Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Kentucky
Selected AbstractsTobacco is Going, Going , But Where?CULTURE, AGRICULTURE, FOOD & ENVIRONMENT, Issue 2 2009Donald D. Stull Abstract Tobacco is America's most vilified agricultural product. It is also the eighth most valuable crop in the United States, and its immense economic value and historic depth made it an agricultural cornerstone and a cultural focus in the Upper South. The federal tobacco program limited production and ensured a fair price to growers, helping many small family farms survive at no net cost to the American taxpayer. Kentucky ranks second in tobacco production and is the most tobacco-dependent state. This paper examines what has happened to tobacco farmers in western Kentucky since the federal tobacco program was terminated in 2004 and its broader implications. [source] Divergent evolution in fluviokarst landscapes of central KentuckyEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 7 2004Jonathan D. Phillips Abstract Central Kentucky is characterized by a mixture of karst and ,uvial features, typically manifested as mosaic of karst-rich/channel-poor (KRCP) and channel-rich/karst-poor (CRKP) environments. At the regional scale the location and distribution of KRCP and CRKP areas are not always systematically related to structural, lithological, topographic, or other controls. This study examines the relationship of KRCP and CRKP zones along the Kentucky River gorge area, where rapid incision in the last 1·5 million years has lowered local base levels and modi,ed slopes on the edge of the inner bluegrass plateau. At the scale of detailed ,eld mapping on foot within a 4 km2 area, the development of karst and ,uvial features is controlled by highly localized structural and topographic constraints, and can be related to slope changes associated with retreat of the Kentucky River gorge escarpment. A conceptual model of karst/,uvial transitions is presented, which suggests that minor, localized variations are suf,cient to trigger a karst,,uvial or ,uvial,karst switch when critical slope thresholds are crossed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Source of toxicity in storm water: Zinc from commonly used paintENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 1 2004Lynn Adams Kszos Abstract A Department of Energy site in Paducah, Kentucky (USA), stores thousands of cylinders of depleted uranium hexa-fluoride. Breaches of the cylinders could result in the release of uranium and hydrogen fluoride. Beginning in 1996, a program was begun to paint the cylinders in order to prevent corrosion of the cylinders and the surfaces of the storage yards were converted to concrete. In 1998, storm water from the cylinder storage yards was found to be toxic to Ceriodaphnia, at concentrations exceeding limits in the site's discharge permit. A six-month study was conducted to identify the source of the toxicity in the storm water. Ceriodaphnia toxicity tests with the storm water resulted in 48-h median lethal concentrations (LC50) ranging from 12 to 94%; zinc concentrations in the storm water ranged from 0.08 to 0.54 mg/L. Acute toxicity tests with zinc and linear regression identified that zinc concentrations in the storm water were sufficient to account for the toxicity observed. By tracking the sources to the discharge point, newly painted cylinders were identified as the source of the zinc in the storm water. Rainwater collected directly from the painted cylinders contained up to 13 mg Zn/L. Laboratory and field tests showed that topcoating the cylinders would reduce the amount of zinc in the runoff from the cylinders. [source] Environmental exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls among raccoons (Procyon lotor) at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Western Kentucky, USA,ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 2 2003Philip N. Smith Abstract An investigation involving raccoons (Procyon lotor) as a sentinel species at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) in Western Kentucky (USA) delineated the extent of exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and PCB spatial distribution. Raccoon exposure to PCBs was demonstrated through analysis of subcutaneous fat, abdominal fat, liver, and brain tissues from raccoons collected at the PGDP but also was clearly evident in raccoons from a reference area situated along the Ohio River (USA). Raccoons with the highest tissue PCB concentrations appeared to be those inhabiting areas nearest the plant itself and most likely those that ventured into the plants interior. Male raccoons at the PGDP had similar concentrations of total PCBs in subcutaneous fat (1.86 ± 0.64 ,g/g) as males from the reference site (1.41 ± 0.35 ,g/g), but females had higher PCB body burdens than those at the reference site (9.90 ± 6.13 ,g/g vs 0.75 ± 0.40 ,g/g). Gross measurements of exposure to radiation-producing materials revealed that counts per minute exceeded background in 61% of PGDP raccoons compared with 27% at the reference site and five raccoons at the PGDP had beta counts that were more than twice the background. Differences among trapping success, growth rates, and serum chemistry parameters were noted but may have been related to habitat and other environmental and population density factors. [source] Environmental polychlorinated biphenyl exposure and cytochromes P450 in raccoons (Procyon lotor),ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY & CHEMISTRY, Issue 2 2003Philip N. Smith Abstract An investigation involving raccoons as a sentinel species at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) and Ballard Wildlife Management Area in western Kentucky (USA) delineated the extent of exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Three separate measures of hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) induction were used to evaluate raccoon physiological responses to PCB exposure. Hepatic CYP induction was estimated via