The economic value of remote sensing of earth resources from space: An ERTS overview and the value of continuity of service. Volume 3: Intensive use of living resources: Agriculture. Part 1: Overview

Potential economic benefits obtainable from a state-of-the-art ERS system in the resource area of intensive use of living resources, agriculture, are studied. A spectrum of equal capability (cost saving), increased capability, and new capability benefits are quantified. These benefits are estimated via ECON developed models of the agricultural marketplace and include benefits of improved production and distribution of agricultural crops. It is shown that increased capability benefits and new capability benefits result from a reduction of losses due to disease and insect infestation given ERS's capability to distinguish crop vigor and from the improvement in world trade negotiations given ERS's worldwide surveying capability

Timing of flowering affects pollination and fruit set in Viburnum edule in boreal forests of Alaska

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2022Spring flowering in Alaskan boreal forests is happening earlier on average; how this relates to the pollination of plants and their pollinator community is unknown. Highbush cranberry (Viburnum edule) is one of the first herbaceous understory plants to flower every year, and in years when it flowers early there are fewer other species in bloom compared to years when it flowers at a more average time. Highbush cranberry is also important as a subsistence food and many boreal animals consume these fruits as a regular part of their diet. The potential for change may lead to differences in the response of pollinators and plants under early season conditions which could alter resources for pollinators and impact fruit production. This research looks at the impact of flowering timing on pollen deposition on Viburnum edule, and the composition of the pollinator community visiting the available flowers. Using an experiment with flowers placed in boreal forest sites either at an early time or at a peak flowering time across two years, we found that early flowering highbush cranberry received fewer pollen grains than peak flowering highbush cranberry and were visited less. V. edule was primarily visited by syrphid flies, native bees, and muscoid flies. We also observed a lower total number of visitors, and a lower proportion of visitors that were bees during an early flowering time than at peak flowering time. Floral visitors were more abundant during the advanced flowering year than during an average flowering year. We do not currently think that pollen limitation is causing a reduction in fruit set of early flowering V. edule because at all flowering times observed, we found over 50% of flowers to have been presumed visited while less than half of flowers in an inflorescence form fruits on average. More information on boreal pollinators triggers for diapause break and floral visitation is necessary to make more reliable predictions of the future impacts of phenology shifts in flowering plants and insect pollinators.Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research Program (1026415

Social Choice in a Representative Democracy

social choice ; society ; democracy

Heat transfer measurements for Stirling machine cylinders

The primary purpose of this study was to measure the effects of inflow-produced heat turbulence on heat transfer in Stirling machine cylinders. A secondary purpose was to provide new experimental information on heat transfer in gas springs without inflow. The apparatus for the experiment consisted of a varying-volume piston-cylinder space connected to a fixed volume space by an orifice. The orifice size could be varied to adjust the level of inflow-produced turbulence, or the orifice plate could be removed completely so as to merge the two spaces into a single gas spring space. Speed, cycle mean pressure, overall volume ratio, and varying volume space clearance ratio could also be adjusted. Volume, pressure in both spaces, and local heat flux at two locations were measured. The pressure and volume measurements were used to calculate area averaged heat flux, heat transfer hysteresis loss, and other heat transfer-related effects. Experiments in the one space arrangement extended the range of previous gas spring tests to lower volume ratio and higher nondimensional speed. The tests corroborated previous results and showed that analytic models for heat transfer and loss based on volume ratio approaching 1 were valid for volume ratios ranging from 1 to 2, a range covering most gas springs in Stirling machines. Data from experiments in the two space arrangement were first analyzed based on lumping the two spaces together and examining total loss and averaged heat transfer as a function of overall nondimensional parameter. Heat transfer and loss were found to be significantly increased by inflow-produced turbulence. These increases could be modeled by appropriate adjustment of empirical coefficients in an existing semi-analytic model. An attempt was made to use an inverse, parameter optimization procedure to find the heat transfer in each of the two spaces. This procedure was successful in retrieving this information from simulated pressure-volume data with artificially generated noise, but it failed with the actual experimental data. This is evidence that the models used in the parameter optimization procedure (and to generate the simulated data) were not correct. Data from the surface heat flux sensors indicated that the primary shortcoming of these models was that they assumed turbulence levels to be constant over the cycle. Sensor data in the varying volume space showed a large increase in heat flux, probably due to turbulence, during the expansion stroke

Does Body Mass Index Influence the Physiological and Perceptual Demands Associated with Defensive Tactics Training in State Patrol Officers?

International Journal of Exercise Science 11(6): 319-330, 2018. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the physiological and perceptual demands associated with defensive tactics (DEFTAC) training among state patrol officers of different BMI (body mass index) categories. Twenty-four male state patrol officers (n = 24, age 36.00 + 7.86 yrs) voluntarily agreed to participate in data collection during a DEFTAC gauntlet. Anthropometric information (height (HT) 182.19 + 7.43 cm and weight (WT) 96.31 + 17.45 kg), body mass index (BMI), peak and average heart rates, duty weight, BLa, and RPE, were recorded. Officers were then divided into two-groups (Healthy BMI (BMI ≤ 25), n = 12, Overweight (BMI ≥ 25), n = 12). Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) were conducted to determine the effect of BMI on the outcome variables. Furthermore, a Pearson’s product-moment correlation coefficient was also conducted to determine if significant relationships between RPE, BLa, and HR existed between groups. Significant mean score differences between healthy and overweight officers were found in measures of age [t(22) 4.12, p\u3c 0.01, R2 = .44], and weight of duty gear [t(21) 3.96, p\u3c0.01, R2 = .33]. When used as a covariate, age also predicted average HR% [ F(1, 21) = 6.19, p \u3c .05, partial η2 = .24]. Significant relationships were found in the healthy group between RPE and DEFTAC time, DEFTAC time and score, as well as score and post BLa. Significant relationships for the overweight group between peak (HR) percentage and post BLa, peak (HR) percentage and RPE, DEFTAC time and duty weight, and between weight and DEFTAC time. The results of this study suggest that overweight officers may have lower DEFTAC scores when compared to their healthy counterparts. Based on the results, it seems reasonable to compare physiological variables from this population to those from combative sports as well as for officers to achieve and maintain a healthy BMI value in order to improve individual DEFTAC performance

Vehicle Scheduling and Control in Personal Rapid Transit Systems.

Program in Urban Transportation, Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota

SEQUENTIAL DECISIONS BY A SINGLE TORTFEASOR

risk ; time factor ; liability ; health services ; social welfare

Hepatic but not intestinal CYP3A4 displays dose‐dependent induction by efavirenz in humans

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110078/1/cptclpt200260.pd

Multi-Defendant Settlements: The Case of Superfund

Costs ; economic equilibrium ; game theory ; lawyers