scholarly journals Breeding Strategies to Improve Miscanthus as a Sustainable Source of Biomass for Bioenergy and Biorenewable Products

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 673 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Clifton-Brown ◽  
Kai-Uwe Schwarz ◽  
Danny Awty-Carroll ◽  
Antonella Iurato ◽  
Heike Meyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Perennial Grass ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Eastern Asia ◽  
Germplasm Collections ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Yield Quality ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Commercial Expansion

Miscanthus, a C4 perennial grass native to Eastern Asia, is being bred to provide biomass for bioenergy and biorenewable products. Commercial expansion with the clonal hybrid M. × giganteus is limited by low multiplication rates, high establishment costs and drought sensitivity. These limitations can be overcome by breeding more resilient Miscanthus hybrids propagated by seed. Naturally occurring fast growing indigenous Miscanthus species are found in diverse environments across Eastern Asia. The natural diversity provides for plant breeders, the genetic resources to improve yield, quality, and resilience for a wide range of climates and adverse abiotic stresses. The challenge for Miscanthus breeding is to harness the diversity through selections of outstanding wild types, parents, and progenies over a short time frame to deploy hybrids that make a significant contribution to a world less dependent on fossil resources. Here are described the strategies taken by the Miscanthus breeding programme at Aberystwyth, UK and its partners. The programme built up one of the largest Miscanthus germplasm collections outside Asia. We describe the initial strategies to exploit the available genetic diversity to develop varieties. We illustrate the success of combining diverse Miscanthus germplasm and the selection criteria applied across different environments to identify promising hybrids and to develop these into commercial varieties. We discuss the potential for molecular selections to streamline the breeding process.

Concept Exploration for a Mine-countermeasures Vessel Using a Packing-based Ship Synthesis Model

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruben J. Zandstra ◽  
Etienne A.E. Duchateau ◽  
Bart J. van Oers
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Feasible Solution ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Rapid Evaluation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Concept Exploration ◽  
Mine Countermeasures ◽  
Short Time ◽  
First Time

This paper presents a summary of a recent concept exploration effort for the replacement of the “Tri-Partite” class mine-hunters conducted at the Netherlands Ministry of Defense’s Defense Materiel Organization. Both the process and the ship synthesis model that were used are extensively discussed. Of particular interest is the process, as it is the first time that a novel type of “packing-based” ship synthesis model was applied to a Royal Netherlands Navy procurement project. In all, the application of this novel ship synthesis model was deemed successful. It enabled the rapid evaluation of a wide range of alternatives in a short time-frame. Most importantly, the results of the concept exploration effort aided in the search for a technically and financially feasible solution.

Postharvest handling, grading and sorting.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynette Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Plant Material ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Agricultural History ◽  
Food Handling ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Postharvest Handling ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Locally Grown

Abstract Postharvest handling systems move produce from the grower to the consumer with minimal losses in quality and quantity providing a uniform, year round supply of fresh fruits and vegetables. The postharvest handling phase includes all stages of processing immediately following harvest and is characterised by various methods of pre-cooling, washing, cleaning, trimming, sorting, grading and packing. Postharvest handling and sorting has been in practice for as long as plants have been consumed by man. The earliest forms of handling systems would have simply involved dividing fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and other produce into those which were fully ripe and/or damaged and require immediate consumption and those which could be put aside and stored for future use. Removal of rotten and inedible plant material immediately postharvest would have been carried out with the objective of preventing contamination of any produce to be stored, further ripened or processed by drying. Washing, cleaning and trimming are the postharvest operations which have been in use the longest. For much of agricultural history, fresh fruits and vegetables were harvested and consumed within a short time frame, thus the requirement for extensive grading, packaging, cooling and transportation was minimal. However, since the 1940s there has been a shift from consumers buying mostly fresh seasonal locally grown produce, to a vast international trade in a wide range of horticultural commodities. Some, such as apples and kiwifruit, may be stored for up to a year at a time before sale and consumption. This shift in produce handling has meant an increased reliance on postharvest handling systems to grade, sort, treat, classify and store produce in the correct way to standardise sizes, colours and maturity levels in order to maximise storage life and quality. Produce is often transported over large distances, passing through many handling systems before sale. Thus, attention to sanitation and food safety has become an increasing concern in the postharvest industry. Modern packhouses incorporate many standards and procedures to ensure produce is of the highest compositional and safety quality for consumers. The use of strict guidelines for packhouse and field food handling systems, GAP process (good agricultural practices), correct storage, grading out of reject product and classification into maturity levels have all assisted with this.

scholarly journals From the History of Ossetian Studies: The Correspondence Between Georgij (Gappo) V. Baev and Giorgi Akhvlediani

