The Northern Arc: The Outer Perimeter Reincarnated?

Plans for the proposed Outer Perimeter were scaled back after the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and State Implementation Plan (SIP) lapsed in 1998 due to non-compliance with national clean air standards. In place of the 200-mile circumferential route, a dramatically modified Northern Arc emerged as an alternative in the revised alternative of the Regional Transportation Plan released in the Spring of 1999 by the Atlanta Regional Commission. In the Summer of 1999 the State Department of Transportation held a series of Public Hearings on the proposed 59 mile route extending from I-75 in the Cartersville area eastward to I-85 and GA Route 316 in the Lawrenceville area. Without advocating a position on the project, this paper examines several issues requiring resolution prior to action for or against its ultimate construction.Research Atlanta released a report in 1993 discussing issues for consideration in the public debate on the highway's fate. The current report lends some updated perspective on these issues and the text of the original report is contained in an appendix

Evaluating Management Options to Increase Roadside Carbon Sequestration

We estimated the amount of carbon sequestered along Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) roads and tested 3 different highway right-of-way (ROW) management techniques to increase carbon stocks. Using Geographic Information System techniques, the total ROW acreage owned by MDT was found to sequester 75,292 metric tons of carbon per year and to consist mostly of grasslands (70%). From 2016-2018 we tested 3 ROW management techniques to increase carbon stocks- increase mowing height, plant woody shrubs, or add legumes to reclamation seed mixes of disturbed soils - at 3 sites (Three Forks [3F], Bear Canyon [BC], and Bozeman Pass [BP]) along Interstate 90 in southwestern Montana. Soil samples generally averaged 0.75–1.5% soil organic carbon (SOC) at the 3F site, 2.5–4% SOC at the BC site, and 1.5–2.5% SOC at the BP site. Average SOC levels were always lower in 2018 than in 2016. Soil respiration rates were generally highest in June or July at the BC site, averaging ~4 μmol CO2 m-2 second-1. Soil respiration rates were lower at the BC site in November 2016, at the BP site in June 2018, and at the 3F site in July 2018 (all ~2–3 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1). Aboveground biomass carbon estimates generally mirrored belowground SOC estimates. Taken together, our findings suggest that of the three treatments implemented (raised mowing height, shrub planting, and disturbance), minimizing disturbance to soils likely makes the greatest contribution to the medium- and long-term carbon-storage potential of these roadside soils

The reproducibility of perceptually regulated exercise responses during short-term cycle ergometry

This is the author's PDF version of an article published in International journal of sports medicine in 2004. The definitive version is available at www.thieme-connect.com.The purpose of this study was to assess the reproducibility over four trials of perceptually regulated exercise intensity during short-term cycle ergometry. Recent research has suggested that an improvement in the reproducibility (better agreement) of the exercise output would be observed with a repeated practice of using regulatory tools such as Borg’s 6-20 rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale. Eighteen healthy active volunteers (nine males mean age (± SD) 24.7 ± 3.4 yr, and nine females 27.6 ± 5.4 yr) completed four identical intermittent effort production trials on a cycle ergometer, over a period of two-three weeks, with all trials being between three and five days apart. After warm-up, the volunteers were asked to produce four x three-minute bouts of exercise at RPE levels: 13, 15, 9, and 17 (in this order). Power output (W), percentage maximum heart rate reserve (%MHRR), and oxygen consumption (VO2; ml•kg-1•min-1) were recorded in the final minute of each bout. Analysis revealed that the 95% limits of agreement (LoA) between repeated trials did not decrease for the objective markers of exercise intensity, remaining wide throughout. In the worst case comparisons the LoA represented changes (expressed as a proportion of the mean of two trials) of up to 58.3% in power output (T2 vs. T3 at RPE 9), 65.5% in %MHRR (T1 vs. T2 at RPE 13) and 36.5% in VO2 (T3 vs. T4 at RPE 17). These findings question the use of ratings of perceived exertion to regulate exercise effort. That the reproducibility of effort is also not seen to improve with practice raises doubts over the validity of using the RPE scale for providing training intensities for this type of exercise.This article was submitted to the RAE2008 for the University of Chester - Allied Health Professions and Studies

