Predicting Forage Provision of Grasslands Across Climate Zones by Hyperspectral Measurements

The potential of grasslands’ fodder production is a crucial management measure, while its quantification is still laborious and costly. Remote sensing technologies, such as hyperspectral field measurements, enable fast and non-destructive estimation. However, such methods are still limited in transferability to other locations or climatic conditions. With this study, we aim to predict forage nutritive value, quantity, and energy yield from hyperspectral canopy reflections of grasslands across three climate zones. We took hyperspectral measurements with a field spectrometer from grassland canopies in temperate, tropical and semi-arid grasslands, and analyzed corresponding biomass samples for their quantity (BM), metabolizable energy content (ME) and metabolizable energy yield (MEY). Three machine learning algorithms were used to establish prediction models for single and across climate regions. The normalized root mean squared error (nRMSE) for ME, BM and MEY varied between 0.12 – 0.19, 0.14 – 0.21, and 0.15 – 0.21, respectively. The ME trans-climatic model showed the best accuracy compared to the local models. Trans-climatic model predictions of climate-specific data, decrease in accuracy to 0.16 – 0.21, 0.17 – 0.24, and 0.19 – 0.28 for ME, BM and MEY compared to predictions with climate-specific models. Trans-climatic models with feed-forward neural networks showed similar performance for ME but higher accuracies for BM and MEY predictions. The trans-climatic models generally showed good performance for forage nutritive value and forage provision. Our results suggest that models based on hyperspectral measurements offer great potential to assess or even map the forage nutritive value of grasslands across climate zones

Immobilisation of glycosidases from commercial preparation on magnetic beads: Part 2: Aroma enhancement in wine using immobilised glycosidases

Most of the terpenes in wines are conjugated to various sugars, representing a significant reservoir of aromatic precursors. To promote the release of these terpenes, certain enzymes, such as β-glucosidase, α-arabinosidase and α-rhamnosidase, are necessary. A simple and cost-effective procedure for the immobilisation of multiple glycosidase activities (β-D-glucopyranosidase, α-L-arabinofuranosidase, α-L-rhamnopyranosidase and β-D-xylopyranosidase) from commercial Aspergillus niger preparation onto magnetic beads as carriers was developed as reported in Part 1 (Ferner et al. 2016).The aim of this work was to analyse a possible application of this immobilised biocatalyst due to its well-known advantages over soluble enzyme preparations – that is, control of the reaction process and preparation of enzyme-free products. Volatile compounds were analysed by gas chromatography (mass spectrometric detection). After the treatment of the model wine with different glycosides and white wine with immobilised glycosidases, the amount of free terpenes was significantly increased with respect to that of the control wine.The results of this study are of considerable interest for possible future applications of immobilised enzymes in the wine-making industry

Advancing understanding on industrial relations in multinational companies: key research challenges and the INTREPID contribution

peer-reviewedThis paper has three principal aims. It firstly provides some theoretical background on the key current research issues and challenges in regard to industrial relations in multinational companies. It then presents a concise review of scholarship to date on industrial relations in multinational companies using INTREPID (Investigation of Transnationals Employment Practices: an International Database) data. Finally, the paper identifies some of the main industrial relations issues that remain to be addressed, in effect charting a form of research agenda for future work using the INTREPID data, with particular focus on the potential contribution from ‘late joiners’ to the INTREPID project.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe

Contested resources: unions, employers, and the adoption of new work practices in US and UK telecommunications

The pattern of adoption of high-performance work practices has been explained in terms of strategic contingency and in terms of union presence. We compare the post-deregulation/privatization changes in work practice at AT&T, Bell Atlantic and British Telecom. On the basis of these cases, we argue that the choice of new work practices should be understood as a consequence not only of the company's resources or changes in its environment, nor of a simple union presence, but also as a consequence of the practices' effects on union power, the nature of the union's engagement, and the union's strategic choices

Parents’ experiences of caring for a young person with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1): a qualitative study

