The effects of degree of erosion and slope characteristics on soybean yields on Memphis, Grenada, Lexington, and Loring soils

Soil erosion is a very serious problem in upland soybean fields in West Tennessee. This study was undertaken for the purpose of determining the effects of degree of erosion and slope characteristics on soybean yields on four West Tennessee soil series - Memphis, Grenada, Lexington, and Loring. In 1976 and 1977, yield samples were taken from areas of various soil mapping units of each soil series in soybean fields on West Tennessee farms and experiment stations. Soil mapping units sampled varied in slope from 1% to 12%, and in degree of erosion from slight to severe. The yield data collected were analyzed by use of a least squares analysis of variance. Least squares mean yields were obtained for each soil mapping unit sampled within each soil series. Erosion and slope effects on yields were determined by comparisons of pairs of least squares mean soil mapping unit yields. Results in 1976 showed no effect of degree of erosion on yield on any soil series. A trend toward reduced yields as slope gradient increased was evident on all soils. Results in 1977 showed significant yield reduc-tions on all soils due to the combined effects of degree of erosion and slope gradient. On Grenada soils, the reduction in yields was due largely to degree of erosion, while on the other soils it was equally due to slope gradient and erosion. A combined analysis of both years\u27 data showed no differences in yield due to degree of erosion and slope gradient on Memphis soils. On the other three soils, yields were reduced significantly by a combination of severe erosion and increased slope gradient. Neither increased slope gradient alone, nor severe erosion alone caused a significant yield re-duction. Yields on Lexington and Memphis soils did not differ significantly from year to year, but yields on Grenada and Loring soils declined signifi-cantly from 1976 to 1977. The differences in the effects of degree of erosion and slope gra-dient between 1976 and 1977 were probably a result of lower 1977 growing season rainfall. The drier conditions in 1977 resulted in lower yields on steeper, more eroded sites due to their lower moisture supplying capac-ity. The greater variability in yields on the Grenada and Loring soils was due to the fragipans in their subsoils, which restricted rooting and led to more moisture stress in a drier year. The overall lack of reduction in yield on Memphis soils was due to their deep, silty subsoils, which were able to supply more water to the soybeans than the less favorable subsoils of the other three soils. Shape of slope, either convex, concave, or smooth, had no signifi-cant effect on yields on any soil in either year when included in a model with field and soil mapping unit. The inclusion of linear and quadratic effects of pH and available potassium in the model had a significant effect on yields on Memphis soils in 1977. Adjustment of soil mapping unit yields for pH and available potassium eliminated significant dif-ferences between yields. The inclusion of linear and quadratic effects of pH in the model had a significant effect on yields on Grenada soils in 1977. Adjustment of soil mapping unit yields for pH increased the differences caused by slope gradient and degree of erosion

A Model for the Development and Administration of a Modern Television Complex for Private Colleges and Universities

Problem. There are virtually no model designs available for television complexes to meet the needs of private colleges and universities. These institutions must meet educational specifications for new or remodeled complexes within strict limits in space and money. The purpose of this study was to develop a model complex and administration of a cost efficient design. Method. The study utilized the descriptive and developmental methods. Literature was reviewed to gather concepts related to complex facilities, hardware, administration and personnel. Twelve functioning television complexes were visited using a thirty-four item criteria list to evaluate each complex, its hardware, administrative structure, and programs. Conclusions. Major conclusions drawn as a result of information and experience gained during the course of the study were that: (1) The planning process for a small facility is similar to, yet distinct from larger complexes. (2) Cost efficiency of planning, establishment, and operation are essential. (3) Expenditures for media including video tape can only be justified when it becomes an integral pat of instruction. (4) Low cost quality hardware and systematic development of instructional materials make such a program operable. (5) Smaller facilities are needed as electronic technology has allowed moving to remote locations without large crews or remote trucks. (6)A consolidated media program would be more cost efficient by ridding duplication in services. (7) Flexibility must be planned into the complex hardware, administrative structure, and personnel to meet the needs of the future. (8) Establishment of a complex is a fixed sequence task that can be carefully planned. Recommendations. The following recommendations are presented: (1) The model developed in this study should be field tested by small colleges and universities planning a television complex and revised in light of this experience. (2) The planning process for a television complex should have stopping off points when need is not clearly established to warrant any expenditures. (3) The planning process should be closely analyzed in order to make certain the facility, hardware, and personnel are cost efficient yet functional to meet investigated needs

The Identification of Enterprise System Limitations within Manufacturing Supply Chains

This primary purpose of this paper is to develop improved insights into common enterprise systems limitations, with specific regard to industrial supply chain management co-ordination and control. Enterprise or ERP systems are now routinely used within many SMEs and can be seen to offer many distinct functional advantages, but barriers to holistic business support and market growth still remain. Contemporary academic research and industrial advancement has been placed upon incremental improvements of existing frameworks to deliver novel ERPII or next-generation solutions based upon extended-enterprise or networked supply chain models. However, indications from these efforts reveal that as SMEs shift towards more agile and customer-focused strategies, there has to additionally exist, a reassessment of how internal reference frameworks and process systems are supported and implemented within the new solutions. Results collated from case studies and industrial surveys offer new recommendations and principles for ERP solution designers, researchers and practitioners alike

Business strategy driven IT systems for engineer-to-order and make-to-order manufacturing enterprises

