Identification of subsurface features that affect offsite movement of waterborne contaminants through the use of soil classification/mapping techniques, electromagnetic inductance (EM), and ground-penetrating radar (GPR)

Concerns regarding the quality of our water resources and how to protect them are more evident today than ever before. Many every day human activities affect the quality of this finite resource. Agricultural activity can negatively impact water supplies. By confining large-scale agriculture onto more confined plots of land, inputs are maximized and the consequences are often detrimental to the environment. Specifically, groundwater is often affected by overuse of lands that are not suitable for the production pressures put on them. This study utilized soil classification and characterization techniques as well as mapping techniques to identify and research features known to contribute to lateral subsurface movement of water within soil bodies. In addition to this, electromagnetic inductance (EM) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) were used to aid in the identification of such features non-intrusively. The study was conducted on sites located on Major Land Resource Area (MLRA) 134, the Southern Mississippi Valley Silty Uplands. Eight pedons were described and sampled at sites near Lynville, Kentucky and Holly Springs, Mississippi. Both EM and GPR were used at these sites in order to identify locales of subsurface features thought to contribute to lateral subsurface movement of water. The specific objectives of this study were: 1) Complete soil morphological, chemical, and physical characterization of landforms on MLRA 134 sites near Lynville, Kentucky and Holly Springs, Mississippi. 2) Classification of these soils to the family level of Soil Taxonomy 3) Conduct non-intrusive soil investigations using both EM and GPR 4) Assess how well this protocol works at the selected sites. The soils encountered at the Lynville, Kentucky site consisted of fine-silty, mixed, active, thermic Typic Fragiudalfs and fine-silty, mixed, active, thermic Fragic Hapludalfs. The soils encountered at the Holly Springs, Mississippi site consisted of fine-silty, mixed, active, thermic Ultic Hapludalfs, fine-loamy, mixed, active, thermic Typic Fragiudalfs, and fine-loamy, mixed, active, thermic Typic Hapludults. The parent material sequence encountered at each of the sites consisted of loess, alluvium, and Tertiary aged coastal plain material. Loess had been eroded from two of the pedons characterized at the Holly Springs, Mississippi site. Electromagnetic inductance provided a very useful depiction of the conductivity encountered at each of the study sites. Generally, soils at each site that contained fragipans were located in regions of higher conductivities in the resulting EM scans. The resulting ground-penetrating radar data collected at each of the sites were classified using a beta version fuzzy neural network classification program. The graphical representation of the GPR data collected at the Lynville, Kentucky site was similar to both the EM and soil maps generated for this site. The classification of GPR data taken at the Holly Springs, Mississippi Site was not as clear

Gynecologists' attitudes regarding human papilloma virus vaccination: a survey of Fellows of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

BACKGROUND: Human papilloma virus (HPV) is the causative agent of cervical neoplasia and genital warts. A vaccine has recently been developed that may prevent infection with HPV. Vaccination for HPV may become a routine part of office gynecology. We surveyed members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) to determine their attitudes to HPV vaccination. METHODS: A survey was sent to Fellows of ACOG to evaluate gynecologists' attitudes. Vaccine acceptability was analyzed using 13 scenarios with the following dimensions and respective attributes: age of patient (13, 17 and 22 years); efficacy of vaccine (50% or 80%); ACOG recommendation (yes or no); and disease targeted (cervical cancer, warts or both). Each scenario was rated by means of an 11-point response format (0 to 100). Responses were evaluated using conjoint analysis. RESULTS: Of 1200 surveys that were sent out, 181 were returned and included in our analysis. ACOG recommendation was considered the most important variable in vaccine distribution (importance score = 32.2), followed by efficacy (24.5), age (22.4) and, lastly, disease targeted (20.9). Of these variables, higher efficacy was favored; preference was given to age 17 years, with a strong disinclination to vaccinate at age 13 years; and protection against cervical cancer, or genital warts, or both, was significantly favored over a vaccine against genital warts alone. Demographic characteristics of the gynecologists (i.e., age of physician, gender, practice setting and community size) did not play an important role in the decision to recommend vaccination. CONCLUSION: Professional society recommendation is important for acceptability of a potential HPV vaccine. Gynecologists are willing to include this vaccine in their office practice

Performance of Nuttall Oak (Quercus texana Buckl.) Provenances in the Western Gulf Region

Three series of three tests each of Nuttall oak (Quercus texana Buckl. formally Q. nuttallii Palmer) were established by the Western Gulf Forest Tree Improvement Program at three locations: Desha and Lonoke Counties in Arkansas and Sharkey County in Mississippi. The three series included 28-42 different half-sib families from throughout the natural range of Nuttall oak. Families were arbitrarily divided into provenances based on the river basin in which they originated. Significant provenance differences were found for survival in all series. Provenance differences for growth were highly significant for series 2 and 3, but not for series 1. The Red River provenance had the best growth performance in series 3 tests, but it was not represented in the other two test series. The best provenance in series 2, the Ouachita River provenance, ranked second in series 3 tests. The Western provenance performed well in series 1 and 3 tests but had poorer performance in series 2 tests. The interactions between site and provenance were significant for all growth traits in all series. Family-mean heritability estimates, however, were high ranging from 0.72-0.96 for height and 0.22-0.95 for diameter. There were good families from all sources indicating that family selection will be effective in this species.Papers and abstracts from the 27th Southern Forest Tree Improvement Conference held at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma on June 24-27, 2003

Evaluation of Height as an Early Selection Criterion for Volume and Predictor of Site Index Gain in the Western Gulf

