24,264 research outputs found
Improving green manure quality with phosphate rocks in Ontario Canada
Phosphate rock (PR) was applied to one conventional and two organic dairy fields and planted with buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) as a green manure crop. In total, five types of PR were applied at three application rates in order to determine the yield, concentration of P in the aboveground tissue and the P uptake of buckwheat. It was found that PR of relatively high carbonate substitution and small particle diameter could increase buckwheat tissue concentrations to a quality such that mineralization of the buckwheat mulch could occur. Buckwheat mulch and residual PR increased soil P flux as determined by anion exchange membranes in situ in the following spring. This provides evidence that buckwheat of high P quality has the potential to supply P to a subsequent crop
Aerosol studies in mid-latitude coastal environments in Australia
The results of the evaluation of several inversion procedures that were used to select one which provides the most accurate atmospheric extinction profiles for small aerosol extinction coefficients (that often predominate in the maritime airmass) are presented. Height profiles of atmospheric extinction calculated by a two component atmospheric solution to the LIDAR equation will be compared with corresponding in-situ extinction profiles based on the size distribution profiles obtained in Western Australia. Values of the aerosol backscatter to extinction ratio obtained from multi-angle LIDAR measurements will be used in this solution
Adaptive evolution of molecular phenotypes
Molecular phenotypes link genomic information with organismic functions,
fitness, and evolution. Quantitative traits are complex phenotypes that depend
on multiple genomic loci. In this paper, we study the adaptive evolution of a
quantitative trait under time-dependent selection, which arises from
environmental changes or through fitness interactions with other co-evolving
phenotypes. We analyze a model of trait evolution under mutations and genetic
drift in a single-peak fitness seascape. The fitness peak performs a
constrained random walk in the trait amplitude, which determines the
time-dependent trait optimum in a given population. We derive analytical
expressions for the distribution of the time-dependent trait divergence between
populations and of the trait diversity within populations. Based on this
solution, we develop a method to infer adaptive evolution of quantitative
traits. Specifically, we show that the ratio of the average trait divergence
and the diversity is a universal function of evolutionary time, which predicts
the stabilizing strength and the driving rate of the fitness seascape. From an
information-theoretic point of view, this function measures the
macro-evolutionary entropy in a population ensemble, which determines the
predictability of the evolutionary process. Our solution also quantifies two
key characteristics of adapting populations: the cumulative fitness flux, which
measures the total amount of adaptation, and the adaptive load, which is the
fitness cost due to a population's lag behind the fitness peak.Comment: Figures are not optimally displayed in Firefo
(2+1) resonant enhanced multiphoton ionization of H_2 via the E, F^(1)ÎŁ^+_g state
In this paper, we report the results of ab initio calculations of photoelectron angular distributions and vibrational branching ratios for the (2+1) REMPI of H_2 via the E, F^(1)ÎŁ^+_g state, and compare these with the experimental data of Anderson et al. [Chem. Phys. Lett. 105, 22 (1984)]. These results show that the observed nonâFranckâCondon behavior is predominantly due to the R dependence of the transition matrix elements, and to a lesser degree to the energy dependence. This work presents the first molecular REMPI study employing a correlated wave function to describe the Rydbergâvalence mixing in the resonant intermediate state
Neutron spectroscopic factors of Ni isotopes from transfer reactions
177 neutron spectroscopic factors for nickel isotopes have been extracted by
performing a systematic analysis of the angular distributions measured from
(d,p) transfer reactions. A subset of the extracted spectroscopic factors are
compared to predictions of large-basis shell models in the full pf model space
using the GXPF1A effective interaction, and the (f5/2, p3/2, p1/2, g9/2) model
space using the JJ4PNA interaction. For ground states, the predicted
spectroscopic factors using the GXPF1A effective interaction in the full pf
model space agree very well with the experimental values, while predictions
based on several other effective interactions and model spaces are about 30%
higher than the experimental values. For low-energy excited states (<3.5 MeV),
the agreement between the extracted spectroscopic factors and shell model
calculations is not better than a factor of two.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. accepted for publication in PR
Transport Model Simulations of Projectile Fragmentation Reactions at 140 MeV/nucleon
The collisions in four different reaction systems using Ca and
Ni isotope beams and a Be target have been simulated using the Heavy
Ion Phase Space Exploration and the Antisymmetrized Molecular Dynamics models.
The present study mainly focuses on the model predictions for the excitation
energies of the hot fragments and the cross sections of the final fragments
produced in these reactions. The effects of various factors influencing the
final fragment cross sections, such as the choice of the statistical decay code
and its parameters have been explored. The predicted fragment cross sections
are compared to the projectile fragmentation cross sections measured with the
A1900 mass separator. At MeV, reaction dynamics can significantly
modify the detection efficiencies for the fragments and make them different
from the efficiencies applied to the measured data reported in the previous
work. The effects of efficiency corrections on the validation of event
generator codes are discussed in the context of the two models.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figure
Notes on the First Rearing and Introduction of Esox masquinongy in Iowa Waters
The Iowa State Conservation Commission purchased 1,535 muskellunge (3/4 to 1-inch fry) in 1960, from Kenu, a Land-O-Lakes, Wisconsin commercial fish hatchery. Siewers Spring State Fish Hatchery and rearing pond facilities were used for the experimental rearing project. Eighty-five fish survived the June 7 to September 30 rearing period. Forty fish were stocked in each of the following Iowa lakes: West Okoboji, Dickinson County and Clear Lake, Cerro Gordo County. Two specimens have subsequently been recovered and identified from each lake
Prescribing Practices and Polypharmacy in Kitovu Hospital, Uganda
This audit of prescribing practices explores recent trends at Kitovu Hospital, Uganda. The average number of drugs prescribed per patient was 2.89 ± 0.11, of which 1.79±0.09 were generics and 0.69±0.06 antibiotics. No injections were prescribed. Patient essential drug knowledge was 100% while the adequacy of labelling was 0%. The number of drugs prescribed correlated positively with patient age, was greater for female patients, similar for doctors and clinical officers but greater in medical (3.30±0.15, n=50) than surgical (2.48±0.13, n=50) outpatient clinics. The mean consultation time was 6.56 min and 10.25 min per patient in medical and surgical outpatient clinics respectively. The patient essential knowledge indicators were greatly improved but only modest reduction in polypharmacy was evident compared to the Ugandan Pharmaceutical Sector national survey of 2002. Antibiotic prescription was high and generic prescribing was found to be low. Policy changes are required to enhance rational drug use in the health sector in Uganda.Keywords: Polypharmacy, generics, antibiotics, regional referral hospital, outpatient clinicEast and Central African Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences Vol. 13 (2010) 66-7
Characterization of blood drawn rapidly for use in blood volume expansion studies: An animal model for simulated weightlessness
It was demonstrated that up to 8ml of blood can be drawn from donar rats without significantly increasing volume and stress sensitive hormones, and thus can be used for volume expansion studies. Infusion of whole blood allows more physiological changes that can be seen with volume expansion by saline or other ionic solutions. The infusion of whole blood to induce hypervolemia may provide an improved model to study the fluid balance and control mechanisms operative in weightlessness. Blood samples were drawn as quickly as possible from femoral artery catheters chronically implanted in Sprague Dawley rats and analyzed for hematocrit, plasma sodium, potassium, osmolality, corticosterone, epinepherine, norepinephrine, and vasopressin. The levels were found to be comparable to those of normal rats
- âŠ