Advancing the time of ripeness of grapes by the application of methyl 2-(ureidooxy) propionate (a growth retardant)

Methyl 2-(ureidooxy) propionate (MUP), a plant growth retardant, hastened the ripening of grape berries of Vitis vinifera L. cultivars Mataro and Sultana by about 2 weeks and 1 week, respectively. The vines were sprayed with 0.1 % solution of MUP about halfway :through the first rapid growth phase of the fruit and again 2 weeks later. Terminal and lateral shoot growth was inhibited. Ripening of berries was advanced as measured by development of colour, and changes in titratable acid and reducing sugar content. The earlier ripening of the berries may have been due to hormonal changes but the advancement was much greater than that found previously with abscisic acid or ethylene applied during the slow growth stage of berry development.Die Beschleunigung des Reifezeitpunktes von Trauben durch die Anwendung vonMethyl-2-(ureidooxy)-Propionat, einen WachstumsdämpferMethyl-2-(ureidooxy)-Propionat (MUP), welches das Pflanzenwachstum verlangsamt, beschleunigte bei den Vitis-vinifera-Sorten Mataro und Sultana die Beerenreife um etwa 2 Wochen bzw. 1 Woche. Die Reben wurden etwa in der Mitte der ersten raschen Wachstumsphase der Beeren und ein weiteres Mal 2 Wochen später mit einer 0,1%igen MUP-Lösung besprüht. Das terminale und laterale Triebwachstum war gehemmt. Die Beerenreife war beschleunigt, wie die Entwicklung der Beerenfarbe und die Veränderungen im Gehalt an titrierbarer Säure und reduzierenden Zuckern zeigten. Die frühzeitigere Beerenreife könnte auf hormonale Veränderungen zurückgehen; allerdings war die Reife viel stärker beschleunigt als im Fall früherer Versuche, in denen während der langen Wachstumsphase der Beerenentwicklung Abscisinsäure oder Äthylen angewandt worden waren

The pathway to net zero heating in the UK

This is the final version. Available from UKERC via the DOI in this record. The heating of homes is a major contributor to the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions accounting for 13% of total emissions.  This is comparable to the carbon emissions of all petrol and diesel cars in the UK. 2 Meeting the UK government’s net zero emissions goal for 2050 will only be possible by complete decarbonisation of the building stock (both existing and new). While emissions from heating have fallen by 11% since 1990, much of which was driven by efficiency programmes and regulation in the period 2002-2012 3, continuing decarbonisation at this pace would get us to zero emissions from buildings in 235 years and fall far short of meeting the 2050 target

How to Block Cartel Formation and Price-Fixing

Abstract written by the AEI-Brookings Joint Center: Allowing foreign buyers of goods produced by international cartels to pursue civil antitrust damages in U.S. courts would better deter cartel formation and price-fixing than do sanctions currently imposed by global criminal and civil justice systems.Technology and Industry, Regulatory Reform, Other Topics

Gluon distributions in nucleons and pions at a low resolution scale

In this paper we study the gluon distribution functions in nucleons and pions at a low resolution $Q^2$ scale. This is an important issue since parton densities at low $Q^2$ have always been taken as an external input which is adjusted through DGLAP evolution to fit the experimental data at higher scales. Here, in the framework of a model recently developed, it is shown that the hypothetical cloud of {\it neutral} pions surrounding nucleons and pions appears to be responsible for the characteristic valence-like gluon distributions needed at the inital low scale. As an additional result, we get the remarkable prediction that neutral and charged pions have different intrinsic sea flavor contents.Comment: final version to appear in Phys. Rev. D. Discussion on several points enlarge

Low Q2Q^2 wave-functions of pions and kaons and their parton distribution functions

We study the low $Q^2$ wave-functions of pions and kaons as an expansion in terms of hadron-like Fock state fluctuations. In this formalism, pion and kaon wave-functions are related one another. Consequently, the knowledge of the pion structure allows the determination of parton distributions in kaons. In addition, we show that the intrinsic (low $Q^2$) sea of pions and kaons are different due to their different valence quark structure. Finally, we analize the feasibility of a method to extract kaon's parton distribution functions within this approach and compare with available experimental data.Comment: 13 pages, 3 postscript figures include

Modelling responsive demand from electrified domestic heating and storage under different operating strategies

The ability of UK housing with heat-pump-based heating systems to respond to requests for immediate changes to load was assessed using a bottom-up stock modelling approach. Detailed building simulation models of the most common types of UK housing were developed and their ability to respond to signals to drop or pick up load tested under two different operating strategies: on-demand heating and off-peak heating with supporting thermal storage. Both the thermal storage and heat pump capacity were sized prior to undertaking the responsive load simulations. The performance of each building was simulated over a calendar year, with the response to load variation signals constrained by thermal comfort requirements and hot water needs, which took priority. Without thermal storage and following a typical on-demand heating pattern, approximately 20% of heating systems could respond to a drop load or pick up load signal. Switching to an off-peak heating pattern with sized thermal storage resulted, firstly, in the entire operation of the heat pump could be shifted to off peak periods. Secondly, the overall ability to respond to a drop load request was almost unchanged, but typically over 80% of systems could respond to a pick up load signal. The aggregate response figures mask significant seasonal and intraday variations in response, with the ability to respond being limited during periods of low heating and hot water demand. The addition of thermal storage reduced this variability

An Alternative Method to Obtain the Quark Polarization of the Nucleon

An alternate method is described to extract the quark contribution to the spin of the nucleon directly from the first moment of the deuteron structure function, $g^d_1$. It is obtained without recourse to the use of input on the nucleon wave function from hyperon decays involving the flavor symmetry parameters, F and D. The result for the quark polarization of the nucleon, $\Delta\Sigma_ N,$ is in good agreement with the values of the singlet axial current matrix element, $a_0$, obtained from recent next-to-leading order analyses of current proton, neutron and deuteron data.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur