Emergy analysis of organic horticultural systems

The industrial agriculture depends on a constant flow of non-renewable natural resources, which will not be able to meet the growing demand. The emergy analysis quantifies the sustainability of production systems, and its indicators are useful for the planning of agroecosystems and public policy. This research’s objective is to reveal the emergy diagnosis of five horticultural systems under organic management. A studied production unit (number 1) is a system of production and marketing of a small family-business type, in short chain. The other productive units (numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5) are family production systems, where the products are marked by intermediaries, in long chains. The performance evaluation of the emergy production systems followed the three recommended methodological stages: (i) elaboration of a systemic diagram; (ii) constructing emergy tables to calculate total emergy, and (iii) discussion of emergy indicators. Emergy flow analysis indicated the following: total emergy (Y) ranging from 1,72 to 6,24 E+17 seJ ha-1 year-1; Transformity (Tr): 6.72 E+06 to 3.14 E+07 seJ/J; high renewability (%R = 60 to 85%); Emergy Exchange Ratio (EER) ranging from 1,93 to 12,09; high benefit/cost (ESI - Emergy Sustainability Index) ranging from 3,54 to 39,71. These indicators show that the studied production systems can contribute to economic growth without causing serious disturbance to the environmental balance. The greater energy transformation efficiency in the organic production chain can be achieved by increasing commercialized production; but, to improve long term sustainability, the development strategies for commercialized production must restrict investments in non-renewable energy resources.A agricultura industrial depende do fluxo constante de recursos naturais não renováveis, principalmente de energia fóssil, que logo não serão capazes de atender a demanda crescente. A avaliação emergética quantifica a sustentabilidade dos sistemas de produção e seus indicadores são úteis para o planejamento dos agroecossistemas e de políticas públicas. O objetivo deste trabalho é revelar o diagnóstico emergético de cinco sistemas de produção de olerícolas sob manejo orgânico, sendo um sistema de produção e comercialização do tipo familiar-empresarial, em cadeia curta, e quatro sistemas de produção familiares cuja comercialização é realizada por meio de intermediários, em cadeias longas. A avaliação do desempenho emergético dos sistemas de produção observou as três etapas metodológicas recomendadas: (i) elaboração de diagrama sistêmico; (ii) construção da tabela de cálculo da emergia total; e, (iii) discussão dos indicadores emergéticos. A análise emergética indicou a emergia total (Y) variando de 1,72 a 6,24 E+17 seJ ha-1 ano-1; transformidade (Tr) de 6,72E+06 a 3,14E+07 seJ/J; alta renovabilidade (R% = 60 a 85%); taxa de intercâmbio (EER) de 1,93 até 12,09; e, índice de sustentabilidade (ESI) de 3,54 até 39,71. Isto é, os sistemas produtivos contribuem para o crescimento econômico, sem ocorrência de perturbação grave ao equilíbrio ambiental, no médio e longo prazo. A maior eficiência da transformação da energia na cadeia produtiva orgânica pode ser alcançada por meio do aumento da produção comercializada; porém, as estratégias de desenvolvimento dos sistemas de produção e comercialização devem restringir os investimentos em recursos não renováveis, para melhoria da sustentabilidade, no longo prazo.La agricultura industrial depende del flujo constante de recursos naturales no renovables, especialmente energía fósil, que pronto será incapaz de satisfacer la creciente demanda. La evaluación emergético cuantifica la sostenibilidad de los sistemas de producción y sus indicadores son útiles para la planificación de los agroecosistemas y de las políticas públicas. El objetivo de este estudio es revelar lo diagnóstico emergético de cinco sistemas de cultivos hortícolas bajo manejo orgánico, siendo un sistema de producción y comercialización de lo tipo familiar-empresarial, de cadena corta, y cuatro sistemas de producción familiar, cuya comercialización se realiza a través de intermediarios en cadenas largas. La evaluación delo desempeño emergético de los sistemas de producción ha observado las tres etapas metodológicas recomendadas: (i) la elaboración de diagrama sistémico (ii) construcción de la tabla de cálculo de la emergia total, y (iii) la discusión de los indicadores emergéticos. El análisis emergético ha indicado la emergía total (Y) que van desde 1,72 hasta 6,24 E+17 seJ ha-1 ano-1; transformidade (Tr) de 6,72E+06 hasta 3,14E+07 sej/J; alta renovabilidad (R = 60% hasta 85%), tasa de intercambio (EER) de 1,93 a 12,09, y el índice de sostenibilidad (ESI) 3,54 a 39,71. Es decir, los sistemas productivos contribuyen al crecimiento económico sin que se produzca el equilibrio, sin que ocurra perturbación ambiental grave en el mediano y largo plazo. La mayor eficiencia de transformación de energía en la cadena de producción orgánica se puede lograr mediante el aumento de la producción comercializada, pero las estrategias de desarrollo de los sistemas de producción y comercialización deben restringir las inversiones en recursos no renovables, para mejorar la sostenibilidad a largo plazo

