A recent study, which assessed 100 streams across Europe, reveals that a key ecosystem process, leaf litter breakdown, is slowed when nutrient concentrations in the water are either very low or very high, has the highest potential at moderate nutrient concentrations and is inhibited in heavily polluted waters, implying that the relationship between nutrient levels and ecosystem processes, such as leaf litter breakdown, is complex. The researchers suggest that including an assessment of the functioning of ecosystem processes can make an important contribution to the overall evaluation of stream health.

Neonicotinoids are pesticides applied to plants to protect them from insects. The use of neonicotinoids may lead to contamination of aquatic environments through, among other routes, the input of contaminated plant material into waterways. While it is well established that direct exposure to contaminated water endangers aquatic invertebrates, scientists have now published findings indicating that dietary exposure through the consumption of contaminated plant material puts leaf-shredding species at increased risk. The researchers recommend that policymakers registering systemic insecticides (those whose active ingredients are transported throughout the plant tissues) consider dietary exposure, and its potential implications for ecosystem integrity, in addition to other exposure pathways.

These tiny, lightweight gadgets could mean huge savings for farmers.

Researchers study ants and their complex, productive societies to help address some of human society's most pressing challenges.

A special sugar in these greens keeps good bacteria happy.

What if they built electric vehicles (EVs) and there was no place to plug them in? That’s been the chicken-and-egg conundrum keeping EVs off the market in mod

The Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt are game-changing electric vehicles due on the market by the end of the year, and I just got a sneak peek.

Nissan North America offers details about how customers can place reservations for a 2011 Nissan Leaf, with prices starting at $25,280.

Nissan is taking reservations for its Leaf battery car starting April 20, two days before Earth Day. Will the 115,000 "hand wavers" sign up, pay $99, and get in

Seven-time Tour de France champion to become first person in America to own the new green car.

The Nissan Leaf will be produced in Tennessee, in America's largest auto plant under one roof. Take a tour with me on the electric tram.

Phil Lebeau has a hands-on look at Nissan's highly anticipated all-electric vehicle, the "Leaf."

MNN's Lifestyle blogger takes the electric Nissan Leaf for a leisurely test drive along the beach.

Lance Armstrong joins a new media campaign to market the innovative 2011 Nissan Leaf.

Plug-In America Vice President Paul Scott used to talk about EVs. Now he's going to be selling them on the floor of Santa Monica Nissan.

Seven-time Tour de France champion is first person in America to own automaker's new electric car.

The Nissan Leaf battery car will be in customers' hands in a few months. Based on a quick drive through Central Park in Manhattan, it's more than ready for prim

Production of the 2011 Nissan Leaf has begun at the company’s Oppama, Japan facility.

With the all-electric Nissan Leaf, your home acts as the car's primary 'filling station.' How will this impact potential buyers who live in apartments or don'

A Bay Area tech entrepreneur became the first owner of a Nissan Leaf last weekend, and the company says it will the first 20,000 orders delivered by next summer

Automakers who wanted 2010 bragging rights had to field their cars this week or risk getting the news swallowed up by the Christmas rush. So a whole lot of peop

Automakers released their official December 2010 sales figures, which included the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf for the first time.

After a rocky start in December, sales of the Nissan Leaf improved in the new year.

Kelley Blue Book releases its list of top 10 green cars for 2011, and the all-electric Nissan Leaf ousts the 2010 winner, the Toyota Prius.

The all-electric Nissan Leaf is the 2011 World Car of the Year.

The Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf earn top safety honors from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

After a slow start, sales of the Nissan Leaf are picking up and the competition between the Leaf and the Volt is heating up.

Actor partners with automaker to promote a greener lifestyle and help represent the company's new Innovation for Endurance campaign.

The lucky few have gotten their Nissan Leafs, but the company has scaled back its 2011 U.S. deliveries from 20,000 to 10,000, and dampened expectations about a

More than 1,700 Nissan Leafs were sold in June 2011.

In response to Japan's power crunch resulting from the Fukushima disaster, Nissan unveils a two-way charging system that makes it possible for your home

AdWeek ranks its top 10 favorites for 2011, including Chipotle's sustainable food initiative and Nissan Leaf's all-electric world.

Nissan and Electronic Arts joined forces to bring electric vehicles to the popular SimCity game.

