraneous circumstances, only two patients were able to complete study-related activities; therefore, the revised purpose of this preliminary study was to report demographic data on all parameters and assess the feasibility of the current protocol in order to guide subsequent research. Although no statistical analyses were performed, exercised-induced changes in blood volume were reported. Feasibility was evaluated on 8 established benchmarks: acceptability, demand, implementation, practicality, adaptation, integration, expansion, and limited-efficacy testing. Ultimately, it was determined that the current protocol is feasible for patients with soft tissue sarcoma below the knee in the lower limb.Master of Art

Gene expression profiling and network analysis of peripheral blood monocytes in a chronic model of allergic asthma

The Aspergillus fumigatus mouse model of asthma mimics the characteristics of human fungal asthma, including local and systemic inflammation. Monocyte/macrophage lineage cells direct innate immune responses and guide adaptive responses. To identify gene expression changes in peripheral blood monocytes in the context of fungal allergy, mice were exposed to systemic and intranasal inoculations of fungal antigen (sensitized), and naïve and sensitized animals were challenged intratracheally with live A. fumigatus conidia. Microarray analysis of blood monocytes from allergic versus non-allergic mice showed ≥ twofold modulation of 45 genes. Ingenuity pathway analysis revealed a network of these genes involved in antigen presentation, inflammation, and immune cell trafficking. These data show that allergen sensitization and challenge affects gene expression in peripheral monocytes.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79085/1/j.1348-0421.2010.00242.x.pd

Spin state behavior of iron(II)/dipyrazolylpyridine complexes. New insights from crystallographic and solution measurements

The isomeric complexes [Fe(1-bpp)2]2+ and [Fe(3-bpp)2]2+ (1-bpp=2,6-di[pyrazol-1-yl]pyridine; 3-bpp=2,6-di[1H-pyrazol-3-yl]pyridine) and their derivatives are some of the most widely investigated complexes in spin-crossover research. This article addresses two unique aspects of their spin-state chemistry. First, is an unusual structural distortion in the high-spin form that can inhibit spin-crossover in the solid state. A new analysis of these structures using continuous shape measures has explained this distortion in terms of its effect on the metal coordination geometry, and has shown that the most highly distorted structures are a consequence of crystal packing effects. Second, solution studies have quantified the influence of second-sphere hydrogen bonding on spin-crossover in [Fe(3-bpp)2]2+, which responds to the presence of different anions and solvents (especially water). Previously unpublished data from the unsymmetric isomer [Fe(1,3-bpp)2]2+ (1,3-bpp=2-[pyrazol-1-yl]-6-[1H-pyrazol-3-yl]pyridine) are presented for comparison. Modifications to the structure of [Fe(3-bpp)2]2+, intended to augment these supramolecular effects, are also described

A probe of steric ligand substituent effects on the spin crossover of Fe(II) complexes

Identifying and quantifying the individual factors affecting the temperature and properties of the spin crossover in transition metal complexes is a challenging task, because many variables are involved. While the most decisive factor is the crystal field imparted by ligands around the active metal center, some less common actors are intramolecular steric repulsions or non-covalent interactions. A series of three Fe(II) complexes of 1,3bpp derivatives of (2-(pyrazol-1-yl)-6-(1H-pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine) have been prepared and characterized crystallographically to probe these effects: [Fe(1,3bpp)2](ClO4)2 (1), [Fe(met1,3bpp)2](ClO4)2 (2) and [Fe(dimet1,3bpp)2](ClO4)2 (3). The ligands exhibit none, one or two methyl substituents on the pyrazol-1-yl heterocycle. These groups exert a dramatic effect on the SCO temperature in the solid state, and, most significantly, in solution (with TSCO (3) > TSCO (1) > TSCO (2)). Extensive DFT calculations have unveiled the origin of these effects which lie in the intramolecular non-covalent or steric interactions rather than resulting from crystal field effects.The authors thank the Generalitat de Catalunya for the prize ICREA Academia 2008 and 2013, and acknowledge the ERC for the Starting Grant StG-2010-258060 (GA), MINECO for grants MAT2014-53961-R (OR), MAT2015-70868-ERC (OR), CTQ2012-32247 (GA) and CTQ2015-68370-P (GA, CBM, RD), LabEx-Chemistry of Complex Systems for the post-doctoral grant ANR-10LABX-0026CSC (SV), the regional High-Performance Computing (HPC) center in Strasbourg for computational resources (SV) and the Avempace II Erasmus Mundus Action 2program for a PhD scholarship (MD). This research used resources of the Advanced Light Source, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility under contract no. DE-AC02-05CH11231.Peer reviewe

Optical characterization of lithium plasma produced by laser irradiation.

Solid lithium deposited on stainless steel (SS) was irradiated by a CO₂, laser at 10.6 μm, and by a dye laser tuned to 666.4 nm and to the first resonance line of lithium, 670.8 nm. Type 316 SS surfaces were irradiated by a dye laser at 670.8 nm. Power densities ranged from < 0.1-9.4 MW/cm². Optical information from the lithium plasma produced was evaluated using Stark broadening analysis to determine the plasma density, which varied from ~ 2 x 10¹⁶/cm² to over 10 ¹⁷/cm³. Lithium and SS surfaces were observed by an SEM before and after irradiation, and evidence of unipolar arcing was found on both surface types.http://archive.org/details/opticalcharacter00hoseLieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited