319 research outputs found
The role of energy management in the agricultural sector: key prerequisites and impacts
Received: January 30th, 2023 ; Accepted: April 8th, 2023 ; Published: May 3rd
, 2023 ; Correspondence: [email protected] is one of the most energy-consuming sectors in the EUβs economy.
Implementing sustainable agriculture to reduce GHG emissions and increase energy efficiency
through energy management is a crucial strategy to tackle climate change. In this paper, the role
of energy management in the agricultural sector is studied, and experiences from Europe and the
world have been considered. Literature analysis regarding the chosen topic has been conducted,
including the methodology of energy management plan development and its implementation in
the case study of Latvia. Data from Latviaβs agricultural and other sectors have been analysed
and compared. Latviaβs Inventory Report regarding GHG emissions in the agricultural sector was
reviewed, and all emission sources in the agricultural sector were highlighted. The primary
purpose of the study is to find out if energy management were introduced in an agricultural
company, what would be the potential GHG emission, energy savings and additional advantages.
Two companies working in Latvia were surveyed, and potential emission and energy
consumption reduction measures in agriculture that would be applied to companies were
developed. The research showed that by implementing the basic principles of energy
management, it would be possible to reduce the average energy consumption by 17%. If measures
are applied to reduce GHG emissions from agricultural companies, the average emissions would
be reduced by 43%
Using an improved multilayer amniotic membrane transplantation technique
Background: Amniotic membrane (AM) is widely used in ophthalmic surgery. There are three major techniques for amniotic membrane transplantation (AMT): βonlayβ (βpatchβ) technique, βinlayβ (βmultilayer transplantationβ) and βsandwitchβ technique (a combination of the two techniques mentioned before), but there is no universal technique for placing the amnion on the ocular surface for AMT. In conventional multilayer AMT, the membrane is fixed layer by layer with numerous interrupted sutures, which contributes to a severe corneal inflammatory response and the formation of intense corneal opacity.
Purpose: To improve the multilayer amniotic membrane transplantation technique.
Material and Methods: The method proposed by us consists in forming a two layer or three layer amniotic graft and anchoring it to the surrounding cornea by a row of interrupted 10-0 sutures. Twenty eight patients with corneal ulcers of different causes underwent amniotic membrane transplantation. There were 17 men (60.7%) and 11 women (39.3%). Mean patient age (standard deviation) was 51.3 (0.81) years. Corneal ulcers were categorized based on the etiology as herpetic (7/28, 25%), neurotrophic (10/28, 35.7%), bacterial (3/28, 10.7%), fungous (2/28, 7.2%), autoimmune (3/28, 10.7%) and those caused by rosacea (3/28, 10.7%).
Results: After AMT by the proposed technique, there was a reduction in corneal stromal edema at discharge (Ο2 = 29.7; p = 0.0005). In addition, corneal stromal infiltration resorbed at 1 month after surgery compared to at discharge (Ο2 = 9.16; p = 0.0025). AMT by the proposed technique facilitated the formation of mild focal corneal opacity in 26 patients (92.8%).
