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Selected AbstractsIncreases in pH and soluble salts influence the effect that additions of organic residues have on concentrations of exchangeable and soil solution aluminiumEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2002M. S. Mokolobate Summary It has been suggested that additions of organic residues to acid soils can ameliorate Al toxicity. For this reason the effects of additions of four organic residues to an acid soil on pH and exchangeable and soil solution Al were investigated. The residues were grass, household compost, filter cake (a waste product from sugar mills) and poultry manure, and they were added at rates equivalent to 10 and 20 t ha,1. Additions of residues increased soil pH measured in KCl (pH(KCl)) and decreased exchangeable Al3+ in the order poultry manure > filter cake > household compost > grass. The mechanism responsible for the increase in pH differed for the different residues. Poultry manure treatment resulted in lower soil pH measured in water (pH(water)) and larger concentrations of total (AlT) and monomeric (Almono) Al in soil solution than did filter cake. This was attributed to a soluble salt effect, originating from the large cation content of poultry manure, displacing exchangeable Al3+ and H+ back into soil solution. The considerably larger concentrations of soluble C in soil solution originating from the poultry manure may also have maintained greater concentrations of Al in soluble complexed form. There was a significant negative correlation (r = ,0.94) between pH(KCl) and exchangeable Al. Concentrations of AlT and Almono in soil solution were not closely related with pH or exchangeable Al. The results suggest that although additions of organic residues can increase soil pH and decrease Al solubility, increases in soluble salt and soluble C concentrations in soil solution can substantially modify these effects. [source] High rates of net ecosystem carbon assimilation by Brachiara pasture in the Brazilian CerradoGLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2004Alexandre J.B. Santos Abstract To investigate the consequences of land use on carbon and energy exchanges between the ecosystem and atmosphere, we measured CO2 and water vapour fluxes over an introduced Brachiara brizantha pasture located in the Cerrado region of Central Brazil. Measurements using eddy covariance technique were carried out in field campaigns during the wet and dry seasons. Midday CO2 net ecosystem exchange rates during the wet season were ,40 ,mol m,2 s,1, which is more than twice the rate found in the dry season (,15 ,mol m,2 s,1). This was observed despite similar magnitudes of irradiance, air and soil temperatures. During the wet season, inferred rates of canopy photosynthesis did not show any tendency to saturate at high solar radiation levels, with rates of around 50 ,mol m,2 s,1 being observed at the maximum incoming photon flux densities of 2200 ,mol m,2 s,1. This contrasted strongly to the dry period when light saturation occurred with 1500 ,mol m,2 s,1 and with maximum canopy photosynthetic rates of only 20 ,mol m,2 s,1. Both canopy photosynthetic rates and night-time ecosystem CO2 efflux rates were much greater than has been observed for cerrado native vegetation in both the wet and dry seasons. Indeed, observed CO2 exchange rates were also much greater than has previously been reported for C4 pastures in the tropics. The high rates in the wet season may have been attributable, at least in part, to the pasture not being grazed. Higher than expected net rates of carbon acquisition during the dry season may also have been attributable to some early rain events. Nevertheless, the present study demonstrates that well-managed, productive tropical pastures can attain ecosystem gas exchange rates equivalent to fertilized C4 crops growing in the temperate zone. [source] Health Care and Pension Benefits for Construction Workers: TheRole of Prevailing Wage Laws Health Care and Pension Benefits for Construction WorkersINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 2 2000Jeffrey S. Petersen This article examines the affect of state prevailing wage laws (PWLs) on the amount and mix of wages and benefits paid to construction workers. PWLs require contractors who win bids on state-financed construction projects to pay compensation rates equivalent to those prevailing in local construction markets. During 1982-1992, 6 states repealed their PWLs, 9 states who never had a PWL did not enact one, and 32 states kept their PWLs. Data from the Form 5500 series, the Census of Construction Industries, the Current Employment Statistics, and the Current Population Survey are combined to evaluate the effects of PWL repeals on compensation. When comparing the experiences of different states, PWLs enhance both wages and benefits, with the largest percentage increase going toward employer pension contributions. PWLs appear to create an incentive for both employers to pay and workers to accept a larger percentage of their total compensation in the form of benefits. [source] Identifying High Risk Groups and Quantifying Absolute Risk of Cancer After Kidney Transplantation: A Cohort Study of 15 183 RecipientsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 9 2007A. C. Webster Transplant recipients have increased cancer risk, but data on risk variation across different patient groups are sparse. Rates and standardized rate ratios (SRR) of cancer (all sites, excluding nonmelanocytic skin and lip cancer) compared to the general population were calculated, using Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry data. Within the transplant population, risk factors were identified (hazard ratios: HR; 95% CI) and absolute risk estimated for recipient groups. A total of 1642 (10.8%) of 15 183 recipients developed cancer. Risk was inversely related to age (SRR 15,30 children, 2 if >65 years). Females aged 25,29 had