Characteristics of total suspended matter and associated hydrocarbon concentration adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay entrance

Methodologies used to determine concentrations of hydrocarbons and associated suspended particulates at stations in and adjacent to the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay are described and the results are presented. Passive and active remote sensing data were acquired in conjunction with sea truth data collection

Modelling the inorganic nitrogen behaviour in a small Mediterranean forested catchment, Fuirosos (Catalonia)

The aim of this work was to couple a nitrogen (N) sub-model to already existent hydrological lumped (LU4-N) and semi-distributed (LU4-R-N and SD4-R-N) conceptual models, to improve our understanding of the factors and processes controlling nitrogen cycling and losses in Mediterranean catchments. The N model adopted provides a simplified conceptualization of the soil nitrogen cycle considering mineralization, nitrification, immobilization, denitrification, plant uptake, and ammonium adsorption/desorption. It also includes nitrification and denitrification in the shallow perched aquifer. We included a soil moisture threshold for all the considered soil biological processes. The results suggested that all the nitrogen processes were highly influenced by the rain episodes and that soil microbial processes occurred in pulses stimulated by soil moisture increasing after rain. Our simulation highlighted the riparian zone as a possible source of nitrate, especially after the summer drought period, but it can also act as an important sink of nitrate due to denitrification, in particular during the wettest period of the year. The riparian zone was a key element to simulate the catchment nitrate behaviour. The lumped LU4-N model (which does not include the riparian zone) could not be validated, while both the semi-distributed LU4-R-N and SD4-R-N model (which include the riparian zone) gave satisfactory results for the calibration process and acceptable results for the temporal validation process

FORECASTING LIMITED DEPENDENT VARIABLES: BETTER STATISTICS FOR BETTER STEAKS

Little research has been conducted on evaluating out-of-sample forecasts of limited dependent variables. This study describes the large and small sample properties of two forecast evaluation techniques for limited dependent variables: receiver-operator curves and out-of-sample-log-likelihood functions. The methods are shown to provide identical model rankings in large samples and similar rankings in small samples. The likelihood function method is slightly better at detecting forecast accuracy in small samples, while receiver-operator curves are better at comparing forecasts across different data. By improving forecasts of fed-cattle quality grades, the forecast evaluation methods are shown to increase cattle marketing revenues by $2.59/head.Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Por Las Espaldas Se Nos Van Entrando Con Silencio: Fr. Hidalgo\u27s Letter to the Viceroy

The translation of historical documents is essential to the practices of archaeology and ethnohistory. The present translation presents the complete text of a letter written by Fray Francisco Hidalgo to the Viceroy of New Spain on November 4, 1716. This translation strives for accuracy and adds contextual information to enhance the value of the document. Fray Hidalgo\u27s letter exemplifies how Spanish officials acquired information about the French and the various Native groups, and how they viewed their interrelationships, actions, and customs. It confirms that Fr. Hidalgo did write two letters to the French officials in Louisiana, includes important floral and faunal information, provides locations for the Apache and Pawnee, and states that Diego Ramon traveled to the Mississippi River and visited Mobile. The epistle provides information on the geo-political and economic paradigms of the time, and how they shaped Spanish policy

Casanas, Hidalgo, and Espinosa: A Spanish Leaming Curve

In 1690, Alonso de Leon arrived in East Texas to establish two missions among the Asinai. He was accompanied by Fr. Fontcuberta, Fr. Casanas, Fr. Bordoy, Fr. Massanet, and Brother Antonio. Fr. Massanet returned to Mexico to inform the Viceroy about the trip, and came back to East Texas with Teran de Los Rios in August 1691. Fr. Fontcuberta died in February 1691 of an epidemic that, according to Fr. Casanas, killed about 3,000 natives in the area. Fr. Casanas who died in New Mexico in 1696, left us the first intimate view of the Caddoan-speaking groups in East Texas. Casanas Relacion was written in spurts and delivered to Teran de los Rios in August 1691. The Teran expedition brought to the Asinai Fr. Hidalgo who stayed about two years. In 1716, Fr. Hidalgo returned to Texas with Fr. Espinosa. While in the Asinai Province, the social conditions, the environment for learning and the interests of the three friars were quite different. We have found little archival material from Hidalgo, and Espinosa s style and education provide a disengaged narrative that loses flavor and re-uses some of the material provided by the other friars. The arrival of the Spaniards did not match native expectations. The Asinai wanted a Spanish community composed of families that would live side-by-side with them and would provide a measure of protection and prestige, as well as trade opportunities. Instead they got seven single males: four friars and three soldiers. Casanas grappled with a new language and its dialects, unfamiliar social and religious practices, a major epidemic in 1691 that deeply affected the relationship between Europeans and Natives, and very poor harvests in 1691 and 1692. His Relacion, which serves as a colonial baseline, was created while learning, attempting to proselytize and surviving. Casanas Relacion is constructed from several kinds of knowledge: what he saw, experienced, and was told. Casanas did not travel beyond the Asinai Province, nor could he: most of the time there were only two other friars and three soldiers, and between February and August 1691 Casanas was left with one companion and two soldiers. At first, Casanas was at Mission San Francisco de los Tejas because he only established Mission Santisimo Nombre de Maria (hereafter shown as S.N. de Maria) in October 1690. From 1690 through 1691 he probably remained at S. N. de Maria where he was met by Teran on August 4. 1691. Unlike Hidalgo and Espinosa, most of the information related by Casanas concerns the political and religious structure and the practices of the people in the Asinai Province. In this article I will concentrate on two issues: first, what can we learn about the location of the nations belonging to the Asinai Province using the archival materials from these friars, and second what cosmological and religious changes occurred between the period of Casanas and Hidalgo, and the period of Hidalgo and Espinosa. I should add that all the evidence to be presented, except for obvious exceptions. is based completely on the archival materials mentioned

Using Data Mining to Determine the Impact Continuity of Care has on the Air Force’s Healthcare System

Department of Defense (DoD) healthcare is one of the largest contributors to the DoD budget. In recent years, the cost of the DoD healthcare system has risen at an exponential rate. Much research has been conducted on the impacts that continuity of care has on both improving the quality of patient care and on reducing healthcare costs in the private sector. The DoD has attempted to take a similar approach with regards to healthcare continuity as a means to reduce healthcare costs. This research investigates whether continuity of care influences costs and a military member\u27s availability to perform duties. Specifically, this research examines Air Force fliers with musculoskeletal injuries. Linear and logistic regression techniques are utilized to interpret the relationship continuity of care has on both patient availability and costs. The study does not identify any relationship between continuity of care with costs and patient availability. These findings suggest the need for further research as to whether these findings regarding continuity of care extend beyond musculoskeletal injuries within the DoD healthcare system, as well as evaluating other potential outcomes for continuity of care. Research should also be conducted to determine other factors influencing costs and patient availability