Availability of Suitable Habitat for Northern River Otters in South Dakota

Currently, the northern river otter (Lontra canadensis) is listed as a threatened species in South Dakota. We determined whether adequate habitat was available for reintroducing river otters in South Dakota. The 17 rivers/creeks included in the analysis were selected according to stream size, water gradient, and water permanence. A vegetation transect was conducted and a water sample was collected at each study site, ranging from one to four per river. Rivers/creeks were rated (1 = least suitable to 5 = most suitable) according to habitat requirements of river otters in the following categories: stream characteristics, watershed features, water quality, prey availability, and other factors. Based on the habitat survey and rating criteria, rivers/creeks with high ratings have sufficient riparian habitat (vegetation bordering water), water quality, and prey availability for river otters. The five highest-rated rivers were the Bad, Big Sioux, James, North Fork of the Whetstone, and Little White

Investigation of molecular and mesoscale clusters in undersaturated glycine aqueous solutions

YesIn this work DLS, NTA, SAXS and NMR were used to investigate populations, size distributions and structure of clusters in undersaturated aqueous solutions of glycine. Molecular and colloidal scale (mesoscale) clusters with radii around 0.3-0.5 nm and 100–150 nm, respectively, were observed using complementary experimental techniques. Molecular clusters are consistent with hydrated glycine dimers present in equilibrium with glycine monomers in aqueous solutions. Mesoscale clusters previously observed in supersaturated glycine solutions appear to be indefinitely stable, in mutual equilibrium within mesostructured undersaturated solutions across all glycine concentrations investigated here, down to as low as 1 mg/g of water.Supported by EPSRC funding via the SynBIM project (Grant Reference EP/P0068X/1) and by the Synchrotron SOLEIL

Continuous auditing and monitoring in municipalities

Tools and techniques for monitoring and auditing continuous streams of data are increasingly being used. However, adoption has only been investigated in the private sector. In this paper we examine the feasibility of continuous auditing and continuous monitoring in the public sector, specifically for municipalities in the Netherlands. A multiple case study is conducted about the opportunities and needs of continuously monitoring and assessing financial data concerning the social domain: care-related and social services, which have recently been decentralized from the national government to the municipal level. Interviews were held with representatives of six municipalities, administrative bodies, and an accounting firm. The research indicates that continuous monitoring is feasible, and that there is a need for continuous monitoring in the public domain. The ease of adoption depends to a large extent on the choice of whether and how a municipality wants to collaborate in offering social domain services