Nitrogen dynamics in a mature Miscanthus x giganteus crop fertilized with nitrogen over a five year period

peer-reviewedThe objective of this study was to investigate N dynamics and response to N fertilization in a mature crop of Miscanthus x giganteus. A crop of Miscanthus x giganteus sown in 1994 was fertilized with five N rates (0, 38, 63, 90 and 125 kg N/ha/year) over a five year period (2008–2012) in Carlow, Ireland. Foliar chlorophyll concentrations were directly related to N fertilization level throughout the study and rose after N applications until July before falling with the onset of N remobilisation. Shoot numbers were unaffected by N fertilization until the final years of the study when they increased with N level. Crop height was unaffected by fertilization in the early years of the study but in the final years of the study, it increased with N level until July after which the effect diminished. There was a small but significant stimulation of harvested biomass yields in autumn (average 15 t/ha) with increasing N fertilization, but there was no effect on harvested yields in spring (average 10.5 t/ha). The N concentration in the rhizome network gradually built up during the course of the study and was proportional to N application. Aboveground biomass N content was also proportional to N application. Nitrogen remobilisation between the October and February harvests was small; abscissed leaves accounted for most of the N loss over this period. The deleterious environmental consequences of N fertilizer may outweigh any potential economic benefits if increases in biomass production are small or non-existent

A body of work: performance and becoming

This thesis explores the relationship between body and site in performance. The research is conducted through the making and examination of a number of the researcher’s own works. Touring and site-based works are examined in relation to specific examples of other contemporary artistic practice. The research is an embodied relationship between theory and practice. Performance works directed by the researcher were created in collaboration with other artists. The process of creating these works is the lived experience of the interaction of the creation of art images and critical theory. These works are then interrogated as part of an ongoing artistic process. This thesis is one element of a tripartite enquiry, comprising practice, theory and documentation, which constitute a ‘body of work’. The ‘body of work’ engages over time with the notion of life as a quality experienced through the body and occasioned by movement. From this perspective it interrogates the static notion of ‘being’ and argues that this notion is limited in examining contemporary performance practice. Through an investigation of theories of ‘becoming’ and an exploration of an embodied practice of ‘becoming’ this research proposes a model of ‘fluid being’ to articulate the nature of the body within ‘the body of work’. The research concludes that the ‘fluid being’ manifest in the lived experience of the ‘body of work’ is an open constellation that militates against any notion of site as that which can contain it. It therefore speculates towards a notion that, in a practice occasioned by ‘fluid being’, the primary relation of practice is with the temporal occasion of life as lived experience rather than spatial notions of site

Pengaruh Word of Mouth Terhadap Keputusan Pembelian Dan Kepuasan Konsumen (Studi Pada Konsumen Kober Mie Setan Jalan Simpang Soekarno-hatta Nomor 1-2 Malang)

This Research aims to determine: the effect of word of mouth on purchase decision, the effect of purchase decisionon consumer satisfaction, the effect of word of mouth on consumer satisfaction, and the effect of word of mouth on consumer satisfaction through the purchase decision. The type of research was explanatory research with quantitative approach. The participants of the research are the consumerwho are buy the Kober Mie Setan by word of mouth, with a total sample of 116 respondents. The sampling technique using simple random sampling with the method of data collection using questionnaires. Descriptive analysis and path analysis were used in this study. The results of this study reveals that: word of mouth has direct and significantly effect on purchase decision, purchase decision has direct and significantly effect on consumer satisfaction, word of mouth has direct and significantly effect on consumer satisfaction, and word of mouth has significantly effect on consumer satisfaction through purchase decision as a mediator variable. Thus, Kober Mie Setan should maintain a positive image by improving the quality of their current menus, it should be able encourage consumers to establish the word of mouth. Kober Mie Setan should expand the networks through social media to create positive word of mouth in the community

Competitive Usability and the Catalogue: A Process for Justification and Selection of a Next-Generation Catalogue or Web-Scale Discovery System

This case study demonstrates how competitive usability testing informs the selection and purchase of a next-generation catalogue (NGC) or Web-scale discovery system (WSDS) to enhance a current library catalogue. Using competitive usability techniques, the authors explain how different NGCs and WSDSs solve issues that catalogue users may face when searching for materials in the online catalogue. The goal of this study is to provide a framework that identifies concrete evidence in support of purchase recommendations for an effective system that adequately addresses locally identified issues with catalogue searches. The process of selecting live system implementations from peer institutions is outlined. Steps include surveying library staff about their current library catalogue. Survey results and documented reference questions provided the foundation for user tasks created by testers for use in this study. This multifaceted research design resulted in a case study that captures current issues that users encounter in the discovery and access to library materials and shows how to include competitive usability techniques as part of a purchase rationale while assessing how well a variety of next-generation discovery and access systems address users’ issues.published or submitted for publicatio

