A simplified treatment of SiB's land surface albedo parameterization

The earlier presented surface albedo parameterization is simplified by assuming that the reflectance of direct solar radiation is a simple function of solar zenith angle. The function chosen contains three parameters that vary with vegetation type, greenness, and leaf area index. Tables of parameter values are presented. Using these tables, SiB's (Simple Biosphere model) absorbances of direct solar radiation can be reproduced with an average relative error of less than 0.5 percent. Finally, the direct reflectance function is integrated over zenith angle to produce an equation for the surface reflectance of diffuse radiation

Estimation of Farmland Values for Assessment and Property Taxation in North Dakota

Land Economics/Use,

Welcome

Remarks from conference planner, Dr. Randy Johnson. Conference Planning Committee: Dr. Randal Johnson, Olivet Nazarene University J.R. Black, IL KRBC & NIAA Kevin Culver, Aqua Chad Miller, IL Farm Bureau Lynn Boerman, IL DNR Dr. Mike Pyle, Olivet Nazarene University Jennifer Love, Olivet Nazarene Universit

Food and Drug Law: The Infant Formula Act of 1980

The Infant Formula Act of 19802 (hereinafter the Act) was a culmination of the efforts of mothers, physicians, reporters, administrators, businessmen and congressmen to provide regulations and guidelines to prevent similar tragic episodes in the future. This comment will focus on the Act, as well as the events leading up to its promulgation. The examination will begin with the remarkable discovery in infants of the rare affliction known as metabolic alkalosis and the subsequent research which has established a direct correlation between the defective formulas and the infants\u27 conditions. Despite an expedient voluntary recall of the formulas, controversy raged in the media and in the Congress concerning the effectiveness of that recall, criminal sanctions for alleged liable parties, and the enforcement policy of the Food and Drug Administration (hereinafter FDA). Resolution of these issues, however, will not foretell the future development of the affected children. Only time and long-range studies will provide reliable answers to the questions of worried parents

Make the grade: An investigation of STI-prevention marketing campaigns

Due to earlier sexual activity onset and the increased rate of sexually transmitted infection (STI) in young people, it is important to investigate the efficacy of STI preventative marketing campaigns. The present study investigated the efficacy of three campaigns: (1) a self-focused, (2) a partner-focused, and (3) a relationship-focused campaign. Current marketing approaches emphasize the self; however, we hypothesize that targeting either the health of one\u27s partner or the relationship could be more beneficial in promoting STI-testing. To address likely confounding variables, we assessed how participants viewed advertisements in general as well as how they described their. romantic relationship as covariates in our primary analyses. Overall data analyses suggested that the partner-motivated advertisements were most effective. In addition, participants\u27 level of relationship assertiveness also affected their ratings of the different advertisement types. Implications for both theoretical and applied marketing initiatives will be discussed

Phase Locking of the Boreal Summer Atmospheric Response to Dry Land Surface Anomalies in the Northern Hemisphere

Past modeling simulations, supported by observational composites, indicate that during boreal summer, dry soil moisture anomalies in very different locations within the United States continental interior tend to induce the same upper-tropospheric circulation pattern: a high anomaly forms over west-central North America and a low anomaly forms to the east. The present study investigates the causes of this apparent phase locking of the upper-level circulation response and extends the investigation to other land regions in the Northern Hemisphere. The phase locking over North America is found to be induced by zonal asymmetries in the local basic state originating from North American orography. Specifically, orography-induced zonal variations of air temperature, those in the lower troposphere in particular, and surface pressure play a dominant role in placing the soil moisture-forced negative Rossby wave source (dominated by upper-level divergence anomalies) over the eastern leeside of the Western Cordillera, which subsequently produces an upper-level high anomaly over west-central North America, with the downstream anomalous circulation responses phase-locked by continuity. The zonal variations of the local climatological atmospheric circulation, manifested as a climatological high over central North America, help shape the spatial pattern of the upper-level circulation responses. Considering the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, the northern Middle East exhibits similar phase locking, also induced by local orography. The Middle Eastern phase locking, however, is not as pronounced as that over North America; North America is where soil moisture anomalies have the greatest impact on the upper-tropospheric circulation

INTEREST MARGIN AND AGRICULTURAL BANK PERFORMANCE: A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS

Agricultural Finance,

From an automated flight-test management system to a flight-test engineer's workstation

The capabilities and evolution is described of a flight engineer's workstation (called TEST-PLAN) from an automated flight test management system. The concept and capabilities of the automated flight test management systems are explored and discussed to illustrate the value of advanced system prototyping and evolutionary software development