THE LOCATION DECISION OF HARDWOOD MANUFACTURING IN THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL APPALACHIAN STATES

This study's objective is to identify and understand the factors important to hardwood processors' location decisions in the northern and central Appalachian region. Concepts from neoclassical and behavioral location theories were integrated to develop a general framework for analyzing these decisions. Logit regression analysis was used to determine those establishment characteristics related to the likelihood of location search. To a great extent, establishments locate based on personal ties and do not conduct searches. Most variables found to influence the likelihood of search are not controllable by state or local governments. The implications are that existing establishments should be targeted for retention and expansion, rather than focusing on recruitment.Community/Rural/Urban Development, Industrial Organization,

Evaluation of Effects of Wastewater Treatment Discharge on Estuarine Water Quality

This report marks the completion of a two-year project focused on observed and estimated effects of wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs) on estuarine water quality within the New Hampshire (NH) Seacoast region. This study was designed and carried out in an effort to help the NH Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) and NH Estuaries Project (NHEP) evaluate the effects of WWTF effluent quality on bacterial and nutrient concentrations in New Hampshire’s estuarine waters, as well as to help NHDES/NHEP identify related WWTF infrastructure problems. An extensive database of bacterial and nutrient concentrations in effluent collected post-disinfection from 9 NH WWTFs and 2 Maine WWTFs that discharge into the Great Bay and Hampton/Seabrook estuaries was developed. The data were used to determine ratios between different bacterial indicators in WWTF effluent, estimates of in-stream bacterial concentrations following effluent discharge to receiving waters and estimates of nutrient loading from selected WWTFs

A feasibility study on using inkjet technology, micropumps, and MEMs as fuel injectors for bipropellant rocket engines

Control over drop size distributions, injection rates, and geometrical distribution of fuel and oxidizer sprays in bi-propellant rocket engines has the potential to produce more efficient, more stable, less polluting rocket engines. This control also offers the potential of an engine that can be throttled, working efficiently over a wide range of output thrusts. Inkjet printing technologies, MEMS fuel atomizers, and piezoelectric injectors similar in concept to those used in diesel engines are considered for their potential to yield a new, more active injection scheme for a rocket engine. Inkjets are found to be unable to pump at sufficient pressures, and have possibly dangerous failure modes. Active injection is found to be feasible if high pressure drop along the injector plate are used. A conceptual design is presented and its basic behavior assessed

A twin-mirrored galvanometer laser light sheet generator

A galvanometer mirror-based laser light sheet system has been developed for use in the Basic Aerodynamics Research Tunnel at NASA Langley. This system generates and positions single or multiple light sheets over aeronautical research models being tested in the low speed tunnel. This report describes a twin mirrored galvanometer laser light sheet generator and shows typical light sheet arrangements in use. With this system, illumination of smoke entrained in the flow over a delta wing model reveals the vortical flow produced by the separation of the flow at the leading edge of the model. The light sheet system has proven to be very adaptable and easy to use in sizing and positioning light sheets in wind tunnel applications

Bacterial community profiles and Vibrio parahaemolyticus abundance in individual oysters and their association with estuarine ecology

Oysters naturally harbor the human gastric pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus, but the nature of this association is unknown. Because microbial interactions could influence the accumulation of V. parahaemolyticus in oysters, we investigated the composition of the microbiome in water and oysters at two ecologically unique sites in the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire using 16s rRNA profiling. We then evaluated correlations between bacteria inhabiting the oyster with V. parahaemolyticus abundance quantified using a most probable number (MPN) analysis. Even though oysters filter-feed, their microbiomes were not a direct snapshot of the bacterial community in overlaying water, suggesting they selectively accumulate some bacterial phyla. The microbiome of individual oysters harvested more centrally in the bay were relatively more similar to each other and had fewer unique phylotypes, but overall more taxonomic and metabolic diversity, than the microbiomes from tributary-harvested oysters that were individually more variable with lower taxonomic and metabolic diversity. Oysters harvested from the same location varied in V. parahaemolyticus abundance, with the highest abundance oysters collected from one location. This study, which to our knowledge is the first of its kind to evaluate associations of V. parahaemolyticus abundance with members of individual oyster microbiomes, implies that sufficient sampling and depth of sequencing may reveal microbiome members that could impact V. parahaemolyticus abundance

Age and Growth of Larval and Juvenile Atlantic Croaker, Micropogonias Undulatus, from the Middle Atlantic Bight and Estuarine Waters of Virginia

Sagittal otoliths were used to determine age and growth of 605 larval and juvenile Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias undulatus, collected in the Middle Atlantic Bight and estuarine waters of Virginia. This study is the first to use age-based analysis for young Atlantic croaker collected in this region. A Laird-Gompertz model (r2=0.95) was used to describe the growth of Atlantic croaker up to 65 mm standard length (SL) and 142 days (t): SL((t)) = 2.657 exp (4.656 [1-exp (-0.0081t)]); where SL((t)) = standard length at day t. Spatial and temporal patterns in the size and age of Atlantic croaker showed a pattern of inshore immigration from offshore spawning grounds, and faster early-season growth compared with late-season growth. Back-calculated hatching dates of Atlantic croaker collected in Virginia estuaries indicated a protracted spawning period over 8 months, from early July 1987 to early February 1988, with at least 82% of spawning occurring from August to October. Regression analysis indicated that early-spawned larvae (July through August) grew more than 39% faster than late-spawned larvae (September through February). Lapillar and sagittal otoliths were compared with light microscopy; ages were under-estimated with lapillar otoliths, which were particularly inadequate in determining the age of older juveniles. The relation between SL and sagittal otolith maximum diameter was best described by a fourth order polynomial (r2=0.99) and faster-growing Atlantic croaker had larger otoliths (12%) than the same size slower-growing fish