Estimation of Biomass and N Uptake in Different Winter Cover Crops from UAV-Based Multispectral Canopy Reflectance Data

Cover crops are known to provide beneficial effects to agricultural systems such as a reduction in nitrate leaching, erosion control, and an increase in soil organic matter. The monitoring of cover crops’ growth (e.g., green area index (GAI), nitrogen (N) uptake, or dry matter (DM)) using remote sensing techniques allows us to identify the physiological processes involved and to optimise management decisions. Based on the data of a two-year trial (2018, 2019) in Kiel, Northern Germany, the multispectral sensor Sequoia (Parrot) was calibrated to the selected parameters of the winter cover crops oilseed radish, saia oat, spring vetch, and winter rye as sole cover crops and combined in mixtures. Two simple ratios (SRred, SRred edge) and two normalised difference indices (NDred, NDred edge) were calculated and tested for their predicting power. Furthermore, the advantage of the species/mixture–individual compared to the universal models was analysed. SRred best predicted GAI, DM, and N uptake (R2: 0.60, 0.53, 0.45, respectively) in a universal model approach. The canopy parameters of saia oat and spring vetch were estimated by species–individual models, achieving a higher R2 than with the universal model. Comparing mixture–individual models to the universal model revealed low relative error differences below 3%. The findings of the current study serve as a tool for the rapid and inexpensive estimation of cover crops’ canopy parameters that determine environmental services

Investigation of genetic variation in Jatropha curcas by Ecotilling and ISSR

The ability of species to adapt to different environments resides in their genetic diversity. This diversity, most commonly manifested as Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), can provide clues to the adaptive processes and population histories that have played a role in the species ’ evolution. A number of different techniques for identifying SNPs have been developed, all having their limitations. Reverse genetics approaches rely on the detection of sequence alterations in target genes to identify allelic variations in natural or mutant populations. Ecotilling, a variant of TILLING (Targeting Induced Local Lesions IN Genomes) technique, allows high-throughput analyses of natural genetic diversity in plants [1], particularly in species with limited genetic diversity. Jatropha curcas L. is a perennial, monoecious shrub of the Euphorbiaceae family, native to America but distributed widely in the tropical and subtropical areas [2]. Wild or semi-cultivated types of J. curcas can grow well under unfavourable climatic and soil conditions [3]. J. curcas has attracted a great deal of attention worldwide, regarding its potential as a new energy plant. The seeds of J. curcas contain 30-45 % oil [4] with a high percentage of monounsaturated oleic and polyunsaturated linoleic acid [5]. For genomic analyses, J. curcas is an interesting model species, since it has a relatively small genome (2C DNA content of 0.850 ± 0.006 pg or C DNA content of 0.416 × 109 bp) [6]. However, to achieve specific breeding goals in Jatropha for wider ecological adaptation, disease resistance and novel seed quality, the use of germplasm from different group and regions is necessary. Understandin

Numerical Investigations of Mixed Convection of Incompressible Viscous Fluid in LNG Storage with a Various Locations of Input and Output Mass

The article shows the results of mathematical simulation of mixed convection in the low-temperature storage of liquefied natural gas with a regenerative cooling. The regimes of mixed convection in a closed area with the different arrangement of the input and output sections of the masses are investigated. Two-dimensional nonstationary problem in the model of the Navier-Stokes in dimensionless variables "vorticity - stream function - temperature" was examined. Are obtained distributions of the hydrodynamic parameters and temperatures, characteristic basic laws governing the processes being investigated. Detailed circulating currents and carried out analysis of the mechanism of vortices formation and the temperature distribution in the solution for mixed convection mode with low Reynolds and Grashof numbers (Gr=10{6}, 100<Re<1000). Is established the significant influence of the geometrical arrangement of the input and output mass sections and input stream velocity on the structure of liquid flow and temperature in the low temperature LNG storage tanks

Memorials to the victims of Nazism: the impact on tourists in Berlin

This qualitative study explores tourist responses to memorials to the victims of Nazism in Berlin and the impact they have on the tourist experience. The findings are located in the field of study known as dark tourism, of which visiting memorials is a part. The analysis shows that tourists increased their knowledge of the crimes committed by the Nazis, thus fulfilling the educational function of memorials. Tourists were also overwhelmed by their experience; they attested to feelings of sadness, shock, anger, despair and incomprehension. These feelings made it hard for them to resume the role of tourist after their exposure to a memorial. There was acknowledgement of the extent of commemoration practised in Germany

On absence and abundance: biography as method in archival research

Geographical scholarship has rightly problematised the act of archival research, showing that practices of archiving are not only concerned with how a society collectively remembers, but also forgets. As such the dominant motif for discussing historical methods in geography has been through the lens of absence: the archive is a space of ‘traces’, ‘fragments’ and ‘ghosts’. In this paper I suggest that the focus on incompleteness and partiality, whilst true, may also belie what many geographers working in archives find their greatest difficulty: an overwhelming volume of source materials. I reflect on my own research experiences in the pacifist archive to suggest that the growing scale and scope of many collections, along with the taxing research demands of transnational perspectives, pose immediate practical challenges for geographers characterised as much by abundance as by absence. In the second half of the paper, drawing on recent scholarship in history and geography, I argue that the method of biography offers one possible strategy for navigating archival abundance, allowing geographers to tell stories which are wider, deeper and more revealingly complex within the existing time and financial constraints of humanities research