Evaluating the Potential Effects of Deicing Salts on Roadside Carbon Sequestration

This project sought to document patterns of road deicing salts and the effects of these salts on the amount of carbon being sequestered passively along Montana Department of Transportation roads; it was designed collaboratively with a related roadside project that tested three different highway right-of-way management techniques (mowing height, shrub planting, disturbance) to determine whether they have the capacity to increase soil organic carbon. Our sampling did not reveal elevated salt levels at any of the nine locations sampled at each of the three I-90 sites. The greatest saline concentrations were found at the sample locations farthest from the road. This pattern was consistent across all three sites. The range of soil organic matter (SOM) was broad, from ~1% to >10%. Generally, SOM values were lowest adjacent to the road and highest farthest from the road. We found no or weak evidence of a relationship between our indices of soil salinity and SOM levels, with electrical conductivity, exchangeable calcium, and cation exchange capacity. Results imply that if road deicing salts are altering patterns of roadside SOM and potential carbon sequestration, this effect was not captured by our experimental design, nor did deicing salts appear to have affected roadside vegetation during our most recent sampling effort. Our findings highlight the value of experimentally separating the multiple potentially confounding effects of winter maintenance operations on roadside soils: roads could focus the flow of water, salts, and sands to roadside soils. How these types of mass inputs to roadside soils might influence medium- or long-term carbon dynamics remains an open question, but their fuller characterization and possible flow paths will be essential to clarifying the role of roadside soils in terrestrial soil organic carbon sequestration strategies

Strengthening Access to Communications Policy & Regulatory Guidelines for Satellite Services

This work is designed to help bridge the Regulatory Divide that continues to thwart end users\u27 efforts to obtain affordable communications. From tele-medicine to distance learning to rural telecenters to disaster recovery to enterprise networks, the satellite industry is offering not only telecommunications solutions for the have nots , but also the regulatory tools to enable the public sector to fulfill their policy objectives

Manufacturing” Community: Solidarity, Profit, and the Bar Owner

The following study examines the potential of eight independently run bars in New London, Connecticut to “manufacture” community. This process is examined with particular focus on the tension felt by bar owners, who must continually attract new patrons while still keeping their current “regulars” content. Inherent to this study is the reexamination of “community” as an analytically useful term in anthropological scholarship, with particular emphasis on disproportionate feelings of belonging and commitment as manifested by individual interpretation of collectively rendered symbols. This data for this study was collected by virtue of semi-structured interviews as well as ethnographic field observation. The owner (or, in one case, the manager) of each bar on which the study is focused was interviewed twice. First interviews largely consisted of descriptive questions, while structural questions comprised the majority of second interviews. Interviews were transcribed and then analyzed by virtue of domain analyses and folk taxonomies. Field note-taking was divided into two distinct stages: that of unfocused notes, which concerned anything and everything discernible within a bar, and that of focused notes, which concerned a single behavioral pattern. Analysis of my data indicates that a bar may “manufacture” community by encouraging patrons to identify with one another, the establishment’s owner, and the owner’s ideal bar environment. The bar owners interviewed for this study facilitate such feelings of identification, in part, by targeting specific “crowds” of patrons with whom they identify. Furthermore, these individuals remain highly visible within their respective establishments and, as a result, promote the continual reproduction of a specific bar atmosphere. This atmosphere is the product of such elements as music, décor, and television programming, but primarily emerges as a result of social interaction. The bar owners on which this study is focused make it a point to interact with their patrons on a regular basis. In so doing, they promote normative models of social behavior. The role of these individuals can be said to harbor a considerable tension, however, as, along with reproducing regularity, they must continually seek new patronage (albeit to varying extents) as a means of remaining in business. As such, the need to make a profit is often juxtaposed to “community” in the language of both bar owners and bar patrons. Based on the interview and observational data that I collected, I conclude that the propensity of bars involved with this study to garner feelings of solidarity and belonging among patrons does, indeed, enable them to “manufacture” community. Although the interpretation of symbols (“hipster,” “alternative,” “neighborhood bar,” etc.) associated with bar communities unavoidably varies between individual patrons, bar owners encourage similarity across such interpretations by, again, remaining visible within their respective establishments. The owners of the eight bars examined in this study, through both conversation and other forms of behavior, publicize their own interpretations of the community identities “manufactured” within their respective establishments. As new bar patrons become more familiar with a bar owner and this individual’s regular clientele, they will be encouraged to align their own interpretations of community identity with those of more seasoned community members. By encouraging interpretive unity among patrons (with the understanding that this can never be fully achieved), bar owners navigate the tension between novelty and cyclicality. Although some bar owners encourage “diversity” within their main crowd in terms of ethnic or cultural backgrounds, they also attempt to assimilate new patrons into their respective communities as quickly and seamlessly as possible. Prompt assimilation reduces the potential for disruption in the regular schedule of a bar

