This study evaluated the effect of a macro- versus a microcooling system on the cognitive, psychomotor and physiological performance of human operators. Male subjects (n = 24) were acclimatized for four days and then subjected to three different environmental conditions: hot ambient (40°C; 40% RH), microcooling and macrocooling. Each environmental condition was repeated twice; once under a rest condition and once while simulating a physical workload of 40 W. Four performance tests (reasoning, eye-hand coordination, memory, reaction time) were conducted once every hour for four hours. Five physiological measurements, viz rectal temperature, skin temperature, heart rate, total sweat loss and sweat rate, were taken. A significant difference existed between the physiological responses under the hot ambient condition and both cooling conditions. For all five physiological parameters he human operator benefitted substantially whatever the cooling condition. The psychological performance results indicated a greater benefit under the cooling conditions, though various external factors may have influenced responses. User perception showed that macrocooling was perceived to be the optimal method of cooling. The results showed that there was no difference in the extent to which both rectal temperature and heart rate (for rest and work conditions) decreased over the 4-hour study period with micro- and macrocooling. In the baseline hot environment both increase. Sweat rate was lowest when resting or working in a microcooled environment and at its highest in the hot baseline environment. Mean skin temperature was lowest (for rest and work conditions) with microcooling and highest in the hot baseline environment. Reaction time and memory/attention were the same under all three environmental conditions. Eye-hand coordination was better with cooling than without, but did not differ between the two cooling conditions. Reasoning ability was poorest under the hot baseline condition and best in the macrocooled environment. User perception showed that the subjects found macrocooling highly acceptable. Microcooling was found to be uncomfortable, particularly because cold air (18 - 21°C) entered the jacket at one point which caused numbness of the skin at that point. Jackets did not always fit subjects well and the umbilical cord restricted free movement.

Due to the fact that the mechanism of acquisition of phosphorus (P) by roots, is mainly by interception, sufficient P uptake is only ensured by maximal root development ("exploitation"). Pot and field trials were conducted to determine the percentage exploitation of the soil volume by roots. The influence of P on root growth of Zea Mays was also studied. Previously, roots were described in terms of root density (cm cm-2, cm cm-3, gram cm-2 and gram cm-3). In this study roots are described in terms of exploitation which combines length, mass and the rhizosphere. The Gompertz function was used to model exploitation by roots as influenced by P application. P along with nitrogen and potassium, had a highly significant (P < 0.001) effect on root growth in the pot experiments. The root systems' function changed after 14 days from nutrient acquisition to shoot supportive. P had no significant effect on root growth in the field trial. Growth was governed by soil moisture, as dryer positions exhibited higher growth. The high P plot had much less root growth in the subsoil than the low P plot. Gompertz functions revealed subtle differences between different treatments. During the first two weeks (when most P uptake occur) roots exploited at the most 1 % of the top soil volume. This implies that any soil analysis (Bray-1 value), should be divided by ≈ 100 to render the "exploitable" P. When considering the total P uptake of a maize crop (5 kg P ton-I), this means that the crop acquires only ≈ 6% of its P from the "plant available" pool (that is represented by the Bray-1 value). This suggests that roots are indeed able to extract the P from "plant unavailable" pools. Therefore, the term "plant available" is misleading and not descriptive concerning P uptake, and its use should be discontinued. / Dissertation (MSc (Soil Science))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Plant Production and Soil Science / unrestricted

The quantum Hall effect occurs when a conductor carrying a current is placed in a perpendicular magnetic field. If certain conditions are met, such as strong magnetic field and low temperature, the resistivity becomes quantised, taking values of integer or fractional multiples of h/e2. By analysing the movement of electrons in a magnetic field classically and quantum mechanically information about the integer quantum Hall effect and the fractional quantum Hall effect can be gathered, using the two different gauge potentials of Landau gauge and Symmetric gauge. Resistance Metrology is one field of study that the quantum Hall effect has greatly impacted by providing a way to universally maintain the ohm, with significantly less uncertainty than previously. / Den kvantmekaniska hall-effekten uppstår när en strömbärande ledare placeras i ett vinkelrätt magnetfält. Om vissa villkor är uppfyllda, såsom starkt magnetfält och låg temperatur, blir resistiviteten kvantiserad. Given av heltal (integer) eller fraktions-(fractional) multiplar av h/e2. Genom att analysera elektroners rörelse i ett magnetfält klassiskt och kvantmekaniskt fås information om Hall-effekterna; integer quantum Hall effect och fractional quantum Hall effect, med hjälp av de två gauge potentialerna Landau gauge och Symmetrisk gauge. Resistansmetrologi är ett forskningsområde som kvant Hall-effekten har starkt påverkat genom att tillhandahålla ett sätt att universellt upprätthålla ohm-enheten med betydligt mindre osäkerhet än tidigare.

