Phosphorus Fertilizer Requirements for Temperate Dairy Pastures and Milk Production in South Eastern Australia

Phosphorus (P) fertilizer is required to sustain productive pastures in Australia, yet optimum P fertility is poorly defined. A large farmlet study involving 10 herds was established in 1995 to determine the relationship between milk production and pasture response to four different P fertilizer rates, at three stocking rates. Pasture growth significantly increased with increasing P fertilizer rate. Cumulative milk production from pasture over 4 years, was significantly affected by P fertilizer, but responses diminished with increasing P rate. The results from this study will enable a better targeting of P fertility levels for profitable milk production from temperate dairy pastures and minimise the environmental impact of excess P fertilizer use

Multi-center planning study of radiosurgery for intracranial metastases through Automation (MC-PRIMA) by crowdsourcing prior web-based plan challenge study

Background: Planning radiosurgery to multiple intracranial metastases is complex and shows large variability in dosimetric quality among planners and treatment planning systems (TPS). This project aimed to determine whether autoplanning using the Muliple Brain Mets (AutoMBM) software can improve plan quality and reduce inter-planner variability by crowdsourcing results from prior international planning study. Methods: Twenty-four institutions autoplanned with AutoMBM on a five metastases case from a prior international planning competition from which population statistics (means and variances) of 23 dosimetric metrics and resulting composite plan score (maximum score = 150) of other TPS (Eclipse, Monaco, RayStation, iPlan, GammaPlan, MultiPlan) were crowdsourced. Plan results of AutoMBM and each of the other TPS were compared using two sample t-tests for means and Levene\u27s tests for variances. Plan quality of AutoMBM was correlated with the planner\u27 experience and compared between academic and non-academic centers. Results: AutoMBM produced plans with comparable composite plan score to GammaPlan, MultiPlan, Eclipse and iPlan (127.6 vs. 131.7 vs. 127.3 vs. 127.3 and 126.7; all p \u3e 0.05) and superior to Monaco and RayStation (118.3 and 108.6; both p \u3c 0.05). Inter-planner variability of overall plan quality was lowest for AutoMBM among all TPS (all p \u3c 0.05). AutoMBM\u27s plan quality did not differ between academic and non-academic centers and uncorrelated with planning experience (all p \u3e 0.05). Conclusions: By plan crowdsourcing prior international plan challenge, AutoMBM produces high and consistent plan quality independent of the planning experience and the institution that is crucial to addressing the technical bottleneck of SRS to intracranial metastases

Comparisons of continuous atmospheric CH4, CO2 and N2O measurements – results from a travelling instrument campaign at Mace Head

A 2-month measurement campaign with a Fourier transform infrared analyser as a travelling comparison instrument (TCI) was performed at the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station at Mace Head, Ireland. The aim was to evaluate the compatibility of atmospheric methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) measurements of the routine station instrumentation, consisting of a gas chromatograph (GC) for CH4 and N2O as well as a cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) system for CH4 and CO2. The advantage of a TCI approach for quality control is that the comparison covers the entire ambient air measurement system, including the sample intake system and the data evaluation process. For initial quality and performance control, the TCI was run in parallel with the Heidelberg GC before and after the measurement campaign at Mace Head. Median differences between the Heidelberg GC and the TCI were well within the WMO inter-laboratory compatibility target for all three greenhouse gases. At Mace Head, the median difference between the station GC and the TCI were -0.04 nmol mol(-1) for CH4 and -0.37 nmol mol(-1) for N2O (GC-TCI). For N2O, a similar difference (-0.40 nmol mol(-1)) was found when measuring surveillance or working gas cylinders with both instruments. This suggests that the difference observed in ambient air originates from a calibration offset that could partly be due to a difference between the WMO N2O X2006a reference scale used for the TCI and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO-1998) scale used at Mace Head and in the whole AGAGE network. Median differences between the CRDS G1301 and the TCI at Mace Head were 0.12 nmol mol(-1) for CH4 and 0.14 mu mol mol(-1) for CO2 (CRDS G1301 - TCI). The difference between both instruments for CO2 could not be explained, as direct measurements of calibration gases show no such difference. The CH4 differences between the TCI, the GC and the CRDS G1301 at Mace Head are much smaller than the WMO inter-laboratory compatibility target, while this is not the case for CO2 and N2O

Atmospheric bromoform at mace head, ireland: seasonality and evidence for a peatland source

