The Influence of Serpentine Soil on the Early Development of a Non-Serpentine African Thistle, Berkheya radula (Harv.) De Wild.

Serpentine soils are rich in heavy metals and poor in nutrients, limiting plant species' performance and survival. Nevertheless, specificities of such limitations as well as adaptability features required for thriving in serpentine environments are barely known. The Barberton Greenstone Belt in South Africa is an example of an area containing serpentine soil with adapted vegetation. In this study, a pot experiment was performed to compare development features (i.e., germination rates, leaf count, leaf length, biomass and photosynthetic capacity) during the early development of the non-serpentine species Berkheya radula, a genus consisting of known metal hyperaccumulators from serpentine areas in South Africa. B. radula was grown in serpentine soils taken from the Barberton region. B. radula leaves had heavy metals in concentrations that confirmed the species as a phytoextractor. There were trends for enhanced productivity and photosynthesis in the serpentine treatments compared to the control. Leaf count, leaf length, electron transport efficiency (ψEo/(1 - ψEo), density of reaction centers and PIABS,total were significantly and positively correlated with at least one of the heavy metals in the leaves. Germination rates were positively influenced by K, whereas biomass and the density of reaction centers were negatively affected by Ca and P, and only Ca, respectively. The heavy metals Zn, Ni and Co were positively correlated with each other, whereas they were negatively correlated with the macronutrients K, Ca and P. The latter correlated positively with each other, confirming higher fertility of the control soil. Our study suggests that B. radula exhibits metallophyte characteristics (i.e., preadapted), despite not naturally occurring on metal-enriched soil, and this provides evidence that the potential for bioaccumulation and phytoremediation is shared between serpentine and non-serpentine species in this genus.

Collaborative preceptor training: a creative approach in tough times.

Rapid changes in the health care environment have challenged educators to find more efficient methods of developing nurses. These demands are leading to the use of collaborative approaches to education. Nurse educators have also found that they have to rely on preceptors for orientation of new employees. The Texas Medical Center Collaborative Preceptor Program was developed in 1989 to prepare nursing preceptors for all nine participating institutions. The goals of the program were to increase efficient use of instructor time, standardize preceptor preparation in the Texas Medical Center, and offer more programs and prepare more nurses per year than each individual institution could do alone. There were many unexpected benefits as well, and future plans for collaboration are already being formulated.