Bulletin No. 210 - The Mineral Content of Grains

It is generally recognized that shrunken, frosted, or smutty grain is inferior to sound, clean, plump grain. Much has been done on the protein content of grain, and the best millers today purchase grain for its protein content. Few give any consideration to its minerals. Yet do two bushels of sound, plump, clean grain of known protein content grown under the same or different conditions, have the same mineral content? If not, it is of importance to both the producer and consumer: to the consumer because it governs the nutritive value of the product; to the producer because it represents the fertility which is being taken from his soil. Consequently, the value of grain produced on an acre of soil should be measured by the quality as well as the quantity

Bulletin No. 274 - Influence of Rotation and Manure on the Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Carbon of the Soil

All agricultural plants require carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, calcium, potassium, magnesium, sulfur, phosphorus, iron, and probably traces of other elements for their normal growth and fruition. The growth of farm crops is dependent upon an available supply of these elements, and the extent of growth is governed by the one present and available in least quantity in proportion to the plant\u27s needs. Of the essential elements, all plants secure two (carbon and oxygen) from the air, one (hydrogen) from the water, and the others from the soil. Most soils contain sufficient plant nutrients for normal plant production, with the exception of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These elements are used by the plants from the soil in the largest quantities and are generally the plant nutrients governing the productivity of a soil. In addition, the organic matter of the soil is of prime importance, for it is the matrix which holds the nitrogen and governs the structure and water-holding capacity of the soil. Probably most Utah soils contain sufficient potassium; consequently, the problem of Utah soil fertility resolves itself into maintaining an optimum concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic material in the soil. Therefore, this work represents a study of the influence of manure and crop rotation on the nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon in the soil

Bulletin No. 310 - The Influence of Cropping on the Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Organic Matter of the Soil Under Irrigation Farming

Most soils contain sufficient nutrients for normal plant growth, with the exception of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. These elements are used by plants in the largest quantities and the amounts of these in the soil govern its productivity. Soil organic matter is of prime importance for it is the matrix which holds the nitrogen and modifies the structure, temperature, and water-holding capacity of the soil. The organic matter is the very life of the soil, for it is in and on it that bacteria work and by so doing determine the kind and speed of reactions which occur. It is the bacterial activities in the soil that determine the available plant food. Probably most Utah soils contain sufficient potassium, consequently the problem of Utah soil fertility resolves itself into maintaining an optimum concentration of nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic matter. The present work represents a study of the phosphorus, nitrogen, and organic matter in the soil and the speed with which they are being removed by plants, erosion and leaching

Bulletin No. 163 - Composition of the Irrigation Waters of Utah

Analytical work which has so far been published on the composition of the irrigation waters of the Intermountain Region indicates a wide variation in their composition. Some are exceptionally pure, being nearly free from alkali, and may be used without fear of injury to soils; others contain larger quantities of alkali and must be used with care; still others are so heavily charged with soluble salts that they must be used with extreme caution, otherwise the growing crop will be injured and in time the soil rendered unfit for agricultural purposes. The land then must be either reclaimed or abandoned, either of which will entail an enormous expense to the landowner and indirectly to the State. Much of this unnecessary loss can be prevented if definite and complete information be available on the composition of the irrigation waters

Magnetic anisotropy of asbestos fibres

Original article can be found at : http://jap.aip.org/jap/ Copyright American Institute of PhysicsThe anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility of single asbestos fibers is measured. The alignment of both chrysotile and crocidolite fibers in magnetic fields is found to be due to the anisotropy. The average measured anisotropy of volume susceptibility is 0.40×10−6 for chrysotile and 83×10−6 for crocidolite. Fiber shape effects are estimated to contribute, on average, about 10% and 6%, respectively, to the total anisotropy of the two types of fiber. There is no evidence of significant permanent magnetic moments. The magnitude of the observed alignment makes the effect potentially useful in real-time detection of airborne asbestos fibers. The experimental technique developed in the study can be used for measuring the anisotropy of small particles of well-defined shape. High sensitivity of the technique permits the measurement of torques lower than 10−21 Nm on particles down to picogram mass.Peer reviewe

