The concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has increased by 35% since pre-industrial levels. Projections for the next 100 years indicate an increase to levels between 490 and 1260 parts per million by volume (ppm) of CO2, equating to a 75 % to 350 % increase in concentration since the year 1750. Associated with this increase in [CO2] will be a 1.4 to 5.8?? C increase in lower atmospheric temperature. While past research has attempted to address the effects of such climatic changes on individual plant responses, predictions of plant responses at the ecosystem level are still highly uncertain. Difficulties lie in the enormous variation of plant responses to climate change variables among and within species, and between and within environmental conditions. Past research assumed that plants using either the C3 or C4 metabolic pathways would respond differently but predictably to climate-change variables based on their metabolic pathway. Recent evidence has suggested however, that the added interactions of external environmental variables and species-specific sensitivities to climate change make it difficult to predict plant and ecosystem responses to climate change. To investigate the mechanisms behind responses of Australian grasses to climate change, 2 pot experiments was conducted using growth cabinets to compare the effect of elevated CO2 and water-limitation on the invasive C4 grassland plant, Eragrostis curvula (E. curvula), native Australian C3 grassland plant, Austrodanthonia racemosa (A. racemosa), and wheat species, Triticum aestivum (T. aestivum). The experiment was run at ambient levels of CO2 maintained at 390 ppm compared to elevated levels of 740 ppm. Imposed restrictions to water supply consisted of gradually drying the soil down to 30 % available soil water (ASW) followed by re-wetting to 50 % ASW. Well-watered conditions for the experiment consisted of gradually drying the soil down to 50 % ASW, followed by rewetting to 95 % ASW. Plants were grown in mixtures and monocultures, consisting of 9 plants equally spaced in a grid design. The three significant findings of the thesis were that: 1) the metabolic pathway (C3 versus C4) was not always an accurate predictor of biomass accumulation under elevated CO2 in the plants studied. Previous research suggested that CO2-stimulation of photosynthesis in C3 plants would lead to greater increases in biomass under elevated CO2 compared to C4 plants, though both C3 and C4 plants could benefit from any reduction in stomatal conductance under dry conditions at elevated CO2. The results from the experiments in this thesis showed a strongly significant biomass response to elevated CO2 in both dry and wet conditions for C4 grass E. curvula. The C3 grass A. racemosa in dry conditions, did not. It was speculated that without the CO2-induced water conservation effect, the C3 grass experienced photosynthetic down-regulation and this precluded a positive biomass response under elevated CO2. 2) the magnitude and direction of biomass response to elevated CO2 was dependant on factors such as resource-availability and the phenotypic variability of the plants species. 3) critical analysis of results from this thesis, combined with past research on plant responses under elevated CO2 showed a tendency for researchers to repeatedly test plants from the Poaceae family, or close relatives of the Poaceae family. As a result, when past data were corrected for this lack of independence, there was no relationship between the evolution of the C3 and C4 metabolic pathway and biomass response to elevated CO2. Instead, other factors (such as growth rate, plant height, leaf number, etc) were presented as being more important in determining biomass response. These observations were supported by results found in this thesis.

