F11RS SGR No. 15 (Drop Confirmation)

A RESOLUTION To urge and request that the office of the registrar implement a drop confirmation system for online schedulin

Risk Assessment: Democratic Republic of Congo Post-Laurent Kabila

Internal and external conflicts, as well as renewed peace initiatives, in the Democratic Republic of Congo after the death of former President Laurent Kabila are used as a frame of reference for a domestic and an international risk assessment. The roles of various actors are discussed, and the volatile situation is viewed from the perspectives of important variables. With the necessary caution, some policy recommendations are presented as a starting point of the discussion

Study of half-order BOD reactions

Appropriate modeling of Biochemical Oxygen Demand, BOD, is an important part of understanding the character of a wastewater. Much necessary information is gleaned and extracted from the kinetic equation chosen for modeling, especially when a BOD model is included in a dissolved oxygen model. Some information includes the ultimate level of BOD exerted, the rate the BOD demand for dissolved oxygen is exerted, and the critical time at which the minimum level of dissolved oxygen occurs. Although widely used, the first-order kinetic BOD model is not suited for all situations. In some instances, as is the case with constituents found in sugarcane factory effluent, wastewater may be best modeled using half-order kinetics. This study explores the characteristics and applicability of the half-order BOD model. The first part of this study focuses on parameter estimation of the half-order BOD model through the design of an optimal sampling plan. The second and third parts of this study focus on the BOD and dissolved oxygen sag models for a variety of conditions: the half-order BOD reaction by decay alone; the half–order BOD reaction that includes sedimentation or resuspension; and the half-order BOD that includes sedimentation or resuspension and benthic addition of BOD

Perceptions of the effectiveness of the Louisiana Master Cattle Producer Program

The beef cattle industry continues to be the second largest animal production industry in Louisiana. In 2007, there were 860,000 head of cattle and calves in Louisiana and 14,100 farms and ranches engaged in cattle production Beef production is virtually statewide, with 63 of 64 parishes generating income from beef production. The Master Cattle Producer Program is designed as a follow-up to the Master Farmer Program. It is a commodity-specific program to enhance the profitability of beef producers by teaching them research-based recommendations on all aspects of beef production. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the Louisiana Master Cattle Producer Program as perceived by those individuals who completed all components of the Louisiana Master Cattle Producer Program. The significant increase in the adoption score of program completers from their self-reported implementation of the practice before participation in the program and the implementation of these practices after completing the Louisiana Master Cattle Producer Program indicates that this program is effective. The practice adoption score was not related to any of the personal and descriptive demographic characteristics of the completers of the Louisiana Master Cattle Producer Program

The Development of a Rating Scale for Assessing Teaching Competencies of Health Occupations Educators in the State of Louisiana.

The development of a rating scale suitable for assessing teaching competencies of health occupations educators in the State of Louisiana was accomplished by: the development and validation of a questionnaire composed of 155 competency statements within ten components--(planning, teaching, evaluation, management, guidance and placement, school-community relations, student-vocational organization, professional role, coordination of cooperative education and health care environment)--relating to health occupations education programs; ascertaining the level of importance as perceived by incumbent teachers and supervisors of public, secondary and post-secondary health occupations education programs in Louisiana, who were employed during the months of March through May, 1981; ranking these competency statements within components as well as regardless of components by averaging the numerical value written on the 196 completed questionnaires by the respondents from highest (6) to lowest (1). The descriptive study contains a list of competencies believed to be needed for effective health occupations education and holds implications for health occupations teacher education in Louisiana. The rating scale, through the addition of appropriate columns, can be used as a pre-service inventory for new health occupations teachers, a self-evaluation and professional improvement planning instrument for veteran teachers and an objective evaluation device for supervisors. Summary. Ninety-eight percent of the surveyed population (n=201) of health occupations educators in Louisiana agreed that the 155 competencies on the questionnaire were of importance to the success of instruction in health occupations programs in Louisiana. All had mean scores of 3.5 or higher and 74 percent of the competencies (n=94) had means of 5.0 or above. Respondents rated competencies related to health care environment and coordination of cooperative education the highest with no competency receiving a mean score of less than 5.0. None of the eight student-vocational organization (H.O.S.A.) compentency statements rated above 4.2. Conclusions. The response rate indicated a high level of interest in instructional competencies from health occupations educators in Louisiana. There were no obvious differences of opinion concerning the degree of importance for competencies of health occupations programs as described in this study by health occupations instructors or their supervisors in Louisiana

Acoustic Radiation Force on a Fluid to Fluid Boundary by Phase Plate Focused Ultrasound

In this study, the physics and applications of the ultrasonic radiation force at the interface between two immiscible fluids were investigated. These studies were performed using low-profile discrete-stepped lenses to the modify the phase of the incident radiation generating multiple field morphologies. In its first application to acoustics, a fraxicon lens was developed to approximate the field generated by an axicon. This type of lens creates a minimally diffractive Bessel beam and long depth of focus that is useful in ultrasonic imaging, therapy, and non-destructive evaluation techniques. Fields modified by fraxicon, Fresnel, and axicon lenses were characterized experimentally by scanning hydrophone measurements and by numerical simulations. The results shogood agreement with each lens type. A theoretical framework for the focusing efficiency of fraxicon and Fresnel phase plate lens was also developed which compared well to the numerical simulations. Ultrasound focused by these lenses was then used to deform the boundary between two sets of fluids. First a water to carbon~tetrachloride boundary was explored. A central finding was that the near field features of the fraxicon provided the stability to extract a droplet from a fluid interface, a novel effect, allowing it to be transported over relatively large distances. Similar phenomena of acoustic trapping and transport typically requires arrays of multiple transducers or standing waves. Here a single sided transducer with a passive lens was used. This phenomenon has applications in chemical engineering, microfluidics, and advanced testing techniques. The trapping force was calculated from theory using simulations of the field and the results compared well to observations. Next the boundary between canola oil and water was investigated. Due to the impedance mismatch at the boundary significant heating occurred when it was insonified causing a decrease in the surface tension over time. When the surface tension is low enough, jetting of the oil into the water occurs. The findings in this work could lead to a broad range of applications involving fluid transport and manipulation