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Full Issue: Vol. 64, Issue 1

Sci-Tech News

No abstract provided.

Electrosynthesis Of P-Aminobenzenearsenic Acid, Chun-An Ma, Qin-An Zheng, Qiang Zhou, Ying-Hua Xu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The electrochemical reduction of p-nitrophenyl arsonit acid to p-aminobenzenearsenic acid was studied using controlled-current electrolysis.The results showed that the yield of p-aminobenzenearsenic acid was determinated by the following factors:the concentrations of sulphuric acid,the amount of additive,temperature and the concentrations of p-nitrophenyl arsenic acid.The optimum electrolytic conditions were obtained to be is 10% H₂SO₄,1% NaCl,80 ℃,25 g/350 mL p-nitrophenyl arsenic acid and 10 A·dm^-2.The yield of arsanilic acid could be reached 64.7% under the optimum electrolytic conditions.

Interview With Bernard Smith, Full Of Life Farms, 2010 (Audio), Bernard Smith

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Bernard Smith by Kyle Dykstra on February 28th, 2010.

The interview index is available for download.

Interview With Katy Kolker, Portland Fruit Tree Project, 2010 (Audio), Katy Kolker

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Katy Kolker by Dan Stillinger in Portland, Oregon on February 27th, 2010.

The interview index is available for download.

Growing Alfalfa For Wildlife, Don Ball

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa has long been recognized as a superb forage crop, which is why it is widely grown for dairy cattle, horses, sheep, and many other types of domesticated forage-consuming animals. Reasons for its popularity include wide adaptation, excellent nutritive value, good yield potential, perennial growth habit, a long growing season, and the fact that (in association with Rhizobium bacteria) it is a nitrogen-fixing legume that does not require periodic applications of nitrogen fertilizer.

Alfalfa Varieties For The Future, Joe Bouton

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

When breeding tomorrow’s alfalfa varieties, most groups employ a model of combining traditional plant breeding with biotechnology tools in order to incorporate useful traits. In this model, the conventional variety development process will be the method of choice for most traits where breeders have traditionally made progress such as adaptation, heading date, disease and insect resistance, general persistence conditions such as grazing and traffic tolerance, and even yield. It has been very successful in adding economic value to the forage and livestock operations of many producers (Bouton 2007). These traditionally developed varieties will also be used as the germplasm platform …

Is There A Benefit To Alfalfa Balage?, Gary Bates

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Making hay in the mid-South has always been a difficult process. High humidity and rainfall often make drying a long, tedious, if not impossible proposition. Over the last few years there has been an increased interest in making round bale silage, or balage, from forage crops. Fermenting alfalfa for storage has several advantages and disadvantages over regular haymaking systems.

Crop Updates 2010 - Genetically Modified Crops, Nutrition And Soils, James Fisher, Désirée Futures, Peter Tozer, Mike Jackson, John Moore, Jamees Neilsen, Geoff Anderson, Wen Chen, Richard Bell, Paul Blackwell, Allan Herbert, Stephen Davies, Ross Brennan, Mike Bolland, James Easton, Ryan Guthrie, Rowan Madderm, Robert Belford, Wal Anderson, Ian Edwards, Reg Lunt, Bill Bowden, Nigel Metz, Peter Newman, Breanne Best, Chris Gazey, Joel Andrew

Crop Updates

GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

1. Evaluation of the environmental and economic impact of Roundup Ready® canola in the Western Australian crop production system, James Fisher and Désirée Futures, York, Western Australia, Peter Tozer, PRT Consulting, Armidale NSW

2. Controlling wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) in Roundup Ready®¹ Canola: Outcomes from the Nufarm 2009 Roundup Ready small plot trial Program, Mike Jackson, Nufarm Australia Limited

3. Weed strategies for glyphosate tolerant crops, John Moore, Department of Agriculture and Food

4. Results of the 2009 Western Australia Roundup Ready® canola trials, Dr James Neilsen, Canola Systems …

Interview With Allejandro Tecum, Adelante Mujeres, 2010 (Audio), Allejandro Tecum

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Allejandro Tecum by Adam Villareal at Forest Grove, Oregon on February 25th, 2010.

