Evaluating the mineral nutrient status of fresh pasture herbage using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

Comprehensive determination of the mineral nutrient status of pasture or horticultural crops currently requires leaf or herbage samples to be harvested and taken to a laboratory for analysis, which is both labour-intensive and time-consuming. This study examined the potential of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) to provide immediate, in-field assessment of the mineral nutrient status of standing plants. Success would offer the prospects of spatially and temporally improved knowledge of plant status and of real-time remediation of nutrient deficiency. The mineral nutrient status of fresh pasture herbage has been evaluated using an Applied Photonics Ltd？ LIBS-6 system, comprising a Qswitched Nd:YAG laser, a SpectroModule-6 spectrometer (covering wavelengths in the range ~185 – 1064 nm) and an ICE 450 water-cooled Laser power supply. LIBS spectra obtained from the fresh pasture samples were collected with the aim of determining the nutrient status of the herbage. An enclosed Modular Sample Chamber housed the Qswitched Nd:YAG laser, generating energy in the near infrared region at λ = 1064nm. The laser power was set to 100mW per pulse. Samples of approximately 50g of fresh ryegrass and ryegrass/clover mixed pasture were loaded into a sample holder which allowed a flat ‗carpet‘ of individual leaves to be presented at a relatively uniform distance from the laser. The optimum vertical distance between sample and laser was determined by maximising spectra amplitudes. Automated control of the translation stage supporting the sample holder was used to ensure each shot of the laser was acquired from a fresh location. Spectrum sets comprising both 100 individual spectra and 100 shot accumulated spectra were obtained from each sample under both air and under the inert gas, argon. Following the spectral analysis of the fresh pasture, each sample was sent to a commercial laboratory for standard nutrient analysis, providing elementary composition on the most common plant elements (N, P, K, S, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu and B). Once standard nutrient analysis was completed a second set of spectra was taken from tablets formed from compressed dried ground powder remaining after laboratory analysis. To date, initial results from simple chemometric analysis have shown limited success in predicting the nutrient content of fresh pasture with slightly improved results in estimating tablet composition. While initial analyses have concentrated on trends and correlations between actual spectra and laboratory analysis, known emission spectra, have for the meantime, been ignored. Further in-depth analysis using more robust chemometric analysis, utilizing known emission spectra and adjusting for variations in plasma intensity are currently underway and are expected to improve the accuracy of composition measurement

Quality Improvement with The Breast Center

I spent the summer of 2019 interning at The Breast Center under Audra Flammang. She has a degree in communications and holds the position of Quality Assurance Administrator. She primarily works to ensure Joint Commission Quality Indicators are met and proper documentation of these indicators takes place. She communicates with the staff in weekly meetings about their ideas for quality improvement projects and necessary indicators for ongoing or upcoming projects. Her job also includes preparing case briefings for the weekly Breast Conference that occurs at Washington Regional. During my internship, I was fortunate to learn a lot about radiology and cancer, participate in several quality improvement initiatives, complete chart audits, sit in on interdisciplinary meetings, and observe imaging and biopsies. In this paper, I will walk through experiences that I had, as well as how they aligned with my goals for this internship

The Protection of Indigenous Intellectual Property Rights

Librarians and archivists have played prominent roles in initiatives aimed at preserving indigenous cultural heritage in recent decades. Such initiatives have evolved in response to the relative lack of legal protections for indigenous cultural heritage of an intangible nature, especially compared to title laws intended to regulate the use of indigenous lands, burial sites, and plants. Even non-legally binding resolutions that take a holistic approach to indigenous property have proven contentious, with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) having only been ratified in 2007, despite being drafted in 1993. Grounded in a critical understanding of the roles libraries have played in colonial policies and the ongoing (mis-)appropriation of indigenous culture, this poster presentation demonstrates the inadequacy of existing intellectual property laws in the case of indigenous cultural heritage. It problematizes initiatives that situate academic libraries as the preservers of indigenous intellectual property before making the case for a shift in power dynamics based on the principle of “self-determination” for indigenous communities. Alternative frameworks are outlined whereby academic librarians would assume the role of advocates for indigenous intellectual property rights, as opposed to their traditional role as preservation specialists

Autonomous Anthropomorphic Robotic System with Low-Cost Colour Sensors to Monitor Plant Growth in a Laboratory

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Researches on the relativity wave equation of the electron

