The Efficacy of Best Management Practices on Peak Discharge and Contaminant Loads in Agricultural Drainage Systems, Blue Earth River Watershed, South-Central Minnesota, USA

Conversion of native land cover to row crop agriculture and anthropogenically modified hydrology, correlates with increases in peak discharge, annual discharge, sediment and nutrient loads in agricultural land-use dominated watersheds within the Mississippi River basin. This results in environmental issues related to turbidity, eutrophication-hypoxia, loss of biodiversity, natural resource degradation, reduction in tourism, and more. In no place is this more obvious than the ever-growing Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico. The Minnesota River basin, the largest tributary to the Mississippi River in Minnesota, is a disproportionately large contributor of sediment (~80-90%), nitrogen (~56%), and phosphorus (~45%) to the upper Mississippi River watershed above riverine Lake Pepin. More broadly, despite being 1.34% of the surface area of the Mississippi basin, it contributes 5-7% of the nitrate load to the Gulf of Mexico. Two agricultural drainage basins, approximately 4 km apart in the Le Sueur River watershed, a Minnesota River tributary, provide a unique opportunity to compare County Ditch 57, recently reengineered to include a suite of structural mitigation practices (surge pond and wetland, two-stage ditch, buffer strips, rate control weir), to a lesser modified Little Beauford Ditch (LBD). The efficacy of CD 57 was evaluated over two years (2016-2017), with monitoring stations bounding each mitigation structure. The surge pond and wetland were efficient reducers of peak discharge, sediment and nitrogen loads, during low magnitude events. However, net increases in discharge, sediment and nutrient loads were still consistently observed. LBD exhibited higher peak discharge, sediment, and total phosphorus than CD 57. CD 57 surpassed LBD in nitrogen. Overall, these results suggest that CD 57 mitigation structures reduce peak discharge, sediment and phosphorous loads/total yields at low-flow events, but are overwhelmed in frequently observed high-magnitude events. This suggests the size/scale of these structures are inefficient for the watershed hydrology. Reduction in peak discharge is promising for limiting peak flows and erosion of bluffs/banks within the knickzone downstream, if similar structures are emplaced throughout the upper watershed. Determining the spatial scale, economic viability, and necessary size of the structures to truly make a broader impact should be the subject of future study

An Annotated Translation of Georg F Vicedom\u27s Missio Dei

The present thesis is offered as a contribution towards the study of a theology of missions. The Translator\u27s Appendix and the majority of the footnotes are the work of the writer; the rest of the thesis is a translation of Georg F. Vicedom\u27s Missio Dei, published by the Chr. Kaiser Verlag of Munich, Germany. Although the work reveals continental flavor and concerns, it is my conviction that by its range and depth it will appeal to a far wider constituency in the West as well as those areas where religion is making a fresh impact

ASSESSING MALNUTRITION IN LIVER DISEASE PATIENTS BEING EVALUATED FOR TRANSPLANT USING THE NUTRITION FOCUSED PHYSICAL EXAM

Patients with liver disease have an increased risk for malnutrition because of side effects of the disease. The Nutrition Focused Physical Exam (NFPE) was developed for nutrition professionals to aid physicians in a nutrition-based diagnosis of malnutrition. The purpose of this study was to examine the NFPE for its validity in liver disease patients being evaluated for transplant. In addition, the NFPE was used to assess incidence and severity of malnutrition in end stage liver disease patients and compare these results to already developed malnutrition tools such as the Patient Generated-Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA), Triceps Skinfolds (TSF), Mid-Arm Circumference (MAC), Lumbar Index, and Total Psoas Muscle Area (TPA). The NFPE was found to be highly correlated with PG-SGA results. There was a weak correlation between the NFPE and the TSF, MAC, and Lumbar Index/TPA, except when comparing the bottom 25% quartile of the Lumbar Index to severe malnutrition using the NFPE. This resulted in a moderate correlation. The odds-ratio for hospital admission based on malnutrition and severe malnutrition were both extremely high (14.571, 18.857 respectively). These preliminary results reinforce the significance of the NFPE and the need for additional studies using this tool

Striking Back Against Corporate Education Reform: The 2012 Chicago Teachers Union Strike

The Chicago Teachers Union went on strike against the Chicago Pubilc Schools in September 2012. The strike was not just about teachers\u27 pay and benefits. Rather, the strike was a response to more than 15 years of a the latest iteration of corporate school reform. This essay situates the 2012 Chicago teachers\u27 strike in the legal and policy contexts for corporate school reform in Chicago and Illinois and assesses the strike\u27s outcomes locally and nationally. The strike was the largest teacher-led response to corporate school reform to date. It catalyzed a larger national conversation about the nature of school reform efforts and inspired others to oppose corporate school reform