The greater Everglades ecosystem, including Florida Bay, has undergone significant anthropogenic manipulation over the past century. These actions resulted in a series of ecologically undesirable events in the Everglades ecosystem, prompting passage of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP). It is necessary to understand the variability in, and relationship between, salinity and ecology to fully evaluate the potential effects of CERP on Florida Bay. A seven-year dataset on surface salinity along with eleven-year and eight-year datasets on mesozooplankton and planktivorous fish were analyzed. Overall, mean Bay-wide salinity varied from a low of 24.2 just after the passing of Hurricane Irene in October 1999 to a high of 41.8 near the end of a drought period in July 2001. Bay-wide mean salinity exhibited dramatic decreases, up to 0.5 per day, whereas increases in bay-wide salinity were slower, with a maximum rate of 0.1 per day. Meteorological phenomena, such as tropical cyclones and ENSO, dramatically altered the salinity patterns of Florida Bay on interannual time scales. There was a large degree of spatial heterogeneity in salinity between sub-regions of Florida Bay due to differing freshwater sources and geomorphology. Mesozooplankton abundance displayed interannual variability and a positive correlation with salinity. Both of these features were also closely correlated with abundance of the dominant planktivorous fish, Anchoa mitchilli, indicating the importance of top-down control. The hypersaline periods appear to provide a refuge from predators, allowing mesozooplankton to increase in abundance during periods of increased physiological stress. The interaction between mesozooplankton and A. mitchilli, along with its correlation to salinity, was further investigated through the development of a mechanistic model of the populations in Florida Bay. The model indicated predation alone was insufficient to control mesozooplankton populations; rather, it was necessary to incorporate density-dependence utilizing a logistic prey population. With both mechanisms the model was able to replicate the observed interannual variability pattern and positive correlation between mesozooplankton and salinity. A preliminary management scenario evaluation suggests a two to six-fold difference in A. mitchilli and mesozooplankton populations between targeted and general salinity reductions. This suggests alternative freshwater management scenarios could produce drastically different ecological consequences.

Denna uppsats tar sikte på att utreda vad som krävs av borgenären för att han ska anses ha uppfyllt sin bevisbörda vid preskriptionsavbrott samt hur KFM i Karlstad följer den praxis från HD som finns beträffande preskriptionsavbrott åstadkommet av gäldenären. Uppsatsen kan därför delas in i två delar där den första delen förklarar den svenska preskriptionslagstiftningen tillsammans med praxis från HD. Fokus ligger på preskriptionsavbrott åstadkommet av borgenären och den bevisbörda han då har. Både praxis och lagstiftning ger ett och samma svar, nämligen att det krävs av borgenären att han visar att de brev med preskriptionsavbrytande verkan som han sänt gäldenären även kommit fram till denne. Kan han inte bevisa detta anses fordran vara preskriberad. I uppsatsens andra del studeras dels domar från HovR och dels beslut från KFM i Karlstad. Det visar sig att det i vissa fall räckt med att borgenären endast bevisar att han avsänt brev med preskriptionsavbrytande verkan till gäldenären för att han skall anses ha uppfyllt sin bevisbörda. Han behöver således inte visa att breven verkligen kommit gäldenären tillhanda. Under våren 2007 kommer HD att ta upp ett fall där en borgenär skickat nio brev till en gäldenär utan att ett enda av dem kommit i retur, trots att gäldenären hävdar att han inte mottagit något brev. HovR över Skåne och Blekinge dömde till borgenärens fördel då de fann det osannolikt att inget av dessa nio brev kommit fram till gäldenären. I kompletterande syfte har en undersökning även gjorts av rutinerna hos fem svenska inkassoföretag. Syftet med denna undersökning var att få veta vilka rutiner som finns kring registrering av utskick vid avsändande och vid eventuell returnering då det visat sig att ett utdrag från ett sådant register räckt för att bevisa att brev med preskriptionsavbrytande verkan skickats till gäldenären. Studien visade att samtliga utskick förses med en streckkod som läses av både vid avsändande och vid returnering. Dessutom sparas samtliga brev i sin helhet i en databas. Uppsatsen avslutas med att jag redogör för mina egna åsikter och dessa kan kort sammanfattas med att jag inte anser att någon lagändring på området är nödvändig, men att domstolarna bör tolka lagen så att den materiella rätten bäst tillvaratas. Jag hoppas dessutom att HD fastställer ovan nämnda dom från HovR över Skåne och Blekinge då detta skulle innebära en betydligt mer human verklighet för borgenären. / The problem this study sets out to investigate is what a creditor has to do to achive an interruption of the period of limitation according to Swedish law and also if the authority of enforcement in Karlstad follows the practice from the Swedish supreme court. In order to do that the thesis is divided into two parts. In the first part the Swedish rules of limitation are explained with focus on interruption of the period of limitation and the creditor’s burden of proof. By law and in old cases from the Swedish supreme court it’s obvious that the creditor has to prove both that he has sent letters to the debtor and that the letters have reached the debtor. If he can’t prove this the period of limitation has expired. The second part contains a study of verdicts from the court of appeal and the authority of enforcement in Karlstad. The results of the study are that in some cases it’s enough for a creditor to prove that he has sent the letters. He doesn’t have to prove that they have reached the debtor. In spring 2007 the Swedish supreme court will rule in a case concering a creditor that sent nine letters to the debtor without getting any of them in return, even though the debtor claimed that he had not recieved any letters. The court of appeal considered that the creditor had fulfilled his burden of proof only by proving that he sent the letters. The court found it unlikely that none of the letters had reached the debtor since they where sent to his address of national registration. Therefor the court considered the period of limitation interrupted. As a complement a study has been made of the routines on five Swedish debt-collection agencies. The purpose with this study was to find out how the agencies register the letters they send out and get in return since extracts from these registers has been considered enough to prove that the letters have been sent to the debtor. The result of the study shows that every letter gets a unique bar-code which is registered when the letter is sent and also if it returns to the agency. A copy of every letter is also saved in a data base. My opinion is that changes in the existing law of limitation aren’t necessary, but I also think that the courts must construe the law in order to look after the material rights. Furthermore I hope that the Swedish supreme court this spring will stipulate the above mentioned verdict from the court of appeal, since that would make things easier for the creditor in situations like the one in the case.

