Exploring close consumer-producer links to maintain and enhance on-farm biodiversity

This paper deals with the question of whether local selling of farm products improves on-farm biodiversity. In contrast to the main agricultural trend of farms specialising and increasing in size in response to the national and global markets, increasing numbers of Swedish farmers are instead diverting their efforts towards selling at local markets. Based on a study of six farms, the paper explores the nature of diversity on these farms and identifies factors supporting diversity. The study shows that farmers who interact with consumers are encouraged to diversify their production. The actual crops and varieties grown are determined by a combination of the natural conditions prevailing on the farm and the conditions created by the farmer in terms of marketing strategy for the products

Some topographical changes associated with silicone hydrogel contact lenses may be due to inverted lenses

Purpose: It is possible that many reports of topographical and refractive changes associated with silicone hydrogel contact lens wear are the result of inadvertent wearing of inverted lenses. We wished to investigate differences in subjective, topographic, and refractive impact of wearing inverted silicone hydrogel lenses in comparison to wearing lenses in the normal (non-inverted) configuration. Methods: Baseline uncorrected visual acuity and topographical maps were taken for 14 subjects, and a comfort survey was completed for each. The subjects were then fit with Focus Night & Day (Ciba Vision) silicone hydrogel contact lenses; one of the two lenses was inverted on each subject, as determined by a randomized, masked schedule. Lenses were removed after 12 hours that included overnight wear. Acuities, topographical maps and the comfort survey were then repeated. Results: Significant change was noted from baseline for both lens conditions for acuities (p\u3c0.01) and the topographical maps (p\u3c0.05). The comfort of the two lenses did not significantly differ. Although the topographical maps were often distinctly different in appearance for the two conditions, numerical differences were small. Conclusions: Subjects\u27 inability to distinguish inverted from non-inverted lens comfort supports the suggestion that silicone hydrogel lenses may in fact often be worn insideout. Topographic changes occur with the lenses whether inverted or not, although the appearance of the maps are noticeably different. A potential exists for corneal reshaping with silicone hydrogel lenses

Pre-Congestion Notification marking

Pre-Congestion Notification (PCN) builds on the concepts of RFC 3168, "The addition of Explicit Congestion Notification to IP". However, Pre-Congestion Notification aims at providing notification before any congestion actually occurs. Pre-Congestion Notification is applied to real-time flows (such as voice, video and multimedia streaming) in DiffServ networks. As described in [CL-DEPLOY], it enables "pre" congestion control through two procedures, flow admission control and flow pre-emption. The draft proposes algorithms that determine when a PCN-enabled router writes Admission Marking and Pre-emption Marking in a packet header, depending on the traffic level. The draft also proposes how to encode these markings. We present simulation results with PCN working in an edge-to-edge scenario using the marking algorithms described. Other marking algorithms will be investigated in the future

Co-combustion of sewage sludge with wood/coal in a circulating fluidised bed boiler - A study of NO and N2O emissions

Reduction of emissions of NO and N2O from co-combustion of wet or dried sewage sludge with coal or wood is investigated. This is motivated by the high nitrogen content in sewage sludge that may give rise to high emissions. An advanced air-staging method for combustion in circulating fluidised bed is applied. It is shown that with fluidised bed combustion the emissions are low as long as the sludge fraction is not too high (say, less than 25%), and the conversion of fuel nitrogen to NO or N2O is only a few percent. However, air staging as such is not efficient for high volatile fuels, and any air supply method can be applied in such a case, in contrast to combustion of coal, when the air supply arrangement has a decisive influence

Immunologic aspects of the nephrotic syndrome

The nephrotic syndrome is a clinical entity characterized by proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, edema and hyperlipidemia. All the features of this syndrome are ultimately related to increased permeability of the glomerular capillary to protein. A specific disease entity in its mildest form may result in mild proteinuria insufficient to cause hypoalbuminemia and the other physiological manifestations of the nephrotic syndrome; the same disease in another patient or at another time in the same patient may cause marked proteinuria and the nephrotic state. The principal difference between proteinuria alone and that associated with the nephrotic syndrome in any specific disease would therefore appear to be quantitative, although it is likely that other factors play a role

Enhancing the NASA Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource Web Data Delivery System with Geographic Information System (GIS) Capabilities

Renewable energy technologies are changing the face of the world's energy market. Currently, these technologies are being incorporated within existing structures to increase energy efficiency. Crucial to the success of the emerging renewable market is the availability of accurate, global solar radiation, and meteorology data. This poster traces the history of the development of an effort to distribute data parameters from NASA's research for use in the energy sector applications spanning from renewable energy to energy efficiency. These data may be useful to several renewable energy sectors: solar and wind power generation, agricultural crop modeling, and sustainable buildings