Groundwater chemistry of the Lenjanat District, Esfahan Province, Iran

Groundwater / Surface water / Water quality / Wells / River Basins / Iran / Esfahan Province / Lenjanat District / Zayandeh Rud Basin / Chadegan Dam / Zagros Mountains

High density NOAA time series of ET in the Gediz Basin, Turkey

An evapotranspiration method comparison was carried out by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI, Sri Lanka), at two locations in the Gediz Basin, Turkey, in the period from May to September 1998. In the IWMI study a number of ground-based techniques were compared with results obtained by remote sensing methods. Recently, a search of the satellite active archive yielded over 70 high quality level 1b images from NOAA/AVHRR over the same time period. The processing of these images with the SEBAL algorithm enabled us to build up a detailed time series of sensible and latent heat fluxes for a period of 120 days. In this paper a comparison is made between the sensible and latent heat fluxes determined from the present series of NOAA-14/AVHRR images and the results obtained earlier from various other prediction methods applied during the 1998 IWMI project. Specifically, the NOAA/SEBAL results are assessed against the scintillometer and temperature fluctuation methods. The results show that the NOAA derived evapotranspiration values follow the seasonal irrigation cycle quite well and correspond closely to the Landsat derived values, although they are lower than the results obtained with the traditional crop factor and Penman¿Monteith methods

Water management for sustainable irrigated agriculture in the Zayandeh Rud Basin, Esfahan Province, Iran

Irrigation systemsCropping systemsIrrigated farmingRiver basinsTopographyGeomorphologyClimateHydrologyWater qualityGroundwaterSoil salinitySustainable agricultureIranEsfahan ProvinceZayandeh Rud BasinChadegan Reservoir

Metabolic impact of protein feeding prior to moderate-intensity treadmill exercise in a fasted state: a pilot study

Background Augmenting fat oxidation is a primary goal of fitness enthusiasts and individuals desiring to improve their body composition. Performing aerobic exercise while fasted continues to be a popular strategy to achieve this outcome, yet little research has examined how nutritional manipulations influence energy expenditure and/or fat oxidation during and after exercise. Initial research has indicated that pre-exercise protein feeding may facilitate fat oxidation while minimizing protein degradation during exercise, but more research is needed to determine if the source of protein further influences such outcomes. Methods Eleven healthy, college-aged males (23.5 ± 2.1 years, 86.0 ± 15.6 kg, 184 ± 10.3 cm, 19.7 ± 4.4%fat) completed four testing sessions in a randomized, counter-balanced, crossover fashion after observing an 8–10 h fast. During each visit, baseline substrate oxidation and resting energy expenditure (REE) were assessed via indirect calorimetry. Participants ingested isovolumetric, solutions containing 25 g of whey protein isolate (WPI), 25 g of casein protein (CAS), 25 g of maltodextrin (MAL), or non-caloric control (CON). After 30 min, participants performed 30 min of treadmill exercise at 55–60% heart rate reserve. Substrate oxidation and energy expenditure were re-assessed during exercise and 15 min after exercise. Results Delta scores comparing the change in REE were normalized to body mass and a significant group x time interaction (p = 0.002) was found. Post-hoc comparisons indicated the within-group changes in REE following consumption of WPI (3.41 ± 1.63 kcal/kg) and CAS (3.39 ± 0.82 kcal/kg) were significantly greater (p \u3c 0.05) than following consumption of MAL (1.57 ± 0.99 kcal/kg) and tended to be greater than the non-caloric control group (2.00 ± 1.91 kcal/kg, p = 0.055 vs. WPI and p = 0.061 vs. CAS). Respiratory exchange ratio following consumption of WPI and CAS significantly decreased during the post exercise period while no change was observed for the other groups. Fat oxidation during exercise was calculated and increased in all groups throughout exercise. CAS was found to oxidize significantly more fat (p \u3c 0.05) than WPI during minutes 10–15 (CAS: 2.28 ± 0.38 g; WPI: 1.7 ± 0.60 g) and 25–30 (CAS: 3.03 ± 0.55 g; WPI: 2.24 ± 0.50 g) of the exercise bout. Conclusions Protein consumption before fasted moderate-intensity treadmill exercise significantly increased post-exercise energy expenditure compared to maltodextrin ingestion and tended to be greater than control. Post-exercise fat oxidation was improved following protein ingestion. Throughout exercise, fasting (control) did not yield more fat oxidation versus carbohydrate or protein, while casein protein allowed for more fat oxidation than whey. These results indicate rates of energy expenditure and fat oxidation can be modulated after CAS protein consumption prior to moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise and that fasting did not lead to more fat oxidation during or after exercise

Ambidextrous practices in public service organizations

For public service organizations (PSOs) it is essential to be able to simultaneously optimize and innovate policies, processes and services. This article explores how PSOs shape these dual practices by examining optimization and innovation practices in eight Dutch regional water authorities (RWAs) using focus groups. It uncovers mutually reinforcing differences in culture, strategy and management leading to different ambidextrous configurations. In low ambidextrous RWAs a legalistic taskorientation goes along with a transactional management style and focus on optimization only. In high ambidextrous RWAs a societal value-orientation, integrative strategies, and a more transformational management style lead to more embedded innovation practices

Thermal remote sensing from Airborne Hyperspectral Scanner data in the framework of the SPARC and SEN2FLEX projects: an overview

The AHS (Airborne Hyperspectral Scanner) instrument has 80 spectral bands covering the visible and near infrared (VNIR), short wave infrared (SWIR), mid infrared (MIR) and thermal infrared (TIR) spectral range. The instrument is operated by Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aerospacial (INTA), and it has been involved in several field campaigns since 2004. <br><br> This paper presents an overview of the work performed with the AHS thermal imagery provided in the framework of the SPARC and SEN2FLEX campaigns, carried out respectively in 2004 and 2005 over an agricultural area in Spain. The data collected in both campaigns allowed for the first time the development and testing of algorithms for land surface temperature and emissivity retrieval as well as the estimation of evapotranspiration from AHS data. Errors were found to be around 1.5 K for land surface temperature and 1 mm/day for evapotranspiration

Pituitary androgen receptor signalling regulates prolactin but not gonadotrophins in the male mouse

Production of the androgen testosterone is controlled by a negative feedback loop within the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. Stimulation of testicular Leydig cells by pituitary luteinising hormone (LH) is under the control of hypothalamic gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH), while suppression of LH secretion by the pituitary is controlled by circulating testosterone. Exactly how androgens exert their feedback control of gonadotrophin secretion (and whether this is at the level of the pituitary), as well as the role of AR in other pituitary cell types remains unclear. To investigate these questions, we exploited a transgenic mouse line (Foxg1 Cre/+; AR fl/y) which lacks androgen receptor in the pituitary gland. Both circulating testosterone and gonadotrophins are unchanged in adulthood, demonstrating that AR signalling is dispensable in the male mouse pituitary for testosterone-dependent regulation of LH secretion. In contrast, Foxg1 Cre/+; AR fl/y males have a significant increase in circulating prolactin, suggesting that, rather than controlling gonadotrophins, AR-signalling in the pituitary acts to suppress aberrant prolactin production in males