Increased demand for rapid access to UK magnetic observatory data : implications for quality control procedures

During the last decade the demand for magnetic observatory data has steadily increased both from the scientific community and in particular from commercial organisations. Not only are the quantity of data products greater now but the speed at which they are delivered is faster and the quality of the data provided better. The modern user requirements for timely data have prompted the need for improved automatic procedures utilising the new technologies available. This has to be balanced against the user requirements for accuracy, which necessitate rigorous quality control procedures. While some of these have been automated, as is shown in the flow diagram, there remains a requirement for human interpretation and action if and when the data contain errors. Software development to reduce this human intervention is on-going

El Niño, Ice Storms, and the Market for Residential Fuelwood in Eastern Canada and the Northeastern U.S.

Extreme weather events such as the ice storm that affected eastern Canada and the Northeastern US in January of 1998 have significant impacts on both human populations and forests. One of the questions currently facing climate scientists is whether or not better forecasting of such events would lessen the economic impacts borne by households, industry, agricultural producers and the public sector when such weather events occur. This case study examines the economic impacts of the ice storm on the residential market for fuelwood. It is hypothesized that demand for fuelwood will increase due to the failure of non-wood heating sources during the ice storm. In addition, damage to trees in the region should increase the supply of fuelwood; the net effect of these outward shifts of supply and demand on price is not known. A household level survey administered to over one thousand households indicates that less than half of the households in the affected region currently rely on wood burning technologies as a source of heat for their homes. However, those households with wood burning technologies were better able to manage during the ice storm. The main policy implication of better forecasting of extreme weather events is the ability of households to alter or substitute home heating strategies and technologies in addition to other mitigative strategies such as storing food etc. In addition, forest managers or forest product producers who have information regarding extreme weather events have the option to undertake various management strategies to lessen the economic and biophysical impacts of ice storms on forests. Forest managers and woodlot owners may also enter or expand into the market for residential fuelwood when the production of other forest produce such as maple syrup and veneer are hindered by ice storm damage.

Agricultural Land Distribution in Vietnam: Emerging Issues and Policy Implications

This paper examines the current distribution of the agricultural land, the issues causing landlessness in Vietnam, assesses present governmental policies and methods and presents key options. The paper relies on the Vietnam Living Household Standard Survey (VHLSS) that were conducted by the General Statistics Office in 2002 and 2004, and qualitative evidence from other studies. It is found that land inequality is increasing. Poor households have small areas of agricultural land and aquacultural water surface, and their lands are also of low quality. Landless poor are dependent on low income and unstable income from labouring in agricultural production. Policies to assist the landless have had limited impact.Land distribution, landless, poverty, Vietnam, Asia

Right to Life Means No Right to Death with Dignity

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Moral Evils v. Health and Safety Evils: The Case of an Ovum ‘Obtained’ From a ‘Donor’ and Used By the ‘Donor’ in Her Own Surrogate Pregnancy

This paper critically examines the amendment made in 2012 to section 10(2)(c) of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, 2004 mandating the screening and testing of “obtained” ovum “donated” by a “donor” and used in her own surrogate pregnancy. The amendment at section 10(1) of the Act cites the federal government’s obligation to reduce harm to human health and safety arising from use of sperm or ova for human reproduction, including the risk of disease transmission. This paper argues that the amendment mandating the screening and testing of surrogate ova when used by the surrogate in her own surrogate pregnancy creates a dangerous liminal regulatory space; one that transforms the surrogate into a third-party donor yet she incurs no health and safety risk to herself as she is the recipient of her own ova embryo. Genetic implications for the surrogate-born child makes a stronger case in support of mandatory testing, however the amendment imposes no similar screening and testing regime on the usual category of traditional surrogates: women who bear genetically-related children conceived through artificial insemination (IUI) rather than IVF. The paper questions the application of a health and safety evil that the amendment seeks to address. It suggests the real evil is a moral one whereby criminal code sanctions are being employed to discourage traditional surrogacy when practiced as a result of assisted reproduction techniques

High-Amylose Corn Exhibits Better Antioxidant Activity than Typical and Waxy Genotypes

The consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains rich in antioxidative phytochemicals is associated with a reduced risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, coronary heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer\u27s disease, cataract, and aged-related functional decline. For example, phenolic acids are among the main antioxidative phytochemicals in grains that have been shown to be beneficial to human health. Corn (Zea mays L.) is a major staple food in several parts of the world; thus, the antioxidant activity of several corn types was evaluated. The 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl free radical (DPPH•) scavenging activity, total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant capacity of lipid-soluble substances (ACL), oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), and phenolic acid compositions of typical and mutant genotypes (typical-1, waxy, typical-2, and high-amylose) were investigated. The DPPH• scavenging activity at 60 min was 34.39−44.51% in methanol extracts and 60.41−67.26% in HCl/methanol (1/99, v/v) extracts of corn. The DPPH• scavenging activity of alkaline hydrolysates of corn ranged from 48.63 to 64.85%. The TPC ranged from 0.67 to 1.02 g and from 0.91 to 2.15 g of ferulic acid equiv/kg of corn in methanol and HCl/methanol extracts, respectively. The TPC of alkaline hydrolysates ranged from 2.74 to 6.27 g of ferulic acid equiv/kg of corn. The ACL values were 0.41−0.80 and 0.84−1.59 g of Trolox equiv/kg of corn in methanol and HCl/methanol extracts, respectively. The ORAC values were 10.57−12.47 and 18.76−24.92 g of Trolox equiv/kg of corn in methanol and HCl/methanol extracts, respectively. ORAC values of alkaline hydrolysates ranged from 42.85 to 68.31 g of Trolox equiv/kg of corn. The composition of phenolic acids in alkaline hydrolysates of corn was p-hydroxybenzoic acid (5.08−10.6 mg/kg), vanillic acid (3.25−14.71 mg/kg), caffeic acid (2.32−25.73 mg/kg), syringic acid (12.37−24.48 mg/kg), p-coumaric acid (97.87−211.03 mg/kg), ferulic acid (1552.48−2969.10 mg/kg), and o-coumaric acid (126.53−575.87 mg/kg). Levels of DPPH• scavenging activity, TPC, ACL, and ORAC in HCl/methanol extracts were obviously higher than those present in methanol extracts. There was no significant loss of antioxidant capacity when corn was dried at relatively high temperatures (65 and 93 °C) postharvest as compared to drying at ambient temperatures (27 °C). Alkaline hydrolysates showed very high TPC, ACL, and ORAC values when compared to methanol and HCl/methanol extracts. High-amylose corn had a better antioxidant capacity than did typical (nonmutant) corn genotypes

