Montana University System

Abstract The generally accepted 2% ratio of transmitter weight to body weight constrains or precludes telemetry studies examining the timing and location of spawning of small adult westslope cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi in headwater streams. We empirically determined effects of surgically implanted dummy transmitters ranging in weight from 1 to 5 g on the swimming stamina and growth of small (81.3–206.9 g) adult westslope cutthroat trout in the laboratory to establish acceptable transmitter weights for field studies on this species. Mean growth rates and swimming stamina were not significantly different among treatments, including controls. No precipitous decline or threshold beyond which performance deteriorated markedly was observed. Data collected using telemetered westslope cutthroat trout implanted with transmitters less than about 4% of body weight should therefore approximate information about untelemetered individuals without significant bias. However, we also detected subtle effects on growth within this transmitter weight range related to individual transmitter–body weight ratios (0.5–5.3% initially), and there were indications that swimming stamina was affected similarly. Each 1% increase in transmitter– body weight ratio elicited an 11.6% decrease in growth and a possible 5.6% decrease in swimming stamina at 6 weeks postimplantation. Therefore, transmitter selection should weigh the costs of increased transmitter weight on fish performance against the benefits of longer transmission durations. In the case in which transmitter weights approaching 4% of body weight are necessary to complete a study and slight decreases in performance are not expected to affect findings materially, such weights may be acceptable. In other cases, researchers should choose the lightest possible transmitters that allow study goals to be achieved and not automatically select transmitters weighing 4% of body weight.

In the study of bacterial community composition, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing is today among the preferred methods of analysis. The cost of nucleotide sequence analysis, including requisite computational and bioinformatic steps, however, takes up a large part of many research budgets. High-resolution melt (HRM) analysis is the study of the melt behavior of specific PCR products. Here we describe a novel high-throughput approach in which we used HRM analysis targeting the 16S rRNA gene to rapidly screen multiple complex samples for differences in bacterial community composition. We hypothesized that HRM analysis of amplified 16S rRNA genes from a soil ecosystem could be used as a screening tool to identify changes in bacterial community structure. This hypothesis was tested using a soil microcosm setup exposed to a total of six treatments representing different combinations of pesticide and fertilization treatments. The HRM analysis identified a shift in the bacterial community composition in two of the treatments, both including the soil fumigant Basamid GR. These results were confirmed with both denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis and 454-based 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. HRM analysis was shown to be a fast, high-throughput technique that can serve as an effective alternative to gel-based screening methods to monitor microbial community composition.

The vast majority (82 %) of the earth’s cultivated area is not irrigated, and half is in semi-arid regions where water tends to limit crop growth. In dryland semi-arid agroecosystems, any precipitation not transpired indicates crop yield that is below potential. Precipitation that is partitioned to deep percolation can transport nitrate out of the root zone, reducing nitrogen use efficiency and potentially contaminating groundwater. To mitigate loss of crop yield to drought, the practice of chemical summer-fallow (suppressing plant growth for a full growing season with herbicide) has been common in semi-arid regions to store water for the following growing season. However, precipitation losses during fallow tend to exceed the amount of precipitation stored, and fallow tends to increase nitrate leaching. We present model simulations informed by field observations that explore the interaction of crop rotation, weather, and soils as controls on precipitation partitioning and nitrate leaching. Simulations reveal that high intensity precipitation periods produce hot moments of deep percolation and nitrate leaching such that 54 % of deep percolation and 56 % of leaching occurs in two of 14 model years. Simulations indicate that thin soils (having limited water storage capacity) produce hot spots for deep percolation and nitrate leaching such that thinner soils (<25 cm) experience water and nitrate loss rates five to 16 times higher than thicker soils (>100 cm). The practice of fallow facilitates mineralization of soil organic nitrogen to nitrate and increases deep percolation, magnifying the interaction of hot moments and hot spots. Simulations suggest that a field with fallow in rotation once every three years experiences 55 % of its deep percolation and 43 % of its leaching losses during fallow years.