determination of total CYP, dealkylase activities, and immunoreactive proteins. There were no differences in raccoon biomarker responses between study sites. Significant relationships between and among PCB residues and biomarkers indicated that hepatic CYP induction had occurred in response to PCB exposure. Pentoxy-resorufin O -deethylase (PROD) activity, CYP1A1, and CYP1A2 were biomarkers most closely associated with PCB exposure. The rank order of responses was CYP1A1 > CYP1A2 > PROD > ethoxyresorufin O -deethylase (EROD) as related to raccoon liver PCB concentrations, whereas the order was CYP1A1 > PROD > EROD > CYP1A2 when regressed with total PCB concentrations in abdominal fat. [source] Fusion of farnesyldiphosphate synthase and epi -aristolochene synthase, a sesquiterpene cyclase involved in capsidiol biosynthesis in Nicotiana tabacumFEBS JOURNAL, Issue 14 2002Maria Brodelius A clone encoding farnesyl diphosphate synthase (FPPS) was obtained by PCR from a cDNA library made from young leaves of Artemisia annua. A cDNA clone encoding the tobacco epi -aristolochene synthase (eAS) was kindly supplied by J. Chappell (University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA). Two fusions were constructed, i.e. FPPS/eAS and eAS/FPPS. The stop codon of the N-terminal enzyme was removed and replaced by a short peptide (Gly-Ser-Gly) to introduce a linker between the two ORFs. These two fusions and the two single cDNA clones were separately introduced into a bacterial expression vector (pET32). Escherichia coli was transformed with the expression vectors and enzymatically active soluble proteins were obtained after induction with isopropyl thio-,- d -thiogalactoside. The recombinant enzymes were purified using immobilized metal affinity chromatography on Co2+ columns. The fusion enzymes produced epi- aristolochene from isopentenyl diphosphate through a coupled reaction. The Km values of FPPS and eAS for isopentenyl diphosphate and farnesyl diphosphate, respectively, were essentially the same for the single and fused enzymes. The bifunctional enzymes showed a more efficient conversion of isopentenyl diphosphate to epi -aristolochene than the corresponding amount of single enzymes. [source] Absence of residual effects of a defeated resistance gene in poplarFOREST PATHOLOGY, Issue 2 2003K.-S. Woo Summary In a few plant pathosystems, defeated major genes have been shown to contribute to partial resistance to disease. This hypothesis has never been tested before in a forest tree, but pathogenic variation associated with recent hybridization in poplar rust in the Pacific northwest provided an opportunity. An F2 progeny of 256 poplar clones in the field near Corvallis, Oregon, USA, has been monitored for rust severity and infection type since the advent of the new hybrid rust, Melampsora × columbiana, in the mid-1990s. All 256 clones displayed a susceptible infection type in 1997 and again in 2000, and yet variation in uredinial density (i.e. partial resistance) was still observed. To determine which clones possessed a defeated resistance gene, a greenhouse inoculation was performed with an isolate of M. medusae, one of the parents of M. × columbiana. Clones that would have been resistant to M. medusae, prior to the advent of M. × columbiana, were thus identified. The inoculation resulted in a 1 : 1 segregation (,2=0.772; p=0.38) for resistance, indicating the presence of a major gene. However, the F2 clones possessing the defeated resistance gene displayed the same level of partial resistance in the field in both 1997 and 2000 as their full siblings lacking the gene. Résumé Chez quelques pathosystèmes végétaux, il a été montré que le contournement de gènes majeurs de résistance contribue à une résistance partielle envers la maladie. Cette hypothèse n'a encore jamais été testée chez un arbre forestier, mais le changement de pouvoir pathogène associéà l'hybridation récente de la rouille du peuplier dans le nord-ouest des USA en a fourni l'occasion. Une descendance F2 de 256 clones de peuplier a été suivie au champ près de Corvallis, Oregon, USA, pour la gravité de la rouille et le type d'infection, depuis l'apparition du nouvel hybride Melampsora x columbiana, dans les années 1990. Tous les 256 clones se sont montrés sensibles en 1997 et à nouveau en 2000, et une variation dans la densité des urédies (résistance partielle) a aussi été observée. Pour déterminer quels clones présentaient une résistance contournée, des inoculations ont été réalisées en serre avec un isolat de Melampsora medusae originaire du Kentucky. Des clones qui étaient résistants àM. medusae avant l'apparition de M. x columbiana ont ainsi été identifiés. Les inoculations ont abouti à une ségrégation 1 :1 (,2 = 0,772; P = 0,38) pour la résistance, ce qui indique la présence d'un gène majeur. Cependant, les clones F2 possédant le gène de résistance contourné montraient le même niveau de résistance partielle au champ en 1997 et 2000 que leurs plein-frères qui n'avaient pas ce gène. Zusammenfassung Für einige Pflanzen-Pathosysteme wurde gezeigt, dass unwirksam gewordene Haupt-Resistenzgene immer noch zu einer teilweisen Resistenz beitragen. Für Waldbäume wurde diese Hypothese bisher nie überprüft. Dies wurde jetzt im pazifischen Nordwesten möglich, wo der Pappelrost nach einem rezenten Hybridisierungsereignis stark variierte. An den F2-Nachkommenschaften von 256 Pappelklonen, die unter Freilandbedingungen in der Nähe von Corvallis, Oregon, USA wuchsen, wurde nach dem Auftreten des neuen Hybridrostes (Melampsora × columbiana) ab ca. 1990 die Krankheitsintensität und der Infektionstyp registriert. Alle 256 Klone zeigten einen anfälligen Infektionstyp im Jahre 1997 und dann wieder im Jahre 2000. Dabei wurde eine Variation in der Urediendichte (d.h. partielle Resistenz) beobachtet. Um zu bestimmen, welche Klone ein unwirksam gewordenes Resistenzgen besitzen, wurden Inokulationen im Gewächshaus mit einem Isolat von M. medusae, einem Elter von M. × columbiana, durchgeführt. Damit