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• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has altered the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river system. • Past and current Army Corps projects in the ACF contour legal conflicts between states. • Florida v. Georgia invites future geographic engagement with the history and practices of engineers in the ACF. This paper examines the role of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) in a recent Supreme Court case, Florida v. Georgia , concerning water allocation in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river basin. Although several non-federal, run-of-the-river hydropower dams exist on the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers, the system of five federal dams operated by the Corps most profoundly impacts the flow regime of the Chattahoochee and Apalachicola rivers. While the Corps was not a party in Florida v. Georgia , findings throughout the legal proceedings demonstrated the centrality of the Corps to contemporary politics and conflicts in the ACF. We propose the results of Florida v. Georgia can serve as inspiration for geographers studying the ACF river basin and other transboundary rivers to analytically and politically engage with experts and technical knowledge in new ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Florida torreya (Torreya taxifolia Arn.) is an endangered conifer with a very limited range in the USA: two counties in Florida and one in Georgia, along the Apalachicola River. The species was once abundant in its small native range but suffered a major decline, ~99% loss, in the late 1950s to early 1960s that is thought to have been caused by a disease. Recently, a canker disease caused by Fusarium torreyae was identified as the primary cause of Florida torreya decline. Efforts to restore and preserve the species in situ and ex situ are hampered by lack of pathogen‐free planting stock, and there exists an interest in methods to verify pathogen presence in seeds and seedlings prior to collection and transport for planting. This paper presents a new species‐specific diagnostic method that enables detection of F. torreyae and may allow for conservation programmes to ensure germplasm is free of the pathogen prior to planting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aromatic region of two-dimensional heteronuclear ¹H, 13C NMR spectra of natural organic matter and related materials (e.g., ¹H and 13C chemical shifts ranging from approximately 5 to 10 and 80 to 140 ppm, respectively) is highly complex and difficult to interpret using conventional approaches. In principle, this region of the NMR spectrum should be amenable to detailed analysis, because the effects of many common substituents on the chemical shifts of aromatic carbon and hydrogen are well documented. This paper describes the development of a model for prediction of substitution patterns in aromatic rings by increment analysis (SPARIA). In the forward mode, SPARIA is used to predict the chemical shifts of ¹H and 13C on aromatic moieties containing every possible combination of eight common substituents that are likely to be representative of substituents on aromatic moieties in natural organic matter. The accuracy of SPARIA in the forward mode is evaluated for 29 aromatic compounds (100 peaks) by comparison of predicted chemical shifts for ¹H and 13C with experimental values and with predictions of commercially available software for prediction of NMR spectra. The most important development in this paper is the inverse mode that is built into SPARIA. Given chemical shifts for ¹H and 13C (such as may be obtained from a two-dimensional, heteronuclear NMR spectrum), the inverse mode of SPARIA calculates all possible combinations of the eight selected substituents that yield chemical shifts within a specified window of chemical shift for both ¹H and 13C. Both the distribution of possible substitution patterns and simple descriptive statistics of the distribution are thus obtained. The inverse mode of SPARIA has been tested on the 29 aromatic compounds (100 peaks) that were used to evaluate its forward mode, and the dependence of the inverse process on the size of the chemical shift window has been evaluated. Finally, the inverse mode of SPARIA has been applied to selected peaks from the two-dimensional heteronuclear HSQC spectrum of a sample of natural organic matter that was isolated by reverse osmosis from the Suwannee River in southeastern Georgia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper re-examines the impact of Florida's disfranchisement law on the 2000 Presidential election. The analysis simulates outcomes in Florida under scenarios consistent with the turnout rates of Georgia and North Carolina ex-felons in 2000 and Florida ex-felons in 2008. Survey evidence on candidate preferences as well as data on ex-felon party registration in Florida and North Carolina are used to produce estimates of support for Bush and Gore among ex-felons. Based on the simulations, the ex-felon population in Florida would have favored Bush in 2000. Assuming that ex-felons supported Gore at rates similar to GSS respondents with at most a high school diploma, Bush would have defeated Gore