Potential economic gains from using forage legumes in organic livestock systems in northern Europe

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference of the Colloquium of Organic Researchers (COR). Forage legumes, with their ability to fix nitrogen biologically, seem especially attractive for organic livestock production. In an attempt to assess their true potential, this study draws on a four-year trial conducted at 12 sites in northern Europe with four different forage legumes. One third of the sites were managed as organic systems, with the harvested forage being fed as silage to dairy cows. Based on the trial results, an economic assessment has been made of the potential of forage legumes to improve the competitive edge of organic dairy systems, relative to conventional grass-based ones. Although the results suggest that the organic milk price premium plays a major role in determining the comparative profitability of organic dairy systems, the use of forage legumes also gives a significant cost advantage to organic production

A framework for assessing crop production from rotations

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference of the Colloquium of Organic Researchers (COR). Organic farming systems rely on the management of biological cycles for the provision of nutrients, which are crucial to maximising the production from the system. Rotations based on the use of grass-legume leys are central to the concept of organic farming systems, because they have the potential to support both animal production, and a subsequent, exploitative, arable cropping phase. A major challenge in organic farming is managing the supply of nitrogen, since it has a key role in governing both productivity and environmental impact. Hence, within a rotational system, there is a need to understand the complex interactions that are occurring between crop species and management, livestock production system and the impact of soil and climate on these processes. To understand these interactions, a framework is being developed for rotational farming systems that describes the soil nitrogen, crop growth and livestock production. The framework must address questions that are relevant to researchers and extensions workers. Typical questions relate to the management of nutrients in the short and long-term. Additionally, there are concerns over the impact of weeds, pests and diseases on productivity, as well as the impact of adopting new strategies or crops on the farming system

Economic Analysis of Increased Levels of Intramuscular Fat in Pork: Producer and Industry Opportunities

Ultrasound technology is available for accurately measuring intramuscular fat (IMF) in live pigs. This report provides information on the costs for pig producers and processors to implement this technology and what consumers are willing to pay for pork with improved levels of intramuscular fat. About half the participants in the willingness to pay study preferred the high IMF chop. They paid a premium of 25 percent over the low IMF chop.ultrasound technology, measure intramuscular fat live pigs, pig producer cost, pig processor costs, consumer willingness to pay, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,

e-VLBI observations of GHz-Peaked Spectrum (GPS) radio sources in nearby galaxies from the AT20G survey

GHz-peaked spectrum (GPS) radio sources are thought to be young objects which later evolve into FR-I and FR-II radio galaxies. We have used the Australia Telescope 20GHz (AT20G) survey catalogue to select a uniform sample of GPS sources with spectral peaks above 5GHz, which should represent the youngest members of this class. In this paper, we present e-VLBI observations of ten such objects which are associated with nearby (z<0.15) galaxies and so represent a new population of local, low--power GPS sources. Our e-VLBI observations were carried out at 4.8GHz with the Australia Telescope Long Baseline Array (LBA) using a real--time software correlator. All ten sources were detected, and were unresolved on scales of ~100mas, implying that they are typically less than 100pc in linear size.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, 3 table

External perceptions of successful university brands

Branding in universities has become an increasingly topical issue, with some institutions committing substantial financial resources to branding activities. The particular characteristics of the sector present challenges for those seeking to build brands and it therefore seems to be timely and appropriate to investigate the common approaches of those institutions perceived as having successful brands. This study is exploratory in nature, seeking to investigate how successfully UK universities brand themselves, whether they are distinct and if the sector overall communicates effectively. This is approached through examining the perspective of opinion formers external to universities but closely involved with the sector – a key stakeholder group in UK higher education Overall, the research’s exploratory nature aims to further the debate on effective branding in UK higher education. The findings and conclusions identify some issues surrounding university branding activity; most UK universities were considered to be distinct from one another, but few were seen to have real fully formed brands. Although a number of institutions that were seen as having more ‘successful’ brands were identified, it was argued that whilst many UK universities communicate their brand well enough to key stakeholders, they fail to consistently do this across all audiences. It was also suggested that UK universities may concentrate on areas of perceived immediate strategic importance (in terms of branding) to an extent where others are neglected

Portable gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method for the in‑feld screening of organic pollutants in soil and water at pollution incidents