Conclusion: Our improved AMT technique reduces the number of sutures on the cornea, enables filling the corneal stromal defect and contributes to decreased inflammatory response and early epithelialization of the corneal surface
Impact of hydrotechnical construction on aquatic ecosystems of the Kiliia branch of the Danube Delta
Resumption of shipping in the Bystryi branch in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta, one of the largest aquatic-wetland areas of Europe and the world, has made it necessary to control the anthropogenic impact on the neighboring water areas of the Danube Biosphere Reserve. The objective of the study was comparing the compositions and structure of phytoplankton, microphytobenthos, macrophytes, benthic invertebrates and ichthyofauna of the mouth area of the Bystryi branch with such communities of the mouths of the branches Vostochnyi, Tsyhanka and Starostambulskyi, which are situated in the protected zone and characterized by limited anthropogenic activity. We also determined the correspondence of the descriptors of biotic groups to the categories of the ecological status according to the Water Framework Directive of the EU. The studies were performed in the autumn and summer periods in 2020β2021. We recorded 367 species of animals and plants, the richest biodiversity was seen for the biota of the Bystryi branch β 250 species, and 180β231 species of hydrobionts were found in the undisturbed mouths. We determined 25.3% of shared species for the water areas, and therefore high values of similarity of the species compositions according to Bray-Curtis (47.5% to 81.5%). We determined no significant differences between the groups of the mouths of the examined branches according to most indicators of taxonomic and ecological structure. As the descriptors of ecological status, we chose assemblage indices of phytoplankton and microphytobenthos, which are based on ratios of biomass of functional groups of algae, and also the Macrophyte Biological Index for Rivers, saprobic index of Zelinka & Marvan and Biological Monitoring Working Party Index of Benthic Invertebrates and Representation of Species of Ichthyfauna according to vulnerability to actions of environmental factors. We determined that the range of descriptors of phytoplankton and microphytobenthos corresponded to the βhighβ ecological status category, such of macrophytes and benthic invertebrates to βgoodβ, and such of ichthyofauna varied βhighβ to βgoodβ. In general, all the mouth areas were characterized by βgoodβ ecological status. Similarities of the species composition and the structure of biotic communities of the mouths of the studied branches of the delta indicate the absence of negative impact of the deepwater shipping on adjacent ecosystems, which may be related to the peculiarities of reactions of groups in the water areas with natural stress, as well as local impact of the hydrotechnical construction
