Charting the Midwest: An Inventory and Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in America's Heartland

Presents a comprehensive overview of the Midwest's role in global climate change as a major emitter of greenhouse gases in both national and international terms. Analyzes emissions data, trends, and drivers by region, state, economic sector, and gas

Sharpening the Cutting Edge: Corporate Action for a Strong, Low-Carbon Economy

Outlines lessons learned from early efforts to create a low-carbon economy, current and emerging best practices, and next steps, including climate change metrics, greenhouse gas reporting, effective climate policy, and long-term investment choices

Do recruitment ties affect wages? An analysis using matched employer-employee data from Vietnam

This paper examines the extent to which recruitment ties affect individual wage outcomes in small and medium scale manufacturing firms. Based on a unique matched employer-employee dataset from Vietnam we find that there is a significant positive wage premium associated with obtaining a job through an informal contact, when controlling for standard determinants of wage compensation. Moreover, we show that the mechanism through which informal contacts affect wages depends on the type of recruitment tie used. The findings are robust across location, firm size categories and different worker types.Wages, Recruitment ties, Vietnam

Quantification of root fungi using signature fatty acids

Both deleterious (pathogenic) and beneficial (mycorrhizal) fungi inhabit plant roots with strong impact on plant growth and health. Various methods have been used to quantify these fungi, such as indirect measurements of plant parameters, disease index, staining techniques and serological/genetic/biochemical markers. The objective of this work is to evaluate the possibility of using signature fatty acids to quantify root-inhabiting fungi in planta and in soil. Different fatty acid-based methods can be used to quantify fungi. Phospholid fatty acids (PLFA) can be used for biomass estimation and neutral lipid fatty acids (NLFA) for estimation of fungal energy reserves and the NLFA/PLFA ratio can give information on the physiological status of the fungus. It is quite laborious to make PLFA and NLFA analyses; so whole cell fatty acid (WCFA) analyses, which are much faster, can be used as a faster alternative to give information of root infection intensity. Signature fatty acids have been used to quantify arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (16:1ω5) and the pea root pathogen Aphanomyces euteiches (14:1ω9). Recently, we have further used arachadonic acid (20:4) to estimate root infection intensity of the plasmodiophorids Plasmodiophora brassica, causing club root in cabbage and Spongospora subterranea, the vector of mop top potato virus. Specificity of the various signature fatty acids of root-inhabiting fungi are discussed in relation to quantifying these fungi in both controlled greenhouse pot experiments and in the field. Furthermore, the possibility of using signature fatty acids to estimate soil inoculum potential of root-inhabiting fungi are discussed

Selection for resistance against root pathogens in a pea composite cross

The possibility of improving resistance in pea against the root pathogen Aphanomyces euteiches using composite cross as a breeding and selection method was examined. In order to maintain acceptable agricultural features and high yield 6 out of the 8 parental varieties in the present composite-cross were commercially grown varieties. Populations of the composite cross were grown up to five generations with selection pressure in soil heavily infested with pea root pathogens or without selection pressure on soil free of pea root pathogens. Yield of populations of the F9 and F10 generations of the composite cross grown with selection pressure was on average 35% higher than that of the population obtained without selection pressure as well as the average yield of the 8 parentals of the composite cross, which were of similar magnitude. In healthy soil the yield was overall higher than in the pathogen-infested soil, but yield did not differ between the populations from the composite cross with and without selection pressure, which were also similar to the average yield of the 8 different parentals. Recombinant inbred lines (RILs) randomly selected from the F10 population with selection pressure developed 23% less root rot than the corresponding F10 population without selection pressure, when grown in field soil heavily infested with pea root pathogens. Surprisingly, greenhouse pot experiments with pure cultures of the pea root pathogen A. euteiches resulted in higher root disease, in RILs from populations with selection pressure than from corresponding RILs without selection pressure. Problems related to greenhouse screening for resistance is discussed as well as the possibilities of using composite cross as a method to improve resistance against root diseases in grain legumes

Specificity of soil-borne pathogens on grain legumes

Specificity of soil-borne legume pathogens on pea, lupin and faba bean is currently investigated in fields where grain legumes are intensively cultivated. The study has so far lead to the following conclusions -Legume host-pathogen interactions demonstrate specificity of pathogen populations particularly in pea and lupin. -A. euteiches rot root was specified to pea in Denmark as root rot symptoms and oospores of the pathogen never were observed in roots of faba bean and lupin -F. oxysporum followed by F. solani were most frequently isolated from plant roots in plots highly infested by lupin pathogens -F. avenaceum was most frequently isolated from plant roots in plots highly infested by pea pathogens -Pathogenicity tests showed F. solani followed by F. avenaceum to be the most pathogenic Fusarium species on pea while F. avenaceum was the most destructive pathogen on faba bean. In contrast F. avenaceum was non-pathogenic on lupin

North at the top: Cardinal directions in languages, maps, and Hollywood movies

Humans rely on variety of different systems to describe location, with different cultures and languages having differentials in the ways they express location and movement through space. The three main ways that such spatial concepts are verbalized are: 1） relative – relating location to the speaker（ e.g., to my left; behind me）, 2） intrinsic – ascribing some fixed orientation system to an object and using this as a reference （e.g., the front of the classroom; behind the truck） and 3） absolute – referring to cardinal directions （e.g., north of the river, west of the town）. Absolute locational systems are described as being central to the spatial systems of languages such as Gugu Yimithirr and Tzeltal. It is generally assumed that speakers of such languages as English have a poor here-and-now awareness of cardinal directions and make sparse use of this resource for every day small-scale expressions of location. In this paper I will examine the way that cardinal directions are visually encoded in several mainstream Hollywood movies and suggest that although cardinality is not as prominent in English as some other languages, English speakers do orient to cardinal directions in certain visual situations and seem align with ‘north at the top’ representations in visual media, especially for larger scale narrative activities and events

Analyzing a student conversation : Glass half full or glass half empty?

This paper takes a short sample of student spoken interaction and analyses it in detail to identify some of the features of the talk which may be at variance with what would be recognized as more proficient and fluent interaction. The goal is to identify points of interactional practice that can be judged as areas for consciousness raising and explicit instruction by the teacher. Several of the points raised in the analysis are suggested to stem from a complex set of influences including transfer of lexical, grammatical, and interactional practices from the L1. There also may be a habituation to classroom discourse when speaking in the L2 which is then used unconsciously as a template for non-institutional mundane social interactions. Recognition of the special nature of learner interactions alongside an understanding of the possible causes of this kind of speaking can, it is suggested, inform focused and empirically based teaching that develops learners’ interactional competence