Projected economic impacts of a 16-Inch tree cutting cap for ponderosa pine forests within the greater Flagstaff urban-wildlands

The Grand Canyon Forest Partnership (GCFP), located in Flagstaff, AZ, has implemented a 16-inch diameter breast height cutting cap in the Fort Valley Restoration (Phase One) Project to secure the support of environmental organizations for urban interface forest restoration and fuels reduction projects. This paper provides insights into the economic impacts of this limitation by applying a simulated cap to realistic inventory, logging, and revenue models developed from an earlier representative project--the GCFP's 332-acre Fort Valley Research and Demonstration (R&D) project. The simulation was possible on only four of the nine R&D units, as these were the only units that had trees greater than or equal to 16-inch d.b.h. available for cutting. The simulated cutting cap resulted in implementation cost increases of 5 to 19.4 percent, harvested fiber decreases of 10 to 39 percent on a volume basis, and reductions in operator net returns ranging from 22.3 to 176 percent. The primary market for harvested material, at the time of this analysis, was low-value firewood and pallet stock that was supplemented by occasional sales to high-value users of large diameter logs. The 16-inch cap limited the operators' ability to broker logs to these large diameter users (for example, small volume viga manufacturers located in the Phoenix, AZ, metropolitan area) who would pay upward of $200 per ccf. Projections showed, however, that under more favorable market conditions, such as that of a regional pulp mill or oriented strand board plant, the operators (and consequently the GCFP) could better sustain, economically, the 16-inch cutting cap

Analysis Concerning the Disaster of the Forest: A Theoretical and Practical Approach: Working Paper Series--04-09

The explosion of serious forest fires in the Rocky Mountain West in recent years has opened the public eye to the unhealthy condition of forests. The extended drought has combined with dense forest conditions to make many residents of rural Arizona quite fearful of the possibility of additional fires. The public interest has even resulted in federal policy changes known as the Healthy Forests Initiative, which has, of course, stimulated increased public discussion. In order to find solutions to the problem, as based on Norgaard, Smith and Jacobs, society must create new ways of organizing and doing. This article explores possible market-based solutions as the one of the available practical remediation processes. Utilizing the forest restoration and engineering literature, we believe that a new forest-based industry founded on the concepts of science-based forest management and ecological sustainability is the logical solution in a market-based economy

ExCEEd II: Advanced training for even better teaching

In 2007, the American Society of Civil Engineering’s Committee on Faculty Development (CFD) conducted a longitudinal survey of all the past participants of the ExCEEd Teaching Workshop (ETW). The CFD received 173 responses, representing 40% of the ETW population at that time, to its survey about skills and the long term value of ETW. Important to this paper, 73% of the survey respondents said that they were interested in attending a post, advanced ETW. Motivated by these survey results, the CFD began its planning for a pilot ExCEEd II workshop during the 2008-2009 academic year. In the summer of 2009, ASCE offered its first ExCEEd II workshop for past ETW participants. This paper describes the day and a half ExCEEd II workshop along with a summary of results captured from two structured evaluations. All activities, except two, received average scores for value and conduct of 4.0 or better on a 1.0 to 5.0 scale. The participant teaching experience followed by the demonstration class taught by a master teacher were rated the highest in terms of their value to the participants. For some participants, the hands-on teaching experience coupled with the constructive and supportive feedback environment were cited as the main reasons for attending ExCEEd II. The program’s cost was deemed reasonable and appropriate to the length, value, and conduct of the workshop. The participants recommended increasing the length of the workshop to two days; incorporating two participant teaching sessions; providing more information or time to the topics of brain functions, problem based learning, ETW review, and short in-class demonstrations or models; and adding content on evaluating student learning and integrating new teaching technologies

Pregnancy and Childbirth Expectations During COVID-19 in a Convenience Sample of Women in the United States

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the health care landscape and shifted individuals’ expectations for and interactions with essential health services, including pregnancy-related care. This study explores alterations to individuals’ pregnancy and childbirth decisions during an infectious disease pandemic. A convenience sample of 380 pregnant individuals with an expected delivery date between April and December 2020 consented to enroll and complete an online questionnaire on their pregnancy and childbirth expectations during the COVID-19 pandemic; a subset of respondents (n = 18) participated in semi-structured phone interviews. Survey data were analyzed quantitatively while interview data were analyzed using a thematic content analysis until a consensus on key themes was achieved. Respondents reported substantial stressors related to shifting policies of health care facilities and rapidly changing information about COVID-19 disease risks. As a result, respondents considered modifying their prenatal and childbirth plans, including the location of their birth (25%), health care provider (19%), and delivery mode (13%). These findings illuminate the concerns and choices pregnant individuals face during the COVID-19 pandemic and offer recommendations to engage in compassionate, supportive, and person-centered care during a time of unprecedented risk and uncertainty

ExCEEd teaching workshop: Tenth year anniversary

In response to the need for faculty training, the American Society of Civil Engineers developed and funded the ExCEEd (Excellence in Civil Engineering Education) Teaching Workshop that is today – the summer of 2008 – celebrating its tenth year of existence. For the past decade, nineteen ExCEEd Teaching Workshops (ETW) have been held at the United States Military Academy, the University of Arkansas, and Northern Arizona University, with two more workshops scheduled for this summer for a total of 21 offerings. ETW has realized 449 graduates from 203 different U.S. and international colleges and universities. This paper summarizes the content of ETW, assesses its effectiveness, highlights changes in the program as a result of the assessment, and outlines future directions. The assessment data were obtained from multiple survey instruments conducted during each workshop, surveys taken six months to a year after the workshop, and a ten year longitudinal survey

