Pulse crops have been long associated with biological dinitrogen fixation and therefore improve the sustainability of cropping systems when included in rotation. However, studies indicate there may be additional benefits of including pulse crops in rotation. To quantify these potential benefits, soil processes and properties related to nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) cycling were examined in five crop rotations with and without field pea (<i>Pisum sativum</i> L.) in Scott, Saskatchewan. Gross mineralization and nitrification rates were determined using the 15N isotope dilution technique in intact soil cores. To estimate the proportion of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions derived from nitrification related processes rather than denitrification processes tracer techniques using 15N were used. Field incubations were performed in 2008 at seeding (May 13), anthesis (July 8) and just after harvest (October 8). Mean mineralization and nitrification rates were not significantly different among rotations on any date and there was no significant difference in mean N2O emissions among rotations. From labeled 15NO3- cores, it was determined that nitrification-related processes were the major contributors to N2O emissions. There was no difference among the rotations in microbial biomass carbon (MB-C) or microbial biomass N (MB-N) with the exception of MB-C in the continuous field pea (FP) and the canola (<i>Brassica napus</i> L.)-wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.)-field pea (CNL-W-FP) rotation at anthesis. There was no effect of rotation on dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and only seasonal differences were observed with DOC levels being lower before seeding than at anthesis and post-harvest. Based on the results obtained from a single growing season, our results show that N benefits of including field pea in rotation, beyond dinitrigen fixation, were not detectable and that the immediate N benefit of including field pea in rotation may be due simply to the direct effects of biological dinitrogen (N2) fixation. However, there have been reports of pulse crop benefits to succeeding crops in rotation. As a result, we investigated both the quantity and quality of crop residues, which can have an impact on soil properties and processes. Plants enriched with isotopic tracers can be used to trace crop residue decomposition to various C pools but only if the tracer is homogeneously distributed throughout the plant. In order to determine if repeat-pulse labeling could be used to trace crop residue decomposition, this method was followed using 13CO2 to enrich plant material of field pea and canola plants in a controlled environment. The distribution of 13C throughout the plant parts (roots, stem, leaves, and pod) and biochemical fractions [acid detergent fiber (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL)] were determined. It was found that 13C was not homogeneously distributed throughout the plant parts or biochemical fractions. The pod fraction in particular was much less enriched in comparison to the other fractions. The ADL fraction was less enriched than the ADF fraction. Because of the heterogeneity of the label throughout the plant, modifications of the method are needed and 13C distribution through out the plant needs to be assessed before the repeat-pulse method can be used to trace C residue through various C pools. Nevertheless, root contributions to below-ground C were successfully determined from the enriched root material and the resulting enriched soil. It was found that canola contributed more above- and below-ground residues than field pea, however canola was also higher in ADF and ADL fractions indicating a more recalcitrant residue. Research should continue to better define the impact of pulse crop residues on C and N cycling and subsequent crops in rotation.

No description available.

