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"Continuous measurement of plant canopy temperature is useful in both research and production agriculture settings. Industrial-quality infrared thermometers which are often used for measurement of canopy temperatures, while reliable, are not always cost pendant effective," researchers in the United States report.

"For this study a relatively low-cost, consumer-quality infrared thermometer was incorporated into a wireless monitoring system intended for use in plant physiological studies and in agricultural production settings. The field performance of this low-cost wireless system was compared to that of a typical research system based on an industrial-quality infrared thermometer. Performance was evaluated in terms of: reliability of data acquisition, quality of seasonal temperature measurements, seasonal stability of the consumer-quality infrared sensor, and the equivalence of temperatures measured by the consumer-quality and industrial-quality temperature sensors. for many common uses of plant temperature data, the two sensors paloma picasso provide functionally equivalent results," wrote J.R. Mahan and colleagues, Department of Agriculture.

The researchers concluded: "The cost savings and ease of use associated with the low-cost wireless temperature monitoring system present advantages over the higher-cost industrial-quality sensors which may make them a viable alternative in many agricultural settings. ."Mahan and colleagues published their study in Computers and Electronics in Agriculture (Field performance in agricultural settings of a wireless temperature monitoring system based on a low-cost infrared sensor. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 2010;71(2):176-181).

For additional information, contact J.R. Mahan, ARS, Dept. of Agriculture, Plant Stress & Water Conservat Laboratory, 3810 4th St., Lubbock, TX 79415, USA.Publisher contact information for the journal Computers and Electronics in Agriculture is: Elsevier Science Ltd., the Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, Oxon, England.

The Green Technology Notice required inter alia that the application be classified in one of the U.S. classifications listed in the Green Technology Notice to be accorded special status under the Green Technology Pilot Program. Limiting the pilot program to only applications classified in these U.S. classifications assisted the USPTO to balance the workload and gauge resources needed for the program. The USPTO has determined that the classification requirement in the Green Technology Notice is unnecessary because the workload has been balanced with other mechanism, and this requirement was causing the denial of petitions for applications that are drawn to green technologies. Therefore, the USPTO is hereby eliminating the classification requirement for any petitions that are decided on or after the publication date of this notice. This will permit more applications to qualify for the pilot program, thereby allowing more inventions related to green technologies to be advanced out of turn for examination and reviewed earlier. Applicants whose petitions were dismissed or denied solely on the basis that their applications did not meet the classification requirement may file a renewed petition. If the renewed petition is filed within one month of the publication date of this notice, it will be given priority as of the date applicant filed the initial petition.

To participate in the pilot program, applicant must file a petition to make special under the Green Technology Pilot Program that satisfies all other requirements set forth in the Green Technology Notice. For example, to satisfy the eligibility requirements, the petition must contain the following statements. The petition must include a statement providing the basis for the special status (e.g., for an application pertaining to environmental quality, the petition must state that special status is sought because the invention materially enhances the quality of the environment by contributing to the restoration or maintenance of the basic life-sustaining natural elements). The petition must also include a statement explaining how the materiality standard is met, unless (1) the application clearly discloses that the claimed invention materially enhances the quality of the environment by contributing to the restoration or maintenance of one of the basic life-sustaining natural elements, or (2) the application disclosure is clear on its face that the claimed invention materially contributes to (a) development of renewable energy or energy conservation, or (b) greenhouse gas emission reduction.

SUMMARY: In the April 16, 2010 Federal Register (75 FR 19948), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Omaha and Kansas tiffany City Districts announced in a Notice of Intent (NOI) that it will prepare a comprehensive feasibility-type report with an integrated Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Missouri River Authorized Purposes Study (MRAPS). The NOI did not include specific details of the public scoping meetings. This notice announces the locations, dates, times, and format of the public scoping meetings.

Public Law 111-8 authorizes the USACE to review the original project purposes within the Missouri River Basin based on the Flood Control Act of 1944, as amended, and other subsequent relevant legislation and judicial rulings to determine if changes to the authorized project purposes and existing federal water resource infrastructure may be warranted. The authorized Missouri River project purposes are: Flood control, navigation, irrigation, power, water supply, water quality, recreation, and fish and wildlife.

