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United by this council, the companies may exert an even stronger influence within the sustainability context. CEBDS speaks the language of its associates and is committed to the relevant issues on the agenda of the Brazilian business sector.
Check out our group of associated companies, which today brings together more than 60 corporations, with revenues of around 40% of the Brazilian GDP. Be part of this business revolution and join CEBDS!


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We are a group of skilled diagnostic and therapeutic radiologists and scientists who share a common goal.
Find out more »
Patient Information
Radiation Oncology
Medical Physics
Visiting Professors
Research Day
The Ottawa Hospital's leading-edge Rose Ages Breast Health Centre.
The Department of Radiology has received two very prestigious awards, that represent important scientific and educational scholarship.
Dr. Frank Rybicki, Professor and Chair of Radiology at the University of Ottawa and radiologist at The Ottawa Hospital discusses, the art of 3D printing.
uOttawa realizeLAB's Justin Sutherland speaking with EME TV in a french language interview at RSNA about medical Virtual Reality.
Avis Favaro reports on a patient told he'd have to live with a controversial medical device in his body, and the doctor (Dr. Adnan Hadziomerovic) who offered to help.
All News
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501 Smyth Road,Box 232Ottawa, OntarioCanada K1H 8L6Tel: 613-737-8571Fax: 613-737-8830
Molly Carter
Clinical Administrative Coordinator

subset: commoncrawl


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Maui needs permanent affordable housing
Affordable housing is such a hot topic, and county officials are getting a lot of pressure to get projects approved. But let's stop a second and talk about these projects.
How many residents on Maui need affordable housing? There are 164,000 of us. Let's pick a real conservative number and say 8,200 need affordable housing. That's just 5 percent of the residents. The county is so desperate for projects that they are willing to approve anything just to keep their voters happy. Yet did you know that when a resident buys one of these affordable houses, they can turn around and sell it for market value ten years later? I gotta ask: how does that help keep the prices down? What houses are my kids going to be able to afford in the years to come?
Article Photos
County officials are actually adding to the problem. We need housing that will STAY affordable. Did we not learn anything from the Front Street Apartments fiasco?
And now there's a Launiupoko affordable housing project... but it has a catch to it. It also brings with it 25 multi-million dollar homes. Talk about driving the housing prices up. And the developer doesn't even live on Maui. He lives on the Big Island, because he says it's too crowded here. So, he just wants to exploit West Maui. County officials... we need permanent solutions for our working class, not these short-lived affordable projects that just make a developer rich.
RICHARD BROWN, Lahaina
Concerned about plans for Kaanapali
I am writing to express my concern about the proposed project to "revitalize" the Kaanapali Golf Course.
It seems obvious that West Maui cannot accommodate any further development that adds more traffic to our already clogged highway.
Obviously, this project would increase traffic. In fact, the only developments that might not add to our self-inflicted traffic nightmares are affordable rental units (in perpetuity, please!), since they actually might allow workers to live close to their jobs rather than commute over the Pali. No other development should be allowed until we find a solution to the traffic, which has gotten so bad that it does not even take an accident or a fire to back up through Lahaina Town and back to Maalaea. Commuting is a nightmare, and Maui will never be voted "Best Island in the World" again if our visitors spend a good part of their valuable time on Maui stuck in traffic.
I realize that some county employees might be in favor of the golf course project, since their retirement fund is so heavily invested in this project, but it cannot be that the pensions of state employees are financed with no regard to what it will do to our beautiful island.
CHRIS WEININGER, Kahana
Trump should shut up!
ARE WE GETTING IT YET? That Trump is the biggest faker on the planet. He is no more qualified to be the leader of the free world than Howdy Doody.
He has repeatedly implied that it is the Republicans against the Democrats but claims that he wants to unify the country. He is still campaigning and trying to convince everyone that Hillary is the bad one. He shows a level of self-adulation that surpasses that of Hitler or Putin.
Every time he opens his mouth "off-script," he illustrates what a faker and fool he is. Andrew Jackson was really upset about the Civil War? Australia has a great healthcare plan? Obama left with him a mess?
If he was as smart as he thinks he is (an affliction of the arrogant), he would just shut up! Stop tweeting! And stop faking it! Beyond me how he can keep putting his foot in his mouth when his head is up his...
BUTCH FOWLER, Lahaina
Place a moratorium on building until the infrastructure is fixed
(The following letter was sent to the governor and other state officials.)
For Honoapiilani Highway, you guys say, "No plans; no money"... but you spend $12 million on the seawall at Ukumehame. The waves still crash over; summer is coming, south swells coming. Same thing at Lone Pine (tree).
You say you are releasing funds for the bypass? Big deal! The Pali is still two lanes - still bottleneck both ways. The bypass deal was started back in the early 1970s. In my case, 1971, my high school days, and still the bypass is NOT finished (46 years)!
Back in the day, there was talk of going through Iao Valley and coming out somewhere at Olowalu Valley. Technology is here now; they built the "chunnel" from the U.K. to France and other places in the world. You guys on Oahu built H3! You guys (DOT) spent $12 million on the Daniel K. Inouye sign at the Honolulu Airport. Well-deserved, well-respected; Dan did a lot for Hawaii, but $12 million for a sign?!
Trying to improve Honoapiilani, to me, is NOT the whole solution. You are putting everything in one basket. We have floods, waterfalls off the Pali, fires or accidents NOW! Oh boy - trouble! What about when we have hurricane or tsunami warnings? One way in; one way out. We have no H1, H2, H3 - no other alternative ways.
You guys close off Kahakoloa way, although your idea was mentioned. Then you guys say "no money," but you spend millions to concrete Kuihelani Highway (380) between Kihei Junction to Kahului (ONE side?). Then there are millions spent on Kahului Airport (expanding the airport and rental car areas). More rental cars on Maui roads!
I say moratorium on the West Side until you fix the infrastructure. I want to know: how long have you been at the DOT? Are you appointed? What are your qualifications? I think it's time for a change. Get fresh ideas! Get private planners, not government bureaucracy!
End blood quantum limits
If Kamehameha's reign and Hawaiians' blood quantum is the basis for Hawaii's sovereignty, then it's "game over!"
Kamehameha established "he with the best weapons and most power rules." The United States threatened Hawaii with physical force, continuing that protocol of "might makes right."
Blood quantum limits are arbitrary and capricious, causing dissention, disunity and uncertain futures.
Passionate about Hawaii's independence, David Malo influenced the Constitution: "God must be our aid, for it is His province alone to give perfect protection and prosperity." This recognizes that mankind needs divine guidance, intervention and restoration.
God restores! His way includes food, fun and thankful hearts. One Bible example is when King Josiah expunged the nation of what's not "in consistency with the general spirit of God's law" (Hawaiian Constitution) and then established what is. An annual celebration acknowledging God's deliverance ensued like never before.
God's Might makes right! "Wait patiently for Him to act... For the Lord loves justice, and he'll never abandon the godly... Put your hope in the Lord." (Psalm 37)
Betrayed Queen Liliuokalani responded to the unjust overthrow by trusting God's righteous reputation. Appealing to the "Highest's" court (without statutes of limitations), she wrote, "To the Almighty Ruler of the universe, I commit my cause."
Jesus is the Captain of Angel-Armies. "He judges fairly and wages a righteous war... the King of kings." (Revelation).
"On the night He was betrayed," Jesus established "the new covenant between God and his people - an agreement confirmed with blood." Jesus' blood quantum is the game changer!
MICHELE LINCOLN, Lahaina
EPA trying to change the Clean Water Rule
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formally begun the process to withdraw the Clean Water Rule, as prescribed by executive order. Meetings among the EPA, governors and other state and local environmental regulators have begun.