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Evolving trends in the management of acute appendicitis during COVID-19 waves. The ACIE appy II study

Background: In 2020, ACIE Appy study showed that COVID-19 pandemic heavily affected the management of patients with acute appendicitis (AA) worldwide, with an increased rate of non-operative management (NOM) strategies and a trend toward open surgery due to concern of virus transmission by laparoscopy and controversial recommendations on this issue. The aim of this study was to survey again the same group of surgeons to assess if any difference in management attitudes of AA had occurred in the later stages of the outbreak. Methods: From August 15 to September 30, 2021, an online questionnaire was sent to all 709 participants of the ACIE Appy study. The questionnaire included questions on personal protective equipment (PPE), local policies and screening for SARS-CoV-2 infection, NOM, surgical approach and disease presentations in 2021. The results were compared with the results from the previous study. Results: A total of 476 answers were collected (response rate 67.1%). Screening policies were significatively improved with most patients screened regardless of symptoms (89.5% vs. 37.4%) with PCR and antigenic test as the preferred test (74.1% vs. 26.3%). More patients tested positive before surgery and commercial systems were the preferred ones to filter smoke plumes during laparoscopy. Laparoscopic appendicectomy was the first option in the treatment of AA, with a declined use of NOM. Conclusion: Management of AA has improved in the last waves of pandemic. Increased evidence regarding SARS-COV-2 infection along with a timely healthcare systems response has been translated into tailored attitudes and a better care for patients with AA worldwide

Odderon Exchange from Elastic Scattering Differences between pp and pp−^{-} Data at 1.96 TeV and from pp Forward Scattering Measurements

We describe an analysis comparing the p¯p elastic cross section as measured by the D0 Collaboration at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV to that in pp collisions as measured by the TOTEM Collaboration at 2.76, 7, 8, and 13 TeV using a model-independent approach. The TOTEM crosssections, extrapolated to a center-of-mass energy of √s=1.96  TeV, are compared with the D0 measurement in the region of the diffractive minimum and the second maximum of the pp cross section. The two data sets disagree at the 3.4σ level and thus provide evidence for the t-channel exchange of a colorless, C-odd gluonic compound, also known as the odderon. We combine these results with a TOTEM analysis of the same C-odd exchange based on the total cross section and the ratio of the real to imaginary parts of the forward elastic strong interaction scatteringamplitude in pp scattering for which the significance is between 3.4σ and 4.6σ. The combined significance is larger than 5σ and is interpreted as the first observation of the exchange of a colorless, C-odd gluonic compound

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good

Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI

Search for stop and higgsino production using diphoton Higgs boson decays

Results are presented of a search for a "natural" supersymmetry scenario with gauge mediated symmetry breaking. It is assumed that only the supersymmetric partners of the top-quark (stop) and the Higgs boson (higgsino) are accessible. Events are examined in which there are two photons forming a Higgs boson candidate, and at least two b-quark jets. In 19.7 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, recorded in the CMS experiment, no evidence of a signal is found and lower limits at the 95% confidence level are set, excluding the stop mass below 360 to 410 GeV, depending on the higgsino mass

Severe early onset preeclampsia: short and long term clinical, psychosocial and biochemical aspects