According to a study from Nanjing, People's Republic of China, "High-quality (Co, Al)-codoped ZnO tiffany single crystalline films have been grown on a-plane sapphire substrates using molecular-beam epitaxy. Al codoping yields the Co-doped ZnO thin films to exhibit metallic conducting behavior with high fee carrier concentration."

"X-ray absorption studies confirm that nearly all Co ions are in divalent state and actually substituted into the ZnO lattice without formation of any detectable secondary phase. Compared with weak ferromagnetism (0.32 mu(B)/Co2+) in the Co-doped ZnO single crystalline film, the film with additional Al codoping was found to have much stronger ferromagnetism (0.83 mu(B)/Co2+) at room temperature. The magnetic anisotropy was also observed in the (Co, Al)-codoped ZnO thin film, indicating the ferromagnetism is intrinsic," wrote Z.L. Lu and colleagues, NanJing University.

The researchers concluded: "Our experimental observations suggest that additional electron doping is effective to strengthen the ferromagnetism in Co-doped ZnO films, which is well consistent with the recent theoretical description of carrier-mediated magnetism in Co-doped ZnO."Lu and colleagues published the results of their research in the Journal of Alloys and Compounds (Enhanced ferromagnetism in single crystalline Co-doped ZnO thin films by Al codoping. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2010;494(1-2):392-395).

"The fragmentation of natural habitat is considered to be a major threat to biodiversity. Decreasing habitat quality and quantity caused by fragmentation may lead to a disruption of plant-pollinator interactions and to a reduction in sexual reproduction in plant species," scientists in Basel, Switzerland report.

"We conducted a 6-year field experiment to investigate the effects of small-scale fragmentation on plant-pollinator interactions and genetic diversity in the self-compatible Betonica officinalis. We examined the abundance and composition of pollinators, the foraging behaviour of bumblebees and the performance, outcrossing rate and genetic diversity of B. officinalis after 2 and 6 years in experimentally fragmented nutrient-poor, calcareous grassland in the northern Swiss Jura mountains. Fragments of different size (2.25 and 20.25 m(2)) were isolated by a 5-m-wide strip of frequently mown vegetation. Control plots of corresponding size were situated in adjacent undisturbed grassland. Experimental grassland fragmentation altered the composition of B. officinalis pollinators and reduced their flower visitation rate. Furthermore, the foraging behaviour of bumblebees was changed in the fragments. After 6 years of fragmentation seed weight was higher in fragments than in control plots. However, the densities of B. officinalis rosettes and inflorescences, plant height and inflorescence length were not affected by fragmentation. The outcrossing frequency of B. officinalis growing in fragments was reduced by 15% after 2 years and by 33% after 6 years of experimental fragmentation. This resulted in a significant reduction of the genetic diversity in seedlings emerging in fragments after 6 years. Our study shows that small-scale habitat fragmentation can disturb the interaction between B. officinalis and pollinators resulting in tiffany a reduced outcrossing frequency and genetic diversity in plants growing in fragments. However, the response to fragmentation was considerably delayed," wrote H.P. Rusterholz and colleagues, University of Basel.

The researchers concluded: "This finding strengthens the claim for long-term field experiments with proper replications and controls to assess delayed effects of habitat fragmentation."Rusterholz and colleagues published their study in Oecologia (Delayed response in a plant-pollinator system to experimental grassland fragmentation. Oecologia, 2010;163(1):141-152)."In studies of population ecology, demography and life history evolution, among-individual differences in traits associated with survival and reproduction are often attributed to variation in 'individual quality'," investigators in Scotland report.

"However, often intuitive quality is rarely defined explicitly, and we argue that this can result in ambiguity about what quality actually is. Here we consider the various ways in which the concept of quality is currently applied, and show that subtle differences in intended meaning have very important consequences when the goal is to draw evolutionary inferences," wrote A.J. Wilson and colleagues, University of Edinburgh.The researchers concluded: "We also propose a novel approach that is consistent with all current ecological uses, but also allows the concept of quality to be integrated with existing evolutionary theory."Wilson and colleagues published their study in Trends in Ecology & Evolution (What is individual quality? An evolutionary perspective Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 2010;25(4):207-214).

