SOME IMPORTANT PUBLIC SCHOOL PROBLEMS

Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

TEACHING AND WORKING WITH POLICY LEADERS

Agricultural and Food Policy,

TAXES AND THE FEDERAL BUDGET: PROBLEMS AND ALTERNATIVES

Public Economics,

Air Pollution in the Valparaiso Area

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) and particulate matter (PM) have been serious air pollution concerns around the world, particularly where industries and high volume traffic is present. These pollutants have been shown to have a negative effect on most living organisms, which is why they are regulated in many countries. To determine the air quality in the Valparaiso area, an experimental plan was conducted to determine the amount and type of these pollutants in the air. One of the project goals was to measure and compare indoor vs outdoor pollution. Another was to observe and assess weather effects on outdoor air pollution. Various locations around Valparaiso University campus and in the surrounding geographical area were chosen to analyze VOCs and PM. VOC testing was conducted using a solid phase microextraction fiber (SPME) to passively collect air pollutants. For PM, a MIE pDR-1500 active personal particulate monitor was used to actively draw in air and measure the concentration of particulate matter. A filter paper was used in the personal particulate monitor to collect the actual particulates. The instrument was run with both no filter, to determine total PM, and an adapter to select for PM 2.5 microns or lower. The SPME fibers were analyzed using a gas chromatographer - mass spectrometer (GCMS) to help determine the volatile or semi-volatile compounds present in the air. The collected data shows many differences between indoor and outdoor air

Kaon and Antikaon Production in Heavy Ion Collisions at 1.5 AGeV

At the Kaon Spectrometer KaoS at SIS, GSI the production of kaons and antikaons in heavy ion reactions at a beam energy of 1.5 AGeV has been measured for the collision systems Ni+Ni and Au+Au. The K-/K+ ratio is found to be constant for both systems and as a function of impact parameter but the slopes of K+ and K- spectra differ for all impact parameters. Furthermore the respective polar angle distributions will be presented as a function of centrality.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, SQM2001 in Frankfurt, Sept.2001, submitted to Journal of Physics

K+ and K- production in heavy-ion collisions at SIS-energies

The production and the propagation of K+ and of K- mesons in heavy-ion collisions at beam energies of 1 to 2 AGeV have systematically been investigated with the Kaon Spectrometer KaoS at the SIS at the GSI. The ratio of the K+ production excitation function for Au+Au and for C+C reactions increases with decreasing beam energy, which is expected for a soft nuclear equation-of-state. At 1.5 AGeV a comprehensive study of the K+ and of the K- emission as a function of the size of the collision system, of the collision centrality, of the kaon energy, and of the polar emission angle has been performed. The K-/K+ ratio is found to be nearly constant as a function of the collision centrality. The spectral slopes and the polar emission patterns are different for K- and for K+. These observations indicate that K+ mesons decouple earlier from the reaction zone than K- mesons.Comment: invited talk given at the SQM2003 conference in Atlantic Beach, USA (March 2003), to be published in Journal of Physics G, 10pages, 7 figure

Pleosporales

One hundred and five generic types of Pleosporales are described and illustrated. A brief introduction and detailed history with short notes on morphology, molecular phylogeny as well as a general conclusion of each genus are provided. For those genera where the type or a representative specimen is unavailable, a brief note is given. Altogether 174 genera of Pleosporales are treated. Phaeotrichaceae as well as Kriegeriella, Zeuctomorpha and Muroia are excluded from Pleosporales. Based on the multigene phylogenetic analysis, the suborder Massarineae is emended to accommodate five families, viz. Lentitheciaceae, Massarinaceae, Montagnulaceae, Morosphaeriaceae and Trematosphaeriaceae