67 research outputs found
A continuous 55-million-year record of transient mantle plume activity beneath Iceland
Improving pulse crops as a source of protein, starch and micronutrients
Pulse crops have been known for a long time to have beneficial nutritional profiles for human diets but have been neglected in terms of cultivation, consumption and scientific research in many parts of the world. Broad dietary shifts will be required if anthropogenic climate change is to be mitigated in the future, and pulse crops should be an important component of this change by providing an environmentally sustainable source of protein, resistant starch and micronutrients. Further enhancement of the nutritional composition of pulse crops could benefit human health, helping to alleviate micronutrient deficiencies and reduce risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. This paper reviews current knowledge regarding the nutritional content of pea (Pisum sativum L.) and faba bean (Vicia faba L.), two major UK pulse crops, and discusses the potential for their genetic improvement
A Net Energy Analysis of the Global Agriculture, Aquaculture, Fishing and Forestry System
The global agriculture, aquaculture, fishing and forestry (AAFF) energy system is subject to three unsustainable trends: (1) the approaching biophysical limits of AAFF; (2) the role of AAFF as a driver of environmental degradation; and (3) the long-term declining energy efficiency of AAFF due to growing dependence on fossil fuels. In response, we conduct a net energy analysis for the period 1971â2017 and review existing studies to investigate the global AAFF energy system and its vulnerability to the three unsustainable trends from an energetic perspective. We estimate the global AAFF system represents 27.9% of societies energy supply in 2017, with food energy representing 20.8% of societies total energy supply. We find that the net energy-return-on-investment (net EROI) of global AAFF increased from 2.87:1 in 1971 to 4.05:1 in 2017. We suggest that rising net EROI values are being fuelled in part by âdepleting natures accumulated energy stocksâ. We also find that the net energy balance of AAFF increased by 130% in this period, with at the same time a decrease in both the proportion of rural residents and also the proportion of the total population working in AAFFâwhich decreased from 19.8 to 10.3%. However, this comes at the cost of growing fossil fuel dependency which increased from 43.6 to 62.2%. Given the increasing probability of near-term fossil fuel scarcity, the growing impacts of climate change and environmental degradation, and the approaching biophysical limits of global AAFF, âOdumâs hoaxâ is likely soon to be revealed
A continuous 55-million-year record of transient mantle plume activity beneath Iceland
In the North Atlantic Ocean, a mid-ocean ridge bisects the Icelandic mantle plume, and provides a window into its temporal evolution1, 2, 3. V-shaped ridges of thick oceanic crust observed south of Iceland are thought to record pulses of upwelling within the plume4, 5, 6, 7. Specifically, excess crust is thought to form during the quasi-periodic generation of hot solitary waves triggered by thermal instabilities in the mantle8. Here we use seismic reflection data to show that V-shaped ridges have formed over the past 55 million yearsâproviding the longest record of plume periodicity of its kind. We find evidence for minor, but systematic, asymmetric formation of crust, due to migration of the mid-ocean ridge with respect to the underlying plume. We also find changes in periodicity: from 55 to 35 million years ago, the V-shaped ridges form every 3 million years or so and reflect small fluctuations in plume temperature of about 5â10 °C. From 35 million years ago, the periodicity changes to about 8 million years and reflects changes in mantle temperature of 25â30 °C. We suggest that this change in periodicity is probably caused by perturbations in the thermal state at the plume source, either at the mantle-transition zone or coreâmantle boundary
Introduced and cryptogenic species in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia
Port Phillip Bay (PPB) is a large (1,930 km2),
temperate embayment in southern Victoria, Australia.
Extensive bay-wide surveys of PPB have occurred since
1840. In 1995/1996 the Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Centre for
Research on Introduced Marine Pests (CRIMP) undertook
an intensive evaluation of the region with the aims
of developing a comprehensive species list of native and
introduced biota and contrasting previous bay-wide
assessments with a current field survey in order to detect
new incursions and discern alterations to native communities.
Two methods were used to meet these aims: a
re-evaluation of regional museum collections and published
research in PPB to identify and determine the
timing of introductions; and field surveys for benthic
(infauna, epifauna and encrusting) organisms between
September 1995 to March 1996. One hundred and sixty
introduced (99) and cryptogenic (61) species were identified
representing over 13% of the recorded species of
PPB. As expected, the majority of these are concentrated
around the shipping ports of Geelong and Melbourne.
Invasions within PPB appear to be increasing, possibly
due to an increase in modern shipping traffic and an
increase in aquaculture (historically associated with
incidental introductions); however the records of
extensive biological surveys suggest that this may, in
part, be an artefact of sampling effort. In contrast to
Northern Hemisphere studies, PPB (and Southern
Hemisphere introductions in general) have significantly
different suites of successfully invading taxa. PPB is
presented as one of the most invaded marine ecosystems
in the Southern Hemisphere
Efficacy and Feasibility of Frontozygomatic Angle Approach for Extra Oral Maxillary Nerve Block in Oral Surgery: A Descriptive Clinical Trial
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