Productivity of reed (Phragmites australis Trin. ex Steud.) in continental-arid NW China in relation to soil, groundwater, and land-use

Reed (Phragmites australis Trin. ex Steud.) is a cosmopolitan plant species which can build up large stands in wetlands, floodplains, and on sites where groundwater is available. Phragmites australis provides many ecosystem services, such as the production of raw material (e.g. house construction or organic fuel). In the desert regions of Central Asia, reed occurs along river, e.g. the Tarim, Syr Darya, Amu Darya, and serves as fodder plant and raw material for construction and paper production. In those arid regions, reed occurs on submerged sites as well as non-flooded sites in a wide variety of phenotypes, ranging from so-called „giant reed“ (2-4 m high) to dwarf-like thorny reed not exceeding 40 cm stem length. We investigated the net primary production of the different phenotypes and their distribution with regard to soil and groundwater salt content and regarding grazing. The phenotypes were characterized through stem length, stem diameter, number of leaves per stem length, leaf weight ratio, leaf length, and leaf width. The net primary production reached 6,004 kg/ha·a on a non-grazed site, which is submerged for one month in late summer. The depth of the closed capillary fringe before onset of the flood was 2.2 m. The electric conductivity at the closed capillary fringe (determined from a water saturated soil extract) was 2 mS/cm. Stem length and stem diameter did not decrease with increasing soil and groundwater salt content, as expected. Conversely, stem length and stem diameter decreased and leaf weight ratio increased with increasing grazing intensity. Thus, grazing turned reed into dwarf-like thorny phenotypes. Non-grazed reed stands are the most productive ecosystems of the riparian vegetation at the Tarim and have a high potential to be used as raw material plant. We conclude that biomass harvesting could be an alternative to grazing with regard to sustainable land use

Micro internal combustion swing engine (MICSE) for portable power generation systems

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76989/1/AIAA-2002-722-277.pd

Increased susceptibility to dicarbonyl stress in Rett syndrome

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder, resulting from mutations in the Xlinked methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MECP2) gene. Recent studies have shown that oxidative stress (OS) and subclinical inflammatory status play a key role in RTT pathogenesis. Methylglyoxal (MG), an endogenous cytotoxic α-oxoaldehyde, is the main precursor of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), by inducing OS in several pathological conditions. On this basis, a possible involvement of the MG-targeting defense system in the RTT-related OxInflammation processes may be hypothesized. Two enzymes, GLO-1 and GLO-2, along with glutathione (GSH), are the main responsible for MG scavenging, with GLO-2 catalyzing the rate limiting step of this system. In the present study, we have evaluated the levels of GLOs (mRNA, protein, activity), the level of MGdependent protein damage and the cellular response to exogenous MG in fibroblasts from RTT patients and healthy volunteers (N=6 per group). Our results revealed that in Rett syndrome, while there were no significant changes in the levels of GLO-1 transcript, protein or specific activity, the GLO-2 enzymatic activity was significantly increased. Nevertheless, Rett syndrome fibroblasts did not show alterations in the levels of MG- induced damage, but at the same time, they seemed to be more prone to exogenous MG-induced stress. Our findings suggest that patients with RTT possibly show altered dicarbonyl stress defense system that may render cells more susceptible to further glycating insults due to the already challenged GLOs machinery

ONE LOST STONE

Directed by Thomas Kampe, One Lost Stone is part of Pascal Theatre Company's 'Discovering and Documenting England’s Lost Jews' project. It is designed as a voyage of discovery inspired by the history of the Sephardi Heritage in England. This digital travel guide aims to creatively brings stories and history to life through performance, artwork and creative media. The project reveals Sephardi immigration to England as a vital part in the building and consolidating of the modern British Empire and its colonial heritage. It asks questions on how we can respond to this complex history and reluctant heritage through artistic means today, in 2020. As artists we have the means and sensitivities to re-imagine and re-embody the stories of marginalised. As historians we offer nuanced interpretations of hidden histories at a moment when the English and British histories of ‘The Great and The Good’- mainly the white, wealthy male - are being scrutinised. One Lost Stone goes further than traditional narratives by revealing the diversity of journeys and cultures that shape the fabric of current British Sephardi heritage. Jews from Arab cultures, also known as Mizrahi, are also a crucial part of our study

Structural and electronic transformations of GeSe2 glass under high pressures studied by X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Pressure-induced transformations in an archetypal chalcogenide glass (GeSe2) have been investigated up to 157 GPa by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Ge and Se K-edge XAS data allowed simultaneous tracking of the correlated local structural and electronic changes at both Ge and Se sites. Thanks to the simultaneous analysis of extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) signals of both edges, reliable quantitative information about the evolution of the first neighbor Ge-Se distribution could be obtained. It also allowed to account for contributions of the Ge-Ge and Se-Se bond distributions (chemical disorder). The low-density to high-density amorphous-amorphous transformation was found to occur within 10 to 30 GPa pressure range, but the conversion from tetrahedral to octahedral coordination of the Ge sites is completed above [Formula: see text] 80 GPa. No convincing evidence of another high-density amorphous state with coordination number larger than six was found within the investigated pressure range. The number of short Ge-Ge and Se-Se "wrong" bonds was found to increase upon pressurization. Experimental XAS results are confirmed by MD simulations, indicating the increase of chemical disorder under high pressure