Investigation of management practices and economic viability of vineyards for organic wine production

This paper reports the findings of two components of a research investigating the viability of organic wine grape production. Firstly the results of a survey of Australian organic wine grape growers’ management practices and secondly the first year findings of an experimental organic vineyard compared to an associated conventional vineyard. The survey found a heavy reliance on sulphur and copper sprays for powdery and downy mildew control. The experimental vineyard showed similar yields to conventional growing and in many cases higher sugar, though some increase in botrytis in organic Shiraz

Environmental correlates of plant and invertebrate species richness in ponds

Ponds (lentic water bodies <2 ha) constitute a considerable biodiversity resource. Understanding the environmental factors that underlie this diversity is important in protecting and managing the habitat. We surveyed 425 ponds for biological and physical characteristics with 78 of those also surveyed for chemical characteristics. A total of 277 invertebrate species and 265 plant species were found. Species richness varied between 2 and 99 (mean 27.2 ± 0.6 SE) for invertebrates and 1 and 58 (mean 20.8 ± 0.4 SE) for plants. Generalised additive models were used to investigate variables that correlate with the species richness of plants and invertebrates, with additional models to investigate insect, Coleoptera, Odonata, Hemiptera, Trichoptera and Mollusca species richness. Models performed reasonably well for invertebrates in general (R 2 = 30.3%) but varied between lower-order invertebrate taxa (12.7–34.7%). Ponds with lower levels of shading and no history of drying contained higher numbers of species of plants and all invertebrate groups. Aquatic plant coverage positively correlated with species richness in all invertebrate groups apart from Trichoptera and the presence of fish was associated with high invertebrate species richness in all groups apart from Coleoptera. The addition of chemistry variables suggested non-linear relationships between oxygen demand and phosphate concentration and higher-order richness. We demonstrate that the composition of biological communities varies along with their species richness and that less diverse ponds are more variable compared to more diverse ponds. Variables positively correlated with richness of one taxon may be negatively correlated with that of another, making comprehensive management recommendations difficult. Promoting a high landscape-level pond biodiversity will involve the management of a high diversity of pond types within that landscape

IUE observations of the 1987 superoutburst of the dwarf nova Z Cha

Low resolution IUE observations of the dwarf nova Z Cha during superoutburst are presented. These cover most of the development of the outburst and have sufficient time resolution to probe continuum and line behavior on orbital phase. The observed modulation on this phase is very similar to that observed in the related object OY Car. The results imply the presence of a cool spot on the edge of the edge of the accretion disk, which periodically occults the brighter inner disk. Details of the line behavior suggest that the line originated in an extended wind-emitting region. In contrast to archive spectra obtained in normal outburst, the continuum is fainter and redder, indicating that the entire superoutburst disk may be geometrically thicker than during a normal outburst

Resolving the identification of weak-flying insects during flight: a coupling between rigorous data processing and biology

1. Bioacoustic methods play an increasingly important role for the detection of insects in a range of surveillance and monitoring programs. 2. Weak-flying insects evade detection because they do not yield sufficient audio information to capture wingbeat and harmonic frequencies. These inaudible insects often pose a significant threat to food security as pests of key agricultural crops worldwide. 3. Automatic detection of such insects is crucial to the future of crop protection by providing critical information to assess the risk to a crop and the need for preventative measures. 4. We describe an experimental setup designed to derive audio recordings from a range of weak-flying aphids and beetles using an LED array. 5. A rigorous data processing pipeline was developed to extract meaningful features, linked to morphological characteristics, from the audio and harmonic series for six aphid and two beetle species. 6. An ensemble of over 50 bioacoustic parameters was used to achieve species discrimination with a success rate of 80%. The inclusion of the dominant and fundamental frequencies improved prediction between beetles and aphids due to large differences in wingbeat frequencies. 7. At the species level, error rates were minimised when harmonic features were supplemented by features indicative of differences in species’ flight energies

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Informing thresholds for paediatric transfusion in Africa: the need for a trial [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

Background: Owing to inadequate supplies of donor blood for transfusion in sub-Saharan Africa (sSA) World Health Organization paediatric guidelines recommend restrictive transfusion practices, based on expert opinion. We examined whether survival amongst hospitalised children by admission haemoglobin and whether this was influenced by malaria infection and/or transfusion. Methods: A retrospective analysis of standardised clinical digital records in an unselected population of children admitted to a rural hospital in Kenya over an 8-year period. We describe baseline parameters with respect to categories of anaemia and outcome (in-hospital death) by haemoglobin (Hb), malaria and transfusion status. Results: Among 29,226 children, 1,143 (3.9%) had profound anaemia (Hb <4g/dl) and 3,469 (11.9%) had severe anaemia (Hb 4-6g/d). In-hospital mortality rate was 97/1,143 (8.5%) if Hb<4g/dl or 164/2,326 (7.1%) in those with severe anaemia (Hb ≥4.0-<6g/dl). Admission Hb <3g/dl was associated with higher risk of death versus those with higher Hbs (OR=2.41 (95%CI: 1.8 - 3.24; P<0.001), increasing to OR=6.36, (95%CI: 4.21-9.62; P<0.001) in malaria positive children. Conversely, mortality in non-malaria admissions was unrelated to Hb level. Transfusion was associated with a non-significant improvement in outcome if Hb<3g/dl (malaria-only) OR 0.72 (95%CI 0.29 - 1.78), albeit the number of cases were too few to show a statistical difference. For those with Hb levels above 4g/dl, mortality was significantly higher in those receiving a transfusion compared to the non-transfused group. For non-malarial cases, transfusion did not affect survival-status, irrespective of baseline Hb level compared to children who were not transfused at higher Hb levels. Conclusion: Although severe anaemia is common among children admitted to hospital in sSA (~16%), our data do not indicate that outcome is improved by transfusion irrespective of malaria status. Given the limitations of observational studies, clinical trials investigating the role of transfusion in outcomes in children with severe anaemia are warranted

Estimating Power Needed to Fuel Electric Paratransits in Bandung

This is the preliminary finding of a study elaborating the total energy consumption when paratransits in Bandung are altered into electric and the scenario to fulfill it. Therefore, there are lots to be done further concerning result of this initial research, of which will be discussed in another publication. In this paper calculation was done to find out the volume of power needed to fuel electric paratransits in Bandung. Steps carried out include computing total energy consumption for all paratransits, clustering stations from classified routes established by local Department of Transport, and estimating the electricity demand in every clustered station. Data used for this study was acquired from Badan Pusat Statistik Kota Bandung and PT PLN DJA APD Jawa Barat and Banten. A total demand of 61.12 MWh per month will surface to charge the total of 5,521 paratransits from 38 available routes in 15 clustered stations under the assumptions that all paratransits only make 6 return travels per day, operate 30 days per month, and use batteries with 50% State of Charge