Novel Approaches to Optimise Early Growth in Willow Crops

peer-reviewedWillow is a fast growing, high yielding biomass crop that can help reduce reliance on fossil fuels. However, long establishment times to get to profitability and sustainable yield may deter interest in planting the crop. A number of different approaches were investigated to optimise and accelerate early growth. These approaches were water immersion, plastic application, altering stem orientation at planting, altering coppicing timings and applying growth hormone. Glasshouse and field trials were used to test the different approaches. In this work, planting material was soaked for a varying number of days and plastic was applied or not applied in field trials. In the planting orientation approach, stems were planted diagonally or vertically with half of the planting material above the ground level or horizontally below ground level. Additionally, willow crops were coppiced at different times throughout their first growing season and a growth hormone trial was also incorporated in this work. Water soaking, plastic application, coppicing during the growing season or hormone application did not improve early growth or yield. However, early growth and yield were increased by manipulating the planting orientation of willow stems. Planting orientation treatments in which part of the stem was left above the ground increased early growth and yield significantly compared to the control without requiring extra inputs at planting. The beneficial effects of coppicing can be achieved by manipulating the planting procedure so that the first year’s growth is not disregarded

Bi-cropping of winter wheat and white clover.

End of Project ReportGrowing cereals in a leguminous living mulch (bi-cropping) could potentially reduce the need for synthetic inputs to cereal production while preventing losses of nutrients and increasing soil biological activity. The objective of this project was to investigate how bi-cropping (a low input production system for cereals) would compare with conventional winter wheat production systems in terms of total biomass, grain yield and biological diversity. This study has resulted in valuable information on bi-cropping being generated as well as identifying the potential benefits that can be expected under Irish conditions. While the results indicate that winter wheat can be successfully established in an understorey of white clover if sown early in good conditions, competition from grass weed species represents a serious impediment to successful bi-cropping in the longer term. Consequently further research is needed before such a system can be presented to the agricultural community.European Union Framework Programm

Cereal Grain Combustion in Domestic Boilers

This study compared the combustion characteristics and the combustion behaviour of oats, barley, triticale and wheat to that of wood pellets. Sustained grain combustion in domestic boilers was feasible but problematic, the main impediment being clinker formation with ash agglomeration. Clinker formation was lowest for oats which burned easily with fewer operational problems. Triticale displayed reasonably good combustion characteristics and also ignited easily. In contrast, barley and wheat proved difficult to ignite while barley combustion was prone to self-extinguish. Thermal and combustion efficiency and heat output were considerably higher at a grain moisture content of 15% compared to a moisture content of 20%. The efficiency of oat combustion was similar to that of wood pellets at a moisture content of 15%. Carbon monoxide (CO) emission from cereal grains increased with increasing moisture content, but was still below limit values. Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions from cereal combustion were high and would require reduction by limiting the quantity of nitrogen applied to the crop and/or the use of air staging. Oats proved superior to the other grains as a combustion feedstock with similar efficiencies to those of wood pellets but low moisture content is a prerequisite for efficient grain combustion

The Effects of Elevated Concentrations of Carbon Dioxide and Ozone on Potatoe (Solanum tuberosum L.) Yield

End of Project ReportPotatoes (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Bintje) were grown in open top chambers at Teagasc, Crops Research Centre, Oak Park, Carlow and exposed to ambient and elevated concentrations of CO2 in combination with ambient and elevated concentrations of O3 in the 1998 and 1999 growing seasons. Exposure to elevated concentrations of O3 caused visual damage to the leaves of the potato plants in both years of the study. In 1999, ozone damage to leaves was significantly reduced in the presence of elevated concentrations of CO2. Stomatal conductance was reduced by elevated CO2 and was reduced further by the elevated O3 treatment under elevated CO2. Exposure to elevated CO2 increased tuber fresh weight yield by 32% in both years of the study. The yield increase was attributable to larger tuber sizes and not to an increase in the number of tubers. Tuber yield was unaffected by elevated O3 at ambient concentrations of CO2 in both years of the study. In 1999, the yield increase induced by elevated CO2 was substantially reduced by the presence of elevated O3

