Tools for managing manure nutrients

Manures are a valuable source of nutrients (and organic matter), and can be seen as a method of transferring nutrients around the farm (for homeproduced manures) or as a method of importing fertility (imported manures or composts). Good manure management offers a ‘win-win’ opportunity: benefits to soil fertility and benefits to the environment (less pollution). This paper describes two tools for manure nutrient planning: the use of look-up tables to assess nutrient content, and the development of a Decision Support Tool for describing nutrient transformations during manure management

Keep Oregon Green

A lesson that is often taught is that if a person wants something badly enough, and tries for it, that person will usually obtain what is wanted. This concept became true for me last year as I obtained a summer job with the forest service in Oregon. Working and living in the mountain-west had been a life-long dream of mine, and it was finally happening. I secured my job in late April, and spent much of spring quarter just waiting for summer to come

Experiences of African refugees who transition to university : a question of resilience

First year transition to university for students’ is associated with significant adjustment to tertiary education practices and environment. Universities are frequently considering ways to support and improve this transition for students inclusive of mainstream and equity target groups. African refugees are one equity group that prioritises education and are concurrently experiencing pre-migration trauma and acculturation stress. However we know little about their experiences of support in transition to university. The aim of this present study was to explore the meanings ascribed by African refugees to their experiences of social support in transitioning to university. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on a sample of eleven refugees to gather data on their social support experiences in the transition to university. Using an interpretative phenomenological analysis of the data four major themes were identified: superordinate theme of resilience, which framed; pre and post migration impact; formal support and informal support. Interestingly, their optimism and resilience shaped their perception of social support and propelled them through the transition to university and acculturation process. Due to personal resilience and the desire to acculturate and be classified with mainstream students they were in less need and reticent of university support. Further research to understand refugee experiences of resilience, perceptions of support and equity are important for providing appropriate support in the first year transition to higher education

The Effect of Spin-Orbit Coupling on the Magnetic Properties of H2Ti(μ–H)2TiH2

Excited states of singlet and triplet H2Ti(μ−H)2TiH2 have been calculated using multiconfigurational wave functions. The effects of orbital relaxation are determined by optimizing orbitals for all states separately and comparing to state-averaged calculations, and are found to be small. Dynamic electron correlation included through second-order perturbation theory is found to have a considerable effect on excited state relative energies, but not on the ordering of states. Spin-orbit coupling effects are introduced by a one-electron operator which uses an effective nuclear charge to replace two-electron effects. The resulting splittings of the lowest energy triplet state components are 0.027 and 0.199 cm−1, respectively. The former is due to the angular momentum operator which acts along the Ti–Ti axis; the latter is due almost entirely to the angular momentum operator which acts in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the Ti–H–Ti bridge. An overall ferromagnetic effect of 0.660 cm−1 on the ground statesinglet-first excited triplet energy gap is predicted. Orbital interactions responsible for spin-orbit coupling effects are identified

How do Poor People Adapt to Weather Variability and Natural Disasters Today?

human development, climate change

The Aquatic Biota and Groundwater Quality of Springs in the Lincoln Hills, Wisconsin Driftless, and Northern till Plains Sections of Illinois

ID: 8307INHS Technical Report prepared for Environmental Protection Trust Fund Commission and Illinois Department of Natural Resources Division of Energy and Environmental AssessmentU of I OnlyRestriction applied due to concern over geolocation information of springs on private property

Intermolecular Self-Interactions of the Titanium Tetrahalides TiX4 (X ) F, Cl, Br)

Ab initio calculations have been performed on the closed-shell molecules TiX4 and Ti2X8 (X = F, Cl, Br) in order to determine the magnitude and the nature of the intermolecular self-interactions of the titanium tetrahalides. Geometry optimizations have been carried out using an effective core potential basis set with polarization, including the effects of dynamic electron correlation through second-order perturbation theory (MP2). The importance of higher order correlation effects is examined through coupled cluster single-point energy calculations. Basis set effects are investigated using MP2 single-point energy calculations with large all-electron basis sets. Ti2F8 is predicted to be a bound C2h dimer with bridging bonds, lower in energy than the separated monomers by 10.5 kcal/mol. Ti2Cl8 and Ti2Br8 are predicted to be weakly bound dimers whose structures are that of associated monomers with overall D3d point group symmetry. Ti2Cl8 is lower in energy than separated monomers by 4.9 kcal/mol. Transition states have been found that represent paths to halide exchange between monomers supporting experimental evidence for rapid halide exchange in liquid TiCl4 and in mixed systems such as TiCl4/TiBr4

The Dimerization of TiH4

Ab initio electronic structure calculations using a triple-\u27 plus polarization basis set, second-order perturbation theory, and coupled cluster theory show the dimerization of Ti& to be kinetically and thermodynamically very favorable. Six minima have been found on the potential energy surface of ThH8 : two with double hydrogen bridges and four with triple hydrogen bridges. This potential energy surface is very flat suggesting rapid interconversion between these isomers is possible. The large thermodynamic driving force for dimerization (up to -46.1 kcal/mol on the classical surface) is attributed to both electrostatic effects and the electron deficiency of titanium

Solvation of the Menshutkin Reaction: A Rigorous Test of the Effective Fragment Method

The recently developed effective fragment potential (EFP) method is used to study the effect of two, four, six, and eight solvating water molecules on the Menshutkin reaction between ammonia and methyl bromide. The EFP method reproduces all ab initio geometries and energetics (including zero-point energy, thermal, and entropy effects) for the two-water case very accurately. Energetics from all ab initio single-point energies at the EFP geometries for the four, six, and eight water cases are in excellent agreement with corresponding EFP energetics. In the gas phase, the above Menshutkin reaction is kinetically highly unfavorable with a free energy of activation (at 298.15 K) of 40.6 kcal/mol at the RHF level with a double-ξ basis set augmented with polarization and diffuse functions. An ion-pair product is found, in agreement with previous work, in which the bromide anion is hydrogen-bonded to an ammonium hydrogen, giving a free energy of reaction of 2.8 kcal/mol. The addition of solvating water molecules has the effect of lowering the barrier and lowering the energy of the ion-pair product relative to the molecule-pair reactant. For eight solvating EFP water molecules, the free energy of activation is 22.8 kcal/mol and the free energy of reaction is −21.9 kcal/mol. Timings indicate that the EFP method allows the inexpensive addition of water molecules to a chemical system, accurately modeling all ab initio calculations with low computational cost