Fertile soil is fundamental to our ability to achieve food security, but problems with soil degradation (such as acidification) are exacerbated by poor management. Consequently, there is a need to ...better understand management approaches that deliver multiple ecosystem services from agricultural land. There is global interest in sustainable soil management including the re-evaluation of existing management practices. Liming is a long established practice to ameliorate acidic soils and many liming-induced changes are well understood. For instance, short-term liming impacts are detected on soil biota and in soil biological processes (such as in N cycling where liming can increase N availability for plant uptake). The impacts of liming on soil carbon storage are variable and strongly relate to soil type, land use, climate and multiple management factors. Liming influences all elements in soils and as such there are numerous simultaneous changes to soil processes which in turn affect the plant nutrient uptake; two examples of positive impact for crops are increased P availability and decreased uptake of toxic heavy metals. Soil physical conditions are at least maintained or improved by liming, but the time taken to detect change varies significantly. Arable crops differ in their sensitivity to soil pH and for most crops there is a positive yield response. Liming also introduces implications for the development of different crop diseases and liming management is adjusted according to crop type within a given rotation. Repeated lime applications tend to improve grassland biomass production, although grassland response is variable and indirect as it relates to changes in nutrient availability. Other indicators of liming response in grassland are detected in mineral content and herbage quality which have implications for livestock-based production systems. Ecological studies have shown positive impacts of liming on biodiversity; such as increased earthworm abundance that provides habitat for wading birds in upland grasslands. Finally, understanding of liming impacts on soil and crop processes are explored together with functional aspects (in terms of ecosystems services) in a new qualitative framework that includes consideration of how liming impacts change with time. This holistic approach provides insights into the far-reaching impacts that liming has on ecosystems and the potential for liming to enhance the multiple benefits from agriculturally managed land. Recommendations are given for future research on the impact of liming and the implications for ecosystem services.
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•Liming has numerous far reaching impacts on soil and plant processes and function.•Liming impacts on soils are positive such as increased nutrients and biota.•Liming crops and grassland is beneficial to yield and quality and for grazing stock.•Liming impacts on biodiversity vary significantly with evidence of positive effects.•A qualitative framework shows how liming impacts change with time.
Carbonaceous particulate matter (PM), comprising black carbon (BC), primary organic aerosol (POA) and secondary organic aerosol (SOA, from atmospheric aging of precursors), is a highly toxic vehicle ...exhaust component. Therefore, understanding vehicle pollution requires knowledge of both primary emissions, and how these emissions age in the atmosphere. We provide a systematic examination of carbonaceous PM emissions and parameterisation of SOA formation from modern diesel and gasoline cars at different temperatures (22, -7 °C) during controlled laboratory experiments. Carbonaceous PM emission and SOA formation is markedly higher from gasoline than diesel particle filter (DPF) and catalyst-equipped diesel cars, more so at -7 °C, contrasting with nitrogen oxides (NO
). Higher SOA formation from gasoline cars and primary emission reductions for diesels implies gasoline cars will increasingly dominate vehicular total carbonaceous PM, though older non-DPF-equipped diesels will continue to dominate the primary fraction for some time. Supported by state-of-the-art source apportionment of ambient fossil fuel derived PM, our results show that whether gasoline or diesel cars are more polluting depends on the pollutant in question, i.e. that diesel cars are not necessarily worse polluters than gasoline cars.
ABSTRACT
This study investigated the main factors contributing to boron toxicity in plants. Growth was rapidly inhibited by internal B concentrations in the range 1–5 m m across a range of plant ...types that included monocot, dicot and algal species. In contrast, mature cells were able to withstand up to 60 m m B for several days. In wheat, rapid inhibition of root growth occurred if high B was applied to the root tip, but not if high B was applied to mature sections of the root. In leaves, there were gradations in B concentrations that correlated with visible symptoms of toxicity. However, there was no evidence to support the hypothesis that toxicity in leaves is due to osmotic stress induced by the accumulation of B. Analysis of the sensitivity to B of a range of metabolic processes including photosynthesis, respiration and protein synthesis leads to the conclusion that growth is not restricted by effects of B on energy supply and not directly by inhibition of protein synthesis. At higher B concentrations, many cellular activities were found to be partially inhibited and the toxicity to mature tissues was therefore considered not to arise from the disruption of a single process, but from the accumulated retardation of many cellular processes, exacerbated in light by photo‐oxidative stress.
