BACKGROUND A common strategy for ablation of scar-based ventricular tachycardia is delivering multiple lesions in a linear pattern. METHODS AND RESULTS We tested the efficacy of a novel linear irrigated multipolar ablation catheter capable of creating linear lesions with a single application. Healthy swine underwent endocardial and epicardial linear ablation using a novel linear irrigated abl...

In arid and semiarid parts of the world, evaporation from irrigated fields may significantly influence humidity, near-surface winds, and precipitation. Using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra imagery from summer and autumn 2000 the authors attempt to improve the realism of a regional climate model (the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–NCAR Mesoscale Model...

The goal of this paper was to develop and demonstrate practical methods forcomputing sub-pixel areas (SPAs) from coarse-resolution satellite sensor data. Themethods were tested and verified using: (a) global irrigated area map (GIAM) at 10-kmresolution based, primarily, on AVHRR data, and (b) irrigated area map for India at 500-mbased, primarily, on MODIS data. The sub-pixel irrigated areas (SP...

This study explores the importance of different motivations to visit three types of recreational settings--farms, private forests, and state or national parks. Data were collected via a mail-back questionnaire administered to a stratified random sample of households in Missouri (USA). Descriptive and inferential statistics reveal both similarities and discontinuities in motivations for visiting...

Human-driven land-use changes increasingly threaten biodiversity. In agricultural ecosystems, abandonment of former farmlands constitutes a major land-use shift. We examined the relationships between areas in which agriculture has been abandoned and the distribution records of threatened plant species across Japan. We selected 23 plant species that are currently identified as threatened but wer...

Currently there is a lack of quantitative information regarding the driving factors of vegetation dynamics in post-Soviet Central Asia. Insufficient knowledge also exists concerning vegetation variability across sub-humid to arid climatic gradients as well as vegetation response to different land uses, from natural rangelands to intensively irrigated croplands. In this study, we analyzed the en...

Lowland meadow irrigation used to be widespread in Central Europe, but has largely been abandoned during the 20th century. As a result of agri-environment schemes and nature conservation efforts, meadow irrigation is now being re-established in some European regions. In the absence of natural flood events, irrigation is expected to favour fauna typical of lowland wet meadows. We analysed the ef...

Finger millet landraces viz., TZA-01 and TZM-01 were grown in glasshouses under two moisture regimes (fully irrigated and after drought) to investigate the effects of environmental stress on the growth, SPAD measurement, radiation use efficiency and yield of finger millet (Eleucine coracana). The drought treatment was imposed at 28 DAS beyond which no irrigation was applied to the droughted tre...

The commodity markets have been bidding for acreage due to increased corn and soybean demand for biofuels. Currently, the major decision facing producers is determining the enterprise mix for 2008 in the midst of higher commodity prices. This memo compares the Return over Variable Costs for soybeans and peanuts and analyzes the break-even yields and prices for non-irrigated and irrigated produc...

The commodity markets have been bidding for acreage due to biofuels creating increased demand for corn and soybeans. Currently, the major decision facing producers is determining the enterprise mix for 2008 in the midst of higher commodity prices. This memo compares the Return over Variable Costs for cotton and peanuts and analyzes the breakeven yields and prices for non-irrigated and irrigated...