Search results for " AGRICULTURE"
showing 10 items of 2212 documents
M11_Microfluidics_for_CNT
2018
The subtle solubility of water in n-decane causes leaking of the droplet content. If the n-decane flows by static droplets, it carries the water slowly away up to the total disappearance of the droplets.
Toward Comprehensive Plant Microbiome Research
2020
Microbes have driven eco-evolutionary adaptations organizing biodiversity from the origin of life. They are ubiquitous and abundant, facilitating the biochemical processes that make Earth habitable and shape ecosystem structures, functions, and services. Recent studies reveal that commensalistic and beneficial microbes associated with wild and domesticated plants may aid in establishing sustainable agriculture for a changing climate. However, developing microbe-based biotechnologies and ecosystem services requires a thorough understanding of the diversity and complexity of microbial interactions with each other and with higher organisms. We discuss the hot and blind spots in contemporary re…
Performance and age of African and non-African runners in half- and full marathons held in Switzerland, 2000–2010
2013
André Aschmann,1 Beat Knechtle,2 Marco Cribari,1 Christoph Alexander Rüst,1 Vincent Onywera,3 Thomas Rosemann,1 Romuald Lepers4 1Institute of General Practice and for Health Services Research, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; 2Gesundheitszentrum St Gallen, St Gallen, Switzerland; 3Department of Recreation Management and Exercise Science, Kenyatta University, Kenya; 4Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Burgundy, Dijon, France Background: Endurance running performance of African (AF) and non-African (NAF) athletes is investigated, with better performances seen for Africans. To d…
Biocontrol of the Major Plant Pathogen
2019
Three new lytic bacteriophages were found to effectively control the pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum, a quarantine bacterium in many countries, and causative agent of bacterial wilt, one of the most important vascular plant diseases. Bacterial wilt management has been carried out with fluctuating effects, suggesting the need to find alternative treatments. In this work, three lytic phages were isolated from environmental water from geographically distant regions in Spain. They proved to specifically infect a collection of R. solanacearum strains, and some of the closely related pathogenic species Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum, without affecting non-target environmental bacteria, and were abl…
On the use of unmanned aerial systems for environmental monitoring
2018
[EN] Environmental monitoring plays a central role in diagnosing climate and management impacts on natural and agricultural systems; enhancing the understanding of hydrological processes; optimizing the allocation and distribution of water resources; and assessing, forecasting, and even preventing natural disasters. Nowadays, most monitoring and data collection systems are based upon a combination of ground-based measurements, manned airborne sensors, and satellite observations. These data are utilized in describing both small-and large-scale processes, but have spatiotemporal constraints inherent to each respective collection system. Bridging the unique spatial and temporal divides that li…
The use of barley straw residues to avoid high erosion and runoff rates on persimmon plantations in Eastern Spain under low frequency-high magnitude …
2016
[EN] Soil and water losses due to agricultural mismanagement are high and non-sustainable in many orchards. An experiment was set up with rainfall simulation at 78 mm h(-1) over 1 hour on 20 paired plots of 2 m(2) (bare and straw covered) in new persimmon plantations in Eastern Spain. Effects of straw cover on the control of soil and water losses were assessed. An addition of 60% straw cover (75 gm(-2)) resulted in delayed ponding and runoff generation and consequently reduced water losses from 60% to 13% of total rainfall. The straw cover reduced raindrop impact and thus sediment detachment from 1014 to 47 g plot(-1) h(-1). The erosion rate was reduced from 5.1 to 0.2 Mg ha-(1) h(-1). The …
Towards Ethical Guidelines of Using Telepresence Robots in Residential Care
2021
AbstractRobotic telepresence is a potential technology to help alleviating the loneliness of elderly people. The impacts of long-term use of telepresence robots in residential care are not well known. We were interested in how using a telepresence robot influences the resident, family members and care workers at a facility, and what challenges and solutions there are for wider adoption of such robots in residential care. With a telepresence robot Double, we arranged a series of three trials in two separate residential care facilities: one 12-week trial in a private facility and two successive 6-week trials in a public facility. In each trial, we installed the telepresence robot in a room of…
Agri-Food Markets towards Sustainable Patterns
2020
In recent decades, the confluence of different global and domestic drivers has led to progressive and unpredictable changes in the functioning and structure of agri-food markets worldwide. Given the unsustainability of the current agri-food production, processing, distribution and consumption patterns, and the inadequate governance of the whole food system, the transition to sustainable agriculture and food systems has become crucial to effectively manage a global agri-food market able in supporting expected population growth and ensuring universal access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food for all. Based on a critical review of the existing international literature, the paper seeks to…
Biomass Assessment of Agricultural Crops Using Multi-temporal Dual-Polarimetric TerraSAR-X Data
2019
The biomass of three agricultural crops, winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), and canola (Brassica napus L.), was studied using multi-temporal dual-polarimetric TerraSAR-X data. The radar backscattering coefficient sigma nought of the two polarization channels HH and VV was extracted from the satellite images. Subsequently, combinations of HH and VV polarizations were calculated (e.g. HH/VV, HH + VV, HH × VV) to establish relationships between SAR data and the fresh and dry biomass of each crop type using multiple stepwise regression. Additionally, the semi-empirical water cloud model (WCM) was used to account for the effect of crop biomass on radar backscatter …
Mixtures of lecithin with polymerizable derivatives of cholesterol. A monolayer film balance study.
1986
One of the best investigated binary lipid mixtures is the lecithin-cholesterol system. We show here that it is possible to modify the cholesterol in such a way that it can be polymerized without changing its behaviour in mixtures with lecithin. The polymerizable derivatives exhibit a very similar phase diagram in the mixture with dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine as the cholesterol itself. This is demonstrated by filmbalance measurements.