Field persistence studies with herbicides commonly used on the prairies

Non-Peer Reviewe

THE IMPACT OF AN AGING RURAL POPULATION ON LOCAL TAX STRUCTURES

The growing American retired population increasingly is viewed for its economic development potential. The relationship between the elderly and local taxes may have a critical effect on this potential, however. This paper examines the local tax implications of an increasing elderly population in communities prohibiting tax referenda. In such communities, citizens have no direct role in tax decisions. The elderly's attitudes towards different local taxes are examined using telephone survey data, before using aggregate data to investigate the relationship between the elderly and the specific taxes used in communities. The results suggest that a high proportion of elderly do not affect the mix of local taxes, but that an increasing proportion does have an influence.Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Hydrologic data for urban studies in the Austin, Texas, metropolitan area, 1981

This technical report includes maps of ground-water data-collection sites, rainfall for specific storms, storm rainfall-runoff for the 1981 water year, monthly water-level measurements of observation wells, water quality data, peak discharge, and daily rainfall summaries for specific gages.Waller Creek Working Grou

Dialkylcarbamoyl chloride (DACC)-coated dressings in the management and prevention of wound infection: A systematic review

Objective: Dialkylcarbomoyl chloride (DACC)-coated dressings (Leukomed Sorbact and Cutimed Sorbact) irreversibly bind bacteria at the wound surface that are then removed when the dressing is changed. They are a recent addition to the wound care professional's armamentarium and have been used in a variety of acute and chronic wounds. This systematic review aims to assess the evidence supporting the use of DACC-coated dressings in the clinical environment. Method: We included all reports of the clinical use of DACC-coated dressings in relation to wound infection. Medline, Embase, CENTRAL and CINAHL databases were searched to September 2016 for studies evaluating the role of DACC-coated dressings in preventing or managing wound infections. Results: We identified 17 studies with a total of 3408 patients which were included in this review. The DACC-coating was suggested to reduce postoperative surgical site infection rates and result in chronic wounds that subjectively looked cleaner and had less bacterial load on microbiological assessments. Conclusion: Existing evidence for DACC-coated dressings in managing chronic wounds or as a surgical site infection (SSI) prophylaxis is limited but encouraging with evidence in support of DACC-coated dressings preventing and treating infection without adverse effects

Performance of annual legume green manure crops at Saskatoon

Non-Peer ReviewedFour annual legumes, lentil (Lens culinaris cv. 'NEL-481'), field pea (Pisum sativum cv. 'Trapper'), faba bean (Vicia faba cv. 'Outlook'), Tangier flatpea (Lathyrus tingitanus cv. 'Tinga'), and one perennial, alfalfa (Medicago sativa cv. 'Moapa') were compared over three growing seasons for their suitability as annual green manure crops grown in the fallow year of a wheat-fallow rotation. As nitrogen-fixation usually declines after seed set, crop growth was stopped by cultivation or desiccation during early pod filling. This terminated further use of available soil moisture, conserving it for the following grain crop. Mean seasonal nitrogen fixation ranged from 2 to 40 kg/ha. However, the mean total nitrogen in the top growth at plow down, ranged from 15 to 114 kg/ha. The measured nitrogen fixation accounted for 13 to 42 % of the above ground nitrogen. There was little difference in water use among the legume crops

Tidal influence on Rutford Ice Stream, West Antarctica: observations of surface flow and basal processes from closely-spaced GPS and passive seismic stations

High-resolution surface velocity measurements and passive seismic observations from Rutford Ice Stream, West Antarctica, 40 km upstream from the grounding line are presented. These measurements indicate a complex relationship between the ocean tides and currents, basal conditions and ice-stream flow. Both the mean basal seismicity and the velocity of the ice stream are modulated by the tides. Seismic activity increases twice during each semi-diurnal tidal cycle. The tidal analysis shows the largest velocity variation is at the fortnightly period, with smaller variations superimposed at diurnal and semi-diurnal frequencies. The general pattern of the observed velocity is two velocity peaks during each semi-diurnal tidal cycle, but sometimes three peaks are observed. This pattern of two or three peaks is more regular during spring tides, when the largest-amplitude velocity variations are observed, than during neap tides. This is the first time that velocity and level of seismicity are shown to correlate and respond to tidal forcing as far as 40 km upstream from the grounding line of a large ice stream

