What future the cane industry: is training a vehicle for change?

This paper summarised research into the training needs of cane growers in Queensland and Northern New South Wales for the Sugar Research and Development Corporation (SRDC). The full report supplied comprehensive insights into industry training needs from the perspective of those most directly involved in the production side. As a result of historically low price returns and in some areas, lingering effects of lower than average rainfall, many cane growers are faced with difficult prospects: exiting the industry, seeking to augment incomes by off-farm employment, or diversifying their farming operations. Prior research has shown that farmers undertaking training in other farm business sectors have markedly higher gross operating surpluses when compared with those who did not train. Findings from this research revealed a significant unrecognised demand for competency-based training and a need for adoption strategies to be developed and championed at a whole of industry level. By adopting lessons learnt from other industry re-structures, cane growers can maintain their viability from high-level business management training which is not currently offered. The industry is challenged by a need to engage multiple stakeholders and to develop client designed training programs to enable them to remedy farming-related problems

Extension of Gutenberg-Richter Distribution to Mw -1.3, No Lower Limit in Sight

With twelve years of seismic data from TauTona Gold Mine, South Africa, we show that mining-induced earthquakes follow the Gutenberg-Richter relation with no scale break down to the completeness level of the catalog, at moment magnitude MW −1.3. Events recorded during relatively quiet hours in 2006 indicate that catalog detection limitations, not earthquake source physics, controlled the previously reported minimum magnitude in this mine. Within the Natural Earthquake Laboratory in South African Mines (NELSAM) experiment\u27s dense seismic array, earthquakes that exhibit shear failure at magnitudes as small as MW −3.9 are observed, but we find no evidence that MW −3.9 represents the minimum magnitude. In contrast to previous work, our results imply small nucleation zones and that earthquake processes in the mine can readily be scaled to those in either laboratory experiments or natural faults

The molecular structure of plant gums, with special reference to gums of the genus Khaya

Many trees, of a wide variety of species, respond to injury by exuding yellowish viscous fluids, which harden on exposure to the atmosphere, producing glassy nodules. These are the plant gums (1), which are among the most complex polysaccharides known. In molecular structure, they resemble the mucilages and the bacterial polysaccharides; in fact, there are no general structural differences between the gums and the mucilages(2 -8). The only distinction lies in their mode of origin, since the mucilages are isolated only by the extraction of seeds or other plant material, in which they apparently serve as food stores or as moisture reservoirs. It is therefore necessary, for the purpose of this thesis, to give a restricting definition of plant gums as uronic acid containing polysaccharide exudates. This definition also excludes resinous exudates of terpenoid structure, and non- exuded neutral polysaccharides which are known colloquially as gums, e.g. carob seed gum, which is a galactomannan (9).The origin of the gums is still uncertain. They are commonly, although not exclusively, Produced in hot, dry climates, and healthy trees tend to exude less gum than those in poor condition. For this reason, it has been suggested that they are the result of infection, and a few gums, including chagual (10) and honey locust gums (11), are in fact known to be pathological products. On the other hand, some gums, such as gum tragacanth, are exuded copiously immediately after incision of the bark, and are obviously natural products of the plant's metabolism. It also seems unlikely that gums produced on a commercial basis are the products of infection. In general, it is probable that a tree exudes gum in order to seal off the injured part, and to prevent the spread of infection. The similarity of the gums and the bacterial polysaccharides, and the cross -reactions which can take place between gums and some Pneumococcus sera (12), may be significant in this context, and the complexity of structure of the gum polysaccharides may be connected with the necessity for dealing with a variety of attacking bacteria.The commercial use of gums is almost as old as civilization. The Egyptians used them in embalming, and for the last few hundred years they have been common ingredients of medicines and of 'aids to beauty'. Today, they are still used in the fields of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, but a wide range of manufacturing processes also employs them as emulsifiers, adhesives, thickeners, binding materials, etc. Being harmless and tasteless, they find many uses in the food industry.In view of their commercial importance, the scientific study of gums is worthwhile, and of course is also important for its intrinsic biochemical interest. But perhaps the most important reason for carrying out investigations lies in the resemblance to bacterial polysaccharides. It may be possible, by drawing analogies, to gain. insight into the structure and formation of the latter, and thus to proceed to a fuller understanding of the bacteria themselves.A typical gum possesses a highly branched structure, containing anything from two to four different neutral sugar residues, and a uronic acid residue; each may exist in more than one type of linkage. Several gums recently investigated are further complicated by the fact that they contain two different uronic acid residues. The most common neutral sugars are D-galactose, D-mannose, L-arabinose, D-xylose and L-rhamnose, but L-fucose and D-tagatose have also been observed. The uronic acids of gums are D- glucuronic acid, 4 -0- methyl-D-glucuronic acid and D-galacturonic acid.In the natural state, many guns exist as neutral salts of such cations as calcium and magnesium. Some, e.g. the Sterculia gums and Cochlosoermum gossypium, are acetylated, and give off a distinct odour of acetic acid. Varying molecular weights have been quoted, ranging from 2 - 300,000 for gum arabic, to 9,500,000 for Karaya gum (13). The usual means of measurement is by sedimentation techniques. Because of the structural complexity of the molecules concerned, chemical methods of molecular weight determination are in general unsatisfactory

Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana: Education of Vergennes Union High School Students

The leading cause of death for high school students is motor vehicle accidents and the risk of involvement in a motor vehicle accident increases 10-fold after marijuana smoking. There are many misconceptions surrounding driving under the influence of marijuana in adolescents and few high schools are spending adequate time addressing this issue directly. The 2015 Vermont Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 18% of students in Addison County rode in a car or other vehicle in the past 30 days with someone who was using marijuana. This project was designed to present information about driving under the influence of marijuana to Vergennes Union High School students in small group settings. Topics discussed include the effects of smoking marijuana on clinical judgement and reaction time, consequences of driving under the influence, and how to talk to peers about this issue.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1299/thumbnail.jp

Review of George Eliot: The Last Victorian & The Journals of George Eliot

Kathryn Hughes has written a most readable biography, breezy, relaxed, clear narrative, just right for the reader of literary biography who isn\u27t deeply interested in literature. The story of Mary Ann and Marian Evans, Marian Evans Lewes, George Eliot and Mrs. Cross is as fascinating as the plot of the novels, and bears re-telling, but I\u27m doubtful about the appeal of this new book to scholars and students, whose needs for information about George Eliot\u27s life are served by the existing biographies, and who may be misled by the sketchy criticism. It is not as if Kathryn Hughes fills the big gap which exists between a much-analysed art and a much-discussed life. The title suggests the relative superficiality of her treatment: many critics have discussed George Eliot\u27s so-called Victorian authoritarian and enclosed realism, and her anticipations of modernism in artistic self-consciousness, narrative experiment, shifts of discourse and open endings, but Hughes doesn\u27t join such discussion, plunging in with a claim for the artist as the most acute chronicler of the Victorian age. She was an acute chronicler, but scarcely the only contender: to stay within fiction, there\u27s a case to be made for Thackeray and Dickens, to name but two. And George Eliot was much more than a chronicler. Other much-discussed subjects, like the choice of unexceptional heroines, are mentioned as troubling feminist critics, but the argument is barely touched, not developed or discussed in relation to all the other artists to whom it applies, Jane Austen, for instance, who also preferred the historical norm to autobiography when writing the woman\u27s lot. Critical comment is all too cursorily allusive, but to say this may suggest that the idea in the title and the generalizations participate in a conversation with other scholars, as they don\u27t. The biographer tells the novels\u27 stories briskly and racily, and observes their depositories of life experience, making familiar comment on sources or inspirations for the characters in Scenes of Clerical life, Adam, Dinah, the Tullivers, Lydgate, Casaubon, Klesmer, Mordecai etc., but in the end unsurprisingly accepts George Eliot\u27s insistence that her reconstructive imagination created character and story. Incidentally, to use a life source for a novel is not plagiarism, as Hughes calls it at least twice: George Eliot wanted to dissociate herself from the charge of simple life-imitation, to claim her art for fiction not autobiography. Hughes\u27s account of the development of thinking and feeling, the moral and psychological life-changes and crises inseparable from family life and personal relations, is good. She tackles the characters in this story with insight and detachment, with the exception of George Henry Lewes whom she often describes in the prejudiced terms of contemporaries who disliked him - Charles Norton or Elizabeth Gaskell, say - calling him \u27a little man\u27, giving few details of his science, his great Goethe biography and his influential literary criticism, but acquainted with Anna Kitchel\u27s excellent neglected study and taking him seriously as thinker and ideal partner in an excellent final summing-up of the famous couple\u27s intellectual, social and sexual relationship