Design and manufacturing were at the core and they contained many aspects, of which some, e.g. idea generation and adjustable specifications, were perceived as good by both firms. Also, despite some initial problems, both companies perceived recovery as good. One of BuyOff's concerns was therefore the assurance of defect-free and innovative products. It was therefore mainly BuyOff that made evaluations of the products' features, and these were mostly positive. Achieving defect-free and innovative products was so essential that BuyOff would seriously have questioned the continuation of the relationship if the technical outcome in the relationship had not met with the end-customers' approval. This illustrates how third parties have an impact on how quality is perceived in the focal relationship. Several technical aspects were considered as rather neutral, which meant that they were not considered as particularly good or poor, but instead in line with common business practice. There were also aspects of which there were opposite perceptions, i.e. both positive and negative. For example, SelMet were involved in generating product ideas together with BuyOff. This was considered positive by SelMet as they thereby were able to affect subsequent manufacturing, but simultaneously it was negative since it demanded resources.

The clear majority of perceptions of social interactions were interpreted as either positive or neutral, which may be attributable to the fact that the studied relationship was ongoing. Proportionately more perceptions concerning processes and outcomes of social interactions were identifiable in interviews with BuyOff's representatives than with SelMet's representatives. This may be due to the personality of the individuals or the nature of their business, i.e. selling and dealing with end-customers. However, both firms were aware of the significance of social aspects and advocated the need to cultivate their business relationships also from a social point of view. Both firms had positive perceptions of social contacts on an individual level consisting of: appeal, acquaintance, respect, congeniality, and pleasure. Both firms also had positive perceptions of each other's responsiveness and flexibility, which reflects congeniality. Perceptions of acquaintance, respect and pleasure as well as inter-firm cohesion have been interpreted as primarily neutral in the relationship, because the firms had some negative experiences in connection to problems that had not been resolved as smoothly as they would have preferred. But, on the whole, they expressed mutual respect, regarded their contacts as informal, and liked doing business with each other.

Aspects such as, for example, conflicts in a relationship may be interpreted as either positive or negative. On the one hand, a conflict may be regarded as negative, since it as such reflects a negative incident that potentially tiffany may result in a weakening of the relationship. On the other hand, a conflict may be seen as a process which, for example, through negotiation and compromise reaches a solution and therefore eventually is perceived as positive. In the tiffany sale studied dyad, there had been a few conflicts, and they had by and large been solved; still, they had made the firms more careful when negotiating, setting prices, and determining different schedules.

The informants provided information that reflected different types of interaction, which resulted in a new notion of different interaction levels as proposed in the PRQ model. Although not systematically generated on different levels, the empirical data contained examples of perceptions pertaining to interaction with a different time span. That one of the firms thought that they were not tied to each other represents a perception on the relationship level. An example of how a relationship-level perception impacted a narrower interaction type was that having a relationship affected the development of new products, as it was considered to improve the prerequisites and increase expectations. Compared to a perception that concerns the entire relationship, a perception on the sequence level represents another type, concerning interactions that are more limited in scope, and with regard to a natural entity, which the firms evaluate within the relationship. In the studied relationship a natural entity was a product which was represented with different versions which slightly differed from each other in terms of technical features. Most of the data concerned the product which had been in production since the relationship started. Empirical statements about this product seemed to constitute a set of perceptions which formed a natural entity and which could be distinguished from the perceptions of the second product. That products can be considered sequences in this particular case can be attributed to both the nature of the offering and the types of firms studied. The offering concerned was an end product, which was relatively easy to evaluate. Products were significant to both firms: BuyOff wanted tiffany competitive products to sell to end-customers, and SelMet was a traditional manufacturing-oriented supplier to whom products were the main focus.

