The Effect of Chemical Amendments Used for Phosphorus Abatement on Greenhouse Gas and Ammonia Emissions from Dairy Cattle Slurry: Synergies and Pollution Swapping

peer-reviewedLand application of cattle slurry can result in incidental and chronic phosphorus (P) loss to waterbodies, leading to eutrophication. Chemical amendment of slurry has been proposed as a management practice, allowing slurry nutrients to remain available to plants whilst mitigating P losses in runoff. The effectiveness of amendments is well understood but their impacts on other loss pathways (so-called ‘pollution swapping’ potential) and therefore the feasibility of using such amendments has not been examined to date. The aim of this laboratory scale study was to determine how the chemical amendment of slurry affects losses of NH3, CH4, N2O, and CO2. Alum, FeCl2, Polyaluminium chloride (PAC)- and biochar reduced NH3 emissions by 92, 54, 65 and 77% compared to the slurry control, while lime increased emissions by 114%. Cumulative N2O emissions of cattle slurry increased when amended with alum and FeCl2 by 202% and 154% compared to the slurry only treatment. Lime, PAC and biochar resulted in a reduction of 44, 29 and 63% in cumulative N2O loss compared to the slurry only treatment. Addition of amendments to slurry did not significantly affect soil CO2 release during the study while CH4 emissions followed a similar trend for all of the amended slurries applied, with an initial increase in losses followed by a rapid decrease for the duration of the study. All of the amendments examined reduced the initial peak in CH4 emissions compared to the slurry only treatment. There was no significant effect of slurry amendments on global warming potential (GWP) caused by slurry land application, with the exception of biochar. After considering pollution swapping in conjunction with amendment effectiveness, the amendments recommended for further field study are PAC, alum and lime. This study has also shown that biochar has potential to reduce GHG losses arising from slurry application.This research was funded by the Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Scheme and the AnimalChange Framework 7 Project (FP7-KBBE-2010-4)

How well does GLOBE predict values in advertising? A content analysis of print advertising from the UK, Ireland, Poland amd Hungary.

This cross-cultural comparative study investigated differences in the frequency and types of value appeals used in print advertising from Poland, the UK, Hungary and Ireland. The methodological approach was content analysis; Pollay‟s (1983) value appeals were linked to the GLOBE dimensions (House et al 2004). While there were some consistent value appeals across the four countries, there were also marked differences. The differences did not vary consistently with, and could not be explained by, the GLOBE cultural dimensions. Further research is needed to determine how the differences and similarities between the four countries may be explained

Agronomic aspects of strip intercropping lettuce with alyssum for biological control of aphids

Organic lettuce growers in California typically use insectary strips of alyssum (Lobularia maritima (L.) Desv.) to attract hoverflies (Syrphidae) that provide biological control of aphids. A two year study with transplanted organic romaine lettuce in Salinas, California investigated agronomic aspects of lettuce monoculture and lettuce-alyssum strip intercropping on beds in replacement intercropping treatments where alyssum transplants replaced 2 to 8% of the lettuce transplants, and in additive intercropping treatments where alyssum transplants were added to the standard lettuce density without displacing lettuce transplants. Alyssum and lettuce dry matter (DM) were determined at lettuce maturity. Alyssum transplants produced less shoot DM in the additive than in the replacement intercropping treatments. The number of open inflorescences of alyssum increased with alyssum DM, and among treatments ranged from 2 to15 inflorescences per lettuce head. Compared with monoculture lettuce, lettuce heads on intercropped beds were slightly smaller and had lower nitrogen concentrations in the both additive treatments and in some replacement treatments. This research provides the first information on a novel additive intercropping approach to provide alyssum floral resources for biological control of lettuce aphids, and suggests that this approach may be a more land-efficient particularly for producing smaller lettuce heads for romaine hearts or for markets with less strict size requirements. Additional research is needed to determine if the increased competition between alyssum and lettuce in additive intercropping would reduce lettuce yields for wholesale markets with larger head size requirements. Practical aspects of implementing the various intercropping arrangements and alternatives are discussed

The “Animus” Briefs: Attacks on the Seventh Circuit’s Sound Analysis of Transgender Bathroom Rights in Public Schools

You have probably heard about state legislatures floating the idea of “bathroom laws” that would prohibit transgendered individuals from using the bathroom of their gender identity in public places. Although no state has actually signed such legislation into law, the spirit of those anti-transgender laws has been carried out in smaller governmental entities: public schools. Unlike a hypothetical state law, which would be nearly impossible to enforce without state officials performing inspections of genitals, a school policy is truly enforceable and has real effects

The psychometric properties of ADCS - activities of daily living inventory and comparison of different ADL scores

Several multi-item activities of daily living (ADL) scales have been developed for assessment of functional status of patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in the last few decades. A disadvantage of the large number of scales is that scores of different ADL scales cannot be compared directly with each other. ADL scales which are used by McNamee’s (Townsend's disability scale) and Hill’s (Medicare Beneficiary definitions and Katz index of ADL) provide suitable tools for modelling the cost-effectiveness of different treatments in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, since they report empirical results about the relationship between the degree of functional impairment (healthcare costs) and the prevalence of institutionalisation. The IDEAL trial examines the efficacy of Exelon Patch with the ADCS - Activities of Daily Living Inventory (ADCS-ADL). This ADL instrument is not directly comparable to the ADL scales used by McNamee and Hill. However, the use of the ADL scale from the IDEAL study to predict the prevalence of institutionalisation with scales by Hill and McNamee would be desirable. Because of the generic nature of the ADL construct, and considering the fact that these well validated ADL instruments identify the main physical impairments and functional disabilities in Alzheimer's disease, we should expect high overlap in item content between different ADL instruments. The high overlap in item content between instruments, and the similar wording and scoring criteria, makes it possible to pair each impairment with another. The intention of this study was to establish the link between these ADL scales in order to provide appropriate conditions for further economic analyses on the dataset provided by the IDEAL study

Cultural Meaning, Advertising, and National Culture: A Four-Country Study

This document is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Global Marketing on 9 October 2017. Under embargo. Embargo end date: 9 April 2019. The final, published version is available online at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08911762.2017.1376364.Cultural meaning transfer theory and GLOBE dimensions were employed in this comparative study to examine the extent to which cultural meaning presented in advertisements reflected national cultures of the target countries. Content analysis was applied to advertisements from four countries to investigate whether the use of advertising appeals presented in these advertisements mirrored variations in cultures as described by GLOBE Society Values. Results revealed that, in line with the hypotheses, there were similarities and differences in the use of appeals, and only some of them mirrored the cultural variations. GLOBE Society Values were more likely to predict the use of appeals than GLOBE Society Practices, but not for all appeals. Advertisers can draw on national cultures for cultural meanings to be used in advertisements only to a limited extent. It may be that advertisements mold rather than mirror societal values, or that only certain cultural traits are important for advertisers.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio