Impact of Grazing, Fire and Extraction on the Bamboo (Dendrocalamus-Strictus and Bambusa-Arundinacea) Populations of Karnataka

Dendrocalamus strictus and Bambusa arundinacea are monocarpic, gregariously flowering species of bamboo, common in the deciduous forests of the State of Karnataka in India. Their populations have significantly declined, especially since the last flowering. This decline parelleis increasing incidence of grazing, fire and extraction in recent decades. Results of an experiment in which the intensities of grazing and fire were varied, indicate that while grazing significantly depresses the survival of seedlings and the recruitment of new eulms of bamboo clumps, fire appeared to enhance seedling survival, presumably by reducing competition of lass fire-resistant species. New shoots of bamboo are destroyed by insects and a variety of herbivorous mammals. In areas of intense herbivore pressure, a bamboo clump initiates the production of a much larger number of new culrm, but results in many fewer and shorter intact culms. Extraction renders the new shoots more susceptible to herbivore pressure by removal of the protective covering of branches at the base of a bamboo clump. Hence, regular and extensive extraction by the paper mills in conjuction with intense grazing pressure strongly depresses the addition of new culms to bamboo clumps. Regulation of grazing in the forest by domestic livestock along with maintenance of the cover at the base of the clumps by extracting the culms at a higher level should reduce the rate of decline of the bamboo stocks.

Has the Three-Gorges Dam made the Poyang Lake wetlands wetter and drier?

The Three-Georges Dam holds many records in the history of engineering. While the dam has produced benefits in terms of flood control, hydropower generation and increased navigation capacity of the Yangtze River, serious questions have been raised concerning its impact on both upstream and downstream ecosystems. It has been suggested that the dam operation intensifies the extremes of wet and dry conditions in the downstream Poyang Lake, and affects adversely important local wetlands. A floodgate has been proposed to maintain the lake water level by controlling the flow between the Poyang Lake and Yangtze River. Using extensive hydrological data and generalized linear statistical models, we demonstrated that the dam operation induces major changes in the downstream river discharge near the dam, including an average "water loss". The analysis also revealed considerable effects on the Poyang Lake water level, particularly a reduced level over the dry period from late summer to autumn. However, the dam impact needs to be further assessed based on long-term monitoring of the lake ecosystem, covering a wide range of parameters related to hydrological and hydraulic characteristics of the lake, water quality, geomorphological characteristics, aquatic biota and their habitat, wetland vegetation and associated fauna.

Raman scattering investigation of the phase transitions in (NH4)2ZnBr4

Results of Raman spectroscopic studies of (NH4)2ZnBr4 crystal in the spectral range from 20-250 cm-1 and over a range of temperature from 90K to 440K covering the low temperature ferroelectric and high temperature incommensurate phases are presented. The plots of the integrated areas and peak heights of the strong Raman lines versus temperature show anomalous behaviour near the two phase transitions.

