Contribution of muskeg channel habitats to juvenile coho salmon production in the Situk River, Alaska

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2006This study examines seasonal patters of habitat use by juvenile coho salmon in the Situk River and the importance of muskeg channels. To determine seasonal patterns I trapped fish from a range of habitats every two weeks during the summer of 2005. Analysis of the length-frequency data these samples provided showed most fry emerged in gravel bedded channels and that a substantial number of these fish then moved into muskeg channels during their first summer, rearing there until smolting at age 1 + or 2+. To estimate the number of coho salmon using muskeg channels, I established a relationship between channel width and fish density and scaled this up to the entire drainage using GIS analysis. This demonstrated that muskeg channels provide important rearing habitat. Comparison with published data suggests that muskegs are responsible for between 14% and 80% of total coho salmon smolt production in the Situk River

Securities Transaction Taxes for U.S. Financial Markets

This paper examines the viability of security transaction excise taxes (STETs) as one policy tool for promoting a more stable financial environment, specifically with respect to the U.S. economy. Contrary to a large recent critical literature, we show that a STET can be designed without creating large distortions between segments of the financial market. We also show that a modest STET for the U.S.—beginning with a 0.5 percent tax on equity trades and scaled appropriately for other financial instruments—would generate substantial new government revenues, on the order of $100 billion per year.Financial Market; Securities

Securities Transaction Taxes for U.S. Financial Markets

This paper examines the viability of security transaction excise taxes (STETs) as one policy tool for promoting a more stable financial environment, specifically with respect to the U.S. economy. Contrary to a large recent critical literature, we show that a STET can be designed without creating large distortions between segments of the financial market. We also show that a modest STET for the U.S.—beginning with a 0.5 percent tax on equity trades and scaled appropriately for other financial instruments—would generate substantial new government revenues, on the order of $100 billion per year.

Characterizing pore-scale morphology of non-aqueous phase liquids using three-dimensional image analysis

Organic immiscible fluids are common subsurface contaminants which may leach into the groundwater supply, posing a threat to human health. The development of effective remediation techniques is dependent upon a thorough understanding of the microscale processes that govern the dissolution of non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL). In order to resolve the local mass transfer in the dissolution process from a fundamental perspective, both the pore-space and NAPL morphology must be known. The purpose of this study was to assess the morphology of trapped NAPL during dissolution using three-dimensional (3-D) image analysis. Data was taken from a previous experiment where a column was packed with a representative porous medium and trichloroethylene (TCE), and flushed with a solution containing hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (Schnaar and Brusseau 2006). 3-D images were taken of the column in its residual state and after each successive flush using X-ray microtomography. Image analysis was performed to assess the orientation, curvature, volume, and surface area of the NAPL. A comparison was constructed between the disconnected NAPL regions (DNRs) that were flushed and those that persisted. The volume, roundedness and orientation were important determinants of dissolution.Bachelor of Science in Public Healt

State Drug Testing Requirements for Welfare Recipients: Are Missouri and Florida\u27s New Laws Constitutional

This Summary examines the framework set up by the Supreme Court for analyzing the constitutionality of drug testing on welfare recipients. It discusses the states\u27 implementation of such programs, and specifically analyzes laws recently passed by Florida and Missouri that authorize drug-testing requirements on welfare recipients. The likely outcome of challenges to these laws appears to be dependent, at least in part, on whether the law provides for suspicionless drug testing or calls for drug testing based on some reasonable suspicion of drug use

The Influence of Scientific Claims on an Emerging Environmental Issue

The environmental movement relies on scientific claims to justify its calls for protectionist policies. These claims can be followed in the scientific literature using bibliometric methods such as citation analysis. Citation analysis was used to deconstruct the literature of endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) sciences as it emerged and developed time from 1980 through 2004. This study explored how the attributes of scientific papers such as topic, journal, experimental model, document type, and support or negation of hypotheses impacted their influence (quantified as times cited) within the field over time. To accomplish this, unique bibliographic data were acquired for each attribute of the more than 3,400 studies identified by keyword searches. Content-specific data (non-bibliographic) were generated for the nearly 500 articles cited \u3e 45 times. The influence of individual articles on the field of EDC science, and their citation relationships was also visually represented using the bibliometric mapping. Results demonstrated that a confluence of scientific claims propelled the EDC issue into a prominent position within overall environmental literature. The EDC term appeared nowhere before 1993, but its use rapidly gained traction thereafter until by 2004 it was found in over 3,400 published papers. The results of this study suggest that the influence of individual scientific claims within the literature of EDC science were not random, but were impacted by both bibliographic and non-bibliographic attributes. Temporal variations in the influence of each attribute were also demonstrate

Evidence Based Protocol: Discharge Delays in the Acute Care Setting

According to Batalden, Nelson, Godfrey and Lazar (2011, p, 25), the clinical microsystem is a “place where patients, families and health caregivers meet” and encompasses all interactions from the moment a patient enters the system up to and including when the patient leaves the system. In order to understand the complex and dynamic changes that occur at the microsystem level, a thorough assessment must be completed. The purpose of this chapter is to gain a greater understanding of the mechanism of the microsystem and the effects that this microsystem has on the process for discharging patients from the hospital setting into the community