ARS-Media

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) US Department of Agriculture; National Agricultural Library

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
ARS-Media_Excel_Instructions_5-15-15[2].docx application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document 543.3 KB 06/26/2026 11:45:AM
ARS-Media_Excel_p_5-15-15.xlsx application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet 78 KB 06/26/2026 11:45:AM
ARS-Media_Ion_Solution_Calculator.zip application/zip 36.8 MB 06/26/2026 11:45:AM
adc_metadata.json application/json 23.1 KB 06/26/2026 08:31:PM
catalog_detail.html text/html 10.8 KB 06/26/2026 11:45:AM

Project Citation: 

US Department of Agriculture, and National Agricultural Library. ARS-Media. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2026-06-27. https://doi.org/10.3886/E250360V1

Project Description

Project Title:  View help for Project Title ARS-Media
Summary:  View help for Summary Understanding the ion-specific effects of the mineral elements is a central theme of biology because these ions are fundamental to the composition and maintenance of life. However, experiments concerned with determining ion-specific effects are generally performed with salt, as opposed to ion, manipulations. This means that researchers have had to accept a co-variance in the co-ion of the salt used to manipulate the ion of interest. The result is that the effect of a single ion cannot be determined as it is confounded with the potential combined effects of the other ions that are co-varied. Because of this difficulty, the majority of research studies concerned with determining ion-specific effects exhibit ion confounding. The software application ARS-Media utilizes a linear programming optimization algorithm to determine the combination of salts, acids, and bases that satisfies any given target solution of ions. ARS-Media therefore allows researchers to construct experimental designs that use ions, as opposed to salts, as individual factors and, hence, experimentally determine ion-specific effects on biological responses relating to ion type, concentration, and proportion.

ARS-Media for Excel is an ion solution calculator that uses Excel's linear programming optimization add-in Solver.

ARS-Media utilizes Excel’s internal linear programming optimization algorithm to determine the combination of salts, acids, and bases that satisfy any given target solution of ions. The spreadsheet is designed for the formulation of nutrient media used in such applications as plant tissue culture, hydroponics, algal culture, fertilizer formulations, microbial culture, and any application that requires the definition of a specific culture media by its ion composition. The spreadsheet is formula-based and uses no macros that can sometimes conflict with institutional IT security systems.

Web download of these resources can be found at: ARS-Media ARS-Media for Excel


Resources in this dataset:

Resource Title: ARS-Media Ion Solution Calculator. File Name: ARS-Media Ion Solution Calculator.zipResource Description: ARS-Media Ion Solution Calculator.zip

Resource Title: ARS-Media Ion Solution Calculator.

File Name: ARS-Media Ion Solution Calculator.zip

Resource Description: ARS-Media Ion Solution Calculator.zip

Resource Title: ARS-Media for Excel. File Name: ARS-Media_Excel_p_5-15-15.xlsx

Resource Title: ARS-Media for Excel.

File Name: ARS-Media_Excel_p_5-15-15.xlsx

Resource Title: ARS-Media Excel Instructions. File Name: ARS-Media_Excel_Instructions_5-15-15[2].docx

Resource Title: ARS-Media Excel Instructions.

File Name: ARS-Media_Excel_Instructions_5-15-15[2].docx
Original Distribution URL:  View help for Original Distribution URL https://agdatacommons.nal.usda.gov/articles/model/ARS-Media/24664089

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms NP301; data.gov; ARS
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage United States
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 1/1/2015 – 1/1/2015
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) geographic information system (GIS) data
Collection Notes:  View help for Collection Notes DOI: 10.15482/USDA.ADC/1529202 Citation: Niedz, Randall P. (2019). ARS-Media. United States Department of Agriculture. https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1529202 (Downloaded 2026-06-26)


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Published Versions

V1 [2026-06-27]

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Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

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