by 4,925 and 7,048 votes, assuming turnout of 10 and 15%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper demonstrates that manganese oxides can initiate the formation of methyl iodide, a volatile compound that participates to the input of iodine into the atmosphere. The formation of methyl iodide was investigated using a natural manganese oxide in batch experiments for different conditions and concentrations of iodide, natural organic matter (NOM) and manganese oxide. Methyl iodide was formed at concentrations ≤1 μg L−1 for initial iodide concentrations ranging from 0.8 to 38.0 mg L−1. The production of methyl iodide increased with increasing initial concentrations of iodide ion and Mn sand and when pH decreased from 7 to 5. The hydrophilic NOM isolate exhibited the lowest yield of methyl iodide whereas hydrophobic NOM isolates such as Suwannee River HPOA fraction produced the highest concentration of methyl iodide. The formation of methyl iodide could take place through the oxidation of NOM on manganese dioxide in the presence of iodide. However, the implication of elemental iodine cannot be excluded at acidic pH. Manganese oxides can then participate with ferric oxides to the formation of methyl iodide in soils and sediments. The formation of methyl iodide is unlikely in technical systems such as drinking water treatment i.e. for ppt levels of iodide and low contact times with manganese oxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The states of Alabama, Florida and Georgia dispute the apportioning of water from rivers that originate in Georgia and flow through the other two states. Florida and Alabama often claim that Georgia uses more than its fair share of water. In order to address such a dispute, an estimation of the total amount of water used for irrigation by different crops is required. Current estimates of irrigated areas are subject to errors because they are based entirely on survey questionnaires. In this paper, the potential of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on-board the National Oceanic Space Administration (NOAA) satellites is examined for estimating irrigated area. Two indices, a widely used Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and a newer Vegetation Health Index (VHI), were regressed against irrigated area for 1986, 1989, 1992, 1995 and 2000 for selected regions in Georgia (Baker and Mitchell counties, and Seminole and Decatur counties). The average VHI during a period from the third week of February to the end of September was better related to irrigated area than the corresponding NDVI; R 2 was above 0.80 as opposed to 0.49. It is concluded that the VHI, derived from three-channel AVHRR data, can be used to estimate irrigated area. By multiplying irrigated area with the application rate, the volume of irrigation used in a state can be determined, which can contribute to the solution of the water dispute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limiting sugar-sweetened beverages served to children can help decrease childhood obesity risk. Early Care and Education (ECE) providers are key to promoting these beverage policies because they play a role in establishing healthy habits among young children. As a majority of Americans have Internet access, eLearning would be an appropriate format for a beverage policy training platform for ECE providers. The specific aim of this study was to determine the preferred eLearning format of ECE providers in Georgia to inform the development of an eLearning beverage policy training. The target population for study included licensed and license exempt ECE providers in GA serving children ages 0-5. A randomized, stratified sample of facilities was selected. ECE providers completed an electronic or paper survey evaluating the degree in which their program implemented beverage policy recommendations and their eLearning preferences. Mock prototypes for preferred eLearning formats were developed. A convenience sample participated in semi-structured interviews to yield preferences for the development of the eLearning training. Descriptive statistics were calculated to determine eLearning preferences. Qualitative data analysis was conducted to reveal themes from interviews. A total of 646 respondents completed the eLearning survey. Sixty eight percent of ECE providers reported participation in the Child and Adult Food Care Program. Participants had access to the internet (98.5%) and 44% would use the internet for a 15-minute educational session. Eighty five percent of participants reported having no beverage policy training. The preferred eLearning formats identified online were interactive video (46.8%), podcast (37.5%) and video-based learning (31.7%). A subset of ECE providers participated (N = 20) participated in interviews. Most participants chose interactive videos as the most effective training format. Findings showed that effective trainings should be engaging, concise, and hold trainees accountable. Study results revealed that most participants have not received a beverage policy training. eLearning trainings is a promising method to educate ECE providers and improve the quality of beverages served to young children. None. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]