Tyhjä taivas : Georges Bataille ja uskonnon kysymys

Empty Heavens. Georges Bataille and the Question of Religion. The dissertation explores the question of religion in the texts of Georges Bataille (1897 1962), the controversial French avant-garde writer and philosopher. Passionate about religion throughout his life, Bataille devoted to it both critical analyses and personal meditations. In this study, Bataille s multifaceted relationship to religion is interpreted as expressing a passion for radical otherness. Bataille is approached as a characteristically modern thinker who, nevertheless, questions some landmarks of modernity insofar as modernity is interpreted as a triumph of secularization. The dissertation is situated at the intersection of comparative religion and philosophy of religion. Methodologically, the study resorts to theoretical contextualization and concept analysis. Acknowledging that Bataille s writings challenge the assumptions about coherent meaning taken for granted in traditional philosophical analysis, the study also pays attention to the literary means and, in general, the performative level of Bataille s texts. The study constructs three theoretical contexts for Bataille s question of religion first of all, the interpretation of Hegel in the mid-20th century French philosophy. In the first section of the study, Bataille s uneasy relationship with Hegel as mediated by Alexandre Kojève is explored. The motivation of his question of radical otherness is argued to arise from his struggle with the Hegelian Kojèvean notion of negativity. The second context is the dialogue with the Christian mystical tradition. Starting from the analysis of two Bataillean notions, dramatization and contestation , it is argued that, firstly, Bataille s approach to radical otherness is analogous to certain procedures of mystical texts while, secondly, the function of otherness providing no firm foundation in Bataille s texts differs from its function in mystical texts. In the third section of the study, Bataille s quest for otherness is concretized by analyzing his views on otherness of other person, on violence, and on death themes that are brought together in Bataille s lasting interest in sacrifice. Bataille s understanding of sacrifice is proportioned to social scientific and philosophical discussions on sacrifice. It is argued that the commitment to the idea of sacrifice accounts for a partial failure in the Bataillean approach to otherness, the otherness of other person remaining its (at least half) blind spot. The study presents an overview of Bataille s thought on religion. It brings out Bataille s view of the paradoxical fundamental yet impossible role of otherness in the construction of human world, as well as his understanding of religious representations as both covering over and indicating this otherness. It describes Bataille s atheological mysticism as a peculiar modern form of religiosity, as an ambivalent mourning for and exaltation of fundamental loss.

"Small-particle limit" the second harmonic generation from noble metal nanoparticles

In this paper, we have probed the origin of SHG in copper nanoparticles by polarization-resolved hyper-Rayleigh scattering (HRS). Results obtained with various sizes of copper nanoparticles at four different wavelengths covering the wavelength range 738-1907 nm reveal that the origin of second harmonic generation (SHG) in these particles is purely dipolar in nature as long as the size (d) of the particles remains smaller compared to the wavelength (;.) of light ("small-particle limit"). However, contribution of the higher order multipoles coupled with retardation effect becomes apparent with an increase in the d/lambda ratio. We have identified the "small-particle limit" in the second harmonic generation from noble metal nanoparticles by evaluating the critical d/lambda ratio at which the retardation effect sets in the noble metal nanoparticles. We have found that the second-order nonlinear optical property of copper nanoparticles closely resembles that of gold, but not that of silver. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Isänmaa ja Ranska : Suomalainen frankofilia 1880-1914

In Finland the period 1880 -1914 constituted an essential phase in the creation of the great national project as well as it was a golden time of Francophilia. With Francophilia, i.e. French-mindedness, is here understood a collectively upheld strong sympathy towards France and French culture. However, the Francophilia of late nineteenth century Finland was free from apparent political intentions and remained a chosen disposition. The strength of its drive was not only based on the older European admiration of everything French, but also on the growing fascination for a novelty emerging besides the traditional influences of the Germanic culture. In Finnish society Francophilia mostly worked as an opposite force to the most confined conceptions of what was considered national ; as a consequence France came to denote more than a country and Francophilia contained an important symbolical meaning in the construction of the Finnish nation. The main tasks of the study are to introduce as the first large historical presentation of the subject a covering examination of the many descriptions of Paris-phases of assorted artists, authors, and intellectuals, to clarify the mental relationship of the Finnish intelligentsia to France prior to national independence, and finally to provide these developments with case studies of certain life paths. However, the examination is not biographical, because the starting point remains within the rhetoric arguments of Francophilia and patriotism as these appeared within the public sphere. Historical persons have thus been dealt with primarily as reflectors of the then-current French-minded mentality. Such Francophiles in Finland were first and foremost Werner Söderhjelm, Juhani Aho, L. Onerva and V. A. Koskenniemi. The networks of the Finnish cultural field are mostly displayed through these examples. In previous research the intensive relationship of Finnish artists and authors with France has not been connected with actual concepts of nationalism. The respective periods of the intellectuals in Paris have simply been viewed as devoid of ideological links with the contemporary advancement of the fatherland, or even as opposites to the patriotic pursuits in Finland. From the viewpoint of this study these now canonized creators of a Finnish culture are primarily seen as patriots and fellow countrymen, and only secondly as artists and artist s colleagues. The dissertation is constructed as both a regional survey of the idealization of France and a study of Finnish history through the mirror of Francophilia. As such France only held an instrumental role for the receiving culture, i.e. for the construction of Finland, as no "objective truths" were sought for in France. Keywords: France, francophilia, Finnishness, national project, Paris