The issuance of a draft rule of repeal is only the first phase to withdraw and replace the 2015 Clean Water Rule. Before the rule can be rescinded, there must be a review of the rule, a public comment period and justification for repeal as demonstrated through law and scientific evidence.
Additional time will be required to draft and review any new definitions and rules brought forth by the EPA.
As written, the Clean Water Rule, also referred to as the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule, seeks to protect streams and wetlands that provide water for drinking, farming, industry and recreation.
The rule defines protected bodies of water and retains existing exemptions from groundwater regulation and for normal farming and ranching practices like planting, harvesting and moving livestock.
Ultimately, the Trump Administration seeks to only protect waterways that are "relatively permanent," a narrower definition than guides the existing rule.
Due to a stay of the rule in the district court system, the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers have continued to operate under 1986 regulation and subsequent guidance documents to provide definition.
Much of the opposition to the Clean Water Rule stems from a concern of government over-regulation that was promulgated through the farm and ranch communities during the original rules process.
JORDAN RASMUSSEN, Center for Rural Affairs
Help me fight Trumpcare
Earlier this week, the Congressional Budget Office verified what we already knew: Trumpcare is a dangerous attack on the most vulnerable members of our society. Unless we fight back hard against it, 23 million people will lose their health insurance. People with preexisting conditions, our kupuna and working families on Medicaid will be hit the hardest.
Health care is a fundamental right, not a privilege only for those who can afford it. As the fight against Trumpcare moves to the Senate, I'm going to do whatever it takes to stop it from becoming law. But I need your help.
Losing your health care coverage because you have a preexisting condition is something no person should have the live through.
When I was diagnosed with kidney cancer, I had peace of mind knowing that I had health coverage. No person fighting a disease like cancer should have to worry about whether they can afford the lifesaving care they need.
To stop Trumpcare, we all need to come together. I will fight with everything I have to protect the hundreds of thousands of people in Hawaii, and millions more across the country, who will suffer under this law. Are you with me?
MAZIE HIRONO?, U.S. Senator


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Want to know what it's really like at one of our events? We have 150+ five-star customer reviews. Read what our customers say about us.
A few of our reviews are highlighted on this page. You can read them in full along with our other reviews on FreeIndex, TripAdvisor and Facebook.
Reviews – adventures for adults
Rachel and Steph were very warm and welcoming! … Rachels archery coaching was superb, very patient with me, a complete novice. Highly recommend it folks! Thanks ladies.Richie, 5-star TripAdvisor review
Set in the picturesque woods, this is a real outdoor experience. Archery and fire-lighting with a delicious lunch made over the fire. Had so much fun with the girls- plus Rach and Steph are great company!Bali, 5-star TripAdvisor review
Reviews – children's parties
The birthday parties that I have held for both of my children throughout the years have almost been forgotten about. But how can a child ever forget learning how to build a fire, enjoy the fun of building a waterproof den and eating bugs like they are on 'I am a Celebrity get me out of here'? They can't… Steph was such a lovely and thoughtful host and great with the kids. I would recommend this event to any big or small kid who likes the great outdoors. Ceri Forward, 5-star FreeIndex review
We had our son's 10th birthday party… The kids were kept on the go from the time we arrived. They were never forced to do anything they were not comfortable with but they were encouraged and I saw at least three children out of our party, not only face their fear but accomplish the task set which resulted with big happy grins and great enthusiasm for the next activity! …We had a party of boys and girls and all had a fabulous time. We would highly recommend and will certainly be back for more! Caroline de Lange, 5-star FreeIndex review
'Awesome' 'best party ever' 'totally epic' thank you so much. You showed some city children how to enjoy the outdoors!! Highly recommend you to anyone who'll listenAnn Lawson-Jones, 5-star Facebook review
Reviews – corporate groups
Great for team-building and employee wellbeing. We booked this activity for our team of 12 as we wanted to do something that would focus on team-work, shared goals and the importance of effective communication and leadership. It didn't disappoint! Steph and Rachel delivered a really enjoyable few hours of activity, out in the fresh-air, which really energised and enthused the team, whilst always feeling light-hearted and informal. We loved every aspect and are already discussing booking our next event here. Thanks Steph and Rachel – we can't recommend you highly enough!Sarah P, 5-star TripAdvisor review
Fun, informative team building morning. Great morning learning to build a fire, a shelter and shooting some arrows! Enjoyed drinking tea from water we boiled on our fire and toasting pittas and marshmallows. The girls were great – just enough teaching and then just letting us get on with it. Steph and Rach were a good laugh too. Only booked for the morning but would have loved to have stayed longer. Will be going back again.Rachel M, 5-star TripAdvisor review
Feedback from school sessions
Three of our classes have just experienced a bushcraft day with Stephanie in Bridgend. All staff and children agreed that this was 'the best trip ever!' I highly recommend Stephanie for any survival type activity. She's available to come to schools too. She is incredibly professional and firm but fair with our kids. Thank you Steph!Michelle Burridge, feedback left on Facebook
All of the boys enjoyed the project. The environment enabled them to become more sociable and their communication improved. Some of the boys that were shy became more confident and took on the role of the leader. The entire project benefited the five boys that attended, improving their social, communication and literacy skills, not just at the project, but also in school.Teachers from Betws Primary School
All of my pupils enjoyed the project… they gained team skills, confidence and skills they might have never learnt anywhere else.Teacher from Maes yr Haul Primary School
We enjoyed learning about how to survive in the wild. From our experience we learned to work as a team and we worked with people we wouldn't normally work with. We are so glad we came and would definitely recommend it. Thank you SUPER STEPH!!!The Rambo Rangers - pupils from Betws Primary School


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When I first transferred from Pennsylvania to Lakeland Florida, I had some spare time on my hands, and decided to check out some of the local parks and capture some images of birds and the great hiking trails and water scenes available.
Here are a couple of images from Lettuce Lake Park near Tampa. The wooden walkways allow you to get very close to the water – to see the animals and get up close to the Mangrove trees.
The trails over land are also impressive. I really enjoy seeing Spanish moss in the trees here in Florida.
I plan to spend more time in Florida's amazing parks, and do some hiking on the trails!


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I would love to help you or your child/spouse/friend grow in their musical ability. I have over 12 years of experience teaching all ages, different levels of experience, and various musical styles. For more information about my rates and expectations (for the student and me) please see my music lesson contract. If you have any further questions or would like to inquire about taking lessons, please contact me.
Saxophone has a special place for me. It was my first window into the world of music and allowed me to play music with my friends and meet new friends. It is truly a unique instrument that has the ability to touch so many genres of music that seems to allude other instruments (despite being stereotyped as a strictly jazz instrument).
Lessons are started by having the student play long tones and review scales. The student then would play an etude or technical exercises. The session then will usually conclude by review band music/solo/improvise/ etc. We will also discuss goals that we want to set and the students musical interests and expectations for their saxophone playing.
The student is required to provide their own instrument and purchase materials that might relate (reeds, music, metronome, etc.). I can provide assistance in selecting a saxophone and or where you might rent on.
You can hear examples of my saxophone playing here.
Piano has been one of the easiest instruments to learn...and piano has been one of the hardest instruments to learn! It is essential for any serious musician or music fan to learn and understand. Its difficulty arises from the challenge of playing two separate lines of music at the same time.
Lessons are started by having the student play finger exercises and review scales with hands separate and eventually hands together. The student then would play an etude or technical exercises. I will use a tech book and a iPad app called SimplePiano. The session then will usually conclude by playing through a solo chosen together. We will also discuss goals that we want to set and the students musical interests and expectations for their piano playing.