The interview index is available for download.

Crop Updates 2010 - Farming Systems, Christopher R. Newman, Jonathan England, Stephen Gherardi, Mohammad Amjad, David Ferris, Phil Ward, Roger Lawes, Tim Wiley, Perry Dolling, Philip Barrett-Lennard, John Kirkegaard, Susan Sprague, Hugh Dove, Walter Kelman, Peter Hamblin, Brad Nutt, Angelo Loi, Wayne Parker, Glen Riethmuller, Ken Flowers, Neil Cordingley, Shane Micin, Senthold Asseng, Peter Mcintosh, Mike Pook, James Risbey, Guomin Wang, Oscar Alves, Ian Foster, Imma Farre, Nirav Khimashia, W. Anderson, D. Beard, J. Blake, R. Grieve, M. Lang, J. Lemon, R. Mctaggart, D. Gray, M. Price, D. Stephens, P. Carmody, Doug Abrecht, Greg Kirk, Peter Rowe, Comeron Weeks, Peter Tozer, Derk Bakker, Frank D'Emden, Quenten Knight, Luke Marquis, Roger Mandel

Crop Updates

This session covers twenty papers from different authors:

Pests and Disease

1. Preserving phosphine for use in Grain Storage Industry, Christopher R Newman, Department of Agriculture and Food

Farming Systems Research

2. Demonstrating the benefits of grazing canola in Western Australia, Jonathan England, Stephen Gherardi and Mohammad Amjad, Department of Agriculture and Food

3. Buloke barley yield when pasture-cropped across subtropical perennial pastures, David Ferris, Department of Agriculture and Food, Phil Ward and Roger Lawes, CSIRO

4. Is pasture cropping viable in WA? Grower perceptions and EverCrop initiatives to evaluate, David Ferris, Tim Wiley, Perry Dolling …

Spectrophotometric And Colorimetic Methodology To Detect And Quantify Hydrazide Based Chemotherapeutic Drugs, Ronald Bartzatt

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Pharmaceuticals having the hydrazide functional group are an important division within anti-tuberculosis, anti-parasitic, anti-cancer, and anti-radiation chemotherapeutics. This work presents a colorimetric methodology to detect and quantify hydrazide based pharmaceuticals. Processes for rapid spot test, qualitative colorimetric assay, and spectrophotometric quantitative assay are presented. The reagent 2,6-dichloroquinon-4-chloroimine (Gibb's reagent) is utilized to accomplish the various analytical objectives. The rapid spot test and qualitative colorimetric assay enables a detection of hydrazide drugs to a level of 0.0037 grams per milliliter. Quantitative spectrophotometric detection of hydrazide drugs is sensitive to a level of 128.2 micrograms permilliliter. The molar absorptivity () is calculated …

A Lanthanide-Based Chemosensor For Bioavailable Fe3+ Using A Fluorescent Siderophore: An Assay Displacement Approach, Karen M. Orcutt, William Scott Jones, Andrea Mcdonald, David Schrock, Karl J. Wallace

Faculty Publications

The measurement of trace analytes in aqueous systems has become increasingly important for understanding ocean primary productivity. In oceanography, iron (Fe) is a key element in regulating ocean productivity, microplankton assemblages and has been identified as a causative element in the development of some harmful algal blooms. The chemosenor developed in this study is based on an indicator displacement approach that utilizes time-resolved fluorescence and fluorescence resonance energy transfer as the sensing mechanism to achieve detection of Fe3+ ions as low as 5 nM. This novel approach holds promise for the development of photoactive chemosensors for ocean deployment.

Climate Change Response Strategy, Anne Bennett

Bulletins 4000 -

Climate change and policies introduced to reduce emissions will affect the agricultural sector and will lead to social and economic outcomes.