An exploratory study on the commercialisation of heat pump-fluidised bed drying technology

Fluidised bed-heat pump drying technology offers distinctive advantages over the existing drying technology employed in the Australian food industry. However, as is the case with many other examples of innovations that have had clear relative advantages, the rates of adoption and diffusion of this technology have been very slow. "Why does this happen?" is the theme of this research study that has been undertaken with an objective to analyse a range of issues related to the market acceptance of technological innovations. The research methodology included the development of an integrated conceptual model based on an extensive review of literature in the areas of innovation diffusion, technology transfer and industrial marketing. Three major determinants associated with the market acceptance of innovations were identified as the characteristics of the innovation, adopter information processing capability and the influence of the innovation supplier on the adoption process. This was followed by a study involving more than 30 small and medium enterprises identified as potential adopters of fluidised bed-heat pump drying technology in the Australian food industry. The findings revealed that judgment was the key evaluation strategy employed by potential adopters in the particular industry sector. Further, it was evidenced that the innovations were evaluated against a predetermined criteria covering a range of aspects with emphasis on a selected set of attributes of the innovation. Implication of these findings on the commercialisation of fluidised bed-heat pump drying technology was established, and a series of recommendations was made to the innovation supplier (DPI/FT) enabling it to develop an effective commercialisation strategy.

Effects of severity of threshing damage on seed quality of Gatton panic Panicum maximum)

Different degrees of severity of threshing were imposed during combine-harvesting of seed of Gatton panic, a cultivar of Panicum maximum , to determine effects of degree of threshing damage on subsequent properties of seed. Threshing cylinder peripheral speeds and concave clearances covering the normal range employed commercially were varied experimentally in the harvest of 2 crops grown in north Queensland. Harvested seed was dried and cleaned, then stored under ambient conditions. The extent of physical damage was measured, and samples were tested at intervals for viability, germination, dormancy and seedling emergence from soil in a glasshouse and in the field over the 2 seasons following harvest. Physical damage increased as peripheral rotor speed rose and (though less markedly) as concave clearance was reduced. As the level of damage increased, viability was progressively reduced, life expectancy was shortened, and dormancy was broken. When the consequences were measured as seedling emergence from soil, the adverse effects on viability tended to cancel out the benefits of dormancy-breaking, leaving few net differences attributable to the degree of threshing severity. We concluded that there would be no value in trying to manipulate the quality of seed produced for normal commercial use through choice of cylinder settings, but that deliberate light or heavy threshing could benefit special-purpose seed, destined, respectively, for long-term storage or immediate use.

New Generation Rollingstock Depot: Case Study Report

This report summarises the findings of a case study on Queensland’s New Generation Rollingstock (NGR) Project carried out as part of SBEnrc Project 2.34 Driving Whole-of-life Efficiencies through BIM and Procurement. This case study is one of three exemplar projects studied in order to leverage academic research in defining indicators for measuring tangible and intangible benefits of Building Information Modelling (BIM) across a project’s life-cycle in infrastructure and buildings. The NGR is an AUD 4.4 billion project carried out under an Availability Payment Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the Queensland Government and the Bomabardier-led QTECTIC consortium comprising Bombardier Transportation, John Laing, ITOCHU Corporation and Aberdeen Infrastructure Investments. BIM has been deployed on the project from conceptual stages to drive both design and the currently ongoing construction at the Wulkuraka Project Site. This case study sourced information from a series of semi-structured interviews covering a cross-section of key stakeholders on the project. The present research identified 25 benefits gained from implementing BIM processes and tools. Some of the most prominent benefits were those leading to improved outcomes and higher customer satisfaction such as improved communications, data and information management, and coordination. There were also a number of expected benefits for future phases such as: • Improved decision making through the use of BIM for managing assets • Improved models through BIM maturity • Better utilisation of BIM for procurement on similar future projects • New capacity to specify the content of BIM models within contracts There were also three benefits that were expected to have been achieved but were not realised on the NGR project. These were higher construction information quality levels, better alignment in design teams as well as project teams, and capability improvements in measuring the impact of BIM on construction safety. This report includes individual profiles describing each benefit as well as the tools and processes that enabled them. Four key BIM metrics were found to be currently in use and six more were identified as potential metrics for the future. This case study also provides insights into challenges associated with implementing BIM on a project of the size and complexity of the NGR. Procurement aspects and lessons learned for managers are also highlighted, including a list of recommendations for developing a framework to assess the benefits of BIM across the project life-cycle.