There is ongoing controversy about the possibility of adverse biological effects from environmental exposures to electric and magnetic fields. These fields are produced by all electrical equipment and appliances including electrical transmission lines. The objective of this environmental science study was to investigate the possible effects of a high voltage transmission line on domestic sheep (Ovis aries L,), a species that can often be found near such lines. The study was primarily designed to determine whether a specific effect of electric and magnetic fields found in laboratory animals also occurs in livestock under natural environmental conditions. The effect is the ability of fields, at levels found in the environment, to significantly depress the normally high nocturnal concentrations of the pineal hormone melatonin. Melatonin mediates the reproductive response to changes in photoperiod in seasonal breeders such as sheep. Factors which modify the production of nocturnal melatonin in sheep can have important effects on the timing of seasonal reproduction including the onset of puberty in this species. Ten female Suffolk lambs were penned for 10 months directly beneath a 500-kV transmission line near Estacada, Oregon. Ten other lambs of the same type were penned in a control area away from the transmission line where electric and magnetic fields were at ambient levels. Serum melatonin was analyzed by radioimmunoassay (RIA) from 6618 blood samples collected at 0.5 to 3-hour intervals over eight 48-hour periods. Serum progesterone was analyzed by RIA from blood samples collected twice weekly beginning when the lambs were 23 weeks old. This hormone was used to measure the onset of puberty. Serum cortisol was also assayed by RIA from the blood samples collected during the 48-hour samples. This was done to assess whether exposure to the transmission line produced stress in the growing lambs. Other supplemental biological data collected included body weight gain, wool growth, and behavior. An extensive study was conducted by engineers from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to measure electric and magnetic fields and noise to which the lambs were exposed. This was accomplished by installing permanent monitors near both the control and line pens. Results showed that lambs in both the control and line groups had the typical pattern of melatonin secretion consisting of low daytime and high nighttime serum concentrations. There were no statistically significant differences between groups in melatonin levels, or in the phase or duration of the nighttime melatonin elevation. Age at puberty and number of reproductive cycles also did not differ between groups. Serum cortisol showed a circadian rhythm with highest concentrations during the day. Cortisol concentrations also seemed to reflect effects of known stressors on livestock, e.g., weaning, introduction to new housing, and vehicle transport. There were, however, no differences in cortisol concentrations between groups. Statistical analyses on other biological parameters revealed no differences between groups for body weight gain, wool growth, or behavior. The electrical monitoring program verified that the line group lambs were exposed to electric and magnetic fields at levels typical of those found beneath commercial 500-kV transmission lines. In summary, the large effect of electric and magnetic fields on melatonin concentrations reported in laboratory animals was not observed in this study of sheep.

To determine the relationship of tobacco and marijuana smoking to levels of cadmium and zinc manifested in hair samples, a study was conducted at Portland State University using atomic.absorption spectrophotometry. 97 adult student volunteers participated in the main study.

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The effect of microwave radiation on soil bacteria in situ has been studied in both lab and field conditions. Radiation and thermal profiles show that heterotrophic bacteria, spores, fungi, and actinomycetes were not affected by total microwave radiations over the range 0 to 80 seconds of exposure at a net input of 1 KW of intensity. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria and nitrifying bacteria were also resistant to these doses. The soil microorganisms were inactivated as a function of microwave radiation in the range of 80 to 480 seconds of exposure to 1 KW of continuous radiation. By studying the relationship between temperature generated in dry and wet organisms and the pattern of destruction of inoculated bacteria by microwave radiation, it was found that inactivation was a function of cell hydration. It also revealed that bacterial cells do not absorb microwave energy and that the lethal effect of microwaves is due to direct energy transfer to cell water and the temperature increase of the suspending medium.

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