Trace Element Partitioning in ‘Sibera’ Grapevines as Affected by Nitrogen Fertilisation

A study on grapevine cv. Sibera was carried out in a vineyard located near Kraków (Poland) in 2010 and2011. The plants were treated with three nitrogen application rates (0, 50 and 100 kg N ha-1), administeredas ammonium nitrate in a single application three weeks before flowering. Samples of leaf petioles andblades, as well as grapes, were taken. After wet microwave digestion in HNO3, the nutrient elements boron(B), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo) and sodium (Na), and thetrace elements aluminium (Al), barium (Ba), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lithium (Li), nickel (Ni),lead (Pb), strontium (Sr), titanium (Ti) and vanadium (V), were measured using the ICP-OES technique.Environmental factors such as temperature and available water had a significant effect on the nutrientconcentration in the grapes. In the wet and warm 2010 vintage, higher amounts of B, Cu, Cd, Ti and Vwere measured in the leaves, and of Mn, Al, Ba and Ti in the grape juice. The dry season of 2011 increasedthe leaf Fe, Mn, Zn, Mo, Na, Ba, Cr, Li and Ni content, which was associated with a higher Zn, Mo, Na,Sr, Cd and Ni concentration in the grape must. The study showed that, in slightly acid soils, mineral Nfertilisers containing ammonium can augment the uptake and accumulation of microelements such asFe, Mn, Zn, Al and Ti by the grape must. In contrast, nitrogen fertilisation depressed the concentrationsof some elements, such as B, Fe, Mn, Cd, Cr, Ni and Ti in the leaves. Correlations between the mineralcontent of the analysed plant tissues are also discussed

Designing and Testing Contols to Mitigate Dynamic Loads in the Controls Advanced Research Turbine: Preprint

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is designing, implementing, and testing advanced controls to maximize energy extraction and reduce structural dynamic loads of wind turbines. These control designs are based on a linear model of the turbine that is generated by specialized modeling software. In this paper, we show the design and simulation testing of a control algorithm to mitigate blade, tower, and drivetrain loads using advanced state-space control design methods

REI:An integrated measure for software reusability

To capitalize upon the benefits of software reuse, an efficient selection among candidate reusable assets should be performed in terms of functional fitness and adaptability. The reusability of assets is usually measured through reusability indices. However, these do not capture all facets of reusability, such as structural characteristics, external quality attributes, and documentation. In this paper, we propose a reusability index (REI) as a synthesis of various software metrics and evaluate its ability to quantify reuse, based on IEEE Standard on Software Metrics Validity. The proposed index is compared with existing ones through a case study on 80 reusable open-source assets. To illustrate the applicability of the proposed index, we performed a pilot study, where real-world reuse decisions have been compared with decisions imposed by the use of metrics (including REI). The results of the study suggest that the proposed index presents the highest predictive and discriminative power; it is the most consistent in ranking reusable assets and the most strongly correlated to their levels of reuse. The findings of the paper are discussed to understand the most important aspects in reusability assessment (interpretation of results), and interesting implications for research and practice are provided

Wine of Cool-climate Areas in South Poland

A number of new vinery production regions, especially in the southern parts of Poland, have appearedin the last ten-odd years. This study was aimed at completing the chemical characterisation of wineproduced from ten Polish grape cultivars planted near Krakow. The wine was analysed to determineorganic acid concentrations, total polyphenols and extract content, antioxidant activity, alcohol content,total acidity and pH. Moreover, a sensory analysis was performed on the wine. Significant differenceswere recorded between red and white wine. The total acidity expressed as tartaric acid, and tartaric andmalic acid concentrations, were significantly higher in white and red wines, whereas antioxidant activityand phenolic content were significantly higher in the red wines. Similarities and relationships betweenvarious parameters and specific wine brands were further examined with cluster analysis. Our resultsshow that, under Polish climatic conditions, it is possible to produce wine with quality comparable towine from established wine denomination regions. Selected wine brands showed high antioxidantactivity (FRAP – ferric reducing antioxidant power) and a high level of polyphenols. This study alsoprovides confirmation that wines from colder climates frequently reveal unique and desirable properties

Designing and Testing Controls to Mitigate Tower Dynamic Loads in the Controls Advanced Research Turbine: Preprint

This report describes NREL's efforts to design, implement, and test advanced controls for maximizing energy extraction and reducing structural dynamic loads in wind turbines

