Effects of a near infrared-reflecting greenhouse roof cover on the microclimate and production of tomato in the tropics

The effects of a shading paint containing NIR-reflecting pigments applied to the roof of an experimental greenhouse on greenhouse microclimate, plant response of a tomato crop and fruit yield and quality were studied under the tropical climate conditions of Central Thailand. One experiment was carried out in the rainy (2006) season and in the dry (2005/2006) season.The maximal reduction of the air temperatures inside the greenhouse with the NIR reflecting roof paint was observed during the dry season. At this time the temperature in this house was 2.8 °C lower than in the control greenhouse without shading paint. On average the temperature reduction was 2 °C in the dry and 0.6 °C in the rainy season. The magnitude of the temperature reduction was influenced by the time of application in relation to stage of plant growth. Cumulative water consumption between the 4th and 17th week after transplanting was reduced by 8.8 % and 6.2 % during the dry and rainyseason, respectively. However, this did not significantly influence overall water use efficiency. Reduction in the transmission of the photosynthetic active radiation did not significantly influence yield. Shading had only negligibly small influence on plant height, number of trusses, leaf area index and dry matter partitioning

Impact of Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation on the HIV Reservoir and Immune Response in 3 HIV-Infected Individuals

Background: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can lead to significant changes to the HIV reservoir and HIV immune responses, indicating that further characterization of HIV-infected patients undergoing HSCT is warranted. Methods: We studied 3 patients who underwent HSCT after either reduced intensity conditioning or myeloablative conditioning regimen. We measured HIV antigens and antibodies (Ag/Ab), HIV-specific CD4 + T-cell responses, HIV RNA, and DNA in plasma, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, isolated CD4 + T cells from peripheral blood, and lymph node cells. The patients remained on antiretroviral therapy throughout the follow-up period. Results: All patients have been in continued remission for 4-6 years post-HSCT. Analyses of HIV RNA and DNA levels showed substantial reductions in HIV reservoir-related measurements in all 3 patients, changes in immune response varied with pronounced reductions in 2 patients and a less dramatic reduction in 1 patient. One patient experienced unexpected viral rebound 4 years after HSCT. Conclusions: These 3 cases highlight the substantial changes to the HIV reservoir and the HIV immune response in patients undergoing allogeneic HSCT. The viral rebound observed in 1 patient indicates that replication competent HIV can re-emerge several years after HSCT despite these marked changes

The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2

The Eurasian (née European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60 % from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019)Swiss National Science Foundation | Ref. 200021_16959

The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2

The Eurasian (nee European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60% from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019).Peer reviewe

Testing the Effect of Relative Pollen Productivity on the REVEALS Model : A Validated Reconstruction of Europe-Wide Holocene Vegetation

Reliable quantitative vegetation reconstructions for Europe during the Holocene are crucial to improving our understanding of landscape dynamics, making it possible to assess the past effects of environmental variables and land-use change on ecosystems and biodiversity, and mitigating their effects in the future. We present here the most spatially extensive and temporally continuous pollen-based reconstructions of plant cover in Europe (at a spatial resolution of 1° × 1°) over the Holocene (last 11.7 ka BP) using the 'Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites' (REVEALS) model. This study has three main aims. First, to present the most accurate and reliable generation of REVEALS reconstructions across Europe so far. This has been achieved by including a larger number of pollen records compared to former analyses, in particular from the Mediterranean area. Second, to discuss methodological issues in the quantification of past land cover by using alternative datasets of relative pollen productivities (RPPs), one of the key input parameters of REVEALS, to test model sensitivity. Finally, to validate our reconstructions with the global forest change dataset. The results suggest that the RPPs.st1 (31 taxa) dataset is best suited to producing regional vegetation cover estimates for Europe. These reconstructions offer a long-term perspective providing unique possibilities to explore spatial-temporal changes in past land cover and biodiversity

The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2

Abstract. The Eurasian (née European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60 % from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019).</jats:p

Suitability of a UV Lamp for Trapping the Greenhouse Whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood (Hom: Aleyrodidae)

Rosana G. Moreira, Editor-in-Chief; Texas A&M UniversityThis is a paper from International Commission of Agricultural Engineering (CIGR, Commission Internationale du Genie Rural) E-Journal Volume 7 (2005): Suitability of a UV Lamp for Trapping the Greenhouse Whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood (Hom: Aleyrodidae) by Urbanus N. Mutwiwa and Hans J. Tanta