The student is required to have a piano or keyboard in their possession. I can help recommend various keyboards based on age and level. In addition, students are required to purchase any books needed for the lesson.
In case you didn't know, I love writing music. Alot! My style of teaching will vary based on what the student is looking to learn.
- Music technology and how it can be used in composition (Sibelius 7, Pro Tools, Logic, virtual instruments)
- Music analysis (the study of scores, transcriptions, composers, styles, and the emulation of them)
- Film scoring (the challenges of writing music for media, midi mockups, creating demos, etc.)
Students will need at least an intermediate knowledge of music or understanding of music progression. Please contact me with any questions you might have about this.


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I feel it is important to take a moment to recognize what happened in the United States today. The Supreme Court's decision to make same-sex marriage legal nationwide is a huge deal, and it has been a long time coming in my humble opinion. Good for you, USA!
Here on My Fangirl Life, we're all about being who you are. Love is love, and people should definitely be able to make their own decisions about who they marry. Today is a good day. In honour of this fabulous occasion, I'd like to share a list of my favourite same-sex couples on TV.
1) Kurt and Blaine – Glee
Glee was such a groundbreaking series for many reasons, and one of those was for the acceptance of same-sex relationships. Kurt and Blaine became a fan favourite couple on a show that made a great impact on entertainment.
2) Cameron and Mitchell – Modern Family
Mitchell and Cameron are an amazing couple, and parents. This is the best look I've had on TV of a same-sex couple raising a child, and I can only think that this will be a more prominent situation in entertainment moving forward.
3) Alex and Marissa – The OC
When I was a teen, I watched The OC religiously. I still re-watch it every couple years and love it every time. I remember Alex and Marissa's relationship as being one of the first same-sex relationships between young people on television, and the fact that it happened made this issue something that I understood was important.
4) Callie and Arizona – Grey's Anatomy
Callie and Arizona were together for ages, and they went over many hurdles just like any other relationship on the show. I only wish that they would get their happily ever after.
5) Susan and Carol – Friends
This show was popular when I was fairly young, and I remember Susan and Carol as one of my first brushes with seeing a same sex couple. It created the groundwork for understanding different relationships as I grew older!
6) Brittany and Santana – Glee
I know, I probably didn't need to include two couples from Glee, as they're kind of here for the same reasons, but I just couldn't leave these fabulous ladies off of the list. They were meant for each other.
7) Piper and Alex – Orange is the New Black
Alex may be the reason Piper ended up in jail, but their relationship is still a great one in a show full of groundbreaking relationships. Rocky. But great.
I'm just so happy to see that the US is finally on board with same-sex marriage. Love really does win today.


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Accessfull LLC is a company that specializes in assistive technology, home and business accessibility, web accessibility and web design. The company was originally started in Rochester, MN in 1997 and has been serving Minnesota ever since. Accessfull LLC is your comprehensive solution for solving all your accessibility needs.
Customer Feedback
I had never contracted for a website before, and your suggestions regarding content and layout were both appropriate and helpful.
Suzanne Grace author of Virtually Incredible


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Evocations of Place: The Photographs of Edwin Smith By Robert Elwall.
Merrell, 2007.176pp. £35.00
The front cover of this book shows the gardens of the Villa Garzoni at Collodi, Italy, in a photograph of 1962. In oblique view, a faun, seated on one end of a Baroque scroll, raises an arm to support the upper volute.
Receding planes of exotic foliage lead to a high wooded horizon, over which glows a break in the clouds.
It's a typical Edwin Smith image: placing architecture in nature; relishing lichen and moss; sensually recording a place that has been selected by an expert eye and an intrepid traveller, not for the sake of pure art, but no doubt in fulfilment of a commission to illustrate a book. Through a series of cultural frames, it evokes a 20th-century English romantic response to 18th-century and Renaissance responses to antiquity.
Smith, with his polymath scholar wife Olive Cook at his side, would not have missed any of these nuances. These photographs are works of art loaded with associations that Robert Elwall lovingly unravels, setting them in a biographical and historical context to which he brings new information and insights.
He rightly celebrates Cook's achievement, from Smith's premature death in 1971, in making the photos available to publishers, writing a monumental book in 1984, organising exhibitions and much more. An artist in her own right, she concentrated on writing texts for collaborative books and articles that form a counterpart to the photographs.
The books she and Smith jointly produced for Thames and Hudson in the 1950s, printed by photogravure, marked a pivotal moment in the détournement of Modernist vision into the celebration of the humble arts as well as the grand.
A more complete life story emerges of Smith as an attractive, self-educated and indefatigable seeker of visual stimuli, who won a scholarship to the Architectural Association but never qualified as an architect. In his own mind, he was a painter who used photography to make a living.
He was also a writer on diverse subjects - a typical freelance jack-of-all-trades. His archive at the RIBA, which Elwall now manages, contains 6,000 negatives from a working life of 40 years, mostly concentrated in the last 20, and the bibliography records two or three major books a year in the same period, many involving arduous foreign travel.
Other photographers may, in part, have shown the way to the distinctive subjects and styles that Smith made his own, but he need not fear comparison.
Elwall questions whether his relative lack of fame might be due to being 'incurably infected with the peculiarly English disease of sentimental nostalgia or too narrowly parochial'. The answer is, not surprisingly, no, and this book, with its highquality reproductions, if rather small on the page at times, will surely open a new phase of appreciation and reappraisal.
Alan Powers is an architectural historian
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This photograph of servicemen and residents outside no. 120 Ockford Road appears to date from the 1914-18 War
image: Godalming Museum, ref B984.98.6
©Godalming Museum Trust. Copies of the text and images may be made for private use (including academic texts if not published) only. Copies for publication (whether by printing, display, internet or any other form of public use) must be cleared with Godalming Museum prior to publication.


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WGBH Openvault
New England Begins
License Clip
More material is available from this program at the WGBH Archive. If you are a researcher interested in accessing the collection at WGBH, please email email@example.com.
Undigitized item: Request Digitization
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- Program
- New England Begins
- Program Description
Actor Sam Waterson narrates New England Begins, a revealing and often surprising half-hour documentary that explodes the old, dour myths about Puritan life. Based on the Boston Museum of Fine Arts landmark exhibition of utilitarian and artistic objects from 17th century New England, New England Begins offers insights into a culture that was literate, worldly, and full of life.
- Duration
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Broadcast program
- Media Type
- Genres
- Documentary
- Topics
- History
- Citation
- Chicago: "New England Begins," 07/05/1982, WGBH Media Library & Archives, accessed June 16, 2019, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_BE9E474B9B934881AA165125B2A20009.
- MLA: "New England Begins." 07/05/1982. WGBH Media Library & Archives. Web. June 16, 2019. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_BE9E474B9B934881AA165125B2A20009>.
- APA: New England Begins. Boston, MA: WGBH Media Library & Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_BE9E474B9B934881AA165125B2A20009


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To be honest, the thought of not having Internet and a working cell-phone post disaster (whatever that may be), is frightening to me. Even though we humans lived for millions of years without blogs, Facebook, and Google, it's going to be tough for most of us to kill time when …Read More »
Latest Articles
Are You Like Noah When Convincing Others To Prep?