rates equivalent to women aged 55,59 from the general population. Age trend for lymphoma, colorectal and breast risk was similar; melanoma showed less variability across ages, prostate showed no risk increase. Within the transplanted population, risk was affected by age differently for each sex (p = 0.007), elevated by prior malignancy (HR 1.40; 1.03,1.89), white race (HR 1.36; 1.12,1.89), but reduced by diabetic end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) (HR 0.67; 0.50,0.89). Cancer rates in kidney recipients are similar to nontransplanted people 20,30 years older, but absolute risk differs across patient groups. Men aged 45,54 surviving 10 years have cancer risks varying from 1 in 13 (non-white, no prior cancer, diabetic ESKD) to 1 in 5 (white, prior cancer, other ESKD). [source] Seed germination ecology of Portulaca oleracea L.: an important weed of rice and upland cropsANNALS OF APPLIED BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2009B.S. Chauhan Abstract Portulaca oleracea, a C4 species, is reported to be a serious weed in 45 crops in 81 countries. Experiments were conducted in the laboratory, the screenhouse and the field to determine the influence of environmental factors on seed germination and seedling emergence of P. oleracea. In the laboratory, germination in the dark was low and was not influenced by the tested temperatures (35/25°C, 30/20°C and 25/15°C alternating day/night temperatures). In the light/dark regime, however, germination was lower at 25/15°C and 35/25°C than at 30/20°C (70%, 75% and 81% germination, respectively). In conditions of 106 mM sodium chloride or ,0.34 MPa osmotic potential, seeds germinated to only 50% of maximum germination of the control. Germination was not influenced by buffered pH solutions ranging from 5 to 9. In the screenhouse, germination was greatest for seeds placed on the soil surface, but emergence declined with increasing seed burial depth in soil; no seedlings emerged from the depth of 2 cm. Seedling emergence and seedling dry matter were markedly reduced by the addition of rice residue to the soil surface at rates equivalent to 4 to 6 t ha,1. In the field, seedling emergence of P. oleracea was greater under zero till (ZT) (17,20%) than under minimum tillage (6,10%), a likely reflection of low seed burial and exposure of seeds to light with a ZT system. This study identifies some of the factors enabling P. oleracea to be a widespread weed in the humid tropics, and the information could contribute to improved control strategies. [source] Dietary strategies to improve the growth and feed utilization of barramundi, Lates calcarifer under high water temperature conditionsAQUACULTURE NUTRITION, Issue 4 2010B. GLENCROSS Abstract Several dietary strategies to ameliorate poorer growth observed to occur at temperatures above the upper thermal optima were examined with juvenile barramundi (Lates calcarifer). A reference (REF) and three experimental diets, one with an increased protein to energy ratio (PRO), another with an increased level of the amino acid histidine (HIS) and a third with supplementation of dietary nucleotides (NUC), were each fed to fish at either 30 °C or 37 °C for a 28-day period. Growth was affected by both temperature and diet. Fish fed the PRO diet at 30 °C grew fastest, but not faster than those fed the NUC diet at the same temperature. The addition of the amino acid histidine to the diet did not improve growth rates at either temperature. At water temperatures of 37 °C, only the fish fed the PRO diet had growth rates equivalent to those of fish at the 30 °C temperatures. Other key factors including feed intake, feed conversion rate, nutrient and energy retention and plasma enzymology were also all affected by temperature and diet. This study shows that the use of a diet with an increased protein to energy ratio provides significant benefits in terms of reducing the impact of growth retardation at higher temperatures. [source] Development of a synthetic plant volatile-based attracticide for female noctuid moths.AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Abstract We investigated the efficacy of insecticides combined with a plant volatile-based attractant for Helicoverpa armigera moths, under laboratory and field conditions. In the laboratory, 16 insecticides were assessed by the level of mortality and time to incapacitate and kill moths. The proboscis extension reflex technique was used for dosing moths. The pyrethroids, bifenthrin (only when synergised by the addition of piperonyl butoxide (PBO) but not without it) and cyfluthrin (with or without PBO), endosulfan, the carbamates methomyl and thiodicarb, and spinosad killed all moths tested at rates equivalent to, or less than, those which would be applied in cover sprays targeting larvae. The shortest time to moth incapacitation and death was observed with methomyl and thiodicarb. Spinosad produced very high mortality but moths took much longer to die. The two pyrethroids gave relatively slow kills, as did endosulfan. In a field trial, four insecticides were combined with the attractant and dead moths were collected daily from 1 to 4 days after application of the attracticide on 50 m rows of cotton. Significantly more dead moths (H. armigera, H. punctigera and other noctuids) were found near the rows treated with attracticide containing methomyl compared with spinosad, fipronil and deltamethrin. For determining the impact of attracticides by recovering dead moths, quick acting insecticides are required to prevent moths flying away from the treated area to locations where they cannot be found. Methomyl and thiodicarb are suitable for this, but other insecticides especially spinosad could be used where quick action is not needed. Large numbers of moths were killed in the field trial, suggesting that attracticides for female Helicoverpa spp. moths could have significant impacts on local populations of these pests. [source] | |||||||||||||