Altering the fatty acid composition of Corn Belt corn through Tripsacum introgression

Breeders need sources of genes for altering the fatty acid content of oil in maize (Zea maize L.) that are not available in Corn Belt germplasm. Previously we determined lines developed from maize introgressed with genes from Tripsacum dactyloides had useful variation for fatty acid composition. We conducted this study to validate the variation, thereby showing that the trait could be transferred to Corn Belt inbreds using traditional plant breeding methods to create maize lines with altered fatty acid composition useful for an oil quality breeding program. Based on their fatty acid profiles, maize lines were selected from an open pollinated population that was introgressed with genes from Tripsacum dactyloides. These introgressed lines were both self-pollinated and backcrossed to Corn Belt lines while undergoing selection for various fatty acid compositions. The parental lines and S1 and S3 progeny from the backcrosses were compared to commercial Corn Belt hybrids and inbreds in an experiment using a randomized complete block design with two replications at two locations near Ames, Iowa. The plants were hand pollinated and hand harvested. The fatty acid compositions were analyzed by using Gas Chromatography to characterize the fatty acid methyl esters made from the oil of five individual kernels from each ear. The relative amounts of the two types of fatty acids of interest, a monounsaturated fatty acid, (oleic acid) and saturated fatty acids (palmitic and stearic acids), were greatly increased by selection breeding within the Tripsacum introgressed germplasm. New oil products with more healthful fatty acid compositions and products with reduced trans fats can be developed from these new lines

Thermal Properties of Starch from 62 Exotic Maize (Zea mays L.) Lines Grown in Two Locations

The variability in thermal properties among 62 S3 lines derived from a high-yielding exotic corn (Zea mays) population, Antigua 1 (PI 484990), was evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The S3 lines were grown in Puerto Rico (1990–1991) and Georgia (1994). Separate single-kernel starch extractions for five kernels (five replicates) from each line grown in each location were performed, and the starch was analyzed. The DSC values reported included gelatinization onset (ToG), range (RG), enthalpy (ΔHG), and peak height index (PHI) and retrogradation onset (ToR), range (RR), enthalpy (ΔHR), and percent retrogradation (%R) (an indication of the stability of gelatinized starch after storing at 4°C for 7 days). Significant differences (P\u3c 0.05) were found among the 62 lines of Antigua 1 for ToG, RG, and PHI and highly significant differences (P \u3c 0.01) were found for ΔHG. The starches from plants grown in Georgia (1994) had significantly (P \u3c 0.05) greater ToG, ΔHG, and PHI but a significantly lower RG than those from Puerto Rico (1990–1991). These data suggest that the starch from plants grown in Georgia (1994) might have a greater degree of crystallinity than that from Puerto Rico (1990–1991). None of the retrogradation values were significantly different among starches of the 62 lines of Antigua 1 and the starches from plants grown in the two locations

Impact of Dry Solids and Bile Acid Concentrations on Bile Acid Binding Capacity of Extruded Oat Cereals

Extruded breakfast cereals (EBC), processed from two oat lines, N979-5-2-4 (N979) and “Jim”, with β-glucan concentrations of 8.7 and 4.9%, respectively, were used to determine the impact of dry solids (DS) and bile acid (BA) concentrations on in vitro BA binding efficiency. A full fractional factorial design with levels for BA concentrations of 0.20, 0.47, 0.95, 2.37, and 4.73 μmol/g of total EBC slurry and for DS in the slurries of 0.8, 2, 3, and 4% (w/w) was selected. The absolute amount of BA bound (μmol) was measured for each trial in the experiment design. The percentage (%) of BA bound based on the total amount of BA added and BA bound per gram of DS of the EBC (μmol/g) were also presented and discussed. N979 in vitro digestion slurries had greater BA binding (μmol) than Jim slurries at different DS and BA concentrations, with greater differences at DS of 3% or above and at BA concentrations of 2.37 μmol/g or above. No difference in the absolute amount of BA bound (μmol) and percentage (%) BA bound occurred between the EBC slurries made from the two oat types at the lowest DS of 0.8% or the lowest BA concentration of 0.20 μmol/g. The efficiency of BA binding by β-glucan in these two EBC became more distinguishable at 3% DS or above and BA concentrations of 2.37 μmol/g or above, indicating that these two conditions can be employed to measure BA capacities for similar foods. Also, the β-glucan in the EBC produced from the N979 oat line was more soluble than that from the EBC produced from the Jim oat line. Thus, greater BA binding capacity may have been caused by both a greater amount of β-glucan and a greater solubility of β-glucan in N979 than in Jim EBC