The implications of improving the conservation value of field margins on crop production

The effect of field margin management on crop yield and weed biomass in the crop edge (headland) was investigated. Treatment did not have any significant effect on cereal yields, and taking a one metre strip out of crop production to establish a sterile, natural regeneration or sown strip, did not significantly reduce yields compared to cropping to the field edge. Conservation headlands generally contained greater amounts of weed biomass than fully sprayed headlands, but grain yields were not significantly reduced. Soil compaction affected yield in one of the field experiments, but not the other, where soil density values were fairly uniform. No relationship was found between fertiliser application and yield. In a survey of cereal headlands, distance from the field boundary was the most important factor affecting yield. Where yield increased with distance from the field boundary, there was a strong linear relationship with log distance (P<0.001). Weed dry matter was related to distance, and there was a significant relationship between weed dry matter and grain yield in the first year of the survey (p<0.001), but not in the second. Communities of herbaceous field margin species were established, and the effects of nitrogen fertiliser and sublethal glyphosate application were examined over two years. Cover abundance of grasses was greater than that of dicotyledonous species throughout. Bromus sterilis was the most abundant species in 1995, but by 1996 it had been replaced by Arrhenatherum elatius. Increasing fertiliser rate had a negative effect on total vegetation cover in 1995, due to individual plants lodging. During 1996, fertiliser application increased the cover abundance of the dominant perennial species A. e/atius (p<0.001), and also the annuals B. sterilis and Galium aparine (p<0.05). Sublethal doses of glyphosate significantly reduced total cover abundance (P<0.001), and had a greater effect on grasses compared to dicotyledonous species. Measurement of spray drift into a hedgerow showed that positioning the end of the tractormounted spray boom 2m or 6m away from the crop edge reduced drift into the hedgebottom compared with spraying up to the crop edge (P<0.001)

The Truth of the Matter: Why the Social Contract Dictates Legal Scholar\u27s Sincerity, Candor, & Thoroughness

Legal scholars have filled books, treatises, magazines, journals and law reviews with various writings ranging from highly intricate and complex theses to oversimplified and homogenous explanations. In all its forms, legal scholarship has been both touted and taunted by external and internal critics throughout the years. Some suggest that legal scholarship should holistically frame recommendations to responsible decision makers, and more specifically help the reader understand law. Others suggest that it should be used to bring restraint, proportion, perspective and atmosphere into the legal landscape and society at large. Whatever its stated purpose and whether it be doctrinal, descriptive or practical, legal scholarship remains an intricate and influential factor in legal academia, the legal system as a whole, and shaping cultural and professional discourses. As such, the varied and broad topics of legal scholarship (the empirical, the interpretive, the normative, and the prescriptive) provide innumerable opportunities for legal scholars: opportunities that are truly a gift as noted by Professor Lefkowitz. This gift should not be taken for granted, and should comport with [both] the goals and attributes of the academy \u27 and with the goals and conditions of the legal profession

The “Friend”ly Lawyer: Professionalism and Ethical Considerations of the Use of Social Networking During Litigation

Social media use has exploded around the world. The top social networking site (SNS), Facebook, reports that it has more than a billion members with approximately two million friend requests every twenty minutes. Coupled with the other top 15 social networking sites, including Linkedln, Google+, Twitter, and MySpace, the number of social networking users is estimated to exceed 2 billion. With billions of people producing and consuming media content through SNS, there has been a growing trend of law firms\u27 use of SNS as a marketing tool and litigators\u27 inclusion of discovery from SNS as a part of their discovery protocol. The rapid growth of SNS have enabled large numbers of users to instantly create and share content and has simultaneously unveiled concerns regarding the ethical and professional liabilities of attorneys participating in such SNS

The New Normal for Educating Lawyer

This article examines who law professors are and what their roles consist of when educating law students. The article discusses the ethical and moral dilemmas that law professors can find themselves in while trying to be competent and trustworthy in their teaching. The article also discusses the role of mentor and counselor as they guide students’ in creating their professional identities

The New Normal For Educating Lawyers

This article examines who law professors are and what their roles consist of when educating law students. The article discusses the ethical and moral dilemmas that law professors can find themselves in while trying to be competent and trustworthy in their teaching. The article also discusses the role of mentor and counselor as they guide students’ in creating their professional identities

Traffickers\u27 F ing Behavior During a Pandemic: Why Pandemic Online Behavior has Heightened the Urgency to Prevent Traffickers from Finding, Friending, and Facilitating the Exploitation of Youth via Social Media

During the trans-Atlantic slave trade, millions of native Africans were tricked into slavery. Today trans-continental deception continues, ensnaring victims from every corner of the world, many of whom are vulnerable children deceived and enslaved through violence and abuse. Ranked as the second most prevalent criminal enterprise, human trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar enterprise in the United States and across the world, with many of the victims recruited, solicited and exploited via social media. The correlation between this social media exploitation and the use of technology during the 2020 pandemic (hereinafter referred to as Pandemic Online Behavior or POB ) highlights the need for action to mitigate the number of child trafficking victims

A high-throughput screening method for determining the substrate scope of nitrilases

Nitrile compounds are intermediates in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals such as atorvastatin. We have developed a chromogenic reagent to screen for nitrilase activity as an alternative to Nessler's reagent. It produces a semi-quantifiable blue colour and hydrolysis of 38 nitrile substrates by 23 nitrilases as cell-free extracts has been shown

Eco-Capabilities: Arts-in-Nature for Supporting Nature Visibilisation and Wellbeing in Children

Estimates of mental health disorders and poor wellbeing among children and young people in England are escalating. While maintaining a positive relationship with nature is thought to promote personal and collective wellbeing, children and young people are spending less time outdoors, exhibiting a lack of appreciation for the environment and degrees of ‘plant blindness’. As such, there is a pressing need on behalf of schools to address these issues, and to adapt to students’ needs for a deeper and more purposeful connection with nature. This study aimed to explore the potential of one avenue to achieving this: arts-in-nature practice. This involved utilising arts-based research methods, through which 97 children aged 7–10 drew their ‘happy place’, alongside participatory observations, and interviews and focus groups with artists and teachers, as part of the wider Eco-Capabilities project. Findings suggest that following the arts-in-nature sessions there was a significant increase in the number of children’s drawings which featured nature as a main focus. This was achieved in three ways: by drawing newfound attention to nature; by attributing increased value to nature; and by explicitly placing nature within the purview of wellbeing. As such, we argue that creative pedagogies outdoors likely enhance what we term ‘nature visibilisation’ in children, an outcome necessary for their personal wellbeing and sustainability of the environment. This has significant implications for school practice in relation to how to support children’s mental health and wellbeing, alongside boosting interest in environmental sustainability and pro-environmental behaviour

Systemic infections after acute stroke

After an acute stroke, systemic infection can complicate the recovery process and lead to a worse clinical outcome, including a higher risk of mortality. Post-stroke infection (PSI) is responsible for the majority of the mortality occurring between 1 week and 1 month after stroke, peaking towards the end of the second week. The effects of PSI on longer-term outcome and other aspects of recovery, such as cognition, mood and quality of life, are largely unknown. The cerebrovascular event itself may result in a systemic immunosuppressed state, hence lowering the threshold for subsequent systemic bacterial infections. Although there have been advances in the basic understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms of PSI, clinical studies have not provided any clear guidelines on the best methods of managing or preventing PSI. This article provides a review of the current knowledge of the phenomenon of PSI and the possible future developments in the understanding and treatment of PSI