Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi influence visitation rates of pollinating insects.

1. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi can increase a number of plant traits to which pollinating insects are known to respond. These include total plant size, flower number, flower size, and amount of pollen produced. 2. It was hypothesised that these effects would lead to a different visitation rate of pollinating insects on mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants. To test this idea, three species of annual plants (Centaurea cyanus, Tagetes erecta, and Tagetes patula) were grown with and without AM fungi and the visits by pollinating insects were recorded over a 2-month period. 3. In all three species, mycorrhizal plants experienced a greater number of pollinator visits per flower per unit time. Diptera and Hymenoptera were the predominant insects and the latter order showed the strongest response. 4. Here, it is suggested that mycorrhizal fungi increase floral visitation rates by insects, but that the mechanism varies from one plant species to another. In C. cyanus, it appears to be due to flower number per plant, in T. patula it is individual inflorescence size, and in T. patula it is nectar standing crop per inflorescence

Compositional closure for Bayes Risk in probabilistic noninterference

We give a sequential model for noninterference security including probability (but not demonic choice), thus supporting reasoning about the likelihood that high-security values might be revealed by observations of low-security activity. Our novel methodological contribution is the definition of a refinement order and its use to compare security measures between specifications and (their supposed) implementations. This contrasts with the more common practice of evaluating the security of individual programs in isolation. The appropriateness of our model and order is supported by our showing that our refinement order is the greatest compositional relation --the compositional closure-- with respect to our semantics and an "elementary" order based on Bayes Risk --- a security measure already in widespread use. We also relate refinement to other measures such as Shannon Entropy. By applying the approach to a non-trivial example, the anonymous-majority Three-Judges protocol, we demonstrate by example that correctness arguments can be simplified by the sort of layered developments --through levels of increasing detail-- that are allowed and encouraged by compositional semantics

Role emerging placements in undergraduate occupational therapy training: a case study

YesPurpose: Role emerging placements in occupational therapy training are contributing to professional and workforce development because of their strong occupational focus and placement of students in emerging practice. This manuscript explores how one role emerging placement challenged and developed student theoretical and clinical skills, presented new ways of working at the recipient site and enhanced service delivery. Methods: The background to role emerging placements in occupational therapy is explored through the use of a case study which reflects on and analyses how the assessment and treatment of occupation enhanced service delivery at a local, no-traditional site is presented. Eight students in England developed and ran a psycho-education group to support the occupational needs of female service users who have experienced domestic abuse. Results: There was an overall increase in self-esteem scores and an expressed increase in knowledge and understanding by participants. Students reported developing a deeper understanding of occupation and the hosts identified the student’s clinical skills as unique contributors to service delivery. Conclusion: By focusing on occupation, role emerging placements draw on the roots of the profession and anchor its future to the theoretical foundations of its past. However, in order to employ occupational therapists, these organisations need to understand what the occupational therapy profession can offer them

The Neoproterozoic Rivieradal Group of Kronprins Christian Land, eastern North Greenland

The Rivieradal Group, formally defined here, is confined to the Vandredalen thrust sheet of the Caledonian orogen in Kronprins Christian Land, eastern North Greenland. It comprises a succession of Neoproterozoic siliciclastic sediments that represent the fill of a half-graben basin. The syn-rift Rivieradal Group is overlain by post-rift sediments of the Hagen Fjord Group. The latter succession is present in both the thrust sheet and the Caledonian foreland to the west. In the foreland, where the Rivieradal Group is not represented, the Hagen Fjord Group disconformably overlies Palaeoproterozoic–Mesoproterozoic sandstones of the Independence Fjord Group

Effect of soaking and misting on respiration rate, body surface temperature, and body temperature of heat stressed dairy cattle