2021 ◽  
pp. 92-122
Author(s):  
Vittorio Tomelleri
Keyword(s):  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Scientific Activity ◽  
State University ◽  
History Of ◽  
State Library ◽  
The One ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Insight Into

After his emigration to the West, Georgij (Gappo) Baev (1865–1939), an outstanding cultural figure in Prerevolutionary Ossetia, spent many years in Germany, where he was involved in the translation of biblical texts into Ossetic and also taught his mother tongue as a lecturer at the Berlin Oriental Seminary (1922–1939). In the manuscript department of the Berlin State Library his personal archive is kept, containing a lot of interesting material, a real treasure of information not only about his personal life, but also and above all on Ossetic culture and history. The present paper features his correspondence with the Georgian linguist Giorgi Akhvlediani (1887–1973), whose personal archive is housed at the Tbilisi State University. The so far unpublished letters and postcards cover a relatively short time frame, namely from the 8 th of September 1927 to the 16 th of October 1928. Besides showing the deep respect and sincere appreciation of the two former colleagues for each other, the texts, all written in Russian, provide interesting facts which shed more light upon their biography and scientific activity. All in all, the professional and at the same time friendly correspondence, being a significant contribution to Ossetic studies, provides an insight into the nostalgic mood of the emigrant, on the one hand, and the interested tone of his counterpart, on the other.

scholarly journals Modes of Interaction in Naturally Occurring Medical Encounters With General Practitioners: The “One in a Million” Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232199379
Author(s):  
Olaug S. Lian ◽  
Sarah Nettleton ◽  
Åge Wifstad ◽  
Christopher Dowrick
Keyword(s):  
General Practitioners ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Mode Competition ◽  
General Applicability ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The One ◽  
Narrative Mode ◽  
Modes Of Interaction

In this article, we qualitatively explore the manner and style in which medical encounters between patients and general practitioners (GPs) are mutually conducted, as exhibited in situ in 10 consultations sourced from the One in a Million: Primary Care Consultations Archive in England. Our main objectives are to identify interactional modes, to develop a classification of these modes, and to uncover how modes emerge and shift both within and between consultations. Deploying an interactional perspective and a thematic and narrative analysis of consultation transcripts, we identified five distinctive interactional modes: question and answer (Q&A) mode, lecture mode, probabilistic mode, competition mode, and narrative mode. Most modes are GP-led. Mode shifts within consultations generally map on to the chronology of the medical encounter. Patient-led narrative modes are initiated by patients themselves, which demonstrates agency. Our classification of modes derives from complete naturally occurring consultations, covering a wide range of symptoms, and may have general applicability.

scholarly journals Effects of local isolates of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin on the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae (Koch) (Acari: Tetranychidae)

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cenk Yucel
Keyword(s):  
Tetranychus Urticae ◽  
Beauveria Bassiana ◽  
Spider Mite ◽  
Lethal Effect ◽  
Probit Analysis ◽  
Plant Feeding ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Two Spotted Spider Mite ◽  
Short Time ◽  
Tetranychus Urticae Koch

Abstract Background The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae (Koch) (Acari: Tetranychidae), is a widely distributed plant-feeding pest that causes significant yield losses in a wide range of crops. Newly developed or improved environmentally friendly biocontrol agents serve as an alternative to traditional pest control tools. Experiment of the effects of 2 local fungal isolates of Beauveria bassiana (BGF14 and BCA32) was carried out against T. urticae under laboratory conditions. Results Both tested isolates had lethal effect in a short time after application, and this effect increased as time progressed. BGF14 and BCA32 isolates caused T. urticae mortality rates ranging from 25.88 to 61.92 and 32.36 to 62.03% when applied at the concentrations between 1×105 and 1×108 conidia/ml, respectively. According to the Probit analysis performed on the effect of fungi on T. urticae adults, the LC50 values of BGF14 and BCA32 isolates on the 7th day after inoculation were 2.6×106 and 6.3×104 conidia/ml, respectively, and the LT50 values for both fungi applied at a concentration of 108 conidia/ml were 2.14 and 2.23 days, respectively. Conclusions The 2 isolates of B. bassiana (BGF14 and BCA32) had the potentials to suppress T. urticae population and can be recommended as promising biocontrol agent candidates for control of T. urticae.

scholarly journals Design of a high-stability heterogeneous clock system for small satellites in LEO