Environmental pollution incidents generate an emergency response from regulatory agencies to ensure that the impact on the environment is minimised. Knowing what pollutants are present provides important intelligence to assist in determining how to respond to the incident. However, responders are limited in their in-feld capabilities to identify the pollutants present. This research has developed an in-feld, qualitative analytical approach to detect and identify organic pollutants that are commonly detected by regulatory environmental laboratories. A rapid, in-feld extraction method was used for water and soil matrices. A coiled microextraction (CME) device was utilised for the introduction of the extracted samples into a portable gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) for analysis. The total combined extraction and analysis time was approximately 6.5 min per sample. Results demonstrated that the in-feld extraction and analysis methods can screen for ffty-nine target organic contaminants, including polyaromatic hydrocarbons, monoaromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, phthalates, organophosphorus pesticides, and organochlorine pesticides. The method was also capable of tentatively identifying unknown compounds using library searches, signifcantly expanding the scope of the methods for the provision of intelligence at pollution incidents of an unknown nature, although a laboratory-based method was able to provide more information due to the higher sensitivity achievable. The methods were evaluated using authentic casework samples and were found to be ft-for-purpose for providing rapid in-feld intelligence at pollution incidents. The fact that the in-feld methods target the same compounds as the laboratory-based methods provides the added beneft that the in-feld results can assist in sample triaging upon submission to the laboratory for quantitation and confrmatory analysis

Galaxy Groups: Proceedings from a Swinburne University Workshop

We present the proceedings from a 2-day workshop held at Swinburne University on the 24th-25th of May 2005. The workshop participants highlighted current Australian research on both theoretical and observational aspects of galaxy groups. These proceedings include short 1-page summaries of a number of the talks presented at the workshop. The talks presented ranged from reconciling N-body simulations with observations, to the HI content of galaxies in groups and the existence of ``dark galaxies''. The formation and existence of ultra-compact dwarfs in groups, and a new supergroup in Eridanus were also discussed.Comment: to be published in PAS

Galaxy Zoo: Passive Red Spirals

We study the spectroscopic properties and environments of red spiral galaxies found by the Galaxy Zoo project. By carefully selecting face-on, disk dominated spirals we construct a sample of truly passive disks (not dust reddened, nor dominated by old stellar populations in a bulge). As such, our red spirals represent an interesting set of possible transition objects between normal blue spirals and red early types. We use SDSS data to investigate the physical processes which could have turned these objects red without disturbing their morphology. Red spirals prefer intermediate density regimes, however there are no obvious correlations between red spiral properties and environment - environment alone is not sufficient to determine if a spiral will become red. Red spirals are a small fraction of spirals at low masses, but are a significant fraction at large stellar masses - massive galaxies are red independent of morphology. We confirm that red spirals have older stellar popns and less recent star formation than the main spiral population. While the presence of spiral arms suggests that major star formation cannot have ceased long ago, we show that these are not recent post-starbursts, so star formation must have ceased gradually. Intriguingly, red spirals are ~4 times more likely than normal spirals to host optically identified Seyfert or LINER, with most of the difference coming from LINERs. We find a curiously large bar fraction in the red spirals suggesting that the cessation of star formation and bar instabilities are strongly correlated. We conclude by discussing the possible origins. We suggest they may represent the very oldest spiral galaxies which have already used up their reserves of gas - probably aided by strangulation, and perhaps bar instabilities moving material around in the disk.Comment: MNRAS in press, 20 pages, 15 figures (v3

N plus 3 Advanced Concept Studies for Supersonic Commercial Transport Aircraft Entering Service in the 2030-2035 Period

Boeing, with Pratt & Whitney, General Electric, Rolls-Royce, M4 Engineering, Wyle Laboratories and Georgia Institute of Technology, conducted a study of supersonic commercial aircraft concepts and enabling technologies for the year 2030-2035 timeframe. The work defined the market and environmental/regulatory conditions that could evolve by the 2030/35 time period, from which vehicle performance goals were derived. Relevant vehicle concepts and technologies are identified that are anticipated to meet these performance and environmental goals. A series of multidisciplinary analyses trade studies considering vehicle sizing, mission performance and environmental conformity determined the appropriate concepts. Combinations of enabling technologies and the required technology performance levels needed to meet the desired goals were identified. Several high priority technologies are described in detail, including roadmaps with risk assessments that outline objectives, key technology challenges, detailed tasks and schedules and demonstrations that need to be performed. A representative configuration is provided for reference purposes, along with associated performance estimates based on these key technologies