NASA's Solar Probe Plus (SPP) mission will make the first in situ measurements of the solar corona and the birthplace of the solar wind. The FIELDS instrument suite on SPP will make direct ...measurements of electric and magnetic fields, the properties of in situ plasma waves, electron density and temperature profiles, and interplanetary radio emissions, amongst other things. Here, we describe the scientific objectives targeted by the SPP/FIELDS instrument, the instrument design itself, and the instrument concept of operations and planned data products.
Measurements at appropriate spatial and temporal scales are essential for understanding and monitoring spatially heterogeneous environments with complex and highly variable emission sources, such as ...in urban areas. However, the costs and complexity of conventional air quality measurement methods means that measurement networks are generally extremely sparse. In this paper we show that miniature, low-cost electrochemical gas sensors, traditionally used for sensing at parts-per-million (ppm) mixing ratios can, when suitably configured and operated, be used for parts-per-billion (ppb) level studies for gases relevant to urban air quality. Sensor nodes, in this case consisting of multiple individual electrochemical sensors, can be low-cost and highly portable, thus allowing the deployment of scalable high-density air quality sensor networks at fine spatial and temporal scales, and in both static and mobile configurations.
In this paper we provide evidence for the performance of electrochemical sensors at the parts-per-billion level, and then outline results obtained from deployments of networks of sensor nodes in both an autonomous, high-density, static network in the wider Cambridge (UK) area, and as mobile networks for quantification of personal exposure. Examples are presented of measurements obtained with both highly portable devices held by pedestrians and cyclists, and static devices attached to street furniture. The widely varying mixing ratios reported by this study confirm that the urban environment cannot be fully characterised using sparse, static networks, and that measurement networks with higher resolution (both spatially and temporally) are required to quantify air quality at the scales which are present in the urban environment. We conclude that the instruments described here, and the low-cost/high-density measurement philosophy which underpins it, have the potential to provide a far more complete assessment of the high-granularity air quality structure generally observed in the urban environment, and could ultimately be used for quantification of human exposure as well as for monitoring and legislative purposes.
► Suitably configured electrochemical sensors can be used for air quality studies. ► Evidence of performance of electrochemical sensors at parts-per-billion levels. ► Sensors are sensitive, low noise, highly linear and generally highly selective. ► Measurement density (space and time) unachievable using current methods. ► Show low-cost air quality sensor networks are now feasible for widespread use.
When a genetic marker and a quantitative trait locus (QTL) are in linkage disequilibrium (LD) in one population, they may not be in LD in another population or their LD phase may be reversed. The ...objectives of this study were to compare the extent of LD and the persistence of LD phase across multiple cattle populations. LD measures r and r(2) were calculated for syntenic marker pairs using genomewide single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) that were genotyped in Dutch and Australian Holstein-Friesian (HF) bulls, Australian Angus cattle, and New Zealand Friesian and Jersey cows. Average r(2) was approximately 0.35, 0.25, 0.22, 0.14, and 0.06 at marker distances 10, 20, 40, 100, and 1000 kb, respectively, which indicates that genomic selection within cattle breeds with r(2) >or= 0.20 between adjacent markers would require approximately 50,000 SNPs. The correlation of r values between populations for the same marker pairs was close to 1 for pairs of very close markers (<10 kb) and decreased with increasing marker distance and the extent of divergence between the populations. To find markers that are in LD with QTL across diverged breeds, such as HF, Jersey, and Angus, would require approximately 300,000 markers.
Malodours remain the biggest source of complaints regarding environmental issues. This factor is likely to increase, as the urban development steadily encroaches into areas that have malodourous ...emitting industries (such as wastewater and waste management operations and intensive livestock practices), and has the potential to be both time and fiscally expensive. Despite the enormous amount of research involved in odour detection and abatement, as well as the creation of several distinct methodologies, there has yet been no definitive procedure to evaluate odour impact on communities, as well as community response. This paper is a review of the current methods that explore this problem, as well as a précis of this research field's goals and challenges. The first aim of this review is to illustrate the dichotomy between regulatory-established procedures, such as panellist testing, and methods that are centred around producing a more comprehensive explanation of factors that influence an odour's impact on a community or individual. In that regard, we have addressed several predominant paradigms of inquiry for this field: analytical methods, panellist testing, qualitative research, and survey methods, with associated variants. Secondly, the challenges of measuring and monitoring community impact are discussed. While the quantification of odorants is crucial to appreciating impact, individual-based modifiers of perception have an enormous scope for which to shape the effect of those odours. Perceptual differences are also likely the most dominant variables that influence the elicited behaviour of individuals who have experienced malodour exposure.