'Selling it as a holistic health provision and not just about condoms ?' Sexual health services in school settings: current models and their relationship with sex and relationships education policy and provision

In this article we discuss the findings from a recent study of UK policy and practice in relation to sexual health services for young people, based in - or closely linked with - schools. This study formed part of a larger project, completed in 2009, which also included a systematic review of international research. The findings discussed in this paper are based on analyses of interviews with 51 service managers and questionnaire returns from 205 school nurses. Four themes are discussed. First, we found three main service permutations, in a context of very diverse and uneven implementation. Second, we identified factors within the school context that shaped and often constrained service provision; some of these also have implications for sex and relationships education (SRE). Third, we found contrasting approaches to the relationship between SRE input and sexual health provision. Fourth, we identified some specific barriers that need to be addressed in order to develop 'young people friendly' services in the school context. The relative autonomy available to school head teachers and governors can represent an obstacle to service provision - and inter-professional collaboration - in a climate where, in many schools, there is still considerable ambivalence about discussing 'sex' openly. In conclusion, we identify areas worthy of further research and development, in order to address some obstacles to sexual health service and SRE provision in schools

The growth companies puzzle: can growth opportunities measures predict firm growth?

While numerous empirical studies include proxies for growth opportunities in their analyses, there is limited evidence as to the validity of the various growth proxies used. Based on a sample of 1942 firm-years for listed UK companies over the 1990-2004 period, we assess the performance of eight growth opportunities measures. Our results show that while all the growth measures show some ability to predict growth in company sales, total assets, or equity, there are substantial differences between the various models. In particular, Tobin's Q performs poorly while dividend-based measures generally perform best. However, none of the measures has any success in predicting earnings per share growth, even when controlling for mean reversion and other time-series patterns in earnings. We term this the 'growth companies puzzle'. Growth companies do grow, but they do not grow in the key dimension (earnings) theory predicts. Whether the failure of 'growth companies' to deliver superior earnings growth is attributable to increased competition, poor investments, or behavioural biases, it is still a puzzle why growth companies on average fail to deliver superior earnings growth

Singlet Magnetism in Heavy Fermions

We consider singlet magnetism for the uranium ions in UPt$_3$ and URu$_2$Si$_2$ assuming that time-reversal symmetry is broken for the {\em coherent state of intermediate valence}. The relative weight of the two involved configurations should be different for UPt$_3$ and URu$_2$Si$_2$. If in UPt$_3$ the configuration $5f^1$ on the U-ion prevails in the coherent state below the magnetic transition, the magnetic moment would vanish for the particular choice of the {\em ionic} wave function. In case of URu$_2$Si$_2$, the phase transition is non-magnetic in the first approximation -- the magnetic moment arises from a small admixture of a half-integer spin configuration.Comment: 12 pages, RevTex, no figures; Phys. Rev. Lett., to appea

Systematic review and meta-analysis of temozolomide in animal models of glioma:was clinical efficacy predicted?

Background:Malignant glioma is an aggressive tumour commonly associated with a dismal outcome despite optimal surgical and radio-chemotherapy. Since 2005 temozolomide has been established as first-line chemotherapy. We investigate the role of in vivo glioma models in predicting clinical efficacy.Methods:We searched three online databases to systematically identify publications testing temozolomide in animal models of glioma. Median survival and number of animals treated were extracted and quality was assessed using a 12-point scale; random effects meta-analysis was used to estimate efficacy. We analysed the impact of study design and quality and looked for evidence of publication bias.Results:We identified 60 publications using temozolomide in models of glioma, comprising 2443 animals. Temozolomide prolonged survival by a factor of 1.88 (95% CI 1.74-2.03) and reduced tumour volume by 50.4% (41.8-58.9) compared with untreated controls. Study design characteristics accounted for a significant proportion of between-study heterogeneity, and there was evidence of a significant publication bias.Conclusion:These data reflect those from clinical trials in that temozolomide improves survival and reduces tumour volume, even after accounting for publication bias. Experimental in vivo glioma studies of temozolomide differ from those of other glioma therapies in their consistent efficacy and successful translation into clinical medicine