Enhanced biodiversity and pollination in UK agroforestry systems

Monoculture farming systems have had serious environmental impacts such as loss of biodiversity and pollinator decline. The authors explain how temperate agroforestry systems show potential in being able to deliver multiple environmental benefits.     

Historical trends in the lead isotopic composition of archival Sphagnum mosses from Scotland (1838-2000)

The analysis of almost 200 Scottish Sphagnum moss samples collected over the past 170 years has revealed trends in the isotopic composition of lead similar to those previously established for dated Scottish lake sediments and peat bogs, lending credibility to these proxy records of atmospheric lead contamination and deposition. The effect of temporal variations in contributions from sources such as smelting of indigenous lead ores (206Pb/207Pb approximately 1.16-1.18), coal combustion (206Pb/207Pb approximately 1.17-1.19), and the use of imported Australian lead (206Pb/207Pb approximately 1.04) was clearly seen in the Scottish moss 206Pb/207Pb record. This showed some differences from the corresponding archival herbage record for the south of England, where the initial influence of Australian lead occurred earlier, at the end of the 19th century. A significant decline from a 206Pb/ 207Pb value of approximately 1.17 in the Scottish moss record began in the 1920s and continued until the 1980s (206Pb/207Pb approximately 1.12). The success of measures to reduce lead emissions to the atmosphere over the past 20 years in the U.K., in particular from petrol-engined vehicles using alkyl lead additives manufactured primarily from Australian lead, is evident in both the increasing 206Pb/207Pb ratio and falling lead concentration data for Scottish moss.     

Minimizing risk using prediction uncertainty in neural networkestimation fusion and its application to papermaking

The paper presents Bayesian information fusion theory in the context of neural-network model combination. It shows how confidence measures can be combined with individual model estimates to minimize risk through the fusion process. The theory is illustrated through application to the real task of quality prediction in the papermaking industry. Prediction uncertainty estimates are calculated using approximate Bayesian learning. These are incorporated into model combination as confidence measures. Cost functions in the fusion center are used to control the influence of the confidence measures and improve the performance of the resultant committee.     

Solar-plus-storage economics: What works where,and why?

This paper explores the economics of solar-plus-storage projects for commercial-scale, behind-the-meter applications. It provides insight into the near-term and future solar-plus-storage market opportunities across the U.S. We explore the impacts of location, building load profile, technology cost, utility rate structure, and policies on solar-plus-storage economic viability, and identify which factors are most significant to project economics. While savings from storage-only projects are largely derived from demand charge reductions, solar combined with storage also provides significant energy charge savings. A common assumption is that load profiles with peaks are likely candidates for savings from storage, due to the opportunity for demand charge reduction. Our results indicate that potential for savings from combining solar with storage is independent of building load variability, likely due to the energy cost reductions from the solar. Systems are more often economical under time of use and demand charge rates, particularly when demand charges are >$10 per kilowatt. Where systems were found to be economical, expected lifetime savings averaged between 7%–10%, with savings of 30% in numerous cases. Near term markets exist for solar-plus-storage in locations such as California and New York. As technology prices drop, the number of building types that can benefit increase, and additional markets appear in Colorado, New Mexico, and Alaska. All data from the study and interactive modeling results are available at: https://openei.org/wiki/Solar+Storage.     

Coexpression of leptin receptor and preproneuropeptide Y mRNA in arcuate nucleus of mouse hypothalamus

Leptin, the protein product of the adipose tissue-specific ob (obese) gene (1), reduces the body weight, adiposity and food intake of obese ob/ob mice on peripheral or central injection (2, 3, 4). [125I]leptin binding has been detected in mouse choroid plexus (5), from which a leptin receptor gene was expression cloned (5). The gene has at least 6 splice variants (6, 7). Leptin receptor mRNA was localized in the hypothalamus by in situ hybridization being particularly abundantly expressed in the arcuate nucleus (8). There is evidence linking the physiological effects of injected leptin with hypothalamic neuropeptide Y (9, 10) (NPY), which has potent central effects on food intake and energy balance (11), and is also expressed in the arcuate nucleus. Here we report dual in situ hybridization studies for leptin receptor and NPY gene expression in the mouse arcuate nucleus, where the majority of cells examined expressed both genes. This provides the first direct evidence that leptin acts on cells that express NPY mRNA.     

Mounting media for the microscopical examination of rubber-reinforced polymers

Mounting media for examining rubber reinforced copolymers using the phase microscope are described. The mounting media are based on cinnamaldehyde as the basic solvent with suitable adjustments made depending upon the copolymer under examination.     

Continuous monitor of dangerous levels of microwave power

High mortality rates have been observed when animals arc exposed for up to 100 min in r.f. radiation having frequencies greater than 10 MHz and power densities of the order of 100 mW/cm2. A safety level of 10 mW/cm2 for frequencies above 10 MHz and exposures of the order of 5 min has therefore been generally adopted. A continuously monitoring small-size instrument for dangerous maximum and average levels of microwave power is required, particularly if it can be carried in the pocket of a person in a similar manner as the well known X ray photographic monitor.     

Dietary analysis and patterns of nutritional supplement use in normal and age-related macular disease affected subjects: a prospective cross-sectional study

Background  

Poor diet is thought to be a risk factor for many diseases, including age-related macular disease (ARMD), which is the leading cause of blind registration in those aged over 60 years in the developed world. The aims of this study were 1) to evaluate the dietary food intake of three subject groups: participants under the age of 50 years without ARMD (U50), participants over the age of 50 years without ARMD (O50), and participants with ARMD (AMD), and 2) to obtain information on nutritional supplement usage.     

IMPACT OF CHANGING HYDROLOGY ON NUTRIENT UPTAKE IN HIGH ARCTIC RIVERS

Despite the importance of river nutrient retention in regulating downstream water quality and the potential alterations to nutrient fluxes associated with climate‐induced changes in Arctic hydrology, current understanding of nutrient cycling in Arctic river systems is limited. This study adopted an experimental approach to quantify conceptual water source contributions (meltwater, groundwater), environmental conditions and uptake of NO₃^?, NH₄⁺, PO₄^3? and acetate at 12 headwater rivers in Svalbard and so determine the role of changing hydrology on nutrient uptake in these Arctic river systems. Most rivers exhibited low demand for NO₃^? and PO₄^3?, but demand for NH₄⁺ and acetate was more variable and in several rivers comparable with that measured in sub‐Arctic regions. The proportion of meltwater contributing to river flow was not significantly related to nutrient uptake. However, NH₄⁺ uptake was associated positively with algal biomass, water temperature and transient storage area, whereas acetate uptake was associated positively with more stable river channels. Mean demand for NH₄⁺ increased when added with acetate, suggesting NH₄⁺ retention may be facilitated by labile dissolved organic carbon availability in these rivers. Consequently, nutrient export from Arctic river systems could be influenced in future by changes in hydrological and environmental process interactions associated with forecasted climate warming. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Robust output feedback stabilization of uncertain time-varying state-delayed systems with saturating actuators

The robust output feedback stabilization problem for state-delayed systems with time-varying delays and saturating actuators is addressed here. The systems considered are continuous-time, with parametric uncertainties entering all the matrices in the system representation. A saturating control law is designed and a region of initial conditions is specified within which local asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system is ensured. The least conservative approach that employs the Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional is adopted to ensure stabilization. The designed controller is dependent on the time-delay and its rate of change. The controller is constructed in terms of the solution to a set of matrix inequalities.