•This review covers aspects from both analytical odour sampling as well as a community assessment paradigms.•The dose–response relationship is discussed as a complex system that has varying degrees of influence dependent upon the olfactory quality assessed.•Combined approaches are discussed and are found to be advantageous compared to single type methodologies.
Objective
To determine clinical predictors of lithium response in bipolar disorder.
Methods
Systematic review of studies examining clinical predictors of lithium response was conducted. Meta‐analyses ...were performed when ≥2 studies examined the same potential predictor.
Results
A total of 71 studies, including over 12 000 patients, identified six predictors of good response: mania‐depression‐interval sequence odds ratio (OR): 4.27; 95% CI: 2.61, 6.97; P < 0.001, absence of rapid cycling (OR for rapid cycling: 0.30; 95% CI: 0.17, 0.53; P < 0.001), absence of psychotic symptoms (OR for psychotic symptoms: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.34, 0.79; P = 0.002), family history of bipolar disorder (OR: 1.61; 95% CI: 1.03, 2.52; P = 0.036), shorter prelithium illness duration standardised mean difference (SMD): −0.26; 95% CI: −0.41, −0.12; P < 0.001 and later age of onset (SMD: 0.17; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.36; P = 0.029). Additionally, higher body mass index was associated with poor response in two studies (SMD: −0.61; 95% CI: −0.90, −0.32; P < 0.001). There was weak evidence for number of episodes prior to lithium treatment (SMD: −0.42; 95% CI: −0.84, −0.01; P = 0.046), number of hospitalisations before lithium (SMD: −0.40; 95% CI: −0.81, 0.01; P = 0.055) and family history of lithium response (OR: 10.28; 95% CI: 0.66, 161.26; P = 0.097).
Conclusions
The relative importance of these clinical characteristics should be interpreted with caution because of potential biases and confounding.
Feed makes up a large proportion of variable costs in dairying. For this reason, selection for traits associated with feed conversion efficiency should lead to greater profitability of dairying. ...Residual feed intake (RFI) is the difference between actual and predicted feed intakes and is a useful selection criterion for greater feed efficiency. However, measuring individual feed intakes on a large scale is prohibitively expensive. A panel of DNA markers explaining genetic variation in this trait would enable cost-effective genomic selection for this trait. With the aim of enabling genomic selection for RFI, we used data from almost 2,000 heifers measured for growth rate and feed intake in Australia (AU) and New Zealand (NZ) genotyped for 625,000 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. Substantial variation in RFI and 250-d body weight (BW250) was demonstrated. Heritabilities of RFI and BW250 estimated using genomic relationships among the heifers were 0.22 and 0.28 in AU heifers and 0.38 and 0.44 in NZ heifers, respectively. Genomic breeding values for RFI and BW250 were derived using genomic BLUP and 2 Bayesian methods (BayesA, BayesMulti). The accuracies of genomic breeding values for RFI were evaluated using cross-validation. When 624,930 SNP were used to derive the prediction equation, the accuracies averaged 0.37 and 0.31 for RFI in AU and NZ validation data sets, respectively, and 0.40 and 0.25 for BW250 in AU and NZ, respectively. The greatest advantage of using the full 624,930 SNP over a reduced panel of 36,673 SNP (the widely used BovineSNP50 array) was when the reference population included only animals from either the AU or the NZ experiment. Finally, the Bayesian methods were also used for quantitative trait loci detection. On chromosome 14 at around 25 Mb, several SNP closest to PLAG1 (a gene believed to affect stature in humans and cattle) had an effect on BW250 in both AU and NZ populations. In addition, 8 SNP with large effects on RFI were located on chromosome 14 at around 35.7 Mb. These SNP may be associated with the gene NCOA2, which has a role in controlling energy metabolism.
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