Spatio-temporal patterns in maturation of the chokka squid (Loligo vulgaris reynaudii) off the coast of South Africa

Knowledge of the temporal and spatial characteristics of chokka squid (Loligo vulgaris reynaudii) biology in South African waters is limited, so the possibility of there being a geographically fragmented stock was examined by investigating the distribution of maturity patterns for the species, covering all known spawning areas and using both historical and recent data. Gonadosomatic indices (GSI) varied between year-round consistency and apparent seasonal peaks in both summer and winter; there was no clear spatial pattern. Monthly percentage maturity provided further evidence for two peak reproductive periods each year, although mature squid were present throughout. Sex ratios demonstrated great variability between different areas and life history stages. Male-biased sex ratios were only apparent on the inshore spawning grounds and ranged between 1.118:1 and 4.267:1. Size at sexual maturity was also seasonal, squid maturing smaller in winter/spring than in summer/autumn. Also, squid in the east matured smaller than squid in the west. Although the results from the present study do not provide conclusive evidence of distinct geographic populations, squid likely spawn over a significantly larger area of the Agulhas Bank than previously estimated, and squid on the west coast of South Africa may return to spawn on the western portion of the Agulhas Bank. It remains likely, however, that the east and west coast populations are a single stock and that migration of juveniles to the west coast and their subsequent return as sub-adults is an integral but non-essential and variable part of the life history.

Productivity, carbon assimilation and intra-annual change in tropical reef platform seagrass communities of the Torres Strait, north-eastern Australia

Detailed data on seagrass distribution, abundance, growth rates and community structure information were collected at Orman Reefs in March 2004 to estimate the above-ground productivity and carbon assimilated by seagrass meadows. Seagrass meadows were re-examined in November 2004 for comparison at the seasonal extremes of seagrass abundance. Ten seagrass species were identified in the meadows on Orman Reefs. Extensive seagrass coverage was found in March (18,700 ha) and November (21,600 ha), with seagrass covering the majority of the intertidal reef-top areas and a large proportion of the subtidal areas examined. There were marked differences in seagrass above-ground biomass, distribution and species composition between the two surveys. Major changes between March and November included a substantial decline in biomass for intertidal meadows and an expansion in area of subtidal meadows. Changes were most likely a result of greater tidal exposure of intertidal meadows prior to November leading to desiccation and temperature-related stress. The Orman Reef seagrass meadows had a total above-ground productivity of 259.8 t DW day-1 and estimated carbon assimilation of 89.4 t C day-1 in March. The majority of this production came from the intertidal meadows which accounted for 81% of the total production. Intra-annual changes in seagrass species composition, shoot density and size of meadows measured in this study were likely to have a strong influence on the total above-ground production during the year. The net estimated above-ground productivity of Orman Reefs meadows in March 2004 (1.19 g C m-2 day-1) was high compared with other tropical seagrass areas that have been studied and also higher than many other marine, estuarine and terrestrial plant communities.

Lagöversättning som process och produkt : Revideringar och institutioner vid lagöversättning till svenska i Finland

