Litterfall decomposition of coffee shaded with Tectona grandis or in full sun

ABSTRACT Litterfall is an important source of soil nutrients, but its decomposition can be affected by the crop system used. The objective of this study was to evaluate litterfall decomposition and macronutrient stocks in coffee crop systems in shaded (SHCS) environments and those in full sun (FSCS). The experiment was conducted on a rural property in Cacoal, state of Rondônia, Brazil, in a 2 × 6 factorial scheme with two crop systems (SHCS and FSCS), and six litterfall decomposition evaluation times (0, 30, 60, 180, 300, and 360 days after the litterfall was returned to the soil (DAL)), with seven replicates. The constant of decomposition (k), half-life time (t1/2) at 360 DAL, and phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), and nitrogen (N) concentrations of the remaining litterfall were determined at each evaluation time. The litterfall in the SHCS had a greater weight loss and constant of decomposition and a lower half-life time at the last evaluation, and the weight loss increased as a function of decomposition time. The litterfall stocks of macronutrients N, P, K, Ca, and Mg showed a linear decrease throughout the decomposition time, and increases in sulfur stock were found at the last evaluation.

Estimating the parameters of simple models from two-component on-time airborne electromagnetic data

The horizontal and vertical components of the on-time electromagnetic (EM) response can be used to estimate the parameters of simple models like thin sheets, half-spaces, thin sheets over a lower half-space and a two-layer model. The formulae used in these methods are valid in areas where the on-time response is essentially proportional to the conductivity or conductance, the so called "resistive limit". The half-space and thin-sheet over a lower half-space models can be combined to give an estimate of the conductivity for a lower half-space below a thick sheet that might be reasonable for the whole of the survey area. With this estimation an equation solver can be used to estimate the thickness and conductivity of the overlying thick sheet over the whole survey area. This latter approach seemed most appropriate for the Russell South area in the Athabasca Basin, Canada, where GEOTEM data has been collected. The output of the algorithm was generally stable. Although it did not always reliably reproduce the overburden thicknesses as measured in a set of reference drill holes, it did give an estimate that was reasonable in the relatively conductive areas.

Rigiolepis argentii (Ericaceae): a new species from Sulawesi, Indonesia

A new species of Rigiolepis (Ericaceae) from the island of Sulawesi, R. argentii Mustaqim & Ardi, is described. The new species is known from three locations, two in Sulawesi Selatan Province (Mount Sesean in Toraja Utara Regency and Eran Batu in Enrekang Regency) and one in Sulawesi Barat Province (Mamasa Regency). This species is similar to R. moultonii (Merr.) J.J. Sm., but differs by the persistent hairs on the abaxial surfaces of the leaves, the basal marginal glands in a shorter distance (1–2 mm) to from the petiole, bracteoles borne on the lower half of the pedicels, cup-shaped calyx tube, longer filaments (2 mm), and cupular fruits.

DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF THERMOPLASTIC WELDED STIFFENED PANELS IN POST-BUCKLING

The Clean Sky 2 “SmarT mUlti-fuNctioNal and INtegrated TP fuselaGe" STUNNING project focusses on the next generation composite fuselage with emphasis on manufacturing techniques such as thermoplastic welding. Welded multi-stringer panels are investigated in this paper, with emphasis on the buckling and skin-stringer separation behavior. The multi-stringer panels are designed to approximate the structural behavior of the lower half of the MultiFunctional Fuselage Demonstrator of the STUNNING project. In particular, a section of the fuselage is analyzed using Abaqus with a dynamic implicit analysis, and the results of this analysis are used for the design of the multi-stringer panels, taking manufacturing considerations also into account. The panels have three omega stringers and a length of 500 mm. The three stringer configuration allows to study the middle stringer in pristine and damaged configuration with minimal influence of the free edges and boundary conditions. It is seen that the multi-stringer test panels show very similar buckling and skin-stringer separation behavior compared to the fuselage section. The first panels have been manufactured by project partners NLR and GKN Aerospace Fokker and will be tested at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology.

COVID-19 Incidence and Hospitalization Rates are Inversely Related to Vaccination Coverage Among the 112 Most Populous Counties in the United States

We tested whether COVID-19 incidence and hospitalization rates were inversely related to vaccination coverage among the 112 most populous counties in the United States, each with a population exceeding 600,000. We measured vaccination coverage as the percent of the total population fully vaccinated as of July 15, 2021, with the exception of 11 Texas counties, where the cutoff date was July 14, 2021. We measured COVID-19 incidence as the number of confirmed cases per 100,000 population during the 14-day period ending August 12, 2021. We measured hospitalization rates as the number of confirmed COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population during the same 14-day period. COVID-19 incidence was significantly higher among counties in the lower half of the distribution of vaccination coverage (incidence 543.8 per 100,000 among 56 counties with mean coverage 42.61%) than among counties in the lower half of the distribution of coverage (incidence 280.7 per 100,000 among 56 counties with mean coverage 57.37%, p < 0.0001). Hospital admissions were also significantly higher among counties in the lower half of the distribution (55.37 per 100,000) than in the upper half of the distribution (20.48 per 100,000, p < 0.0001). In log-linear regression models, a 10-percentage-point increase in vaccination coverage was associated with a 28.3% decrease in COVID-19 incidence (95% confidence interval, 16.8 – 39.7%), a 44.9 percent increase in the rate of COVID-19 hospitalization (95% CI, 28.8 – 61.0%), and a 16.6% decrease in COVID-19 hospitalizations per 100 cases (95% CI, 8.4 – 24.8%). Higher vaccination coverage is associated not only with significantly lower COVID-19 incidence, but also significantly less severe cases of the disease.