When you think about it, Noah was one of the first preppers. He listened to God when he told him to prepare for the end of the world. He had to put up with the rest of the people who thought he was crazy when he started to build the …Read More »
The Best Bug Out Vehicles
OK, I'm not going to say that there's a perfect vehicle out there waiting for you. Instead, I'm going to give you the most important things to look at when considering one (or more!) bug out vehicle and let you figure out which one is right for, whether it's a …Read More »
Hurricane Preparedness 101
It's very sad that a destructive event such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was responsible for reminding people that they need to prepare. The vast majority of them weren't prepared at all and the ones that made it out alive regret being unprepared to this day. Shocking Hurricane Stats the …Read More »
Home Defense Guns
This is one of those articles I'm really happy to write because it has direct application and benefits to your life right now. In other words, you don't have to wait for the end of the world to reap its rewards. Reason? Home invasions happen all the time. If you …Read More »
Police Brutality Cases, Stats, Videos and More
I think we can all agree that police brutality is at an all-time high. It's already part of the American way of life. But this isn't how the American way of life is supposed to be, is it? There was once a revolution and I feel another one is coming… …Read More »
Alternative Survival Weapons
I kind of hate to talk about alternative survival guns because the first image that comes to mind is a SWAT team breaking down your door and confiscating all your firearms. Nevertheless, as I like to say, we need to have plans B and C for everything. Besides, you never know …Read More »
How (and Where) to Hide Your Guns (Shhh!)
About 1.4 million firearms were stolen during household burglaries and other property crimes over the six-year period from 2005 through 2010, according to a report released today by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). This number represents an estimated average of 232,400 firearms stolen each year— about 172,000 …Read More »
Improvise or Perish…
You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water …Read More »
Escaping a Bear Hug Using Simple Self-Defense
The bear hug technique is extremely dangerous simply because it's so widely used by attackers everywhere. Reason? It assumes they grab you from behind when you least expect it, with minimal chance of you seeing them. This gives your attacker the element of surprise. Now… you've probably seen plenty of …Read More »
SHTF Bartering
updated by Tara Dodrill 04/16/2018 Bartering is going to be one of those skills that will almost guarantee that you and your family will not only survive, but thrive in a post-apocalyptic world. One of the most dreaded things post-disaster, following the initial death-toll, after subsequent deaths due to lack …Read More »
The Yellowstone Volcano Eruption (What Are The Odds?)
In this shocking report I'm going to extend my research farther than just the effects of a possible Yellowstone Volcano Eruption. This will put even more pressure on everyone to prepare. I'm going to tell you why you need to start preparing for a volcanic eruption in a minute but …Read More »
The Survival Skills Megalist
There are two kinds of preppers: the ones that are stockpiling through the roof and the ones that are minimalists, who rely mostly on their knowledge of survival skills. The two schools of thought need not be exclusive but they do offer me the opportunity to have an in-depth chat …Read More »
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Bushcraft generally refers to wilderness survival skills and was initially used to describe the survival …Read More »
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Have you visited websites owned by media powerhouses like Fox, CNN, Strait Times, and New York Times lately? If you have, you'd notice that they have got a cool pop video, image, or an exit intent popup that follows you as you scroll down the page. These strategic popups allow users to take action wherever they are on the page. And they've been a huge success, improving lead conversation rates by more 1,300%
The creators of WP UltraPop replicated this approach but made it better, more robust, and agiler. The result is a product that can help marketers take their marketing campaigns to a whole new level. Best of all, the software plugin integrates seamlessly with all WordPress websites.
But that isn't all — WP UltraPop offers much more benefits than any other popup software on the market.
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- Research article
- Open Access
Can differences in phosphorus uptake kinetics explain the distribution of cattail and sawgrass in the Florida Everglades?
© Brix et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2010
- Received: 24 June 2009
- Accepted: 8 February 2010
- Published: 8 February 2010
Cattail (Typha domingensis) has been spreading in phosphorus (P) enriched areas of the oligotrophic Florida Everglades at the expense of sawgrass (Cladium mariscus spp. jamaicense). Abundant evidence in the literature explains how the opportunistic features of Typha might lead to a complete dominance in P-enriched areas. Less clear is how Typha can grow and acquire P at extremely low P levels, which prevail in the unimpacted areas of the Everglades.
Apparent P uptake kinetics were measured for intact plants of Cladium and Typha acclimated to low and high P at two levels of oxygen in hydroponic culture. The saturated rate of P uptake was higher in Typha than in Cladium and higher in low-P acclimated plants than in high-P acclimated plants. The affinity for P uptake was two-fold higher in Typha than in Cladium, and two- to three-fold higher for low-P acclimated plants compared to high-P acclimated plants. As Cladium had a greater proportion of its biomass allocated to roots, the overall uptake capacity of the two species at high P did not differ. At low P availability, Typha increased biomass allocation to roots more than Cladium. Both species also adjusted their P uptake kinetics, but Typha more so than Cladium. The adjustment of the P uptake system and increased biomass allocation to roots resulted in a five-fold higher uptake per plant for Cladium and a ten-fold higher uptake for Typha.
Both Cladium and Typha adjust P uptake kinetics in relation to plant demand when P availability is high. When P concentrations are low, however, Typha adjusts P uptake kinetics and also increases allocation to roots more so than Cladium, thereby improving both efficiency and capacity of P uptake. Cladium has less need to adjust P uptake kinetics because it is already efficient at acquiring P from peat soils (e.g., through secretion of phosphatases, symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, nutrient conservation growth traits). Thus, although Cladium and Typha have qualitatively similar strategies to improve P-uptake efficiency and capacity under low P-conditions, Typha shows a quantitatively greater response, possibly due to a lesser expression of these mechanisms than Cladium. This difference between the two species helps to explain why an opportunistic species such as Typha is able to grow side by side with Cladium in the P-deficient Everglades.
- Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus
- Uptake Kinetic
- Growth Unit
- Root Chamber
- Nutrient Uptake Kinetic
The wetland species, Cladium mariscus ssp. jamaicense (L.) Pohl (Crantz) K. Kenth (sawgrass; hereafter Cladium) and Typha domingensis Pers. (cattail; hereafter Typha) are both native to the Florida Everglades and occupy similar habitats [1]. Cladium was the dominant plant species in the historical freshwater Everglades, whereas Typha was a minor species occurring in small and scattered patches throughout the Everglades [2]. However, during the past decades Typha has expanded rapidly and replaced thousands of hectares of Cladium marshes and aquatic slough areas in the northern part of the Everglades [3–6]. Numerous studies have been conducted to assess the causes and the consequences of this change in vegetation and community structure [7–20], and the driving force for the change appears to be nutrient enrichment, particularly phosphorus (P), from agricultural runoff and Lake Okeechobee outflow [21].
Cladium and Typha are both large, clonal species that can form monospecific communities in freshwater habitats. The two species differ, however, in morphology, growth, and life history characteristics [10, 15, 22]. Cladium exhibits many characteristics of adaptation to infertile environments, such as slow growth rate, long leaf longevity, low capacity for nutrient uptake, low leaf nutrient concentrations and a relatively inflexible partitioning of biomass in response to increased nutrient availability [23, 24]. Typha, on the other hand, has traits of an opportunistic species from nutrient-rich habitats with high growth rates, short leaf longevity, high capacity for nutrient uptake, high leaf nutrient concentrations and flexible biomass partitioning [8, 25]. Both species are adapted to grow in waterlogged soils by virtue of a well-developed aerenchyma system, but convective gas flow has been documented only in Typha and not in Cladium [26–29]. Furthermore, Cladium has lower root porosity and generally higher alcoholic fermentation rates, indicating lower capacity for root aeration than Typha [30]. These inherently different traits are considered the main explanation for the rapid spread and competitive success of Typha in the P-enriched areas of the Florida Everglades.