In situ atmospheric observations of bromoform (CHBr3) made over a 2.5 year period at Mace Head, Ireland from May 2001- Dec 2003, including during the NAM-BLEX ( North Atlantic Marine Boundary Layer Experiment) campaign, show broad maxima from spring until autumn and winter minima, with mixing ratios of 5.3+1.0 pptv ( mid March - mid October) and 1.8+0.8 pptv ( December-February). This indicates that, unlike CHCl3, which has a summer minimum and winter maximum at Mace Head, local biological sources of CHBr3 have a greater influence on the atmospheric data than photochemical decay during long-range transport. The emission sources are predominantly macroalgal, but we find evidence for a small terrestrial flux from peatland ecosystems, which so far has not been accounted for in the CHBr3 budget. Sharp increases in CHCl3 and CHBr3 concentrations and decreases in O-3 concentrations occurred at night when the wind direction switched from an ocean- to a land-based sector ( land breeze) and the wind speed dropped to below 5 ms(-1). These observations infer a shallow atmospheric boundary layer with increased O3 deposition and concentration of local emissions of both CHCl3 and CHBr3. The ratio of Delta CHCl3/Delta CHBr3 varied strongly according to the prevailing wind direction; from 0.60+ 0.15 in south-easterly ( 100 - 170 degrees) and northerly ( 340 20 degrees) air to 2.5+ 0.4 in north-easterly ( 40 - 70 degrees) air. Of these land-sectors, the south-easterly air masses are likely to be strongly influenced by macroalgal beds along the coast and the emission ratios probably reflect those from seaweeds in addition to land sources. The north-easterly airmasses however had an immediate fetch inland, which locally is comprised of coastal peatland ecosystems ( peat bogs and coastal conifer plantations), previously identified as being strong sources of atmospheric CHCl3 under these conditions. Although we cannot entirely rule out other local land or coastal sources, our observations also suggest peatland ecosystem emissions of CHBr3. We use correlations between CHCl3 and CHBr3 during the north-easterly land breeze events in conjunction with previous estimates of local wetland CHCl3 release to tentatively deduce a global wetland CHBr3 source of 20.4 (0.4 - 948) Gg yr(-1), which is approximately 7% of the total global source

Statistical analysis of eight surface ozone measurement series for various sites in ireland

Data from various stations having different measurement record periods between 1988 and 2007 are analyzed to investigate the surface ozone concentration, long-term trends, and seasonal changes in and around Ireland. Time series statistical analysis is performed on the monthly mean data using seasonal and trend decomposition procedures and the Box-Jenkins approach (autoregressive integrated moving average). In general, ozone concentrations in the Irish region are found to have a negative trend at all sites except at the coastal sites of Mace Head and Valentia. Data from the most polluted Dublin city site have shown a very strong negative trend of -0.33 ppb/yr with a 95% confidence limit of 0.17 ppb/yr (i.e., -0.33 +/- 0.17) for the period 2002-2007, and for the site near the city of Cork, the trend is found to be -0.20 +/- 0.11 ppb/yr over the same period. The negative trend for other sites is more pronounced when the data span is considered from around the year 2000 to 2007. Rural sites of Wexford and Monaghan have also shown a very strong negative trend of -0.99 +/- 0.13 and -0.58 +/- 0.12, respectively, for the period 2000-2007. Mace Head, a site that is representative of ozone changes in the air advected from the Atlantic to Europe in the marine planetary boundary layer, has shown a positive trend of about +0.16 +/- 0.04 ppb per annum over the entire period 1988-2007, but this positive trend has reduced during recent years (e. g., in the period 2001-2007). Cluster analysis for back trajectories are performed for the stations having a long record of data, Mace Head and Lough Navar. For Mace Head, the northern and western clean air sectors have shown a similar positive trend (+0.17 +/- 0.02 ppb/yr for the northern sector and +0.18 +/- 0.02 ppb/yr for the western sector) for the whole period, but partial analysis for the clean western sector at Mace Head shows different trends during different time periods with a decrease in the positive trend since 1988 indicating a deceleration in the ozone trend for Atlantic air masses entering Europe

Quantification of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chloroform emissions over ireland from atmospheric observations at mace head

