Cerami (C) Condition and Mountain Pass Theorem for Multivalued Mappings

Partially supported by Sapientia Foundation.

A contemporary assessment of land condition in the Northern Gulf region of Queensland

A framework using assessments of soil condition, pasture composition and woodland density was applied to describe 14 grazing land types as being in A (100% of original carrying capacity), B (75%), C (45%) or D (20%) condition. We assessed the condition of 260 sites, principally along public and some station roads, to provide a benchmark for current land condition. Land types were also assigned relative grazing values between 10 (best) and 0, reflecting soil fertility and potential biomass production. The method identifies particular, 'at-risk' land types for priority investment of resources, while the rationale behind assessments might point to management interventions to improve the condition of those land types. Across all land types, 47% of sites were in A condition, 34% in B condition, 17% in C condition and only 2% in D condition. Seventy-five percent of land types with grazing values >5 were in A or B condition, compared with 88% for those with grazing values ?5. For Georgetown granites, only 27% of sites were in A or B condition, with values for other land types being: alluvials 59%, black soils 64% and red duplex soils 57%, suggesting that improving management of these land types is a priority issue. On land types with high grazing value, the major discounting factor was pasture composition (72% of sites discounted), while increasing woodland density was the main discount (73% of sites discounted) on low grazing value land types.

A guide to the process of Mitchell grass recovery

In western Queensland, severe drought conditions began in late 2001 and did not generally ease until the 2008/09 summer. Despite the ability of Mitchell grass plants to become dormant during drought, a large proportion of plants appeared to be dead rather than drought-dormant by the end of the 2002/03 summer. Tillers and remaining leaves were blackened and unpalatable to livestock. The term Mitchell grass dieback was coined by producers and other observers to describe what had occurred, although most were confident that the grass would recover with the breaking of the drought. Mitchell grass plants generally failed to respond to widespread average summer rains in early 2004 (> 250 mm). Observation suggested that moisture had penetrated to a soil depth of about 60 cm and a response from plants was expected. When there was no general response, research into the reasons for this was initiated (NBP.348 'Mitchell grass death in Queensland: extent, economic impact and potential for recovery'; 2005-07). This included an investigation of discrete areas of pasture that had responded to the 2003-04 summer rain. Further declines in condition of Mitchell grasslands occurred between winter 2005 and winter 2006 and, by 2006, field surveys indicated that 53% of this pasture community was in poor (C) condition, primarily due to dieback. Measurements at some sites suggested practices such as wet season spelling and burning can pre-condition Mitchell grass pasture for greater resistance to drought-induced dieback. However, the casual mechanisms and the effective timing and frequency of these practices remained unclear.

Economic modelling of grazing systems in the Fitzroy and Burdekin catchments

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is the largest reef system in the world; it covers an area of approximately 2,225,000 km² in the northern Queensland continental shelf. There are approximately 750 reefs that exist within 40 km of the Queensland coast. Recent research has identified that poor water quality is having negative impacts on the GBR (Haynes et al. 2007). The Fitzroy Basin covers 143,000 km² and is the largest catchment draining into the GBR as well as being one of the largest catchments in Australia (Karfs et al. 2009). The Burdekin Catchment is the second largest catchment entering into the GBR and covers 133,432 km².The prime determinant for the changes in water quality entering into the GBR have been attributed to grazing, with beef production the largest single land use industry comprising 90% of the land area (Karfs et al. 2009). Extensive beef production contributes over $1 billion dollars to the national economy annually and employs over 9000 people, many in rural communities (Gordon 2007). ‘Economic modelling of grazing systems in the Fitzroy and Burdekin catchments’ was a joint project with the Fitzroy Basin Association and the Queensland Department of Employment Economic Development and Innovation. The project was formed under the federally funded Caring For Our Country and the Reef Rescue programs. The project objectives were as follows; * Quantifying the costs of over-utilising available pasture and the resulting sediment leaving a representative farm for four of the major land systems in the Burdekin or Fitzroy catchments and identifying economically optimal pasture utilisation rates * Estimating the cost of reducing pasture utilisation rates below the determined optimal * Using this information, guide the selection of appropriate tools to achieve reduced utilisation rates e.g. extension process versus incentive payments or a combination of both * Model the biophysical and economic impacts of altering grazing systems to restore land condition e.g. from C condition to B condition for four land systems in the Burdekin or Fitzroy catchments.