Cladium and Typha also co-exist in the oligotrophic areas of the Florida Everglades where P availability is extremely low. In the interior of Water Conservation Area 2A, an impounded area in the northern Everglades, Cladium and Typha grow together despite soluble P concentrations of less than 4 μg l-1 in the porewaters throughout the soil profile [31]. Typha is much less abundant than Cladium and has slow growth rates in these areas [32], and although nutrient enrichment and disturbance around alligator holes have been suggested to favour the proliferation of Typha locally [33], the traits that allow the growth of a high resource-adapted plant like Typha in this low P environment are not understood.
Studies at high P availability have demonstrated that Typha has a greater relative growth rate, a greater allocation of biomass to leaves, and a lower P-use efficiency than Cladium [10, 15, 16]. In fertile habitats, a high nutrient uptake capacity per unit of root biomass and a high growth rate and biomass allocation to leaves increase the capability to compete for light and reduce the need for a high root biomass. However, these traits are not advantageous for growth in a nutrient deficient environment where plants must acquire nutrients at low availability and minimize nutrient losses [34]. In such conditions, optimal features would include an extensive root system for soil exploration, a high root surface area (long, thin roots and/or root hairs) for acquisition of nutrients, and efficient mechanisms to capture nutrient ions at low external concentrations [35–37].
The main research question we address here is: Which characteristics of Cladium and Typha allow the species to grow in the oligotrophic P-deficient interior of the Florida Everglades, and at the same time explain why Typha out-competes Cladium under P-enriched conditions? As to the second part of the question, abundant evidence in the literature explains how the opportunistic features of Typha can lead to complete dominance in P-enriched areas [e.g. [7, 8, 13, 15]]. Less clear is how Typha can grow and acquire P at the extreme low P-levels prevailing in the unimpacted areas of the Everglades.
We hypothesized that Typha has a more plastic P uptake system than Cladium in relation to P availability, and this strategy will allow adequate uptake of P and better competitive ability over a wide range of external P concentrations. Furthermore, we hypothesized that oxygen-deficient conditions will affect the uptake kinetics of Cladium more than that of Typha, as the latter species has a more efficient system for root aeration (via aerenchyma and internal convective gas flow). These hypotheses were tested in a series of P uptake experiments designed to distinguish differences in P uptake kinetics between the two species.
Apparent P uptake kinetics were measured for whole plants of Cladium and Typha grown from seeds and acclimated to identical, steady state conditions, in a factorial treatment arrangement with two levels of P (5 and 500 μg P l-1) and two levels of oxygen (8.0 and <0.5 mg O2 l-1) in hydroponic culture solutions (n = 4-8). The P uptake kinetic parameters were estimated using a modified Michaelis-Menten model [38–41].
Plant characteristics
Plant size
Leaf length
Root length
Plant weight
(g DW)
Root fraction
High oxygen
1.01 ± 0.05
0.30 ± 0.03
5.6 ± 0.7
17.4 ± 1.9
0.98 ± 0.09
0.50 ± 0.10
7.0 ± 1.9
16.1 ± 1.6
Low oxygen
1.00 ± 0.12
0.32 ± 0.04
7.0 ± 1.9
18.3 ± 2.2
0.95 ± 0.08
0.30 ± 0.06
12.8 ± 2.9
14.1 ± 2.2
High oxygen
0.69 ± 0.12
0.48 ± 0.05
5.8 ± 0.5
22.3 ± 1.9
0.96 ± 0.05
0.42 ± 0.06
11.6 ± 1.4
8.7 ± 1.6
Low oxygen
0.96 ± 0.06
0.39 ± 0.03
9.1 ± 1.3
15.1 ± 2.0
1.08 ± 0.09
0.29 ± 0.04
23.6 ± 4.3
7.7 ± 0.6
Phosphorus uptake kinetics
P uptake capacity
Results of ANOVA for uptake kinetics
Source of variation
A (species)
B (P level)
C (O2 level)
Half saturation constant
The half saturation constant (K0.5) differed significantly between the two species and was also affected by the P treatment, but the effects of P treatment differed between species as shown by the significant interactions in the ANOVA (table 2). Across treatments the half saturation constants were approximately 70% higher in Cladium than in Typha, indicating that Cladium overall has a lower affinity for P uptake than Typha (figure 3b). In Typha the half saturation constants did not differ much across treatments, but in Cladium the half saturation constants were 1.5-2.5 times higher in the high-P acclimated plants than in low P plants. Oxygen did not significantly affect K0.5.
Minimum P concentration
The solution P concentration at which there was no net uptake, Cmin, was significantly affected by the treatments as shown by the significant interactions in the ANOVA (table 2). On average, low-P acclimated Cladium and Typha plants had a Cmin of 3.5 and 9.9 μg P l-1, whereas high-P acclimated plants had a Cmin of 43 and 25 μg P l-1, respectively (figure 3c). However, in the low P-aerated treatments both species had a low Cmin (1.2 μg P l-1). For high-P acclimated plants Cmin was significantly higher (18-64 μg l-1) and the effects of oxygen differed between the species (figure 3c).
Affinity for P-uptake
Affinity for P uptake
(l g-1DW h-1)
(l g-1DW h-1)
High oxygen
2.43 ± 0.40
0.75 ± 0.17
0.40 ± 0.22
0.28 ± 0.20
Low oxygen
3.40 ± 0.27
1.44 ± 0.15
0.86 ± 0.20
0.32 ± 0.07
High oxygen
2.51 ± 0.35
0.84 ± 0.14
1.63 ± 0.29
0.90 ± 0.25
Low oxygen
7.25 ± 1.77
4.08 ± 0.50
1.17 ± 0.13
1.05 ± 0.34
Ecophysiological studies on nutrient uptake kinetics must be conducted using hydroponically grown plants rather than in soil. Although it is possible to mimic the porewater composition of wetland soils in terms of major nutrient ions and pH, the growth conditions in hydroponic cultures differ significantly from those of wetland soils, particularly oxygen and redox conditions [42–44]. In wetland soils, porewaters are nearly always oxygen-free and may contain variable concentrations of reduced ions and organic compounds resulting in low redox potentials depending on soil organic content, nutrient status and other factors. In hydroponic plant culture, the solution is usually aerated to ensure a good oxygen supply for roots. However, in wetland soils, the root oxygen is delivered from the atmosphere via internal transport through the aerenchyma, and so oxygen supply to support aerobic metabolism within root cells potentially differs considerably [27]. Our experimental conditions mimicked the low oxygen conditions in wetland soils by flushing culture solutions with gaseous N2. This treatment maintained oxygen in culture solutions at levels less than 0.5 mg l-1 and so provided a largely anoxic, but not highly reducing, root environment. The growth of the plants was little affected by the oxygen treatments, except for Typha root length, which was shorter in the low oxygen treatments.
We hypothesized that oxygen-deficient conditions would affect the uptake kinetics of Cladium more than that of Typha because of differences in their inherent ability to transport oxygen to the roots. This hypothesis could not be verified, because of the confounding effects of P availability. At low P, oxygen affected uptake kinetics more for Typha than for Cladium whereas at high P the effects were small and mostly on Cladium. In earlier studies [[14], and unpublished], low oxygen and particularly reducing (Eh-150 mV) soil conditions significantly reduced growth and performance of both Cladium and Typha when P availability was low, but the effects could be largely ameliorated by high P availability. A similar tendency was observed in the present study: effects of oxygen were most pronounced at low P, and nearly disappeared at high P.
