Potential for Cost-Share Policies to Improve Groundwater Quality Without Reducing Farm Profits

The Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act (FAIR) of reinforced the Federal government\u27s commitment to environmental aspects of farm policy that received major attention in 1985 legislation and reinforcement in 1990. All three pieces of legislation placed emphasis on incentive and cost-share policies to reduce adverse soil and water effects of farming practices. A major initiative under FAIR is the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), for which $1.3 billion is authorized over 7 years to provide cost-share or incentive payment contracts with crop and livestock producers for environmental and conservation improvements (Young and Shields, 1996). In part, this program is a greatly expanded outgrowth of two other Federal programs that originated in the early 1990s--the Integrated Crop Management (ICM) program and the Water Quality Incentives Program (WQIP)

UV-C Irradiation Reduces the Experimentally Induced Bacterial Load on the Surface of a Human Cadaver: An Additional Option for the Preservation of Cadavers in Anatomy

Safety is a major issue in the embalming procedures of human cadavers. Reduced application of formaldehyde is often recommended. The aim of this study was to investigate the potency of ultraviolet light (UV-C irradiation) on the bacterial load on the surface of a conserved human cadaver. To test UV-C irradiation, the cadaver was laid out in the dissection hall and, after preparation of the muscles, was covered with linen sheets moistened with water. Swabs of the surface and microbiological analysis revealed sporadic bacterial colonies. The surface area was then spiked with bacteria and irradiated by a UV lamp for 15 or 60 min. Half of the area was covered by aluminum foil to serve as a control. After exposition, swabs were taken and analyzed. The exposition had reduced the number of colonies to one third (15 min exposition) and to one tenth (60 min exposition) of the control area. Thus, UV-C irradiation could be used in the preservation of cadavers without chemical pollution of the environment and without any risk for the employees. Clin. Anat. 32:113–116, 2019. © 2019 The Authors. Clinical Anatomy published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Association of Clinical Anatomists

Species-specific foraging strategies of the syntopical and synchronous bees Panurgus calcaratus (Scopoli, 1763) and Dasypoda hirtipes (Fabricius, 1793) (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

Die Sammelstrategie der beiden endogäischen, oligolektischen syntop und synchron auftretenden Wildbienenarten Panurgus calcaratus (Scopoli, 1763) und Dasypoda hirtipes (Fabricius, 1793) wurden im Naturschutzgebiet Wahner Heide (Rheinland, BRD) untersucht. Saisonale und diurnale Rhythmik sowie die Sammelstrategien beider Arten wurden erfaßt, um eventuell bestehende Trennungsmechanismen oder Nischendiffenzierung aufzudecken. Neben dem Verproviantierungsverhalten der Bienen wurde die Oligolektie durch Pollenentnahme von Weibchen und durch Beobachtung an den Pollenquellen überprüft. Beide Arten nutzen ausschließlich gelbe, photonastische, zungenblütige Asteraceae als Pollenquellen, präferieren sandige Flächen mit geringer Vegetation als Nistplatz und sind von Anfang Juli bis Ende August aktiv. Eine Spezialisierung innerhalb der Oligolektie auf einzelne Arten zungenblütiger Asteraceae konnte nicht erkannt werden. Dasypoda hirtipes wies eine allgemein längere diurnale Aktivität auf und war zudem auch bei geringeren Temperaturen noch aktiv. Die Pollensammelaktivitäten werden bei beiden Arten maßgeblich von den photonastischen Pollenquellen limitiert. Desweiteren ist die Bienenaktivität von klimatischen Faktoren wie Lichtintensität, Bewölkung und Lufttemperatur abhängig. Artspezifische diurnale und saisonale Verhaltensweisen und Aktivitätsrhythmen werden im Hinblick auf Körpergröße und -farbe, Hitzeabsorptions- und Reflektions-Fähigkeit, Überhitzungsgefahr sowie Effekte der Ekto- und Heterothermie auf den Wärmehaushalt diskutiert. Jede Art verfolgt eine eigene Sammelstrategie, welche hauptsächlich durch ultimative Faktoren wie die Physiologie der jeweiligen Bienenart beeinflußt und zugleich limitiert wird. Weder Nistplatzangebot noch die Ressourcen Pollen oder Nektar sind im Untersuchungsgebiet begrenzt, so daß keine Evidenz für Konkurrenz zwischen den beiden Arten besteht.StichwörterInterspecific competition, oligolecty, optimal foraging strategies, photonasty, resource partitioning, separation mechanisms.Two ground-nesting, oligolectic bee species, Panurgus calcaratus (Scopoli, 1763) and Dasypoda hirtipes (Fabricius, 1793), which are syntopical and synchronous, were studied in the Wahner Heide Nature Reserve (Rhineland, Germany). To study mechanisms of ecological separation or niche differentiation the species-specific seasonal and diurnal rhythms and the foraging strategies were examined. In addition to provisioning behaviour, their oligolecty was examined by analysing pollen samples from females after flower-visiting and by observations of the bees on their pollen sources. Both species exclusively visit yellow, photonastic liguliflorous Asteraceae as pollen sources, prefer to construct their nests on sandy soils with poor vegetation and are active from the beginning of July until the end of August. Analysed samples show pollen grains belonging to yellow liguliflorous Asteraceae only and there was no specialisation within the oligolecty on certain plant species. Collection of pollen is limited by the photonastic flowers of the pollen sources, and the bee activity is mainly influenced by climatic factors like light intensity, cloudcover, and air-temperature. The diurnal activity period of Dasypoda hirtipes is much longer and this species is active at lower temperatures. The specific diurnal and seasonal behaviour and activity rhythm of the two bee species are discussed with regard to body size and coloration, the ability of heat absorption and reflection, risk of overheating, and ecto- and heterothermal effects to heat budgets. Each species follows its own foraging strategy which is mainly influenced and limited by ultimate factors as the bees` physiology under the given abiotic conditions. Neither nesting sites nor pollen and nectar resources are limited and consequently there is no evidence for competition between both species.KeywordsInterspecific competition, oligolecty, optimal foraging strategies, photonasty, resource partitioning, separation mechanisms