wurden Klone identifiziert, die vor dem Auftreten von M. × columbiana gegen M. medusae resistent waren. Der Infektionsversuch führte zu einer 1:1 Segregation (,2=0,772; P=0,38) für die Resistenz, was auf das Vorliegen eines Hauptgens hinweist. Die F2-Klone, welche dieses überwundene Resistenzgen besitzen, zeigten jedoch unter Feldbedingungen in den Jahren 1997 und 2000 den gleichen Grad einer Teilresistenz wie ihre Vollgeschwister, welchen dieses Gen fehlt. [source] The fluvial and geomorphic context of Indian Knoll, an Archaic shell midden in West-Central KentuckyGEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 6 2002Darcy F. Morey Indian Knoll is the largest Archaic shell midden excavated by WPA archaeologists in Kentucky. Situated in a large alluvial valley, the site is not associated with a known river shoal as might be expected, making its fluvial and geomorphic setting of interest. Based on sediment cores and auger samples, undisturbed portions of the site remain despite extensive excavations. In undisturbed portions, a shell-bearing layer is overlain by a shell-free midden layer. Profiles of organic matter and calcium carbonate content for both layers are similar to those of other Green River shell middens. New radiocarbon determinations date the shell deposit at 5590,4530 cal yr B.P. Analysis of mussel species collected from the Indian Knoll indicates that shell fishing took place in a swiftly flowing, shallow to moderately deep setting of the main river channel. Overall, the prehistoric river setting adjacent to Indian Knoll was characterized by deeper water on average with variable but finer-grained substrate compared to other Green River shell midden sites. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Loglinear Residual Tests of Moran's I Autocorrelation and their Applications to Kentucky Breast Cancer DataGEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS, Issue 3 2007Ge Lin This article bridges the permutation test of Moran's I to the residuals of a loglinear model under the asymptotic normality assumption. It provides the versions of Moran's I based on Pearson residuals (IPR) and deviance residuals (IDR) so that they can be used to test for spatial clustering while at the same time account for potential covariates and heterogeneous population sizes. Our simulations showed that both IPR and IDR are effective to account for heterogeneous population sizes. The tests based on IPR and IDR are applied to a set of log-rate models for early-stage and late-stage breast cancer with socioeconomic and access-to-care data in Kentucky. The results showed that socioeconomic and access-to-care variables can sufficiently explain spatial clustering of early-stage breast carcinomas, but these factors cannot explain that for the late stage. For this reason, we used local spatial association terms and located four late-stage breast cancer clusters that could not be explained. The results also confirmed our expectation that a high screening level would be associated with a high incidence rate of early-stage disease, which in turn would reduce late-stage incidence rates. [source] The American Indian in German Novels Up To The 1850sGERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS, Issue 4 2000Wynfrid Kriegleder A close look at a number of early German novels about the USA (e.g. Sophie von La Roche, Erscheinungen am See Oneida, 1798: Henriette Frölich, Virginia oder Die Kolonie von Kentucky, 1820; Charles Sealsfield, Der Legitime und die Repunlikaner, 1833; Jogann Christoph Biernatzki, Der braune Knabe, 1839) reveals that they hardly ever portray Indians as noble savages in an enviable state of nature - the image prevailing in many late nineteenth-century novels (e.g. by Karl May) that tend to sympathise with the Indians' lot and even suggest a peculiar affinity between them and the Germans. On the contrary, the earlier novels wholeheartedly embrace the notion that the bast continent of Northern America is there to be civilised - which is to say: Europeanised. The Indians are considered as representatives of a lower social and cultural order that will either voluntarily join the new, European order of things or else disappear. [source] SCHIP premiums, enrollment, and expenditures: a two state, competing risk analysisHEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 7 2010James Marton Abstract Faced with state budget troubles, policymakers may introduce or increase State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) premiums for children in the highest program income eligibility categories. In this paper we compare the responses of SCHIP recipients in a state (Kentucky) that introduced SCHIP premiums for the first time at the end of 2003 with the responses of recipients in a state (Georgia) that increased existing SCHIP premiums in mid-2004. We start with a theoretical examination of how these different policies create different changes to family budget constraints and produce somewhat different financial incentives for recipients. Next we empirically model the impact of these policies using a competing risk approach to differentiate exits due to transfers to other eligibility categories of public coverage from exiting the public health insurance system. In both states we find a short-run increase in the likelihood that children transfer to lower- income eligibility/lower-premium categories of SCHIP. We also find a short-run increase in the rate at which children transfer from SCHIP to Medicaid in Kentucky, which is consistent with our theoretical model. These findings have important financial implications for state budgets, as the matching rates and premium levels are different for different eligibility categories of public coverage. