The effect of renovation of long-term temperate grassland on N2O emissions and N leaching from contrasting soils

pre-printRenovation of long-term grassland is associated with a peak in soil organic N mineralisation which, coupled with diminished plant N uptake can lead to large gaseous and leaching N losses. This study reports on the effect of ploughing and subsequent N fertilisation on the N2O emissions and DON/NO3− leaching, and evaluates the impact of ploughing technique on the magnitude and profile of N losses. This study was carried out on isolated grassland lysimeters of three Irish soils representing contrasting drainage properties (well-drained Clonakilty, moderately-drained Elton and poorly-drained Rathangan). Lysimeters were manually ploughed simulating conventional (CT) and minimum tillage (MT) as two treatments. Renovation of grassland increased N2O flux to a maximum of 0.9 kg N2O–N ha− 1 from poorly-drained soil over four days after treatment. Although there was no difference between CT and MT in the post-ploughing period, the treatment influenced subsequent N2O after fertiliser applications. Fertilisation remained the major driver of N losses therefore reducing fertilisation rate post-planting to account for N mineralised through grassland renovation could reduce the losses in medium to longer term. Leaching was a significant loss pathway, with the cumulative drainage volume and N leached highly influenced by soil type. Overall, the total N losses (N2O + N leached) were lowest from poorly and moderately draining soil and highest for the well draining soil, reflecting the dominance of leaching on total N losses and the paramount importance of soil properties

2D:4D digit ratio and religiosity in university student and general population samples

The ratio of index to ring finger length (2D:4D) is used as a proxy for prenatal sex hormone exposure. It has been hypothesised to correlate with religiosity, though no published research has explored this possibility. Here, we initially examined 2D:4D in relation to self-reported religious affiliation and questionnaire measures of general religiosity, spirituality, religious fundamentalism, and religious commitment in male (N = 106) and female (N = 105) university students (Study 1). Although no significant correlations were observed between 2D:4D and the questionnaire measures, females who affiliated with organised religions had higher right and left hand digit ratios compared to agnostic or atheist females. Study 2 attempted to replicate these findings in an adult general population sample (N = 172 males, N = 257 females), but did not observe significant effects in either sex. Overall, these findings suggest that high 2D:4D may be relatively-specifically associated with increased religious affiliation in young, highly-educated, females.This work was supported by a Student Research Grant from the European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association (EHBEA), and an Experimental Psychology Society (EPS) Grindley Grant awarded to GR. The work was partially undertaken within the Medical Research Council UK Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (MR/L010305/1). The funders played no role in study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, writing of the manuscript, or the decision to submit the article for publication

Commensal observing with the Allen Telescope array: software command and control

The Allen Telescope Array (ATA) is a Large-Number-Small-Diameter radio telescope array currently with 42 individual antennas and 5 independent back-end science systems (2 imaging FX correlators and 3 time domain beam formers) located at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory (HCRO). The goal of the ATA is to run multiple back-ends simultaneously, supporting multiple science projects commensally. The primary software control systems are based on a combination of Java, JRuby and Ruby on Rails. The primary control API is simplified to provide easy integration with new back-end systems while the lower layers of the software stack are handled by a master observing system. Scheduling observations for the ATA is based on finding a union between the science needs of multiple projects and automatically determining an efficient path to operating the various sub-components to meet those needs. When completed, the ATA is expected to be a world-class radio telescope, combining dedicated SETI projects with numerous radio astronomy science projects.Comment: SPIE Conference Proceedings, Software and Cyberinfrastructure for Astronomy, Nicole M. Radziwill; Alan Bridger, Editors, 77400Z, Vol 774

Demographic Factors Affecting the Adoption of Multiple Value-Added Practices by Oklahoma Cow-Calf Producers

The utilization of marketing programs to enhance feeder calf value has been met with modest success in Oklahoma. Value-added programs are continually promoted as avenues for improving cow-calf profitability, but producer adoption of value-added practices lags in spite of research showing the value of these practices. Identifying producer characteristics that increase their likelihood to adopt value-added practices is critical to developing successful outreach efforts. Results from a survey of Oklahoma producers on value-added practice adoption indicate that multiple demographic variables influence a producer’s likelihood of practice adoption. For Extension specialists, results can help in targeting likely adopters and developing methods to overcome barriers to adoption by producers less likely to adopt.Beef producers, value-added practices, practice adoption, negative binomial regression, Poisson regression, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Q12, Q16,

