N released from organic amendments is affected by soil management history

A ryegrass bioassay was conducted to investigate the effect of soil management history on nitrogen mineralisation from composted manure and pelleted poultry manure. Soils were used from 2 field experiments comparing conventional and organic/low input management systems. When composted manure was added, soils which had received high rates of composted FYM under biodynamic management released a greater amount of nitrogen for plant uptake than those with a history of mineral or fresh manure fertilisation, suggesting that biological preconditioning may result in greater efficiency of composted FYM as a nitrogen source for plants. “Native” N mineralisation was found to be related to total soil N content

Ariel - Volume 10 Number 6

Executive Editors Madalyn Schaefgen David Reich Business Manager David Reich News Editors Medical College Edward Zurad CAHS John Guardiani World Mark Zwanger Features Editors Meg Trexler Jim O\u27Brien Editorials Editor Jeffrey Banyas Photography and Sports Editor Stuart Singer Commons Editor Brenda Peterso

TB115: Growth and Development of the Colorado Potato Beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Fed Foliage of Three Solanum Species

The purpose of this study was to compare growth and development of CPB larvae fed Solanum chacoense and Solanum demissum with those reared on S. tuberosum.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1075/thumbnail.jp

3D integrated superconducting qubits

As the field of superconducting quantum computing advances from the few-qubit stage to larger-scale processors, qubit addressability and extensibility will necessitate the use of 3D integration and packaging. While 3D integration is well-developed for commercial electronics, relatively little work has been performed to determine its compatibility with high-coherence solid-state qubits. Of particular concern, qubit coherence times can be suppressed by the requisite processing steps and close proximity of another chip. In this work, we use a flip-chip process to bond a chip with superconducting flux qubits to another chip containing structures for qubit readout and control. We demonstrate that high qubit coherence ($T_1$, $T_{2,\rm{echo}} > 20\,\mu$s) is maintained in a flip-chip geometry in the presence of galvanic, capacitive, and inductive coupling between the chips

Aquifer thermal energy storage : A well doublet experiment at increased temperatures

This is the published version. Copyright 1983 American Geophysical UnionThe two main objectives of this communication are to present a study of potential advantages and disadvantages of the doublet supply-injection well configuration in an aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) system and to report on aquifer storage problems with injection temperatures in the 80°C range. A 3-month injection-storage-recovery cycle followed by a 7.3-month cycle constituted the main experiment. The injection volumes were 25,402 m3 and 58,063 m3 at average temperatures of 58.5°C and 81°C respectively. Unlikely previous experiments at the Mobile site, no clogging of the injection well due to clay particle swelling, dispersion, and migration was observed. This is attributed to the fact that the supply water used for injection contained a cation concentration equal to or slightly greater than that in the native groundwater. For cycles I and II, the fraction of injected energy recovered in a volume of water equal to the injection volume was 0.56 and 0.45 respectively. Both groundwater temperature and tracer data support the conclusion that this relatively low recovery was due to the detrimental effects of free thermal convection, possibly augmented by longitudinal zones of high permeability. Construction of a partially penetrating recovery well improved recovery efficiency but is not thought to be an adequate solution to thermal stratification. A maximum increase of 1.24 cm in relative land surface elevation was recorded near the end of second cycle injection. The engineering implications of such an elevation change would have to be considered, especially if an ATES system were being designed in an urban environment. A third cycle was started at the Mobile site on April 7, 1982. This final experiment contains a partially penetrating, dual-recovery well system which is expected to maximize energy recovery from a thermally stratified storage aquifer

Effects of Nutritional Interventions on Cardiovascular Disease Health Outcomes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: A Scoping Review.