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Risk Segmentation Related to the Offering of a Consumer-Directed Health Plan: A Case Study of Humana Inc.HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 4p2 2004Laura A. Tollen Objective. To determine whether the offering of a consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) is likely to cause risk segmentation in an employer group. Study Setting and Data Source. The study population comprises the approximately 10,000 people (employees and dependents) enrolled as members of the employee health benefit program of Humana Inc. at its headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, during the benefit years starting July 1, 2000, and July 1, 2001. This analysis is based on primary collection of claims, enrollment, and employment data for those employees and dependents. Study Design. This is a case study of the experience of a single employer in offering two consumer-directed health plan options ("Coverage First 1" and "Coverage First 2") to its employees. We assessed the risk profile of those choosing the Coverage First plans and those remaining in more traditional health maintenance organization (HMO) and preferred provider organization (PPO) coverage. Risk was measured using prior claims (in dollars per member per month), prior utilization (admissions/1,000; average length of stay; prescriptions/1,000; physician office visit services/1,000), a pharmacy-based risk assessment tool (developed by Ingenix), and demographics. Data Collection/Extraction Methods. Complete claims and administrative data were provided by Humana Inc. for the two-year study period. Unique identifiers enabled us to track subscribers' individual enrollment and utilization over this period. Principal Findings. Based on demographic data alone, there did not appear to be a difference in the risk profiles of those choosing versus not choosing Coverage First. However, based on prior claims and prior use data, it appeared that those who chose Coverage First were healthier than those electing to remain in more traditional coverage. For each of five services, prior-year usage by people who subsequently enrolled in Coverage First 1 (CF1) was below 60 percent of the average for the whole group. Hospital and maternity admissions per thousand were less than 30 percent of the overall average; length of stay per hospital admission, physician office services per thousand, and prescriptions per thousand were all between 50 and 60 percent of the overall average. Coverage First 2 (CF2) subscribers' prior use of services was somewhat higher than CF1 subscribers', but it was still below average in every category. As with prior use, prior claims data indicated that Coverage First subscribers were healthier than average, with prior total claims less than 50 percent of average. Conclusions. In this case, the offering of high-deductible or consumer-directed health plan options alongside more traditional options caused risk segmentation within an employer group. The extent to which these findings are applicable to other cases will depend on many factors, including the employer premium contribution policies and employees' perception of the value of the various plan options. Further research is needed to determine whether risk segmentation will worsen in future years for this employer and if so, whether it will cause premiums for more traditional health plans to increase. [source] Anthropogenic disturbance and the formation of oak savanna in central Kentucky, USAJOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 5 2008Ryan W. McEwan Abstract Aim, To deepen understanding of the factors that influenced the formation of oak savanna in central Kentucky, USA. Particular attention was focused on the link between historical disturbance and the formation of savanna ecosystem structure. Location, Central Kentucky, USA. Methods, We used dendrochronological analysis of tree-ring samples to understand the historical growth environment of remnant savanna stems. We used release detection and branch-establishment dates to evaluate changes in tree growth and the establishment of savanna physiognomy. We contrasted our growth chronology with reference chronologies for regional tree growth, climate and human population dynamics. Results, Trees growing in Kentucky Inner Bluegrass Region (IBR) savanna remnants exhibited a period of suppression, extending from the establishment date of the tree to release events that occurred c. 1800. This release resulted in a tripling of the annual radial growth rate from levels typical of oaks suppressed under a forest canopy (< 1 mm year,1) to levels typical of open-grown stems (3 mm year,1). The growth releases in savanna trees coincided with low branch establishment. Over the release period, climatic conditions remained relatively constant and growth in regional forest trees was even; however, the growth increase in savanna stems was strongly correlated with a marked increase in Euro-American population density in the region. Main conclusions, Our data suggest that trees growing in savanna remnants originated in the understorey of a closed canopy forest. We hypothesize that Euro-American land clearing to create pasturelands released these trees from light competition and resulted in the savanna physiognomy that is apparent in remnant stands in the IBR. Although our data suggest that savanna trees originated in a forest understorey, this system structure itself may have been a result of an unprecedented lack of Native American activity in the region due to population loss associated with pandemics brought to North America by Euro-Americans. We present a hypothetical model that links human population dynamics, land-use activities and ecosystem structure. Our model focuses on the following three land-use eras: Native American habitation/utilization; land abandonment; and Euro-American land clearance. Ecological understanding of historical dynamics in other ecosystems of eastern North America may be enhanced through recognition of these eras. [source] Abstracts: Inaugural Conference of the Society of Sensory Professionals Cincinnati Marriott at River Center, Covington, Kentucky 5,7 November 2008JOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 1 2009Article