Oral History Interview: Matt L. Hanna

This interview is one of a series conducted concerning education in West Virginia. Mr. Hanna served forty years with the Cabell County school system. He begins the interview with some autobiographical information, specifically talking about farming, timber work, and bartering. Some family background is discussed all the way back to the Civil War. Education, family, shape-note music, William Jennings Bryan, and Blackes in Appalachia finish the discussion.https://mds.marshall.edu/oral_history/1604/thumbnail.jp

Oral History Interview: Matt L. Hanna

This interview is one of a series conducted concerning rural life in West Virginia. The change in the times begins the discussion between Mr. Matt L. Hanna and his son, interviewer John Hanna. Mr. Hanna discusses the school he attended and its conditions, teachers, and games. The conversation turns next to changes in the community, farming, food, barn and house raisings, and land clearing. The church, a singing school, Christmas, and the importance of preserving the cultural heritage of Appalachia ends the interview.https://mds.marshall.edu/oral_history/1179/thumbnail.jp

Balancing tillage, soil loss, and profitability

Profitability and environmental sustainability are major objectives in crop production. Decisions on whether to till and what operation to use have direct impact on these objectives. Because of potential adverse affects on soil erosion, structure, aggregate stability, and general soil health, potential for benefits should be carefully considered prior to field operations. Tillage objectives include soil loosening, incorporation of fertilizer or pesticide, weed control, and surface leveling after prior tillage to accommodate planting. Reducing surface residue cover may allow topsoil to warm faster in spring, promote soil drying, and alter the environment for some disease pathogens. Conversely, soil on sloping areas is exposed to longer term degradation by erosion and moisture loss in dry conditions is counterproductive

A Not So-Random Walk with Wind: Evaluating Wind Velocity Update Methods in Ground Based Spray Deposition Models

The notion that wind speed and direction can be approximated by adding a random fluctuation to the previous value was investigated. The data were recorded at one meter above a field to simulate conditions that are present at a ground sprayer‘s boom. Variance ratio tests were carried out to test the null hypothesis that wind possesses similar properties to a random walk versus the alternative that wind does not. More specifically, are the random fluctuations auto correlated with one another in time? This process was done to a 10Hz sample and averages of the measured wind data at 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 30, 60, 300, and 600 seconds. It was found that for all tests, except for the 300 and 600 second data samples, the null hypothesis was rejected at greater than 99.9% certainty. This indicates that there is evidence of autocorrelation (rather than randomness) in the measurements of wind speed and direction, associated with each other in time

Nozzle and droplet size effects on pesticide performance and drift

Efficient spray application requires applying the correct amount of pesticide in a proper manner to successfully reduce the pest population. In addition pesticide should not be allowed to drift to non-target off-site plants, insects, animals, or humans. Balancing between use of a droplet size small enough for efficacious application, yet large enough to avoid off-target drift is an important consideration for most applications

Concert recording 2016-04-19

[Track 01]. When sunny gets blue / Fischer ; arranged by Rogers -- [Track 02]. Alone together / Schwartz -- [Track 03]. Jitterbug Waltz / Waller -- [Track 04]. Moose the mooch / Parker -- [Track 05]. El Nino / Erquiaga -- [Track 06]. Wave / Jobim -- [Track 07]. Unit 7 / Jones

Concert recording 2016-05-04a

[Track 01]. Walking Street / Steve Erquiaga -- [Track 02]. Freight train / Tommy Flanagan -- [Track 03]. Speak no evil / Wayne Shorter ; arranged by Malachi Million -- [Track 04]. Just my imagination / Temptations ; arranged by Malachi Million -- [Track 05]. Cherokee / Ray Noble -- [Track 06]. The bridge / Sonny Rollins -- [Track 07]. Giant steps / John Coltrane -- [Track 08]. Spain / Chick Corea ; arranged by Malachi Million -- [Track 09]. Sophisticated lady / Ellington ; Mills ; Parish ; arranged by Joe Pass

An Interactive Spray Drift Simulator

The off target movement of pesticides, known as spray drift, results in a reduction in application rates, damage to non-target organisms, and environmental concerns. Much of this drift can be eliminated if its prevalence is understood and best management practices are implemented. Drift prediction software has been developed to serve as a management tool in determining the effects of applying pesticides under certain operating conditions. To further increase the usefulness and instructiveness of such programs, a program was developed which links spray drift prediction software (DRIFTSIM) with a GPS simulator to obtain a two dimensional representation of drift for simulated ground based spraying event. The program was evaluated using a variety of operating conditions to determine their respective effects on drift deposition levels. Results from the simulations show the importance of choosing the largest sufficient nozzle size, operating under low wind speeds, and spraying at the lowest possible boom height. Analysis of multi-swath simulations showed patterns of increased and reduced application rates due to spray drift

Meta-research evaluating redundancy and use of systematic reviews when planning new studies in health research:a scoping review

BACKGROUND: Several studies have documented the production of wasteful research, defined as research of no scientific importance and/or not meeting societal needs. We argue that this redundancy in research may to a large degree be due to the lack of a systematic evaluation of the best available evidence and/or of studies assessing societal needs. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this scoping review is to (A) identify meta-research studies evaluating if redundancy is present within biomedical research, and if so, assessing the prevalence of such redundancy, and (B) to identify meta-research studies evaluating if researchers had been trying to minimise or avoid redundancy. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Meta-research studies (empirical studies) were eligible if they evaluated whether redundancy was present and to what degree; whether health researchers referred to all earlier similar studies when justifying and designing a new study and/or when placing new results in the context of earlier similar trials; and whether health researchers systematically and transparently considered end users’ perspectives when justifying and designing a new study. SOURCES OF EVIDENCE: The initial overall search was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase via Ovid, CINAHL, Web of Science, Social Sciences Citation Index, Arts & Humanities Citation Index, and the Cochrane Methodology Register from inception to June 2015. A 2nd search included MEDLINE and Embase via Ovid and covered January 2015 to 26 May 2021. No publication date or language restrictions were applied. CHARTING METHODS: Charting methods included description of the included studies, bibliometric mapping, and presentation of possible research gaps in the identified meta-research. RESULTS: We identified 69 meta-research studies. Thirty-four (49%) of these evaluated the prevalence of redundancy and 42 (61%) studies evaluated the prevalence of a systematic and transparent use of earlier similar studies when justifying and designing new studies, and/or when placing new results in context, with seven (10%) studies addressing both aspects. Only one (1%) study assessed if the perspectives of end users had been used to inform the justification and design of a new study. Among the included meta-research studies evaluating whether redundancy was present, only two of nine health domains (medical areas) and only two of 10 research topics (different methodological types) were represented. Similarly, among the included meta-research studies evaluating whether researchers had been trying to minimise or avoid redundancy, only one of nine health domains and only one of 10 research topics were represented. CONCLUSIONS THAT RELATE TO THE REVIEW QUESTIONS AND OBJECTIVES: Even with 69 included meta-research studies, there was a lack of information for most health domains and research topics. However, as most included studies were evaluating across different domains, there is a clear indication of a high prevalence of redundancy and a low prevalence of trying to minimise or avoid redundancy. In addition, only one meta-research study evaluated whether the perspectives of end users were used to inform the justification and design of a new study. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: Protocol registered at Open Science Framework: https://osf.io/3rdua/ (15 June 2021). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13643-022-02096-y