Vividness is used in a range of senses which often conflate the intensity of an experience with the accuracy of mental images. In this article we consider the vividness of responses to literary descriptions of faces in the light of the psychology of face perception and the neuroscience of the mirror neuron system. We distinguish between intensity of experience and accuracy of mental images and compare two models of reader response to descriptions: the jigsaw model (the reader constructs a mental image from items of verbal information) and the experiential model (the reader has an emotional, embodied, and holistic response). We predict which aspects of facial description will provoke a vivid response in the experiential sense and discuss examples of literary descriptions of faces in the light of these predictions. We conclude with an illustration of how these insights can be used in literary history and interpretation.

This work explores the effects of aluminum titanate (ALT) as a dopant in standard NiO-YSZ SOFC anodes on cell resilience under reduction and oxidation (redox) cycling. Cells operated galvanostatically (50% Imax) at 800°C for the duration of a single redox cycle with hydrogen exposure lasting for 20 minutes prior to electrochemical oxidation. Observable reduction and oxidation of the Ni anode was monitored using operando vibrational Raman spectroscopy and electrochemical potential measurements, while electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) measurements were performed to determine cell condition and performance following each redox cycle. Repeated electrochemical redox cycling led to irreversible cell degradation for both ALT doped and standard anodes, but ALT conferred significantly more resilience to the doped anodes. Increased stability of Ni catalyst microstructure resulting from ALT addition was shown to slow degradation rates and increase average cell tolerance to redox cycles by a factor of two.

We have developed a mechanistic model of aquatic microbial metabolism and growth, where we apply fundamental ecological theory to simulate the simultaneous influence of multiple potential metabolic reactions on system biogeochemistry. Software design was based on an anticipated cycle of adaptive hypothesis testing, requiring that the model implementation be highly modular, quickly extensible, and easily coupled with hydrologic models in a shared state space. Model testing scenarios were designed to assess the potential for competition over dissolved organic carbon, oxygen, and inorganic nitrogen in simulated batch reactors. Test results demonstrated that the model appropriately weights metabolic processes according to the amount of chemical energy available in the associated biochemical reactions, and results also demonstrated how simulated carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur dynamics were influenced by simultaneous microbial competition for multiple resources. This effort contributes an approach to generalized modeling of microbial metabolism that will be useful for a theoretically and mechanistically principled approach to biogeochemical analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about the prevalence of nutritional supplement use in European adolescents. We conducted the present study to analyse the prevalence of nutritional supplement use and factors associated with this use among Slovenian adolescents. DESIGN: The nutritional supplementation practices of 818 adolescents were studied using an anonymous questionnaire. Information was sought on the type of supplements used, frequency of use and sources of information. SETTING: The region of north-west Slovenia. SUBJECTS: Schoolchildren from twenty primary schools and twelve secondary schools. RESULTS: Some 19·3% of all adolescents reported using at least one nutritional supplement and the prevalence of use was significantly higher in adolescents who were members of sports clubs. Multivitamins were the most common nutritional supplement. Older adolescents were significantly more likely to be supplementing with iron, protein and minerals. Less than 16% of supplement users in our study sought information from health-care professionals. Nearly 62% obtained information from parents and coaches, and many adolescents appear to decide on nutritional supplementation themselves, without advice. Older adolescents were significantly more likely to combine supplements than younger adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: One-fifth of Slovenian adolescents use nutritional supplements. There are clear differences in supplement use between younger (age 12 years) and older (age 17 years) adolescents. Multiple use of supplements, coupled with self-managed supplementation in older adolescents, is concerning. Hence, there is an urgent need to provide accurate information regarding nutritional supplements, which will help adolescents, their parents and coaches to make informed choices about their use.

