This study was undertaken to compare the overstory above-ground biomass, net primary production, and nutrient cycle in three common types of subalpine coastal forests near Vancouver, B.C. Canada. Twelve sample plots, representing three plant associations of different moisture regime, were established along an elevation transect. The following parameters were determined on each plot: overstory litterfall biomass and its macronutrient content, overstory throughfall volume and its macronutrient content, above-ground tree biomass and its macronutrient content, tree bole wood increment, annual net primary production and its macronutrient content, mean depth of forest floor and its biomass. The quantity of macronutrients supplied in incident precipitation was measured in three forest openings in the vicinity of the sample plots. Litterfall was sampled for 24 months, while throughfall and incident precipitation were sampled during the summers of three consecutive years. Diameter increment for the last 20 years was measured on increment cores obtained from 95 randomly selected trees. Increment of tree boles was calculated from allometric volume equations and combined with data on litter production to provide the estimate of net primary production. Distribution of biomass and macronutrients in the above-ground tree layer was calculated by logarithmic equations prepared in a preliminary study. Sample plots ranged in elevation from 1250 to 1450 m. Tree cover consisted of mountain hemlock and Pacific silver fir in various proportions with some yellow-cedar at the top and some western hemlock at the bottom of the elevation transect. Mean age of trees on the sample plots ranged from 295 to 440 years. The above-ground tree standing biomass on the sample plots was 389-731 t/ha, with the largest volumes on the mesic sites. The annual net primary production was 1.77-3.35 t/ha. The biomass of overstory above-ground litterfall was 1.48-3.02 t/(ha*a); the amount of macronutrients in litterfall was 24-41 kg/(ha*a). The largest litter production was on mesic sites. There was a considerable amount of epiphytic lichens in the litterfall (71-426 kg//(ha*a)). The amount of nitrogen in incident precipitation was greater than in throughfall, indicating that the tree canopy extracted nitrogen from rainwater. More than 1 kg/ha of nitrogen was extracted from rainwater during the summer sampling period. In contrast, up to 3 kg/ha of potassium, 1 kg/ha of calcium and 10 kg/ha of sulphur were leached from the tree canopy during the 13 weeks summer sampling period. It is possible that the high value for sulphur reflects the presence of a pulpmill about 20 km southwest of the study area. The results of the study were used to test the hypothesis that differences in phytosociological characteristics occurring on a topographic sequence along relatively short elevation transects are accompanied by sufficiently large changes in patterns of ecosystem function to distinguish these sites on a functional basis. Analysis of the data supported this hypo thesis. / Forestry, Faculty of / Graduate

With its growing popularity, most church leaders believe the multisite church is not going anywhere. Regardless of one’s belief about whether a multisite church meets the definition of “one church” or “multiple churches,” all multisite churches must deal with the fact that their senior leaders will eventually depart. While numerous examples of single-site pastoral succession exist, there are few examples of multisite pastoral succession from which to learn. The ultimate purpose of this research was to help multisite churches (or churches that are considering multisite) better understand and implement pastoral succession from the first generation of pastoral leadership to the second. To accomplish this goal, a two-phase sequential mixed-methods study was developed. Phase 1 of the research built a survey to better understand multisite succession, which was administered to 21 of 35 churches that were discovered through snowball sampling. Phase 2 built upon the survey information and utilized a Delphi Panel in order to project best practices for multisite churches undergoing pastoral succession. This phase had 76 practices gain consensus after three rounds of expert feedback. The results included practices for first generation pastors, practices for second generation pastors, and practices for the organization as a whole.

No description available.