first published online: 22 JAN 200 First page of article [source] USING STREAM BIOASSESSMENT PROTOCOLS TO MONITOR IMPACTS OF A CONFINED SWINE OPERATION,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 3 2006Jeffrey Jack ABSTRACT: The processing of waste from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) presents a major environmental challenge. Treatment of waste and subsequent land application is a common best management practice (BMP) for these operations in Kentucky, USA, but there are few data assessing the effect of runoff from such operations on aquatic communities. The authors sampled a stream bordering a CAFO with a land application program to determine if runoff from the fertilized fields was adversely affecting stream communities. Water chemistry, periphyton, and macroinvertebrate samples from riffle habitats downstream of the CAFO were compared to samples collected from an upstream site and a control stream in 1999 and 2000. Riffle communities downstream of the fertilized fields had higher chlorophyll a levels than other sites, but there were no significant differences in macroinvertebrate numbers or in biometrics such as taxa richness among the sites. The BMP in place at this site may be effective in reducing this CAFO's impact on the stream; however, similar assessments at other CAFO sites should be done to assess their impacts. Functional measures such as nutrient retention and litter decomposition of streams impacted by CAFOs should also be investigated to ensure that these operations are not adversely affecting stream communities. [source] WATER QUALITY IN AGRICULTURAL, URBAN, AND MIXED LAND USE WATERSHEDS,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 6 2004Chris B. Coulter ABSTRACT: Water quality and nonpoint source (NPS) pollution are important issues in many areas of the world, including the Inner Bluegrass Region of Kentucky where urban development is changing formerly rural watersheds into urban and mixed use watersheds. In watersheds where land use is mixed, the relative contributions of NPS pollution from rural and urban land uses can be difficult to separate. To better understand NPS pollution sources in mixed use watersheds, surface water samples were taken at three sites that varied in land use to examine the effect of land use on water quality. Within the group of three watersheds, one was predominately agriculture (Agricultural), one was predominately urban (Urban), and a third had relatively equal representation of both types of land uses (Mixed). Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), total suspended solids (TSS), turbidity, pH, temperature, and streamflow were measured for one year. Comparisons are made among watersheds for concentration and fluxes of water quality parameters. Nitrate and orthophosphate concentrations were found to be significantly higher in the Agricultural watershed. Total suspended solids, turbidity, temperature, and pH, were found to be generally higher in the Urban and Mixed watersheds. No differences were found for streamflow (per unit area), total phosphorus, and ammonium concentrations among watersheds. Fluxes of orthophosphate were greater in the Agricultural watershed that in the Urban watershed while fluxes of TSS were greater in the Mixed watershed when compared to the Agricultural watershed. Fluxes of nitrate, ammonium, and total phosphorus did not vary among watersheds. It is apparent from the data that Agricultural land uses are generally a greater source of nutrients than the Urban land uses while Urban land uses are generally a greater source of suspended sediment. [source] AN EVALUATION OF THE AVAILABLE TECHNIQUES FOR ESTIMATING MISSING FECAL COLIFORM DATA,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 6 2004Ashu Jain ABSTRACT: This paper presents the findings of a study aimed at evaluating the available techniques for estimating missing fecal coliform (FC) data on a temporal basis. The techniques investigated include: linear and nonlinear regression analysis and interpolation functions, and the use of artificial neural networks (ANNs). In all, seven interpolation, two regression, and one ANN model structures were investigated. This paper also investigates the validity of a hypothesis that estimating missing FC data by developing different models using different data corresponding to different dynamics associated with different trends in the FC data may result in a better model performance. The FC data (counts/100 ml) derived from the North Fork of the Kentucky River in Kentucky were employed to calibrate and validate various models. The performance of various models was evaluated using a wide variety of standard statistical measures. The results obtained in this study are able to demonstrate that the ANNs can be preferred over the conventional techniques in estimating missing FC data in a watershed. The regression technique was not found suitable in estimating missing FC data on a temporal basis. Further, it has been found that it is possible to achieve a better model performance by first decomposing the whole data set into different categories corresponding to different dynamics and then developing separate models for separate categories rather than developing a single model for the composite data set. [source] A MODEL TO ENHANCE WETLAND DESIGN AND OPTIMIZE NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION CONTROL,JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION, Issue 1 2002Erik R. Lee ABSTRACT: A dynamic, compartmental, simulation model (WETLAND) was developed for the design and evaluation of constructed wetlands to optimize nonpoint source (NPS) pollution control. The model simulates the hydrologic, nitrogen, carbon, dissolved oxygen (DO), bacteria, vegetative, phosphorous, and sediment cycles of a wetland system. Written in Fortran 77, the WETLAND models both free-water surface (FWS) and subsurface flow (SSF) wetlands, and is designed in a modular manner that gives the user the flexibility to decide