Long-term effects of red- and blue-light emitting diodes on leaf anatomy and photosynthetic efficiency of three ornamental pot plants

Light quality critically affects plant development and growth. Development of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) enables the use of narrow band red and/or blue wavelengths as supplementary lighting in ornamental production. Yet, long periods under these wavelengths will affect leaf morphology and physiology. Leaf anatomy, stomatal traits, and stomatal conductance, leaf hydraulic conductance (K-leaf), and photosynthetic efficiency were investigated in three ornamental pot plants, namely Cordyline australis (monocot), Ficus benjamina (dicot, evergreen leaves), and Sinningia speciosa (dicot, deciduous leaves) after 8 weeks under LED light. Four light treatments were applied at 100 mu mol m(-2) s(-1) and a photoperiod of 16 h using 100% red (R), 100% blue (B), 75% red with 25% blue (RB), and full spectrum white light (W), respectively. B and RB resulted in a greater maximum quantum yield (F-v/F-m) and quantum efficiency (Phi(PSII)) in all species compared to R and W and this correlated with a lower biomass under R. B increased the stomata' conductance compared with R. This increase was linked to an increasing stomatal index and/or stomatal density but the stomata' aperture area was unaffected by the applied light quality. Leaf hydraulic conductance (K-leaf) was not significantly affected by the applied light qualities. Blue light increased the leaf thickness of F benjarnina, and a relative higher increase in palisade parenchyma was observed. Also in S. speciosa, increase in palisade parenchyma was found under B and RB, though total leaf thickness was not affected. Palisade parenchyma tissue thickness was correlated to the leaf photosynthetic quantum efficiency (Phi(PSII)). In conclusion, the role of blue light addition in the spectrum is essential for the normal anatomical leaf development which also impacts the photosynthetic efficiency in the three studied species

Backpack – Person Centred Health, Care and Wellbeing

The proposal seeks to understand the personal behaviours, journeys and access points of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) citizens, in order to build out an eco-system for a Personal Data Store (PDS) and elicit issues around personal control over personal data. Research and recent reports highlight the urgent need for more integrated person-centred services as a means of delivering better patient outcomes, better clinical outcomes and better economic outcomes. Different implementation scenarios carry different configurations of cost, risks and benefits for different stakeholding gro ups, and the implementation of digital services has suffered in the past from lack of co-production or consultation with people and stakeholders on the ground before implementation. The proposed project will enable a group of citizen participants (plus organisations and their representatives) to interact in person-centred scenarios. These individuals may have long termconditions or professional interests with such condition – we have identified Multiple Sclerosis (MS) as a potential starting point – and we will identify needs, barriers, benefits and co-produce implementation scenarios

Applying the DeFT Framework to the Design of Multi-Representational Instructional Simulations

Learning environments use multiple external representations (MERs) in the hope that learners can benefit from the properties of each representation and ultimately achieve a deeper understanding of the subject being taught. Research on whether MERs do confer these additional advantages has shown that learning can be facilitated but only if learners can manage the complex tasks associated with their use. Our approach examines how the design of learning environments influences the cognitive task demands required of the learner with the longer term goal of using these findings to develop more adaptive and supportive multi-representational environments. In this paper, we begin by summarising the key features of the DeFT framework and then illustrate how such a framework can be used to classify existing systems. The main body of the paper describes the architecture of an instructional simulation that embodies DeFT. Finally, we conclude by illustrating the research questions we hope that experiments with this system can answer

Cold treatment breaks dormancy but jeopardizes flower quality in Camellia japonica L.

Camellia japonica L. is an evergreen shrub whose cultivars are of great ornamental value. In autumn, after flower bud differentiation, dormancy is initiated. As in many other spring flowering woody ornamentals, winter low temperatures promote dormancy release of both flower and vegetative buds. However, warm spells during late autumn and winter can lead to unfulfilled chilling requirements leading to erratic and delayed flowering. We hypothesized that storing plants at no light and low temperature could favor dormancy breaking and lead to early and synchronized flowering in response to forcing conditions in C. japonica ‘Nuccio’s Pearl’. Plants with fully developed floral primordia were stored at dark, 7∘C, and RH > 90% for up to 8 weeks. To monitor endodormancy release during the storage, we evaluated the content of abscisic acid (ABA) in flower buds and the expression profiles of five putative genes related to dormancy and cold acclimation metabolism in leaves and flower buds. In addition, the expression of four anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway genes was profiled in flower buds to assess the effect of the treatment on flower pigment biosynthesis. At 0, 4, 6, and 8 weeks of cold treatment, 10 plants were transferred to the greenhouse and forced to flower. Forced plant flower qualities and growth were observed. The ABA content and the expression profiles of two dormancy-related genes (CjARP and CjDEH) suggested that dormancy breaking occurred after 6–8 weeks of cold treatment. Overall, plants treated for 6–8 weeks showed earlier vegetative sprouting, enhanced, and homogeneous flowering with reduced forcing time. Prolonged cold treatments also reduced flower size and longevity, anthocyanin content, and pigment biosynthesis-related gene transcripts. In conclusion, the cold treatment had a promotive effect on dormancy breaking but caused severe drawbacks on flower quality

Towards a learner modelling engine for the Semantic Web

We describe XLM, the learner modelling subsystem of LEACTIVEMATH, from the viewpoint of how it makes use of technologies associated with the Semantic Web. We discuss how a better usage of these technologies could make of XLM a more generic learner modelling engine to serve a variety of elearning systems. We try to foresee important issues to be addressed and difficult problems to be solved in the way to this goal

Opening up the interpretation process in an open learner model

Opening a model of the learner is a potentially complex operation. There are many aspects of the learner that can be modelled, and many of these aspects may need to be opened in different ways. In addition, there may be complicated interactions between these aspects which raise questions both about the accuracy of the underlying model and the methods for representing a holistic view of the model. There can also be complex processes involved in inferring the learner's state, and opening up views onto these processes - which leads to the issues that are the main focus of this paper: namely, how can we open up the process of interpreting the learner's behaviour in such a manner that the learner can both understand the process and challenge the interpretation in a meaningful manner. The paper provides a description of the design and implementation of an open learner model (termed the xOLM) which features an approach to breaking free from the limitations of "black box" interpretation. This approach is based on a Toulmin-like argumentation structure together with a form of data fusion based on an adaptation of Dempster-Shafer. However, the approach is not without its problems. The paper ends with a discussion of the possible ways in which open learner models might open up the interpretation process even more effectively