Spiral and interlocking grain in Eucalyptus dunnii

Spiral grain in 181 trees from a 9-year-old plantation-grown Eucalyptus dunnii was normally distributed with mean -0.33 degrees (to the left) and standard deviation 1.7 degrees, and was affected by family and by crown asymmetry. Interlocking grain was common, exhibiting a mean amplitude of 3.4 degrees (standard deviation 1.5°) and a mean wavelength of 39 mm (standard deviation 12 mm). The relatively large amplitude of interlocking grain means that most trees will have spiral grain that alternates between left and right during each year. The wavelength of interlocking grain is influenced by tree size, but amplitude of interlocking is under genetic control. Both spiral grain and the amplitude of any interlocking were heritable (h²=0.99 and 0.63 respectively).     

建筑,为了永续而幸福的社会

不丹提出了全民幸福指数(Gross National Happiness)的发展范式,是世界上唯一一个以追求快乐立国的国度。不丹也是唯一一个全民幸福度位居全球前10,而经济发展相对落后(位于世界134)的国度。不丹首相吉莫.尤泽.廷礼是这一发展范式的极力倡导者,他以不丹的成功和对现实的洞察,强烈批判了单纯追求经济发展所带来的诸多问题和其本身的不可持续性,并基于此向建筑师提出了16个值得深思的问题。由于其演讲的发人深思,特别对于快速发展中的中国,本期特别对此演讲进行了整理编译。     

UV–LED driven photodegradation of organic dye and antibiotic using strontium titanate nanostructures

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - In the present study, SrTiO3 (strontium titanate) photocatalyst was prepared through the hydrothermal process for photodegradation of...     

Spiral and interlocking grain in Eucalyptus dunnii

Spiral grain in 181 trees from a 9-year-old plantation-grown Eucalyptus dunnii was normally distributed with mean -0.33 degrees (to the left) and standard deviation 1.7 degrees, and was affected by family and by crown asymmetry. Interlocking grain was common, exhibiting a mean amplitude of 3.4 degrees (standard deviation 1.5°) and a mean wavelength of 39 mm (standard deviation 12 mm). The relatively large amplitude of interlocking grain means that most trees will have spiral grain that alternates between left and right during each year. The wavelength of interlocking grain is influenced by tree size, but amplitude of interlocking is under genetic control. Both spiral grain and the amplitude of any interlocking were heritable (h²=0.99 and 0.63 respectively).     

School gardening in Bhutan: Evaluating outcomes and impact

School gardening interventions have been touted as an effective approach to improve children’s eating habits in developed countries, but there is little evidence for their impact in developing countries. We studied the combined effect of school gardens linked to complementary lessons and promotional activities on the eating behavior and nutritional status of 9- to 15-year-old schoolchildren in Bhutan. We also studied the effect on a range of secondary indicators derived from the impact pathway. We used data from 468 schoolchildren in 9 control and 9 treatment schools following a randomized controlled trial design. We found that the school gardening intervention significantly increased children’s awareness about vegetables, their knowledge about sustainable agriculture, and their preferences for healthier foods. We found an 11.7-percentage point increase in the probability that children included vegetables in their meals (p < 0.05), but not in the number of different fruits or vegetables consumed. These results support the idea that comprehensive school garden interventions, combining gardening with education and promotion, can positively influence food preferences and food behavior in developing countries.