Dry weight changes in Porto Rico sweet potatoes under actual storage conditions in Tennessee

Respiration is a necessary process common to all forms of living matter. Since the sweet potato root is living tissue, it too must respire in order to remain alive. Basically, the respiratory process involves the oxidation of sugars or sugar derivatives to carbon dioxide and water by the living cell (3). Since after harvest the sweet potato has no new source of food materials, it must rely upon the stored carbohydrates it accumulated during the time it was growing. This sugar consumption by respiration results in a dry matter reduction, which coupled with a decrease in moisture, brings about an economically serious weight loss of the stored crop. Accelerated rates of respiration are responsible for a more rapid loss of substrate. Thus high temperatures, which are often the cause of increased respiratory rates (3), result in increased weight losses. Cold storage of the crop is not satisfactory, however, because sweet potatoes exhibit chilling injury even when stored at temperatures of fifty degrees Fahrenheit for prolonged periods. Generally, recommendations suggest that the crop be stored at temperatures ranging from fifty to sixty degrees Fahrenheit following the short curing period immediately after harvest. Environmental conditions under which the sweet potato crop is grown and harvested differ from state to state. Varieties differ in response to storage conditions as well. In consideration of these points, the purpose of the experiment here reported was to investigate the metabolic activity of the Porto Rico sweet potato under the influence of actual storage conditions in Tennessee

From Microwave Anisotropies to Cosmology

Fluctuations in the temperature of the cosmic microwave background have now been detected over a wide range of angular scales, and a consistent picture seems to be emerging. This article describes some of the implications for cosmology. Analysis of all the published detections suggests the existence of a peak on degree scales of height 2.4 to 10 (90%CL) relative to the amplitude of the power spectrum at large angular scales. This result confirms an early prediction, implies that the universe did in fact recombine, and limits theories of structure formation. Illustrative examples are provided of how the comparison of microwave background and large-scale structure data will be a potentially powerful means of answering fundamental questions about the universe.Comment: 9 pages plus 2 colour figures in a uuencoded self-unpacking shell script. To appear in the May 12th issue of Science. Also available at the Berkeley CMB theory WWW site, http://physics7.berkeley.edu/cmbserve/gen.htm

A measure of nature connectedness for children and adults: Validation, performance, and insights

With benefits to both human well-being and pro-nature conservation behaviors, nature connectedness is emerging as an important psychological construct for a sustainable future. The growing research and applied and policy-related interests require a straightforward measure of nature connectedness that is suitable for both children and adult populations. To establish the reliability of the new Nature Connection Index (NCI) three factor analyses were conducted. One was based on a large Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) dataset for adults (n = 3568) with a replication from data sets collected online (n = 553), and a third used MENE data from children (n = 351). To validate the NCI as a measure for nature connectedness an online comparison study (n = 153) included the NCI alongside other established measures. The results showed that the NCI was a reliable and valid scale that offers a short, simple alternative to other measures of nature connectedness, particularly for populations including both children and adults, measured face to face or online. The utility of the NCI is also supported, with variations associated with various pro-environmental and pro-conservation behaviors observed, and importantly the NCI also revealed changes in nature connectedness across the lifespan.N/

Model for Implementing a Statewide Network of Regional Educational Service Centers in the State of Oklahoma

Educational Administratio

End-To-End Modeling Reveals Species-Specific Effects of Large-Scale Coastal Restoration On Living Resources Facing Climate Change

Coastal erosion and wetland loss are affecting Louisiana to such an extent that the loss of land between 1932 and 2016 was close to 5,000 km2. To mitigate this decline, coastal protection and restoration projects are being planned and implemented by the State of Louisiana, United States. The Louisiana Coastal Master Plan (CMP) is an adaptive management approach that provides a suite of projects that are predicted to build or maintain land and protect coastal communities. Restoring the coast with this 50-year large-scale restoration and risk reduction plan has the potential to change the biomass and distribution of economically and ecologically important fisheries species in this region. However, not restoring the coast may have negative impacts on these species due to the loss of habitat. This research uses an ecosystem model to evaluate the effects of plan implementation versus a future without action (FWOA) on the biomass and distribution of fisheries species in the estuaries over 50 years of model simulations. By simulating effects using a spatially-explicit ecosystem model, not only can the changes in biomass in response to plan implementation be evaluated, but also the distribution of species in response to the planned restoration and risk reducation projects. Simulations are performed under two relative sea level rise (SLR) scenarios to understand the effects of climate change on project performance and subsequent fisheries species biomass and distribution. Simulation output of eight economically important fisheries species shows that the plan mostly results in increases in species biomass, but that the outcomes are species-specific and basin-specific. The SLR scenarios highly affects the amount of wetland habitat maintained after 50 years (with higher levels of wetland loss under increased SLR) and, subsequently, the biomass of species depending on that habitat. Species distribution results can be used to identify expected changes for specific species on a regional basis. By making this type of information available to resource managers, precautionary measures of ecosystem management and adaptation can be implemented