Analysis of the legume–rhizobia symbiosis in shrubs from central western Spain

s. rodríguez-echeverría, m.a. pérez-fernández, s. vlaar and t. finnan. 2003.Aims: This work analyses the diversity of rhizobia associated with some of the predominant shrubby legumes in central-western Spain. Symbiotic promiscuity and effectiveness were studied using cross-inoculation experiments with shrubby species.Material and Results: Six new bradyrhizobia strains were isolated from nodules collected from wild plants of six leguminous species, Cytisus balansae, C. multiflorus, C. scoparius, C. striatus, Genista hystrix and Retama sphaerocarpa. These isolates were genetically characterized by 16S rDNA partial sequencing and random amplification of polymorphic DNA2013PCR fingerprinting. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that these isolates could represent three new Bradyrhizobium species. Shrubby legumes and bradyrhizobia displayed a high symbiotic promiscuity both for infectivity and effectiveness. Symbioses were effective in more than 70% of the associations established by four of the six plant species.Conclusions: Native woody legumes in western Spain are nodulated by Bradyrhizobium strains. The high degree of symbiotic promiscuity and effectiveness highlights the complex dynamics of these communities in wild ecosystems under a Mediterranean-type climate. Furthermore, the results from this study suggest a potential importance of inoculation for these legume species in soil-restoration projects.Significance and Impact of the Study: This is the first study, to our knowledge, that combines both molecular analysis and pot trials to study the rhizobia2013legume symbiosis for wild legumes

"It's not our grief to have..?" The lived experiences of professional grief that palliative care nurses experience whilst delivering end of life care in acute hospital settings

Background The population in Scotland is ageing with a projected increase of 75% in the over 75’s by 2031. Currently over 55,000 people die in Scotland each year. This figure however is increasing and over half a million people will receive end of life care and die in acute settings in the next twenty years. The palliative and end of life care (PEOLC) needs of the population will increase and will be delivered more frequently in acute settings. The personal experiences of the nurses delivering PEOLC in a busy acute environment therefore require to be reflected upon, understood and acknowledged. Nurses experience grief for their patients, but do so in a very different manner to that experienced by the patient’s family. The nurse often finds them self in conflicting roles as they feel they need to remain strong and offer support on one hand whilst managing their own emotions and acknowledging their loss on the other. Managing their experience of professional grief following the death of a patient with whom they may have formed a connection can be very difficult. This purpose of this study is to understand the experiences of palliative care nurses delivering PEOLC in an acute settings and how they make meaning following loss and death of patients. Methods This research was underpinned by a reflective approach and engagement with the participants using an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology. IPA has become a credible methodology for studying consciousness generally and in nursing in particular. Analysis of the meanings being lived by participants from a psychological perspective can be illuminating and revealing in nature. Seven nurses were recruited using purposive sampling from a palliative care ward based in an acute hospital setting. The researcher was able to cultivate a deep level of trust and collaboration through having knowledge and experience of the palliative care nursing role within an acute hospital setting and an understanding of the roles and responsibilities within the team. Data were collected through seven semi structured interviews which were audio recorded then transcribed, field notes were recorded prior to the interviews and reflections were audio recorded post interview. The three data sets were drawn together to triangulate findings. The analysis which ensued combined the researcher and participants reflections, double hermeneutic approach. Findings Following analysis of the findings, four main or superordinate themes were revealed. These were the importance of being, the altruistic self, separating the personal and the professional self and death anxiety and transference. The nurses instinctively knew when being with the dying patient was not only needed but also invited. The nurses inherent values and altruistic tenets ensured they delivered care to the highest standard they could, and believed that this contributed towards a good death for the patient. They felt personally responsible for ensuring a good death was achieved. The nurses did experience a form of professional grief and feelings of loss for their patients following their death. The process of experiencing grief, although often short lived, caused concern to the nurses. They perceived it as not being professional to show outward signs of grief as their primary role was to support the dying and bereaved. Death anxiety and transference were consequences of delivering palliative and end of life care in this setting. Although nurses sought to address these experiences through processes of reflection and team support activities, evidence of distress and grief persisted. Conclusion Nurses are sentient thinking beings whose lived experiences and feelings affect their thoughts and emotions. This in turn impacts not only on their personal life but also their professional identity and perceptions of good quality care. The caring processes they enact shapes and informs their understanding of the world and their experiences therein. The findings of this study point towards a need to understand and acknowledge that nurses can experience professional grief for their patients and it is necessary therefore to consider effective supportive mechanisms such as reflection and formal clinical supervision for nurses delivering PEOLC in acute settings. This could support wellbeing, where nurses care for themselves and each other whilst delivering end of life care. Following identification of the findings an illustration depicting a visual representation of the process of professional grief experienced by nurses delivering PEOLC in acute settings is presented. Four stages of being were identified within the process. These were feeling prepared, experiencing loss, making meaning and finally letting go and moving on. The conclusions and illustration depicting a visual representation of the process of professional grief have been grounded in the findings from this study and therefore offers an original contribution to the knowledge and understanding of the experiences of palliative care nurses delivering PEOLC in acute settings