Nutrition interventions can support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This review examines nutritional interventions aiming to improve CVD outcomes and appraises peer-reviewed interventions using an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Quality Appraisal Tool. Five electronic databases and grey literature were searched, applying no time limit. Two reviewers completed the screening, data extraction and quality assessment independently. The study quality was assessed using the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and the Centre of Research Excellence in Aboriginal Chronic Disease Knowledge Translation and Exchange Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Quality Appraisal Tool (QAT). Twenty-one nutrition programs were included in this review. Twelve reported on anthropometric measurements, ten on biochemical and/or hematological measurements and sixteen on other outcome domains. Most programs reported improvements in measurable CVD risk factors, including reduced body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), weight, blood pressure and improved lipid profiles. Most programs performed well at community engagement and capacity strengthening, but many lacked the inclusion of Indigenous research paradigms, governance and strengths-based approaches. This review highlights the need for contemporary nutrition programs aimed at improving cardiovascular health outcomes to include additional key cultural components

Assessing the impact of spectral resolution on classification of lowland native grassland communities based on field spectroscopy in Tasmania, Australia

This paper presents a case study for the analysis of endangered lowland native grassland communities in the Tasmanian Midlands region using field spectroscopy and spectral convolution techniques. The aim of the study was to determine whether there was significant improvement in classification accuracy for lowland native grasslands and other vegetation communities based on hyperspectral resolution datasets over multispectral equivalents. A spectral dataset was collected using an ASD Handheld-2 spectroradiometer at Tunbridge Township Lagoon. The study then employed a k-fold cross-validation approach for repeated classification of a full hyperspectral dataset, a reduced hyperspectral dataset, and two convoluted multispectral datasets. Classification was performed on each of the four datasets a total of 30 times, based on two different class configurations. The classes analysed were Themeda triandra grassland, Danthonia/Poa grassland, Wilsonia rotundifolia/Selliera radicans, saltpan, and a simplified C3 vegetation class. The results of the classifications were then tested for statistically significant differences using ANOVA and Tukey’s post-hoc comparisons. The results of the study indicated that hyperspectral resolution provides small but statistically significant increases in classification accuracy for Themeda and Danthonia grasslands. For other classes, differences in classification accuracy for all datasets were not statistically significant. The results obtained here indicate that there is some potential for enhanced detection of major lowland native grassland community types using hyperspectral resolution datasets, and that future analysis should prioritise good performance in these classes over others. This study presents a method for identification of optimal spectral resolution across multiple datasets, and constitutes an important case study for lowland native grassland mapping in Tasmania

Engineering Comes Home: Co-designing nexus infrastructure from the bottom-up

The ‘nexus’ between water, food and energy systems is well established. It is conventionally analysed as a supply-side problem of infrastructure interdependencies, overlooking demand-side interactions and opportunities. The home is one of the most significant sites of nexus interactions and opportunities for redesigning technologies and infrastructure. New developments in ‘smart city’ technologies have the potential to support a bottom-up approach to designing and managing nexus infrastructure. The Engineering Comes Home was a research project that turned infrastructure design on its head. The objectives of the project were to: Demonstrate a new paradigm for engineering design starting from the viewpoint of the home, looking out towards systems of provision to meet household demands. Integrate thinking about water, energy, food, waste and data at the domestic scale to support userled innovation and co-design of technologies and infrastructure. Test new design methods that connect homes to communities, technologies and infrastructure, enhancing positive interactions between data, water, energy, food and waste systems. Develop a robust Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) Calculator tool to support environmental decisionmaking in co-design. Working with residents of the Meakin Estate in South London, the project followed a co-design method to identify requirements, analyse options and develop and test a detailed design for a preferred option. The outputs were: 1) Ethnographic study of how residents use water, energy and food resources in their homes and key opportunities for engineering design to improve wellbeing and reduce resource consumption. 2) Co-design of decentralised infrastructural systems in three workshops in 2016-2017. The first workshop identified key priorities for development from the community using a novel token-based system design method, to enable participants to build up alternative designs for local provision of water, energy, food and waste services. The second workshop provided participants with factsheets and photographs of the candidate technologies, which were then analysed using a LCA Calculator tool. 47 Rainwater harvesting was selected as the technology for further co-design in the third workshop, which focussed on scaling up a pilot installation. 3) Pilot-scale smart rainwater system was installed in partnership with the Over The Air Analytics (OTA). OTA’s system enables remote control of the rainwater storage tanks to optimise their performance as stormwater attenuation as well as non-potable water supply. 4) Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) Calculator to enable quick estimation of the impacts of new systems and technology to deliver water, energy and food, and manage waste at the household and neighbourhood scale. 5) Stakeholders, including utilities, design consultancies and community based organisations, were engaged in three workshops to inform the wider relevance and development of the co-design methods and tools. 6) Toolbox and method statements to standardise and disseminate the methods used in the project for wider application and development