Low temperature breakdown of coherent tunneling in amorphous solids induced by the nuclear quadrupole interaction
We consider the effect of the internal nuclear quadrupole interaction on
quantum tunneling in complex multi-atomic two-level systems. Two distinct
regimes of strong and weak interactions are found. The regimes depend on the
relationship between a characteristic energy of the nuclear quadrupole
interaction and a bare tunneling coupling strength
. When , the internal interaction is
negligible and tunneling remains coherent determined by . When
, coherent tunneling breaks down and an effective
tunneling amplitude decreases by an exponentially small overlap factor
between internal ground states of left and right wells of a
tunneling system. This affects thermal and kinetic properties of tunneling
systems at low temperatures . The theory is applied for
interpreting the anomalous behavior of the resonant dielectric susceptibility
in amorphous solids at low temperatures mK where the nuclear
quadrupole interaction breaks down coherent tunneling. We suggest the
experiments with external magnetic fields to test our predictions and to
clarify the internal structure of tunneling systems in amorphous solids.Comment: To appear in the Physical Review
Genes encoding transcription factors TaDREB5 and TaNFYC-A7 are differentially expressed in leaves of bread wheat in response to drought, dehydration and ABA
Two groups of six spring bread wheat varieties with either high or low grain yield under the dry conditions of Central and Northern Kazakhstan were selected for analysis. Experiments were set up with the selected wheat varieties in controlled environments as follows: (1) slowly progressing drought imposed on plants in soil, (2) rapid dehydration of whole plants grown in hydroponics, (3) dehydration of detached leaves, and (4) ABA treatment of whole plants grown in hydroponics. Representatives of two different families of transcription factors (TFs), TaDREB5 and TaNFYC-A7, were found to be linked to yield-under-drought using polymorphic Amplifluor-like SNP marker assays. qRT-PCR revealed differing patterns of expression of these genes in the leaves of plants subjected to the above treatments. Under drought, TaDREB5 was significantly up-regulated in leaves of all high-yielding varieties tested and down-regulated in all low-yielding varieties, and the level of expression was independent of treatment type. In contrast, TaNFYC-A7 expression levels showed different responses in the high- and low-yield groups of wheat varieties. TaNFYC-A7 expression under dehydration (treatments 2 and 3) was higher than under drought (treatment 1) in all high-yielding varieties tested, while in all low-yielding varieties the opposite pattern was observed: the expression levels of this gene under drought were higher than under dehydration. Rapid dehydration of detached leaves and intact wheat plants grown in hydroponics produced similar changes