In search of the origins and enduring impact of agile software development

The Agile Manifesto is a philosophical touchpoint for all agile software development (ASD) methods. We examine the manifesto and some of its associated agile methods in an effort to identify the major impacts of ASD. We have encountered some difficulty in delineating agile and non-agile software processes, which is partially the result of terminological confusion. It is clear from the volume of published research that ASD has made a significant contribution, and we have identified two lasting and important impacts. Firstly, the reduction in iteration durations and secondly, the push for reduced levels of documentation (especially in relation to software requirements). Other aspects of the Agile Manifesto may not have exerted a significant impact; for example, the use of tooling to automate processes has become central to continuous software engineering (CSE) and may not be wholly congruent with the manifesto. Furthermore, many organisations may still rely on business contracts despite calls in the manifesto for greater levels of informal customer collaboration

Biomass and floristic patterns in the ground layer vegetation of box-gum grassy eucalypt woodland in Goorooyarroo and Mulligans Flat Nature Reserves, Australian Capital Territory

We establish a methodology and present baseline data for a long-term grassy woodland restoration study that commenced in 2007 in two nature reserves (Mulligans Flat, Goorooyarroo (35° 9–13’ S; 149° 9–12’ E)) totalling 1386 ha on the northern boundary of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory in south eastern Australia. The experimental infrastructure comprises 96 × 1 ha sites established in Eucalyptus blakelyi / Eucalyptus melliodora dominated woodland. These are being subjected to varying kangaroo grazing pressure and augmentation with logs, while burning treatments are planned. One reserve (Mulligans Flat) has been fenced for feral predator control and contains half the sites, forming a companion experiment to Goorooyarroo. Our baseline floristic study comprised estimates, at the site level, of ground layer biomass, species biomass, ground cover types and soil (0–10 cm) properties. From these data we conclude that the groundlayer vegetation is dominated by Joycea pallida, Austrodanthonia spp., Themeda australis and Aristida ramosa. These grasses varied in abundance according to differences in soil pH, phosphorus and to a lesser extent nitrates. Forb frequencies were highly sensitive to nitrate levels with annual exotic forbs dominating at high nitrate sites. More generally, soil nutrient levels and exotic species in some sites indicated areas of previous pasture improvement activities. Biomass estimates indicated extremely high grazing pressure, sufficient to negatively affect the habitat quality for ground-dependent fauna and some soil processes. These data will provide an important basis for examining rates of ecosystem recovery under different restoration strategies

An Empirical Study of Bots in Software Development -- Characteristics and Challenges from a Practitioner's Perspective

Software engineering bots - automated tools that handle tedious tasks - are increasingly used by industrial and open source projects to improve developer productivity. Current research in this area is held back by a lack of consensus of what software engineering bots (DevBots) actually are, what characteristics distinguish them from other tools, and what benefits and challenges are associated with DevBot usage. In this paper we report on a mixed-method empirical study of DevBot usage in industrial practice. We report on findings from interviewing 21 and surveying a total of 111 developers. We identify three different personas among DevBot users (focusing on autonomy, chat interfaces, and "smartness"), each with different definitions of what a DevBot is, why developers use them, and what they struggle with. We conclude that future DevBot research should situate their work within our framework, to clearly identify what type of bot the work targets, and what advantages practitioners can expect. Further, we find that there currently is a lack of general purpose "smart" bots that go beyond simple automation tools or chat interfaces. This is problematic, as we have seen that such bots, if available, can have a transformative effect on the projects that use them.Comment: To be published at the ACM Joint European Software Engineering Conference and Symposium on the Foundations of Software Engineering (ESEC/FSE

The changing landscape of genetic testing and its impact on clinical and laboratory services and research in Europe

The arrival of new genetic technologies that allow efficient examination of the whole human genome (microarray, next-generation sequencing) will impact upon both laboratories (cytogenetic and molecular genetics in the first instance) and clinical/medical genetic services. The interpretation of analytical results in terms of their clinical relevance and the predicted health status poses a challenge to both laboratory and clinical geneticists, due to the wealth and complexity of the information obtained. There is a need to discuss how to best restructure the genetic services logistically and to determine the clinical utility of genetic testing so that patients can receive appropriate advice and genetic testing. To weigh up the questions and challenges of the new genetic technologies, the European Society of Human Genetics (ESHG) held a series of workshops on 10 June 2010 in Gothenburg. This was part of an ESHG satellite symposium on the 'Changing landscape of genetic testing', co-organized by the ESHG Genetic Services Quality and Public and Professional Policy Committees. The audience consisted of a mix of geneticists, ethicists, social scientists and lawyers. In this paper, we summarize the discussions during the workshops and present some of the identified ways forward to improve and adapt the genetic services so that patients receive accurate and relevant information. This paper covers ethics, clinical utility, primary care, genetic services and the blurring boundaries between healthcare and research