The integration of remote sensing and digital documentation into archaeological practice has aided in the discovery of historical remains and improved the recordation of artifacts and built heritage. This thesis will explore the evolution of remote sensing and its relationship to archaeology and heritage conservation. Remote sensing employs image capturing and radar systems to record data both on the ground and in the air, which can be utilized to create three dimensional (3D) models and maps detailing archaeological, architectural, and geological features. In the past two decades that its use has become more common in the heritage sector. Remote sensing technologies are continuously improving and the applications for them are increasing, making the future of remote sensing very promising. Given the significance of the archaeological record to Etruscan studies, Etruscan archaeological sites provide significant and connected case studies for the employment of remote sensing forms at active and inactive ancient heritage sites / 0 / SPK / specialcollections@tulane.edu

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The purpose of this study was to identify and rank the importance of the site selection factors that influence the U.S. franchise restaurant industry as well as rank the confidence level of the experts. To identify the site selection factors, this study sought assistance and support from restaurant professionals. The Delphi technique was used to elicit the opinions of a panel of experts regarding the site selection factors. The panel was composed of restaurant professionals of restaurant companies which had already developed franchised units in the U.S. Panel members suggested a total of 56 factors under six different headings: general location, position of site, demographics, traffic information, competition, and cost consideration. They reached a consensus on the site selection factors on most of the issues. The result of study showed that the factors identified under position of site and competition are major aspects that influence the site selection of the restaurant companies. / Master of Science

No description available.

No description available.

This study explores a solution to a growing problem involving the landscapes of many prominent landmarks in America. The probability that terrorists will target and attack public and private sites has mandated increased security presence. The initial response was to surround sensitive facilities with barriers and guards. Thus, the images of these sites intended to be publicly open and welcoming are being transformed to seemingly modern fortresses. To date, the solution to the problem has focused on sophisticated engineering and electronics to help protect vulnerable architecture. Meanwhile, the potential contribution of the landscape architecture profession has not been fully recognized. This thesis develops a planning process to guide the integration of site design and physical security. It describes the role of the landscape architect on design teams charged with the complex task of protecting against terrorism. The document provides the landscape architect with a flowchart, site images, and a step-by-step process that leads to reconciliation of conflicting needs. The thesis culminates with a conceptual schematic site design that demonstrates how the site planning and design process proposed in this thesis can be a mechanism to achieve both secure and socially desirable landscapes. This thesis helps resolve the current dilemma of how to maintain an adequate degree of security while preserving a sense of openness on a site. The paper identifies functions specific to the landscape architecture profession that ease and improve collaboration on secure site design. It identifies a niche that has the potential to increase the demand for landscape architectural services. Most importantly, the planning and design process proposed in this document fills a void in the existing literature by addressing the significance of landscape architecture in antiterrorism practices. / Master of Landscape Architecture

Background Promoters are key players in gene regulation. They receive signals from various sources (e.g. cell surface receptors) and control the level of transcription initiation, which largely determines gene expression. In vertebrates, transcription start sites and surrounding regulatory elements are often poorly defined. To support promoter analysis, we present CORG http://corg.molgen.mpg.de, a framework for studying upstream regions including untranslated exons (5' UTR). Description The automated annotation of promoter regions integrates information of two kinds. First, statistically significant cross-species conservation within upstream regions of orthologous genes is detected. Pairwise as well as multiple sequence comparisons are computed. Second, binding site descriptions (position-weight matrices) are employed to predict conserved regulatory elements with a novel approach. Assembled EST sequences and verified transcription start sites are incorporated to distinguish exonic from other sequences. As of now, we have included 5 species in our analysis pipeline (man, mouse, rat, fugu and zebrafish). We characterized promoter regions of 16,127 groups of orthologous genes. All data are presented in an intuitive way via our web site. Users are free to export data for single genes or access larger data sets via our DAS server http://tomcat.molgen.mpg.de:8080/das. The benefits of our framework are exemplarily shown in the context of phylogenetic profiling of transcription factor binding sites and detection of microRNAs close to transcription start sites of our gene set. Conclusion The CORG platform is a versatile tool to support analyses of gene regulation in vertebrate promoter regions. Applications for CORG cover a broad range from studying evolution of DNA binding sites and promoter constitution to the discovery of new regulatory sequence elements (e.g. microRNAs and binding sites).