Suitability of terrestrial laser scanning for studying surface roughness effects on concentrated flow erosion processes in rangelands

Surface roughness is thought to affect concentrated flow erosion – a major mechanism of soil loss on disturbed rangelands. However, quantifying surface roughness in the field at appropriately fine spatial scales is laborious and the scale at which to conduct meaningful roughness measurements is difficult to discern. Rapid, objective, and repeatable field methods are therefore needed to accurately measure surface roughness across a range of spatial scales to advance our understanding and modeling of concentrated flow erosion processes. Surface roughness can be derived from surface topography mapped at the sub-cm level using a field-portable terrestrial laser scanner (TLS). To test the suitability of terrestrial laser scanning for studying surface roughness effects on erosion processes in rangelands, we used concentrated flow simulation techniques at 8.5 m² plots that were randomly placed at rangeland sites in southeastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho, USA. Local surface roughness (locRMSH) was calculated as the standard deviation of TLS mapped surface heights within moving windows varying in size from 30 × 30 to 90 × 90 mm. The mean locRMSH of the eroded area and entire plot were negatively correlated (r² > 0.71, RMSE < 95.97 g min^− 1, and r² > 0.74, RMSE < 90.07 g min^− 1, respectively) with concentrated flow erosion. The strength of the locRMSH–erosion relationship and regression model parameters were affected by the moving window size, emphasizing the scale dependence of the locRMSH–erosion relationship. Adjusting locRMSH for slope effects decreased the strength of the locRMSH–erosion relationship from r² < 0.83 to < 0.26. Our results indicate that TLS is a useful tool to enhance our current understanding of the effect of surface roughness on overland flow erosion processes and advance hydrologic and erosion model parameter development. Further research is needed to evaluate the locRMSH – concentrated flow erosion relationship over a wider range of soil properties, surface conditions, and spatial extents.     

Analysis of cinnamaldehyde and diallyl disulfide as eco-pesticides in soils of different textures—a laboratory-scale mobility study

Journal of Soils and Sediments - This work presents for the first time the development of a method for the analysis of cinnamaldehyde and diallyl disulfide in soil by ultrasound assisted extraction...     

Trace elements in vegetation downwind of a coal-fired power plant

Concentrations of As, B, Br, Co, Cu, F, Ga, Li, Mo, Ni, Sr, V, and Zn were measured in samples of four different kinds of plant at distances of 8, 12, 16, 24, 40, 70, and 120 km downwind of a large coalfired power plant in New Mexico. Concentrations of B, Br, Co, Li, and Sr decreased with distance from the power plant in grasses, but not in shrubs. Fluorine concentrations decreased in stems of a shrub. These decreases, taken with concentration enrichment and solubility considerations, provide circumstantial evidence that at least B and F trends may be due to power plant stack emissions.     

A phylogenomic study of birds reveals their evolutionary history

Deep avian evolutionary relationships have been difficult to resolve as a result of a putative explosive radiation. Our study examined approximately 32 kilobases of aligned nuclear DNA sequences from 19 independent loci for 169 species, representing all major extant groups, and recovered a robust phylogeny from a genome-wide signal supported by multiple analytical methods. We documented well-supported, previously unrecognized interordinal relationships (such as a sister relationship between passerines and parrots) and corroborated previously contentious groupings (such as flamingos and grebes). Our conclusions challenge current classifications and alter our understanding of trait evolution; for example, some diurnal birds evolved from nocturnal ancestors. Our results provide a valuable resource for phylogenetic and comparative studies in birds.     

Association of holidays, full moon, Friday the 13th, day of week, time of day, day of week, and time of year on case distribution in an urban referral small animal emergency clinic

Objective – To interrogate the association of variables: day of week, time of day, day of the year (major holidays, Friday the 13th, and the full moon), and month of year with the caseload of an urban academic emergency service.
Design – Retrospective study.
Setting – Urban small animal teaching hospital emergency clinic.
Animals – Cats and dogs that were presented to the emergency clinic.
Interventions – None.
Measurements and Main Results – The hospital computer database was searched for all visits to the Emergency Service of the Mathew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania from January 1, 1987 through December 31, 2002. Variables included in the electronic data were date of admission, time of day of admission, species (dog or cat), hospital service the case was transferred to for ongoing care and whether the case was discharged directly from the emergency service. The association of caseload with day of week, time of day, day of the year (major holidays, Friday the 13th, and the full moon), and month of year was described and statistically evaluated. Saturdays and Sundays were the busiest days of the week and significantly increased caseload was noted for the majority of holidays (except Easter Day and Thanksgiving Day) with Memorial Day being the busiest. Midweek evenings as well as Saturday and Sunday afternoons were the busiest periods of the day. There was no association with caseload and Halloween, the full moon, or Friday the 13th.
Conclusions – The busiest times were midweek evenings, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and most major holidays.     

