831 research outputs found
Assessing the ecological soundness of organic and conventional agriculture by means of life cycle assessment (LCA) - a case study of leek production
Purpose – Sustainable agriculture implies the ability of agro-ecosystems to remain productive in the long-term. It is not easy to point out unambiguously whether or not current production systems meet this sustainability demand. A priori thinking would suggest that organic crops are environmentally favourable, but may ignore the effect of reduced productivity, which shifts the potential impact to other parts of the food provision system. The purpose of this paper is to assess the ecological sustainability of conventional and organic leek production by means of life cycle assessment (LCA).
Design/methodology/approach – A cradle-to-farm gate LCA is applied, based on real farm data from two research centres. For a consistent comparison, two functional units (FU) were defined: 1ha and 1?kg of leek production.
Findings – Assessed on an area basis, organic farming shows a more favourable environmental profile. These overall benefits are strongly reduced when the lower yields are taken into account. Related to organic farming it is therefore important that solutions are found to substantially increase the yields without increasing the environmental burden. Related to conventional farming, important potential for environmental improvements are in optimising the farm nutrient flows, reducing pesticide use and increasing its self-supporting capacity.
Research limitations/implications – The research is a cradle-to-farm gate LCA, future research can be expanded to comprise all phases from cradle-to-grave to get an idea of the total sustainability of our present food consumption patterns. The research is also limited to the case of leek production. Future research can apply the methodology to other crops.
Originality/value – To date, there is still lack of clear evidence of the added value of organic farming compared to conventional farming on environmental basis. Few studies have compared organic and conventional food production by means of LCA. This paper addresses these issues
Giant monopole resonance and nuclear compression modulus for 40Ca and 16O
Using a collective potential derived on the basis of the Generator Coordinate
Method with Skyrme interactions we obtain values for the compression modulus of
40Ca which are in good agreement with a recently obtained experimental value.
Calculated values for the compression modulus for 16O are also given. The
procedure involved in the derivation of the collective potential is briefly
reviewed and discussed.Comment: 14 pages, no figures, two tables, REVTE
The Wigner function associated to the Rogers-Szego polynomials
We show here that besides the well known Hermite polynomials, the q-deformed
harmonic oscillator algebra admits another function space associated to a
particular family of q-polynomials, namely the Rogers-Szego polynomials. Their
main properties are presented, the associated Wigner function is calculated and
its properties are discussed. It is shown that the angle probability density
obtained from the Wigner function is a well-behaved function defined in the
interval [-Pi,Pi), while the action probability only assumes integer values
greater or equal than zero. It is emphasized the fact that the width of the
angle probability density is governed by the free parameter q characterizing
the polynomial.Comment: 12 pages, 2 (mathemathica) figure
Quasiprobability distribution functions for periodic phase-spaces: I. Theoretical Aspects
An approach featuring -parametrized quasiprobability distribution
functions is developed for situations where a circular topology is observed.
For such an approach, a suitable set of angle-angular momentum coherent states
must be constructed in appropriate fashion.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure
Does landscape-scale conservation management enhance the provision of ecosystem services?
