Distribution and Ecologic Aspects of Central Pacific Salpidae (Tunicata)

Volume: 12Start Page: 111End Page: 13

Productivity of Florida Springs: final report to Biology Branch, Office of Naval Research progress from December 31, 1955 to May 31, 1956

CONTENTS: Factors that control species numbers in Silver Springs, by James L. Yount. Study of the biomass of parasites in the stumpknockers, by Wanda Hunter. Macrophytic communities in Florida inland waters, by Delle N. Swindale. Comment in retrospect, by Howard T. Odum. (15pp.

Productivity of Florida Springs: Second annual report to Biology Branch, Office of Naval Research progress from January 1 to December 31, 1954

Production measurements at different times of the year indicate a linear relationship of light intensity and overall production at about 8% of the visible light energy reaching plant level. Measurements of a coral reef at Eniwetok indicate 6%. Further evidence of breeding at all seasons but with a quantitative pulse in the seasons of maximum light indicates that the seasonal fluctuation in primary production is routed through reproduction rather than through major changes in populations. The succession of plants and anmals of the aufwuchs has been shown with glass slides and counts from Sagittaria blades. Losss of oxygen bubbles during the day and emergence of aquatic insects at night have been measured with funnels. Bell jar measurements are reported for bacterial metabolism on mud surfaces. pH determined CO2 uptake agrees with titration determinations. A few rough estimates of herbivore production have been made from caged snails, aufwuchs succession, and fish tagging. Nitrate uptake a night by aufwuchs communities has been confirmed in a circulating microcosm experiment as well as in bell jars in the springs. Distributions of oxygen and organisms have been used to criticize the saprobe stream classification system. Theoretical consideration of maximum photosynthetic rates in teh literature data indicates logarithmic rate variation inversely with organismal size just as for respiratory metabolism. Extreme pyramid shapes are thus shown for communities in which organismal size decreases up the food chain and for other communities with the same energy influx but with organismal size increasing up the food chain. Literature data is used to further demonstrate the validity of the optimum efficiency-maximum power principle for photosynthesis. Work on plants by Dr. Delle Natelson indicates essential stability of aquatic plant communities after 3 years and about 10-20% reproducibility in previous biomass estimates by Davis. Work on an animal picture of the fishery characteristics by Caldwell, Barry, and Odum is half completed. The study of aquatic insects in relationship to spring gradients by W.C. Sloan has been completed an an M.S. thesis. J. Yount has begun a study of affect of total productivity on community composition using aufwuchs organisms on glass slides placed in different current and light conditions in Silver Springs. (49pp.

Collaboration, Planning and Perseverance: Keys to Community Development

From revitalizing a fading downtown with a fully renovated courthouse plaza and streetscapes to adding new senior housing and moving a historic railroad depot to transform it into a community center, the City of Bedford, Indiana, wasn’t afraid to dream big with its Stellar Grant. This roundtable discussion will reveal what happens when over 40 local and state partners come together to create a vision and the lessons learned in successfully delivering 14 projects in 5 years despite setbacks

Distribution of major anions and trace elements in the unsaturated zone at Franklin Lake Playa, California, USA

The composition of surficial salts formed near dry and drying saline lakes are partly the product of processes active in the unsaturated zone between the ground surface and the water table. These processes were investigated by determining the abundance of water-extractable solutes in sediment from the ground surface to the water table (~2.8 m) beneath Franklin Lake playa, California. Accumulation of solutes in the sediment is attributed to evaporation of aqueous solutions transported upward from the water table through the capillary fringe to an evaporation font that is currently 20-30 cm below the ground surface. Salts in the sediment from 0 to 20 cm depth are depleted in chloride and enriched in carbonate relative to deeper samples. Chloride depletion is most likely a product of selective dissolution by vertical recharge. The entire unsaturated zone contains greater amounts of carbonate than expected for evaporation of ground water and is best explained by preferential dissolution of more soluble salts in recharging precipitation but may also reflect the assimilation of CO2 as carbonate minerals precipitate. Variations in the concentrations of arsenic, molybdenum, tungsten, and uranium in the water-soluble fraction of the sediment are complex and suggest unique geochemical controls on the abundance of each element. The distribution of these trace element abundances indicates the arsenic is the element most likely to accumulate in near-surface salts

Responsiveness of PROMIS® to change in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

BackgroundChronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive chronic disease characterized by airflow obstruction that leads to shortness of breath and substantial negative impacts on health-related quality of life (HRQL). The course of COPD includes periodic acute exacerbations that require changes in treatment and/or hospitalizations. This study was designed to examine the responsiveness of Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System® (PROMIS®) measures to changes associated with COPD exacerbation recovery.MethodsA longitudinal analysis using mixed-effects models was conducted of people who were enrolled while stable (n = 100) and those who experienced an acute exacerbation (n = 85). PROMIS (physical function, pain interference, pain behavior, fatigue, anxiety, depression, anger, social roles, discretionary social activities, Global Health, dyspnea severity and dyspnea functional limitations) and COPD-targeted HRQL measures were completed at baseline and at 12 weeks.ResultsWe administered PROMIS measures using computer adaptive testing (CAT), followed by administration of any remaining short form (SF) items that had not yet been administered by CAT. Examination of the difference between group differences from baseline to 12 weeks in the stable and exacerbation groups revealed that the exacerbation group changed (improved) significantly more than the stable group in anxiety (p < .001 to p < .01; f2 effect size [ES] = 0.023/0.021), fatigue (p < .0001; ES = 0.036/0.047) and social roles (p < .001 to p < .05; ES = 0.035/0.024). All effect sizes were small in magnitude and smaller than hypothesized. Depression was also statistically significant (p < .05, SF only) but the ES was trivial. For all other PROMIS domains, the differences were not significant and ES were trivial.ConclusionsThis longitudinal study provides some support for the validity of the PROMIS fatigue, anxiety, and social roles domains in COPD, but further evaluation of responsiveness is warranted

Positional Awareness Map 3D (PAM3D)

The Western Aeronautical Test Range of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration s Dryden Flight Research Center needed to address the aging software and hardware of its current situational awareness display application, the Global Real-Time Interactive Map (GRIM). GRIM was initially developed in the late 1980s and executes on older PC architectures using a Linux operating system that is no longer supported. Additionally, the software is difficult to maintain due to its complexity and loss of developer knowledge. It was decided that a replacement application must be developed or acquired in the near future. The replacement must provide the functionality of the original system, the ability to monitor test flight vehicles in real-time, and add improvements such as high resolution imagery and true 3-dimensional capability. This paper will discuss the process of determining the best approach to replace GRIM, and the functionality and capabilities of the first release of the Positional Awareness Map 3D

Dust emission at Franklin Lake Playa, Mojave Desert (USA): Response to meteorological and hydrologic changes 2005-2008

Playa type, size, and setting; playa hydrology; and surface-sediment characteristics are important controls on the type and amount of atmospheric dust emitted from playas. Soft, evaporite-rich sediment develops on the surfaces of some Mojave Desert (USA) playas (wet playas), where the water table is shallow (\u3c 4 m). These areas are sources of atmospheric dust because of continuous or episodic replenishment of wind-erodible salts and disruption of the ground surface during salt formation by evaporation of ground water. Dust emission at Franklin Lake playa was monitored between March 2005 and April 2008. The dust record, based on day-time remote digital camera images captured during high wind, and compared with a nearby precipitation record, shows that aridity suppresses dust emission. High frequency of dust generation appears to be associated with relatively wet periods, identified as either heavy precipitation events or sustained regional precipitation over a few months. Several factors may act separately or in combination to account for this relation. Dust emission may respond rapidly to heavy precipitation when the dissolution of hard, wind-resistant evaporite mineral crusts is followed by the development of soft surfaces with thin, newly formed crusts that are vulnerable to wind erosion and (or) the production of loose aggregates of evaporite minerals that are quickly removed by even moderate winds. Dust loading may also increase when relatively high regional precipitation leads to decreasing depth to the water table, thereby increasing rates of vapor discharge, development of evaporite minerals, and temporary softening of playa surfaces. The seasonality of wind strength was not a major factor in dust-storm frequency at the playa. The lack of major dust emissions related to flood-derived sediment at Franklin Lake playa contrasts with some dry-lake systems elsewhere that may produce large amounts of dust from flood sediments. Flood sediments do not commonly accumulate on the surface of Franklin Lake playa because through-going drainage prevents frequent inundation and deposition of widespread flood sediment

The Women’s Empowerment in Livestock Index

The empowerment of women in the livestock sector is fundamental to achieve gender equality. It also is instrumental for increased household productivity and improved household health and nutrition. Diverse strategies exist to empower women, yet these strategies are difficult to prioritize without a reliable and adapted means to measure women’s empowerment. One quantitative measure is the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI). Despite its reliability in certain agricultural contexts, the WEAI requires adaptation in settings where livestock farming is the dominant form of livelihood. Using the WEAI as a starting point, a multidisciplinary team of researchers developed the Women’s Empowerment in Livestock Index (WELI), a new index to assess the empowerment of women in the livestock sector. This paper presents the WELI and the dimensions of empowerment it includes: (1) decisions about agricultural production; (2) decisions related to nutrition; (3) access to and control over resources; (4) control and use of income; (5) access to and control of opportunities; and (6) workload and control over own time. The paper illustrates the use of the WELI by introducing pilot findings from dairy smallholders in four districts of northern Tanzania. The paper addresses considerations for the appropriate use and adaptation of the WELI to balance the needs for context specificity and cross-cultural comparisons; it also discusses its limitations. The paper recommends participatory and qualitative methods that are complementary to the WELI to provide context-specific insights on the processes of women’s empowerment in the livestock sector