Reducing heat stress is a key issue for dairy producers. Use of feedline soaking and supplemental airflow effectively reduces heat stress and increases milk production and profitability. High-pressure misting allows water to evaporate in the air, reduces air temperature, and increases relative humidity. Misting also soaks the skin of cattle, resulting in additional cooling as water evaporates from skin surfaces, similar to the cooling effect of feedline soaking. Impact of soaking frequency (5-, 10-, or 15-minute intervals) was compared to continuous high-pressure misting. Cows cooled with either system had lower respiration rates, body surface temperatures, and internal body temperatures than controls. Soaking cattle every 5 minutes or 5-minute soaking plus high-pressure misting produced similar body temperatures, but lower (P\u3c0.01) than those when soaking occurred every 10 or 15 minutes. Skin surface temperatures from the thurl, shoulder, and rear udder were less when cattle were cooled with high-pressure misting. Cattle cooled with high-pressure misting became soaked, thus the cooling effect is the combination of cooler air and water evaporation from the skin. These results indicate that either frequent soaking (every 5 minutes) or continuous high-pressure misting that soaks the skin could be equally effective in reducing heat stress in dairy cattle.; Dairy Day, 2003, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 2003

Antibiotic sensitivity screening of Klebsiella spp. and Raoultella spp. isolated from marine bivalve molluscs reveal presence of CTX-M-producing K. pneumoniae

Klebsiella spp. are a major cause of both nosocomial and community acquired infections, with K. pneumoniae being responsible for most human infections. Although Klebsiella spp. are present in a variety of environments, their distribution in the sea and the associated antibiotic resistance is largely unknown. In order to examine prevalence of K. pneumoniae and related species in the marine environment, we sampled 476 batches of marine bivalve molluscs collected along the Norwegian coast. From these samples, K. pneumoniae (n = 78), K. oxytoca (n = 41), K. variicola (n = 33), K. aerogenes (n = 1), Raoultella ornithinolytica (n = 38) and R. planticola (n = 13) were isolated. The number of positive samples increased with higher levels of faecal contamination. We found low prevalence of acquired resistance in all isolates, with seven K. pneumoniae isolates showing resistance to more than one antibiotic class. The complete genome sequence of cefotaxime-resistant K. pneumoniae sensu stricto isolate 2016-1400 was obtained using Oxford Nanopore and Illumina MiSeq based sequencing. The 2016-1400 genome had two contigs, one chromosome of 5,088,943 bp and one plasmid of 191,744 bp and belonged to ST1035. The β-lactamase genes blaCTX-M-3 and blaTEM-1, as well as the heavy metal resistance genes pco, ars and sil were carried on a plasmid highly similar to one found in K. pneumoniae strain C17KP0055 from South-Korea recovered from a blood stream infection. The present study demonstrates that K. pneumoniae are prevalent in the coastal marine environment and that bivalve molluscs may act as a potential reservoir of extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing K. pneumoniae that may be transmitted through the food chain.publishedVersio

Gold as an inflation hedge?

This paper attempts to reconcile an apparent contradiction between short-run and long-run movements in the price of gold. The theoretical model suggests a set of conditions under which the price of gold rises over time at the general rate of inflation and hence be an effective hedge against inflation. The model also demonstrates that short-run changes in the gold lease rate, the real interest rate, convenience yield, default risk, the covariance of gold returns with other assets and the dollar/world exchange rate can disturb this equilibrium relationship and generate short-run price volatility. Using monthly gold price data (1976-1999), and cointegration regression techniques, an empirical analysis confirms the central hypotheses of the theoretical model

Fully-automated bioreactor process control eliminates hands-on time through closed-loop cloud software integration

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Supporting 'design for reuse' with modular design

Engineering design reuse refers to the utilization of any knowledge gained from the design activity to support future design. As such, engineering design reuse approaches are concerned with the support, exploration, and enhancement of design knowledge prior, during, and after a design activity. Modular design is a product structuring principle whereby products are developed with distinct modules for rapid product development, efficient upgrades, and possible reuse (of the physical modules). The benefits of modular design center on a greater capacity for structuring component parts to better manage the relation between market requirements and the designed product. This study explores the capabilities of modular design principles to provide improved support for the engineering design reuse concept. The correlations between modular design and 'reuse' are highlighted, with the aim of identifying its potential to aid the little-supported process of design for reuse. In fulfilment of this objective the authors not only identify the requirements of design for reuse, but also propose how modular design principles can be extended to support design for reuse