Palliative and end of life care in prisons: a mixed-methods rapid review of the literature from 2014–2018

Objectives: To explore current practice in relation to palliative and end of life care in prisons, and to make recommendations for its future provision. Design: A rapid literature review of studies using qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods, with a narrative synthesis of results. Data sources: Six databases searched between January 2014 to December 2018: ASSIA, CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE, National Criminal Justice Reference Service Abstracts and Scopus. Eligibility criteria: Primary research articles reporting qualitative or quantitative findings about palliative and end of life care in prisons, published in peer-reviewed, English language journals between January 2014 to December 2018. Participants: Prisoners, prisoners’ families, prison healthcare staff and other prison staff. Data extraction/synthesis: Data extracted included: citation, design, aim, setting, sample/population, methods and key findings. Data were analysed thematically then subject to a narrative synthesis in order to answer the research questions. Quality appraisal: Two researchers independently appraised articles using the Qualsyst tool, by Kmet et al (2004). Aggregate summary quality scores are included with findings. Articles were not excluded based on quality appraisal. Results: 23 articles were included (16 qualitative, 6 quantitative, 1 mixed methods). Top three findings (by prevalence) were: fostering relationships with people both inside and outside of prison is important to prisoners with palliative and end of life care needs, inmate hospice volunteers are able to build and maintain close relationships with the prisoners they care for and the conflicting priorities of care and custody can have a negative impact on the delivery of palliative and end of life care in prisons. Conclusions: The key findings are: relationships are important to prisoners at the end of life, inmate hospice volunteers can build close bonds with the prisoners in their care and the prison environment and regime conflicts with best practices in palliative and end of life care. Directions for future research are also identified

Propagation of Grevillea

Grevillea (Proteaceae) is a native Australian genus with high commercial value as landscape ornamentals, and they are known to be difficult to root. There has been only limited research into the propagation of Grevillea. The effect of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) on the rooting G. 'Poorinda Royal Mantle' in winter, spring and summer was evaluated at UQ Gatton, southern Queensland in order to determine the rooting ability of this species in different seasons. The effect of cutting type, i.e. tip and stem cuttings, and method of auxin application, i.e. top and basal application, were also tested on G. 'Poorinda Royal Mantle' and G. 'Coastal Dawn'. G. 'Poorinda Royal Mantle' demonstrated a seasonal rooting and was more responsive than G. 'Coastal Dawn' to the applied IBA. Stem cuttings had a higher survival than tip cuttings, but tip cuttings had a higher capacity to root. Top application of auxin at low concentration (1 g L-1) in G. 'Poorinda Royal Mantle' in spring resulted in a significantly higher rooting percentage than basal application at the same concentration. These findings could be useful for setting up a practical propagation protocol on Grevillea

Fruit Processing, Seed Viability And Dormancy Mechanisms Of Persoonia Sericea A. Cunn. ex R. Br. and P. Virgata R.Br. (Proteaceae)

The morphology of the fruit and difficulties with fruit processing impose major limitations to germination of Persoonia sericea and P. virgata. The mesocarp must be removed without harming the embryo. Fermentation of fruit or manual removal of the mesocarp was effective but digestion in 32% hydrochloric acid (HCl) completely inhibited germination. The endocarp is extremely hard and therefore very difficult and time consuming to remove without damaging the seeds. The most efficient method was cracking the endocarp with pliers, followed by manual removal of seeds. Germination was completely inhibited unless at least half of the endocarp was removed. Microbial contamination of the fruit and seeds was controlled by disinfestation and germination of the seed under aseptic conditions. The results suggest that dormancy in these species is primarily due to physical restriction of the embryo by the hard endocarp