The Nature of Technological Change: Its Implications for Work and Labour Regulation

Il est d'abord souligné dans cet article que le changement technologique implique un processus de décision et de négociation qui, sous certaines contraintes, donne l'occasion aux directions, aux syndicats et aux salariés de jouer un rôle significatif dans la décision d'introduire ou non le changement et, le cas échéant, dans son implantation et ses aboutissements. Ces prémisses tendent à remettre en question l'opinion déterministe selon laquelle le changement technologique conduirait inévitablement à la déqualification ou à la requalification des travailleurs. Néanmoins, doit-on en conclure que le changement technologique, parce qu'ayant fait l'objet de négociations, n'ait pas d'influence directe?Cet article, à contre-courant de nombreuses recherches récentes, soutient que l'analyse de l'influence directe de la technologie est un complément nécessaire à l'examen des voies suivant lesquelles sont choisies et négociées les issues du changement. Comment alors cet argument peut-il être mis en relation avec les préoccupations plus traditionnelles de la régulation du travail que sont la qualification, le contrôle, l'effort, etc.? Il est suggéré que le changement technologique ne puisse guère être expliqué en termes de stratégies managériales d'exploitation de la technologie nouvelle visant à contrôler les travailleurs ou à gagner leur consentement. Nous présumons qu'il le serait davantage si mis en relation avec les préoccupations premières des employeurs, soit les stratégies de développement de produits et de mise en marché. Le potentiel technologique rend possible certains choix concernant ses voies d'application futures et c'est là que les questions abordant la régulation du travail trouvent leur sens.Puisant ses sources d'une étude de 435 entreprises des provinces atlantiques canadiennes, cet article propose une catégorisation des divers facteurs utiles à l'établissement des paramètres concernant les mécanismes de prise de décisions appliqués à la régulation du travail. Les facteurs-clés de l'analyse relèvent de ce que la position concurrentielle de l'entreprise dépende soit de la maximisation de la performance, soit de la maximisation des ventes ou de la minimisation des coûts de production.Les entreprises œuvrant au sein d'un marché du produit relativement jeune sont plus susceptibles de rechercher l'amélioration de leur compétitivité en faisant usage d'une nouvelle technologie dans le but de maximiser leur performance plutôt que de chercher à réduire leurs coûts de production. Ces entreprises introduiront le plus souvent des politiques visant à développer les qualifications et l'expertise de leur main-d’œuvre et, partant, améliorer la qualité et développer de nouveaux produits et services. Sous un autre angle, les entreprises appartenant à un marché en pleine croissance chercheront davantage à maximiser leur niveau de ventes en utilisant une nouvelle technologie permettant d'améliorer l'efficience et la continuité de la production. Ceci implique, pour la régulation du travail, que les politiques managériales puissent être dirigées pour s'assurer à la fois d'un contrôle accru sur le travail et de l'acceptation, chez les salariés, d'une continuité du changement technologique. Finalement, les entreprises œuvrant au sein de marchés stables chercheront pour leur part à maintenir leur position concurrentielle en faisant usage d'une nouvelle technologie dans le but de réduire leurs coûts de production. Là où les coûts de la main-d’œuvre constituent une source de préoccupations majeures, l'on n'hésitera probablement pas à développer des politiques qui tendront à améliorer la productivité du travail et son utilisation. Toutefois, il ne va pas de soi qu'une organisation introduisant une technologie nouvelle dans l'une ou l'autre de ces circonstances développera nécessairement la stratégie d'affaires ou l'approche appropriée à l'égard de la régulation du travail. Nous croyons davantage en la capacité médiatrice du processus de «choix stratégique». En ce sens, la stratégie globale d'affaires développée par une organisation en réponse aux changements en cours dans les environnements économique et technique pourrait, au mieux, être perçue comme un outil de gestion qui établit les paramètres à l'intérieur desquels les acteurs développent et modifient les approches dans l'implantation du changement technologique.This paper applies an analytical framework which, in contrast to most recent research, takes into account the independent influence of the characteristics and capabilities of new technologies. Drawing on evidence from a survey of 435 firms in Atlantic Canada, it concludes that an analysis of the independent influence of technology is a necessary compliment to an examination of the way outcomes of change are a product of choice and negotiation