Exploration of Directed Self Assembly Polymers

Directed Self Assembly (DSA) is an attractive alternative to 193i and multiple patterning. Various polymers were investigated to find the possible structures that can be created with them. Previous research was used to determine the process used. Two surface treatments, a polymer brush and hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) were used to help the polymers phase separate into their respective structure. The first polymer a polystyrene (PS) block polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) resulted in de-wetting and film non-uniformity that prevented measurement. The second polymer a PS block polyethylene oxide (PEO) resulted in crystallization if the PEO ratio was too high at 40% mole. When the PEO ratio was low enough at 29% mole and on a PS brush polymer via holes 30 nm in diameter were found using phase imaging on an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). Repeat samples of the via holes de-wetted from the surface likely due to surface contamination preventing the brush polymer from adhering to the surface

Band gap and broken chirality in single-layer and bilayer graphene

Chirality is one of the key features governing the electronic properties of single- and bilayer graphene: the basics of this concept and its consequences on transport are presented in this review. By breaking the inversion symmetry, a band gap can be opened in the band structures of both systems at the K-point. This leads to interesting consequences for the pseudospin and, therefore, for the chirality. These consequences can be accessed by investigating the evolution of the Berry phase in such systems. Experimental observations of Fabry-Perot interference in a dual-gated bilayer graphene device are finally presented and are used to illustrate the role played by the band gap on the evolution of the pseudospin. The presented results can be attributed to the breaking of the chirality in the energy range close to the gap.Comment: To be published in Physica Status Solidi (RRL) - Rapid Research Letter

Tunable Fermi surface topology and Lifshitz transition in bilayer graphene

Bilayer graphene is a highly tunable material: not only can one tune the Fermi energy using standard gates, as in single-layer graphene, but the band structure can also be modified by external perturbations such as transverse electric fields or strain. We review the theoretical basics of the band structure of bilayer graphene and study the evolution of the band structure under the influence of these two external parameters. We highlight their key role concerning the ease to experimentally probe the presence of a Lifshitz transition, which consists in a change of Fermi contour topology as a function of energy close to the edges of the conduction and valence bands. Using a device geometry that allows the application of exceptionally high displacement fields, we then illustrate in detail the way to probe the topology changes experimentally using quantum Hall effect measurements in a gapped bilayer graphene system.Comment: To be published in Synthetic Metals, special issue "Advances in Graphene