Dolomitic Lime Mortars: Carbonation Complications and Susceptibility to Acidic Sulfates

Dolomitic lime mortars, widely used in historic construction and as repair mortars today, are distinguished by their high magnesium content as well as their high plasticity, water retention, and workability. However, the dolomitic lime creates a more complicated chemistry in the resulting mortar in which the magnesium and calcium compounds carbonate at different rates. Although portlandite readily carbonates to calcite, the carbonation of brucite is delayed and could result in a variety compounds in the cured mortar. The reaction of these magnesium compounds with acidic sulfates in the environment could lead to the formation of magnesium sulfate salts, which have the potential to deteriorate the mortar itself and surrounding materials. Mortar deterioration could also occur due to the dissolution of the magnesium compounds in the mortar and subsequent material losses. A series of experiments have been conducted that examine the carbonation of dolomitic lime mortars as well as the extent to which these mortars interact with acidic sulfates. First the production of dolomitic lime was simulated in a laboratory setting, using XRD and SEM to determine the chemical and physical changes that occur during the calcining process. The same analytical techniques were used to examine the level of carbonation in dolomitic lime model mortars. The fundamental reactivity of acidic sulfate solutions with certain compounds in dolomitic mortars was explored using AA. Acidic sulfate attack via acid rain was also simulated on model mortars, and the effects of that exposure analyzed by AA and XRD. Laboratory work for this thesis was conducted at Columbia University GSAPP's Architecture Conservation Laboratory, the Department of Scientific Research at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Highbridge Materials Consulting, Inc

Overview: The View From 22,300 Miles High

Asia\u27s geography, claiming many of the world\u27s highest peaks, has provided a dramatic setting for a climbing expedition that began decades ago, when the satellite communications community took its first step on the lower slopes of the mountain

Effects of Felled Shortleaf Pine (Pinus Echinata Mill.) Moisture Loss on Oviposition Preferences and Survival of Sirex Nigricornis F. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae)

The European woodwasp, Sirex noctilio F. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) utilizes pine as its host during larval development. Females drill through pine bark to deposit eggs, a symbiotic fungus, Amylostereum, and phytotoxic mucus into the tree. In their native range, these insects are not viewed as primary pests because they attack dead or dying trees. Over the last century, this woodwasp has been accidentally introduced into several countries in the southern hemisphere. Some regions have incurred millions of dollars in damage to large plantations of the widely planted pine species, radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don). Sirex noctilio was discovered in northeastern United States and Canada in 2004. Prior studies have focused on damage done to pine stands in the southern hemisphere and, because those pines are not native, these studies may not be applicable to native pines in the U.S. The southeastern U.S. contains millions of hectares of possibly susceptible pine trees and, thus it is advisable to study the native Arkansas woodwasp, S. nigricornis F., (as a species with similar biology) in preparation for a possible invasion by its exotic counterpart. The objectives of this research were to 1) examine how shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) logs (bolts) in moderate drought conditions of Arkansas lose moisture over time, and 2) determine oviposition preferences of Sirex nigricornis females in aging pine bolts. To complete these objectives, shortleaf pines were felled and moisture content was measured over a period of 45 days. Moisture content results were used to create parameters for oviposition choice experiments. After a cross-sectional cut was made, the most moisture loss occurs within 3-4 cm of bolt ends while the center of the bolt stays consistent during this time period. Females prefer to oviposit in recently cut bolts. Using these results, trap tree methods can be altered to create more efficient methods of siricid capture and laboratory rearing