in gene expression. ABA treatment of whole plants caused rapid stomatal closure and a rise in the transcript level of both genes during the first 30 min, which decreased 6 h after treatment. At this time-point, expression of TaNFYC-A7 was again significantly up-regulated compared to untreated controls, while TaDREB5 returned to its initial level of expression. These findings reveal significant differences in the transcriptional regulation of two drought-responsive and ABA-dependent TFs under slowly developing drought and rapid dehydration of wheat plants. The results obtained suggest that correlation between grain yield in dry conditions and TaNFYC-A7 expression levels in the examined wheat varieties is dependent on the length of drought development and/or strength of drought; while in the case of TaDREB5, no such dependence is observed.Lyudmila Zotova, Akhylbek Kurishbayev, Satyvaldy Jatayev, Gulmira Khassanova, Askar Zhubatkanov, Dauren Serikbay, Sergey Sereda, Tatiana Sereda, Vladimir Shvidchenko, Sergiy Lopato, Colin Jenkins, Kathleen Soole, Peter Langridge, and Yuri Shavruko
A systematic review of techniques and effects of self-help interventions for tinnitus: application of taxonomies from health psychology
Objective: Self-help interventions are followed by people independently with minimal or no therapist contact. This review aims to assess the effectiveness of self-help interventions for adults with chronic tinnitus and systematically identify the self-help techniques used. Design: Systematic review and application of health psychology taxonomies. Electronic database searches were conducted, supplemented by citation searching and hand-searching of key journals. Prospective controlled trials, which used measures of tinnitus distress, functional management, anxiety, depression, and quality of life, were included. Michie et alβs behaviour change techniques (BCTs) taxonomy and Taylor et alβs PRISMS taxonomy of self-management components were applied to describe interventions. Study sample: Five studies were included, providing low-to-moderate levels of evidence. Results: Randomized controlled trial studies were too few and heterogeneous for meta-analysis to be performed. Studies comparing self-help interventions to therapist-guided interventions and assessing non tinnitus-specific psychosocial outcomes and functional management were lacking. Fifteen BCTs and eight self-management components were identified across interventions. Conclusions: A lack of high-quality and homogeneous studies meant that confident conclusions could not be drawn regarding the efficacy of self-help interventions for tinnitus. Better reporting and categorization of intervention techniques is needed for replication in research and practice and to facilitate understanding of intervention mechanisms
Polytherapy with a combination of three repurposed drugs (PXT3003) down-regulates Pmp22 over-expression and improves myelination, axonal and functional parameters in models of CMT1A neuropathy