Ovule, seed and seedling characters in Acharia (Achariaceae) with evidence of myrmecochory in the family

An investigation of mature seed structure in Guthriea capensis and ovule-to-seed development in Acharia tragodes indicate that the two species are herbaceous myrmecochores with similar adaptations for seed dispersal and germination. The development and structure of the modified seed tissues, namely a sarcotestal elaiosome, a fringe layer in the mesotesta, endotestal-exotegmic mechanical layers and a chalazal seed lid are described. Additional embryological similarities between the two taxa include, amongst others, sessile ovules, distally lobed outer integuments, zigzag micropyle canals formed by both integuments, bisporic Allium Type embryo sacs, suspensorless embryos belonging to the Penaea Variation of the Asterad Type, and small embryos in the mature seed. In Acharia intraseminal embryo growth occurs before radicle emergence, germination is epigeal and seedlings belong to the Macaranga Type

The geochemistry of sea-bed sediments of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf : the North Sea, Hebrides and West Shetland shelves, and the Malin-Hebrides sea area

The sea area around the United Kingdom is used for a wide range of human activities all of which have a significant impact on the marine environment. The naturally-occurring concentrations of chemical elements in sea-bed sediments may be enhanced by contaminants introduced by input from rivers and the atmosphere and by more localised sources arising from shipping operations, exploitation of oil and gas, and by direct discharges from drainage systems, sewage outfalls, effluents from industry and waste' disposal at sea. It is therefore important to identify components of sea-floor sediments which are due to the rocks or older sediments from which they are derived, and those which are introduced into the environment. This report presents regional geochemical data for a variety of sediment types occurring in a wide range of environments. Samples have been collected offshore of the eastern coast of the UK where major river systems which drain heavily populated and industrialised catchment areas, such as the Thames, Humber and Tyne, flow into the North Sea, and on the shelf west of Scotland where man's activities have had much less impact. The data presented here provide a baseline for chemical element concentrations in sea-bed sediments against which future work may be assessed. It should therefore be of significance to a diverse range of interests including pollution control, fishing, natural resources, nature conservation, shipping, tourism, recreation, and waste disposal management. In addition the information will be of use to geologists in identifying the source of sea-bed sediments and the underlying glacial deposits

Virus shapes and buckling transitions in spherical shells

We show that the icosahedral packings of protein capsomeres proposed by Caspar and Klug for spherical viruses become unstable to faceting for sufficiently large virus size, in analogy with the buckling instability of disclinations in two-dimensional crystals. Our model, based on the nonlinear physics of thin elastic shells, produces excellent one parameter fits in real space to the full three-dimensional shape of large spherical viruses. The faceted shape depends only on the dimensionless Foppl-von Karman number \gamma=YR^2/\kappa, where Y is the two-dimensional Young's modulus of the protein shell, \kappa is its bending rigidity and R is the mean virus radius. The shape can be parameterized more quantitatively in terms of a spherical harmonic expansion. We also investigate elastic shell theory for extremely large \gamma, 10^3 < \gamma < 10^8, and find results applicable to icosahedral shapes of large vesicles studied with freeze fracture and electron microscopy.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figure