54 research outputs found
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Oxidative discolouration in whole-head and cut lettuce: biochemical and environmental influences on a complex phenotype and potential breeding strategies to improve shelf-life
Lettuce discolouration is a key post-harvest trait. The major enzyme controlling oxidative discolouration
has long been considered to be polyphenol oxidase (PPO) however, levels of PPO and subsequent development of discolouration symptoms have not always correlated. The predominance of a latent state of the enzyme in plant tissues combined with substrate activation and contemporaneous suicide inactivation
mechanisms are considered as potential explanations for
this phenomenon. Leaf tissue physical properties have
been associated with subsequent discolouration and
these may be influenced by variation in nutrient
availability, especially excess nitrogen and head maturity at harvest. Mild calcium and irrigation stress has
also been associated with a reduction in subsequent
discolouration, although excess irrigation has been
linked to increased discolouration potentially through
leaf physical properties. These environmental factors,
including high temperature and UV light intensities,
often have impacts on levels of phenolic compounds
linking the environmental responses to the biochemistry
of the PPO pathway. Breeding strategies targeting the
PALand PPOpathway biochemistry and environmental
response genes are discussed as a more cost-effective
method of mitigating oxidative discolouration then
either modified atmosphere packaging or post-harvest
treatments, although current understanding of the
biochemistry means that such programs are likely to
be limited in nature and it is likely that they will need to be deployed alongside other methods for the foreseeable future
Ultrasound in schistosomiasis mansoni
We reviewed ultrasound features in patients with schistosomiasis mansoni. The alterations that we observed in acute and hepatosplenic schistosomiasis are described. The advantages and disadvantages of using ultrasound patterns in the evaluation of liver fibrosis are discussed. Other diseases that are important in the differential diagnosis of schistosomal liver fibrosis are presented. Ultrasound is an effective and flexible diagnostic tool in the evaluation of a variety of diseases. It presents no harmful effects to patients, allowing non-invasive studies in hospitalized patients and in other facilities
Renewable, ethical? Assessing the energy justice potential of renewable electricity
Energy justice is increasingly being used as a framework to conceptualize the impacts of energy decision making in more holistic ways and to consider the social implications in terms of existing ethical values. Similarly, renewable energy technologies are increasingly being promoted for their environmental and social benefits. However, little work has been done to systematically examine the extent to which, in what ways and in what contexts, renewable energy technologies can contribute to achieving energy justice. This paper assesses the potential of renewable electricity technologies to address energy justice in various global contexts via a systematic review of existing studies analyzed in terms of the principles and dimensions of energy justice. Based on publications including peer reviewed academic literature, books, and in some cases reports by government or international organizations, we assess renewable electricity technologies in both grid integrated and off-grid use contexts. We conduct our investigation through the rubric of the affirmative and prohibitive principles of energy justice and in terms of its temporal, geographic, socio-political, economic, and technological dimensions. Renewable electricity technology development has and continue to have different impacts in different social contexts, and by considering the different impacts explicitly across global contexts, including differences between rural and urban contexts, this paper contributes to identifying and understanding how, in what ways, and in what particular conditions and circumstances renewable electricity technologies may correspond with or work to promote energy justice
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