which cycles and processes to model. WETLAND differs from many existing wetland models in that the interactions between the different nutrient cycles are modeled, minimizing the number of assumptions concerning wetland processes. It also directly links microbial growth and death to the consumption and transformations of nutrients in the wetland system. The WETLAND model is intended to be utilized with an existing NPS hydro-logic simulation model, such as ANSWERS or BASINS, but also may be used in situations where measured input data to the wetland are available. The model was calibrated and validated using limited data from a FWS wetland located at Benton, Kentucky. The WETLAND predictions were not statistically different from measured values for of five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), suspended sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorous. Effluent DO predictions were not always consistent with measured concentrations. A sensitivity analysis indicated the most significant input parameters to the model were those that directly affected bacterial growth and DO uptake and movement. The model was used to design a hypothetical constructed wetland in a subwatershed of the Nomini Creek watershed, located in Virginia. Two-year simulations were completed for five separate wetland designs. Predicted percent reductions in BOD5 (4 to 45 percent), total suspended solids (85 to 100 percent), total nitrogen (42 to 56 percent), and total phosphorous (38 to 57 percent) were similar to levels reported by previous research. [source] Enhancing the Foster Care Review Process: The Case of Kentucky's Interested Party Review ProgramJUVENILE AND FAMILY COURT JOURNAL, Issue 1 2010Valerie Bryan ABSTRACT In order to promote timely permanency for children in out-of-home care, citizen foster care review programs employ volunteers to monitor progress for children in the child welfare system. In addition to case file reviews, Kentucky implemented an Interested Party Review system in which foster care review board members meet with family members and child welfare staff in order to glean more detailed and multi-faceted information to submit to the court. This article describes a mixed-methods program evaluation demonstrating the contribution of such a review process to judicial decision making and child outcome, as well as recommendations for program improvement. [source] Legal Mobilization and the Politics of Reform: Lessons From School Finance Litigation in Kentucky, 1984-1995LAW & SOCIAL INQUIRY, Issue 3 2001Michael Paris This article is about legal mobilization by claimant groups seeking left-liberal reform in the United States. Drawing on a growing body of work in political science and legal studies, it takes an interpretive, legal-mobilization approach to one litigation-based reform effort: school finance litigation and education reform in Kentucky. In turn, this case study provides leverage for theorizing about legal mobilization and the role of law and courts in social reform. The article argues that current theoretical approaches either overlook or neglect the implications of important dimensions of legal mobilization by would-be reformers. Specifically, it highlights and explicates the meaning of two related themes: (1) legal translation, taken up here as legal framing and legal construction, and (2) the degree of coherence or fit between the legal and political components of reform projects that include both legal mobilization and extrajudicial strategies and tactics. This article suggests that the "degree of coherence" may have an important but underappreciated relationship to the overall success or failure of such reform projects. [source] Survival of crinoid stems following decapitation: evidence from the Ordovician and palaeobiological implicationsLETHAIA, Issue 4 2001STEPHEN K. DONOVAN It was recently discovered that the stems of extant crinoids may survive after detachment of the crown, presumably feeding by the absorption of nutrients through the ectoderm. Previously, only one analogous, albeit morphologically dissimilar, pattern of crownless survival has been recognized from the fossil record. Certain Upper Ordovician (Cincinnatian) crinoid pluricolumnals from Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, derived from the disparids Cincinnaticrinus spp., have rounded terminations reminiscent of some modern bourgueticrinid overgrowths. Such specimens have hitherto been interpreted as distal terminations of mature individuals that have become detached from their attachment structures and taken to an eleutherozoic existence. However, it is considered more probable that they represent overgrowths of the column following predatory decapitation. If this new interpretation is correct, then post-decapitation survival of crinoid stems is now recognized for most of the history of the crinoids, ,lethal' predation on crinoid crowns occurred at least as early as the Late Ordovician and ancient crinoid populations can no longer be determined merely by counting crowns. [source] Trading Nutrition for Education: Nutritional Status and the Sale of Snack Foods in an Eastern Kentucky SchoolMEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2003Deborah L Crooks Overweight and poor nutrition of children in the United States are becoming issues of increasing concern for public health. Dietary patterns of U.S. children indicate they are consuming too few fruits and vegetables and too many foods high in fat and sugar. Contributing to this pattern of food consumption is snacking, which is reported to be on the increase among adults and children alike. One place where snacking is under increased scrutiny, and where it is being increasingly criticized, is in U.S. schools, where snack foods are often sold to supplement inadequate budgets. This article takes a biocultural approach to understanding the nutritional status of elementary school children in a rural community in eastern Kentucky. It pays particular attention to the