Flux estimates Of CO2, CH4, N2O and CHCl3 over Ireland are inferred frorn continuous atmospheric records of these species. We use radon-222 (Rn-222) as a reference compound to estimate unknown sources of other species. The correlation between each species and 222Rn is calculated for a suite of diurnal events that have been selected in the Mace Head record over the period 1995 1997 to represent air masses exposed to sources over Ireland. We established data selection criteria based on Rn-222 and Pb-212 concentrations, We estimated flux densities of 12 x 10(3) kg CH4 km(-2) yr(-1), 680 kg N2O km(-2) yr(-1) and 20 kg CHCl3 km(-2) yr(-1) for CH4, N2O and CHCl3, respectively. We also inferred flux densities of 250 x 10(3) kg C km(-2) yr(-1) for CO2 during wintertime, and of 760 x 10(3) kg C km(-2) yr(-1) for CO2 during summer night-time. Our CH4 inferred flux compare well with the CORINAIR90 and CORNAIR94 inventories for Ireland. The N2O emission flux we inferred is close to the inventory value by CORINAIR90, but twice the inventory value by CORINAIR94 and EDGAR 2.0. This discrepancy may have been caused by the use of the revised 1996 IPCC guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories in 1994, which include a new methodology for N2O emissions from agriculture. We carried out the first estimation of CHCl3 emission fluxes over Ireland. This estimation is 4 times larger than the CHCl3 emission fluxes measured close to the Mace Head station over peatlands. Our CHCl3 emission fluxes estimate is consistent with the interpretation of the same data by Ryall (personal communication, 2000), who obtained, using a Lagrangian atmospheric transport model, CHCl3 fluxes of 24 +/- 7 kg CHCl3 km(-2) yr(-1). Our estimates of CO2 emission fluxes during summer night-time and wintertime are close to those estimated from inventories and to one biogeochemical model of heterotrophic respiration

European greenhouse gas emissions estimated from continuous atmospheric measurements and radon 222 at mace head, ireland

Flux estimates of CO2, CH4 N2O, and CFCs over western Europe have been inferred from continuous atmospheric records of these species at the atmospheric research 771 station of Mace Head, Ireland. We use radon ( Rn) which has a fairly uniform source over continents as a reference compound to estimate unknown sources of other species. The Rn-222 is calculated for a suite of synoptic events that correlation between each species and have been selected in the Mace Head record over the period 1996/97. In the following, we describe the method and its uncertainties, and we establish data selection criteria that minimize the influence of local sources over Ireland, in the vicinity of the station, in order to select synoptic events originating from western Europe. We estimate western European flux densities of 45-30 10(3) kg C km(-2) month(-1) during wintertime for CO2, of 4.8-3.5 10(3) kg CH4 km(-2) yr(-1), 475-330 kg N2O km(-2) yr(-1) 2.5-1.8 kg CFC-11 km(-2) yr(-1) for CFC-11 and 4.2-2.9 kg CFC-12 km(-2) yr(-1) for CFC-12. Our estimates are independent, although in good agreement with those produced by inventories, except for CFC-11 where our estimate is much lower than the inventory

Effect of type and severity of intimate partner violence on women\u27s health and service use : findings from a primary care trial of women afraid of their partners

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has major affects on women&rsquo;s wellbeing. There has been limited investigation of the association between type and severity of IPV and health outcomes. This article describes socio-demographic characteristics, experiences of abuse, health, safety, and use of services in women enrolled in the Women&rsquo;s Evaluation of Abuse and Violence Care (WEAVE) project. We explored associations between type and severity of abuse and women&rsquo;s health, quality of life, and help seeking. Women (aged 16&ndash;50 years) attending 52 Australian general practices, reporting fear of partners in last 12 months were mailed a survey between June 2008 and May 2010. Response rate was 70.5% (272/386). In the last 12 months, one third (33.0%) experienced Severe Combined Abuse, 26.2% Physical and Emotional Abuse, 26.6% Emotional Abuse and/or Harassment only, 2.7% Physical Abuse only and 12.4% scored negative on the Composite Abuse Scale. A total of 31.6% of participants reported poor or fair health and 67.9% poor social support. In the last year, one third had seen a psychologist (36.6%) or had 5 or more general practitioner visits (34.3%); 14.7% contacted IPV services; and 24.4% had made a safety plan. Compared to other abuse groups, women with Severe Combined Abuse had poor quality of life and mental health, despite using more medications, counseling, and IPV services and were more likely to have days out of role because of emotional issues. In summary, women who were fearful of partners in the last year, have poor mental health and quality of life, attend health care services frequently, and domestic violence services infrequently. Those women experiencing severe combined physical, emotional, and sexual abuse have poorer quality of life and mental health than women experiencing other abuse types. Health practitioners should take a history of type and severity of abuse for women with mental health issues to assist access to appropriate specialist support.<br /