Nanoscale compositional analysis of NiTi shape memory alloy films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering

The formation of surface oxide layer as well as compositional changes along the thickness for NiTi shape memory alloy thin films deposited by direct current magnetron sputtering at substrate temperature of 300 degrees C in the as-deposited condition as well as in the postannealed (at 600 degrees C) condition have been thoroughly studied by using secondary ion mass spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscopy-energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy techniques. Formation of titanium oxide (predominantly titanium dioxide) layer was observed in both as-deposited and postannealed NiTi films, although the oxide layer was much thinner (8 nm) in as-deposited condition. The depletion of Ti and enrichment of Ni below the oxide layer in postannealed films also resulted in the formation of a graded microstructure consisting of titanium oxide, Ni3Ti, and B2 NiTi. A uniform composition of B2 NiTi was obtained in the postannealed film only below a depth of 200-250 nm from the surface. Postannealed film also exhibited formation of a ternary silicide (NixTiySi) at the film-substrate interface, whereas no silicide was seen in the as-deposited film. The formation of silicide also caused a depletion of Ni in the film in a region similar to 250-300 nm just above the film substrate interface. (C) 2013 American Vacuum Society.

Multiple days of heat exposure on firefighters' work performance and physiology

This study assessed the accumulated effect of ambient heat on the performance of, and physiological and perceptual responses to, intermittent, simulated wildfire fighting tasks over three consecutive days. Firefighters (n = 36) were matched and allocated to either the CON (19°C) or HOT (33°C) condition. They performed three days of intermittent, self-paced simulated firefighting work, interspersed with physiological testing. Task repetitions were counted (and converted to distance or area) to determine work performance. Participants were asked to rate their perceived exertion and thermal sensation after each task. Heart rate, core temperature (Tc), and skin temperature (Tsk) were recorded continuously throughout the simulation. Fluids were consumed ad libitum. Urine volume was measured throughout, and urine specific gravity (USG) analysed, to estimate hydration. All food and fluid consumption was recorded. There was no difference in work output between experimental conditions. However, significant variation in performance responses between individuals was observed. All measures of thermal stress were elevated in the HOT, with core and skin temperature reaching, on average, 0.24 ± 0.08°C and 2.81 ± 0.20°C higher than the CON group. Participants' doubled their fluid intake in the HOT condition, and this was reflected in the USG scores, where the HOT participants reported significantly lower values. Heart rate was comparable between conditions at nearly all time points, however the peak heart rate reached each circuit was 7 ± 3% higher in the CON trial. Likewise, RPE was slightly elevated in the CON trial for the majority of tasks. Participants' work output was comparable between the CON and HOT conditions, however the performance change over time varied significantly between individuals. It is likely that the increased fluid replacement in the heat, in concert with frequent rest breaks and task rotation, assisted with the regulation of physiological responses (e.g., heart rate, core temperature).

