Comparing Hemp Seed Yields (Cannabis sativa L.) of an On-Farm Scientific Field Experiment to an On-Farm Agronomic Evaluation Under Organic Growing Conditions in Lower Austria

Hemp seed yields of the variety Fedora-19 in an on-farm scientific field experiment on small plots and in an on-farm evaluation in 11 hemp fields under practical organic growing conditions in Lower Austria were compared to give a realistic view of the variability of yields. Dry matter seed yields from the on-farm field experiment ranged from 127 to 143 g/m2. Under practical growing conditions, yields ranged from 34 to 151 g/m2 in the sample plots. The reported hemp seed yield after combine harvesting, drying, and cleaning was between 324 kg/ha and 717 kg/ha. The results of the experiment show that harvesting by hand considerably influences yields. Yields of the manual harvest in sample plots indicate a high correlation with yields harvested by the combine harvester (R2 = 0.91). The commercial yield is 71% of the yields recorded in sample plots in the fields. Our data questions the transfer of results and conclusions drawn from the data of scientific field experiments that employ manual harvest to that of practical circumstances, and support the notion of on-farm research

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) as a Resource for Green Cosmetics: Yield of Seeds and Fatty Acids Composition of 20 Varieties under the Growing Conditions of Organic Farming in Austria

The interest in hemp (non-drug Cannabis sativa L.) for skin care and cosmetic use is due to the high content of oil, especially unsaturated fatty acids in seed with technological and therapeutic effects. In a field trial on an organic farm, seed weight and content of fatty acids of 20 hemp varieties were surveyed on three different harvest dates. The dry matter seed yields ranged from 27-149 g m2. The varieties Ferimon-12, Fedora-19, and Bialobreszie produced high seed yields on all three harvest dates but yields were not significantly different from a large group of other varieties. Contents of palmitic acid range from 3.1 to 4.1%, of stearic acid from 0.1 to 1.9%, of oleic acid from 3.7 to 9.2%, of linoleic acid from 44.8 to 60.2%, of α-linolenic acid from 18.2 to 27.4%, and of γ-linolenic acid from 1.6 to 4.7%. The genotype has no significant influence on fatty acid content. All 20 varieties tested show high quantities of fatty acid depending on the harvest date, so that no variety can be favored. Results confirm that hemp is a very good source of fatty acids for skin care and cosmetic use

Equation of motion method for Full Counting Statistics: Steady state superradiance

For the multi-mode Dicke model in a transport setting that exhibits collective boson transmissions, we construct the equation of motion for the cumulant generating function. Approximating the exact system of equations at the level of cumulant generating function and system operators at lowest order, allows us to recover master equation results of the Full Counting Statistics for certain parameter regimes at very low cost of computation. The thermodynamic limit, that is not accessible with the master equation approach, can be derived analytically for different approximations.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, revised version, accepted by PR

Color Measurement on Substrates with Optical Brightening Agents

Yellow and blue Pantone colors were printed on a substrate with high Optical Brightening Agent (OBA) levels and then measured under different measurement conditions as outlined in ISO 13655. Both colors exhibited large DEOO shifts with lighter screen tints, as more paper influenced the measurement. The Pantone colors were further analysed after being printed on two different substrates with varying OBAs. While the solids were color-matched to a DEOO of less than 1.0, the tints resulted in DEOO values above 7.0 due to more paper influence in the lighter screen tints

Probing single jumps of surface atoms

Jumps of single atoms can be followed on their time and space scale (nanoseconds and Angstroms) by applying nuclear resonance scattering of synchrotron radiation. Here we develop the theory for jump diffusion in two-dimensional systems. Two types of phenomena are noteworthy: apparent acceleration of the nuclear decay and relaxation of hyperfine interactions, in particular, electric quadrupole interactions. The latter effect becomes for the first time one of significance and well measurable due to the inherent anisotropy of the surface. We show how, by way of motional narrowing, to distinguish between the motion of the probe atom itself and the motion of adatoms

Triplet-singlet relaxation in semiconductor single and double quantum dots

We study the triplet-singlet relaxation in two-electron semiconductor quantum dots. Both single dots and vertically coupled double dots are discussed. In our work, the electron-electron Coulomb interaction, which plays an important role in the electronic structure, is included. The spin mixing is caused by spin-orbit coupling which is the key to the triplet-singlet relaxation. We show that the selection rule widely used in the literature is incorrect unless near the crossing/anticrossing point in single quantum dots. The triplet/singlet relaxation in double quantum dots can be markedly changed by varying barrier height, inter-dot distance, external magnetic field and dot size.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, PRB in pres

First human study in treatment of unresectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer with irinotecan-loaded beads (DEBIRI)

The objective of this pilot clinical study was to assess the safety, technical feasibility, pharmacokinetic (PK) profile and tumour response of DC Bead™ with irinotecan (DEBIRI™) delivered by intra-arterial embolisation for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer. Eleven patients with unresectable liver metastases from CRC, tumour burden <30% of liver volume, adequate haematological, liver and renal function, performance status of <2 were included in this study. Patients received up to 4 sessions of TACE with DEBIRI at 3-week intervals. Feasibility of the procedure, safety and tumour response were assessed after each cycle. PK was measured after the first cycle. Patients were followed up to 24 weeks. Only mild to moderate adverse events were observed. DEBIRI is a technically feasibile procedure; no technical complications were observed. Average Cmax for irinotecan and SN-38 was 194 ng/ml and 16.7 ng/ml, respectively, with average t½ of 4.6 h and 12.4 h following administration of DEBIRI. Best overall response during the study showed disease control in 9 patients (2 patients with partial response and 7 with stable disease, overall response rate of 18%). Our study shows that transarterial chemoembolisation with irinotecan-loaded DC beads (DEBIRI) is safe, technically feasible and effective with a good PK profile