Estimated costs, returns, and environmental impacts of sustainable agriculture systems for the Mid South region

This study focuses on sustainable agricultural systems. Much debate in the agricultural arena has centered on the definition of sustainable agriculture, but a general consensus, as well as the legal definition, concludes that a sustainable agricultural system is both environmentally and economically sound. The purpose of this study was to determine whether such systems can meet these goals. Conventional cropping systems were converted to sustainable systems using crop rotations and different tillage systems. A comparative statics approach was used to evaluate these systems. A representative farm, the static condition, was developed for Haywood County Tennessee. The farm was assumed to have 460 acres cropland and grew cotton, com, wheat, soybeans. The variables for the study were the different cropping systems. The representative farm had five different scenarios: 1) conventional farming systems, 2) sustainable farming systems, 3) conventional farming systems enrolled in government programs, 4) sustainable farming systems enrolled in government programs, and 5) integrated farm management options incorporated into conventional systems. A microcomputer-based farm decision support system—Sustaining and Managing Agriculture Resources for Tomorrow (SMART) was used for the analysis. The center for SMART is Planetor, which provides an economic and environmental assessment for farm situations. Planetor indicates soil erosion rates, pesticide leaching and surface run-off potential while also providing economic indications such as overall net returns and resource allocation. For these farms, the farm utilizing sustainable farming systems enrolled in government programs was found to be the most profitable with an average projected annual net income of $30,070, while also having the smallest levels of predicted erosion. However, this farm also had indications of potential water quality problems due to increased chemical use. The farm utilizing integrated farm management options had the least total expense ($114,589) and also managed to receive an average annual net income of $10,940. Therefore, the results indicate that sustainable systems can be both environmentally and economically sound

Growth and grazing of microzooplankton in response to the harmful alga Heterosigma akashiwo in prey mixtures

Heterosigma akashiwo is one of the most ichthyotoxic species of phytoplankton, severely impacting marine ecosystems and economies worldwide. Microzooplankton may play a role in regulating blooms of this alga. This study tested the effects of H. akashiwo, when part of a mixed-prey assemblage, on the growth and feeding of microzooplankton. A saturating prey concentration of 200 μg C l-1 was determined for three ciliate species: Favella sp., Strombidinopsis acuminatum, and Metacylis sp. This was used as the total prey concentration for dual-prey experiments in which the three ciliate species were exposed to reciprocal concentrations of H. akashiwo and a beneficial prey species, as well as a starved control. The beneficial prey, defined as prey producing a relatively high growth rate, were Heterocapsa triquetra for Favella sp. and S. acuminatum and Isochrysis galbana for Metacylis sp. Toxicity was defined as grazer growth below that of the starved control. Favella sp. and Metacylis sp. exhibited a toxic response to H. akashiwo when it was the sole prey species; however, the presence of beneficial prey reduced this toxicity in the mixed-prey treatments. In contrast, the growth rate of S. acuminatum was unaffected by H. akashiwo. Both Favella sp. and S. acuminatum ingested H. akashiwo, but selected against the alga when other prey was available. In addition, natural planktonic communities, collected from subsurface seawater from East Sound, Orcas Island in September and October, 2007, were exposed to bloom-level concentrations of H. akashiwo. Ingestion of H. akashiwo was observed by epifluorescence microscopy and abundance and biomass of the major microzooplankton types were measured. Overall structure of the natural planktonic communities was unaffected by H. akashiwo, although slight changes in grazer size structure did occur. Bloom-concentrations of H. akashiwo were harmful to the smallest grazers and beneficial to larger Gyrodinium/Gymnodinium dinoflagellates that were able to ingest and grow on the alga. An aloricate ciliate and a round dinoflagellate also measurably ingested H. akashiwo; however, the alga was not consumed by the majority of grazers. Mixed-prey assemblages offer alternative feeding opportunities to grazers and can reduce the toxicity of H. akashiwo that is observed in unialgal exposures

Reach modelling for drive-up self-service

People using a self-service terminal such as an automated teller machine (ATM) tend to adjust their physical position throughout a transaction. This is particularly apparent with terminals that are designed to be used from a vehicle (i.e. drive up automated teller machines or ATMs). Existing predictive tools tend to focus on static reach and provide limited predictions for how far people are willing to stretch to complete a task. Drive-up self-service products have 3 main challenges: the variability of vehicles, people and driver behaviour. Such conventional tools are therefore of limited use in understanding how much people are willing to move to use a self-service terminal. Work is described to build in-house predictive models based on 2 large empirical studies of reach in a drive up installation. These 2 studies assessed comfortable and extended reach from 10 vehicle categories. Extended reach was defined as stretching/leaning as far as participants would normally be willing to in order to complete a drive-up transaction. Findings from these studies indicated that participants are prepared to adopt more extreme postures at drive-up than in other situations with extended reach at drive-up being significantly different to what might be seen at a walk-up kiosk

