Risk Analysis of Organic Cropping Systems in Minnesota

When all strategies received conventional market prices, 4-year cropping sequences had greater net returns than 2-year sequences, and the organic input, 4-year strategy had the highest net return. Adding 50% of the estimated organic premium, the 4-year, organic strategy dominated all low- and high-purchased input strategies.Crop Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty,

Intruding implements: a pictorial review of retained surgical foreign objects in neuroradiology

Intra-cranial and spinal foreign body reactions represent potential complications of medical procedures. Their diagnosis may be challenging as they frequently show an insidious clinical presentation and can mimic other life-threatening conditions. Their pathophysiological mechanism is represented by a local inflammatory response due to retained or migrated surgical elements. Cranial interventions may be responsible for the presence of retained foreign objects represented by surgical materials (such as sponges, bone wax, and Teflon). Spinal diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, including myelography, chordotomy, vertebroplasty, and device implantation, are another potential source of foreign bodies. These reactions can also follow material migration or embolization, for example in the case of Lipiodol, Teflon, and cement vertebroplasty. Imaging exams, especially CT and MRI, have a central role in the differential diagnosis of these conditions together with patient history. Neuroradiological findings are dependent on the type of material that has been left in or migrated from the surgical area. Knowledge of these entities is relevant for clinical practice as the correct identification of foreign bodies and related inflammatory reactions, material embolisms, or migrations can be difficult. This pictorial review reports neuroradiological semeiotics and differential diagnosis of foreign body-related imaging abnormalities in the brain and spine

Efficiency, products and mechanisms of ethyl acetate oxidative degradation in air non-thermal plasma

Ethyl acetate (EA) is a popular solvent and diluent in many products and one of the most ubiquitous organic pollutants of indoor air. Although EA's ascertained toxicity is classified as low, exposure to its vapors at concentrations 400 ppm causes serious problems in humans. EA is thus a frequent target in testing novel technologies for air purification. We report here an investigation of EA oxidative degradation in air at room temperature and atmospheric pressure induced by corona discharges. Three corona regimes, dc-, dc+ and pulsed +, were tested in the same reactor under various experimental conditions with regard to EA initial concentration (C 0) and the presence of humidity in the system. The EA degradation process was monitored by gas chromatography (GC)-flame ionization detection, GC-mass spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis of the treated gas. These analyses yielded the concentration of residual EA (C) and those of its major products of oxidation (CO2, CO) and revealed a few organic reaction intermediates formed along the oxidation chain. The process energy efficiency was determined as energy constant, k E (kJ-1 l) and as energy yield, EY (g kW-1 h-1). The efficiency depends on the type of corona (pulsed + >dc- >dc+), on the presence of humidity in the air (improvement in the case of dc-, little or no effect for dc+) and on C 0 (k E increases linearly with 1/C 0). CO2 and CO were the major carbon containing products, confirming the strong oxidizing power of air non-thermal plasma. Acetic acid and acetaldehyde were detected in very small amounts as reaction intermediates. The experimental results obtained in this work support the conclusion that different reactive species are involved in the initial step of EA oxidation in the case of dc- and dc+ corona air non-thermal plasma

Coastal Wetlands: an integrated ecosystem approach

Coastal Wetlands, Second Edition: An Integrated and Ecosystem Approach provides an understanding of the functioning of coastal ecosystems and the ecological services that they provide. As coastal wetlands are under a great deal of pressure from the dual forces of rising sea levels and the intervention of human populations, both along the estuary and in the river catchment, this book covers important issues, such as the destruction or degradation of wetlands from land reclamation and infrastructures, impacts from the discharge of pollutants, changes in river flows and sediment supplies, land clearing, and dam operations

Neuroradiological findings in Alagille syndrome

Alagille syndrome (ALGS) is a multisystemic disease caused by mutations in genes of Notch pathway, which regulates embryonic cell differentiation and angiogenesis. Clinically, ALGS is characterized by cholestasis, cardiac defects, characteristic facial features, skeletal and ophthalmologic abnormalities. The aim of this review is to illustrate neuroradiological findings in ALGS, which are less well-known and prevalent, including cerebrovascular anomalies (such as aneurysms, dolichoectasia, Moyamoya syndrome and venous peculiarities), Chiari 1 malformation, craniosynostosis, intracranial hypertension, and vertebral anomalies (namely butterfly vertebra, hemivertebra, and craniocervical junction anomalies). Rarer cerebral midline malformations and temporal bone anomalies have also been described

In vivo multiphoton microscopy beyond 1 mm in the brain

The ability to visualize deep brain structures in vivo with high spatial resolution is of rising interest to investigate neuronal physiology and cerebral vasculature. Optical imaging offers non-invasive, high-resolution in vivo microscopy techniques to observe brain tissue and its surrounding environment. Two-photon fluorescence laser- scanning microscopy (2PM) can overcome depth limitations by using nonlinear excitation. The ideal approach for deep imaging in brain is to use both high energy pulses and longer excitation wavelengths. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Design of a high power production target for the Beam Dump Facility at CERN