No description available.

The majority of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have milder airway obstruction and are not diagnosed in a timely fashion. Nevertheless, these patients are largely under-studied; this, despite new evidence of increased morbidity and mortality in this sub-population. Recent studies have highlighted the increased ventilatory requirements and abnormalities in respiratory mechanics as important features to explain the relatively reduced exercise tolerance and greater exertional dyspnea in these patients. However, it remains uncertain whether such abnormal mechanical factors actually limit exercise capacity in mild COPD. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to determine whether ventilatory constraints represent a primary factor in exercise limitation and increased dyspnea in this patient group. To determine the role of mechanical factors in exercise limitation in mild COPD, we selectively loaded the respiratory system by adding dead space (DS) to the breathing circuit. We compared ventilation, breathing pattern, operating lung volumes, and dyspnea intensity during incremental cycle exercise in 20 patients with GOLD stage I COPD (post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC=61±5%, and FEV1=95±11% predicted; mean±SD) and 20 healthy age-, sex- and BMI-matched subjects under two conditions, in randomized order: unloaded control (CTRL) or ventilatory stimulation by 600mL of an added DS. Compared to the CTRL condition, both healthy and COPD participants had small decreases in peak work rate and no significant increase in peak ventilation with the added DS. At the highest equivalent work rate of 60 watts, DS caused a smaller increase in tidal volume (VT) in COPD compared with healthy subjects (+0.26±0.29 vs. +0.56±0.22 L respectively, p<0.01) with a correspondingly greater increase in dyspnea intensity (+1.8±1.8 vs. +0.2±0.6 Borg units, respectively, p<0.0001). At peak exercise, COPD patients failed to significantly increase VT, reflecting the fact that end-inspiratory lung volume (EILV) could not increase with DS vs. CTRL (5.25±0.91 vs. 5.16±0.84 L, respectively, p=0.41). This contrasts the results in health where EILV increased with DS vs. CTRL (5.40±1.01 vs. 5.13±0.90 L, respectively, p<0.05). We conclude that the lower exercise performance in mild COPD, compared with health, is explained by critical respiratory mechanical constraints which limit further increases in ventilation to support a higher metabolic load. / Thesis (Master, Physiology) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-28 12:04:50.507

Contest outcomes are usually determined by differences in resource holding potential, the social histories of the combatants, and perceptions of resource value. One understudied aspect of gaining an advantage is the residency effect. Prior occupancy of a particular place can affect the knowledge and motivation of the resident. There could be a tactical advantage in knowing the terrain or an increased willingness to fight to maintain control of a familiar area. In this study we evaluated the importance of shelter residency effects relative to size differences between rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) as potential competitors for access to shelter. The intensity of any residency effects was manipulated by altering the number of shelters in the arena. Our results suggest that any residency effect is very weak in this system, and if present may often be masked by the strong and pervasive influence on contest outcome of the relative body sizes of the contestants. We also found that both shelter number and crayfish size asymmetries had strong, independent effects on levels of aggression. Dominance, but not residency status, was a factor in shelter use.