Our primary aim was to assess whether differences in P uptake kinetics could explain the observed growth characteristics of the two species in the Everglades. To achieve this goal, we have focused this discussion on plant responses under low oxygen, as this resembles the environmental conditions in the Everglades soils better than the aerated culture solutions. Under low oxygen and high P availability, Vmax did not differ much between the species, but the affinity for P (Vmax/K0.5 and α) was significantly lower for Cladium than Typha. However, Cladium had a greater proportion of the biomass allocated to roots, so overall uptake capacity of the two species at high P did not differ much. Root P uptake was largely controlled by the plant P demand. Although we did not investigate ion transport regulation, uptake kinetics may have adjusted via regulation of the membrane-bound high affinity ion transporters [51, 52]. These results imply that under P-sufficient conditions, uptake kinetics does not influence competition between the two species. With sufficient P, the plants only need to adjust their uptake system to meet their respective P demands.
At an external concentration of inorganic P of only 5 μg l-1, P is certainly growth limiting for both species, as has been shown in many previous studies [14, 15]. Plants may respond to such P-deficient conditions in several ways, including allocation of greater mass to roots relative to shoots, and the production of thinner and longer roots enhancing total surface area for nutrient acquisition [53]. In this study, the proportion of biomass allocation to roots increased for both Cladium (from 14 to 18%) and Typha (from 8 to 15%), but there were no changes in root morphology to increase absorptive area. Both species also adjusted their P uptake system in an attempt to obtain adequate P, but Typha more so than Cladium. The maximum uptake velocity, Vmax, increased by a factor of 5.3 and 3.1; the half saturation constant, K0.5, decreased by a factor 0.14 and 0.54; and the P uptake affinity, Vmax/K0.5 and α, increased by a factor 3.9-6.2 and 4.0-4.5 for Typha and Cladium, respectively. The estimated levels of Cmin (about 6 and 19 μg l-1 in the low-P treatment for Cladium and Typha, respectively) are obviously too high, as plants were growing and taking up P at 5 μg l-1. The depletion methodology used in this study, which included spiking with P to relatively high levels, may have resulted in the build-up of internal pools of P that interfered with the estimation of the true Cmin values. When Cladium and Typha plants were grown for 30 days in solution cultures with a low supply of P, both species maintained concentrations of 2-3 μg P l-1 in the solutions (unpublished results). We therefore suggest that the true Cmin level for the two species is in this range.
The adjustment of the P uptake system under low P conditions for Cladium and Typha increased the uptake velocity per unit of root mass 4 to 5-fold compared to the velocities for high-P acclimated plants. Adding the simultaneous increased biomass allocation to roots, the adjustment would result in a 5-fold higher P uptake per plant for Cladium and a 10-fold higher uptake for Typha. The combined effect of these adjustments is that the P uptake per plant would be alike for low-P acclimated plants at a solution concentration of ~35 μg P l-1 and for high-P acclimated plants at a solution concentration of ~500 μg P l-1 for both species. Actual plant uptake at 5 μg l-1 was of course much lower, as plants grew slower and had lower tissue P concentrations.
Adjustment of the uptake system, particularly Vmax, when plants are exposed to nutrient deficiency is a common response observed by many species and many nutrient ions. The affinity for nutrient uptake as expressed by K0.5 is commonly assumed to be less plastic and less affected by plant growth conditions than Vmax [34, 45, 52]. However, the slope of the uptake curve at low P concentrations, α, and the ratio between Vmax and K0.5 (Vmax/K0.5) are better measures of affinity than K0.5. In the present study, these affinity measures were clearly affected by P availability in a manner similar to Vmax.
A high uptake affinity becomes increasingly important in P-deficient soils, where P uptake is controlled largely by the rate of diffusion to the depleted zones around the roots [54]. The fact that Typha adjusts the affinity for P uptake and root biomass more than Cladium and that Typha has thinner root laterals than Cladium [15], increases this species' capacity to extract P from low P solutions relative to Cladium. However, despite an apparently less efficient uptake system, Cladium outperforms Typha during prolonged growth under P-deficient conditions (unpublished). Increased allocation of biomass by Typha to roots may reduce its capacity to maintain a balanced acquisition of C and other resources and result in poor growth at P-deficient conditions. Hence, an efficient P uptake system alone does not ensure good performance at persistent low P availability.
Besides optimising the physiology of root P uptake, plants may also increase the availability of P in the rhizosphere by releasing specialized enzymes, known as phosphatases, which hydrolyse soluble organic P derived from soil organic matter to ortho-P for plant uptake [55]. Both Cladium and Typha secrete phosphatases at low P availability, but the rate of secretion is higher in Cladium, enhancing hydrolysis of organic P compounds [56]. Another means of P acquisition from P-deficient soils is symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi [57]. Inoculation of Cladium with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a greenhouse pot experiment increased growth and P uptake of Cladium significantly [58]. These additional capabilities are clearly important for acquiring sufficient P from the peat-based, low-P soils of the Everglades, where P is stored primarily as organic P with an additional component of Ca-bound P [59, 60]. The ability of Cladium to access organic P fractions, in concert with its slow growth rate, long tissue life time and high P-use efficiency, likely explains why this species is prolific in the P-deficient Everglades soils.
A main finding of our study was that Typha has a more plastic P uptake system than Cladium that allows uptake of P over a wide range of external P concentrations and promotes high growth rates with a relatively low investment in root mass at high P levels. Both species adjust P uptake kinetics in relation to plant demand when P availability is high, but because of its opportunistic traits, Typha is more likely to outcompete Cladium in P-enriched areas. Under P-deficient conditions Typha adjusts P uptake kinetics and biomass allocation to roots more than Cladium, and thereby achieves very efficient acquisition of P at low P levels. In contrast, Cladium has less need to adjust its P uptake kinetics in response to low P conditions probably because it is already efficient at acquiring P from peat-based soils (e.g., through secretion of phosphatases, symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and efficient nutrient conservation growth traits). These findings suggest that differential expression of a similar strategy by Cladium and Typha under low-P conditions explains why an opportunistic species like Typha is able to grow side by side with Cladium in the persistently P-deficient Everglades.
Experimental setup
Phosphorus uptake kinetics were measured for whole plants of Cladium and Typha acclimated in a factorial setup with two levels of P (5 and 500 μg P l-1) and two levels of oxygen (8.0 and <0.5 mg O2 l-1) in hydroponic culture solutions. Since P availability and internal pools of P in the plant tissues are known to affect plant development and physiology, and hence P uptake characteristics, special care was taken to ensure that plants were germinated and propagated at the desired P treatment concentrations. This was achieved by propagating plants from seeds hydroponically in growth cabinets with efficient control of the nutrient composition of the culture solutions. The P uptake kinetic parameters were estimated for whole individual plants of the two species in a controlled environment, the "PhytoNutriTron" (PNT), which is a computer controlled growth facility with four independent steady state hydroponic rhizotrons built into growth cabinets [61].