In addressing the Western Australian Government's priority plan for the agriculture and food sector, the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia has a number of roles it can play to assist industry to adapt and respond to climate change.

This document provides a balanced and coordinated strategic direction for climate change activities by identifying and prioritising key actions to be achieved over the next five years. The strategy is split into four chapters: emissions abatement, carbon sinks, adapting …

Study Of Secondary Metabolite Gene Expression In Marine Microbial Co-Cultures Using Quantitative Real-Time Pcr, Crystal A. Conway

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Interactions among microbial organisms often cannot be observed directly, but they can be inferred genetically using new molecular techniques. The analysis of secondary metabolite gene expression produced by co-cultured marine microbial species allows us to see how these organisms interact with one another when kept in the same environment. Co-cultures of three different strains of marine bacteria, P. aeruginosa PAO1, Roseobacter denitrificans OCH114, and Salinispora arenicola CNS-205 were grown in a laboratory setting, and using the Real-Time qPCR method gene expression levels of two different secondary metabolite producing genes from each organism was accessed across three time points. P. aeruginosa …

Diurnal Movements And Site Fidelity Of The Florida Manatee, Trichechus Manatus Latirostris, In Fort Lauderdale, Fl., Kym Walsh

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The diurnal movements of Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) in warmwater refugia are poorly understood and these may prove critical in accurately estimating populations of these animals. Previous studies indicate that manatee populations in such refuges in Tampa Bay, FL, peak mid-day and decline towards evening when the animals leave to forage. This trend suggests that variation in the timing of aerial manatee population surveys may hamper accurate estimation of the true population size. Aerial survey counts are known to underestimate population size, yet the extent of the underestimation may be greater than expected. In this study data …

Non-Destructive Estimation Pigment Content Ripening Quality And Damage In Apple Fruit With Spectral Reflectance In The Visible Range, Alexei E. Solovchenko, Olga B. Chivkunova, Anatoly A. Gitelson, Mark N. Merzlyak

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Modern non-destructive optical-reflectance-based techniques for estimation of pigment (chlorophyll, carotenoid, anthocyanin, and flavonol) contents, the rate of on- and off-tree ripening as well as for detection of common physiological disorders, such as sunscald, superficial scald, and water core, and other damages to apple fruit are an emphasis on the methods developed by the authors. The basic spectral features of fruit reflectance in the visible and near infra-red are briefly considered together with their implications for the development of algorithms for non-destructive pigment content assessment. The use of reflectance spectroscopy for estimating chlorophyll and carotenoid content as well as carotenoid/chlorophyll ratio …

2010 Interior Least Tern And Piping Plover Monitoring, Research, Management, And Outreach Report For The Lower Platte River, Nebraska, Mary Bomberger Brown, Joel G. Jorgensen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

This document reports on our monitoring, research, management, and outreach activities during the past 12 months (2010). We prepared it to inform our partners, cooperating agencies, funding sources, and other interested parties of our activities and to provide a preliminary summary of our results.

The Tern and Plover Conservation Partnership (TPCP), based at the University of Nebraska–School of Natural Resources, and the Nongame Bird Program (NBP), based at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) work cooperatively on Interior Least Tern and Piping Plover monitoring, research, management, and outreach activities. While the focus of our work is the Lower Platte, …

Bite Marks Of The Giant Crocodylian Deinosuchus On Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Bones, David R. Schwimmer

Faculty Bibliography

The giant (~10 m) Late Cretaceous eusuchian crocodylians of the genus Deinosuchus are shown to have left large, blunt, sometimes penetrating bite marks on a significant number of sea turtle shells, and on several dinosaur specimens. The morphology of crocodylian bite marks is generally well documented, and the identification of bite traces specifically attributable to Deinosuchus may be made by reference to their size, age, habitat and prey selection. Deinosuchus species, and bite traces referable to the genus, are present on both sides of the Late Cretaceous Interior Seaway, and known only from Campanian deposits in the USA and northern …