Biodiversity conservation approaches are increasingly being implemented at the landscape-scale to support the maintenance
of metapopulations and metacommunities. However, the impact of such interventions on the provision of ecosystem services
is less well defined. Here we examine the potential impacts of landscape-scale conservation initiatives on ecosystem
services, through analysis of five case study areas in England and Wales. The provision of multiple ecosystem services was
projected according to current management plans and compared with a baseline scenario. Multicriteria analysis indicated
that in most cases landscape-scale approaches lead to an overall increase in service provision. Consistent increases were
projected in carbon storage, recreation and aesthetic value, as well as biodiversity value. However, most study areas
provided evidence of trade-offs, particularly between provisioning services and other types of service. Results differed
markedly between study areas, highlighting the importance of local context. These results suggest that landscape-scale
conservation approaches are likely to be effective in increasing ecosystem service provision, but also indicate that associated
costs can be significant, particularly in lowland areas
Schwinger, Pegg and Barnett approaches and a relationship between angular and Cartesian quantum descriptions II: Phase Spaces
Following the discussion -- in state space language -- presented in a
preceding paper, we work on the passage from the phase space description of a
degree of freedom described by a finite number of states (without classical
counterpart) to one described by an infinite (and continuously labeled) number
of states. With that it is possible to relate an original Schwinger idea to the
Pegg and Barnett approach to the phase problem. In phase space language, this
discussion shows that one can obtain the Weyl-Wigner formalism, for both
Cartesian {\em and} angular coordinates, as limiting elements of the discrete
phase space formalism.Comment: Subm. to J. Phys A: Math and Gen. 7 pages, sequel of quant-ph/0108031
(which is to appear on J.Phys A: Math and Gen
Dual inhibition of CDK4/6 and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling impairs energy metabolism in MPM cancer cells
Background: Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive malignancy associated to asbestos exposure. One of the most frequent genetic alteration in MPM patients is CDKN2A/ARF loss, leading to aberrant activation of the Rb pathway. In MPM cells, we previously demonstrated the therapeutic efficacy of targeting this signaling with the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib in combination with PI3K/mTOR inhibitors. Here, we investigated whether such combination may have an impact on cell energy metabolism. Methods: The study was performed in MPM cells of different histotypes; metabolic analyses were conducted by measuring GLUT-1 expression and glucose uptake/consumption, and by SeaHorse technologies. Results: MPM cell models differed for their ability to adapt to metabolic stress conditions, such as glucose starvation and hypoxia. Independently of these differences, combined treatments with palbociclib and PI3K/mTOR inhibitors inhibited cell proliferation more efficaciously than single agents. The drugs alone reduced glucose uptake/consumption as well as glycolysis, and their combination further enhanced these effects under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Moreover, the drug combinations significantly impaired mitochondrial respiration as compared with individual treatments. These metabolic effects were mediated by the concomitant inhibition of Rb/E2F/c-myc and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling. Conclusions: Dual blockade of glycolysis and respiration contributes to the anti-tumor efficacy of palbociclib-PI3K/mTOR inhibitors combination
Veneziano Amplitudes, Spin Chains and String Models
In a series of recently published papers we reanalyzed the existing
treatments of Veneziano and Veneziano-like amplitudes and the models associated
with these amplitudes. In this work we demonstrate that the already obtained
new partition function for these amplitudes can be exactly mapped into that for
the Polychronakos-Frahm (P-F) spin chain model. This observation allows us to
recover many of the existing string-theoretic models, including the most recent
ones.Comment: 38 page
Green's Function for Nonlocal Potentials
The single-particle nuclear potential is intrinsically nonlocal. In this
paper, we consider nonlocalities which arise from the many-body and fermionic
nature of the nucleus. We investigate the effects of nonlocality in the nuclear
potential by developing the Green's function for nonlocal potentials. The
formal Green's function integral is solved analytically in two different limits
of the wavelength as compared to the scale of nonlocality. Both results are
studied in a quasi-free limit. The results illuminate some of the basic effects
of nonlocality in the nuclear medium.Comment: Accepted for publication in J. Phys.
Generalized squeezing operators, bipartite Wigner functions and entanglement via Wehrl's entropy functionals
We introduce a new class of unitary transformations based on the su(1,1) Lie
algebra that generalizes, for certain particular representations of its
generators, well-known squeezing transformations in quantum optics. To
illustrate our results, we focus on the two-mode bosonic representation and
show how the parametric amplifier model can be modified in order to generate
such a generalized squeezing operator. Furthermore, we obtain a general
expression for the bipartite Wigner function which allows us to identify two
distinct sources of entanglement, here labelled by dynamical and kinematical
entanglement. We also establish a quantitative estimate of entanglement for
bipartite systems through some basic definitions of entropy functionals in
continuous phase-space representations.Comment: 16 page
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