Circular 12

Ih Alaska— Oats-and-peas make better silage than hay / Silage and silos pay / Field-choppers cut labor costs / Smooth bromegrass is an excellent forage / Alsike clover and Hubam sweetclover / make good annuals / Better forage means bigger profitsIn cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Administratio

The summertime plankton community at South Georgia (Southern Ocean): comparing the historical (1926/27) and modern (post 1995) records.

The earliest comprehensive plankton sampling programme in the Southern Ocean was 32 undertaken during the early part of last century by Discovery Investigations to gain a 33 greater scientific understanding of whale stocks and their summer feeding grounds. An 34 initial survey was carried out around South Georgia during December 1926 and January 35 1927 to describe the distribution of plankton during the summer, and to serve as a 36 baseline against which to compare future surveys. We have reanalysed phytoplankton and 37 zooplankton data from this survey and elucidated patterns of community distribution and 38 compared them with our recent understanding of the ecosystem based on contemporary 39 data. Analysis of Discovery data identified five groups of stations with characteristic 40 phytoplankton communities which were almost entirely consistent with the original 41 analysis conducted by Hardy and Gunther (1935). Major groupings were located at the 42 western end of the island and over the northern shelf where Corethron spp. were 43 dominant, and to the south and east where a more diverse flora included high abundances 44 of Nitzschia seriata. Major zooplankton-station groupings were located over the inner 45 shelf which was characterised by a high abundance of Drepanopus forcipatus and in 46 oceanic water >500 m deep that were dominated by Foraminifera, Oithona spp., 47 Ctenocalanus vanus, and Calanoides acutus. Stations along the middle and outer shelf 48 regions to the north and west, were characterised by low overall abundance. There was 49 some evidence that groupings of stations to the north of the island originated in different 50 water masses on either side of the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front, the 51 major frontal system in the deep ocean close to South Georgia. However, transect lines 52 during 1926/27 did not extend far enough offshore to sample this frontal region 53 3 adequately. Interannual variability of zooplankton abundance was assessed from stations 54 which were sampled repeatedly during 7 recent British Antarctic Survey cruises (1995-55 2005) to the region and following taxonomic harmonization and numerical 56 standardization (ind. m-3), a subset of 45 taxonomic categories of zooplankton (species 57 and higher taxa) from 1926/27, were compared with similar data obtained during the 58 BAS cruises using a linear model. Initially comparisons were restricted to BAS stations 59 that lay within 40 km of Discovery stations although a comparison was also made using 60 all available data. Despite low abundance values in 1926/27, in neither comparison did 61 Discovery data differ significantly from BAS data. Calculation of the percentage 62 similarity index across cruises did not reveal any systematic differences in species 63 composition between 1926/27 and the present. In the light of ocean warming trends, the 64 existence of more subtle changes in species composition is not ruled out, but an absence 65 of finely resolved time-series data make this impossible to determine

The Kankaee River Basin Partnership

The presentation will provide a brief history of the Kankakee River Basin and a discussion of its current problems. Infonnation will be provided regarding the outstanding diversity of the area in tenns of its flora and fauna and its natural habitats. The threat to this unique ecosystem presented by sedimentation from various sources both within Illinois and Indiana will be explained. The projects already begun and funded through the Conservation 2000 program in the Kankakee Basin will be described and linked to the Kankakee Basin Stewardship Plan\u27s goals and objectives. Specific attention will be given to the Stateline Project which is being developed in cooperation with the IDNR , U.S. Corps of Engineers , and Basin Partnership. Once approved and authorized , this project is expected to involve sand bed removal , wetland restoration, and reestablishment of mussel beds in an area of the Kankakee River adjacent to the Indiana- Illinois state line in a remnant of the once huge Grand Kankakee Marsh . This project will test new technology for sediment removal and other restoration techniques. The presentation will include slides of various features of the Kankakee basin