This thesis reports research into the specification and implementation of an Information Technology (IT) Route Map. The purpose of the Route Map is to enable rapid design and deployment of IT solutions capable of semi-automating business processes in a manufacturing enterprise. The Map helps structure transition processes involved in “identification of key business strategies and design of business processes” and “choice of enterprise systems and supporting implementation techniques”. Common limitations of current Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are observed and incorporated as Route Map implications and constraints. Scope of investigation is targeted at Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) that employ Engineer-To-Order (ETO) and Make-To-Order (MTO) business processes. However, a feature of the Route Map is that it takes into account contemporary business concerns related to “globalisation”, “mergers and acquisitions” and “typical resource constraint problems of SMEs”. In the course of the research a “Business Strategy Driven IT System Concept” was conceived and examined. The main purpose of this concept is to promote the development of agile and innovative business activity in SMEs. The Road Map encourages strategy driven solutions to be (a) specified based on the use of emerging enterprise engineering theories and (b) implemented and changed using componentbased systems design and composition techniques. Part-evaluation of the applicability and capabilities of the Road Map has been carried out by conducting industrial survey and case study work. This assesses requirements of real industrial problems and solutions. The evaluation work has also been enabled by conducting a pilot implementation of the thesis concepts at the premises of a partner SME

The association between cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiometabolic risk in children is mediated by abdominal adiposity: the HAPPY study

Background: It is unclear whether cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is independently linked to cardiometabolic risk in children. This study investigated a) the association between CRF level and presence of cardiometabolic risk disorders using health-related cut points, and b) whether these associations were mediated by abdominal adiposity in children. Methods: This was a cross-sectional design study. Anthropometry, biochemical parameters and CRF were assessed in 147 schoolchildren (75 girls) aged 10-14 years. CRF was determined using a maximal cycle ergometer test. Children were classified as ‘fit’ or ‘unfit’ according to published thresholds. Logistic regression was used to investigate the odds of having individual and clustered cardiometabolic risk factors according to CRF level and whether abdominal adiposity mediated these associations. Results: Children classified as unfit had increased odds of presenting individual and clustered cardiometabolic risk factors (p 0.05). Conclusions: This study suggests that the association between CRF and cardiometabolic risk is mediated by abdominal adiposity in 10-14 year-old children and that abdominal adiposity may be a more important determinant of adverse cardiometabolic health in this age group

MarsQuake: Seismology on another planet

The MarsQuake project provides a set of teaching resources and classroom activities that can use real data and images sent back from the 2018 NASA InSight mission to Mars. Aimed at 11–18 year-olds (KS 3, 4 and 5), these activities include modelling and locating meteorite impacts, or marsquakes, which will help us understand more about theinternal structure of the ‘red planet’. The InSight lander will deploy two seismometers that will send live data back to Earth. It offers our first chance to look at extra-terrestrial quake data since the Apollo moon missions of the 1960s and 1970s. Data from InSight’s seismometers will be transmitted back to Earth and will be freely accessible online. The mission is expected to last at least a year and should send back a continuous stream of data for scientists, and students, to analyse

BGS: education through open doors and OpenGeoscience

The British Geological Survey (BGS) has supported geoscience education since it opened the Museum of Economic Geology in Whitehall, London, in 1841. However, the BGS has taken some large leaps since the wooden display cabinets of yesteryear, and now the public can browse a geologic map of the entire United Kingdom on their mobile phones, fly over or under the landscape using GeoVisionary, or view and print our fossil collections in three dimensions. In 2010, the BGS opened its doors to its vast collections of data through OpenGeoscience, which has stimulated opportunities to educate the public through a variety of online maps and free data. The BGS also hosts events such as “Open Days” and Rock Detective Clubs and attends science fairs to demonstrate its latest research or simply to educate and inspire the next generation of scientists. But nothing engages children's imagination like the destructive power of an earthquake. The BGS-led School Seismology project offers in-depth learning about the structure of the earth through a set of simple classroom experiments and the opportunity to work with live data from real earthquakes. The School Seismology project has become popular with teachers around the world and will shortly venture into space to explore the seismology of Mars

Evolution of an audit and monitoring tool into an Infection prevention and control process

Background In 2010, an Infection Prevention and Control Team in an acute Trust integrated an audit and monitoring tool (AMT) into their management regime for patients with Clostridium difficile infections (CDI). This approach evolved into a daily review process (DRP) that became an essential aspect of the management of all patients with CDI. Aim To examine the mechanisms through which the implementation of an AMT impacted on the care and management of patients with CDI. Methods A constructivist grounded theory approach was used employing semi-structured interviews with ward staff (n=8), IPCPs (n=7) and matrons (n=8) and subsequently a theoretical sample of senior managers (n=4). All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using a constant comparison approach until explanatory categories emerged. Findings All participants recognised that the DRP had positively impacted on the care received by patients with CDI. Two main explanatory themes emerged which offered a framework for understanding the impact of the DRP on care management; firstly education and learning and secondly the development and maintenance of relationships. Conclusion The use of auditing and monitoring tools as part of a daily review process can enable ward staff, matrons and IPCPs to improve patient outcomes and achieve the required levels of environmental hygiene because they act as a focal point for interaction, education and collaboration. The findings offer insights into the behavioural changes and improved patient outcomes that ensue from the implementation of a DRP