Base cations and micronutrients in forest soils along three clear-cut chronosequences in the northeastern United States

Determining effects of clear-cutting on base cations and micronutrients is essential for ensuring the sustainability of forestry for biofuels and wood products. The objective of this study was to quantify long-term changes in forest floor and mineral soil base cations (Ca, Mg, and K) and micronutrient (Mn, Zn, and Cu) concentrations and pools following clear-cutting in forests aged 1–120 years. We studied forest soils along three clear-cut chronosequences located in the Adirondack Ecological Center in Newcomb, NY, Bartlett Experimental Forest in Bartlett, NH, and Harvard Forest in Petersham, MA. We utilized a strong-acid extraction to quantify base cations and micronutrient concentrations and pools, which may better assess nutrients over the chronosequences than the conventional exchangeable extraction. Generalized linear mixed-effect models (GLMMs) show forest floor and mineral soil Ca, Mg, Mn, and Cu concentrations and pools decreased with increasing forest age across the three study areas. Potassium and Zn concentrations and pools were not significantly different with stand age and neither did soil C and N pools and pH using GLMMs. We calculated that 32–67% of the Ca pool decrease can be attributed to uptake by regenerating vegetation but only 0.02–9% of Mg, Mn, and Cu after harvest. Thus, leaching was likely to the dominant loss process for Mg, Mn, and Cu following clear-cutting. Our results suggest nutrient pools decreased for over a century following clear-cutting, but it is unclear if this will impact plant growth.     

Polyaniline‐modified cellulose nanofibrils as reinforcement of a smart polyurethane

Segmented polyurethanes exhibiting shape memory properties were modified by the addition of polyaniline (PANI)‐coated cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs). The two‐phase structure of the polymer is responsible for the material's ability to ‘remember’ and autonomously recover its original shape after being deformed in response to an external thermal stimulus. PANI was grown on the surface of the CNFs via in situ polymerization. Modified nanocrystals were added to the segmented polyurethane in concentrations ranging from 0 to 15 wt%. The changes in the material properties associated with the percolation of the coated fibrils appear at higher concentrations than previously observed for non‐modified CNFs, which suggests that fibril agglomeration is occurring due to the PANI coating. The shape memory behavior of the composites is maintained at about the same level as that of the unfilled polyurethane only up to 4 wt% of fibrils. At higher concentrations, the rigidity of the nanofibrils as well as their interaction with the hard‐segment phase and the increasing difficulty of dispersing them in the polymer collaborate to produce early breakage of the specimens when stretched at temperatures above the melting point of the soft segments. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis,structure, and magnetic property of hexagonal perovskite Ba5Sn1.1Mn3.9O15

A new compound Ba₅Sn_1.1Mn_3.9O₁₅ has been synthesized at 1300 °C by solid-state reaction. The structure was characterized by X-ray, electron and neutron diffraction methods. Ba₅Sn_1.1Mn_3.9O₁₅ crystallizes in hexagonal space group P6₃/mmc with a = 5.717 Å and c = 23.534 Å. The magnetic measurement reveals that Ba₅Sn_1.1Mn_3.9O₁₅ has a spin glass transition at 7 K.     

Strategies used in coping with a cancer diagnosis predict meaning in life for survivors.

The search for meaning in life is part of the human experience. A negative life event may threaten perceptions about meaning in life, such as the benevolence of the world and one's sense of harmony and peace. The authors examined the longitudinal relationship between women's coping with a diagnosis of breast cancer and their self-reported meaning in life 2 years later. Multiple regression analyses revealed that positive strategies for coping predicted significant variance in the sense of meaning in life--feelings of inner peace, satisfaction with one's current life and the future, and spirituality and faith--and the absence of such strategies predicted reports of loss of meaning and confusion (ps     

Loss of emotional experience after traumatic brain injury: Findings with the startle probe procedure.

The authors used affective modulation of the eyeblink startle response to examine the impact of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on emotional reactions to pictures. Participants were 13 individuals with severe TBI and 24 controls. Participants were presented with pictures that differed in affective valence (e.g., mutilated bodies, erotic couples, and household objects) while the eyeblink startle response to an acoustic probe was measured. Startle amplitude was used to assess valence of emotional response, and startle latency was used to index interest in the pictures. Subjective ratings of the affect and arousal elicited by the various pictures were also obtained. TBI impaired startle potentiation to unpleasant pictures but not startle attenuation to pleasant pictures. Further, subjective ratings indicated that TBI participants found unpleasant pictures less arousing than did controls. The results are consistent with recent evidence of differential impairment in negative versus positive emotions after TBI and are discussed in relation to 2 competing explanations of startle modulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Implementation of Innovation by a Multinational Operating in Two Different Environments: A Comparative Study

The aim of the paper is to examine the innovation initiatives and processes followed by two subsidiaries of a German multinational company operating in Europe and Asia and to compare the innovativeness of their operations in these two locations. The study examined the innovation processes followed by the two subsidiary firms operating in Germany and Malaysia, the actual problems faced by them, the critical success factors involved in the implementation, and the work climates of the firms. Interestingly, it was found that both firms followed similar innovation processes. Nevertheless, different types of problems and critical success factors were applicable to both firms. The results showed that the Malaysian subsidiary faced more behavioural problems while the German subsidiary encountered more technical problems. Further, the study showed that a lack of knowledge was the common problem faced equally by both firms. The study demonstrated that the German subsidiary had better working climate compared to its counterpart in Malaysia. Finally, the German subsidiary was found to be more innovation–active than the Malaysian subsidiary as it introduced more types of innovation, interacted with more types of entity in the external environment and introduced more types of training.