Features of surface modification of copper-based alloys under powerful plasma exposures
Paper presents features of plasma alloying of Cu-based materials with Ti-Cr, Ti-Cr-Ti-Nb, Ti-Cr-Ti-Zr, Ti-Cr-TiZrO coatings in different regimes of the QSPA Kh-50. Targets were made from copper samples covered of
multilayer PVD coatings have been deposited within a Bulat-type facility. Prepared targets were irradiated with
powerful plasma streams with energy loads achieved 0.6 MJ/m2
and the pulse duration of 0.25 ms. Influence of
plasma impacts on modification different copper alloys has been analyzed. Mechanisms of modification of thin
multilayered coatings mixed with Π‘u substrate in a liquid phase under the plasma processing are evaluated.ΠΠΏΠΈΡΠ°Π½ΠΎ ΠΎΡΠΎΠ±Π»ΠΈΠ²ΠΎΡΡΡ ΠΏΠ»Π°Π·ΠΌΠΎΠ²ΠΎΠ³ΠΎ Π»Π΅Π³ΡΠ²Π°Π½Π½Ρ ΠΌΠ°ΡΠ΅ΡΡΠ°Π»ΡΠ² Π½Π° ΠΎΡΠ½ΠΎΠ²Ρ ΠΌΡΠ΄Ρ Π· ΠΏΠΎΠΊΡΠΈΡΡΡΠΌΠΈ Ti-Cr, Ti-Cr-Ti-Nb, TiCr-Ti-Zr, Ti-Cr-Ti-ZrO Π² ΡΡΠ·Π½ΠΈΡ
ΡΠ΅ΠΆΠΈΠΌΠ°Ρ
ΠΠ‘ΠΠ Π₯-50. ΠΡΠΎΠ°Π½Π°Π»ΡΠ·ΠΎΠ²Π°Π½ΠΎ Π²ΠΏΠ»ΠΈΠ² ΠΏΠ»Π°Π·ΠΌΠΎΠ²ΠΈΡ
Π½Π°Π²Π°Π½ΡΠ°ΠΆΠ΅Π½Ρ Π½Π°
ΠΌΠΎΠ΄ΠΈΡΡΠΊΠ°ΡΡΡ ΡΡΠ·Π½ΠΈΡ
ΠΌΡΠ΄Π½ΠΈΡ
ΡΠΏΠ»Π°Π²ΡΠ². ΠΡΠ°Π·ΠΊΠΈ Π±ΡΠ»ΠΎ Π²ΠΈΠ³ΠΎΡΠΎΠ²Π»Π΅Π½ΠΎ Π· ΠΌΡΠ΄Ρ ΡΠ° Π±Π°Π³Π°ΡΠΎΡΠ°ΡΠΎΠ²ΠΈΡ
ΠΏΠΎΠΊΡΠΈΡΡΡΠ², ΡΠΊΡ
ΡΡΠ²ΠΎΡΡΠ²Π°Π»ΠΈΡΡ PVD-ΠΌΠ΅ΡΠΎΠ΄ΠΎΠΌ Π² ΡΡΡΠ°Π½ΠΎΠ²ΡΡ Π±ΡΠ»Π°ΡΠ½ΠΎΠ³ΠΎ ΡΠΈΠΏΡ. ΠΡΠ΄Π³ΠΎΡΠΎΠ²Π»Π΅Π½Ρ ΠΌΡΡΠ΅Π½Ρ ΠΎΠΏΡΠΎΠΌΡΠ½ΡΠ²Π°Π»ΠΈΡΡ ΠΏΠΎΡΡΠΆΠ½ΠΈΠΌΠΈ
ΠΏΠ»Π°Π·ΠΌΠΎΠ²ΠΈΠΌΠΈ ΠΏΠΎΡΠΎΠΊΠ°ΠΌΠΈ Π· Π΅Π½Π΅ΡΠ³Π΅ΡΠΈΡΠ½ΠΈΠΌΠΈ Π½Π°Π²Π°Π½ΡΠ°ΠΆΠ΅Π½Π½ΡΠΌΠΈ, ΡΠΎ Π΄ΠΎΡΡΠ³Π°Π»ΠΈ 0,6 ΠΠΠΆ/ΠΌ
2
, Π· ΡΡΠΈΠ²Π°Π»ΡΡΡΡ ΡΠΌΠΏΡΠ»ΡΡΡ
~ 0,25 ΠΌΡ. ΠΠ±Π³ΠΎΠ²ΠΎΡΡΡΡΡΡΡ ΠΌΠ΅Ρ
Π°Π½ΡΠ·ΠΌΠΈ ΠΌΠΎΠ΄ΠΈΡΡΠΊΠ°ΡΡΡ ΡΠΎΠ½ΠΊΠΈΡ
Π±Π°Π³Π°ΡΠΎΡΠ°ΡΠΎΠ²ΠΈΡ
ΠΏΠΎΠΊΡΠΈΡΡΡΠ², Π·ΠΌΡΡΠ°Π½ΠΈΡ
Π· ΠΌΡΠ΄Π½ΠΎΡ
ΠΏΡΠ΄ΠΊΠ»Π°Π΄ΠΊΠΎΡ Π² ΡΡΠ΄ΠΊΡΠΉ ΡΠ°Π·Ρ ΠΏΡΠΈ ΠΏΠ»Π°Π·ΠΌΠΎΠ²ΠΎΠΌΡ ΠΎΠΏΡΠΎΠΌΡΠ½Π΅Π½Π½Ρ.ΠΠΏΠΈΡΠ°Π½Ρ ΠΎΡΠΎΠ±Π΅Π½Π½ΠΎΡΡΠΈ ΠΏΠ»Π°Π·ΠΌΠ΅Π½Π½ΠΎΠ³ΠΎ Π»Π΅Π³ΠΈΡΠΎΠ²Π°Π½ΠΈΡ ΠΌΠ°ΡΠ΅ΡΠΈΠ°Π»ΠΎΠ² Π½Π° ΠΌΠ΅Π΄Π½ΠΎΠΉ ΠΎΡΠ½ΠΎΠ²Π΅ Ρ ΠΏΠΎΠΊΡΡΡΠΈΡΠΌΠΈ Ti-Cr, Ti-CrTi-Nb, Ti-Cr-Ti-Zr, Ti-Cr-Ti-ZrO Π² ΡΠ°Π·Π½ΡΡ
ΡΠ΅ΠΆΠΈΠΌΠ°Ρ
ΠΠ‘ΠΠ£ Π₯-50. ΠΡΠΎΠ°Π½Π°Π»ΠΈΠ·ΠΈΡΠΎΠ²Π°Π½ΠΎ Π²Π»ΠΈΡΠ½ΠΈΠ΅ ΠΏΠ»Π°Π·ΠΌΠ΅Π½Π½ΡΡ
Π½Π°Π³ΡΡΠ·ΠΎΠΊ Π½Π° ΠΌΠΎΠ΄ΠΈΡΠΈΠΊΠ°ΡΠΈΡ ΡΠ°Π·Π½ΡΡ
ΠΌΠ΅Π΄Π½ΡΡ
ΡΠΏΠ»Π°Π²ΠΎΠ². ΠΠ±ΡΠ°Π·ΡΡ Π±ΡΠ»ΠΈ ΠΈΠ·Π³ΠΎΡΠΎΠ²Π»Π΅Π½Ρ ΠΈΠ· ΠΌΠ΅Π΄ΠΈ ΠΈ ΠΌΠ½ΠΎΠ³ΠΎΡΠ»ΠΎΠΉΠ½ΡΡ
ΠΏΠΎΠΊΡΡΡΠΈΠΉ, ΠΎΡΠ°ΠΆΠ΄Π΅Π½Π½ΡΡ
PVD-ΠΌΠ΅ΡΠΎΠ΄ΠΎΠΌ Π² ΡΡΡΠ°Π½ΠΎΠ²ΠΊΠ΅ Π±ΡΠ»Π°ΡΠ½ΠΎΠ³ΠΎ ΡΠΈΠΏΠ°. ΠΠΎΠ΄Π³ΠΎΡΠΎΠ²Π»Π΅Π½Π½ΡΠ΅ ΠΌΠΈΡΠ΅Π½ΠΈ ΠΎΠ±Π»ΡΡΠ°Π»ΠΈΡΡ
ΠΌΠΎΡΠ½ΡΠΌΠΈ ΠΏΠ»Π°Π·ΠΌΠ΅Π½Π½ΡΠΌΠΈ ΠΏΠΎΡΠΎΠΊΠ°ΠΌΠΈ Ρ ΡΠ½Π΅ΡΠ³Π΅ΡΠΈΡΠ΅ΡΠΊΠΈΠΌΠΈ Π½Π°Π³ΡΡΠ·ΠΊΠ°ΠΌΠΈ, Π΄ΠΎΡΡΠΈΠ³Π°Π²ΡΠΈΠΌΠΈ 0,6 ΠΠΠΆ/ΠΌ2
, Ρ
Π΄Π»ΠΈΡΠ΅Π»ΡΠ½ΠΎΡΡΡΡ ΠΈΠΌΠΏΡΠ»ΡΡΠ° ~ 0,25 ΠΌΡ. ΠΠ±ΡΡΠΆΠ΄Π°ΡΡΡΡ ΠΌΠ΅Ρ
Π°Π½ΠΈΠ·ΠΌΡ ΠΌΠΎΠ΄ΠΈΡΠΈΠΊΠ°ΡΠΈΠΈ ΡΠΎΠ½ΠΊΠΈΡ
ΠΌΠ½ΠΎΠ³ΠΎΡΠ»ΠΎΠΉΠ½ΡΡ
ΠΏΠΎΠΊΡΡΡΠΈΠΉ, ΡΠΌΠ΅ΡΠ°Π½Π½ΡΡ
Ρ ΠΌΠ΅Π΄Π½ΠΎΠΉ ΠΏΠΎΠ΄Π»ΠΎΠΆΠΊΠΎΠΉ Π² ΠΆΠΈΠ΄ΠΊΠΎΠΉ ΡΠ°Π·Π΅ ΠΏΡΠΈ ΠΏΠ»Π°Π·ΠΌΠ΅Π½Π½ΠΎΠΌ ΠΎΠ±Π»ΡΡΠ΅Π½ΠΈΠΈ
Breeding strategies to improve grain yield and quality of short-season spring wheat for the steppe of Kazakhstan and Siberia
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