The thesis studies the translation process for the laws of Finland as they are translated from Finnish into Swedish. The focus is on revision practices, norms and workplace procedures. The translation process studied covers three institutions and four revisions. In three separate studies the translation process is analyzed from the perspective of the translations, the institutions and the actors. The general theoretical framework is Descriptive Translation Studies. For the analysis of revisions made in versions of the Swedish translation of Finnish laws, a model is developed covering five grammatical categories (textual revisions, syntactic revisions, lexical revisions, morphological revisions and content revisions) and four norms (legal adequacy, correct translation, correct language and readability). A separate questionnaire-based study was carried out with translators and revisers at the three institutions. The results show that the number of revisions does not decrease during the translation process, and no division of labour can be seen at the different stages. This is somewhat surprising if the revision process is regarded as one of quality control. Instead, all revisers make revisions on every level of the text. Further, the revisions do not necessarily imply errors in the translations but are often the result of revisers following different norms for legal translation. The informal structure of the institutions and its impact on communication, visibility and workplace practices was studied from the perspective of organization theory. The results show weaknesses in the communicative situation, which affect the co-operation both between institutions and individuals. Individual attitudes towards norms and their relative authority also vary, in the sense that revisers largely prioritize legal adequacy whereas translators give linguistic norms a higher value. Further, multi-professional teamwork in the institutions studied shows a kind of teamwork based on individuals and institutions doing specific tasks with only little contact with others. This shows that the established definitions of teamwork, with people co-working in close contact with each other, cannot directly be applied to the workplace procedures in the translation process studied. Three new concepts are introduced: flerstegsrevidering (multi-stage revision), revideringskedja (revision chain) and normsyn (norm attitude). The study seeks to make a contribution to our knowledge of legal translation, translation processes, institutional translation, revision practices and translation norms for legal translation. Keywords: legal translation, translation of laws, institutional translation, revision, revision practices, norms, teamwork, organizational informal structure, translation process, translation sociology, multilingual.

Meän tapa puhua : Tornionlaakso pellolaisnuorten subjektiivisena paikkana ja murrealueena

This folk linguistic and human geographic study deals with dialect awareness, dialect use and place attachment. The study discusses theoretical and methodological issues current in sociolinguistics suggesting that the study of attitudes should be regarded as a core area in the study of variation and change. Furthermore, it is suggested that instead of putting effort into improving mental mapping methodology (adopted into folk linguistics from behavioural geography of the 1960 s), the more up-to-date thinking of space in geography should be adopted. The region and the dialect are treated as perceptual constructs in the study. The dialect perceptions of high school seniors in the Finnish Tornio Valley are examined trough a triangulation method involving a questionnaire, interviews and dialect recognition test as the research methods. The h in non-initial syllables (e.g. lähethä(ä)n, saunhaan ~ sauhnaan let s go into sauna ) turns out, expectedly, as the most salient feature in the dialect awareness of the locals and in terms of local identity construction. This feature is no longer heard in most of the present dialects of Finnish but is still thriving in the Tornio Valley in the cross-border dialect area. The metathetic variant (saunhaan > sauhnaan into sauna , käymhään > käyhmään to go ) is a characteristic feature of the Tornio Valley dialect. However, individual differences have long been found in the use of the h. This study challenges the essentialist variationist view of social categories (gender) by analysing variation from a quantitative but emic and human geographic point of view. The study shows that the variation of the h is statistically significantly patterned in terms of the degree of feeling of insideness vs. outsideness. New light is shed on the gender differences found in earlier sociolinguistic studies: differences in dialect use between and inside gender groups are illuminated by the fact that, in this case, it is young women who are generally less attached to the local community than young men, but this does not hold for all the individuals. The ideological motivation for preservation of the h seems to be based on the imagined community of Tornio Valley covering both the Swedish and the Finnish valley area. The general image of the dialect area and it s speakers, the shared cognitive dialect boundaries of the locals and the particularly deep level of awaress of the linguistic variation of the h are notable resources of the Tornio valley identity. Hyperdialectic forms analogical to the most frequently attested metathetic forms are found in the interview data, predicting that in this dialect the h will be maintained also in the future.