GPS Solutions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Damon Van Buren ◽  
Penina Axelrad ◽  
Scott Palo
Keyword(s):  
Low Power ◽  
High Stability ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
System Stability ◽  
Small Satellite ◽  
Crystal Oscillator ◽  
Small Satellites ◽  
Clock System ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractWe describe our investigation into the performance of low-power heterogeneous timing systems for small satellites, using real GPS observables from the GRACE Follow-On mission. Small satellites have become capable platforms for a wide range of commercial, scientific and defense missions, but they are still unable to meet the needs of missions that require precise timing, on the order of a few nanoseconds. Improved low-power onboard clocks would make small satellites a viable option for even more missions, enabling radio aperture interferometry, improved radio occultation measurements, high altitude GPS navigation, and GPS augmentation missions, among others. One approach for providing improved small satellite timekeeping is to combine a heterogeneous group of oscillators, each of which provides the best stability over a different time frame. A hardware architecture that uses a single-crystal oscillator, one or more Chip Scale Atomic Clocks (CSACs) and the reference time from a GPS receiver is presented. The clocks each contribute stability over a subset of timeframes, resulting in excellent overall system stability for timeframes ranging from less than a second to several days. A Kalman filter is used to estimate the long-term errors of the CSACs based on the CSAC-GPS time difference, and the improved CSAC time is used to discipline the crystal oscillator, which provides the high-stability reference clock for the small satellite. Simulations using GRACE-FO observations show time error standard deviations for the system range from 2.3 ns down to 1.3 ns for the clock system, depending on how many CSACs are used. The results provide insight into the timing performance which could be achieved on small LEO spacecraft by a low power timing system.

scholarly journals Regulation of Cytochrome c Oxidase by Natural Compounds Resveratrol, (–)-Epicatechin, and Betaine

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1346
Author(s):  
Icksoo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Cytochrome C ◽  
Cytochrome C Oxidase ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Health Improvement ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Mitochondrial Electron Transport Chain ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Transport Chain ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Experimental Model Systems

Numerous naturally occurring molecules have been studied for their beneficial health effects. Many compounds have received considerable attention for their potential medical uses. Among them, several substances have been found to improve mitochondrial function. This review focuses on resveratrol, (–)-epicatechin, and betaine and summarizes the published data pertaining to their effects on cytochrome c oxidase (COX) which is the terminal enzyme of the mitochondrial electron transport chain and is considered to play an important role in the regulation of mitochondrial respiration. In a variety of experimental model systems, these compounds have been shown to improve mitochondrial biogenesis in addition to increased COX amount and/or its enzymatic activity. Given that they are inexpensive, safe in a wide range of concentrations, and effectively improve mitochondrial and COX function, these compounds could be attractive enough for possible therapeutic or health improvement strategies.

Strategies and methodologies for the construction of spiro-fused γ-lactams: an update

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Américo José dos Santos Alves ◽  
Nuno Guerreiro Alves Alves ◽  
Maria I.L. Soares ◽  
Teresa M. V. D. Pinho e Melo
Keyword(s):  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Spirocyclic Compounds

Spiro-γ-lactams (spiropyrrolinin-2-ones) are a class of spirocyclic compounds that are present in a wide range of synthetic bioactive and naturally occurring molecules. The increasing attention to spirocyclic lactams in drug...

scholarly journals Polyethylene Migration from Food Packaging on Cheese Detected by Raman and Infrared (ATR/FT-IR) Spectroscopy

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 3872
Author(s):  
Klytaimnistra Katsara ◽  
George Kenanakis ◽  
Zacharias Viskadourakis ◽  
Vassilis M. Papadakis
Keyword(s):  
Vibrational Spectroscopy ◽  
Food Packaging ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Low Density Polyethylene ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Ft Ir ◽  
Comparative Results ◽  
Short Time ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Ft Ir Spectroscopy

For multiple years, food packaging migration has been a major concern in food and health sciences. Plastics, such as polyethylene, are continuously utilized in food packaging for preservation and easy handling purposes during transportation and storage. In this work, three types of cheese, Edam, Kefalotyri and Parmesan, of different hardness were studied under two complementary vibrational spectroscopy methods, ATR-FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, to determine the migration of low-density polyethylene from plastic packaging to the surface of cheese samples. The experimental duration of this study was set to 28 days due to the degradation time of the selected cheese samples, which is clearly visible after 1 month in refrigerated conditions at 4 °C. Raman and ATR-FTIR measurements were performed at a 4–3–4–3 day pattern to obtain comparative results. Initially, consistency/repeatability measurement tests were performed on Day0 for each sample of all cheese specimens to understand if there is any overlap between the characteristic Raman and ATR-FTIR peaks of the cheese with the ones from the low-density polyethylene package. We provide evidence that on Day14, peaks of low-density polyethylene appeared due to polymeric migration in all three cheese types we tested. In all cheese samples, microbial outgrowth started to develop after Day21, as observed visually and under the bright-field microscope, causing peak reverse. Food packaging migration was validated using two different approaches of vibrational spectroscopy (Raman and FT-IR), revealing that cheese needs to be consumed within a short time frame in refrigerated conditions at 4 °C.

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