This submission for PhD by Publication includes three studies designed to reflect the popular view of ordinary Palestinians regarding events and politics in Palestine throughout modern history. They aim to primarily provide a ‘history from below’ political discourse of the Palestinian people. While the studies do not purport to determine with certainty the exact dynamics that propel Palestinian politics and society - as in where political power ultimately lies - they attempt to present a long-dormant argument that sees ‘history from below’ as an indispensable platform providing essential insight into Palestinian history to explain present political currents. Over the course of 11 years, I conducted three studies which resulted in the publication of the following volumes: The first work, Searching Jenin: Eyewitness Accounts of the Israeli Invasion (2003) is centered on the events that surrounded the Israeli siege, invasion and subsequent violence in and around the Palestinian West Bank refugee camp of Jenin in April 2002. The study includes forty two eyewitness accounts, collected from people who witnessed the violence and were affected by it, were recorded and positioned to create a clear and unified narrative. The reality that the refugees portrayed in these accounts was mostly inconsistent with the official Israeli narrative of the violent events that occurred in the refugee camp, on one hand, and that were provided by the Palestinian Authority (PA) or factions, on the other. The Second Palestinian Intifada: A Chronicle of a People’s Struggle (2006) shows the impact of the Israeli military policies used against revolting Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, and the popular response to these policies during the first five years of the Second Palestinian Intifada (2000-2005). The results of the study also demonstrate the inconsistencies between the views and practices held by the official political representation of Palestinians, and the popular view, as demonstrated in the discernible collective behavior of ordinary Palestinians throughout the Occupied Territories. In My Father was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story (2010) my research pursues the roots of the current situation in the Gaza Strip – that of siege, political deadlock and violence. The study traces the lives of selected refugees before the Nakba - the Catastrophe of 1947-48 - back in Palestine during the British Mandate in the 1920s and just before the Zionist colonial project went into full swing. In the three studies, the central argument is that historical and political events are best explained through non-elitist actors, who although at times lack political representation and platform, are capable of influencing, if not shaping the course of history, thus the present situation on the ground. The studies also indicate that such notions as popular resistance, collective memory and steadfastness (sumud in Arabic) are not mere idealistic and sentimental values, but notions with tangible and decipherable impact on past events and present realities. The central argument endeavors to demonstrate that although the Palestinian people are divided into various collectives, they are united by a common sense of identity and an undeclared political discourse, and they have historically proven to be a viable political actor that has influenced, affected, or, in some instances, deeply altered political realities. To examine my thesis, my paper will be reviewing several theoretical notions of historiography including the Great Man Theory, which uses an elitist approach to understanding the formation and conversion of history. The Great Man Theory argues that single individuals of importance have made decisions that drive the outcomes of history. This notion is challenged by Group Theories which argue that history is shaped by the outcome of competing interest groups belonging to socio-economic elites, and that multidimensional forces often shape political realities. Furthermore, I examine a third theoretical approach that of ‘history from below’, which argues that history is scarcely shaped by ‘great men’ or socio-economic elites. Such historiography rarely contends with how history is formed; instead, it is mostly concerned with attempting to reconstruct the flow of history. It does so through deconstructing largely collective phenomena that are believed to be responsible for shaping current political movements. I attempt, through these volumes, to present a flow of Palestinian history based on the ‘history from below’ approach. The following paper will attempt to explain the logic behind my choice.

This dissertation refers to BTL communication of Hellmann's brand from Unilever ČR, which is the leader on the mayonnaise and tatar sauce market for several years. The objective of this dissertation is to analyse questions about below the line communication with the focus on Sales promotion, outline trends in this matter and show application on concrete brand with the highlight of most used parts of BTL communication during execution of chosen activation, evaluation of this activation and proposition of feasible improvements.

Objectives: To investigate the effects of Ramdan fasting on plasma levels of ACTH and cortisol in athletic students living in the Jordan Valley (JV) and compare them to those living at above sea level in Ramtha City (RC). Methods: Sample collection and measurements were done in November 1998 from non-fasting and in December 1998 from fasting people. Results: ACTH levels in non-fasting subjects in the JV were 36 ± 4 IU/ml compared to 43 ± 3 IU/ml for those in RC. Cortisol levels were 483 ± 76 (JV) and 539 ± 89 nmol/l (RC). Fasting led to an increase in ACTH (49 ± 6 (JV) and 58 ± 5 IU/ml (RC)) and cortisol levels (637 ± 101 (JV) and 805 ± 72 nmol/l (RC)). Conclusion: Fasting increases ACTH and cortisol levels in an altitude-independent fashion.

No description available.