Abstract Conventional methods for estimating whole‐stream metabolic rates from measured dissolved oxygen dynamics do not account for the variation in solute transport times created by dynamic flow conditions. Changes in flow at hourly time scales are common downstream of hydroelectric dams (i.e., hydropeaking), and hydrologic limitations of conventional metabolic models have resulted in a poor understanding of the controls on biological production in these highly managed river ecosystems. To overcome these limitations, we coupled a two‐station metabolic model of dissolved oxygen dynamics with a hydrologic river routing model. We designed calibration and parameter estimation tools to infer values for hydrologic and metabolic parameters based on time series of water quality data, achieving the ultimate goal of estimating whole‐river gross primary production and ecosystem respiration during dynamic flow conditions. Our case study data for model design and calibration were collected in the tailwater of Glen Canyon Dam (Arizona, U.S.A.), a large hydropower facility where the mean discharge was 325 m 3 s −1 and the average daily coefficient of variation of flow was 0.17 (i.e., the hydropeaking index averaged from 2006 to 2016). We demonstrate the coupled model's conceptual consistency with conventional models during steady flow conditions, and illustrate the potential bias in metabolism estimates with conventional models during unsteady flow conditions. This effort contributes an approach to solute transport modeling and parameter estimation that allows study of whole‐ecosystem metabolic regimes across a more diverse range of hydrologic conditions commonly encountered in streams and rivers.

Abstract Rivers efficiently collect, process, and transport terrestrial‐derived carbon. River ecosystem metabolism is the primary mechanism for processing carbon. Diel cycles of dissolved oxygen (DO) have been used for decades to infer river ecosystem metabolic rates, which are routinely used to predict metabolism of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) with uncertainties of the assumed stoichiometry ranging by a factor of 4. Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) has been less used to directly infer metabolism because it is more difficult to quantify, involves the complexity of inorganic carbon speciation, and as shown in this study, likely requires a two‐station approach. Here, we developed DIC metabolism models using single‐ and two‐station approaches. We compared metabolism estimates based on simultaneous DO and DIC monitoring in the Upper Clark Fork River (USA), which also allowed us to estimate ecosystem‐level photosynthetic and respiratory quotients (PQ E and RQ E ). We observed that metabolism estimates from DIC varied more between single‐ and two‐station approaches than estimates from DO. Due to carbonate buffering, CO 2 is slower to equilibrate with the atmosphere compared to DO, likely incorporating a longer distance of upstream heterogeneity. Reach‐averaged PQ E ranged from 1.5 to 2.0, while RQ E ranged from 0.8 to 1.5. Gross primary production from DO was larger than that from DIC, as was net ecosystem production by . The river was autotrophic based on DO but heterotrophic based on DIC, complicating our understanding of how metabolism regulated CO 2 production. We suggest future studies simultaneously model metabolism from DO and DIC to understand carbon processing in rivers.

A growing threat to the conservation of many native species worldwide is genetic introgression from non-native species. Although improved molecular genetic techniques are increasing the availability of species-diagnostic markers for many species, efficient field sampling design and reliable data interpretation require accurate estimates of uncertainty associated with the detection of non-native alleles and the quantification of introgression in native populations. Using fish populations as examples, we developed a simulation model of an age-structured population that tracks the introduction and inheritance of non-native alleles across generations by simulating stochastic mating and survival of individual fish and the resulting transmission of diagnostic markers. To simulate detection and quantification of introgression, we sampled varying combinations of n fish and m diagnostic markers to detect and quantify introgression from thousands of virtual, independent fish populations for a wide range of hybridization scenarios. Using the results of simulated sampling, we quantified the extent to which common simplifying assumptions regarding population structure and inheritance mechanisms can lead to the following: (i) overconfidence in our ability to detect non-native alleles and (ii) unrealistically narrow confidence intervals for estimates of the proportion of non-native alleles present. Under many circumstances, commonly used simplifying assumptions underestimate the probability of failing to detect ongoing introgression and the uncertainty associated with estimates of introgression by orders of magnitude. Such overconfidence in our ability to detect and quantify introgression can affect critical conservation and management decisions regarding native species undergoing or at risk of introgression from non-native species.