Broad Down, Devon: archaeological and other stories

publication-status: PublishedThis is a post-print, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication Journal of Material Culture, 2010, Vol. 15, Issue 3, pp. 345 - 367. Copyright © 2010 SAGE Publications. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at http://mcu.sagepub.com/content/15/3/345.shortThis article explores the knowledge construction process of an archaeological site in East Devon, UK. Bouncing off an oral historical account of the site that seems to run against scientific truth claims, the author investigates the story of how knowledge of the site has developed over the last two centuries. Building on previous work that explores the history and practice of archaeology, the article opens up questions of what counts as evidence. Then, taking a cue from more recent work that suggests a more dynamic and open-ended engagement with the landscape, the article turns to examine how the meaning of a site can be made and remade. As part of this endeavour, questions of what as well as who can ‘speak’ are examined and some space is opened up for the agency of ‘minor figures’, both human and non-human

Cultural-Historical Geographies of the Archive: Fragments, Objects and Ghosts

This article was published in the journal Geography Compass [© John Wiley & Sons Ltd / © The Author]. The definitive version is available at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gec3.12071/abstractThis article reviews the increasingly diverse ways in which geographers are engaging with archives. Although traditionally associated with historical geography, cultural-historical geographers have recently 'animated' the archive and its collections of fragments, objects and ghosts. Through this article, I provide an overview of the central characteristics of work in this field, as well as considering the discipline's wider relationship with archival material. Overall, I reflect on the key challenges for geographers in animating and 'bringing to life' the archive - and by extension - the past

Regulation of cytoplasmic RNA stability: lessons from drosophila

The process of RNA degradation is a critical level of regulation contributing to the control of gene expression. In the last two decades a number of studies have shown the specific and targeted nature of RNA decay and its importance in maintaining homeostasis. The key players within the pathways of RNA decay are well conserved with their mutation or disruption resulting in distinct phenotypes as well as human disease. Model organisms including Drosophila melanogaster have played a substantial role in elucidating the mechanisms conferring control over RNA stability. A particular advantage of this model organism is that the functions of ribonucleases can be assessed in the context of natural cells within tissues in addition to individual immortalised cells in culture. Drosophila RNA stability research has demonstrated how the cytoplasmic decay machines, such as the exosome, Dis3L2 and Xrn1, are responsible for regulating specific processes including apoptosis, proliferation, wound healing and fertility. The work discussed here has begun to identify specific mRNA transcripts that appear sensitive to specific decay pathways representing mechanisms through which the ribonucleases control mRNA stability. Drosophila research has also contributed to our knowledge of how specific RNAs are targeted to the ribonucleases including AU rich elements, miRNA targeting and 3’ tailing. Increased understanding of these mechanisms is critical to elucidating the control elicited by the cytoplasmic ribonucleases which is relevant to human disease

Creating “automatic subjects”: corporate wellness and self-tracking

The use of self-tracking (ST) devices has increased dramatically in recent years with enthusiasm from the public as well as public health, healthcare providers and workplaces seeking to instigate behaviour change in populations. Analysis of the ontological principles informing the design and implementation of the Apple Watch and corporate wellness (CW) programmes using ST technologies will suggest that their primary focus is on the capture and control of attention rather than material health outcomes. Health, wellness and happiness have been conflated with productivity which is now deemed to be dependent on the harnessing of libidinal energy as well as physical energy. In this context ST technologies and related CW interventions, have been informed by “emotional design”, neuroscientific and behavioural principles which target the “pre subjective” consciousness of individuals through manipulating their habits and neurological functioning. The paper draws on the work of Bernard Stiegler to suggest framing ST as “industrial temporal objects”, which capture and “short circuit” attention. It will be proposed that a central aim is to “accumulate the consciousnesses” of subjects consistent with the methods of a contemporary “attention economy”. This new logic of accumulation informs the behaviour change strategies of designers of ST devices, and CW initiatives, taking the form of “psychotechnologies” which attempt to reconstruct active subjects as automatic and reactive “nodes” as part of managed networks

How Climate Model Complexity Influences Sea Ice Stability

Abstract Record lows in Arctic sea ice extent have been making frequent headlines in recent years. The change in albedo when sea ice is replaced by open water introduces a nonlinearity that has sparked an ongoing debate about the stability of the Arctic sea ice cover and the possibility of Arctic “tipping points.” Previous studies identified instabilities for a shrinking ice cover in two types of idealized climate models: (i) annual-mean latitudinally varying diffusive energy balance models (EBMs) and (ii) seasonally varying single-column models (SCMs). The instabilities in these low-order models stand in contrast with results from comprehensive global climate models (GCMs), which typically do not simulate any such instability. To help bridge the gap between low-order models and GCMs, an idealized model is developed that includes both latitudinal and seasonal variations. The model reduces to a standard EBM or SCM as limiting cases in the parameter space, thus reconciling the two previous lines of research. It is found that the stability of the ice cover vastly increases with the inclusion of spatial communication via meridional heat transport or a seasonal cycle in solar forcing, being most stable when both are included. If the associated parameters are set to values that correspond to the current climate, the ice retreat is reversible and there is no instability when the climate is warmed. The two parameters have to be reduced by at least a factor of 3 for instability to occur. This implies that the sea ice cover may be substantially more stable than has been suggested in previous idealized modeling studies