Genes Suggest Ancestral Colour Polymorphisms Are Shared across Morphologically Cryptic Species in Arctic Bumblebees

email Suzanne orcd idCopyright: © 2015 Williams et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Motor Competence between Children with and without Additional Learning Needs: A Cross-Sectional Population-Level Study

The aim of this study was to examine associations in motor competence between children with additional learning needs (ALN) and typically developing children. This cross-sectional study involved a nationally representative cohort of 4555 children (48.98% boys; 11.35 ± 0.65 years) from sixty-five schools across Wales (UK). Demographic data were collected from schools, and children were assessed using the Dragon Challenge assessment of motor competence, which consists of nine tasks completed in a timed circuit. A multi-nominal multi-level model with random intercept was fitted to explore the proficiency between children with ALN and those without. In all nine motor competence tasks, typically developing children demonstrated higher levels of proficiency than their peers with ALN, with these associations evident after accounting for age, sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. This study highlights motor competence inequalities at a population level and emphasises the need for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers to prioritise motor competence development, particularly for children with ALN

Spin-3/2 Nucleon and Delta Baryons in Lattice QCD

We present first results for masses of spin-3/2 N and Delta baryons in lattice QCD using Fat-Link Irrelevant Clover (FLIC) fermions. Spin-3/2 interpolating fields providing overlap with both spin-3/2 and spin-1/2 states are considered. In the isospin-1/2 sector, we observe, after appropriate spin and parity projection, a strong signal for the J^P=3/2^- state together with a weak but discernible signal for the 3/2^+ state with a mass splitting near that observed experimentally. We also find good agreement between the 1/2^+/- masses and earlier nucleon mass simulations with the standard spin-1/2 interpolating field. For the isospin-3/2 Delta states, clear mass splittings are observed between the various 1/2^+/- and 3/2^+/- channels, with the calculated level orderings in good agreement with those observed empirically.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, 2 table

Using VO tools to investigate distant radio starbursts hosting obscured AGN in the HDF(N) region

A 10-arcmin field around the HDF(N) contains 92 radio sources >40 uJy, resolved by MERLIN+VLA at 0".2-2".0 resolution. 55 have Chandra X-ray counterparts including 18 with a hard X-ray photon index and high luminosity characteristic of a type-II (obscured) AGN. >70% of the radio sources have been classified as starbursts or AGN using radio morphologies, spectral indices and comparisons with optical appearance and MIR emission. Starbursts outnumber radio AGN 3:1. This study extends the VO methods previously used to identify X-ray-selected obscured type-II AGN to investigate whether very luminous radio and X-ray emission originates from different phenomena in the same galaxy. The high-redshift starbursts have typical sizes of 5--10 kpc and star formation rates of ~1000 Msun/yr. There is no correlation between radio and X-ray luminosities nor spectral indices at z>~1.3. ~70% of both the radio-selected AGN and the starburst samples were detected by Chandra. The X-ray luminosity indicates the presence of an AGN in at least half of the 45 cross-matched radio starbursts, of which 11 are type-II AGN including 7 at z>1.5. This distribution overlaps closely with the X-ray detected radio sources which were also detected by SCUBA. Stacked 1.4-GHz emission at the positions of radio-faint X-ray sources is correlated with X-ray hardness. Most extended radio starbursts at z>1.3 host X-ray selected obscured AGN. Radio emission from most of these ultra-luminous objects is dominated by star formation but it contributes less than 1/3 of their X-ray luminosity. Our results support the inferences from SCUBA and IR data, that at z>1.5, star formation is an order of magnitude more extended and more copious, it is closely linked to AGN activity and it is triggered differently, compared with star formation at lower redshifts.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figures, uses graphicx, rotating, natbib, supertabular packages and aa.cls. Accepted for publication in A&