In this study, a new method for producing fibers with hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite (HOIP) cores and hydrophobic polystyrene shells via coaxial electrospinning is introduced. The presence of the HOIP, CH3NH3PbI3, was verified through the use of ultraviolet to visible spectroscopy and x-ray diffractography to confirm successful synthesis in situ. Morphologies of the coaxial fibers were investigated using scanning electron microscopy to confirm the core/shell geometry and assess the fiber diameter. Finally, the interaction of liquid water and the fiber mats was studied to assess improvements to moisture resistance garnered from encapsulation in coaxial electrospun fibers.

Abstract Concentrations of total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in freshwater ecosystems are controlled by terrestrial inputs and a myriad of in situ processes, such as aquatic metabolism. Dissolved CO 2 is one of the components of DIC, and its dynamics are also regulated by chemical equilibrium with the DIC pool, so‐called carbonate buffering. Although its importance is generally recognized, carbonate buffering is still not consistently accounted for in freshwater studies. Here, we review key concepts in freshwater carbonate buffering, perform simulation experiments, and provide a case study of an alkaline river to illustrate calculations of DIC from CO 2 . These analyses demonstrate that carbonate buffering can alter common interpretations of CO 2 data, including carbon–oxygen coupling through production and respiration. As direct measurements of dissolved CO 2 are increasingly common, accounting for CO 2 equilibria with DIC is critical to understanding its role in carbon cycling within most freshwater systems.

Among faculty, assessment is frequently discussed as an added burden that does little to improve student learning, existing to appease administrators and accreditors. In fact, at one of the author’...

Nowhere else in the United States are tribal connections and reliance on federal public lands as deep and geographically broad-based as in what is now Alaska. The number of Tribes—229 federally recognized tribes—and the scope of the public land resource—nearly 223 million acres—are simply unparalleled. Across that massive landscape, federal public lands and the subsistence uses they provide remain, as they have been since time immemorial, “essential to Native physical, economic, traditional, and cultural existence.”[1] Alas, the institutions, systems, and processes responsible for managing those lands, protecting those uses, and honoring those connections are failing Alaska Native Tribes. &#x0D; The cases referenced in this article share a common theme: federal land officials underutilize their existing legal authorities to engage tribes in the management of federal public lands, or treat them like pro-forma “check-the-box” exercises that must be done but have no real substantive impact on decisions that are likely already made. In case after case, Alaska Native Tribes are forced to defensively react to federal land use programs, plans, and projects they had no role in substantively shaping. Though traditional methods of tribal consultation and engagement are used by federal land agencies, they are viewed for the most part as procedural hurdles that are divorced from their core missions and mandates.

Managers of coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) face the challenging task of managing those systems when there is uncertainty about future changes in drivers of the outcomes of management actions. To assist in meeting that challenge, a fuzzy, multiple-objective, passive adaptive management (AM) framework is developed that can be used to determine preferred management actions for multiple planning periods when there is uncertainty about one or more system drivers. The proposed framework requires: (1) selecting management actions and objectives; (2) establishing standards for objectives; (3) choosing budgets, drivers, and driver scenarios; (4) estimating management objectives; (5) identifying acceptable management actions; (6) determining preferred management actions; and (7) evaluating whether or not passive AM is advantageous. The framework is demonstrated for managing a hypothetical highway corridor in a national park based on four objectives pertaining to the corridor: (1) minimising congestion at the visitor centre parking lot; (2) maximising plant biodiversity along hiking trails; (3) minimising soil erosion on hiking trails; and (4) minimising congestion on hiking trails when there is uncertainty about future climate change. The proposed framework is easier for managers to understand and apply than other fuzzy decision-making frameworks.

