Alabama Power (United States)

In the original publication [...].

Adoption of water-conservation irrigation practices could potentially reduce water and energy use and increase profitability, as well as protect the environment. Precision irrigation consisting of soil sensors (SS) for irrigation scheduling and variable rate irrigation (VRI) was compared with conventional uniform irrigation (URI). The study was conducted in South Alabama during the 2018 and 2019 corn growing seasons. The SS-VRI and URI treatments spanned the length of the field and were compared across five different management zones (MZ) that exhibited soil and terrain differences. Soil water tension sensors were installed on each MZ-treatment area to monitor hourly soil water changes. Results showed that on the two zones covering 55% of the study field, MZ 1 and MZ 2, the SS-VRI treatment, on a two-year average, resulted in 26% less irrigation water applied compared to the URI treatment; however, there were no statistical differences between yields or yield variability among treatments. Even though in MZ 4, there was not a substantial difference in irrigation water applied among treatments, soil sensors increased the precision of irrigation rate determination during the peak of high crop water demand. Findings from this study showed that as rainfall amount and distribution change over a crop growing period, soil sensor-based irrigation scheduling could be used to prevent over- or under irrigation. With proper management, the combination of soil sensors and VRI provides farmers with the opportunity to reduce water use, while increasing or maintaining yields; however, farmers must consider the investment and operating costs relative to the benefits.

Large-scale Lyngbya wollei (Cyanobacteria, Oscillatoriales) infestations are increasing throughout the USA and globally and causing significant obstruction of water resource uses. Decision makers and stakeholders encountering this nuisance organism often seek management options. Many approaches to L. wollei management may be ineffective or not applicable to specific field sites. Chemical control with United States Environmental Protection Agency registered algaecides has shown to be effective, although the specific formulation, concentration, and application frequency can all govern efficacy. This study summarizes results from a long-term and adaptive management program on extensive L. wollei infestations in three central Alabama, USA reservoirs (Lay Lake, Jordan Lake and Lake Mitchell) managed by Alabama Power Company. Multiple treatment strategies including numerous algaecides, combinations and addition of surfactants were used in attempts to control the nuisance cyanobacterium and preserve multiple beneficial functions of the resource. Ultimately, operational shift toward one technology, a double-chelated copper algaecide with surfactants and emulsifiers (Captain® XTR) resulted in more efficient and economical control. There were significant (P < 0.05) decreases in historic L. wollei acres requiring treatment through time on each reservoir. Throughout this study period, a 51.4, 88.1 and 94.7% percent decrease in total nuisance acres treated was realized on Lay Lake, Jordan Lake and Lake Mitchell, respectively. The large-scale and long-term dataset presented herein, covering multiple candidate treatment programs, provides valuable information to guide management decisions on other water resources impacted by L. wollei infestations.

Samples of the Skygazer Shiner, Notropis uranoscopus, were taken from the Tallapoosa River from 1988 to 1989. Examination of ovarian condition in female fish showed reproduction occurred from April to August. Clutch size of females varying in length from 40.4– 46.2 mm standard length, and collected in April 1988, ranged from 336 to 582 eggs and was significantly related to female size. Mean female ovum diameter ranged from 0.84 to 0.92 mm and averaged 0.87 mm; there was no significant relationship with female body size. The Skygazer Shiner appears to exhibit an “opportunistic” life-history strategy.

Higher penetration of solar photovoltaic (PV), with their uncontrollable generation variability, imposes various grid stability challenges on distribution system operation. The primary problem is significant voltage rise in the distribution feeder that forces existing voltage control devices such as on-load tap-changers and line voltage regulators to operate more frequently. The consequence is the deterioration of the operating life of the voltage control mechanism. The objective of this paper is to investigate the voltage impact of increased penetration of PV systems on distribution load tap changer operations. Both steady-state and quasi-static power flow analyses have been conducted to assess the impact on load tap changes under different solar PV penetration levels. Two real-world distribution feeder circuits are used as a test system in this study. Simulations are carried out for up to one-year period with 1-minute time step using OpenDSS. A comparison study was performed to investigate potential voltage rise issues in the network by increasing total PV penetration from 0 to 100% in the feeder. Results show significant increase in the total number of tap operations as solar PV penetration increases. Impacts on nodal voltages and feeder net power are also presented.

