12,100 research outputs found
AN ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF WETLAND MITIGATION IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
The economic efficiency of wetland mitigation in Minnesota's Red River Valley was examined using the Minnesota Routine Assessment Method on ten wetland case studies to rate the functions of impacted and replacement wetlands. Secondary sources were used to assign dollar values to wetland functions of impacted and replacement wetlands. Mitigation costs for projects ranged from 4,171 per acre. Estimated annual social values ranged from 1,027 per acre for impacted wetlands and from 927 per acre for replacement wetlands. Social values of replacement wetlands exceeded the social value of impacted wetlands in seven cases. Values of replacement wetlands were 1.8 to 4 times greater than the values of impacted wetlands due to 2-to-1 replacement ratios. When society gains benefits from mitigation, public cost-sharing may be appropriate. In one case the value of the impacted wetlands was higher than the value of the replacement wetland. There were insufficient data to evaluate two cases. Results are only indicators of efficiency, since not all social costs and benefits of the impact-mitigation activity are addressed by legislation. These results suggest wetland mitigation policy in Minnesota needs to be reevaluated if efficient use of society's resources is a legislative goal.Wetland(s), mitigation, economics, values, Minnesota, Red River, Wetland Conservation Act, Minnesota Routine Assessment Method, restoration, Land Economics/Use,
GRB Spikes Could Resolve Stars
GRBs vary more rapidly than any other known cosmological phenomena. The lower
limits of this variability have not yet been explored. Improvements in
detectors would reveal or limit the actual rate of short GRBs. Were microsecond
"spike" GRBs to exist and be detectable, they would time-resolve stellar mass
objects throughout the universe by their gravitational microlensing effect.
Analyzing the time structure of sufficient numbers of GRB spikes would reveal
or limit , , and/or .Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures, in press: ApJ (Letters
The Economic Impact of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act in Clark County, Nevada – Preliminary Findings
Objective. The primary purpose of this exploratory study was to quantitatively evaluate the economic impact of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act (NCIAA) on businesses in Clark County.
Methods. The goal of this research was to assess economic indicators over a ten year period utilizing measurable data points, including restaurant and drinking establishment employment rates, taxable sales, openings and closings, as well as slot gaming revenues. This ten year time period consisted of a seven year span prior to the enactment of the NCIAA, and three years post enactment. Researchers conceived this study as a means to independently evaluate and address the potential economic impact of a smoke-free law in a region dependent upon tourism and gaming.
Results. Economic indicators did in fact decrease after the NCIAA was enforced but most of the declining trends began prior to the passage of the smoke-free act and are consistent with downward trends in other, non-NCIAA affected segments of our economy.
Conclusion. The overall findings of this study are consistent with similar non-tobacco industry supported economic studies showing little or no statistically significant downward economic trends after passage of smoke-free legislation
Reproductive Coercion and Relationship Abuse Among Adolescents and Young Women Seeking Care at School Health Centers.
ObjectiveTo investigate demographic differences and evaluate how reproductive coercion and relationship abuse influences young females' care-seeking and sexual health behaviors.MethodsWe conducted a secondary analysis of cross-sectional baseline survey data from sexually active female students (aged 14-19 years) who sought care from school health centers. Outcomes included recent (previous 3 months) reproductive coercion, physical or sexual adolescent relationship abuse, and nonpartner sexual violence victimization. Cluster-adjusted χ tests compared demographics and generalized linear mixed models estimated associations among reproductive coercion, adolescent relationship abuse (physical and sexual abuse in romantic relationships), and care-seeking and sexual health behaviors.ResultsOf 550 sexually active high school females, 12% reported recent reproductive coercion and 17% reported physical or sexual adolescent relationship abuse, with no significant demographic differences. Prevalence of recent nonpartner sexual violence was 17%. There were no observed significant differences in care-seeking behaviors among those with recent reproductive coercion compared with those without. Physical or sexual adolescent relationship abuse was associated with increased odds of seeking testing or treatment for sexually transmitted infections (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.08, 95% CI 1.05-4.13). Females exposed to both adolescent relationship abuse and reproductive coercion had higher odds of having a partner who was 5 or more years older (aOR 4.66, 95% CI 1.51-14.4), having two or more recent sexual partners (aOR 3.86, 95% CI 1.57-9.48), and using hormonal contraception only (aOR 3.77, 95% CI 1.09-13.1 vs hormonal methods with condoms).ConclusionAlmost one in eight females experienced recent reproductive coercion. We did not observe significant demographic differences in reproductive coercion. Partner age and number of sexual partners may elevate risk for abusive relationships. Relationship abuse is prevalent among high school students seeking care, with no clear pattern for case identification. By failing to identify factors associated with harmful partner behaviors, our results support universal assessment for reproductive coercion and relationship abuse among high school-aged adolescents, involving education, resources, and harm-reduction counseling to all patients.Clinical trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01678378
