Measurement of Soil Water Potential by Adsorption Conductivity

Current methods of measuring soil water potential are reviewed, and the limitations of each are noted. The need for a transducer that will measure soil water potential over a wide moisture range for long periods of time is delineated. The concept of utilizing an adsorptive surface that resembles the soil in its water holding capacity as a transducer is discussed. Various designs and materials are tested for such a transducer. All designs tested did not fulfill the requirements needed for a truly useful transducer. However, experimental results show that modification of the adsorptive surface should allow construction of a unit that will be useful in soil water research

Governmental Intervention in an Economic Crisis

This paper articulates a framework both for assessing the various government bailouts that took place at the onset of Great Recession and for guiding future rescue efforts when they become necessary. The goals for those engineering a bailout should be to be as transparent as possible, to articulate clearly the reason for the intervention, to respect existing priorities among investors, to exercise control only at the top level where such efforts can be seen by the public, and to exit as soon as possible. By these metrics, some of the recent bailouts should be applauded, while others fell short. We also explore the related question of what level of judicial scrutiny is appropriate for government actions taken during a bailout. We eschew the extremes of no judicial review on the one hand and full recourse to the courts on the other. Courts need to avoid interfering in a time of crisis, yet, when normalcy has returned, they should measure the actions taken against applicable legislative and constitutional requirements

Hydroperiod of Intermittent Headwater Streams in the Northern Glaciated Plains

Intermittent streams comprise 90% of stream and river miles in South Dakota. Hydroperiod (duration of flow) was examined in 60 intermittent headwater streams in the Northern Glaciated Plains ecoregion of eastern South Dakota. HOBO (Onset Inc.) temperature loggers were used to track daily temperature amplitudes and allowed detection of drying dates. Streams began to flow in April following spring snowmelt and 83% of streams were either pooled or dry by early September. The majority of drying occurred in June and July. Streams commonly fluctuated between hydrologic phases and several study sites were re-wetted after initial drying. Level IV ecoregions within the Northern Glaciated Plains showed variability in hydroperiod. All sites studied in the Drift Plains (46i) dried completely during the study period, while only 50% of sites in the Prairie Coteau (46k) dried. Results show that intermittent streams in the Northern Glaciated Plains have seasonal characteristics which create implications for monitoring that are different from perennial streams

Family-Level Community Structure of Insects Inhabiting Intermittent Streams within the Northern Glaciated Plains

Intermittent streams comprise about 90% of stream and river miles, and the Northern Glaciated Plains (NGP) ecoregion (46) encompasses about 33% of land area in South Dakota. Currently, little is known about the macroinvertebrate communities inhabiting intermittent streams in this region. This information is crucial if deviations from reference (undisturbed) conditions are to be made. This study examined the aquatic insect communities in intermittent streams (n = 12) located in four level IV ecoregions (Prairie Coteau 46k, Prairie Coteau Escarpment 46l, Big Sioux Basin 46m, James River Lowland 46n) within the NGP. Invertebrates were collected using a quantitative bucket technique with a 500-μm petite net. A total of 26 families were identified from 7 insect orders. Chironomidae (Order Diptera) comprised the majority (mean=83%, range=53- 89%) of invertebrates found. Taxa from 5 functional feeding groups were collected with collector-gatherer taxa being represented the most (mean=91% of total abundance, range=86-93%). All 6 invertebrate habit guilds were also represented with burrowers being the most common (mean=84% of total abundance, range=73-93%). There were no significant differences found in total richness, FFG, and habit guilds among the different level IV ecoregions within the NGP. Further sampling efforts during summer 2008 and identification to a lower level (genus or species) will allow us to better describe and possibly detect differences in macroinvertebrate communities of intermittent streams in the NGP

Stiffness Reduction of Cold-Formed Steel Structures Subject to Sectional Buckling and Yielding

The paper develops a stiffness reduction factor to be used in geometric nonlinear beam-element type elastic analysis of cold-formed steel structures. The factor accounts for the reduction in flexural and warping torsion rigidities resulting from local and distortional buckling as well as residuals stresses, as particular to cold-formed steel structures. The purpose of applying the factor is to accurately account for the geometric second order effects when predicting the internal distributions of moments of cold-formed steel structural frames. The stiffness reduction factor arising from local and distortional buckling is first determined followed by the stiffness reduction factor caused by residual stresses. Subsequently, the two effects are combined in a single expression is a format suitable for incorporation in the North American specification for cold-formed steel structures, AISI-S100

The Role of the IMF in Future Sovereign Debt Restructurings: Report of the Annenberg House Expert Group

