Measuring the Intangible Values of Natural Streams, Part II

This report describes the work done during Part II of a project which had as its aim the development of a way to quantify those intangible values peculiar to a small stream and its watershed. Part I was concerned with an application of the uniqueness concept in the evaluation of fifty-eight Kentucky streams. The results of this effort are in Report #40, U. K. Water Resources Institute (1971). During the second part of the project: A method was developed whereby peoples\u27 preferences for natural landscapes could be measured. The method utilized projected color slides and a rating system based on the semantic differential. Fourteen preference studies were conducted using different types of subjects and stimuli (color slides). The data were factor analyzed and scores computed for three factors (Natural Beauty, Force and Starkness) for each slide-subject group combination. The scenic content of each slide was measured and related to the factor scores by a series of linear regression equations. The uniqueness ratio approach was modified to include fewer stream characteristics (thirty-seven) and the work of Part I essentially repeated. A new method of stream evaluation was developed which yields a factor score for a given stream on each of six factors (Scenic Attractiveness, Land Use-Topo, Litter, Aquatic Habitat, Extractive Industry, Development). Conclusions were as follows: A scene that includes a view of running water is usually preferred over one that includes still water or no water at all. The stark beauty of a desert, lava flow or a winter pasture is not perceived by most people. Some types of visual pollution (i.e.; misfit billboards) are not recognized as such by some groups of people. Familiar scenes are not considered particularly beautiful even though they may be so to outsiders. Occupation and life style seem to have more effect on an individual\u27s concept of natural beauty than age or sex. People agree on what\u27s very beautiful or very ugly in a scene but disagree on the in-between. The semantic differential method as applied in this study yields measures of preference that are well-correlated with on-site evaluations by competent judges. Predicting preference from the physical content of a scene yields only approximate results. Reducing the number of stream characteristics used to compute uniqueness ratios did not greatly change the uniqueness rankings of the fifty-eight study streams. The recommended procedure for evaluating small streams is the factor score approach supplemented by a carefully conceived and executed preference study. The procedure should be applied to a random sample of all small streams in a state or region to establish a stream hierarchy. Factor scores and/ or rankings for a given stream could, if desired, be worked into a benefit-cost or other such computation in the form of a weight or multiplier

THE MICROWAVE SPECTRUM OF ETHYL NITRATE

Author Institution: Thompson Chemical Laboratory, Williams College; Department of Chemistry, Harvard University CambridgeThe microwave spectrum of ethyl nitrate $(CH_{3}CH_{2}ONO_{2})$ has been assigned. Two rotamers, with the $-NO_{2}$ and $-CH_{3}$ groups trans and gauche to each other about the C-O bond, have been identified. Satellite spectra of both forms have been assigned. In the trans form all the heavy atoms lie in a plane. The rotational constants (MHz) and dipole moment components (D) are: [FIGURE

Downloaded from

Sarcos Research Corporation, and the Center for Engineering Design at the University of Utah, have long been interested in both the fundamental and the applied aspects of robots and other computationally driven machines. We have produced substantial numbers of systems that function as products for commercial applications, and as advanced research tools specifically designed for experimental use. This paper reviews various aspects of the design and control of a number of robot-like machines ranging from our first projects, the Utah Arm and the Utah/MIT Dextrous Hand, to present work on humanoid robots and the Wearable Energetically Autonomous Robot (WEAR). Our systems have been used in: entertainment, operator remotization from hazardous environments, R&D, and medicine. In addition to the robots and their subsystems, extensive wor

Accelerating Strain-Promoted Azide–Alkyne Cycloaddition Using Micellar Catalysis

Bioorthogonal conjugation reactions such as strain-promoted azide–alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) have become increasingly popular in recent years, as they enable site-specific labeling of complex biomolecules. However, despite a number of improvements to cyclooctyne design, reaction rates for SPAAC remain significantly lower than those of the related copper-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. Here we explore micellar catalysis as a means to increase reaction rate between a cyclooctyne and hydrophobic azide. We find that anionic and cationic surfactants provide the most efficient catalysis, with rate enhancements of up to 179-fold for reaction of benzyl azide with DIBAC cyclooctyne. Additionally, we find that the presence of surfactant can provide up to 51-fold selectivity for reaction with a hydrophobic over hydrophilic azide. A more modest, but still substantial, 11-fold rate enhancement is observed for micellar catalysis of the reaction between benzyl azide and a DIBAC-functionalized DNA sequence, demonstrating that micellar catalysis can be successfully applied to hydrophilic biomolecules. Together, these results demonstrate that micellar catalysis can provide higher conjugation yields in reduced time when using hydrophobic SPAAC reagents