408 research outputs found
Soil conservation II : know your farm.
This circular was prepared by O. T. Coleman, Extension Specialist in Soils, in Collaboration with E. T. Itschner, State Club Agent. Acknowledgment is given to A. W. Klemme, Extension Specialist in Soils, for the preparation of Chapter III; to W. R. Tascher, Extension Soil Conservationist, for the preparation of Chapter VI; to John Falloon, Extension Soil Conservationist, for the preparation of Chapter V; and to John Ferguson, Extension Soil Conservationist, for the preparation of Chapter IV. --Page 3."Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Economics, University of Missouri, College of Agriculture and the United States Department of Agriculture cooperating.""March, 1939."Title from cover
Decomposing uncertainties in the future terrestrial carbon budget associated with emission scenarios, climate projections, and ecosystem simulations using the ISI-MIP results
We examined the changes to global net primary production (NPP), vegetation biomass carbon (VegC), and soil organic carbon (SOC) estimated by six global vegetation models (GVMs) obtained from the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project. Simulation results were obtained using five global climate models (GCMs) forced with four representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios. To clarify which component (i.e., emission scenarios, climate projections, or global vegetation models) contributes the most to uncertainties in projected global terrestrial C cycling by 2100, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and wavelet clustering were applied to 70 projected simulation sets. At the end of the simulation period, changes from the year 2000 in all three variables varied considerably from net negative to positive values. ANOVA revealed that the main sources of uncertainty are different among variables and depend on the projection period. We determined that in the global VegC and SOC projections, GVMs are the main influence on uncertainties (60 % and 90 %, respectively) rather than climate-driving scenarios (RCPs and GCMs). Moreover, the divergence of changes in vegetation carbon residence times is dominated by GVM uncertainty, particularly in the latter half of the 21st century. In addition, we found that the contribution of each uncertainty source is spatiotemporally heterogeneous and it differs among the GVM variables. The dominant uncertainty source for changes in NPP and VegC varies along the climatic gradient. The contribution of GVM to the uncertainty decreases as the climate division becomes cooler (from ca. 80 % in the equatorial division to 40 % in the snow division). Our results suggest that to assess climate change impacts on global ecosystem C cycling among each RCP scenario, the long-term C dynamics within the ecosystems (i.e., vegetation turnover and soil decomposition) are more critical factors than photosynthetic processes. The different trends in the contribution of uncertainty sources in each variable among climate divisions indicate that improvement of GVMs based on climate division or biome type will be effective. On the other hand, in dry regions, GCMs are the dominant uncertainty source in climate impact assessments of vegetation and soil C dynamics
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The Views of Mental Health Manager Towards the Use of a Family Work Model for Psychosis in Guangzhou, China
Family Interventions in Psychosis (FIP) have been promoted internationally but have been criticised for being based on western cultural models. This paper reports on a focus group study with 10 Integrated Mental Health Service Managers in Guangzhou, China using thematic analysis. Managers believed FIP might benefit families but identified potential difficulties due to (a) families avoiding services due to the ‘shame’ of mental illness (b) unrealistic expectations of services amongst families (c) deferral to ‘key decision-makers’ within families when discussing family issues with workers. The findings indicate that FIP work should focus on interaction between carers in the first instance with service users being introduced into sessions at a later date and that more attention needs to be given by the research community to how FIP may be adapted to cultural norms within China
Prediction of storm transfers and annual loads with data-based mechanistic models using high-frequency data
Excess nutrients in surface waters, such as phosphorus (P) from agriculture, result in poor water quality, with adverse effects on ecological health and costs for remediation. However, understanding and prediction of P transfers in catchments have been limited by inadequate data and over-parameterised models with high uncertainty. We show that, with high temporal resolution data, we are able to identify simple dynamic models that capture the P load dynamics in three contrasting agricultural catchments in the UK. For a flashy catchment, a linear, second-order (two pathways) model for discharge gave high simulation efficiencies for short-term storm sequences and was useful in highlighting uncertainties in out-of-bank flows. A model with nonlinear rainfall input was appropriate for predicting seasonal or annual cumulative P loads where antecedent conditions affected the catchment response. For second-order models, the time constant for the fast pathway varied between 2 and 15 h for all three catchments and for both discharge and P, confirming that high temporal resolution data are necessary to capture the dynamic responses in small catchments (10–50 km2/. The models led to a better understanding of the dominant nutrient transfer modes, which will be helpful in determining phosphorus transfers following changes in precipitation patterns in the future
Two-stage evolution of mantle peridotites from the Stalemate Fracture Zone, northwestern Pacific
This paper reports the results of a mineralogical study of 14 mantle peridotite samples dredged in 2009 from the eastern slope of the northwestern segment of the Stalemate Ridge in the northwestern Pacific during cruise SO201-KALMAR Leg 1b of the R/V Sonne. The sample collection included four serpentinized and silicified dunites and ten variably serpentinized lherzolites. The compositions of primary minerals (clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, and spinel) change systematically from the lherzolites to dunites. Spinel from the lherzolites shows higher Mg# and lower Cr# values (0.65-0.68 and 0.26-0.33, respectively) compared with spinel from the dunites (Mg# = 0.56-0.64 and Cr# = 0.38-0.43). Clinopyroxene from the lherzolites is less magnesian (Mg# = 91.7-92.4) than clinopyroxene from dunite sample DR37-3 (Mg# = 93.7). Based on the obtained data, it was concluded that the lherzolites of the Stalemate Fracture Zone were derived by 10-12% near-fractional melting of a DMM-type depleted mantle reservoir beneath the Kula-Pacific spreading center. The dunites were produced by interaction of residual lherzolites with sodium- and titaniumrich melt and are probably fragments of a network of dunite channels in the shallow mantle. The moderately depleted composition of minerals clearly distinguishes the lherzolites from the strongly depleted peridotites of the East Pacific Rise and indicates the existence of slow-spreading mid-ocean ridges in the Pacific Ocean during the Cretaceous-Paleogene