The Amazon rain forest plays an important role in regional and global biogeochemical cycling, but the region may undergo an increase in the frequency and severity of drought conditions driven by global climate change, regional deforestation and fire. The effects of this drought on carbon cycling in the Amazon, particularly below-ground, are potentially large but remain poorly understood. This thesis examines the impacts of seasonal and longer-term drought upon ecosystem carbon allocation and cycling at an Amazon rain forest site with a particular focus upon below-ground processes. Measurements are made at three one-hectare forest plots with contrasting soil type and vegetation structure, to observe responses across a range of Amazon primary forest types. A fourth plot is subjected to partial rainfall exclusion to permit measurement of forest responses to a wider range of soil moisture levels than currently exists naturally. An analysis of the number of samples required to accurately quantify important ecosystem carbon stocks and fluxes is used to guide the sampling strategy at the field site. Quantifying root dynamics, in particular, presents methodological challenges. Thus, I critically review existing methods, and develop techniques to accurately measure root standing biomass and production. Subsequently, these techniques are used to record root responses, in terms of standing biomass, production, morphology, turnover and nutrient content, to variation in soil moisture across the four rain forest plots. There is substantial environmental variation in root characteristics. However, several responses remain consistent across plots: root production of biomass, length, and surface area, is lower where soil is dry, while root length and surface area per unit mass show the opposite pattern. The other major component of the below-ground carbon cycle is soil carbon dioxide efflux. I partition this efflux, on each plot, into contributions from organic ground surface litter, roots and soil organic matter, and investigate abiotic and biotic causes for observed differences within and between plots. On average, the percentage contribution of soil organic matter respiration to total soil carbon dioxide efflux declines during the dry season, while root respiration contribution displays the opposite trend. However, spatial patterns in soil respiration are not directly attributable to variation in either soil moisture or temperature. Instead, ground surface organic litter mass and root mass account for 44 % of observed spatial heterogeneity in soil carbon dioxide efflux. Finally, information on below-ground carbon cycling is combined with aboveround data, of canopy dynamics and stem wood production and mortality, to analyze the potential effects of drought upon carbon cycling in an Amazon forest ecosystem. Comparison of the rainfall exclusion plot with a similar, but unmodified, control plot reveals potentially important differences in tree carbon allocation, mortality, reproduction, soil respiration and root dynamics. The apparent net consequence of these changes is that, under drier conditions, the amount of CO2 moving out of the forest and into the atmosphere is diminished. This synthesis of above-ground and below-ground data advances understanding of carbon cycling in rain forests, and provides information which should allow more accurate modelling of the response of the Amazon region to future drought. Additional measurements at other sites, and of other ecosystem carbon fluxes, should further refine modelling predictions.

Esta pesquisa discute as transformações que vêm ocorrendo nos tradicionais mercados populares do centro de São Paulo (Brás, 25 de Março e Santa Ifigênia), a partir das chamadas galerias e feiras da madrugada. Atualmente, milhares de revendedores, vindos da periferia da cidade, da região metropolitana, do interior do Estado e também de outros estados, direcionam-se a estas regiões em busca de oportunidades de negócios. Além de brasileiros, encontram-se, nesses espaços, bolivianos, chineses, paraguaios, peruanos, libaneses, angolanos, entre outros, atuando seja na distribuição de uma produção local, seja como importadores ou, ainda, como compradores que visam revender as mercadorias em seus países de origem de modo que esses locais passaram a dialogar de outra maneira com a economia urbana da cidade. As formas de controle e fiscalização que incidem sobre estes espaços também se alteraram, tanto por meio das políticas de formalização de certas práticas, que são toleradas e até incentivadas, como através do recrudescimento da repressão policial, que em determinados comportamentos e práticas passam a ser combatidos e reprimidos. A pesquisa procurou problematizar os agenciamentos locais que se constituem em torno do desenvolvimento desses mercados populares, as formas de regulação, práticas de controle e fiscalização de diferentes agentes estatais e a dinâmica dos atores localmente situados. Trata-se de problematizar tais agenciamentos, como eles se formam no entrecruzamento de circuitos de mercadorias de diferentes procedências, quais são as mediações em jogo e de que maneira eles se conectam com as novas formas de gestão da produção e estratégias de circulação e distribuição comercial / This research proposes a discussion on the transformations that have been taking place at the popular tradicional markets in São Paulo downtown, which are: Brás, 25 de março e Santa Ifigênia, through the so called galleries and late-night-early-morning faires. Nowadays, thousands of resellers, coming from the peripheral areas of town, from the metropolitan region, from inter-state and from other states, go into those areas searching for trade oportunities. Besides Brazilian people, these areas receive people from Bolivia, China, Paraguay, Peru, Leban, Angola, among others, who act as distribuitors of local produce, importers of products and buyers who aim at reselling the goods in their original countries. This way, these places have started a different dialogue with the urban economy of the city. The control and fiscalization applied to these spaces have also changed, not only through the policies of formalization of certain practices that are tolerated, and even incentivated, but also through the recrudescence of the police repression, in which certain behaviors and practices have begun to be fought against and repressed. This study made an attempt to problematize the local assemblages that constitute themselves around the development of these popular markets, amidst regulation ways, practices of control and fiscalization done by different state agents, and the dynamics of the locally placed actors. It is about problematizing these assemblages, the ways in which they are formed in the intersection of goods circuits coming from different origins, which the mediations in play are and in which way they are connected with the new management forms and strategies of commercial circulation and distribuition

