Water resource records of the Econfina Creek Basin area, Florida

The Econfina Creek basin area in northwestern Florida, which includes Bay County, southeastern Washiigton County, and parts of Calhoun, Gulf, and Jackson counties is shown in figure 1. The basin has an abundant supply of ground water and surface water of good quality. This determination is based on a three-year investigation of the water resources of the basin by the U. S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Division of Geology, Florida Board of Conservation, during the period from October 1961 through June 1964. The purpose of this report is to assemble the basic data collected during this investigation for those persons interested in water development or management in this basin. (Document has 131 pages.

Imidazolium Magnetic Ionic Liquid Solubilities in Water

Magnetic ionic liquids (MILs) are room temperature ionic liquids that exhibit paramagnetic behavior. These liquids have tunable physiochemical properties with proposed applications in separations and drug delivery. It is, therefore, useful to know the solubility and micellar behavior of MILs in aqueous environments. Our group synthesized MILs with a FeCl4 anion and 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium cations and investigated aqueous solubility vs alkyl size (C2 through C10). We measured water solubility (MIL content in water saturated with the MIL) using UV-Vis spectroscopy, total organic carbon (TOC) analysis, and Total Nitrogen (TN) analysis. After observing micellar behavior for C(n)mim[FeCl4], where n > 6, we investigated the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of these MILs. Finally, we used Linear Free Energy Relationship (LFER) semi-empirical models to correlate the MIL water solubility to the MIL’s molecular volume. In the future, this LFER can predict the solubility of a MIL in water before the MIL is synthesized

Spectral reflectance measurements of a virus host model

A technique has been developed to detect the characteristic spectral signatures of healthy and infected St. Augustine grass. It is possible to predict the coverage of the infected area provided ground truth coverage shows positive St. Augustine grass turf. Qualitative measurements from photographs of plants in the blue and red regions with polarization show that light reflected from healthy plants is more strongly polarized than that from diseased plants. Photographs taken through the blue Wratten 47 filter in conjuction with a polarizer show an excellent differentiation. A large photographic difference also appears in the red region. Much smaller differences were noted in the 540 to 550 nm region. Although the intensity in the near-IR region is much higher than the visible region of the spectrum, differences in the healthy and diseased plants' reflectance were quite small

Participatory Interactive Campaign Developed to Raise Awareness About Poverty in Our Community

Our goal with this research is to use our creative talents to spark change in the way society views and reacts to those living in poverty within our community. A recent study done by the Bush School of Government and Public Services found “slightly more than 28 percent of the population lives at or below the federal poverty line. This includes 26.3 percent of those less than the age of 18, 10.6 percent of those more than age 65, and 15.9 percent of families in Brazos County.” This is an issue that is very close to home, yet so easily overlooked. We began by researching organizations in the area that are currently working to resolve this issue. Our plan is to share what we have learned with the public through interactive posters aimed to open eyes and encourage others to get involved. We also plan on creating a complimentary print and social media campaign to have our message reach a broader audience, especially students at Texas A&M University. Through both the interactive posters and the social media campaign we hope to share the genuine truth about poverty in a way that will leave an impact on our community. Our end goal is to inform people on the reality of poverty in our community, encourage them to take steps to get involved and help solve this issue, and see those living in poverty as people who are not so different than ourselves: people with purpose and dignity

Mycorrhizal Stimulation of Leaf Gas Exchange in Relation to Root Colonization, Shoot Size, Leaf Phosphorus and Nitrogen: A Quantitative Analysis of the Literature Using Meta-Regression

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis often stimulates gas exchange rates of the host plant. This may relate to mycorrhizal effects on host nutrition and growth rate, or the influence may occur independently of these. Using meta-regression, we tested the strength of the relationship between AM-induced increases in gas exchange, and AM size and leaf mineral effects across the literature. With only a few exceptions, AM stimulation of carbon exchange rate (CER), stomatal conductance (gs) and transpiration rate (E) has been significantly associated with mycorrhizal stimulation of shoot dry weight, leaf phosphorus, leaf nitrogen: phosphorus ratio and percent root colonization. The sizeable mycorrhizal stimulation of CER, by 49% over all studies, has been about twice as large as the mycorrhizal stimulation of gs and E (28% and 26%, respectively). Carbon exchange rate has been over twice as sensitive as gs and four times as sensitive as E to mycorrhizal colonization rates. The AM-induced stimulation of CER increased by 19% with each AM-induced doubling of shoot size; the AM effect was about half as large for gs and E. The ratio of leaf N to leaf P has been more closely associated with mycorrhizal influence on leaf gas exchange than leaf P alone. The mycorrhizal influence on CER has declined markedly over the 35 years of published investigations

Pharmacoeconomic analysis of prostaglandin and prostamide therapy for patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension

BACKGROUND: To determine monthly cost and cost effectiveness of bilateral prostaglandin/prostamide therapy for lowering intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients taking bimatoprost 0.03% (Lumigan(®), Allergan, Inc.), latanoprost 0.005% (Xalatan(®), Pfizer, Inc.), or travoprost 0.004% (Travatan(®), Alcon Laboratories, Inc.). METHODS: Drops in five new 2.5-mL bottles were counted and then averaged for each drug. Average retail price was determined by surveys of pharmacies. Drop count, average retail price, average wholesale price, and IOP reduction data were used to compute annual cost, and cost effectiveness (annual cost-per-mm Hg of IOP reduction) of the three drugs. RESULTS: Drops per 2.5-mL bottle averaged 113 for bimatoprost 0.03%, 84 for latanoprost 0.005%, and 83 for travoprost 0.004%. Average retail cost (2005) per bottle was $69.99 for bimatoprost 0.03$61.69 for latanoprost 0.005%, and $66.37 for travoprost 0.004$37.92 for bimatoprost 0.03%, $44.75 for latanoprost 0.005$49.25 for travoprost 0.004%. Cost effectiveness ranges were $57 to$65 per mm Hg reduction in IOP per year for bimatoprost, 0.03%, $67 to$90 per mm Hg for latanoprost 0.005%, and $74 to$84 per mm Hg for travoprost 0.004%. CONCLUSION: Bimatoprost 0.03% had the lowest monthly and annual costs and the greatest cost effectiveness for lowering IOP compared with latanoprost 0.005% and travoprost 0.004%

Three examples of applied remote sensing of vegetation

Cause studies in which remote sensing techniques were adapted to assist in the solution of particular problem situations in Texas involving vegetation are described. In each case, the final sensing technique developed for operational use by the concerned organizations employed photographic sensors which were optimized through studies of the spectral reflectance characteristics of the vegetation species and background conditions unique to the problem being considered. The three examples described are: (1) Assisting Aquatic Plant Monitoring and Control; (2) Improving Vegetation Utilization in Urban Planning; and (3) Enforcing the Quarantine of Diseased Crops

Membrance interface evaluations for underwater mass spectrometers.

A component that has enabled the development of underwater mass spectrometry is a mechanically supported membrane interface probe. Our two research groups have used metallic porous frits that support polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) membranes embedded in a heated membrane probe assembly, allowing the deployment of the underwater membrane introduction mass spectrometer (MIMS) instruments to ocean depths of 2000 meters. The fabrication of such frits has consisted of shaping larger Hastalloy C porous frits to the size required to support a PDMS capillary of 0.64 mm ID and 1.19 mm OD using a diamond‐coated wheel and Dremel tool. This procedure is time‐consuming and cumbersome, and the porosity of the final frits is likely not reproducible. To facilitate the fabrication of the membrane assembly, we report on the use of new porous metallic structures. Frits with diameters of approximately 3.0 mm (1/8”) and known porosities (48.3 % and 32.5%) were produced by the Fraunhofer Institute in Dresden, Germany, using powder metallurgical processes. We used these frits to fabricate new membrane interface assemblies. Using a new custom‐heated membrane probe with the new porous frits, we performed calibrations relating dissolved methane concentrations to mass spectrometer response (m/z 15) using linear least‐squares fitting procedures. Both the limit of detection (methane concentration in the tens of nanomolars) and the sensitivity (on the order of 10‐1 pico‐amps/nanomole of methane) were found to be comparable with those obtained with the previously fabricated Hastelloy C frits. The calibration parameters for the new assembly were also found to be a function of the flow rate, temperature, and sample hydrostatic pressure

Seed production of barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli) in response to time of emergence in cotton and rice

The spread of herbicide resistance in barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv.) poses a serious threat to crop production in the southern United States. A thorough knowledge of the biology of barnyardgrass is fundamental for designing effective resistance-management programmes. In the present study, seed production of barnyardgrass in response to time of emergence was investigated in cotton and rice, respectively, in Fayetteville and Rohwer, Arkansas, over a 2-year period (2008–09). Barnyardgrass seed production was greater when seedlings emerged with the crop, but some seed production was observed even if seedlings emerged several weeks after crop emergence. Moreover, barnyardgrass seed production was highly variable across environments. When emerging with the crop (0 weeks after crop emergence (WAE)), barnyardgrass produced c. 35 500 and 16 500 seeds/plant in cotton, and c. 39 000 and 2900 seeds/plant in rice, in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Seed production was observed when seedlings emerged up to 5 WAE (2008) or 7 WAE (2009) in cotton and up to 5 WAE (2008, 2009) in rice; corresponding seed production was c. 2500 and 1500 seeds/plant in cotton, and c. 14 700 and 110 seeds/plant in rice, in 2008 and 2009, respectively. The results suggest that cultural approaches that delay the emergence of barnyardgrass or approaches that make the associated crop more competitive will be useful in integrated management programmes. In the context of herbicide resistance management, it may be valuable to prevent seed return to the seedbank, irrespective of cohorts. The findings are vital for parameterizing herbicide resistance simulation models for barnyardgrass

Without Good Cause : The Case for a Standard-Based Approach to Determining Worker Qualification for Unemployment Benefits

Under Washington’s Employment Security Act, workers who voluntarily quit their jobs are qualified to receive unemployment benefits only if they establish “good cause” for leaving work. For forty years, the agency that administers the statute and the courts had substantial discretion to find good cause under the statute’s flexible, standard-based approach. However, beginning in 1977, the legislature began to restrict the scope of that discretion by moving toward a rule-based approach. This trend reached its apex in 2009, when the legislature stripped the agency and the courts of all discretion and limited good cause to eleven reasons enumerated in the statute. This Comment argues that Washington should restore administrative and judicial discretion and return to a standard-based approach to determining whether claimants have good cause for voluntarily leaving work. First, a standard is more theoretically sound than a rule because workers’ reasons for leaving work vary significantly and because the usual rationales for rules do not justify their use in the voluntary quit statute. Second, the rule disqualifies claimants who leave work for reasons consistent with the purpose of the Act. Finally, a standard is necessary to advance the purpose of the Act and of unemployment compensation generally