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy specific disorder commonly defined as de novo hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks gestational age. It occurs in approximately 3-5% of pregnancies and it is still a major cause of both foetal and maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide1. As extensive research has not yet elucidated the aetiology of preeclampsia, there are no rational preventive or therapeutic interventions available. The only rational treatment is delivery, which benefits the mother but is not in the interest of the foetus, if remote from term. Early onset preeclampsia (<32 weeks’ gestational age) occurs in less than 1% of pregnancies. It is, however often associated with maternal morbidity as the risk of progression to severe maternal disease is inversely related with gestational age at onset2. Resulting prematurity is therefore the main cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in patients with severe preeclampsia3. Although the discussion is ongoing, perinatal survival is suggested to be increased in patients with preterm preeclampsia by expectant, non-interventional management. This temporising treatment option to lengthen pregnancy includes the use of antihypertensive medication to control hypertension, magnesium sulphate to prevent eclampsia and corticosteroids to enhance foetal lung maturity4. With optimal maternal haemodynamic status and reassuring foetal condition this results on average in an extension of 2 weeks. Prolongation of these pregnancies is a great challenge for clinicians to balance between potential maternal risks on one the eve hand and possible foetal benefits on the other. Clinical controversies regarding prolongation of preterm preeclamptic pregnancies still exist – also taking into account that preeclampsia is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the Netherlands5 - a debate which is even more pronounced in very preterm pregnancies with questionable foetal viability6-9. Do maternal risks of prolongation of these very early pregnancies outweigh the chances of neonatal survival? Counselling of women with very early onset preeclampsia not only comprises of knowledge of the outcome of those particular pregnancies, but also knowledge of outcomes of future pregnancies of these women is of major clinical importance. This thesis opens with a review of the literature on identifiable risk factors of preeclampsia

Genomic Ancestry, CYP2D6, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19 Among Latin Americans

We present the distribution of CYP2D6, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19 variants and predicted phenotypes in 33 native and admixed populations from Ibero-America (n > 6,000) in the context of genetic ancestry (n = 3,387). Continental ancestries are the major determinants of frequencies of the increased-activity allele CYP2C19*17 and CYP2C19 gUMs (negatively associated with Native American ancestry), decreased-activity alleles CYP2D6*41 and CYP2C9*2 (positively associated with European ancestry), and decreased-activity alleles CYP2D6*17 and CYP2D6*29 (positively associated with African ancestry). For the rare alleles, CYP2C9*2 and CYPC19*17, European admixture accounts for their presence in Native American populations, but rare alleles CYP2D6*5 (null-activity), CYP2D6-multiplication alleles (increased activity), and CYP2C9*3 (decreased-activity) were present in the pre-Columbian Americas. The study of a broad spectrum of Native American populations from different ethno-linguistic groups show how autochthonous diversity shaped the distribution of pharmaco-alleles and give insights on the prevalence of clinically relevant phenotypes associated with drugs, such as paroxetine, tamoxifen, warfarin, and clopidogrel

Mitochondrial physiology

As the knowledge base and importance of mitochondrial physiology to evolution, health and disease expands, the necessity for harmonizing the terminology concerning mitochondrial respiratory states and rates has become increasingly apparent. The chemiosmotic theory establishes the mechanism of energy transformation and coupling in oxidative phosphorylation. The unifying concept of the protonmotive force provides the framework for developing a consistent theoretical foundation of mitochondrial physiology and bioenergetics. We follow the latest SI guidelines and those of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) on terminology in physical chemistry, extended by considerations of open systems and thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The concept-driven constructive terminology incorporates the meaning of each quantity and aligns concepts and symbols with the nomenclature of classical bioenergetics. We endeavour to provide a balanced view of mitochondrial respiratory control and a critical discussion on reporting data of mitochondrial respiration in terms of metabolic flows and fluxes. Uniform standards for evaluation of respiratory states and rates will ultimately contribute to reproducibility between laboratories and thus support the development of data repositories of mitochondrial respiratory function in species, tissues, and cells. Clarity of concept and consistency of nomenclature facilitate effective transdisciplinary communication, education, and ultimately further discovery