Agricultural resource priorities and recommendations for the Avon River Basin Natural Resource Management Strategy

This report for the Avon Natural Resource Management Strategy provides an assessment of the current status of land resources throughout the Avon River Basin in Western Australia. It identifies the sub-regions and landscape components of the area and the land resource assets. The greatest threats are salinity, soil acidification, subsurface compaction, waterlogging, water and wind erosion, and biosecurity

Lambda-N scattering length from the reaction gamma d -> K^+ Lambda n

The perspects of utilizing the strangeness-production reaction gamma d -> K^+ Lambda n for the determination of the Lambda n low-energy scattering parameters are investigated. The spin observables that need to be measured in order to isolate the Lambda n singlet (1S0) and triplet (3S1) states are identified. Possible kinematical regions where the extraction of the Lambda n scattering lengths might be feasible are discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

The effect of skin fatty acids on Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus is a commensal of the human nose and skin. Human skin fatty acids, in particular cis-6-hexadecenoic acid (C-6-H), have high antistaphylococcal activity and can inhibit virulence determinant production. Here, we show that sub-MIC levels of C-6-H result in induction of increased resistance. The mechanism(s) of C-6-H activity was investigated by combined transcriptome and proteome analyses. Proteome analysis demonstrated a pleiotropic effect of C-6-H on virulence determinant production. In response to C-6-H, transcriptomics revealed altered expression of over 500 genes, involved in many aspects of virulence and cellular physiology. The expression of toxins (hla, hlb,hlgBC) was reduced, whereas that of host defence evasion components (cap, sspAB, katA) was increased. In particular, members of the SaeRS regulon had highly reduced expression, and the use of specific mutants revealed that the effect on toxin production is likely mediated via SaeRS

Wagin-Woodanilling (zone 5) : catchment appraisal 2005

The aim of this report is to assess the current extent of salinity and other natural resource degradation issues and provide landholders with the best current management options to address natural resource management issues and enhance sustainable agricultural production

The feasibility of brief dog assisted therapy on university students stress levels: The PAwS study.

Background: Pet therapy is becoming increasingly popular and is used in a variety of ways from encouraging communication in older adults to improving wellbeing in those with serious mental illness. Increasingly Universities have been offering pet therapy to students in an effort to reduce stress. However, little evidence currently exists to support the effectiveness of reducing measurable stress levels after a standalone drop-in unstructured session. The University of Sheffield’s Counselling Service works in partnership with Guide Dogs for the Blind to give students access to calm, well-trained animals for informal group stress relief. Aims: To assess the feasibility of implementing and evaluating unstructured group interventions with a Guide Dog in training within the university student population. Methods: One hundred and thirty-one students who attended pet therapy at the University Counselling Service were recruited on a voluntary basis to take part in the research. Stress, measured on the state trait anxiety inventory, and blood pressure were taken before and after a 15-min intervention. Results: All measures showed a statistically significant reduction immediately after the intervention. Conclusion: Short interactions with a Guide Dog in training appear to reduce stress in University students. A controlled study is required to investigate further

Bistability of Slow and Fast Traveling Waves in Fluid Mixtures

The appearence of a new type of fast nonlinear traveling wave states in binary fluid convection with increasing Soret effect is elucidated and the parameter range of their bistability with the common slower ones is evaluated numerically. The bifurcation behavior and the significantly different spatiotemporal properties of the different wave states - e.g. frequency, flow structure, and concentration distribution - are determined and related to each other and to a convenient measure of their nonlinearity. This allows to derive a limit for the applicability of small amplitude expansions. Additionally an universal scaling behavior of frequencies and mixing properties is found. PACS: 47.20.-k, 47.10.+g, 47.20.KyComment: 4 pages including 5 Postscript figure

Measurement of Analyzing Power for Proton-Carbon Elastic Scattering in the Coulomb-Nuclear Interference Region with a 22-GeV/c Polarized Proton Beam

The analyzing power for proton-carbon elastic scattering in the coulomb-nuclear interference region of momentum transfer, $9.0\times10^{-3}<-t<4.1\times10^{-2}$ (GeV/$c)^{2}$, was measured with a 21.7 GeV/$c$ polarized proton beam at the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron of Brookhaven National Laboratory. The ratio of hadronic spin-flip to non-flip amplitude, $r_5$, was obtained from the analyzing power to be $\text{Re} r_5=0.088\pm 0.058$ and $\text{Im} r_5=-0.161\pm 0.226$.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures and 1 table. Accepted by Physical Review Letter

Cochlear blood flow in response to dilating agents

Reduced cochlear blood flow (CBF) has been implicated in various pathologies of the inner ear, including sudden deafness, noise-induced hearing loss and Meniere's disease. Thus the aim of some current therapeutic regimens to treat these conditions is to increase CBF and thereby improve oxygenation of the inner ear tissues. Most of the vasodilating agents in clinical use, however, do not have specific experimental evidence to support their effects on CBF. The hypotension which can follow systemic administration may limit their local effectiveness and general utility, just as it complicates the interpretation of the data in animal experiments. In the current study we investigated the effect of six agents, known for their systemic cardiovascular actions, on CBF: hydralazine, sodium nitroprusside, papaverine, nicotinic acid, verapamil and histamine. The effect of these drugs was studied after topical applications on the round window membrane (RWM) and systemic intravenous administrations. CBF was monitored with a laser Doppler flowmeter (LDF). Topical administration of sodium nitroprusside was the most effective in increasing CBF, followed, in order, by hydralazine and histamine. No change in CBF was observed for papaverine, verapamil or nicotinic acid. Systemic administrations of all the agents caused a marked decrease in blood pressure and variable effects on CBF. We discuss the CBF changes in relation to the different pharmacological mechanisms of action of each drug. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of topical application of vasodilating agents in increasing CBF.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30211/1/0000601.pd

MpsAB is important for Staphylococcus aureus virulence and growth at atmospheric CO2 levels

The mechanisms behind carbon dioxide (CO2) dependency in non-autotrophic bacterial isolates are unclear. Here we show that the Staphylococcus aureus mpsAB operon, known to play a role in membrane potential generation, is crucial for growth at atmospheric CO2 levels. The genes mpsAB can complement an Escherichia coli carbonic anhydrase (CA) mutant, and CA from E. coli can complement the S. aureus delta-mpsABC mutant. In comparison with the wild type, S. aureus mps mutants produce less hemolytic toxin and are less virulent in animal models of infection. Homologs of mpsA and mpsB are widespread among bacteria and are often found adjacent to each other on the genome. We propose that MpsAB represents a dissolved inorganic carbon transporter, or bicarbonate concentrating system, possibly acting as a sodium bicarbonate cotransporter. © 2019, The Author(s)

Polarization phenomena in open charm photoproduction processes

We analyze polarization effects in associative photoproduction of pseudoscalar ($\bar{D}$) charmed mesons in exclusive processes $\gamma+ N\to Y_c +\bar{D}$, $Y_c=\Lambda_c^+$, $\Sigma_c$. Circularly polarized photons induce nonzero polarization of the $Y_c$-hyperon with $x$- and $z$-components (in the reaction plane) and non vanishing asymmetries ${\cal A}_x$ and ${\cal A}_z$ for polarized nucleon target. These polarization observables can be predicted in model-independent way for exclusive $\bar{D}$-production processes in collinear kinematics. The T-even $Y_c$-polarization and asymmetries for non-collinear kinematics can be calculated in framework of an effective Lagrangian approach. The depolarization coefficients $D_{ab}$, characterizing the dependence of the $Y_c$-polarization on the nucleon polarization are also calculated.Comment: 36 pages 13 figure