Plybonding and the Belbond Multi-Ply Former

This study was used to evaluate the improved plybond strength of the paperboard produced by the BelBond Multi-ply former. Samples of the headbox and plies after the couch were tested for Canadian Standard Freeness and related to fines content. An increase in CSF after forming shows a fine loss and loss of fiber specific surface area. The plybond increase is attributed to consistency of stock during joining the plies, the twin wire function, and dewatering in both directions of the web. Further fiber balance studies and moisture content analysis upon joining of the plies would be recommended

Assessing Scotland's Progress on the Environmental Agenda

For good reasons the environment has a high political profile in Scotland. This report is concerned with three important components of the environmental agenda and the way in which they are being taken forward by the responsible authorities in Scotland. The delivery of environmental outcomes on agricultural land by means of a range of current policies, including agri-environment schemes, cross-compliance conditions on direct payments to farmers and implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive.The selection and management of a new network of Marine Protected Areas.Policy measures designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to mitigate climate change.Each of these topics is addressed individually in three separate chapters, aiming to identify some of the leading questions and the policy responses that have been adopted. The progress that is being made in meeting the objectives and aspirations set out in legislation and other key policy documents is then considered. Some of the objectives under review are determined entirely by the Government and by more local authorities in Scotland. Others arise primarily from obligations under EU legislation

A wireless sensor network system deployment for detecting stick slip motion in glaciers

The behaviour of glaciers is an area in which only limited research has been carried out due to the difficulties of monitoring sub-glacial movements. The authors believe that this can be addressed by the deployment of a wireless sensor network, consisting of heterogeneous sensors to instrument this activity. By deploying a sensor network measurements can be taken for a longer period than would otherwise be possible. The initial designs for this sensor network are presented along with details of some of the challenges posed by the project

Theileria annulata-transformed cell lines are efficient antigen-presenting cells for in vitro analysis of CD8 T cell responses to bovine herpesvirus-1

Continuously growing cell lines infected with the protozoan parasite Theileria annulata can readily be established by in vitro infection of leukocytes with the sporozoite stage of the parasite. The aim of the current study was to determine whether such transformed cell lines could be used as antigen presenting cells to analyse the antigenic specificity of bovine CD8 T cell responses to viral infections. Bovine herpes virus 1 (BHV-1), which is known to induce CD8 T cell responses, was used as a model. T. annulata- transformed cells were shown to express high levels of CD40 and CD80 and were susceptible to infection with BHV-1, vaccinia and canarypox viruses. The capacity of the cells to generate antigen-specific CD8 T cell lines was initially validated using a recombinant canarypox virus expressing a defined immunodominant T. parva antigen (Tp1). Autologous T. annulata-transformed cells infected with BHV-1 were then used successfully to generate specific CD8 T cell lines and clones from memory T cell populations of BHV-1-immune animals. These lines were BHV-1-specific and class I MHC-restricted. In contrast to previous studies, which reported recognition of the glycoproteins gB and gD, the CD8 T cell lines generated in this study did not recognise these glycoproteins. Given the ease with which T. annulata-transformed cell lines can be established and maintained in vitro and their susceptibility to infection with poxvirus vectors, these cell lines offer a convenient and efficient in vitro system to analyse the fine specificity of virus-specific CD8 T cell responses in cattle

Salinity Management in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia

The southern Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) is particularly vulnerable to salinity problems. Much of the Basin’s landscape and underlying groundwater is naturally saline with groundwater not being suitable for human or irrigation use. Since European settlement in the early 1800s, two actions—the clearance of deep-rooted native vegetation for dryland agriculture and the development of irrigation systems on the Riverine Plains and Mallee region—have resulted in more water now entering the groundwater systems, resulting in mobilization of the salt to the land surface and to rivers. While salinity has been a known issue since the 1960s, it was only in the mid-1980s that was recognized as one of the most significant environmental and economic challenges facing the MDB. Concerted and cooperative action since 1988 by the Commonwealth and Basin state governments under a salinity management approach implemented over the past 30 years has resulted in salinity now being largely under control, but still requiring on-going active management into the future. The approach has involved the development of three consecutive salinity strategies governing actions from 1988 to 2000, from 2001 to 2015, and the most recent from 2016 to 2030. The basis of the approach and all three strategies is an innovative, world-leading salinity management framework consisting of: An agreed salinity target; joint works and measures to reduce salt entering the rivers; and an agreed accountability and governance system consisting of a system of salinity credits to offset debits, a robust and agreed method to quantify the credits and debits, and a salinity register to keep track of credits and debits. This paper first provides background to the salinity issue in the MDB, then reviews the three salinity management strategies, the various actions that have been implemented through these strategies to control salinity, and the role of the recent Basin Plan in salinity management. We then discuss the future of salinity in the MDB given that climate change is forecast to lead to a hotter, drier and more variable climate (particularly more frequent droughts), and that increased salt loads to the River Murray are predicted to come from the lower reaches of the Mallee region. Finally, we identify the key success factors of the program