ACUTE EFFECT of STATIC STRETCHING on RATE of FORCE DEVELOPMENT and MAXIMAL VOLUNTARY CONTRACTION IN OLDER WOMEN

Gurjao, ALD, Goncalves, R, de Moura, RF, and Gobbi, S. Acute effect of static stretching on rate of force development and maximal voluntary contraction in older women. J Strength Cond Res 23(7): 2149-2154, 2009-The purpose of this study was to investigate, in older women, the acute effect of static stretching (SS) on both muscle activation and force output. Twenty-three older women (64.6 +/- 7.1 yr) participated in the study. The maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), rate of force development (RFD) (50, 100, 150, and 200 ms relative to onset of muscular contraction), and peak RFD (PRFD) (the steepest slope of the curve during the first 200 ms) were tested under 2 randomly separate conditions: SS and control (C). Electromyographic (EMG) activity of the vastus medialis (VM), vastus lateralis (VL), and biceps femoris (BF) muscles also was assessed. The MVC was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the 3 trials of SS when compared with the C condition (control: 925.0 +/- 50.9 N; trial 1 : 854.3 +/- 55.3 N; trial 2 : 863.1 +/- 52.2 N; and trial 3 : 877.5 +/- 49.9 N). PRFD showed a significant decrease only for the first 2 trials of SS when compared with the C condition (control: 2672.3 +/- 259.1 N/s; trial 1 : 2296.6 +/- 300.7 N/s; and trial 2 : 2197.9 +/- 246.3 N/s). However, no difference was found for RFD (50, 100, 150, and 200 ms relative to onset of muscular contraction). The EMG activity for VM, VL, and BF was not significantly different between the C and SS conditions. In conclusion, the older women's capacity to produce muscular force decreased after their performance of SS exercises. The mechanisms responsible for this effect do not appear to be related to muscle activation. Thus, if flexibility is to be trained, it is recommended that SS does not occur just before the performance of activities that require high levels of muscular force.

Atividade de enzimas antioxidativas e absorção de silício em plantas de pimentão submetidas a estresse salino

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The effect of bilingual representation in prose reading on explicit and implicit memory

Chinese-English bilingual students were randomly assigned to three reading conditions: In the English-English (E-E) condition (n = 44), a text in English was read twice; in the English-Chinese (E-C) condition (n = 30), the English text was read first and its Chinese translation was read second; in the Chinese-English (C-E) condition (n = 30), the Chinese text was read first and English second. An expected explicit memory test on propositions in the format of sentence verification was given followed by an unexpected implicit memory test on unfamiliar word-forms.^ Analyses of covariance were conducted with explicit and implicit memory scores as the dependent variables, reading condition (bilingual versus monolingual) as the independent variable, and TOEFL reading score as the covariate.^ The results showed that the bilingual reading groups outperformed the monolingual reading group on explicit memory tested by sentence-verification but not on implicit memory tested by forced-choice word-identification, implying that bilingual representation facilitates explicit memory of propositional information but not implicit memory of lexical forms. The findings were interpreted as consistent with separate bilingual memory-storage models and the implications of such models in the study of cognitive structures were discussed in relationship to issues of dual coding theory, multiple memory systems, and the linguistic relativity philosophy. ^

Seleção e divergência genética de pessegueiros e nectarineiras e susceptibilidade a danos causados pelo frio na Estación Experimental de Aula Dei (CSIC)

