Applying Optimization to the Conservation Project Selection Process: A Case Study of Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative

This study presents a thorough discussion of the efficiency and effectiveness improvement from optimization models (Binary Linear Programming and Goal Programming), as applied to the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative. The OM models can yield 21% and 19.1% higher benefit scores respectively, spending $13,013,473 and$31,463,473 less total acquisition costs. To achieve the same level of conservation benefits for the current rank based approach, the REPI would spend additional $20.1 million and approximate 50% of the budget. A counterpart of OM- the cost-effective analysis is observed to be inefficient when the problem becomes complex. In a real world of political environment of the conservation programs, we suggest a hybrid method of current rank based approach and the OM as well as the GP to address incompatible goals of interests groups.Environmental Economics and Policy, C6, Q24,

Sediment-Phosphorus Relationships in Deer Creek Reservoir

Summary and Conclusions: Laboratory analyses of sediment samples recovered from Deer Creek Reservoir showed the sediments to have amoderate potential for serving as a source of phosphorus (P) for the overlying water solumn under anaerobic conditions. This source could account for the occurrence or exacerbation of blue-green algal blooms in the upper end of the reservoir when the sediment surface becomes anaerobic late in the summer. It could also delay the response of the reservoir to programs that decrease external P loading, if the upper end of the reservoir still has large enough algal blooms to render the sediment-water interface anaerobic. The redox cycle of Fe is closely associated with P release in the reservoir sediments, and aerobic P release rates are probably insignificant in the phosphorus budget of the reservoir. Sediment profiles indicate that the tropich state of the lake has probably not changed significantly since the reservoir was first filled. The profiles do indicate, however, that much of the P input to the lake may be in the relatively unreactive apatite-P traction, and attempts at reducing P loading from external sources should take into account the degree of availability of the P thus removed

Risikomanagement bei Antipsychotika – Klinische Versorgungsrealität

Angesichts der anhaltenden Kontroverse über Nutzen und Risiken in der Behandlung mit Antipsychotika erscheint es zweckmäßig, auch Daten aus der klinischen Routineversorgung zu berücksichtigen. Die Mortalität stationär-psychiatrischer Patienten ohne Suizid betrifft überwiegend Patienten über 60 Jahre mit der Diagnose einer Demenz. Trotz methodischer Einschränkungen gibt es Hinweise für einen Rückgang von unerwünschten Arzneimittelwirkungen, wobei nach wie vor extrapyramidalmotorische Störungen (Akathisie, Frühdyskinesien, Parkinsonoid), Gewichtszunahme, Unruhe/Erregung, sexuelle Funktionsstörungen und Leberwerterhöhungen auch in der klinischen Routine am häufigsten erfasst werden. Die Kenntnis der Antipsychotika assoziierten Nebenwirkungen, Anwendungsbeschränkungen und Kontraindikationen sowie eine gute Dokumentation sind für ein erfolgreiches Risikomanagement erforderlich.&nbsp

Evaluation of selected watershed characteristics to identify best management practices to reduce Nebraskan nitrate loads from Nebraska to the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River basin

Nebraskan streams contribute excess nitrogen to the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin and Gulf of Mexico, which results in major water-quality impairments. Reducing the amount of nitrogen (N) exported in these streams requires the use of best management practices (BMPs) within the landscape. However, proper BMP utilization has rarely been statistically connected to potential controls of N export within watersheds, particularly precipitation and soil characteristics. In this study, 19 watershed variables were evaluated in five categories (hydrological, physiographic, point sources, land use, and soil properties) to determine the characteristics that influenced variable nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) concentrations in 17 Nebraska watersheds with known high NO3-N export rates. Each characteristic was derived from publicly-available datasets in an effort to develop a multiregional method. Of the 19 variables evaluated, 10 variables (developed, cropland, herbaceous, forest, excessively- drained soils, precipitation, base-flow index, slope, organic matter and point sources) were identified to statistically influence stream NO3-N concentrations. The 17 watersheds were divided into five subset groups using principal component analysis. Distributions of the 10 watershed variables were then used to determine the most applicable BMPs for NO3-N reductions for each stream subset: excessively drained with high baseflow index (Groups 1 and 2), dominantly row crop land usage with well-drained soils, higher precipitation, and an increased tendency for surface runoff concerns (Group 3), highly developed watersheds (Group 4), and single river dominated by wastewater treatment plant discharge (Group 5). Based on the most influential variables a variety of BMPs were recommended, including N fertilizer application management and accounting for N credit from mineralization and NO3-N in irrigation water (Groups 1 and 2), installation of riparian buffers and wetlands (Group 3), urban BMPs such as bioretention cells and permeable pavement (Group 4), and upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant (Group 5). This study provides an improved technique for facilitating watershed management by linking BMPs directly to the characteristics of each watershed to reduce current nitrate export