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a variable and unpredictable genetic condition that can lead to changes to an individual’s appearance. Research has started to explore children’s and young people’s experiences of living with the condition; however, there is a lack of research with parents. This exploratory qualitative study set out to examine parents’ experiences of caring for a young person with NF1. Seven parents took part in semi structured interviews which were subjected to a thematic analysis. Three key themes were identified which related to managing the uncertainty of the condition, the impact of an altered appearance, and others’ awareness and understanding of NF1. Parents felt that understanding NF1 themselves in order to support their child was beneficial whilst a perceived lack of understanding by others was cited as a significant challenge. Parents require trustworthy information and also more widely call for greater understanding and awareness of the condition

Scottish and Newcastle antiemetic pre-treatment for paracetamol poisoning study (SNAP)

BACKGROUND: Paracetamol (acetaminophen) poisoning remains the commonest cause of acute liver injury in Europe and North America. The intravenous (IV) N-acetylcysteine (NAC) regimen introduced in the 1970s has continued effectively unchanged. This involves 3 different infusion regimens (dose and time) lasting over 20 hours. The same weight-related dose of NAC is used irrespective of paracetamol dose. Complications include frequent nausea and vomiting, anaphylactoid reactions and dosing errors. We designed a randomised controlled study investigating the efficacy of antiemetic pre-treatment (ondansetron) using standard NAC and a modified, shorter, regimen. METHODS/DESIGN: We designed a double-blind trial using a 2 × 2 factorial design involving four parallel groups. Pre-treatment with ondansetron 4 mg IV was compared against placebo on nausea and vomiting following the standard (20.25 h) regimen, or a novel 12 h NAC regimen in paracetamol poisoning. Each delivered 300 mg/kg bodyweight NAC. Randomisation was stratified on: paracetamol dose, perceived risk factors, and time to presentation. The primary outcome was the incidence of nausea and vomiting following NAC. In addition the frequency of anaphylactoid reactions and end of treatment liver function documented. Where clinically necessary further doses of NAC were administered as per standard UK protocols at the end of the first antidote course. DISCUSSION: This study is primarily designed to test the efficacy of prophylactic anti-emetic therapy with ondansetron, but is the first attempt to formally examine new methods of administering IV NAC in paracetamol overdose. We anticipate, from volunteer studies, that nausea and vomiting will be less frequent with the new NAC regimen. In addition as anaphylactoid response appears related to plasma concentrations of both NAC and paracetamol anaphylactoid reactions should be less likely. This study is not powered to assess the relative efficacy of the two NAC regimens, however it will give useful information to power future studies. As the first formal randomised clinical trial in this patient group in over 30 years this study will also provide information to support further studies in patients in paracetamol overdose, particularly, when linked with modern novel biomarkers of liver damage, patients at different toxicity risk. TRIAL REGISTRATION: EudraCT number 2009-017800-10, ClinicalTrials.gov IdentifierNCT0105027

Mechanistic insights into an engineered riboswitch: a switching element which confers riboswitch activity

While many different RNA aptamers have been identified that bind to a plethora of small molecules only very few are capable of acting as engineered riboswitches. Even for aptamers binding the same ligand large differences in their regulatory potential were observed. We address here the molecular basis for these differences by using a set of unrelated neomycin-binding aptamers. UV melting analyses showed that regulating aptamers are thermally stabilized to a significantly higher degree upon ligand binding than inactive ones. Regulating aptamers show high ligand-binding affinity in the low nanomolar range which is necessary but not sufficient for regulation. NMR data showed that a destabilized, open ground state accompanied by extensive structural changes upon ligand binding is important for regulation. In contrast, inactive aptamers are already pre-formed in the absence of the ligand. By a combination of genetic, biochemical and structural analyses, we identified a switching element responsible for destabilizing the ligand free state without compromising the bound form. Our results explain for the first time the molecular mechanism of an engineered riboswitch