The first chapter contains an account of the extension of Dirac's equation to general relativity while the second one gives a summary of the generalised two - component spinor theory and its application to the wave equation. Spinors are used extensively in Chapter III to deal with the invariant theory of Dirac's equation. Here certain results of Prof. E.T. Whittaker are directly extended to general relativity and the complete scheme of the simpler tensorial quantities including all those with physical interpretations is developed, all the expressions and the relations they obey being derived in a perfectly general manner. A number of these relations are already known but now all of them are proved without the necessity of referring to a special coordinate system or of utilising a special set of matrices. The vector form of the wave equation valid in all space-times is derived from the spinor theory, agreeing in form with the vector obtained by Prof. Whittaker from the special relativity equation. In this formulation the wave equation is expressible in terms of four null world-vectors which can replace the 'k -functions, and all the tensorig quantities are restated in terms of these vectors alone. The tensors and vector wave equation are written out in detail in the case of a Galilean system and these are expressed in matrix notation by means of a special set of α-matrices. It is shown that the matrix with imaginary elements is distinguished from the ones with real elements in this form of the wave equation and the effect of similarity transformations is considered.In Chapter IV it is shown that the criticism directed by T. Levi -Civita against the Dirac system in that it depended for its generalisation on specially distinguished directions in space time, does not hold. In the first place his considera :tions were really applied to an equation where the )v-function was a world vector and so was not the usual wave equation and secondly, the argument does not hold when one deals with the actual Dirac equation which, because of the possibility of spin transformations is shown to distinguish no special directions.The eigen functions for the hydrogen electron in momentum space are found in Chapter IV, these are a finite series of hypergeometric functions which do to elementary functions. A form of the wave equation in momentum space is used to derive the fine structure formula

Reclaiming Your Digital Privacy: An Interactive Workshop

When’s the last time you checked your digital footprint? With the increasing prevalence of threats to our digital privacy and the security of personal data, it is more important now than ever before to learn what you can do to protect yourself online. This workshop will delve into who is watching and what they may be able to find. It will also provide an overview of the shortcomings of Canadian privacy legislation and walk you through practical steps to reclaim your digital privacy

The southern flux of sea ice in the Tatarskiy Strait, Japan Sea and the generation of the Liman Current

The circulation in the surface waters of the Japan Sea is driven in part by thermohaline forcing associated with the flux of cold, low-salinity water from the Tatarskiy Strait. Existing numerical models suggest that this water contributes to the Liman Current, which flows from northeast to southwest along the Russian coast. The major source of Japan Sea freshwater is the Amur River, which flows into the sea through Tatarskiy Strait, but has a near-zero minimum during January to March. As an alternate source of freshwater to the surface layer, we derive from meteorological and remote sensing data for the 1992-1994 winters, the magnitude of the freshwater flux generated by the southward transport and melt of pack ice in the Tatarskiy Strait. Given characteristic geostrophic northerly wind speeds of 10 m s-1 and air temperatures of –13°C, the winter freshwater flux into the ice edge is about 10 km3 month-1. Although no oceanographic or sea ice data exist for the Strait, comparison of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images of ice processes in the Strait with those in the Bering Sea where oceanographic data exist suggests that ice edge melting in the Strait generates an oceanic frontal structure and a westward geostrophic current, which we hypothesize feeds into the Liman Current. Comparison of the results of a simple baroclinic model driven by this freshwater flux with a section across the Liman Current yields comparable density differences and transports. In summary, our results show that the freshwater flux associated with the southward ice transport in the Tatarskiy Strait may contribute to the driving of the Liman Current during winter

Panel Discussion on Open Access: What’s in it for me?

Background The 2016 Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications is a landmark for the open access movement in Canada. It stipulates that peer-reviewed journal publications arising from Tri-Agency funded research must be made freely accessible within 12 months of publication. This and other open access policies emphasize the societal advantage of openly accessible research, but how does the researcher benefit? Summary Panelists will highlight the benefits of open access as well as other open research practices, with a focus on the perspective of graduate students and early career researchers. One benefit is the increased impact of open access publications compared to subscription-based publications, as shown in citation-based studies as well as altmetrics such as download reports available through Western’s institutional repository, Scholarship@Western. Another benefit is enhanced collaboration, encompassing not only open access publishing but also open data practices, both of which enable researchers to more readily learn from and build off of each other’s work. Finally, authors benefit from retaining rights to their work, which includes various open access publishing options as well as negotiating greater control over their research post-publication. Interdisciplinary Reflection Open access is particularly valuable for interdisciplinary researchers insofar as it makes research easily discoverable. This allows for cross-fertilization across disciplines, since researchers are more easily able to access, read, and build on work in other areas. Librarians often select journal subscriptions that support active research in a particular discipline, but open access journals are available to all, regardless of an institution’s research focus

Making Usage Stats Usable: Evaluating Usage Stat Tools and Maximizing Excel/Pivot Tables

This presentation outlines the results of an environmental scan about usage statistic solutions available to libraries, and provides the experience of implementing both vendor-based and home-grown tools