Coloured mulch as a weed control technology and yield booster for summer savory

An investigation into the effect of coloured mulch technology as a technique to control weeds when growing the essential oil plant, summer savory (Satureja hortensis) was made. As well as weed control, the effects on the production of crop biomass and essential oil content and quality were also considered. The mulch treatments produced significantly more biomass than either of the control treatments (which used no mulch either with or without herbicide). The white mulch treatment produced the greatest biomass, closely followed by the red mulch treatment. The blue mulch treatment was third in ranking, although not significantly greater than the black mulch. Estimates of the quantity of essential oil produced by each treatment followed a similar trend to that shown by biomass production

ILC Operating Scenarios

The ILC Technical Design Report documents the design for the construction of a linear collider which can be operated at energies up to 500 GeV. This report summarizes the outcome of a study of possible running scenarios, including a realistic estimate of the real time accumulation of integrated luminosity based on ramp-up and upgrade processes. The evolution of the physics outcomes is emphasized, including running initially at 500 GeV, then at 350 GeV and 250 GeV. The running scenarios have been chosen to optimize the Higgs precision measurements and top physics while searching for evidence for signals beyond the standard model, including dark matter. In addition to the certain precision physics on the Higgs and top that is the main focus of this study, there are scientific motivations that indicate the possibility for discoveries of new particles in the upcoming operations of the LHC or the early operation of the ILC. Follow-up studies of such discoveries could alter the plan for the centre-of-mass collision energy of the ILC and expand the scientific impact of the ILC physics program. It is envisioned that a decision on a possible energy upgrade would be taken near the end of the twenty year period considered in this report

Software reliability experiments data analysis and investigation

The objectives are to investigate the fundamental reasons which cause independently developed software programs to fail dependently, and to examine fault tolerant software structures which maximize reliability gain in the presence of such dependent failure behavior. The authors used 20 redundant programs from a software reliability experiment to analyze the software errors causing coincident failures, to compare the reliability of N-version and recovery block structures composed of these programs, and to examine the impact of diversity on software reliability using subpopulations of these programs. The results indicate that both conceptually related and unrelated errors can cause coincident failures and that recovery block structures offer more reliability gain than N-version structures if acceptance checks that fail independently from the software components are available. The authors present a theory of general program checkers that have potential application for acceptance tests

Does perceived organisational support influence career intentions?:The qualitative stories shared by UK early career doctors

Our thanks to all those FP2 doctors who participated in the interviews. Our thanks also to the Foundation Programme Directorate staff in the Scotland Deanery, NHS Education for Scotland, for sending out the email correspondence to the two regions involved in the interviews. No patients or any members of the public were involved in this study. Funding: Our thanks go to NHS Education for Scotland for funding Gillian Scanlan’s programme of work through the Scottish Medical Education Research Consortium (SMERC) and for funding the open-access fee for this paper.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The development of Eucalyptus as a medicine

A content analysis of 1,440 articles containing references to Eucalyptus from the Pharmaceutical Journal, British Medical Journal and The Lancet (1800-1970) was undertaken. This gave an overview of both numerical and textual data regarding the development of this plant-based therapeutic into conventional medicine, especially regarding: publication trends (peak output 1877-1913), its indicative uses, formulations, administration approaches, safety and species used. From this, a narrative was formed. Key findings included its widespread use as an antiseptic essential oil, an action similar to current ‘folk’ use but differing to the official recommended uses by the European Medicines Agency. Adverse events comprised mild transient skin irritation from external use. 12 accidental poisonings were reported from drinking the essential oil (with 3 death outcomes). In addition, the journals reported a wider range of species used compared to the three officially listed today. The species officially settled on (E.globulus) was influenced by agro-economic factors rather than being the most medicinal. This research is showing there may be benefit in revisiting the Eucalyptus genus (containing >700 species) in the search for novel antimicrobials in light of the growing problem of antibiotic resistance

CS J = 2 yields 1 emission toward the central region of M82

M82 is an irregular (Type II) galaxy located at a distance of approximately 3.5 Mpc. Its unusual appearance and high luminosity, particularly in the infrared, has led many astronomers to classify it as a starburst galaxy. This interpretation is supported by the observation of a large number of radio continuum sources within the central arcminute of the galaxy. These sources are thought to be associated with supernova remnants. The starburst in the central region of the galaxy is believed to have been triggered by tidal interaction with either M81 or the HI cloud surrounding the M81 group. High angular resolution CO-12 J=1 to 0 maps by Nakai (1984) and Lo et al. (1987) indicate the existence of a 400 to 450 pc rotating ring of molecular material about the central region of M82. Red- and blue-shifted absorption components of the HI and OH lines measured by Weliachew et al. (1984) provided the first evidence for the presence of the ring. Many astronomers, each using a different angular resolution, have compared CO-12 J=1 to 0, J=2 to 1, and J=3 to 2 emission and concluded that a large fraction of the CO emission is optically thin. Additional observations suggest that the molecular material toward the center of M82 is clumpy and dense. Unlike the lower rotational transitions of CO, CS is excited only at relatively high densities, n sub H sub 2 greater than or equal to 10(exp 4) cm(-3). It is in clouds with these densities that stars are expected to form. This makes CS an excellent probe of star formation regions. Researchers observed the CS J=2 to 1 transition (97.981 GHz) toward 52 positions in M82 using the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) 12 m telescope

Feeding Patterns and Attachment Ability of \u3ci\u3eAltica Subplicata\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) on Sand-Dune Willow

To investigate feeding patterns of a specialist herbivore, Altica subplicata, larvae and adults were caged separately on host plants, Salix cordata, and leaf damage was estimated. Young, relatively more pubescent leaves near the tops of the shoots were consumed more than older leaves. Larvae clearly preferred the young, pubescent leaves and avoided the oldest leaves. Adults showed a stronger preference for the first five young leaves, but amount of consumption did not differ among the older leaves. Attachment ability on smooth and pubescent leaves was examined as a possible factor influencing feeding patterns. Scanning electron microscopy of tarsal adhesive structures and leaf surfaces was conducted to investigate how A. subplicata attaches to its host. Adhesive setae on the tarsi of adults may be effective for attachment on the older, smooth leaves and their tarsal claws are likely used to cling to trichomes of pubescent leaves. Larvae have fleshy adhesive pads for attachment. Laboratory experiments on attachment of larvae and adults to smooth and pubescent leaves under various wind conditions showed that wind caused difficulty in attachment and movement, but leaf pubescence did not affect the number of beetles that fell off leaves. However, larvae fell off more quickly when placed on pubescent leaves. Thus, other factors such as nutritional quality and microclimate provided by trichomes may be responsible for the preference for pubescent leaves exhibited by A. subplicata

Report on Phase Three: The professional capabilities framework

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