Distant views and local realities: the limits of global assessments to restore the fragmented phosphorus cycle

With more sophisticated data compilation and analytical capabilities, the evolution of “big data” analysis has occurred rapidly. We examine the meta-analysis of “big data” representing phosphorus (P) flows and stocks in global agriculture and address the need to consider local nuances of farm operations to avoid erroneous or misleading recommendations. Of concern is the disconnect between macro-needs for better P resource management at regional and national scales versus local realities of P management at farm scales. Both agricultural and environmental researchers should focus on providing solutions to disconnects identified by meta-analyses and ensure that production and conservation strategies consider farming realities

Suicide Attempt by Pacemaker System Abuse: A Case Report with Comments on the Psychological Adaptation of Pacemaker Patients

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72997/1/j.1540-8159.1980.tb04333.x.pd

Anthropology in the Clinic: The Problem of Cultural Competency and How to Fix It

RefereedMichael Crichton FundHarvard Medical SchoolNational Institute of Mental Health Training Grant on “Culture and Mental Health Services” (5T32MH018006-21

The social networks of manureshed management

Manureshed management—the strategic use of manure nutrients that prioritizes recycling between livestock systems and cropping systems—provides a comprehensive framework for sustainable nutrient management that necessitates the collaboration of many actors. Understanding the social dimensions of collaboration is critical to implement the strategic and technological requirements of functional manuresheds. To improve this understanding, we identified aspirational networks of actors involved in manureshed management across local, regional, and national scales, principally in the United States, elucidating key relationships and highlighting the breadth of interactions essential to successful manureshed management. We concluded that, although the social networks vary with scale, the involvement of a common core set of actors and relationships appears to be universal to the successful integration of modern livestock and crop production systems necessary for functional manuresheds. Our analysis also reveals that, in addition to agricultural producers, local actors in extension and advisory services and private and public sectors ensure optimal outcomes at all scales. For manureshed management to successfully integrate crop and livestock production and sustainably manage manure nutrient resources at each scale, the full complement of actors identified in these social networks is critical to generate innovation and ensure collaboration continuity

Dependence of ozone production on NO and hydrocarbons in the troposphere

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95525/1/grl10419.pd

Managing Surface Water Inputs to Reduce Phosphorus Losses from Cranberry Farms

Abstract: In Massachusetts, cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) production accounts for one-fourth of US cranberry supply, but water quality concerns, water use, and wetland protection laws threaten the sustainability and future viability of the state’s cranberry industry. Pond water used for harvest and winter flooding accounts for up to two-thirds of phosphorus (P) losses in drainage waters. Consequently, use of P sorbing salts to treat pond water holds promise in the mitigation of P losses from cranberry farms. Laboratory evaluation of aluminum (Al)-, iron (Fe)-, and calcium (Ca)-based salts was conducted to determine the application rate required for reducing P in shallow (0.4 m) and deep (3.2 m) water ponds used for cranberry production. Limited P removal (\u3c22%) with calcium carbonate and calcium sulfate was consistent with their relatively low solubility in water. Calcium hydroxide reduced total P up to 66%, but increases in pond water pH (\u3e8) could be detrimental to cranberry production. Ferric sulfate and aluminum sulfate applications of 15 mg L−1 (ppm) resulted in near-complete removal of total P, which decreased from 49 ± 3 to \u3c10 mg P L−1 (ppb). However, ferric sulfate application lowered pH below the recommend range for cranberry soils. Field testing of aluminum sulfate demonstrated that at a dose of 15 mg L−1 (~1.4 Al mg L−1), total P in pond water was reduced by 78 to 93%. Laboratory and field experiments support the recommendation of aluminum sulfate as a cost-effective remedial strategy for reducing elevated P in surface water used for cranberry production

Community implementation dynamics: Nutrient management in the New York City and Chesapeake Bay Watersheds

The creation of natural resource management and conservation strategies can be affected by engagement with local citizens and competing interests between agencies and stakeholders at the varying levels of governance. This paper examines the role of local engagement and the interaction between governance levels on the outcomes of nutrient management policy, a specific area of natural resource conservation and management. Presented are two case studies of the New York City and Chesapeake Bay Watersheds in the US. These case studies touch upon the themes of local citizen engagement and governance stakeholder interaction in changing nutrient management to improve water quality. An analysis of these cases leads to several key considerations for the creation and implementation of nutrient management and natural resource management more broadly, including the importance of: local citizen engagement, government brokering and cost sharing; and the need of all stakeholders to respect each other in the policy creation and implementation process

Celebrating the 350th anniversary of phosphorus discovery: a conundrum of deficiency and excess

2019 will be the 350th anniversary of the discovery of phosphorus (P) by the alchemist Henning Brandt. This perspective traces the historical threads that P has weaved through the fabric of our society and identifies challenges to improve P stewardship in the future and for our future. A century after Brandt’s discovery, P was identified in bone ash, which became the primary source of P until guano and ultimately rock P was mined to provide the various mineral formulations used today. Owing to limited supplies, a strategic shift in resource management ethics—from exploiting to conserving P resources—is needed. In agriculture, remedial strategies should consider when conservation practices can transition from P sinks to sources; however, a broader, long-term strategy for P stewardship is needed. This must include Reducing P loss in food and other wastes, Recovering P from waste streams, Reusing P generated beneficial by-products, and Restructuring production systems. A key action to enact such changes will be collaboration across all sectors of society and the supply chain, from field to fork and beyond. As this will likely increase the cost of food, fiber, and feed production, it will require an innovative mix of public and private initiatives

The social security rights of older international migrants in the European Union

Europe is now home to a significant and diverse population of older international migrants. Social and demographic changes have forced the issue of social security in old age onto the European social policy agenda in the last decade. In spite of an increased interest in the financial well-being of older people, many retired international migrants who are legally resident in the European Union face structured disadvantages. Four linked factors are of particular importance in shaping the pension rights and levels of financial provision available to individual older migrants: migration history, socio-legal status, past relationship to the paid labour market, and location within a particular EU Member State. Building on a typology of older migrants, the paper outlines the ways in which policy at both the European Union and Member State levels serves to diminish rather than enhance the social security rights of certain older international migrants

Discovery of New Ultracool White Dwarfs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We report the discovery of five very cool white dwarfs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Four are ultracool, exhibiting strong collision induced absorption (CIA) from molecular hydrogen and are similar in color to the three previously known coolest white dwarfs, SDSS J1337+00, LHS 3250 and LHS 1402. The fifth, an ultracool white dwarf candidate, shows milder CIA flux suppression and has a color and spectral shape similar to WD 0346+246. All five new white dwarfs are faint (g > 18.9) and have significant proper motions. One of the new ultracool white dwarfs, SDSS J0947, appears to be in a binary system with a slightly warmer (T_{eff} ~ 5000K) white dwarf companion.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, submitted to ApJL. Higher resolution versions of finding charts are available at http://astro.uchicago.edu/~gates/findingchart