The Beam Dump Facility (BDF) project is a proposed general-purpose facility at CERN, dedicated to beam dump and fixed target experiments. In its initial phase, the facility is foreseen to be exploited by the Search for Hidden Particles (SHiP) experiment. Physics requirements call for a pulsed 400 GeV/c proton beam as well as the highest possible number of protons on target (POT) each year of operation, in order to search for feebly interacting particles. The target/dump assembly lies at the heart of the facility, with the aim of safely absorbing the full high intensity Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) beam, while maximizing the production of charmed and beauty mesons. High-Z materials are required for the target/dump, in order to have the shortest possible absorber and reduce muon background for the downstream experiment. The high average power deposited on target (305 kW) creates a challenge for heat removal. During the BDF facility Comprehensive Design Study (CDS), launched by CERN in 2016, extensive studies have been carried out in order to define and assess the target assembly design. These studies are described in the present contribution, which details the proposed design of the BDF production target, as well as the material selection process and the optimization of the target configuration and beam dilution. One of the specific challenges and novelty of this work is the need to consider new target materials, such as a molybdenum alloy (TZM) as core absorbing material and Ta2.5W as cladding. Thermo-structural and fluid dynamics calculations have been performed to evaluate the reliability of the target and its cooling system under beam operation. In the framework of the target comprehensive design, a preliminary mechanical design of the full target assembly has also been carried out, assessing the feasibility of the whole target system.Comment: 17 pages, 18 figure

Effects of Density‐Driven Flows on the Long‐Term Morphodynamic Evolution of Funnel‐Shaped Estuaries

Subtidal flows driven by density gradients affect the tide‐averaged sediment transport in estuaries and, therefore, can influence their long‐term morphodynamic evolution. The three‐dimensional Coupled Ocean‐Atmosphere‐Wave‐Sediment Transport modeling system is applied to numerically analyze the effects of baroclinicity and Earth\u27s rotation on the long‐term morphodynamic evolution of idealized funnel‐shaped estuaries. The morphodynamic evolution in all the analyzed cases reproduced structures identified in many tide‐dominated estuaries: a meandering region in the fluvial‐tidal transition zone, a tidal maximum area close to the head, and a turbidity maxima region in the brackish zone. As the morphology of the estuaries evolved, the tidal propagation (including its asymmetry), the salinity gradient, and the strength of subtidal flows changed, which reflects the strong bathymetric control of these systems. The comparison with barotropic simulations showed that the three‐dimensional structure of the flow (induced by density gradients) has leading order effects on the morphodynamic evolution. Density gradient‐driven subtidal flows (1) promote near‐bed flood dominance and, consequently, the import of sediment into the estuary, (2) accelerate the morphodynamic evolution of the upper/middle estuary, (3) promote a more concave shape of the upper estuary and reduce the ebb‐tidal delta volume, and (4) produce an asymmetric bathymetry and inhibit the formation of alternate bars that would form under barotropic conditions. This latter effect is the consequence of the combined effect of Earth\u27s rotation and baroclinicity

Características físicas y de circulación en un meandro de un canal de marea (estuario de Bahía Blanca - Argentina)

El estuario de Bahía Blanca (Argentina) se caracteriza por la presencia de una red de canales de marea con un patrón espacial dominante tipo meandriforme, sobre todo en los sectores con escaso gradiente, específicamente en las planicies de marea. Un meandro de un canal de marea del estuario de Bahía Blanca, llamado La Lista (Figura 1), fue seleccionado para desarrollar este trabajo con el objetivo de describir las variaciones de los diferentes parámetros oceanógraficos: salinidad, temperatura y corrientes de marea. Fue realizada una campaña en la cual fueron obtenidos datos en tres estaciones colocadas a lo largo del meandro, midiéndose durante un ciclo de marea (13 h). El comportamiento de la salinidad es similar en las tres estaciones. Pero, el gradiente salino a lo largo del ciclo de marea varía en el orden de 2 con máximos registros durante la bajamar, debido a los procesos de lavado y de evaporación desarrollados sobre las planicies de marea adyacentes. La temperatura muestra un gradiente vertical significativo en los diferentes perfiles, con los máximos valores registrados en superficie. Las máximas velocidades fueron registradas durante el reflujo (87 e 67 cm s⁻¹ para U y V, respectivamente); durante el período de flujo los máximos medidos fueron de 53 y 33 cm s⁻¹ para U y V, respectivamente. Se observaron diferencias en los perfiles de corrientes a lo largo del meandro. Comparando los gradientes de velocidad en las distintas estaciones, durante el ciclo de marea se observaron las mayores variaciones durante el flujo.Meanders are a typical pattern in tidal channels, specially in tidal flats and marshes having low gradients. There is a tendency that meandering, both in rivers and tidal channels increase with a decrease in relief. The circulation in river meanders is well known and documented, but in tidal channels there are no previous studies. A specific tidal channels in the Bahia Blanca Estuary, La Lista Channel, was specifically selected in order to describe the variations of the different oceanographic parameters such as salinity, temperature and tidal currents. Three stations situated along the meander were occupied during a complete tidal cycle (13 h). Salinity behavior is similar in the three stations considered. However, a saline gradient along the tidal cycle shows a variation of 2 with its higher values registered during the low tide period, due to the washing and evaporation processes occurring on the tidal flats. Water temperature shows a significative vertical gradient, with the high values measured on the surface. The highest velocities were measured during the ebb period (87 y 67 cm s⁻¹ for U and V, respectively); during the flood period, the higher values registered were 53 and 33 cm s⁻¹ for U and V, respectively. Differences among the tidal current profiles along the meander were observed. Comparing the current velocity gradients in the different stations, both flood tide and ebb tide, was observed the higher variations during the flood tide period.Asociación Argentina de Geofísicos y Geodesta

Hepatic melanomacrophage centers in the arctic cultured fish Cyclopterus lumpus are not indicative of its health state

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