Timber investment returns for selected plantations and native forests in South America and the Southern United States

Timber investment returns were estimated for the principal exotic and selected native species in the Southern Cone of Latin America and in the Southern United States. Exotic eucalyptus plantations in South America were most profitable, with internal rates of returns (IRRs) ranging from 13% to 23%, followed by exotic loblolly pine, with IRRs from 9% to 17%. Average loblolly pine plantation returns in the US South were less profitable, with an IRR of about 9.5%, and natural forest management in the South had IRRs of 4% to 8%. Subtropical native species plantations of the best araucaria and nothofagus species had reasonable financial returns, with IRRs ranging from 5% to 13%. Subtropical or tropical native forests had fewer commercial timber species, and had much lower growth rates and returns. Their IRRs were less than 4%, or even negative for unmanaged stands. State subsidy payments for forest plantations or for timber stand improvements increased IRRs somewhat and reserving areas for environmental protection reduced their IRRs slightly. Including land costs in the cash flows decreased these internal rates of return substantially. Natural stand returns in Latin America were much less than those of plantations, but management of those stands offered better rates of return than only holding the land.     

Spin crossover in ferropericlase at high pressure: a seismologically transparent transition?

Seismic discontinuities in Earth typically arise from structural, chemical, or temperature variations with increasing depth. The pressure-induced iron spin state transition in the lower mantle may influence seismic wave velocities by changing the elasticity of iron-bearing minerals, but no seismological evidence of an anomaly exists. Inelastic x-ray scattering measurements on (Mg(0.83)Fe(0.17))O-ferropericlase at pressures across the spin transition show effects limited to the only shear moduli of the elastic tensor. This explains the absence of deviation in the aggregate seismic velocities and, thus, the lack of a one-dimensional seismic signature of the spin crossover. The spin state transition does, however, influence shear anisotropy of ferropericlase and should contribute to the seismic shear wave anisotropy of the lower mantle.     

Public health and policy

Antimicrobial agent usage data are essential for focusing efforts to reduce misuse and overuse of antimicrobial agents in food producing animals because these practices may select for resistance in bacteria of animals. Transfer of resistant bacteria from animals to humans can lead to human infection caused by resistant pathogens. Resistant infections can lead to treatment failures, resulting in prolonged or more severe illness. Multiple World Health Organization (WHO) reports have concluded that both antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial usage should be monitored on the national level. The system for collecting antimicrobial usage data should be clear and transparent to facilitate trend analysis and comparison within and among countries. Therapeutic, prophylactic and growth promotion use should be recorded, along with route of administration and animal species and/or production class treated. The usage data should be compared to resistance data, and the comparison should be made available in a timely manner. In the United States, surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in foodborne bacteria is performed by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) for enteric bacteria, however, the United States still lacks a mechanism for collecting antimicrobial usage data. Combined with antimicrobial resistance information from NARMS, antimicrobial usage data will help to direct education efforts and policy decisions, minimizing the risk that people will develop antimicrobial resistant infections as a result of eating food of animal origin. Ultimately mitigation strategies guided by usage data will be more effective in maintaining antimicrobial drugs for appropriate veterinary use and in protecting human health.     

Influences of Thinning,Chipping, and Fire on Understory Vegetation in a Sierran Mixed Conifer Stand

Thinning implemented with a cut-to-length harvesting system coupled with on-site slash chipping and redistribution and followed by prescribed underburning were assessed for their impacts on a shrub understory in an uneven-aged Sierra Nevada mixed conifer stand. Overstory species consisted of California white fir (Abies concolor var. lowiana [Gord.] Lemm.), Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.), sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana Dougl.), incense-cedar (Libocedrus decurrens Torr.), and red fir (Abies magnifica A. Murr.), while huckleberry oak (Quercus vacciniifolia Kellogg) was predominant among 10 understory shrubs. Herbaceous species were entirely absent from the site for the 4-yr duration of the study. The mechanized treatments exerted minimal detriment effects on overall understory cover and weight, and for prostrate ceanothus (Ceanothus prostratus Benth.) and creeping snowberry (Symphoricarpos mollis Nutt.)—two of the lesser shrubs—were stimulatory. In contrast, losses to the total understory from the underburn amounted to two-thirds of cover and weight in the absence of the mechanized treatments and more than three-quarters where they had been implemented, with huckleberry oak prevalence especially diminished. For almost all of the understory species individually as well as for the total, greater pretreatment abundance predisposed greater posttreatment prevalence. Results of this study provide insight into the understory impacts of restoration treatments that are deemed especially appropriate for sensitive sites in western U.S. forests.