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Identifies five levels of effectiveness: outcomes, behavior, learning, reaction, and participation, and discusses these levels within the context of research evidence for education within the medical profession. (Contains 33 references.) (Author/YDS)

Geoprivacy protection is a significant concern when sharing data. To support sustainable land management by leveraging existing agricultural data, research is needed to identify how the polygon nature of static field parcels can be obfuscated to allow data sharing among individuals and organizations. In this study, five adaptive polygon‐based obfuscation methods including PN*Rand, PDonut‐k, PDensity‐k, PAHilb, and PDonut_AHilb methods were developed and applied on the Irish Nutrient Management Planning Online (NMP Online) agricultural dataset. The polygon‐based obfuscation methods introduced in this study were designed with the consideration of properties of spatial polygon objects including the spatial coordinates, shape and size of the polygon, topology, and spatial relationship between adjacent polygons that can be used to identify real‐world objects. These methods were developed to guarantee that there is no false‐identification and non‐unique obfuscation which is important for static polygon objects in terms of accuracy and privacy protection. Qualitative approaches were developed to identify the optimal values of inner and outer radii of donut shape based on k‐anonymity satisfaction and subsequently obtain the optimal value of k‐anonymity. Several evaluation methods were implemented to compare the methods performance. Density‐based methods particularly PDonut‐AHilb provide the best trade‐off between field parcel confidentiality and spatial pattern preservation and should be considered for researchers and practitioners obfuscating polygon data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A soil's responses to phosphorus (P) input differs based on its chemical composition. Soil acidity and the presence of metallic cations dictate a soil's chemical composition. Currently, soil P application recommendations are universal and do not account for differing soil composition. A targeted soil‐specific approach is required to optimize P efficiency and availability. A pot incubation experiment was established to explore the effects of contrasting lime and P application rates across a range of soils (25), characterized by fine particle size and high levels of soil organic matter. Three contrasting rates of P were applied (0, 50, and 150 kg P ha−1) both with and without ground lime (CaCO3) at 5 tonne ha−1 over a 140‐day incubation period. The addition of lime buffered the soil, increasing nutrient availability and reducing P fixation. The 50 kg P ha−1 treatment rate was required to achieve sufficient plant available P in both mineral soil textural classes. Current legislative recommendations however do not allow the application of such rates, which has an impact on agronomic performance. Loam soils experienced a greater increase in M3 soil P in comparison to clay and organic soils. Organic soils posed a major threat to water quality due to poor P retention. A re‐evaluation of P recommendations is required to account for soil variability as current P allowances are insufficient on these particular soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) provide plants with vital mineral nutrients and co‐exist inside the roots alongside a complex community of bacterial endophytes. These co‐existing AMF and bacterial root communities have been studied individually and are known to be influenced in structure by different environmental parameters. However, the extent to which they are affected by environmental parameters and by each other is completely unknown. The current study addressed this knowledge gap by characterising AMF and bacterial communities inside plant roots from a natural and an agricultural ecosystem. Using multivariate modelling, the relative contribution of environmental parameters in structuring the two communities was quantified at different spatial scales. Using this model, it was possible to then remove the contribution of environmental parameters and show that the co‐existing AMF and bacterial communities were significantly correlated with each other, explaining up to 36% of each other's variance. Notably, this was not due to the presence of know AMF endobacteria, as removal of endobacterial reads maintained the significance of correlation. These findings provide the first empirical evidence of a selective and bi‐directional relationship between AMF and bacteria co‐inhibiting plant roots and indicate that a significant fraction of this covariation is due to biological and ecological interactions between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is potential for using the Illinois soil nitrogen rest (ISNT) to improve N fertilizer recommendations for crops in the southeastern United States. The ISNT has been previously calibrated to predict N rates for corn (Zea mays L.) in North Carolina. This study evaluated the effects of sampling time, sampling depth, crop rotation, and fertilizer application on soil ISNT-N during a 2-yr period in the humid Coastal Plain and Piedmont regions of North Carolina. Ten sites were repeatedly sampled at 0- to 10-, 10- to 20-, and 20- to 30-cm depths in fall, mid-winter, and spring between October 2006 and May 2007. Illinois soil nitrogen test N, KCl-extractable soil N[O.sub.3]-N and N[H.sub.4]-N, and soil organic matter (SOM) derived by loss-on-ignition (LOI) were evaluated at each sampling. Temporal changes in these soil parameters were evaluated for various crop rotations and N fertilizer applications. Soil ISNT-N decreased with depth and showed significant variation with time at all three depths at all sites. Soil ISNT-N was influenced by crop rotation and tillage but was not significantly affected by N fertilizer applications. Considering all sites together, ISNT-N was well correlated with LOI; however, ISNT-N was not correlated with LOI across time within sites. This suggests that the ISNT measured a fraction of SOM that behaved somewhat independently with time. Abbreviations: ASN, amino sugar nitrogen; ISNT, Illinois soil nitrogen test; LOI, loss-on-ignition; SOM, soil organic matter. doi: 10.2136/sssaj2009.0253