A Turbulent Origin for Flocculent Spiral Structure in Galaxies

The flocculent structure of star formation in 7 galaxies has a Fourier transform power spectrum for azimuthal intensity scans with a power law slope that increases systematically from -1 at large scales to -1.7 at small scales. This is the same pattern as in the power spectra for azimuthal scans of HI emission in the Large Magellanic Clouds and for flocculent dust clouds in galactic nuclei. The steep part also corresponds to the slope of -3 for two-dimensional power spectra that have been observed in atomic and molecular gas surveys of the Milky Way and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. The same power law structure for star formation arises in both flocculent and grand design galaxies, which implies that the star formation process is the same in each. Fractal Brownian motion models that include discrete stars and an underlying continuum of starlight match the observations if all of the emission is organized into a global fractal pattern with an intrinsic 1D power spectrum having a slope between 1.3 and 1.8. We suggest that the power spectrum of optical light in galaxies is the result of turbulence, and that large-scale turbulent motions are generated by sheared gravitational instabilities which make flocculent spiral arms first and then cascade to form clouds and clusters on smaller scales.Comment: accepted for ApJ, 31 pg, 9 figure

Evaluation of Power Production Asymmetry during Cycling in Persons with Multiple Sclerosis

Lower limb asymmetries have been observed in persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), and have been associated with mobility impairment. An incremental cycling test was performed on a cycle ergometer to determine peak power output (PPO) and peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak). Then, participants cycled at 50%, 60%, and 70% of their PPO to assess the contribution of each lower limb to power production. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to detect group × intensity differences in power production asymmetry. Eight PwMS and six healthy individuals (Non-MS) completed the study. No statistically significant (p > 0.05) group × intensity interactions or main effects were present when examining between-limb differences in power production. The current data do not indicate a statistically significant difference in power production asymmetry between groups and exercise intensities. Previous research has established a 10% difference between contralateral limbs as a threshold for asymmetry. The average asymmetry in power production in PwMS exceeded the 10% threshold at all measured outputs, suggesting the presence of asymmetry in power production.Ye

Fractal Structure in Galactic Star Fields

The fractal structure of star formation on large scales in disk galaxies is studied using the size distribution function of stellar aggregates in kpc-scale star fields. Achival HST images of 10 galaxies are Gaussian smoothed to define the aggregates, and a count of these aggregates versus smoothing scale gives the fractal dimension. Fractal and Poisson models confirm the procedure. The fractal dimension of star formation in all of the galaxies is ~2.3. This is the same as the fractal dimension of interstellar gas in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, suggesting that star formation is a passive tracer of gas structure defined by self-gravity and turbulence. Dense clusters like the Pleiades form at the bottom of the hierarchy of structures, where the protostellar gas is densest. If most stars form in such clusters, then the fractal arises from the spatial distribution of their positions, giving dispersed star fields from continuous cluster disruption. Dense clusters should have an upper mass limit that increases with pressure, from ~1000 Msun in regions like the Solar neighborhood to one million Msun in starbursts.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Astronomical Journal, Vol 121, March 200

Characterizing primary care for patients with major depressive disorder using electronic health records of a US-based healthcare provider

Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is predominantly managed in primary care. However, primary care providers (PCPs) may not consistently follow evidence-based treatment algorithms, leading to variable patient management that can impact outcomes. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed adult patients with MDD seen at Geisinger, an integrated health system. Utilizing electronic health record (EHR) data, we classified patients as having MDD based on International Classification of Disease (ICD)-9/10 codes or a Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 score ≥5. Outcomes assessed included time to first visit with a PCP or behavioral health specialist following diagnosis, antidepressant medication switching, persistence, healthcare resource utilization (HRU), and treatment costs. Results: Among the 38,321 patients with MDD managed in primary care in this study, significant delays between diagnosis with antidepressant prescribing and follow-up PCP visits were observed. There was also considerable variation in care following diagnosis. Overall, 34.9% of patients with an ICD-9/10 diagnosis of MDD and 41.3% with a PHQ-9 score ≥15 switched antidepressants. An ICD-9/10 diagnosis, but not moderately severe to severe depression, was associated with higher costs and HRU. More than 75% of patients with MDD discontinued antidepressant medication within 6 months. Limitations: The study population was comparable with other real-world studies of MDD, but study limitations include its retrospective nature and reliance on the accuracy of EHRs. Conclusions: Management of patients with MDD in a primary care setting is variable. Addressing these gaps will have important implications for ensuring optimal patient management, which may reduce HRU and treatment medication costs, and improve treatment persistence

The history of Coast Salish “woolly dogs” revealed by ancient genomics and Indigenous Knowledge

Ancestral Coast Salish societies in the Pacific Northwest kept long-haired "woolly dogs" that were bred and cared for over millennia. However, the dog wool-weaving tradition declined during the 19th century, and the population was lost. In this study, we analyzed genomic and isotopic data from a preserved woolly dog pelt from "Mutton," collected in 1859. Mutton is the only known example of an Indigenous North American dog with dominant precolonial ancestry postdating the onset of settler colonialism. We identified candidate genetic variants potentially linked with their distinct woolly phenotype. We integrated these data with interviews from Coast Salish Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and weavers about shared traditional knowledge and memories surrounding woolly dogs, their importance within Coast Salish societies, and how colonial policies led directly to their disappearance