Dynamical evidence for a strong tidal interaction between the Milky Way and its satellite, Leo V
We present a chemodynamical analysis of the Leo~V dwarf galaxy, based on Keck
II DEIMOS spectra of 8 member stars. We find a systemic velocity for the system
of kms, and barely resolve a
velocity dispersion for the system, with kms, consistent with previous studies of Leo~V. The
poorly resolved dispersion means we are unable to adequately constrain the dark
matter content of Leo~V. We find an average metallicity for the dwarf of
[Fe/H], and measure a significant spread in the iron abundance
of its member stars, with [Fe/H] dex, which cleanly
identifies Leo~V as a dwarf galaxy that has been able to self-enrich its
stellar population through extended star formation. Owing to the tentative
photometric evidence for tidal substructure around Leo~V, we also investigate
whether there is any evidence for tidal stripping or shocking of the system
within its dynamics. We measure a significant velocity gradient across the
system, of kms per
arcmin (or kms~kpc), which points almost directly
toward the Galactic centre. We argue that Leo~V is likely a dwarf on the brink
of dissolution, having just barely survived a past encounter with the centre of
the Milky Way.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS. Updated to
include minor revisions from referee proces
The Public Resource Management Game
Use of public resources for private economic gain is a longstanding, contested political issue. Public resources generate benefits beyond commodity uses, including recreation, environmental and ecological conservation and preservation, and existence and aesthetic values. We analyze this problem using a dynamic resource use game. Low use fees let commodity users capture more of the marginal benefit from private use. This increases the incentive to comply with government regulations. Optimal contracts therefore include public use fees that are lower than private rates. The optimal policy also includes random monitoring to prevent strategic learning and cheating on the use agreements and to avoid wasteful efforts to disguise noncompliant behavior. An optimal policy also includes a penalty for cheating beyond terminating the use contract. This penalty must be large enough that the commodity user who would gain the most from noncompliance experiences a negative expected net return.Renewable resources, public resources policy, optimal contracts
From South of the Border, Down Mexico Way: The Past, Present, and Future of Petroleum Development in Mexico, Part I
Mexico is estimated to have 9.8 billion barrels of untapped oil reserves, or about 10 percent of the world’s crude oil; however, much remains undeveloped and production is declining as a result of dysfunction in the structure of Mexico’s petroleum regime. Until recently, Mexico’s Constitution and laws limited oil and gas activities to those of its state oil company, Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), which struggled to invest in new drilling and technology. In 2013, however, Mexico reopened its petroleum sector to foreign investment. Although 75 years in the making, Mexico is taking a bold new path toward developing its petroleum resources. Mexico stands to benefit from foreign investment and new technology to develop its remaining resources, which include shale deposits, deepwater reserves, and reserves only recoverable through modern enhanced recovery techniques. This two-part article has two objectives: Part I reviews the history of petroleum in Mexico—much of it unhappy—as a reminder of the long and tortuous pathway that led to Mexico’s current initiative to open its petroleum sector to foreign investment. The Mexican economy was built on oil in the early 1900s, but a combination of nationalism, petroleum-investor arrogance, and eventual over-dependence on petroleum revenues all served to undermine the Mexican oil industry. It is important for petroleum investors to understand and appreciate this history in order to ease the transition of new oil production in Mexico. At the same time, the people of Mexico should take a long-term, forward-looking view of Mexico’s oil and gas future, which should be bright. Part II, published in another journal, discusses the current reform of Mexico’s petroleum laws, including its initiative to resume direct foreign investment in the upstream petroleum sector
The Survival And Growth Of South Carolina Seed Oysters In Virginia Waters
Most of the seed oysters planted on private grounds along the Atlantic Coast of the United States are obtained from public seed beds. The supply depends largely upon a wild crop over which there is little control. It is to be expected, perhaps, that the quantity of seed available at various localities along the coast is in proportion to the duration of the warm season. It follows that oystermen are usually searching southward for their supply of seed and the ramifications of this hunt are complex and ever changing
Magnetostrictive hysteresis of TbCo/CoFe multilayers and magnetic domains
Magnetic and magnetostrictive hysteresis loops of TbCo/CoFe multilayers under
field applied along the hard magnetization axis are studied using vectorial
magnetization measurements, optical deflectometry and magneto optical Kerr
microscopy. Even a very small angle misalignment between hard axis and magnetic
field direction is shown to drastically change the shape of magnetization and
magnetostrictive torsion hysteresis loops. Two kinds of magnetic domains are
revealed during the magnetization: big regions with opposite rotation of
spontaneous magnetization vector and spontaneous magnetic domains which appear
in a narrow field interval and provide an inversion of this rotation.