Growing sustainability demands on land have a high knowledge requirement across multiple scientific domains. Exploring networks can expose opportunities for targeting. Using mixed-methods combining social network analysis (SNA) and surveys, networks for key soil functions in case studies in Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands are explored. We find a diversity of contrasting networks that reflect local conditions, sustainability challenges and governance structure. Farmers were found to occupy a central role in the agri-environmental governance network. A comparison of the SNA and survey results indicate low acceptance of messages from many central actors indicating scope to better harness the network for sustainable land management. The source of the messages was important when it came to the implementation of farm management actions. Two pathways for enhanced farmer uptake of multi-functionality are proposed that have wider application are; to increase trust between farmers and actors that are agents of multi-functional messages and/or to increase the bundling or multi-functionality of messages (mandate) of actors trusted by farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major challenge of sharing spatially explicit agricultural and agri‐environmental data is to identify the trade‐off between field parcel confidentiality and spatial pattern preservation. In this work, 27 point‐based obfuscation and evaluation methods were applied on agricultural data, collected by the Irish Nutrient Management Planning Online (NMP Online) platform, which is a high‐density polygon dataset developed to inform precision agriculture through nutrient management based on soil fertility and agronomic targets. Broad categorizations of methods—including N*Rand, Donut, Density, Pinwheel, AHilb, and k‐anonymity—were developed, combined, and modified to achieve the best trade‐off between security and accuracy. To improve geoprivacy and spatial pattern preservation of existing Donut and Density methods, qualitative approaches, including Donut‐k and Density‐k methods, were introduced which identify the optimal values of radii based on a combination of the Donut method and k‐anonymity satisfaction, and subsequently optimal k‐anonymity determination. Modified AHilb and Donut‐AHilb methods were also developed to generate smaller and arbitrary obfuscation areas to improve location security. The Donut‐AHilb method was found to be the best at spatial pattern preservation and satisfying larger k‐anonymity, but the risk of false identification and non‐unique obfuscation was high when considering the polygon nature of agricultural data such as field parcels. Further, we introduce the term "non‐unique obfuscated points," which is important when obfuscating static objects as two or more points might have the same obfuscated location, which has relevance to the wider GIScience community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Good soil structure provides multiple benefits for society but in grass‐based production systems is underpinned by trafficking management regime. For Irish soils, there is no soil trafficking intensity index that considers the effect of geo‐climatic variability or differences in drainage classes on soil compaction risk. Grazing and machinery activity data were compiled across 38 managed grasslands along with common soil structural quality indicators in order to develop and validate a 'soil trafficking intensity index for compaction (STICi)'. Two component indices of STICi were developed: (a) a grazing trafficking index (Gi, kg × year ha−1) and (b) a machinery trafficking index (Mi, kg × year ha−1). The average annual grazing trafficking pressure observed was 213,914 kg × year ha−1, and the average annual machinery trafficking pressure was 4,412 kg × year ha−1. These figures represent thresholds above which soils are at higher risk of compaction. Mi spanned a wider range (−2.1 ≤ Mi ≤ 2.8) compared with Gi (−1.32 ≤ Gi ≤ 1.06). STICi and components, when disaggregated by soil drainage class, were able to detect changes in direct indicators of soil structural quality, such as bulk density, total porosity, water holding capacity, water conductivity and visual soil assessment. STICi (Mi and Gi) were also related to indirect indicators, such as, soil carbon content, earthworms and microbial biomass. In general, poorly drained sites showed higher vulnerability to machinery trafficking intensity compared with grazing trafficking pressure. At national scale, STICi can be utilized to identify soils at risk of compaction and underpin targeted management advice for supporting sustainable grassland production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In temperate grasslands, N source influences greenhouse gas emissions. Nitrification and urea hydrolysis inhibitors can reduce these losses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of N source, urease inhibitors, and nitrification inhibitors on temperate grassland yields and N uptake. Experiments were conducted at three locations over 2 years (6 site-years) on the island of Ireland, covering a range of soils and climatic conditions. Results showed that calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN), urea+N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT), urea+NBPT+dicyandiamide (DCD), and urea had equal annual dry matter yield. Urea+DCD had lower dry matter yield than CAN for 3 site-years. Calcium ammonium nitrate and urea+NBPT consistently had the