Seeds and germination
Hydroponic nutrient solutions
Basic nutrient solution
P addition solution
Major adjustment
NaOH, H2SO4
1 mS cm-1
Intermediate renewal
<0.5 or 8 mg l-1
5 or 500 μg l-1
50 mg l-1
2.4 mg l-1
3.4 mg l-1
802 mg l-1
130 mg l-1
291 mg l-1
CaSO4, CaCl2
98 mg l-1
690 mg l-1
(NH4)2SO4, CaSO4, MgSO4
41 mg l-1
114 mg l-1
50 mg l-1
12 mg l-1
216 mg l-1
18 mg l-1
NaCl, CaCl2
351 mg l-1
27 μg l-1
5.4 mg l-1
11 μg l-1
2.2 mg l-1
13 μg l-1
2.6 mg l-1
13 μg l-1
2.6 mg l-1
4.8 μg l-1
1.0 mg l-1
112 μg l-1
Plant acclimation in nursery system
The plants were acclimated to hydroponic growth at low and high P levels (5 and 500 μg l-1) in a nursery system that was set up in a growth chamber operated at a 15 h light/9 h dark cycle, a 30:25°C thermocycle and a 85:90% relative air humidity day:night cycle. Light was provided by a combination of inflorescent light tubes and metal halide bulbs at a photon flux density of 350 μmol m-2 s-1 (PAR) at the base of the plants. Between day and night, the climatic parameters were changed gradually over a one hour transition period. The nursery contained four independent hydroponic growth units, each consisting of one or two 30 litre aerated growth tanks with up to 22 plants. The tanks of each growth unit were connected to a 360 litre external nutrient solution reservoir. The culture solution was recirculated between the reservoir and the growth tanks by pumps delivering 6 litre min-1 of solution to each growth tank. The culture solution consisted of the basic nutrient solution, and phosphorus was adjusted to the experimental levels using the P addition stock solution (table 4). The NH4 + level was adjusted with a solution of (NH4)2SO4. Changes in nutrient concentrations in the culture solutions were minimized through daily monitoring and adjustment of concentration levels. On weekdays, pH was adjusted to pH 6.5, and 112 μg Fe l-1 (FeSO4) was added to each unit. Temperature and conductivity were registered and the concentrations of NH4 + and PO4 3- were analysed using standard colorimetric methods (Lachat Instruments, Milwaukee, WI, USA). Orthophosphate detection was based on the ascorbic acid method (Method EPA-600/4-79-020, 1983, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) and NH4 + was analysed using the salicylate method (Ammonia in waters 1981, London, Her Majesty's Stationary Office). Changes in conductivity during operation of the nursery were minimized by intermediate renewal of approximately 75% of the culture solutions when conductivity reached 2 mS cm-1. After 2 to 4 months, depending on species and treatment, when the plants started to produce rhizomes and ramets, individual plants were transferred to the controlled environment of the PNT.
Controlled environment
The uptake experiments were carried out in the PNT, which is a computer controlled hydroponic growth facility for experiments with whole plants [61]. The hydroponic rhizotron system of the PNT consisted of four independent growth units each containing eight root vessels built into a controlled growth chamber in a block design. The growth chamber regulated air temperature, humidity and light intensity (maximum 1200 μmol m-2 s-1 PAR at the base of the plants) in day:night cycles similar to those of the nursery. Each of the four growth units was connected to a separate steady state, temperature (27°C), pH (6.5) and oxygen controlled reservoir (180 l) through which the culture solution was recirculated. The reservoirs were equipped with UV-sterilization units, and the concentrations of NH4 + and PO4 3- were monitored continuously by an auto-analyzer using standard colorimetric methods (Lachat Instruments, Milwaukee, WI, USA). The nutrient concentrations were maintained at constant levels through computer-mediated feedback regulation of peristaltic pumps that delivered the P nutrient stock solution and a (NH4)2SO4 stock solution to the reservoirs. The nutrients were supplied continuously at rates equivalent to their depletion in the culture solutions. The reservoirs and the root vessels were sealed from the atmosphere and flushed with either N2 gas or atmospheric air to control solution oxygen at the desired levels (<0.5 and 8 mg l-1, respectively). Each root vessel (height 700 mm, diameter 80 mm) had a lid with two openings for plants. The culture solution was circulated through each vessel at a rate of 4 litre min-1. The use of the P nutrient stock solution and partial replacement of the culture solutions (approximately 60% of the volume) ensured that concentrations of the major nutrients were maintained within ± 10% of desired set point level during the acclimation periods in PNT.
The four growth units of the PNT were used in sequence to create the 8 different treatment combinations (2 P levels × 2 species × 2 O2 levels). In order to optimize the control system for P detection, experiments with low and high-P acclimated plants were carried out separately. Between four and eight plants of each species for each treatment were selected at random from the stock of plants in the nursery unit. New ramets, rhizomes and senescent plant parts were removed from the plants before they were mounted in the root vessels of the PNT. The plants were acclimated to the steady state nutrient and oxygen levels in the controlled rhizotrons for at least one month prior to measurement of nutrient uptake.
Nutrient uptake kinetics
One hour before the initiation of the uptake kinetics studies, the circulation between the root chambers and the solution in the external tank was stopped, and the root chambers were flushed five times with a nutrient solution containing 5 μg P l-1. Thereafter, uptake studies were initiated by measuring a series of P depletion rates at stepwise increasing levels of P. The concentration of P was increased from 5 to 500 μg P l-1 in steps of 5 to 50 μg P l-1 followed by periods where the rates of depletion were measured. The root chamber was connected to the flow injection analyzer (FIA) through tubing (figure 5). A high-speed peristaltic pump (figure 5, item 4) recirculated solution through two tee-pieces connected to the FIA. The peristaltic pump of the FIA pumped the solution through a three-way valve connected to the recycling flow and to calibration solutions and back into the recycling flow line through the six-port valve of the analyzer. A three-way valve connected the return flow line from the FIA to the drain in order to collect sample water during instrument calibration. The setup ensured that no solution was lost during sampling, except for the volume extracted by the FIA for P analysis. During measurement of P depletion the sample rate was 20 per hour with a sample volume of 780 μl. The extracted volume was replaced with a complete nutrient solution but without P. Calibration of the analyzer channels was performed at regular intervals during the depletion series. The loss of test volume during the measurements due to evapotranspiration, was replaced with distilled water. pH was maintained at 6.5 ± 0.5 by addition of NaOH when necessary.
Plant tissue measurements
At the end of the depletion experiments, the length of the root and shoot system was measured and plants were separated into roots, leaves, rhizomes and ramets, rinsed in deionised water, and the fresh weights (FW) were recorded before drying in a forced ventilated oven for 48 hours at 80°C for dry weight (DW) determination. The dried plant material was then finely ground and analyzed for N using a N-protein analyzer (Na2000, Carlo Erba, Milan, Italy). The concentrations of P in the plant fractions were analyzed using an ICP-AES (Plasma II, Perkin-Elmer, CT, USA) after HNO3 and H2O2 digestion [63]. The concentration of N and P in the plant fractions and the weight proportions of the fraction were used to calculate the nutrient concentration on a plant basis.
Estimation of uptake kinetics parameters
The P uptake rates were estimated by linear regression analysis of 3 to 5 consecutive samples of P concentrations measured during depletion. The slopes of the regression lines were corrected for the loss due to sampling by the flow injection analyzer, and divided by root dry weight to obtain the P uptake rate (μg P g-1 root DW h-1). Data collected during the initial 8 to 12 minutes after a shift in P concentration in the root chambers were omitted from the analyses in order to ensure that equilibrium between apoplastic and the external P concentrations was achieved.
The kinetic constants in this model are: Vmax, the maximum uptake velocity at saturating ion concentration; K0.5 (= K + Cmin), the half-saturation constant where uptake is 50% of Vmax; and Cmin, the ion concentration at which there is no net inflow. Vmax is a measure of the uptake capacity, and K0.5 as well as the ratio between Vmax and K0.5 are measures of the affinity of the uptake system. Also the slope, α, of the initial linear part of the uptake curve is a measure of affinity. This model has been successfully used in many studies to assess the underlying mechanisms responsible for up-regulating and down-regulating influx of different nutrient ions into whole plants, as well as the acclimations of the uptake system to different environmental conditions [39, 40, 61, 64–67]. Vmax was entered into the model as a fixed parameter, and was estimated prior to the fitting as the average of the maximum uptake rates registered in a run. The modified Michaelis-Menten equation was fitted to the experimental data by means of a non-linear regression analysis using the Marquardt method (Statgraphics ver. 3, Manugistics, Inc., Maryland, USA). Two measures for P uptake affinity was calculated: (1) the ratio between Vmax and K0.5 (Vmax/K0.5); and (2) the slope, α, of the initial linear part of the uptake curve as estimated by linear regression analysis.