Landscape Assessment Of A Stable Aspen Community In Southern Utah, Usa, Paul C. Rogers, A. Joshua Leffler, R. Ryel

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Recent reports of rapid die-off of aspen (Populus tremuloides), coupled with vigorous debate over longterm reduction of aspen cover in western North America, has prompted considerable research given the importance of this forest type for economic and non-economic interests. Despite this interest, indicators of aspen conditions are poorly understood, and there is a lack of systematic monitoring of stable aspen landscapes. Stable aspen are defined here as being predominantly aspen overstorey (>80% basal area) with little or no conifer regeneration. We examined a putative stable aspen landscape in southern Utah and addressed (1) stand structure and (2) indicators of …

Ua12/13 2010 Sustainability Report [Western Kentucky University], Wku Office Of Sustainability

Sustainability Publications and Resources

As I reflect on the past year, I am filled with pride and hope by our progress in becoming a more sustainable WKU. The milestones are significant: completion of our first building for which we will seek LEED certification, sustainability included as a core commitment in the WKU Strategic Guide for 2010-2012 and a Resolution for Education for Sustainability adopted, the first Education for Sustainability faculty retreat, the Energy Savings Performance Contract project initiated and nearly completed, and WKU included in the Princeton Review’s Guide to 286 Green Colleges. These are but a few of the accomplishments made in 2010. …

Santa Clara Magazine, Volume 51 Number 4, Spring 2010, Santa Clara University

Santa Clara Magazine

14 - BENDING LIGHT By Steven Boyd Saum. They wanted to show that green living is not a compromise. So, for the international Solar Decathlon, the SCU-led Team California built a house of light and wonder. And it was dazzling enough to win No. 3 on the planet.

22 - CONNECT THE DOTS By Scott Brown '93. From border security to disaster preparedness, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano '79 has one immense portfolio. She's also the point person on immigration. How to put those together?

28 - THIS PLACE WE CALL HOME By Kristina Chiapella '09 '09. Generations ago, …

Environmental Assessment: Adobe Town-Salt Wells Creek Herd Management Area Complex Wild Horse Gather, U.S. Bureau Of Land Management

Environmental Assessments (WY)

To analyze the environmental effects of wild horse gather operations and potential population control methods (including fertility control treatment and sex ration adjustment) in order to achieve and maintain the established appropriate management levels for the Adobe Town and Salt Wells Creek Herd Management Areas.

Interactions Among Top-Down Regulators In A Temperate Forest Floor Ecosystem;Effects On Macrofauna, Mesofauna, Microbes And Litter Decay, Cari-Ann M. Hickerson

ETD Archive

High species diversity and complexity of forest-floor food webs present a challenge for understanding the role of species interactions (e.g. competition and predation) as regulatory mechanisms for ecosystem processes such as decomposition and nutrient cycling. In particular, we understand very little about the roles of forest-floor predators in regulating diversity and abundance of lower trophic levels and ecosystem processes. However, ecological theory and several studies suggest that interactions among intraguild predators (IGP) may be important controls of diversity and abundance of organisms and detritus in lower trophic levels within food webs. A key prediction is that interactions among predators weaken …

Foraging Effort Of Juvenile Steller Sea Lions Eumetopias Jubatus With Respect To Heterogeneity Of Sea Surface Temperature, Michelle E. Lander, Thomas R. Loughlin, Miles G. Logsdon, Glenn R. Vanblaricom, Brian Fadely

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Among many other factors, the decline of the western distinct population segment of Steller sea lions Eumetopias jubatus in Alaska (USA) has been attributed to changes in the distribution or abundance of prey due to the cumulative effects of fisheries and large-scale climate change. However, the depletion of localized prey resources due to small-scale environmental variability and perturbations may be impeding recovery, resulting in the need to understand how the environment currently affects this species on smaller spatial and temporal scales. The objective of this study, there-fore, was to assess how Steller sea lions respond to changes in localized environmental …