Non-adherence to antipsychotic medication, relapse and rehospitalisation in recent-onset schizophrenia
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aims of this study were to describe outcome with respect to persistent psychotic symptoms, relapse of positive symptoms, hospital admissions, and application of treatment by coercion among patients with recent onset schizophrenia being adherent and non-adherent to anti-psychotic medication.</p> <p>Materials and methods</p> <p>The study included 50 patients with recent onset schizophrenia, schizoaffective or schizophreniform disorders. The patients were clinically stable at study entry and had less than 2 years duration of psychotic symptoms. Good adherence to antipsychotic medication was defined as less than one month without medication. Outcomes for poor and good adherence were compared over a 24-month follow-up period.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The Odds Ratio (OR) of having a psychotic relapse was 10.27 and the OR of being admitted to hospital was 4.00 among non-adherent patients. Use of depot-antipsychotics were associated with relapses (OR = 6.44).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Non-adherence was associated with relapse, hospital admission and having persistent psychotic symptoms. Interventions to increase adherence are needed.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials NCT00184509. Key words: Adherence, schizophrenia, antipsychotic medication, admittances, relapse.</p
Theory and Computation of the Spheroidal Wave Functions
In this paper we report on a package, written in the Mathematica computer
algebra system, which has been developed to compute the spheroidal wave
functions of Meixner [J. Meixner and R.W. Schaefke, Mathieusche Funktionen und
Sphaeroidfunktionen, 1954] and is available online
(www.physics.uwa.edu.au/~falloon/spheroidal/spheroidal.html). This package
represents a substantial contribution to the existing software, since it
computes the spheroidal wave functions to arbitrary precision for general
complex parameters mu, nu, gamma and argument z; existing software can only
handle integer mu, nu and does not give arbitrary precision. The package also
incorporates various special cases and computes analytic power series and
asymptotic expansions in the parameter gamma. The spheroidal wave functions of
Flammer [C. Flammer, Spheroidal Wave Functions, 1957] are included as a special
case of Meixner's more general functions. This paper presents a concise review
of the general theory of spheroidal wave functions and a description of the
formulas and algorithms used in their computation, and gives high-precision
numerical examples.Comment: 26 pages, 4 Appendices, 5 Table
Psychometric Properties of an Assessment for Mental Health Recovery Programs
The concept of recovery can be operationalized from either the point of view of the consumer, or from the perspective of the agency providing services. The Milestones of Recovery Scale (MORS) was created to capture aspects of recovery from the agency perspective. Evidence establishing the psychometric properties of the MORS was obtained in three efforts: Inter-rater reliability using staff at The Village, a multi-service organization serving the homeless mentally ill in Long Beach, California; inter-rater reliability was also obtained from Vinfen Corporation, a large provider of housing services to mentally ill persons in Boston, Massachusetts. A test–retest reliability study was conducted using staff rating of clients at The Village, and evidence for validity was obtained using the Level of Care Utilization System (LOCUS) as a validity measure. The intra-class correlation coefficient for the inter-rater reliability study was r = .85 (CI .81, .89) for The Village and r = .86 (CI .80, .90) for Vinfen Corporation; test–retest reliability was r = .85 (CI .81, .87); and validity coefficients for the LOCUS were at or above r = .49 for all subscales except one. There is sufficient evidence for the reliability and validity of the MORS
Comparing projections of future changes in runoff and water resources from hydrological and ecosystem models in ISI-MIP
Projections of future changes in runoff can have important implications for water resources and flooding. In this study, runoff projections from ISI-MIP (Inter-sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project) simulations forced with HadGEM2-ES bias-corrected climate data under the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 have been analysed. Projections of change from the baseline period (1981–2010) to the future (2070–2099) from a number of different ecosystems and hydrological models were studied. The differences between projections from the two types of model were looked at globally and regionally. Typically, across different regions the ecosystem models tended to project larger increases and smaller decreases in runoff than the hydrological models. However, the differences varied both regionally and seasonally. Sensitivity experiments were also used to investigate the contributions of varying CO2 and allowing vegetation distribution to evolve on projected changes in runoff. In two out of four models which had data available from CO2 sensitivity experiments, allowing CO2 to vary was found to increase runoff more than keeping CO2 constant, while in two models runoff decreased. This suggests more uncertainty in runoff responses to elevated CO2 than previously considered. As CO2 effects on evapotranspiration via stomatal conductance and leaf-area index are more commonly included in ecosystems models than in hydrological models, this may partially explain some of the difference between model types. Keeping the vegetation distribution static in JULES runs had much less effect on runoff projections than varying CO2, but this may be more pronounced if looked at over a longer timescale as vegetation changes may take longer to reach a new state
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