Wound healing involves a number of factors that results in the production of a "closed" wound. Studies have shown, in animal models, acceleration of wound healing with the addition of adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSC). The cause for the positive effect which these cells have on wound healing has not been elucidated. We have previously shown that addition of ADSC to the dermal equivalent in 3-dimensional skin cultures accelerates reepithelialization. We now demonstrate that conditioned media (CM) from cultured ADSC produced a similar rate of healing. This result suggests that a feedback from the 3-dimensional epithelial cultures to ADSC was not necessary to effect the accelerated reepithelialization. Mass spectrometry of CM from ADSC and primary human fibroblasts revealed differences in secretomes, some of which might have roles in the accelerating wound healing. Thus, the use of CM has provided some preliminary information on a possible mode of action.

ABSTRACTSwitchgrass was co-fired with coal in an industrial scale boiler to investigate the co-firing effects on boiler performance and pollutant emissions. Comparing with firing coal alone, co-firing with switchgrass slightly lowered boiler efficiency by 0.6 to 1% under full-load and low-load conditions, respectively. Net carbon dioxide and SO2 emissions were reduced with co-firing. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions were similar with co-firing to firing coal alone under both high and low loading amounts of switchgrass. Varying the nitrogen content by changing switchgrass type and harvest time revealed no significant effect on NOx emission in the range of tested conditions.

Abstract The plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a key pest of peaches, Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, in North America. Captures of adult weevils in unbaited pyramid traps recorded annually from 2000 to 2008 in an unmanaged peach orchard in central Alabama were used to determine its seasonal occurrence and to develop predictive degree-day models. Spring migration of plum curculio began at bloom (early to mid-March). Linear, polynomial, and three-parameter Weibull functions were tested to describe the relationship between weekly trap capture and cumulative degree-day (DD). Criteria used to select the best models were the smallest Akaike information criterion and highest R2 values. A sixth-order polynomial function fitted best to seasonal trap captures and cumulative DDs and revealed two major seasonal peaks with the first (spring generation) and second (summer generation) peaks occurring at cumulative DDs of ≈245 and 1105 (base 10°C, biofix of 1 January), respectively. A potential third (late summer generation) peak was observed at 1758 DDs. The sixth-order polynomial model predicted the first trap capture to occur at cumulative DD of ≈99 (base 10°C, biofix of 1 January). The three-parameter Weibull model predicted the first trap and first peak (spring generation) trap captures to occur at mean cumulative DDs of 108.02 ± 9 and 220.07 ± 16, respectively. Validation of the models in the unmanaged orchard in 2009 and 2010 and in a second unmanaged orchard (located 1.6 km from the first) in 2009 showed that the polynomial and Weibull were within ±7 d in their predictions of the first and peak trap captures of the spring population. Validation results showed that both models successfully predicted the first trap capture in one out of three scenarios and the peak trap capture in two out of three scenarios. The performance of the models is discussed in relation to management of plum curculio in central Alabama.

Transfer forces are loads that are transmitted across joints in a structure. For connections to be designed properly, the transfer forces must be communicated to the connection designer. This paper discusses the calculation of transfer forces and how the connection configuration affects the calculations. Two examples are provided to illustrate the calculation process.

The ldquoGE Curverdquo has been in use for many years by most utilities as their sole criteria for determining the serviceability of connected loads to their electrical system. This long term usage has bred familiarity with both the method and the criteria. In recent years, the IEEE Voltage Flicker TF undertook the task of adopting the IEC method of determining flicker. This was done so as to bring about International consensus concerning flicker criteria as well as noting the deficiency of the ldquoGE Curverdquo method compared to the advantages of the IEC method. As a result, IEEE 1453-2004 was adopted as a better method to address flicker limits. As the differences in the two methods has been documented by others already, this paper will just discuss differences in the application of the two methods in order to encourage others to use this more beneficial method.