Dreissena And The Disappearance Of The Spring Phytoplankton Bloom In Lake Michigan, Henry A. Vanderploeg, James R. Liebig, Thomas F. Nalepa, Gary L. Fahnenstiel, Steven A. Pothoven

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

We determined the clearance rates of the profunda morph of the quagga mussel (Dreissena bugensis) using seston and Cryptomonas ozolini, a high-quality algal food, for the temperature range 1–7 °C,which is the full temperature range this morph is likely to experience during isothermal conditions or in the hypolimnion of deep lakes. Experiments at 3 °C with the shallow-water morph of the quagga and the zebra mussel provided very similar results. The clearance rates were combined with dreissenid abundance in 0–30 m, 30–50 m, 50–90 m, and >90m depth zones of the southern basin of Lake Michigan to …

Lake Michigan Lower Food Web: Long-Term Observations And Dreissena Impact, G. Fahnenstiel, T. Nalepa, S. Pothoven, H. Carrick, D. Scavia

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Lake Michigan has a long history of non-indigenous introductions that have caused significant ecological change. Here we present a summary of eight papers that document recent changes and the current state of the lower food web of southern Lake Michigan after the establishment of large dreissenid populations. Results are based on long-term data sets collected by federal and academic research and monitoring programs that place recent changes into a historic context. Dramatic and significant changes in the lower food web, such as the loss of the spring diatom bloom, large declines in phytoplankton productivity, and a decline of Mysis populations, …

An Enhanced Online Piled Fuels Biomass Calculator, Clinton S. Wright, Paige C. Eagle

Joint Fire Science Program Research Project Reports

A web-programming project was undertaken to allow users of the online Hand-piled Fuels Biomass Calculator to also estimate the volume, biomass and potential emissions of mechanically piled fuels. Machine pile calculations encoded in the decision support software CONSUME 3.0 were added to the online Calculator to achieve this objective. In addition, the ability to batch process piled fuels data was added to the online Calculator to ease data input for large analysis projects. A stand-alone version of the Calculator was developed for users without access to the Internet. As it is executed within a standard web browser (e.g., Microsoft Internet …

Methods For Assessing Fish Populations, Kevin L. Pope, Steve E. Lochmann, Michael K. Young

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Fisheries managers are likely to assess fish populations at some point during the fisheries management process. Managers that follow the fisheries management process (see Chapter 5) might find their knowledge base insufficient during the steps of problem identification or management action and must assess a population before appropriate actions can be taken. Managers will implement some type of assessment during the evaluation step as a means of measuring progress relative to objectives. Choosing how to assess a population is an important decision because managers strive to maximize their knowledge of a population while minimizing the time and money expended to …

Long-Term Recovery Patterns Of Arctic Tundra After Winter Seismic Exploration, Janet C. Jorgenson, Jay M. Ver Hoef, M. T. Jorgenson

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

In response to the increasing global demand for energy, oil exploration and development are expanding into frontier areas of the Arctic, where slow-growing tundra vegetation and the underlying permafrost soils are very sensitive to disturbance. The creation of vehicle trails on the tundra from seismic exploration for oil has accelerated in the past decade, and the cumulative impact represents a geographic footprint that covers a greater extent of Alaska’s North Slope tundra than all other direct human impacts combined. Seismic exploration for oil and gas was conducted on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA, in …

An Overview Of The Spread, Distribution, And Ecological Impacts Of The Quagga Mussel, Dreissena Rostriformis Bugensis, With Possible Implications To The Colorado River System, Thomas F. Nalepa

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) was first found in the Great Lakes in 1989 and has since spread to all five lakes. Although its spread through the system was slower than that of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), once established, it replaced zebra mussels in nearshore regions and is colonizing deep regions where zebra mussels were never found. Outside the Great Lakes Basin, quagga mussels do not appear to be increasing to any extent in the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, even after being present in these rivers for over a decade. In contrast, numbers in …