Testing the Stability of Coupled Hydrologic and Agricultural Systems to Changes in Climatic and Economic Conditions

Long-term predictions of the water cycle in a watershed must account for the human factor. Agriculture is by far the largest water user,making up 70% of water use worldwideand over 95% of water use in Montana. Predicting agricultural water use is complicated because farmers make decisions based on climatic conditions, economic conditions, and personal preferences. Coupled models that account for both climate and agricultural economics are necessary to understand and predict the whole water cycle. The impact of agriculture at the watershed scale is effectively determined by total agricultural area and crop water requirements, and ultimately comes to bear on the flows at the watershed outlet. In many watersheds total agricultural area is declining. As urban areas grow, the market value of agricultural land increases. If the value of a Farmer\u27s land is higher than the expected return from the sale of crops, the land will likely be sold and divided into smaller parcels. This sell-off is influenced by climate conditions, which affect crop yields, and by economic conditions, such as crop prices or input costs. Accounting for these factors at the scale of individual farms is impractical, but at the scale of a watershed the sell-off of parcels could be statistically modeled to capture the overall behavior of the agricultural system. However, the agricultural parcel sizes of a watershed have a complicated distribution that is not easily represented statistically. We have developed a method for representing agricultural land as a mixture of Gaussiandistributions. Because the individual Gaussian distributions are symmetric, they can be propagated through linear models of agricultural economics that calculate the fraction of agricultural land for which market value exceeds expected returns. By assuming that this land is sold and ultimately converted to urban use, we can calibrate this model to reproduce an observed loss of agricultural land area over time. We have applied our model to the Bitterroot River Watershed, which is an ideal case study due to its strong agricultural economy and steady urban growth. We have been able to reproduce observed trends in agricultural land area, including accelerated sell-off during periods of prolonged dry weather. We use calibrated model to estimate the sensitivity of the system to climate scenarios, such as drought, and economic scenarios, such as reduced crop prices. The model is also used for stability analysis – under steady conditions the coupled models converge to an equilibrium point – highlighting potentially unsustainable combinations of climatic and economic conditions. These results further our ability to manage land and water resources in a way that can maintain both healthy agricultural economies and healthy flows in our rivers

Fabrication of an active nanostencil with integrated microshutters

An active nanostencil, consisting of a thin (200 nm) silicon nitride membrane with attached polysilicon microactuators that can be used to dynamically open and/or close holes in the silicon nitride membrane, is presented. This nanostencil can be used as a shadow mask in an evaporation setup. Main features of the nanostencil are the absence of sacrificial oxide in the final product, strengthening of the membrane by a polysilicon hexagonal structure that is attached directly to the membrane and the use of low-doped regions in the polysilicon to separate the stator and rotor electrically

Retention of mouth-to-mouth, mouth-to-mask and mouth-to-face shield ventilation

Background: Retention of mouth-to-mouth, mouth-to-mask and mouth-to-face shield ventilation techniques is poorly understood.Methods: A prospective randomised clinical trial was undertaken in January 2004 in 70 candidates randomly assigned to training in mouth-to-mouth, mouth-to-mask or mouth-to-face shield ventilation. Each candidate was trained for 10 min, after which tidal volume, respiratory rate, minute volume, peak airway pressure and the presence or absence of stomach inflation were measured. 58 subjects were reassessed 1 year later and study parameters were recorded again. Data were analysed with ANOVA, \textgreekq2 and McNemar tests.Results: Tidal volume, minute volume, peak airway pressure, ventilation rate and stomach inflation rate increased significantly at reassessment with all ventilation techniques compared with the initial assessment. However, at reassessment, mean (SD) tidal volume (960 (446) vs 1008 (366) vs 1402 (302) ml; p<0.05), minute volume (12 (5) vs 13 (7) vs 18 (3) l/min; p<0.05), peak airway pressure (14 (8) vs 17 (13) vs 25 (8) cm H2O; p<0.05) and stomach inflation rate (63% vs 58% vs 100%; p<0.05) were significantly lower with mouth-to-mask and mouth-to-face shield ventilation than with mouth-to-mouth ventilation. The ventilation rate at reassessment did not differ significantly between the ventilation techniques.Conclusions: One year after a single episode of ventilation training, lay persons tended to hyperventilate; however, the degree of hyperventilation and resulting stomach inflation were lower when a mouth-to-mask or a face shield device was employed. Regular training is therefore required to retain ventilation skills; retention of skills may be better with ventilation devices

Autoresuscitation (Lazarus phenomenon) after termination of cardiopulmonary resuscitation - a scoping review.