Products were the core of the studied relationship. The tools were expensive and because of this it was important that the products stayed in production long enough to tiffany sale make the tool investment pay off. Tools therefore simultaneously defined a natural entity, i.e. a product, within the relationship. The end of a sequence also defines a vulnerable point in time for the whole relationship; a new product may imply that the supplier is replaced. This illustrates a type of time-framed commitment anchored in products instead of being the traditional general relationship-level type of commitment. However, supplier changes were not considered for existing products but, regarding the future, new products may imply changes. Because the first product developed together with SelMet was in a high demand on the end market, BuyOff considered the relationship as important. This illustrates how perception on the sequence level influences perception on the relationship level.

A sequence is thus an entity that is more limited in scope than the relationship. Within a sequence, perceptions could be identified that concerned, for example, a price negotiation, design process and recovery process, which were interpreted as episodes. The parties can evaluate a price negotiation, for instance, in terms of both how the price discussions go and the outcome of that process, such as terms in a price list. Episodes had also impacted a sequence, since being unable to reach an agreement on price had postponed new products. Delays had similarly in the design stage postponed a product, an example of how episode-level aspects affect sequence-level aspects. The smallest element of the relationship, namely the action-level aspects, was illustrated for instance with perceptions of individual contacts, and how these had facilitated, for instance, design.

Move over Jane Fonda. Desi fitness instructors move in with a lesson or two Are Indians living abroad still into restaurant and grocery store business? Forget it. They have moved ahead. Some of them have been become rivals to the likes of Jane Fonda! Yes, when it comes to fitness routines, Indians are giving lessons with a twist.

Meet Belly twins Neena and Veena. They have conceptualised, choreographed, produced, and starred in twelve instructional and fitness videos. The two have sold millions of videos and DVDs worldwide. Their most recent releases Bellydance Core Conditioning, an innovative bellydance workout incorporating weights, and the very popular Indi-Hop, which incorporates bhangra (Indian folk dance) and hip-hop in an intense workout, have surpassed their earlier video sales. The video comes in a form of a kit complete with veil and cymbals.

Besides providing exercise lessons, they are also performers and have staged their talent before crowds that had Eddie Murphy, Sting, Antonio Bandaras, , Nicole Kidman, Ozzy Osbourne, U2, Hugh Hefner, and at Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston's wedding reception. Television shows like ER, The View, Dick Clark's The Other Half have featured them besides making special appearances in music videos of Mandy Moore, Ricky Martin, Michael Jackson, Tom Petty and Aerosmith. Another popular fitness instructor is Sarina Jain, founder of Masala Dance & Fitness, Inc. tiffany sale She is a certified fitness instructor teaching a range of classes, including step, kickboxing, cycling, total body conditioning, high/low impact aerobics, and cardio salsa. Since launching her company in 1999, she has directed and produced a series of Masala Bhangra workout videos. According to her, "When I entered into the fitness industry, Jane Fonda was a notable fitness icon. She had her own workouts and her own videos, and I wanted to emulate her success. When my students started saying I was like an 'Indian Jane Fonda', it was the biggest compliment for me." She has been the instructor to Vanessa Dengies, Jazzy B and Sukhbir, among countless other celebrities.

Bikram's Yoga College of India is another popular destination. Born in Kolkata in 1946, Choudhury began practising yoga at the age of four at Ghosh's College of Physical Education. At the age of 13, he tiffany on sale won the National India Yoga Championship. He was undefeated for the following three years and retired as the undisputed All-India National Yoga Champion.

Of course, this doomed him entirely. Surpassing such success was impossible, but by then, having been a star since he was old enough to stand upright, he was addicted to fame. So in lieu of success he started hanging out with zoo animals and child stars. In 1989 he released a bizarre video for Leave Me Alone that raged against the sensational media coverage he himself had invited. In addition to featuring several dogs wearing suits (always a good idea), it presented Jackson's life as a carnival ride (probably a bad idea).