ways in which the schools nutrition environment shapes overweight and nutritional status for many of the children, focusing on the sale of snack foods and the reasons behind the principal's decision to sell snack foods in the school [nutritional anthropology, overweight, snack foods, Appalachia] [source] Phylogeographical structure and temporal complexity in American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua; Altingiaceae)MOLECULAR ECOLOGY, Issue 17 2008ASHLEY B. MORRIS Abstract Eastern North American plant biogeography has traditionally focused on two primary issues: (i) the location of temperate Pleistocene refugia and their proximity to the southern margin of the ice sheet during the last glacial maximum, and (ii) the origin of the temperate element of northern Latin America. While numerous population genetic and phylogeographical studies have focused on the first issue, few (if any) have considered the second. We addressed these issues by surveying 117 individuals from 24 populations of Liquidambar styraciflua (American sweetgum; Altingiaceae) across the southeastern USA, eastern Mexico, and Guatemala, using more than 2200 bp of chloroplast DNA sequence data. To specifically address the issue of timing, we estimated intraspecific divergence times on the basis of multiple fossil-based calibration points, using taxa from Altingiaceae (Liquidambar and Altingia) and Hammamelidaceae (Hamamelis) as outgroups. More than half of the sampled localities exhibited multiple haplotypes. Remarkably, the greatest variation was observed within the USA, with Mexico and Guatemala sharing widespread haplotypes with Texas, Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio, and northern Virginia. This lack of differentiation suggests shared ancestral polymorphisms, and that the genetic signal we observed is older than the disjunction itself. Our data provide support for previously proposed hypotheses of Pleistocene refugia in peninsular Florida and along the eastern Atlantic, but also for deeper divergences (~8 million years ago) within the USA. These patterns reflect a dynamic biogeographical history for eastern North American trees, and emphasize the importance of the inclusion of a temporal component in any phylogeographical study. [source] Five Feuds: An Analysis of Homicides in Eastern Kentucky in the Late Nineteenth CenturyAMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 2 2000Keith F. Otterbein Kentucky feuds are an example of market-based feuding, one of two major types of feuding. Compensation is not paid for a homicide in regions where a local market system is linked to the world system. Feuding kinship groups in Kentucky struggle to eliminate each other, whereas in regions where compensation is paid functional/equilibrium theories are used to explain the balance that seems to occur between kinship groups. The trouble case method is used to analyze five Kentucky feuds. Episodes or homicidal encounters are placed within feud sequences. Encounters include ambushes, gunfights, house attacks, encounter battles, and arranged battles. Although each feud differs greatly from the others, the structure of the Kentucky feud is delineated, [feuding, homicide, Kentucky feuds, Appalachia, war] [source] Slaying myths, eliminating excuses: Managing for accountability by putting kids firstNEW DIRECTIONS FOR EVALUATION, Issue 121 2009Robert J. Rodosky The authors write about evaluation, testing, and research and their relation to policy, planning, and program in the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) in Louisville, Kentucky. The authors focus on evaluation and testing for accountability and on managing the unit for this purpose. In detail they show the many evaluation demands from both inside and outside JCPS, from the State of Kentucky to No Child Left Behind. Their everyday work context is active, often tumultuous. Managing evaluation in this context is a form of juggling, and the authors succeed in part because they "have seen most of it before." Also contributing to their effectiveness are the leaders' managing styles. This case study gives a good glimpse of the everyday life in a school district evaluation shop. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Cancer Pain Education for Medical Students: The Development of a Short Course on CD-ROMPAIN MEDICINE, Issue 1 2002Paul A. Sloan MD Objective., The purpose of this study was to assess the educational value and acceptability of a short CD-ROM course on cancer pain management given to third-year medical students at the University of Kentucky. Methods., Thirty-six medical students were given a short-course CD-ROM on cancer pain assessment and management. The Cancer Pain CD-ROM included textual instruction as well as video clips and a 15-item interactive self-assessment examination on cancer pain management. Students were asked to evaluate the computerized course with an 18-item survey using a Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). Results., Twenty-seven medical students completed the course, however, only 11 returned evaluations. In general, the medical students appreciated the CD-ROM material, with the exception of the video clips. Students agreed most strongly (mean ± standard deviation [SD]) that the educational material on the CD-ROM was presented clearly (3.9 ± 1.1), the CD-ROM format was easy to use (4.0 ± 0.8), the CD-ROM course improved knowledge of opioid use for cancer pain (4.0 ± 0.7), and the course improved understanding of opioid-related side effects (4.0 ± 0.7). The self-assessment examination on cancer pain was rated easy to use and felt to be helpful (4.0 ± 0.9) for students to identify cancer pain knowledge deficits. The authors estimate that 150 man-hours were needed to complete production of the CD-ROM without any specialized training in computer skills. Conclusions., A short-course computer format program was developed by the authors to teach the basics of cancer pain management to medical students. A minority of