Superconductivity Centennial Conference 2011- EUCAS–ISEC–ICMC (18-23 Sep 2011, The Hague, The Netherlands)

The concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has increased by 35% since pre-industrial levels. Projections for the next 100 years indicate an increase to levels between 490 and 1260 parts per million by volume (ppm) of CO2, equating to a 75 % to 350 % increase in concentration since the year 1750. Associated with this increase in [CO2] will be a 1.4 to 5.8?? C increase in lower atmospheric temperature. While past research has attempted to address the effects of such climatic changes on individual plant responses, predictions of plant responses at the ecosystem level are still highly uncertain. Difficulties lie in the enormous variation of plant responses to climate change variables among and within species, and between and within environmental conditions. Past research assumed that plants using either the C3 or C4 metabolic pathways would respond differently but predictably to climate-change variables based on their metabolic pathway. Recent evidence has suggested however, that the added interactions of external environmental variables and species-specific sensitivities to climate change make it difficult to predict plant and ecosystem responses to climate change. To investigate the mechanisms behind responses of Australian grasses to climate change, 2 pot experiments was conducted using growth cabinets to compare the effect of elevated CO2 and water-limitation on the invasive C4 grassland plant, Eragrostis curvula (E. curvula), native Australian C3 grassland plant, Austrodanthonia racemosa (A. racemosa), and wheat species, Triticum aestivum (T. aestivum). The experiment was run at ambient levels of CO2 maintained at 390 ppm compared to elevated levels of 740 ppm. Imposed restrictions to water supply consisted of gradually drying the soil down to 30 % available soil water (ASW) followed by re-wetting to 50 % ASW. Well-watered conditions for the experiment consisted of gradually drying the soil down to 50 % ASW, followed by rewetting to 95 % ASW. Plants were grown in mixtures and monocultures, consisting of 9 plants equally spaced in a grid design. The three significant findings of the thesis were that: 1) the metabolic pathway (C3 versus C4) was not always an accurate predictor of biomass accumulation under elevated CO2 in the plants studied. Previous research suggested that CO2-stimulation of photosynthesis in C3 plants would lead to greater increases in biomass under elevated CO2 compared to C4 plants, though both C3 and C4 plants could benefit from any reduction in stomatal conductance under dry conditions at elevated CO2. The results from the experiments in this thesis showed a strongly significant biomass response to elevated CO2 in both dry and wet conditions for C4 grass E. curvula. The C3 grass A. racemosa in dry conditions, did not. It was speculated that without the CO2-induced water conservation effect, the C3 grass experienced photosynthetic down-regulation and this precluded a positive biomass response under elevated CO2. 2) the magnitude and direction of biomass response to elevated CO2 was dependant on factors such as resource-availability and the phenotypic variability of the plants species. 3) critical analysis of results from this thesis, combined with past research on plant responses under elevated CO2 showed a tendency for researchers to repeatedly test plants from the Poaceae family, or close relatives of the Poaceae family. As a result, when past data were corrected for this lack of independence, there was no relationship between the evolution of the C3 and C4 metabolic pathway and biomass response to elevated CO2. Instead, other factors (such as growth rate, plant height, leaf number, etc) were presented as being more important in determining biomass response. These observations were supported by results found in this thesis.

Thesis (LL. M.)--Judge Advocate General's School, U.S. Army, 1968. / "April 1968." Typescript. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in microfiche.

Univ., Diss.--Frankfurt am Main, 2002.