Data from repeated periodic measures of height, diameter and volume from eleven loblolly pine progeny tests maintained as part of the Western Gulf Forest Tree Improvement Program (WGFTIP) were analyzed to 1) determine the potential of using early height, diameter, or volume as selection criteria for rotation-age volume, and 2) to develop a method of expressing height performance as predicted change in site index. Using family means, few differences in family mean correlations existed between 5-year traits with volume at 15 or 20 years, but they were slightly higher for volume than the other two traits. Gain efficiency estimates for all three traits at age 5 were similar, suggesting that the traits were equally efficient in predicting rotation volume. However, at age ten, per-acre volume was the better predictor of per-acre volume at later ages. Predicted gains in breeding value for height, expressed as percent change in site index (SIBV), were estimated following published WGFTIP methodology for volume. Age specific site index equations and coefficient of genetic prediction (CGP) estimates for height were developed using the 15-year data from the eleven progeny tests. Estimates of CGP for height at ages 5 and 10 with height at age 15 were 0.55 and 0.61, respectively. Correlation between parental breeding values for volume production and site index breeding values were high (r=0.80). Predicted genetic gain for site index provides additional information for decision-making. Uses and limitations of this gain information are demonstrated.Papers and abstracts from the 27th Southern Forest Tree Improvement Conference held at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma on June 24-27, 2003

Critical review of methods for risk ranking of food related hazards, based on risks for human health.

This study aimed to critically review methods for ranking risks related to food safety and dietary hazards on the basis of their anticipated human health impacts. A literature review was performed to identify and characterize methods for risk ranking from the fields of food, environmental science and socio-economic sciences. The review used a predefined search protocol, and covered the bibliographic databases Scopus, CAB Abstracts, Web of Sciences, and PubMed over the period 1993-2013. All references deemed relevant, on the basis of of predefined evaluation criteria, were included in the review, and the risk ranking method characterized. The methods were then clustered - based on their characteristics - into eleven method categories. These categories included: risk assessment, comparative risk assessment, risk ratio method, scoring method, cost of illness, health adjusted life years, multi-criteria decision analysis, risk matrix, flow charts/decision trees, stated preference techniques and expert synthesis. Method categories were described by their characteristics, weaknesses and strengths, data resources, and fields of applications. It was concluded there is no single best method for risk ranking. The method to be used should be selected on the basis of risk manager/assessor requirements, data availability, and the characteristics of the method. Recommendations for future use and application are provided

Women\u27s Changing Attitudes Toward Divorce, 1974–2002: Evidence for an Educational Crossover

This article examines trends in divorce attitudes of young adult women in the United States by educational attainment from 1974 to 2002. Women with 4‐year college degrees, who previously had the most permissive attitudes toward divorce, have become more restrictive in their attitudes toward divorce than high school graduates and women with some college education, whereas women with no high school diplomas have increasingly permissive attitudes toward divorce. We examine this educational crossover in divorce attitudes in the context of variables correlated with women\u27s educational attainment, including family attitudes and religion, income and occupational prestige, and family structure. We conclude that the educational crossover in divorce attitudes is associated most strongly with work and family structure variables

Fertility, Living Arrangements, Care and Mobility

There are four main interconnecting themes around which the contributions in this book are based. This introductory chapter aims to establish the broad context for the chapters that follow by discussing each of the themes. It does so by setting these themes within the overarching demographic challenge of the twenty-first century – demographic ageing. Each chapter is introduced in the context of the specific theme to which it primarily relates and there is a summary of the data sets used by the contributors to illustrate the wide range of cross-sectional and longitudinal data analysed

Determinants of fertility in rural Ethiopia: the case of Butajira Demographic Surveillance System (DSS)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fertility is high in rural Ethiopia. Women in the reproductive age group differed in various characteristics including access to food and encounter to drought which requisite the assessment of determinants of fertility.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Reproductive age women were recruited from a DSS, the Butajira DSS database. A DHS maternity history questionnaire was administered on 9996 participants. Data quality was assured besides ethical clearance. Poisson regression crude and adjusted Incidence Rate Ratio with 95 Confidence Interval were used to identify determinants of fertility.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Delayed marriage, higher education, smaller family, absence of child death experience and living in food-secured households were associated with small number of children. Fertility was significantly higher among women with no child sex preference. However, migration status of women was not statistically significant.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Policy makers should focus on hoisting women secondary school enrollment and age at first marriage. The community should also be made aware on the negative impact of fertility on household economy, environmental degradation and the country's socio-economic development at large.</p

Digital education governance:Data visualization, predictive analytics, and ‘real-time’ policy instruments

Educational institutions and governing practices are increasingly augmented with digital database technologies that function as new kinds of policy instruments. This article surveys and maps the landscape of digital policy instrumentation in education and provides two detailed case studies of new digital data systems. The Learning Curve is a massive online data bank, produced by Pearson Education, which deploys highly sophisticated digital interactive data visualizations to construct knowledge about education systems. The second case considers &lsquo;learning analytics&rsquo; platforms that enable the tracking and predicting of students&rsquo; performances through their digital data traces. These digital policy instruments are evidence of how digital database instruments and infrastructures are now at the centre of efforts to know, govern and manage education both nationally and globally. The governing of education, augmented by techniques of digital education governance, is being distributed and displaced to new digitized &lsquo;centres of calculation&rsquo;, such as Pearson and Knewton, with the technical expertise to calculate and visualize the data, plus the predictive analytics capacities to anticipate and pre-empt educational futures. As part of a data-driven style of governing, these emerging digital policy instruments prefigure the emergence of &lsquo;real-time&rsquo; and &lsquo;future-tense&rsquo; techniques of digital education governance