students evaluated the program and agreed the material was clearly presented, improved knowledge of opioid analgesia, and was easy to use. [source] Integrating nine prescription opioid analgesics and/or four signal detection systems to summarize statewide prescription drug abuse in the United States in 2007,PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND DRUG SAFETY, Issue 9 2009Michael F. Schneider MS Abstract Purpose Integrate statewide rankings of abuse across different drugs and/or signal detection systems to summarize prescription drug abuse in each state in 2007. Methods Four signal detection systems (Opioid Treatment Programs, Key Informants, Drug Diversion, and Poison Centers) that covered heterogeneous populations collected data on the abuse of nine opioids: hydrocodone, immediate-release oxycodone, tramadol, extended-release [ER] oxycodone, fentanyl, morphine, methadone, hydromorphone, and buprenorphine). We introduce here linearized maps which integrate nine drugs within each system; four systems for each drug; or all drugs and systems. Results When rankings were integrated across drugs, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, West Virginia, and Michigan were in the highest tertile of abuse in three systems. When rankings were integrated across signal detection systems, there was a geographic clustering of states with the highest rates for ER oxycodone (in Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont) and methadone (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, and New Jersey). When rankings were integrated across both drugs and signal detection systems, states with 3-digit ZIP codes below 269 (i.e., from Massachusetts to West Virginia): Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Washington DC, Virginia, and West Virginia were in the highest tertile and only Delaware was in the lowest tertile. Conclusions We have presented methods to integrate data on prescription opioid abuse collected by signal detection systems covering different populations. Linearized maps are effective graphical summaries that depict differences in the level of prescription opioid abuse at the state level. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] TORT DECISIONS AND CAMPAIGN DOLLARSPOLITICS & POLICY, Issue 2 2000Eric N. Waltenburg There has recently been growing concern over the massive infusion of special interest dollars in state judicial elections. Commentators worry that these contributions may undermine the public's confidence in the operation and impartiality of the judicial system, or worse, "buy" the decision of the successful judicial candidate. The purpose of this analysis is to determine the extent to which there is good cause to worry. It examines contribution patterns for, and the decisional behavior of, the state supreme court justices on the Alabama, Kentucky, and Ohio courts who have had electoral contests in the 1990s. Results indicate that worries over the American bench being "for sale" have some traction. Under electoral pressures, the justices do appear to position themselves to appeal more to their contributors. This effect is not enduring, however. Whatever relationships exist between contributions to judicial candidates and their decisional behavior are short-term. Following his or her election, a justice's decision-making shows no signs of being influenced by interest group contributions. [source] Identification and characterization of Kentucky self-employed occupational injury fatalities using multiple sources, 1995,2004AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 12 2006Terry Bunn PhD Abstract Background Identification and characterization of occupational injury fatalities in self-employed workers typically relies on a single data source and thus may miss some cases. Methods Kentucky self-employed worker injury fatalities were identified using Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) program data (1995,2004) and compared to non self-employed worker data. Occupations and industries listed on death certificates were compared to those in which the decedent was actually engaged. Results Of 1,281 Kentucky worker injury deaths, 28% were self-employed. Death certificates failed to identify 31% of these deaths as work-related; industry and occupation were incorrectly identified in 27% and 16%, respectively. Fifty-seven percent of the deaths were in agriculture, primarily tractor-related. For Kentucky, the self-employed crude death rate was higher (27.6/100,000) than the non self-employed worker (5.4/100,000) rate or the US (11.5/100,000) self-employed rate. Conclusions Multiple information sources improve identification of self-employed status in work-related injury fatalities. Effective prevention requires accurate surveillance and examination of contributing factors. Self-employed worker injuries in high-risk industries should be more fully examined for development of effective injury prevention programs. Am. J. Ind. Med. 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Public Budget Choices and Private Willingness to PayPUBLIC BUDGETING AND FINANCE, Issue 2 2010BRANDON C. KOFORD Efficient allocation of public funds depends upon good information about citizens' values. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how citizens' values can be obtained by eliciting marginal willingness to tradeoff (MWTTO) ratios for public spending categories and linking these ratios to individual, private willingness to pay. The link enables estimation of the willingness to pay for an expansion to any of the budget categories based on the elicited willingness to pay and the marginal willingness to tradeoff ratios. Tradeoff ratios and willingness to pay are estimated for public budget categories in Kentucky based on a representative sample surveyed by mail and the web in 2007. Estimates show that individuals are willing to pay the most for an expansion to educational services, followed by health care. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||