Autoresuscitation describes the return of spontaneous circulation after termination of resuscitation (TOR) following cardiac arrest (CA). We aimed to identify phenomena that may lead to autoresuscitation and to provide guidance to reduce the likelihood of it occurring. We conducted a literature search (Google Scholar, MEDLINE, PubMed) and a scoping review according to PRISMA-ScR guidelines of autoresuscitation cases where patients undergoing CPR recovered circulation spontaneously after TOR with the following criteria: 1) CA from any cause; 2) CPR for any length of time; 3) A point was reached when it was felt that the patient had died; 4) Staff declared the patient dead and stood back. No further interventions took place; 5) Later, vital signs were observed. 6) Vital signs were sustained for more than a few seconds, such that staff had to resume active care. Sixty-five patients with ROSC after TOR were identified in 53 articles (1982-2018), 18 (28%) made a full recovery. Almost a third made a full recovery after autoresuscitation. The following reasons for and recommendations to avoid autoresuscitation can be proposed: 1) In asystole with no reversible causes, resuscitation efforts should be continued for at least 20 min; 2) CPR should not be abandoned immediately after unsuccessful defibrillation, as transient asystole can occur after defibrillation; 3) Excessive ventilation during CPR may cause hyperinflation and should be avoided; 4) In refractory CA, resuscitation should not be terminated in the presence of any potentially-treatable cardiac rhythm; 5) After TOR, the casualty should be observed continuously and ECG monitored for at least 10 min

1D and 2D optical lattices on a chip for quantum computing

We propose a way to make arrays of optical frequency dipole-force microtraps for cold atoms above a dielectric substrate. Traps are nodes in the evanescent wave fields above an optical waveguide resulting from interference of different waveguide modes. The traps have features sought in developing neutral atom based architectures for quantum computing: ~ 1 mW of laser power yields very tight traps 150 nm above a waveguide with trap vibrational frequencies ~ 1 MHz and vibrational ground state sizes ~ 10 nm. The arrays are scalable and allow addressing of individual sites for quantum logic operations.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures Minor changes for clarit

Levodopa reverses gait asymmetries related to anhedoniaand magical ideation

Animals and men turn preferentially away from the hemisphere with the more active dopamine (DA) system. Consistent with the idea of a right-hemispheric hyperdopaminergia in schizophrenia, a leftsided turning bias was described for unmedicated psychotic patients. We investigated the modulating role of DA and schizophrenia-like thought on whole-body turns in a controlled double-blind study. The number of veers to either side when walking blindfolded straight ahead (20 meter) was assessed in 40 healthy righthanded men (20 men received levodopa, the remaining participants placebo). Side preferences were analyzed in terms of individuals' positive (Magical Ideation, MI) and negative (Physical Anhedonia, PhysAn) schizotypal features. In the placebo group, increasing MI scores were related to increasing left-sided veering and increasing PhysAn scores were related to increasing right-sided veering. In the levodopa group, this relationship between preferred veering side and type of schizotypy was reversed. The finding in the placebo group suggests an association between MI and a relative right-hemispheric hyperdopaminergia. Unexpectedly, levodopa did not enhance this veering bias, but reversed it, suggesting that psychosis-protective mechanisms exist in the healthy positive "schizotypic” brain. Also unexpectedly, levodopa made "anhedonics” veer like "magics” after placebo, suggesting that DA agonists suppress negative schizotypal symptom

An atom fiber for guiding cold neutral atoms

We present an omnidirectional matter wave guide on an atom chip. The rotational symmetry of the guide is maintained by a combination of two current carrying wires and a bias field pointing perpendicular to the chip surface. We demonstrate guiding of thermal atoms around more than two complete turns along a spiral shaped 25mm long curved path (curve radii down to 200$\mu$m) at various atom--surface distances (35-450$\mu$m). An extension of the scheme for the guiding of Bose-Einstein condensates is outlined

Characterization of the Subsurface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's Abydos Site

We investigate the structure of the subsurface of the Abydos site using a cometary nucleus model with parameters adapted to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and the Abydos landing site. We aim to compare the production rates derived from our model with those of the main molecules measured by Ptolemy. This will allow us to retrieve the depths at which the different molecules still exist in solid form