Severe droughts have caused widespread tree mortality across many forest biomes with profound effects on the function of ecosystems and carbon balance. Climate change is expected to intensify regional-scale droughts, focusing attention on the physiological basis of drought-induced tree mortality. Recent work has shown that catastrophic failure of the plant hydraulic system is a principal mechanism involved in extensive crown death and tree mortality during drought, but the multi-dimensional response of trees to desiccation is complex. Here we focus on the current understanding of tree hydraulic performance under drought, the identification of physiological thresholds that precipitate mortality and the mechanisms of recovery after drought. Building on this, we discuss the potential application of hydraulic thresholds to process-based models that predict mortality.

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Triggers of tree mortality under drought

Facility layout problems: a survey

This paper focuses on simple normative rules for monetary policy that central banks can use to guide their interest rate decisions. Such rules were first derived from research on empirical monetary models with rational expectations and sticky prices built in the 1970s and 1980s. During the past two decades substantial progress has been made in establishing that such rules are robust. They perform well with a variety of newer and more rigorous models and policy evaluation methods. Simple rules are also frequently more robust than fully optimal rules. Important progress has also been made in understanding how to adjust simple rules to deal with measurement error and expectations. Moreover, historical experience has shown that simple rules can work well in the real world in that macroeconomic performance has been better when central bank decisions were described by such rules. The recent financial crisis has not changed these conclusions, but it has stimulated important research on how policy rules should deal with asset bubbles and the zero bound on interest rates. Going forward, the crisis has drawn attention to the importance of research on international monetary issues and on the implications of discretionary deviations from policy rules.

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Simple and Robust Rules for Monetary Policy

https://cyberleninka.org/article/n/890961.pdf

A decision-making framework for the grouping and testing of nanomaterials (DF4nanoGrouping)

. With projected changes in climate, population and socioeconomic activity located in flood-prone areas, the global assessment of flood risk is essential to inform climate change policy and disaster risk management. Whilst global flood risk models exist for this purpose, the accuracy of their results is greatly limited by the lack of information on the current standard of protection to floods, with studies either neglecting this aspect or resorting to crude assumptions. Here we present a first global database of FLOod PROtection Standards, FLOPROS, which comprises information in the form of the flood return period associated with protection measures, at different spatial scales. FLOPROS comprises three layers of information, and combines them into one consistent database. The design layer contains empirical information about the actual standard of existing protection already in place; the policy layer contains information on protection standards from policy regulations; and the model layer uses a validated modelling approach to calculate protection standards. The policy layer and the model layer can be considered adequate proxies for actual protection standards included in the design layer, and serve to increase the spatial coverage of the database. Based on this first version of FLOPROS, we suggest a number of strategies to further extend and increase the resolution of the database. Moreover, as the database is intended to be continually updated, while flood protection standards are changing with new interventions, FLOPROS requires input from the flood risk community. We therefore invite researchers and practitioners to contribute information to this evolving database by corresponding to the authors.

/pdf/flopros-an-evolving-global-database-of-flood-protection-4v6ih3ky1t.pdf

FLOPROS: an evolving global database of flood protection standards

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), with its NextGen Air Transportation System (NextGen) and Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) initiatives, is moving towards a concept of integrated procedures implementation. Performance-Based Navigation initiatives include implementing Area Navigation (RNAV) and Required Navigation Performance (RNP) routes and procedures. The integrative concept of implementation of these procedures would mean a migration away from site by site (or runway by runway) procedure implementation process towards a NextGen readiness concept. This concept will include development of an integrated system of PBN routes and procedures by geographic area (incorporating metro areas and outlying airports). This concept delivers optimum benefits for the air traffic and carrier community. In addition, the integrative approach helps in prioritizing and formulating the funding requests to combine airspace, environmental, and procedures development. This paper discusses different aspects of this integrative approach.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/5165450/5172820/05172877.pdf

Joe McCarthy

Papers

Integrated approach