Forestry timber typing. Tanana demonstration project, Alaska ASVT

The feasibility of using LANDSAT digital data in conjunction with topographic data to delineate commercial forests by stand size and crown closure in the Tanana River basin of Alaska was tested. A modified clustering approach using two LANDSAT dates to generate an initial forest type classification was then refined with topographic data. To further demonstrate the ability of remotely sensed data in a fire protection planning framework, the timber type data were subsequently integrated with terrain information to generate a fire hazard map of the study area. This map provides valuable assistance in initial attack planning, determining equipment accessibility, and fire growth modeling. The resulting data sets were incorporated into the Alaska Department of Natural Resources geographic information system for subsequent utilization

An evaluation of thematic mapper simulator data for the geobotanical discrimination of rock types in Southwest Oregon

Rock type identification may be assisted by the use of remote sensing of associated vegetation, particularly in areas of dense vegetative cover where surface materials are not imaged directly by the sensor. The geobotanical discrimination of ultramafic parent materials was investigated and analytical techniques for lithologic mapping and mineral exploration were developed. The utility of remotely sensed data to discriminate vegetation types associated with ultramafic parent materials in a study area in southwest Oregon were evaluated. A number of specific objectives were identified, which include: (1) establishment of the association between vegetation and rock types; (2) examination of the spectral separability of vegetation types associated with rock types; (3) determination of the contribution of each TMS band for discriminating vegetation associated with rock types and (4) comparison of analytical techniques for spectrally classifying vegetation

The design and construction of electronic motor control and network interface hardware for advance concept urban mobility vehicles

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (leaf 25).Over the past several years, the Smart Cities Group at MIT's Media Lab has engaged in research to develop several advanced concepts for vehicles to improve urban mobility. This research has focused on developing a modular vehicle architecture, centered around the concept of the self-contained Wheel Robot. The goal is to develop Wheel Robot systems in which all power, transmission, suspension, and steering functions are incorporated into self-contained units with a simple, standardized interface providing for mechanical mounting, electrical power distribution, and access to the vehicle control network. This thesis outlines my research and design work implementing several electronic power and control systems that contribute to ongoing Wheel Robot development efforts. The designs for a high-current motor controller and two electronic sensing and control interfaces are described, and several strategies for further control systems development are proposed.by Bryan L. Morrissey.S.B

Higgs Boson Exempt No-Scale Supersymmetry and its Collider and Cosmology Implications

One of the most straightforward ways to address the flavor problem of low-energy supersymmetry is to arrange for the scalar soft terms to vanish simultaneously at a scale $M_{c}$ much larger than the electroweak scale. This occurs naturally in a number of scenarios, such as no-scale models, gaugino mediation, and several models with strong conformal dynamics. Unfortunately, the most basic version of this approach that incorporates gaugino mass unification and zero scalar masses at the grand unification scale is not compatible with collider and dark matter constraints. However, experimental constraints can be satisfied if we exempt the Higgs bosons from flowing to zero mass value at the high scale. We survey the theoretical constructions that allow this, and investigate the collider and dark matter consequences. A generic feature is that the sleptons are relatively light. Because of this, these models frequently give a significant contribution to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, and neutralino-slepton coannihilation can play an important role in obtaining an acceptable dark matter relic density. Furthermore, the light sleptons give rise to a large multiplicity of lepton events at colliders, including a potentially suggestive clean trilepton signal at the Tevatron, and a substantial four lepton signature at the LHC.Comment: 36 pages, 16 figure

Family Child Care in the United States

This research brief summarizes the literature review entitled Child Care in the United States written by Taryn W. Morrissey of the Department of Human Development, Cornell University, for Research Connections, and addresses the following questions: What is family child care? What do we know about family child care providers? What do we know about who uses family child care? What do we know about the quality of family child care? This brief will also describe forthcoming studies on family child care and future areas of research in family child care

Aiding the Transition to College: A Peer Mentoring Program for First-Year Student-Athletes

The use and potential effectiveness of peer mentoring programs for student-athletes was explored. Issues for first-year student-athletes were presented as they justify aneed for additional support and guidance which older peers could effectively offer. This article described one university's effort to support and increase student development in intercollegiate athletics through a peer mentoring pilot program.The program's design, implementation, and future directions were discussed

Exposure to indoor mouldy odour increases the risk of asthma in older adults living in social housing

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from MDPI via the DOI in this record Background: Indoor dampness is thought to affect around 16% of European homes. It is generally accepted that increased exposure to indoor dampness and mould contamination (e.g., spores and hyphae) increases the risk of developing and/or exacerbating asthma. Around 30% of people in theWestern world have an allergic disease (e.g., allergy, wheeze and asthma). The role of indoor mould contamination in the risk of allergic diseases in older adults is yet to be fully explored. This is of interest because older people spend more time indoors, as well as facing health issues due to the ageing process, and may be at greater risk of developing and/or exacerbating asthma as a result of indoor dampness. Methods: Face-to-face questionnaires were carried out with 302 participants residing in social housing properties located in South West England. Self-reported demographic, mould contamination (i.e., presence of mould growth and mouldy odour) and health information was linked with the asset management records (e.g., building type, age and levels of maintenance). Multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate the odd ratios and confidence intervals of developing and/or exacerbating asthma, wheeze and allergy with exposure to reported indoor mould contamination. We adjusted for a range of factors that may affect asthma outcomes, which include age, sex, current smoking, presence of pets, education, and building type and age. To assess the role of mould contamination in older adults, we compared younger adults to those aged over 50 years. Results: Doctor-diagnosed adult asthma was reported by 26% of respondents, 34% had current wheeze while 18% had allergies. Asthma was common among subjects exposed to reported visible mould (32%) and reported mouldy odour (42%). Exposure to visible mould growth and mouldy odour were risk factors for asthma, but not for wheeze or allergy. Exposure to mouldy odour increased the risk of asthma in adults over the age of 50 years (odds ratio (OR) 2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10–5.34) and the risk was higher for females than for males (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.37–9.08). These associations were modified by a range of built environment characteristics. Conclusions: We found that older adults living in social (public) housing properties, specifically women, may be at higher risk of asthma when exposed to mouldy odour, which has a number of implications for policy makers and practitioners working in the health and housing sector. Additional measures should be put in place to protect older people living in social housing against indoor damp and mould contamination.European Regional Development Fund (ERDF