We show that the details of the hysteresis loops of our exchange-coupled
films can be described using the classical model of homogeneous magnetization
rotation of single uniaxial films and the configuration of observed domains.
The understanding of these features is crucial for applications (for MEMS or
microactuators) which benefit from the greatly enhanced sensitivity near the
point of magnetic saturation at the transverse applied field.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figure
Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System physical function correlates with Toronto Extremity Salvage Score in an orthopaedic oncology population
Background: The National Institute of Health\u27s Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) uses computerised-adaptive testing to reduce survey burden and improve sensitivity. PROMIS is being used across medical and surgical disciplines but has not been studied in orthopaedic oncology.
Questions/purposes: The aim of the study was to compare PROMIS measures with upper extremity (UE) and lower extremity (LE) Toronto Extremity Salvage Score (TESS) by assessing the following: (1) responder burden, (2) correlation between scores and (3) floor/ceiling effects.
Patients and methods: This cross-sectional trial analysed all 97 adult patients treated surgically for a bone or soft tissue tumour at a tertiary institution between November 2015 and March 2016. TESS (UE or LE) and PROMIS (Physical Function, Pain Interference and Depression) surveys were administered preoperatively. Pearson correlations between each PROMIS domain and TESS were calculated, as were floor/ceiling effects of each outcome measure.
Results: (1) Completion of three PROMIS questionnaires required a mean total of 16.8 (+/- 5.8 standard deviation) questions, compared with 31 and 32 questions for the LE and UE TESS questionnaires, respectively. (2) The PROMIS Physical Function scores demonstrated a strong positive correlation with the LE TESS (r = 0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.72-0.91; p \u3c 0.001) and moderate positive correlation with the UE TESS (r = 0.64; 95% CI, 0.34-0.83; p = 0.055). The PROMIS Depression scores demonstrated a weak negative correlation with both the LE TESS (r = -0.38; 95% CI, -0.61 to -0.10; p = 0.010) and with UE TESS (r = -0.38; 95% CI, -0.67 to -0.01; p = 0.055). The PROMIS Pain Interference scores demonstrated a strong negative correlation with the LE TESS (r = -0.71; 95% CI, -0.83 to -0.52; p \u3c 0.001) and a moderate negative correlation with the UE TESS (r = -0.62; 95% CI, -0.81 to -0.30; p = 0.001). (3) The UE TESS had a range of scores from 16 to 100 with a 27% ceiling effect and no floor effect, and the LE TESS had a range from 10 to 98 with no floor or ceiling effect. There was no floor or ceiling effect for any PROMIS measures.
Conclusions: In an orthopaedic oncology population, the PROMIS Physical Function and Pain Interference scores correlate with the TESS and have the benefit of reduced survey burden and ceiling effect. The PROMIS Depression scores may provide additional information regarding patient outcomes not captured by the TESS.
Level of Evidence: Level III.
The translational potential of this article: Patient reported outcome measures asses patients\u27 symptoms, function and health-related quality of life and are designed to capture more clinical information than can be gathered by objective medial testing alone. As reimbursements and the understanding of patient outcomes are becoming tied to performance on PROMIS measures, it is an important step to establish how PROMIS measures correlate and compare to traditional legacy measures
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