The use of irrigation has expanded and favored agricultural productivity in recent years. The mapping through remote sensing has contributed to the monitoring of irrigated areas. In this sense, the objective of this study was to evaluate the central pivotal evolution in terms of location by municipalities, micro basins, soils and slope in the Goian tributary watershed of the Araguaia River State of Goi&amp;aacute;s. Data were available between 2000 and 2016. Irrigated areas were surveyed through the database available in the Geographical Information System of the State of Goi&amp;aacute;s (SGEI). The vector and raster data were manipulated using the Qgis v software. 2.18.26 (QGIS Development, 2019). The pivots were counted through the statistical function of the software. From the shape SGEI available in the soil map of classes is generated by categorizes tion of soil types. The declivity map was generated from raster files acquired through the Brazilian Geo morphological Database (INPE, 2017). The slope classes (%) were extracted with slope tool. There is an increase of more than 95% in the number of pivots and irrigated area between the years 2000 and 2016. The central pivots are more concentrated in the central region of the Red and Red-Light basins. The highest concentration of central pivots occurred in the municipality of Jussara. The pivots are located predominantly in an Oxisol area with a slope of 3 to 13%.

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Supercapacitors are an important developing technology for renewable energy, hybrid and electric vehicles, and personal electronics. One material of interest for supercapacitor electrodes is Mn2O3, which is low cost, nontoxic, and easily fabricated. While traditional electrode fabrication involves mixing active materials with binders and conductive agents, electrospinning Mn2O3 fibers directly onto charge-collecting substrates simplifies processing and reduces overall mass. Herein, the effects of electrospinning solution composition, electrospinning duration, and calcination time on the electrochemical storage capacity of Mn2O3 web electrodes are studied. Electrode morphologies are examined, and the relationships between processing, morphology, and storage capacity are discussed. A numerical model fit to the data assesses a relative significance of the four fabrication parameters.

Ibnu Khaldun adalah salah satu tokoh pendidikan Islam, ide-idenya tentang pendidikan tertuangkan dalam bukunya yang berjudul “Muqaddimah”. Pemikiran Ibnu Khaldun tentang konsep pendidikan Islam masih relevan hingga saat ini. Konsep tersebut meliputi: pengembangan sumber daya manusia, perumusan tujuan pendidikan yang idealis dan realistis, penyusunan kurikulum sesuai dengan tahap perke mbangan peserta didik, metode pengajaran yang dimulai deng an proses belajar mengajar tentang masalah yang sederhana sam pai kepada masalah yang lebih komplek serta mengedepankan pendidikan karakter atau akhlakul karimah. Seperti pendidikan saat ini Ibnu Khaldun memperingatkan bahwa dalam proses belajar hubungan interaktif antara pendidik dan siswa mu tlak dibutuhkan demi tercapainya tujuan pendidikan yang diharap kan.

Abstract Changes in seasonality and form of precipitation alter the structure and function of grassland and steppe ecosystems and pose challenges for land management and crop production in regions like the Northern Great Plains, North America. This research uses isotopic composition of water (δ 18 O and δ 2 H) to explore the sources and fate of soil water in lower‐elevation agricultural areas of the Judith River watershed, in the headwaters of the Missouri River, USA. Extensive non‐irrigated cereal crop production in this area occurs on well‐drained soils and depends on careful water management. Our observations indicate that colder precipitation contributes isotopically distinct water to cultivated terrace soils relative to downgradient groundwaters and streams. Riparian waters also exhibit a higher fraction of contributions from colder precipitation relative to terrace groundwaters and streams. Apparent contributions from colder precipitation in terrace and riparian soil waters suggest that snowmelt is a key component of the water supply to these systems. Riparian waters also show evidence of evaporation suggesting that water spends sufficient time in some ponds and open channels in the riparian corridor to reflect fractionation by evaporation. The evolution of water isotopic composition from soils to shallow aquifers to stream corridors indicates source water partitioning as precipitation moves through this semi‐arid agricultural landscape. The apparent mixing processes evident in this evolution reveal source water dynamics that are necessary to understand plant transpiration, solute processing, and contaminant leaching processes.