The early stage of wood decay : wood/fungus interaction and its attraction to xylophagous coleoptera, especially cerambycids and their hymenopteran parasitoids

Loss of dead wood habitat and biodiversity has led to numerous excellent conservation based ecological and management studies. However, the structure of the xylophagous food web remains unclear for saproxylic xylophagous beetles and their parasitoid wasps, but fungi are believed to play an important role, both in direct and indirect nutritional acquisition and production of volatile chemicals. In the first study of its kind this thesis explores the importance of volatiles in host-searching behaviour and role of fungi in oviposition choice and larval nutrition, using three endophytic fungi, Stereum hirsutum, Stereum gausapatum and Eutypa spinosa, and two tree species Fagus sylvatica and Quercus robur, in early stage decay. Newly designed traps, excluding wood visual stimuli, provided the first evidence of wood-fungal volatile attraction by saproxylic wood-boring beetles, including primary and secondary xylophages, and their parasitoid wasps. Expanding on these results, the importance of fungi was further demonstrated through oviposition choice in field logs by two polyphagous cerambycid species. Ovipositing within or 20 mm from their preferred fungal species plug, females chose abiotic conditions suitable for sustaining fungal growth, suggesting a larval nutritional benefit. Further investigation, using one of the cerambycid species above, corroborated, via olfactometry, that volatiles from the preferred wood-fungal combination were attractants to gravid females, and induced ovipositor probing within the olfactometer. In addition, GC-EAG found six volatile compounds provoked an antennal response, including a monoterpene, two sesquiterpenes, an alkane and a ketone. Most importantly olfactometry and GC-EAG showed gravid females were unresponsive to wood or favored fungus presented singly. The result are discussed herein. In conjunction with the volatile only field trap experiment, a novel method to promote fungal only volatiles, by autoclaving the wood prior to sub-culturing, was trialed. GC-MS comparative analysis showed disparity between agar sub-cultured, autoclaved wood and natural wood with fungi, volatiles. This suggests that genes encoding cellulases and hemicellulases are regulated according to carbohydrate source, nutritional availability, oxygen and metal ions, supporting the variations observed. These results are discussed herein with regard to xylophagous beetles and their parasitoid wasps. The principal findings of this thesis are that wood-fungal interaction volatiles of the ephemeral early decay stage provide important olfactory host resource cues for saproxylic xylophagous beetles and their parasitoid wasps. Fungi, and particular, endophytic fungi, were shown to be a key component of the early stage xylophagous food web through volatile production, and as nutritional support evidenced by oviposition choice, olfactometry, GC-EAG and GC-MS analysis. This thesis has opened a new, exciting and important area of research with the potential to radically improve conservation management and employ a more holistic approach. These insights bring together the disparate research conducted individually on wood decay fungi, saproxylic xylophagous beetles and their parasitoid wasp

Resilience in Nurses: An Integrative Review

Aim To describe nursing research that has been conducted to understand the phenomenon of resilience in nurses. Background Resilience is the ability to bounce back or cope successfully despite adverse circumstances. Nurses deal with modern-day problems that affect their abilities to remain resilient. Nursing administrators/managers need to look for solutions not only to recruit nurses, but to become knowledgeable about how to support and retain nurses. Evaluation A comprehensive search was undertaken for nursing research conducted between 1990 and 2011. Key search terms were nurse, resilience, resiliency and resilient. Whittemore and Knafl\u27s integrative approach was used to conduct the methodological review. Key issues Challenging workplaces, psychological emptiness, diminishing inner balance and a sense of dissonance are contributing factors for resilience. Examples of intrapersonal characteristics include hope, self-efficacy and coping. Cognitive reframing, toughening up, grounding connections, work-life balance and reconciliation are resilience building strategies. Conclusion This review provides information about the concept of resilience. Becoming aware of contributing factors to the need for resilience and successful strategies to build resilience can help in recruiting and retaining nurses. Implications for nursing management Understanding the concept of resilience can assist in providing support and developing programmes to help nurses become and stay resilient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR

Multidisciplinary Management of Progressive Ataxia

The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) hosts a specialist centre for people living with Progressive Ataxias. Patients attend from across the UK for differential diagnosis, specialist opinion, expert assessment and exploration of treatment options. This article discusses the treatment and management considerations of the multi-disciplinary team in the context of a condition with a huge variety of symptoms and limited evidence base for clinically effective treatment. It highlights the importance of tailored treatment focused on symptom management and optimising participation. It also discusses service initiatives that enabled patients continued access to treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. These initiatives were proven to be very successful and therefore continue to run today