Drakaina

What was the significance of the term drakaina, the female-denoting reflex of the term drakōn? It is contended that, whilst the term could be applied merely to a creature that resembled a pure-serpent drakōn in all respects, save for being female, the concept it more typically evoked was that of a female anguipede, a creature with the lower half of a serpent and the upper half of a woman. Particular attention is given to the cases of the Echidna (in her various manifestations), Delphyne (the female reflex of the Delphic dragon), Harmonia, Hecate, the Erinyes, the Lamias (a complex case), and Campe. These female anguipedes, for all their numbers and their continuity, never seem to have occupied the centre-ground of Greek mythology, but ever to have been somewhat occluded. The greatest occlusion is in the visual realm: they have left very little impact on the iconographic record.

L-Cell Expression of Melanocortin-4-Receptor Is Marginal in Most of the Small Intestine in Mice and Humans and Direct Stimulation of Small Intestinal Melanocortin-4-Receptors in Mice and Rats Does Not Affect GLP-1 Secretion

The molecular sensors underlying nutrient-stimulated GLP-1 secretion are currently being investigated. Peripheral administration of melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) agonists have been reported to increase GLP-1 plasma concentrations in mice and humans but it is unknown whether this effect results from a direct effect on the GLP-1 secreting L-cells in the intestine, from other effects in the intestine or from extra-intestinal effects. We investigated L-cell expression of MC4R in mouse and human L-cells by reanalyzing publicly available RNA sequencing databases (mouse and human) and by RT-qPCR (mouse), and assessed whether administration of MC4R agonists to a physiologically relevant gut model, isolated perfused mouse and rat small intestine, would stimulate GLP-1 secretion or potentiate glucose-stimulated secretion. L-cell MC4R expression was low in mouse duodenum and hardly detectable in the ileum and MC4R expression was hardly detectable in human L-cells. In isolated perfused mouse and rat intestine, neither intra-luminal nor intra-arterial administration of NDP-alpha-MSH, a potent MC4R agonist, had any effect on GLP-1 secretion (P ≥0.98, n = 5–6) from the upper or lower-half of the small intestine in mice or in the lower half in rats. Furthermore, HS014—an often used MC4R antagonist, which we found to be a partial agonist—did not affect the glucose-induced GLP-1 response in the rat, P = 0.62, n = 6). Studies on transfected COS7-cells confirmed bioactivity of the used compounds and that concentrations employed were well within in the effective range. Our combined data therefore suggest that MC4R-activated GLP-1 secretion in rodents either exclusively occurs in the colon or involves extra-intestinal signaling.

Angular pregnancy: an under-recognised entity presenting with retained placenta

Retained placenta accounts for most of the cases of postpartum haemorrhage and occurs commonly due to contracted lower half of uterus and closed os, it can rarely also occur if it gets trapped at the cornua of the uterus due to angular implantation. A 26 year old P3L3 was got referred for retained placenta, she was diagnosed with angular pregnancy after laparotomy after manual removal failed, she was managed with hysterotomy. Angular pregnancy may lead to preterm delivery and trapping of the placenta.

The Glow Still Shows: Effects of Facial Masking on Perceptions of Duchenne Versus Social Smiles

Facial expressions of emotion have important communicative functions. It is likely that mask-wearing during pandemics disrupts these functions, especially for expressions defined by activity in the lower half of the face. We tested this by asking participants to rate both Duchenne smiles (DSs; defined by the mouth and eyes) and non-Duchenne or “social” smiles (SSs; defined by the mouth alone), within masked and unmasked target faces. As hypothesized, masked SSs were rated much lower in “a pleasant social smile” and much higher in “a merely neutral expression,” compared with unmasked SSs. Essentially, masked SSs became nonsmiles. Masked DSs were still rated as very happy and pleasant, although significantly less so than unmasked DSs. Masked DSs and SSs were both rated as displaying more disgust than the unmasked versions.

FRUIT ORIENTATION ALTERS THE QUALITY OF LITCHI (LITCHI CHINENSIS SONN.) UNDER THE AGRO-CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF EASTERN INDIA

Objective: The experiment was conducted on ten litchi cultivars, namely; Purbi, Bedana, Lal Bombay, Mandaraji, Calcuttia, Late Bedana, Trikolia, Dehradoon, Dehrarose, and Seedless No. 2 to assess the physical and chemical composition of fruit as affected by fruit orientation on the tree. Methods: Fruits were picked both from the lower and upper half portion of the tree at fully ripened stage and physio-chemical attributes were analyzed. Results: The result indicated that fruits at lower half portion were not only heavy in weight but also had more percentage of total acidity. However, stone weight, ascorbic acid content, and total sugars were found to be more in fruits collected from the upper half portion of the tree. Conclusion: It can be suggested that picking should be started from those fruits which are positioned at the lower half portion of the tree to collect fruits of superior quality.