Enhancement of Interplanting of Ficus carica L. with Taxus cuspidata Sieb. et Zucc. on Growth of Two Plants

Medicinal-agroforestry systems are one of the multi-functional medicinal plant production systems, gaining attention as a sustainable alternative to traditional monoculture systems. In this study, three planting patterns were established which included: (1) monoculture F. carica (MF); (2) monoculture T. cuspidata (MT); and (3) interplanting F. carica with T. cuspidata (IFT). The differences of growth biomass, photosynthesis, soil nutrients, soil enzyme activities, soil microorganisms, and main secondary metabolites of F. carica and T. cuspidata under the above three models were investigated. Compared with the MF and MT patterns, IFT pattern for 5 months significantly increased the plant growth biomass, photosynthesis, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and secondary metabolites content. The activities of acid phosphatase, sucrase, protease, polyphenol oxidase, urease, dehydrogenase, and catalase in soil of IFT were significantly higher than MF and MT patterns. Results showed that IFT pattern is preferred compared to the MF and MT patterns. Our result will help to provide a feasible theoretical basis for the large-scale establishment of F. carica and T. cuspidata mixed forests and obtain high-quality medicine sources for extracting important active ingredients, psoralen and paclitaxel, which are crucial to the long-term sustainable development and production of medicinal plants.

Experimental Study on Hydrothermal Polymerization Catalytic Process Effect of Various Biomass through a Pilot Plant

Through the previous study a hydrothermal polymerization (HTP)—a catalytic methodology for treating various biomass and organic wastes—has been developed on a lab scale with a 1 L reactor and the results published. The research work described herein aims to ensure that the catalytic process is scalable for pilot and even commercial scale plants. A 1700 L binary reactor system has been built and the assumptions of a commercial scale plant that would have 10,000 to 20,000 L pressure vessels tested. The HTP catalytic biofuel process converts mono- and polysaccharides into a solid polymer fuel that is based on a furfuraldehyde ring system. The calorific value of the material obtained from the pilot plant is on the order of 27 MJ/kg and the material typically has low ash and fixed carbon content order of 48% which are about same as the lab results for various wood biomass feedstocks. Though a 1700 times scale up binary reactor system the scalability of the HTP catalytic methodology has been confirmed and the mass and energy balance of the binary reactor identified in order to provide fundamental data for commercial scale establishment in future.

Natural water treatment system: the potential of applying artificial floating island technology in lakes, ponds and dam lakes in Turkey

In this study, the implementation potential of artificial floating island (AFI) technology, which is a phytoremediation strategy, was investigated in Turkish lakes, ponds and reservoirs. The pressure on water resources is increasing ever with the global warming as well as the effect of climate change. In addition, increasing environmental pollution directly and/or indirectly harms the organisms thus has negative effects on their lives. In this context, the importance of lakes, ponds and dam lakes in Turkey against adverse global and environmental conditions has increased in recent years. Innovative, sustainable and economical solutions are required for the improvement of lakes, ponds and dam lakes, considering that these are main resources of drinking water, irrigation of agricultural lands, and recreational activities. Considering the current trophic state of natural waters in our country, many lakes, ponds or dam lakes have been identified with eutrophication potential. AFI technology, which is widely established globally to remediate such organic pollution load, is a highly economical alternative treatment system. Previous studies have generally focused on the laboratory and pilot scale implementation of AFI technology. In the future, full-scale establishment of AFI technology will provide significant added value for both the scientific and the national economy.

Damage levels caused by Capulinia linarosae Kondo & Gullan (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae) on guava crops under two agronomic management practices in the south of lake Maracaibo, Venezuela

The objective of the present study was to test the hypothesis of no difference in the level of damage caused by the guava cottony scale Capulinia linarosae (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae) in two guava crops under different agronomic management practices: a crop whose management practices tend to be organic (PUA) was compared with another subjected to chemical methods (PUB). Forty plants in each farm were selected randomly to estimate damage on stems, branches, leaves, and fruits. Levels of damage were statistically different (P<0.0001) between the control methods for stems and branches, but not for leaves or fruits (P>0.05). It was concluded that the magnitude of damage is greater in the crop under chemical control and that agronomic management is a critical factor. Excess of insecticides and incorrect application of pruning causes damage to the plant’s bark and favor the insect proliferation. While the use of a sulfur-calcium broth in PUA regulates pH, favors the effect of other products and promotes the growth of green algae which cover bark crevices avoiding the cottony scale establishment. The excessive use of agrochemicals for weed control in UPB causes soil nudity and kills natural enemies, whereas in the UPA grass layer is clipped at 20 cm on the soil maintaining its moisture and creating habitat favorable to natural enemies.

Analytic Tools for Evaluating Variability of Standard Errors in Large-Scale Establishment Surveys

Large-scale establishment surveys often exhibit substantial temporal or cross-sectional variability in their published standard errors. This article uses a framework defined by survey generalized variance functions to develop three sets of analytic tools for the evaluation of these patterns of variability. These tools are for (1) identification of predictor variables that explain some of the observed temporal and cross-sectional variability in published standard errors; (2) evaluation of the proportion of variability attributable to the abovementioned predictors, equation error and estimation error, respectively; and (3) comparison of equation error variances across groups defined by observable predictor variables. The primary ideas are motivated and illustrated by an application to the U.S. Current Employment Statistics program.