The caloric test is quantified using two parameters: unilateral weakness (UW) and directional preponderance (DP). The clinical usefulness of UW, also known as canal paresis, is well established but there is considerable debate about the value of DP. Some laboratories choose not to include DP in the interpretation of the caloric test. One reason for the low clinical value of abnormal DP may be t...

For the first few days after heavy rain or irrigations, water drains from the soil profile until its water content approaches a relatively stable value called the drained upper limit or field capacity. When plants have extracted all of the water available to them, the root zone water content approaches a lower limit of available water, or permanent wilting water content. The water held by the s...

We compared aquatic invertebrate diversity in paddy fields under traditional and modern management practices. We also examined the general factors that may be related to diversity within each paddy field. The Kitadan area was farmed with traditional management practices, with much longer periods of irrigations compared with the Kahoku area, which was farmed with modern agricultural practices us...

Polyacrylamide (PAM) is applied to 400000 irrigated hectares annually in the USA to control irrigation-induced erosion, yet the fate of dissolved PAM applied in irrigation water is not well documented. We determined the fate of PAM added to furrow streams under two treatments: Initial-10, 10 mg L(-1) PAM product applied only during the initial hours of the irrigation, and Cont-1, 1.0 mg L(-1) P...