In the end, delivery dates are unimportant — but they do show how connected we are.

Automaker networks are vulnerable to guys with laptops, and it's not an isolated problem.

In honor of Earth Day, our columnist reveals his 13 favorite eco-books.

Confused by kohlrabi? Daunted by dandelions? We're here to help. Here's a handy guide to edible leafy greens.

The tags show that you took the extra time to make your gift special.

Leaf blowers are a powerful way to get leaves out of your lawn, but they contribute to both air and noise pollution.

Breakthrough technology could make long-distance space travel feasible, clean our air here on Earth, and even combat global warming.

Photovoltaic cells convert the sun's energy into electricity — but what if solar energy could instead be converted directly into liquid fuel?

Enviva and The Longleaf Alliance announce a partnership to protect and restore one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in North America.

CSUDH moves forward with energy storage technology for green initiative

A desk leaf base has a base formed of a trapezoidal tubular body in a trapezoidal shape in a side view, closed from a bottom surface to a certain height in both sides, and opened in an upper portion therefrom. An inclined front wall of the tubular body is removed from one side to the other side, in a range from the height to a higher height lower than a top surface. A binder mounted along an elongated top surface of the base has an elongated body and rings. The elongated body is mounted along the top surface of the base with an approximately same width as the top surface. The rings are mounted on the body and capable of opening and closing. Each ring includes linear portions that protrude from the body inclining upward on front and back sides when closing.

The invention relates to methods and compositions for identifying and selecting maize plants with enhanced resistance to northern leaf blight. Maize plants generated by the methods of the invention are also a feature of the invention.

Method for binding a bundle of loose leaves or the like in a cover. The method includes the step of providing an end leaf that includes a fixing strip on a side edge, with the fixing strip partly fixed to the end leaf and provided with a strip of glue on a part of the fixing strip which is not fixed to the end leaf. On the side of the fixing strip turned away from the end leaf, said strip of glue being provided with a removable foil. Another step is binding a free edge of the bundle of loose leaves together with the end leaf. Further steps include removing the foil, and providing the bound edge of the bundle of leaves and the end leaf in the back of the cover and fixing thereof in the cover only by the strip of glue.

An inside leaflet of a book is provided which is bond-bound with pages of the book to provide an advertisement. The inside leaflet includes an advertisement printed part and a binding part. Catchphrases or illustrations for advertisement are printed on at least one side of the advertisement printed part. The binding part is configured to be bound with the pages along an edge of the inside leaflet such that the binding part has less binding portions than those of the pages in order to leave no traces or marks when the inside leaflet is detached from the book. Accordingly, since the inside leaflet is able to be bound to pages of various kinds of books and easily removed from the books without leaving any traces or marks in the books, the inside leaflet contributes to extension of the application range of advertisements and improvement of advertisement efficiency.

A leaf seal has a pair of annular packs of stacked leaves. Each pack is mountable to one of the components with its leaves extending towards the other component such that the leaf edges of at least one of the packs are presented for wiping contact with the other component. The packs are axially spaced from each other by a controlled axial clearance. Within each pack the leaves are stacked face-to-face such that neighboring leaves are separated from each other by interleaf gaps which allow an axial leakage flow through the seal. Further, within each pack the packs are positioned such that, when viewed in the axial direction, the leaves of each pack of the pair substantially obscure the interleaf gaps of the other pack of the pair. The controlled axial clearance is the dominant flow restriction in the seal determining the amount of leakage flow through the seal.

A protective device, particularly for a lock of a door or leaf, comprising a covering element which is associated slidingly with a plate that can be fixed to the door or leaf and can be positioned selectively so as to close an opening for access to the lock which is provided in the plate. Two pins are associated transversely with the plate and are adapted to block temporarily the sliding of the covering element with respect to the plate. The device has at least one cam, freely mounted rotatably within a cavity provided in the plate. At least one first recess and at least one second recess are provided in the lateral surface of the at least one cam, which have, in plan view, a mutually different shape and are adapted respectively to allow and prevent the sliding of the covering element.

A harvester having one or more cutting blades for cutting leafy vegetables with a rotating brush for sweeping harvested leaves into a basket or enclosure. The blades are driven by an oscillatory drive mechanism. The brush may have limp bristles. The harvester may be hand-carried and operated by a motor, which drives both the brush and the cutting blades.