The peaches and nectarines are highly appreciated by consumer, but it is climacteric fruits, with availability in the market in small time. It is necessary to invest to obtain genotypes with fruit quality and small perishability or that it presente less physiological disorders after storage. The aims of this work were i) to evaluate the genetic divergence among 40 peach and nectarine trees genotypes based on postharvest quality and select posible parents; ii) to evaluate the susceptibility to chilling injury in peaches and nectarines after cold storage; iii) to evaluate divergence of peaches and nectarines on the basis in the susceptibility for chiling injury and select superior genotypes; iv) evaluate the correlations between quality and susceptibility to chilling injury of peaches and nectarines v) select parents with the combination of lower susceptibility to chilling injury and higher quality fruit. The study was carried out in EEAD-CSIC, Zaragoza - Spain, during the production cycle 2013/2014. A total of 40 peaches and nectarines genotypes from germplasm collection were evaluated. The quality characteristics as flesh firmness, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH, rippining index and flesh color parameters were evaluated. The fruits were submitted to cold storage at 0 °C and 5 °C, with 95% average relative humidity. The evaluations were after 14 and 28 days, it being observed the presence of symptoms, such as wooliness through mealiness, flesh grainy, leatheriness and flesh color changes, through browning, bleeding and off flavor. As a selection parameter was adopted 20% of genotypes that had a higher frequency of superiority for quality characteristics, susceptibility to chilling injury and the combining of both. For quality characteristic presented greater divergence the ‘Queen Giant’, ‘Sudanel Blanco’ and ‘Borracho de Jarque’. Based on the quality the eight genotypes were selected, ‘Andross’, ‘San Jaime’, ‘San Lorenzo’, ‘Borracho de Jarque’, ‘Sudanell 1’, ‘Carson’, ‘Baby Gold 6’ and ‘Stanford’. All genotypes studied exhibited susceptibility to one or more symptoms caused by cold storage during 28 days, independent of temperature. For 14 days, the ‘Baby Gold 6’, ‘Flavortop’ and ‘Queen Giant’ genotypes did not show any physiological disorder caused by cold. In general, the temperature of 0 °C favored fruit postharvest conservation, it have a lower incidence and severity of symptoms caused by cold storage. The storage for 14 days contributed for the lower incidence of damage in the genotypes fruits studied. For 14 days, with both temperatures, it was observed divergence for ‘Queen Giant’, ‘Sudanell Blanco’, ‘Baby Gold 6’ ‘GF3’, ‘Baby Gold 8’, ‘Campiel’ and ‘Campiel Rojo’ genotypes. For 28 days, in the 5 °C condition, ‘Queen Giant’, ‘Big Top’, ‘Flavortop’ and ‘Redhaven’ genotypes were divergents. Based on susceptibility to chilling injury at 0 °C, the eight genotypes were selected, it being these, ‘Queen Giant’, ‘Keimoes’, ‘Flavortop’, ‘Big Top’, 'Redhaven', 'Sudanell 3', 'Bonet I' and ‘Carson’. The quality parameters as rippining index, soluble solids, firmness and titratable acidity presented correlation among them. These, also it had correlation with woolines and bowning, what it indicate that fruits with more ripening can have this symptoms more easily. The browning, mealiness, flesh grainy and off flavor variables were correlationed with the time period and temperartures, what it confirm that these symptoms are the main disorders caused by cold storage. The quality characteristics together susceptibility to chilling injury allowed selected ‘Baby Gold 6’, ‘Sarell’, ‘Keimoes’, ‘GF3’ ‘San Jaime’, ‘Big Top’, ‘Sudanell 1’, ‘Carson’, ‘Baby Gold 8’, and ‘San Lorenzo’ genotypes.

Nonlinear periodic problems with a jumping reaction

We consider a periodic problem driven by the scalar $p-$Laplacian and with a jumping (asymmetric) reaction. We prove two multiplicity theorems. The first concerns the nonlinear problem ($1

Bearing capacity factor N-c under phi=0 condition for piles in clays

Bearing capacity factor N-c for axially loaded piles in clays whose cohesion increases linearly with depth has been estimated numerically under undrained (phi=0) condition. The Study follows the lower bound limit analysis in conjunction With finite elements and linear programming. A new formulation is proposed for solving an axisymmetric geotechnical stability problem. The variation of N-c with embedment ratio is obtained for several rates of the increase of soil cohesion with depth; a special case is also examined when the pile base was placed on the stiff clay stratum overlaid by a soft clay layer. It was noticed that the magnitude of N-c reaches almost a constant value for embedment ratio greater than unity. The roughness of the pile base and shaft affects marginally the magnitudes of N-c. The results obtained from the present study are found to compare quite well with the different numerical solutions reported in the literature.

C-H functionalization of tertiary amines by cross dehydrogenative coupling reactions: solvent-free synthesis of alpha-aminonitriles and beta-nitroamines under aerobic condition

A solvent-free synthesis of alpha-aminonitriles and beta-nitroamines by oxidative cross-dehydrogenative coupling under aerobic condition is reported. A catalytic amount of molybdenum(VI) acetylacetonoate was found to catalyze cyanation of tertiary amines to form alpha-aminonitriles, whereas vanadium pentoxide was found to promote aza-Henry reaction to furnish beta-nitroamines. Both of these environmentally benign reactions are performed in the absence of solvents using molecular oxygen as an oxidant.

The treasury of history : comprising a general introductory outline of universal history, ancient and modern, and a series of separate histories of every principal nation that exists : their rise, progress, present condition, &c. /

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