All statistics were carried out using the software Statgraphics ver. 3 (Manugistics, Inc., Maryland, USA). The difference in uptake kinetic parameters between the two species and the effects of growth P level and oxygen treatment were assessed by a factorial ANOVA model using type III sum of squares. Three-way interactions were ignored in the model. The data were tested for normality and variance homogeneity using Cochran's C-test, and data were log-transformed when necessary. Multiple levels of main effects were compared by multiple range tests using the Tukeys HSD procedure at the 5% significance level.
The project was supported by a grant from the South Florida Water Management District, West Palm Beach, Florida (Macrophyte Nutrient Kinetics, Contract C-6642). Additional travel and salary support was provided by the John P. Laborde Endowed Chair for Sea Grant Research and Technology Transfer Program. We thank Ken Krauss, Rebecca Howard, Sue Newman and Fred Sklar for comments on the manuscript. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.
Authors' Affiliations
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This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


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Saturday, January 26, 2013
Taste the Rainbow
St. Patrick's Day Skittles Exploration
1. Online collaboration project - skype and compare results with schools across the U.S. (Registration opens March 1)
2. Skittles Density Column - Cool Science at Home
3. Skittle Chromatography - Awesome Crazy Guyz
4. Skittle Color Separation - Parents: Homeschool Den
5. Fizzle a Skittle - Gigi Reviews
6. Skittles Riddle Book - Fun with a variety of math concepts
7. Skittle Arrays / Fractions - click here
8. Crack a skittle open like a clam shell?! - Parenting
Free Printables!
1. Skittles Graph, Tally, Sort - Golden Gang Kindergarten
2. Skittles Math Center - Erica Bohrer's First Grade
3. Skittles Place Value - Beacon Learning
4. Skittles Fractions - NWACC
Online Tool
Pie chart creator
Posted by Erin Bittman at 12:56:00 PM
Labels: color science, food science, math, rainbow, st. patrick's day, technology tools for teachers
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- Space and stillness: You can be visiting the most relaxing destination on the planet (as voted by Conde Nast Traveller or blah blah), but if you're there with your kids, you won't be relaxed. Not fully anyway. And certainly not unless the kids are asleep.
- Chilling in cafes: This probably falls under the above category… but I'm putting it here anyway. I love cafes. I LOVE cafes in Paris… or Vienna… or Tokyo or New York. But once again, unless your kids are asleep…
- Little local bars and weird booze: I'm not an alcoholic but I love a drink… or three. And I love nothing more than knocking back a few in a small local bar while chatting to some local boozers… I love NOTHING more… apart from my kids I guess, so if they're travelling with me, I give the bar hopping a miss.
- Sex: Oh, did I just say that out loud? Well excuse me luvvin' some fun with my guy… but sharing a hotel room, cabin, holiday apartment with 4 active boys can put a dampener on lazing around naked with each other. You grab it when you can. J
- Standing at immigration: Oh god how I miss standing quietly alone in a long line at immigration and not having to say, "Nearly there," or "Please don't kick your brother," or "Really… you have to go to the toilet right now?"
What I miss about travelling PK (pre-kids)
posted in: Travelling with kids | 2


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To celebrate National Learning Disability week, we met with Neil Morrisroe, Service Delivery Manager from the Learning Disability Community Support Service in Adult Social Care. The service provides a range of support services for over 1000 adults with learning disabilities, their families and carers.
In his interview, Neil talks about how the service has embraced technology to help improve services for people with learning disabilities, and explains how technology can offer new and improved opportunities for enhancing communication.
Hi Neil, could you tell us briefly about your role?
I'm the Service Delivery Manager for the Learning Disability Community Support service – this is the in-house provider service for adults with Learning Disabilities in Leeds. We provide support to over 1000 people and offer this support in people's own homes and in our Fulfilling Lives Services and Respite/Emergency Services.
What is the role of technology in improving or enhancing services for people with learning disabilities?
It started a number of years ago when we realised that advancements in technology would have a significant impact on the people who use our service and could potentially make a real difference to their lives. We had a number of staff who had a real interest and expertise in this field and were doing pockets of really good practice in their individual services. To ensure that this good practice could be shared we set up a group called 'Technology Matters' which had staff representation from all of our services.
What are we doing in Leeds to overcome this?
The Technology Matters group meeting is held every 3 months and staff are encouraged to showcase new technologies they have discovered and share experiences they have had with customers who are using technology to improve their lives.
This has included mobile phones that are designed with only 5 large buttons and allow for single touch dialling, which is extremely useful for people with limited movement in their hands. These phones are also pre-programmed and have allowed customers to be more independent as they can now contact staff when they are out by simply touching one button on their phone.
More recently we have been using iPads and apps to great effect and have purchased a number of these devices and the accompanying apps to help support customers with communication. Our Fulfilling Lives service at Bramley has been used as a hub for staff and customers from other areas of Leeds to come and see the iPads and apps before they decide to buy them, thus ensuring that they don't waste money on equipment or software that isn't useful to them.
What difference do you believe this will make to people's lives in reality?
Well I can give you two great examples – one of our customer's Paul is only able to use his left arm and index finger. Using an iPad and communication software called 'proloquo2go' he is able to point his finger and use the software to speak for him. Staff are also able to customise the software to make a page for each subject which increases the speed it takes for Paul to communicate his needs.
Although communication aids like this have been around for some time, the real benefit of using the iPad is that not only are they much cheaper than the traditional equipment but that they are multifunctional, and whilst Paul may use the device to communicate, other customers can use other apps/functions to improve their literacy. With the amount of apps available the benefits are almost limitless!
Another wonderful example is Susan's story. Susan often has difficulty making herself understood and the staff who support her have been relying on signs and symbols which help her explain herself and also to communicate to her. Whilst this works to a degree, staff felt that exploring the use of an iPad and the range of apps that are available was the next step.
They identified an app called 'Scene and Heard' that Susan is able to navigate and use that to give her the ability to communicate more effectively.
This app gives her the ability to be able to communicate via pictures that link to audio descriptions of the activities that she has been doing. Staff are going to use it to enable her to plan and make more choices when doing her food shopping each week.
It also gives her the ability to go home to her family at a weekend and explain what activities she has been doing through the use of the pictures that she will take and any audio descriptions added to these. At present her family currently rely on speaking to staff to find out the details of things she has been doing – this will now give Susan a chance to say this for herself.
Having the use of the 3G iPad within the service meant that the staff were able to use the iPad to demonstrate what things she could do with it. As her home has no internet access this is an invaluable resource. It has and will enable staff to plan activities on the internet such as looking at shows and movies, and being able to watch clips on Youtube.
Susan has been experimenting with the iPad over the last month or so. She has developed the ability very quickly to use the basic functions such as swiping, double tapping and expanding the screen size.
The staff team are very excited at the prospect of being able to have a means of communicating better with Susan, and her family are also looking forward to seeing the results of this.
Many thanks to Neil for sharing his thoughts. If you would like to find out more about how to access the service, click here.


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This feature is new in the Solaris Express 9/03 release.
IPsec uses the Solaris Cryptographic Framework instead of its own encryption and authentication modules. The modules are optimized for the SPARC platform. In addition, a new ipsecalgs command-line utility and APIs are provided to query the list of supported IPsec algorithms and other IPsec properties.
For further information, see the ipsecalgs(1M) man page.
In the System Administration Guide: IP Services, see Chapter 18, "IP Security Architecture (Overview)" and "Authentication and Encryption Algorithms in IPsec."