Esta pesquisa discute as transformações que vêm ocorrendo nos tradicionais mercados populares do centro de São Paulo (Brás, 25 de Março e Santa Ifigênia), a partir das chamadas galerias e feiras da madrugada. Atualmente, milhares de revendedores, vindos da periferia da cidade, da região metropolitana, do interior do Estado e também de outros estados, direcionam-se a estas regiões em busca de oportunidades de negócios. Além de brasileiros, encontram-se, nesses espaços, bolivianos, chineses, paraguaios, peruanos, libaneses, angolanos, entre outros, atuando seja na distribuição de uma produção local, seja como importadores ou, ainda, como compradores que visam revender as mercadorias em seus países de origem de modo que esses locais passaram a dialogar de outra maneira com a economia urbana da cidade. As formas de controle e fiscalização que incidem sobre estes espaços também se alteraram, tanto por meio das políticas de formalização de certas práticas, que são toleradas e até incentivadas, como através do recrudescimento da repressão policial, que em determinados comportamentos e práticas passam a ser combatidos e reprimidos. A pesquisa procurou problematizar os agenciamentos locais que se constituem em torno do desenvolvimento desses mercados populares, as formas de regulação, práticas de controle e fiscalização de diferentes agentes estatais e a dinâmica dos atores localmente situados. Trata-se de problematizar tais agenciamentos, como eles se formam no entrecruzamento de circuitos de mercadorias de diferentes procedências, quais são as mediações em jogo e de que maneira eles se conectam com as novas formas de gestão da produção e estratégias de circulação e distribuição comercial / This research proposes a discussion on the transformations that have been taking place at the popular tradicional markets in São Paulo downtown, which are: Brás, 25 de março e Santa Ifigênia, through the so called galleries and late-night-early-morning faires. Nowadays, thousands of resellers, coming from the peripheral areas of town, from the metropolitan region, from inter-state and from other states, go into those areas searching for trade oportunities. Besides Brazilian people, these areas receive people from Bolivia, China, Paraguay, Peru, Leban, Angola, among others, who act as distribuitors of local produce, importers of products and buyers who aim at reselling the goods in their original countries. This way, these places have started a different dialogue with the urban economy of the city. The control and fiscalization applied to these spaces have also changed, not only through the policies of formalization of certain practices that are tolerated, and even incentivated, but also through the recrudescence of the police repression, in which certain behaviors and practices have begun to be fought against and repressed. This study made an attempt to problematize the local assemblages that constitute themselves around the development of these popular markets, amidst regulation ways, practices of control and fiscalization done by different state agents, and the dynamics of the locally placed actors. It is about problematizing these assemblages, the ways in which they are formed in the intersection of goods circuits coming from different origins, which the mediations in play are and in which way they are connected with the new management forms and strategies of commercial circulation and distribuition

In the United States, the number of major limb amputees is predicted to exceed several million in the coming decades. For those amputees using a prosthesis, their quality of life (QoL) is often modulated by residuum limb problems resultant from its use. Multiple factors preclude quality evidence-based medicine (EBM) research in the field of prosthetics, leading to greater health risk from prosthetic prescription ambiguity. Positive social change is integral to good QoL; studies support administrative healthcare (AHc) as useful to support such, especially in the absence of EBM. This study utilized Veterans Healthcare Administration (VHA) AHc data to discriminate determinants of residual limb skin problem severity (RLSPS), relative to the artificial limb configuration (ALC) used through a retrospective, longitudinal study of a cohort of U.S.Veteran dysvascular amputees. The dataset was derived from multiple archival VHA AHc databases from which 279 Cohort members were identified who underwent amputation surgery during the fiscal year (FY) 2007 were dispensed a prosthesis, and had clinical records through FY 2011. ICD-9-CM and HCPCS codes were used to identify categories of RLSPS and ALC, respectively, with generalized estimating equations modeling to identify likelihood associations of parameters. Derivation of the study cohort dataset was encumbered by data integrity issues and coding system limitations; significant associations were detected for RLSPS with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, substance use disorder, and major depressive disorder, regardless of the ALC dispensed. The findings support the utility of an amputee-prosthesis AHc database to drive product, policy, and medical decisions toward an improved QoL for this vulnerable population.