Information Reference Models for European Pork Supply Networks – Identifying Gaps in Information Infrastructures –

 Several global developments such as diminishing production resources, limits in the availability of water and the growing demand for bio-energy as well as sector-wide crises (e.g. BSE, swine fever, dioxin) have led to a changing attitude of society towards the conse-quences of the food system‘s activities for social, economic and environmental issues, cap-tured in the term of sustainability. As a consequence, consumers show increasing interest in the characteristics of food, and in turn, on the availability of related information and guaran-tees. The paper introduces different information reference models for European pork supply networks, which give an aggregated overview about information availability and exchange in the pork sector, identify additional information demands of decision makers at different stages of pork production, and identify gaps in the existing information infrastructure. The models support different parties involved in pork production, such as enterprises, system developers and consultants, in developing enterprise or network specific solutions

Proglacial erosion rates and processes in a glacierized catchment in the Swiss Alps

In the Swiss Alps, climatic changes have not only caused glacier retreat, but also likely increased sedimentation downstream of glaciers. This material either originates from below the glacier or from periglacial environments, which are exposed as glaciers retreat, and often consist of easily erodible sediment. Griesgletscher's catchment in the Swiss Alps was examined to quantify erosion in the proglacial area, possible hydrological drivers and contributions of the sub- and periglacial sources. Digital elevation models, created from annual aerial photographs, were subtracted to determine annual volume changes in the proglacial area from 1986 to 2014. These data show a strong increase in proglacial erosion in the decade prior to 2012, coincident with increasing proglacial area size. However, examination of the gradient between discharge and sediment evacuation, and modeled sediment transport, could suggest that the proglacial area began to stabilize and sediment supply is limited. The large influx of sediment into the proglacial reservoir, which is roughly 2.5 times greater than the amount of sediment eroded from the proglacial area, demonstrates the importance of subglacial erosion to the catchment's sediment budget. Although far more sediment originates subglacially, erosion rates in the proglacial area are over 50 times greater than the rest of the catchment. In turn, both sub- and periglacial processes, in addition to constraining sediment supply, must be considered for assessing future sediment dynamics as glacier area shrinks and proglacial areas grow

Space Weathering Experiments on Spacecraft Materials

A project to investigate space environment effects on specific materials with interest to remote sensing was initiated in 2016. The goal of the project is to better characterize changes in the optical properties of polymers found in multi-layered spacecraft insulation (MLI) induced by electron bombardment. Previous analysis shows that chemical bonds break and potentially reform when exposed to high energy electrons like those seen in orbit. These chemical changes have been shown to alter a material's optical reflectance, among other material properties. This paper presents the initial experimental results of MLI materials exposed to various fluences of high energy electrons, designed to simulate a portion of the geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) space environment. It is shown that the spectral reflectance of some of the tested materials changes as a function of electron dose. These results provide an experimental benchmark for analysis of aging effects on satellite systems which can be used to improve remote sensing and space situational awareness. They also provide preliminary analysis on those materials that are most likely to comprise the high area-to-mass ratio (HAMR) population of space debris in the geosynchronous orbit environment. Finally, the results presented in this paper serve as a proof of concept for simulated environmental aging of spacecraft polymers that should lead to more experiments using a larger subset of spacecraft materials

Ilex paraguariensis extract as drugs alternative for pain

Pain is a common and distressing symptom of many diseases and its clinical treatment generally involves analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs. This study evaluated the toxicity of Ilex paraguariensis A. St.-Hil. (Aquifoliaceae) aqueous extract (leaves, petioles and branches) and its performance in nociceptive response. Hepatotoxicity, psychostimulant test and evaluation of enzyme markers for liver damage were also tested. Chromatographic analysis by UPLC-MS demonstrated a series of isomeric monocaffeoylquinic acids, isomers of dicaffeoylquinic acids, flavonol glycosides, and saponins. Phase I and II of nociception were obtained for meloxicam, dexamethasone and aqueous Ilex paraguariensis extract. Ilex paraguariensis extract concentration was negatively correlated (R = –0.887) with alanine aminotransferase (p < 0.05) in acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity test, indicating an hepatoprotective activity of this extract. Ilex paraguariensis extract also presented analgesic properties equivalent to drugs that already have proven efficacy. Notably, administration of multiple doses of Ilex paraguariensis extract was considered safe from the therapeutic point of view

Contribution of Alaskan glaciers to sea level rise derived from satellite imagery

International audienceOver the last 50 years, retreating glaciers and ice caps (GIC) contributed 0.5 mm/yr to sea level rises (SLR), and one third is believed to originate from ice masses bordering the Gulf of Alaska. However, these estimates of ice wastage in Alaska are based on methods that measure a limited number of glaciers and extrapolate the results to estimate ice loss for the many thousands of others. How these methods capture the complex pattern of decadal elevation changes at the scale of individual glacier and mountain range is unclear. Here, combining a comprehensive glacier inventory with elevation changes derived from sequential digital elevation models (DEMs), we found that, between 1962 and 2006, Alaskan glaciers lost 41.9 ± 8.6 km**3/yr water equivalent (w.e.) and contributed 0.12±0.02 mm/yr to SLR. Our ice loss is 34% lower than previous estimates. Reasons for our lower values include the higher spatial resolution of our glacier inventory and the reduction of ice thinning under debris and at the glacier margins which were not resolved in earlier work. Estimates of mass loss from GIC in other mountain regions could be subject to similar revisions

Influence of oxygen ordering kinetics on Raman and optical response in YBa_2Cu_3O_{6.4}

Kinetics of the optical and Raman response in YBa_2Cu_3O_{6.4} were studied during room temperature annealing following heat treatment. The superconducting T_c, dc resistivity, and low-energy optical conductivity recover slowly, implying a long relaxation time for the carrier density. Short relaxation times are observed for the B_{1g} Raman scattering -- magnetic, continuum, and phonon -- and the charge transfer band. Monte Carlo simulations suggest that these two relaxation rates are related to two length scales corresponding to local oxygen ordering (fast) and long chain and twin formation (slow).Comment: REVTeX, 3 pages + 4 PostScript (compressed) figure

Catalytic activity imperative for nanoparticle dose enhancement in photon and proton therapy.

Nanoparticle-based radioenhancement is a promising strategy for extending the therapeutic ratio of radiotherapy. While (pre)clinical results are encouraging, sound mechanistic understanding of nanoparticle radioenhancement, especially the effects of nanomaterial selection and irradiation conditions, has yet to be achieved. Here, we investigate the radioenhancement mechanisms of selected metal oxide nanomaterials (including SiO2, TiO2, WO3 and HfO2), TiN and Au nanoparticles for radiotherapy utilizing photons (150 kVp and 6 MV) and 100 MeV protons. While Au nanoparticles show outstanding radioenhancement properties in kV irradiation settings, where the photoelectric effect is dominant, these properties are attenuated to baseline levels for clinically more relevant irradiation with MV photons and protons. In contrast, HfO2 nanoparticles retain some of their radioenhancement properties in MV photon and proton therapies. Interestingly, TiO2 nanoparticles, which have a comparatively low effective atomic number, show significant radioenhancement efficacies in all three irradiation settings, which can be attributed to the strong radiocatalytic activity of TiO2, leading to the formation of hydroxyl radicals, and nuclear interactions with protons. Taken together, our data enable the extraction of general design criteria for nanoparticle radioenhancers for different treatment modalities, paving the way to performance-optimized nanotherapeutics for precision radiotherapy