High resolution genetic and physical mapping of the I-3 region of tomato chromosome 7 reveals almost continuous microsynteny with grape chromosome 12 but interspersed microsynteny with duplications on Arabidopsis chromosomes 1, 2 and 3

The tomato I-3 gene introgressed from the Lycopersicon pennellii accession LA716 confers resistance to race 3 of the fusarium wilt pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici. We have improved the high-resolution map of the I-3 region of tomato chromosome 7 with the development and mapping of 31 new PCR-based markers. Recombinants recovered from L. esculentum cv. M82 × IL7-2 F2 and (IL7-2 × IL7-4) × M82 TC1F2 mapping populations, together with recombinants recovered from a previous M82 × IL7-3 F2 mapping population, were used to position these markers. A significantly higher recombination frequency was observed in the (IL7-2 × IL7-4) × M82 TC1F2 mapping population based on a reconstituted L. pennellii chromosome 7 compared to the other two mapping populations based on smaller segments of L. pennellii chromosome 7. A BAC contig consisting of L. esculentum cv. Heinz 1706 BACs covering the I-3 region has also been established. The new high-resolution map places the I-3 gene within a 0.38 cM interval between the molecular markers RGA332 and bP23/gPT with an estimated physical size of 50-60 kb. The I-3 region was found to display almost continuous microsynteny with grape chromosome 12 but interspersed microsynteny with Arabidopsis thaliana chromosomes 1, 2 and 3. An S-receptor-like kinase gene family present in the I-3 region of tomato chromosome 7 was found to be present in the microsyntenous region of grape chromosome 12 but was absent altogether from the A. thaliana genome.

Availability of soil potassium and diagnostic soil tests

Thirty-seven surface (0-0.10 or 0-0.20 m) soils covering a wide range of soil types (16 Vertosols, 6 Ferrosols, 6 Dermosols, 4 Hydrosols, 2 Kandosols, 1 Sodosol, 1 Rudosol, and 1 Chromosol) were exhaustively cropped in 2 glasshouse experiments. The test species were Panicum maximum cv. Green Panic in Experiment A and Avena sativa cv. Barcoo in Experiment B. Successive forage harvests were taken until the plants could no longer grow in most soils because of severe potassium (K) deficiency. Soil samples were taken prior to cropping and after the final harvest in both experiments, and also after the initial harvest in Experiment B. Samples were analysed for solution K, exchangeable K (Exch K), tetraphenyl borate extractable K for extraction periods of 15 min (TBK15) and 60 min (TBK60), and boiling nitric acid extractable K (Nitric K). Inter-correlations between the initial levels of the various soil K parameters indicated that the following pools were in sequential equilibrium: solution K, Exch K, fast release fixed K [estimated as (TBK15-Exch K)], and slow release fixed K [estimated as (TBK60-TBK15)]. Structural K [estimated as (Nitric K-TBK60)] was not correlated with any of the other pools. However, following exhaustive drawdown of soil K by cropping, structural K became correlated with solution K, suggesting dissolution of K minerals when solution K was low. The change in the various K pools following cropping was correlated with K uptake at Harvest 1 ( Experiment B only) and cumulative K uptake ( both experiments). The change in Exch K for 30 soils was linearly related to cumulative K uptake (r = 0.98), although on average, K uptake was 35% higher than the change in Exch K. For the remaining 7 soils, K uptake considerably exceeded the change in Exch K. However, the changes in TBK15 and TBK60 were both highly linearly correlated with K uptake across all soils (r = 0.95 and 0.98, respectively). The slopes of the regression lines were not significantly different from unity, and the y-axis intercepts were very small. These results indicate that the plant is removing K from the TBK pool. Although the change in Exch K did not consistently equate with K uptake across all soils, initial Exch K was highly correlated with K uptake (r = 0.99) if one Vertosol was omitted. Exchangeable K is therefore a satisfactory diagnostic indicator of soil K status for the current crop. However, the change in Exch K following K uptake is soil-dependent, and many soils with large amounts of TBK relative to Exch K were able to buffer changes in Exch K. These soils tended to be Vertosols occurring on floodplains. In contrast, 5 soils (a Dermosol, a Rudosol, a Kandosol, and 2 Hydrosols) with large amounts of TBK did not buffer decreases in Exch K caused by K uptake, indicating that the TBK pool in these soils was unavailable to plants under the conditions of these experiments. It is likely that K fertiliser recommendations will need to take account of whether the soil has TBK reserves, and the availability of these reserves, when deciding rates required to raise exchangeable K status to adequate levels.