Adaptive Polling for Responsive Web Applications

YesThe web environment has been developing remarkably, and much work has been done towards improving web based notification systems, where servers act smartly by notifying and feeding clients with subscribed data. In this paper we have reviewed some of the problems with current solutions to real-time updates of multi user web applications; we introduce a new concept “adaptive polling” based on one AJAX technique “Polling” to reduce the high volume of redundant server connections with reasonable latency, we demonstrated a prototype implementation of the new concept which is then evaluated against the existing one; the positive results clearly indicated more efficiency in terms of client-server bandwidth

Preparation of ultracold atom clouds at the shot noise level

We prepare number stabilized ultracold clouds through the real-time analysis of non-destructive images and the application of feedback. In our experiments, the atom number ${N\sim10^6}$ is determined by high precision Faraday imaging with uncertainty $\Delta_N$ below the shot noise level, i.e., $\Delta_N <\sqrt{N}$. Based on this measurement, feedback is applied to reduce the atom number to a user-defined target, whereupon a second imaging series probes the number stabilized cloud. By this method, we show that the atom number in ultracold clouds can be prepared below the shot noise level.Comment: Main text: 4 Figures, 4 pages. Supplemental Information: 4 figures, 5 page

Functional Behavioral Analysis and Social Scripting for the Older Patient with Schizophrenia: A Staff Development Program

Executive functioning is the ability to plan, strategize, organize, and focus on details. Impaired executive functioning plays a significant role in behavior disturbances. Lack of inhibition, impaired abstract reasoning, thought perseverance, rigidity in routine, and lack of insight disrupt social skills and daily life. Autism and schizophrenia present some similar behaviors, including impaired executive functioning, often resulting in pharmacological management as many healthcare professionals receive limited training in executive functioning. Non-pharmacological tools used in autism for behavior management include functional behavioral analysis and social scripting, which help to identify causes of behavior and teach more appropriate behavioral responses. Described here is an educational program for healthcare workers in a long-term care skilled nursing facility, to help them understand the basis for behaviors in individuals with impaired executive function, to use these same tools for behavioral modification techniques, and to help patients learn more appropriate social skills. Program evaluation suggested the educational program was successful in increasing the staff\u27s knowledge and comfort level in addressing the behavioral issues that arise with this population and staff also reported less use of medication as first-line treatment for behavioral issues

Wideband Characteristic Basis Functions in Radiation Problems

In this paper, the use of characteristic basis function (CBF) method, augmented by the application of asymptotic waveform evaluation (AWE) technique is analyzed in the context of the application to radiation problems. Both conventional and wideband CBFs are applied to the analysis of wire and planar antennas

Modelling harbour seal movements

Publisher PD

Intraperitoneal photodynamic therapy causes a capillary-leak syndrome.

BackgroundIn patients undergoing intraperitoneal (IP) photodynamic therapy (PDT), the combination of aggressive surgical debulking and light therapy causes an apparent systemic capillary-leak syndrome that necessitates significant intensive care unit (ICU) management after surgery.MethodsFrom May 1997 to May 2001, 65 patients underwent surgical debulking and PDT as part of an ongoing phase II trial for disseminated IP cancer. Perioperative data were reviewed retrospectively, and statistical analyses were performed to determine whether any identifiable factors were associated with the need for mechanical ventilation for longer than 1 day and with the occurrence of postoperative complications.ResultsForty-three women and 22 men (mean age, 49 years) were treated. Operative time averaged 9.8 hours, and mean estimated blood loss was 1450 mL. The mean crystalloid requirement for the first 48 hours after surgery was 29.3 L, and 49 patients required blood products. Twenty-four patients were intubated for longer than 24 hours, with a mean of 8.3 days for those intubated longer than 1 day. The median ICU stay was 4 days. Overall, 110 complications developed in 45 (69%) of the 65 patients. Significant complications included 6 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, 28 patients with infectious complications, and 4 patients with anastomotic complications. Statistical analyses revealed that surgery-related factors were significantly associated with these complication outcomes.ConclusionsPatients who undergo surgical debulking and IP PDT develop a significant capillary-leak syndrome after surgery that necessitates massive volume resuscitation, careful ICU monitoring, and, frequently, prolonged ventilatory support