same N uptake, urea+DCD had lower N uptake than CAN in 4 of 6 site-years, urea had lower N uptake than CAN in 2 site-years, and urea+NBPT+DCD had lower N uptake than CAN in 1 site-year. Urea+NBPT is a cost-effective alternative to CAN, which is consistently equal in terms of yield and N uptake in temperate grassland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reliable and practical test that can provide timely measurements of the levels of mineralizable nitrogen (MN) in soil is critical for improving the accuracy of N fertilizer applications for grassland and crops. The Illinois soil N test (ISNT) is considered to be a good estimate of MN, once soils are grouped according to soil characteristics such as the drainage type and sampling depth. To date, development and evaluation of the ISNT method has been conducted using arable soils mainly in North America where, in general, soils have lower levels of soil organic matter (SOM) compared to temperate grassland soils. We evaluated the effects of two pre-treatment soil aggregate sizes of <1 mm and <2 mm on the yield and recovery of MN (1) across temperate grassland soil types, and (2) across a 6-h interval diffusion period. No significant difference existed in the concentrations of ISNT-N between the two soil aggregate sizes of each soil type. For both aggregate sample sizes, the recovery of spiked amino sugar-N glucosamine from a temperate grassland soil was generally linear until hour 5, after which the quantities of recovered N diminished. Although N recovery after 6 h of diffusion at 50°C (±1°C) was less than 100% in both aggregate size samples, the response models indicated that the standard ISNT protocol using a 5-h diffusion period is appropriate for temperate grassland soils. The incomplete recovery of N in these mineral soils suggested that the protocol could be further optimized for temperate soils with high organic matter content and additional evaluation of the temperature during diffusion within an enclosed environment may be required using N (spiked glucosamine-N) recovery studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Republic of Ireland was one of a minority of EU member states to include direct controls on chemical phosphorus (P) fertilisers in its EU Nitrates Directive National Action Plan, first introduced in 2006. This study estimates farm gate phosphorus balances and use efficiencies across 150 specialist dairy farms over the seven year period since these controls were introduced (2006–2012) using nationally representative data. Results indicate that P balances declined by 50% over the study period from 11.9 in 2006 to 6.0 kg ha − 1 in 2012. This decline was driven by a reduction in chemical fertiliser imports of 6.5 kg ha − 1 . This is equivalent to a reduction of 281 kg of P and represents a cost saving of €812 per annum across the average farm. Phosphorus use efficiency also improved over the period from 60% in 2006 to 78% in 2012, peaking in 2011 at 88.3%. This was achieved while increasing milk solids output per hectare and per cow. Results of a random effects panel data model indicated that P balance and use efficiency are significantly influenced by factors such as fertiliser prices, stocking rates, land use potential, use of milk recording technology, contact with extension services and rainfall patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study employs Profile Analysis via Multidimensional Scaling (PAMS), a procedure for extracting dimensions, in order to identify core eating disorder symptoms in a clinical sample. A large sample of patients with eating disorders ( N = 5193) presenting for treatment completed the Eating Disorders Inventory-2 (EDI-2; Garner, 1991 ), and PAMS was then employed to estimate individual profile weights that reflect the degree to which an individual's observed symptom profile approximates the pattern of the dimensions. The findings revealed three symptom dimensions: Body Thinness, Body Perfectionism, and Body Awareness. Subsequent analysis using individual level data illustrate that the PAMS profiles properly operate as prototypical profiles that encapsulate all individuals’ response patterns. The implications of these dimensional findings for the assessment and diagnosis of eating disorders are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving nitrogen (N) fertilizer-use efficiency (NfUE) in temperate grassland soils is important for agronomic and environmental sustainability. Nitrogen supplied from soil N reserves through N mineralization processes need to be accounted for when prescribing additional N fertilizer applications. Therefore a rapid and reliable soil N testing procedure for predicting mineralizable N (MN) needs to be identified for temperate grassland soils. In this study, the MN across 35 mineral grassland soils (depth 0-10 cm) from Ireland, with varying physiochemical properties, was investigated using a 7-d anaerobic incubation (AI-7) as a reference method. The soil N pools measured using seven relatively rapid chemical N indices were also examined and compared with the AI-7 values. The Illinois Soil N Test (ISNT), total N (TN), and total C (TC) correlated strongly with MN, (r > 0.81) across these 35 soils. There was no distinct improvement when soils were grouped according to soil textural class. Although TN and TC displayed strong relationships with MN, these N indices may be less sensitive to short-term changes due to soil management practices and climates and consequently may be less suitable as an indicator. The ISNT was the best predicator of MN, explaining 69% of the variability in MN, suggesting that it was measuring a similar labile soil organic N pool to that released by AI-7. The ISNT shows potential to replace AI-7 as a more rapid and reliable soil N test for routine analysis across temperate soil types, however, further field based studies are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]