What Do Students Think? A Study of Maine Community College System Online Education

Poster by Jennifer Graham, UNE Doctorate of Education Class of 2017, presented on June 15, 2019, for the UNE College of Graduate and Professional Studies\u27 Virtual Research Symposium.https://dune.une.edu/virtual2019/1006/thumbnail.jp

VIRIS: A Visual-Infrared Imaging System for the Lick Observatory 1-M Telescope

We describe a system in use at the Lick Observatory 1-m Nickel telescope for near-simultaneous imaging at optical and near-infrared wavelengths. The combined availability of a CCD and a NICMOS-3 camera makes the system well-suited for photometric monitoring from 0.5-2.2 microns of a variety of astrophysical objects. Our science program thus far has concentrated on studying variability trends in young stellar objects.Comment: 11 pages LaTex, 3 Postscript figure, Pub. Astr. Soc. Pac. 1998, in pres

Teaching writing strategies to young students struggling with writing and at-risk for behavioral disorders: Self-regulated strategy development

This is the publisher's version, also found here: http://cec.metapress.com/content/178520r317650740/?p=03aae0a2540a4a3189d1a9319f390d15&pi=8The article focuses on the use of the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) educational model, which teaches students the planning, goal setting, and self evaluation skill necessary to writing success. The article outlines the six stages of the SRSD model, including the development of background knowledge, discussion, modeling, memorization, support and independent performance. A case example is presented of students with behavioral or emotional problems working through the method to improve their writing

Longitudinal Evaluation of the Impact of Placement Development Teams on Student Support in Clinical Practice

AIMS: To investigate the impact of a new structure for supporting healthcare students and mentors in practice placements (Placement Development Teams). INTRODUCTION: The English Model National Partnership Agreement for healthcare education required Strategic Health Authorities, Higher Education Institutions and National Health Service Trusts to redesign strategies for student support. Placement Development Teams are one English University's response to this. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY: This study was phase 2 of a longitudinal qualitative evaluation of Placement Development Teams. Data were collected after establishment of Placement Development Teams, and compared and contrasted with those collected prior to their implementation. Telephone interviews were conducted with key educational stakeholders in Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities. Focus groups were conducted with third year non-medical healthcare students and first year paramedics working in 16 NHS Trusts in the south west peninsula of England. RESULTS: Pre-Placement Development Teams, themes from the students' data were: Supportive and unsupportive behaviour of staff; Mentor allocation; Placement allocation; Benefits of students to the placement area and Perceived control over the learning experience. Post-Placement Development Teams, the themes were Communication; Supportive and unsupportive behaviour of staff; The effect of peers on the placement experience; Knowledge and perceptions of the work of the PDTs. Form the staff data, pre-Placement Development Teams the themes were: Vision for improving student support. Post-Placement Development Teams themes from the staff data were how they provided a central point of contact for student and mentor support; and how they supported students and mentors. CONCLUSION: Support of students and mentors is particularly important following the introduction of The English Model National Partnership Agreement for healthcare education. Placement Development Teams can facilitate partnership working between higher education institutions and placement providers for student support

Acceptability of Kamias (Averrhoa bilimbi L.) fruit extract as an additive for dishwashing liquid

Recently, there has been a growing interest in utilizing natural additives in household cleaning products to promote sustainability and reduce chemical usage. Kamias (Averrhoa bilimbi) fruit, known for its acidic properties and potential antimicrobial effects, presents a viable alternative for enhancing the quality and safety of dishwashing liquids. The present study was conducted to utilize Kamias (A. bilimbi) fruit extract as an additive in the production of dishwashing liquid. Physical and microbial tests were performed to ensure the dishwashing liquid's quality, consistency and microbial safety. These tests measured pH, specific gravity, total plate count, Staphylococcus aureus , and Escherichia coli detection. A 4-point Hedonic scale using a modified sensory evaluation tool was used to describe the acceptability of the dishwashing liquid in terms of appearance, fragrance, texture (hand-feel), longevity of suds, degreasing power, and overall quality. The study showed that the appearance (     3.50), degreasing power (       3.57), and overall quality (       3.63) of Kamias fruit extract dishwashing liquid were liked very much. The texture (hand-feel) was interpreted as liked moderately, with a mean value of 3.47. In terms of fragrance (         3.40) and longevity of suds (       3.20), the Kamias dishwashing liquid was liked moderately. Data also showed that Kamias dishwashing liquid has a pH (7.00 @ 22.20C) in the neutral range and a specific gravity of 1.0290, which indicates its density relative to water. Furthermore, the detected microbial count demonstrated a significantly low microbial load (<10 Est.) as determined by the total plate count data. The absence of S. aureus  and E. coli  indicated a hygienic state, increasing the sample's safety quotient across various applications.