"I call it PUS, publicity deficiency syndrome," Rabbi Shmuley explains, "where you begin to feel that your career is waning and you become increasingly desperate to hang on to it. So you make increasingly outrageous statements, you engage increasingly in sensationalism as opposed to real substance. Michael started doing that a long time ago and he's never weaned himself offit." Soon enough, (ackson was little more than a circus freak, and the next thing you knew he was up in a tree declaring himself Peter Pan and drinking wine with the prepubescent. His fall was directly proportional to his rise. If he was once the most-beloved pop star on the planet, he is now easily the most despised. "There's something about pendant Michael that really brings out people's animus, people's loathing," Rabbi Shmuley says.

Indeed, people hate Jackson now with a passion tiffany generally reserved for murderous dictators, duplidtous corporate leaders and former football stars who get away with murdering their ex-wives. "It would be the hardest job in PR after Saddam Hussein, and I would be astounded if he could turn things around," one public relations guru said two years ago after turning down an offer to help resurrect Jackson's career. "The final judgment is with the record-buying public and they have made their verdict clear."

Alan M. Pottasch, creative tiffany guru at Pepsi-Cola Co. for nearly 50 years, was the force behind countless campaigns including the Pepsi Challenge and star-studded efforts featuring Michael J. Fox and Michael Jackson. He died July 27 at age 79 in Los Angeles, where he was "doing what he loved best," according to a statement from the marketer: working on a Pepsi TV commercial.Launched in 1963, Mr. Pottasch's youth-targeted "Pepsi Generation" ad theme became one of the longest-running TV campaigns in history. It won him critical acclaim and launched him to near-legendary status in the industry. His commercials won more than 60 major industry awards, including the Grand Prix at Cannes.

"Alan had an extraordinary ability to understand and connect with people, whether they were his family, friends, colleagues or consumers of the brands he loved to market," said Roger Enrico, former chairman-CEO of PepsiCo, in a statement. "He was a beautiful person-creative, talented, funny and caring. His passing is a great loss, his memory a great joy to all of us who loved him."Mr. Pottasch was also instrumental to the relationship between PepsiCo and its longtime agency partner, BBDO."It was an unprecedented alliance that produced over 35 years of award-winning advertising. Alan was the keeper of the creative flame, Pepsi's creative conscience, always putting the long-term health of the brands over quick-fix short-term solutions. Every company should be blessed with an Alan Pottasch," Phil Dusenberry, former chief creative officer of BBDO/North America, said in a statement.

A New York City native, Mr. Pottasch served in the Navy Air Corps during World War II He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in creative writing from the Pennsylvania State University in 1949.Before joining PepsiCo in 1957, Mr. Pottasch worked as a producer for ABC-TV in New York and was VP of the Kenyon & Eckhardt Advertising Agency.He retired from PepsiCo in 1991 as senior VP-worldwide creative but continued to work as a creative consultant for the company until his death. Mr. Pottasch lived in New Fairfield, Conn., with his wife, Lisa, and their daughter, Allison. He was an active pilot and scuba diver.

No one would ever confuse beer expert Michael Jackson with the pop star of the same name. But the rumpled man, with the salt and pepper beard and moustache, was a king in his field, too. Jackson was known for touting the many charms of beer in books and on television. The beer hunter, as he was called, died last week in London. Jackson worked as a beer critic for more than 30 years. He told this program in 1994 that if you appreciate wine, you can appreciate beer.

Mr. MICHAEL JACKSON (Beer Expert): If you take a glass of wine, there are hundreds of flavor and aroma compounds in that glass of wine. But if you take a glass of beer, there are equally hundreds of flavor and aroma compounds in that. So the two products are equally complex. There are styles of beer that are as diverse as Cabernet Sauvignon, a champagne and a (unintelligible).HANSEN: Michael Jackson's books, "World Guide to Beer" and "The Great Beers tiffany of Belgium," introduced many varieties of the ancient brew to the global market, including the United States.

Jackson also produced a TV documentary series called "The Beer Hunter." He gave speeches and held seminars all over the world in service to the beverage he love.Jackson recognized the risks between beer lovers and enophiles but he believed that wine and beer were making peace with one another.Mr. JACKSON: Wine, which used to be the drink of the elite, became the drink of the middle classes. And so wine extended its range down market and beer has moved up market. And they met in the middle, or are in the process of meeting in the middle. So I think we have a democratization of drink.