Managing grazing animals to achieve nutrient cycling and soil improvement in no-till integrated systems

Crop-livestock systems are regaining their importance as an alternative to unsustainable intensive farming systems. Loss of biodiversity, nutrient pollution and habitat fragmentation are a few of many concerns recently reported with modern agriculture. Integrating crops and pastures in no-till systems can result in better environmental services, since conservation agriculture is improved by system diversity, paths of nutrient flux, and other processes common in nature. The presence of large herbivores can positively modify nutrient pathways and soil aggregation, increasing soil quality. Despite the low diversity involved, the integration of crops and pastures enhances nature’s biomimicry and allows attainment of a higher system organization level. This paper illustrates these benefits focusing on the use of grazing animals integrated with crops under no-tillage systems characteristic of southern Brazil.     

基于多变量概率模型的钻井周期预测方法

鉴于现有的预测钻井周期的方法忽视了影响钻井周期的关键因素因而精确度有限,提出采用多变量概率法预测钻井周期,并采用实测数据进行了算例分析和验证.利用自适应核密度估计法建立了各主要钻井阶段与深度相关的钻井周期概率模型,结合蒙特卡洛模拟得出了一次完整钻井施工作业的总周期的概率分布.采用该方法对澳大利亚及亚洲地区192 口井的...     

Inpatient cost of primary total joint arthroplasty

A new and extremely efficient synthesis of DDATHF from 4-vinylbenzoic acid and bromomalondialdehyde as precursors has been developed which proceeds in 48% overall yield.     

Geriatric assessment in oncology

With the anticipated growth in the numbers of elderly persons, a higher prevalence of cancers among older persons is expected; as a result, oncologists will treat larger numbers of older persons in their practices. Clinicians caring for older persons with cancer must recognize the heterogeneity of the elderly population and focus their assessments and care plans accordingly. The author reviewed literature and drew conclusions regarding geriatric assessment in several key areas: the medical, cognitive, affective, functional economic, and environmental status of patients; social support for patients; and advance directives. They concluded that for younger and healthier seniors, simple probes for the presence of common geriatric problems may suffice, but traditional means of medical assessment should be supplemented by brief screening for common geriatric conditions and nonmedical issues that are of particular relevance to the health of older persons. Assessment instruments can be used to guide these brief evaluations, but results must be interpreted in the context of the limitations of the instruments used. Patients who are frail or at high risk for functional decline or nursing home placement should receive more extensive evaluation by individual practitioners or by a multidisciplinary team of health care professionals who can provide comprehensive geriatric assessment. By broadening their assessment skills to include domains that are beyond traditional internal medicine and oncology training, oncologists can better serve their older cancer patients.     

花园重归美国高科技医疗场所

阐释了20世纪初曾一度消失的康复花园何以重归美国众多的医疗场所。论述了一个主要由社会学方法提供的事实,即人们接触花园或其他诸如公园与自然保护区这类环境对健康十分有益。这种接触能够缓解压力、提高认知能力,并对可测量的健康指数有正面效应。同时详述了有关花园是怎样改善健康的各种理论。并指出,研究人员对这一问题尚有分歧。还通过实例,说明康复花园应由专家团队来设计,根据诸如肿瘤医院、痴呆病院等特定医疗机构的患者与医护人员的需求量体裁衣。最后提出了一些可能提升康复花园设计能力的研究建议。     

Effects of intentional versus incidental learning on explicit and implicit tests of memory.

In Experiment 1, subjects monitored and responded to the termination of words displayed for 1, 3, or 6.5 sec. Anticipation of an unspecified memory test facilitated subsequent recognition memory, but not priming of word-fragment completion. In Experiment 2, subjects repeated the words aloud for the duration of each word's exposure. Recognition memory was facilitated by anticipation of either a recognition memory test or a fragment-completion test on the studied words, as well as by lengthened rehearsal duration. Priming of fragment-completion was facilitated only by anticipation of a fragment-completion test on the studied words. The results indicate that subjects can adopt encoding strategies which enhance performance on implicit memory tests. A transfer-appropriate processing account applies most parsimoniously to the data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations.

In this article, we attempt to distinguish between the properties of moderator and mediator variables at a number of levels. First, we seek to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating, both conceptually and strategically, the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ. We then go beyond this largely pedagogical function and delineate the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena, including control and stress, attitudes, and personality traits. We also provide a specific compendium of analytic procedures appropriate for making the most effective use of the moderator and mediator distinction, both separately and in terms of a broader causal system that includes both moderators and mediators. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Controlled atmosphere electron microscopy studies of graphite gasification—4. Catalysis of the graphite-O2 reaction by silver

Silver is a powerful catalyst for the graphite-oxygen reaction at temperatures below 1150 K but can inhibit the reaction above this temperature. A study by CAEM reveals a complex situation. The behaviour of the catalyst depends on the initial heating rate. At slow heating rales atoms are extracted from perfect regions of the basal plane surface to produce pits, and channels which do not start at edges. At high heating rates only channels are formed which start at edges. There is evidence of anisotropy of reaction rates within the basal plane but application of known criteria for determining its form give conflicting results.