A meeting of international finance and insolvency experts was held on November 2, 2013 at the Annenberg House in Santa Monica, California. The meeting was co-hosted by the USC Law School and the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands. The goal was to solicit the views of experts on the implications of the IMF’s April 26, 2013 paper captioned “Sovereign Debt Restructuring -- Recent Developments and Implications for the Fund’s Legal and Policy Framework”. The April 26 paper may signal a shift in IMF policies in the area of sovereign debt workouts. Although the Expert Group discussed a number of the ideas contained in the April 26 paper, attention focused on paragraph 32 of that paper. That paragraph states in relevant part: “There may be a case for exploring additional ways to limit the risk that Fund resources will simply be used to bail out private creditors. For example, a presumption could be established that some form of a creditor bail-in measure would be implemented as a condition for Fund lending in cases where, although no clear-cut determination has been made that the debt is unsustainable, the member has lost market access and prospects for regaining market access are uncertain.” This Report summarizes the consensus views of the Expert Group on the practical implications of the suggestions contained in paragraph 32 of the April 26 paper

Serum-neuroproteins, near-infrared spectroscopy, and cognitive outcome after beach-chair shoulder surgery: observational cohort study analyses

BACKGROUND: Cerebral hypoxia may occur during surgery but currently used cerebral oxygenation saturation (rSO2) monitors remain controversial with respect to improving clinical outcome. Novel neuroprotein biomarkers are potentially released into systemic circulation and combined with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) could clarify the presence of per-operative cerebral hypoxia. We investigated changes to serum-neuroprotein concentrations postsurgically, paired with NIRS and cognitive outcome, in patients operated in the beach chair position (BCP). METHODS: A prospective cohort in 28 shoulder surgery patients placed in the BCP. Blood samples were collected before induction of anaesthesia, and 2 hours and 3-5 days postoperatively. We analysed blood-levels of biomarkers including tau and neurofilament light (NFL). We post hoc assessed the cross-wise relationship between biomarker levels and postsurgical changes in cognitive function and intraoperatively monitored rSO2 from NIRS. RESULTS: Serum-NFL decreased from 24.2 pg/mL to 21.5 (P=0.02) 2 hours postoperatively, then increased to 27.7 pg/mL on day 3-5 (P=0.03). Conversely, s-tau increased from 0.77 pg/mL to 0.98 (2 h), then decreased to 0.81 on day 3-5 (P=0.08). In 14/28 patients, episodic rSO2 below 55% occurred, and the duration <55% was correlated to change in s-tau (P<0.05). The cognitive function z-score at 1 week and 3 mo. correlated to the change in tau (P=0.01), but not to NFL. CONCLUSION: Some biomarkers were significantly changed with surgery in the beach chair position. The change was at some points associated to postoperative cognitive decline, and to intraoperative low rSO2. (237)

Virtuality in human supervisory control: Assessing the effects of psychological and social remoteness

Virtuality would seem to offer certain advantages for human supervisory control. First, it could provide a physical analogue of the 'real world' environment. Second, it does not require control room engineers to be in the same place as each other. In order to investigate these issues, a low-fidelity simulation of an energy distribution network was developed. The main aims of the research were to assess some of the psychological concerns associated with virtual environments. First, it may result in the social isolation of the people, and it may have dramatic effects upon the nature of the work. Second, a direct physical correspondence with the 'real world' may not best support human supervisory control activities. Experimental teams were asked to control an energy distribution network. Measures of team performance, group identity and core job characteristics were taken. In general terms, the results showed that teams working in the same location performed better than team who were remote from one another

Managing Protein in Spring Wheat with Aerial and Satellite Imagery

Nitrogen fertilizer application can help wheat growers increase crop value and marketability by increasing grain quality. Nitrogen (N) is often applied at heading as a method of increasing protein content and therefore quality of wheat. Our objectives were to obtain spectral signatures of wheat under various N rates (0, 72, 180, 234 kg N ha-1), test various spectral methods of identifying crop stress, and observe the grain protein response to a midseason N application. Spectral data from satellite and aerial platforms were compared to preseason N treatments and flag-leaf tissue samples. Spectral data correlated well with preseason and flag leaf tissue analysis (r2 = 0.58-0.82). Grain protein increased on plots that received an additional 54 kg of N ha-1 at anthesis almost 2% in the N stressed plots (72 kg N ha-1) and 0.3-0.4% on plots with sufficient N (234 and 180 kg N ha-1). Wheat stress detected and managed with help from satellite and aerial platforms could help growers increase revenue and decrease N over-application