Search results for " Breeding"
showing 10 items of 185 documents
Recent progress in developing a feasible and integrated conceptual design of the WCLL BB in EUROfusion project
2019
The water-cooled lithium-lead breeding blanket is in the pre-conceptual design phase. It is a candidate option for European DEMO nuclear fusion reactor. This breeding blanket concept relies on the liquid lithium-lead as breeder-multiplier, pressurized water as coolant and EUROFER as structural material. Current design is based on DEMO 2017 specifications. Two separate water systems are in charge of cooling the first wall and the breeding zone: thermo-dynamic cycle is 295–328 °C at 15.5 MPa. The breeder enters and exits from the breeding zone at 330 °C. Cornerstones of the design are the single module segment approach and the water manifold between the breeding blanket box and the back suppo…
Latent heat flux variability and response to drought stress of black poplar: A multi-platform multi-sensor remote and proximal sensing approach to re…
2022
Abstract High-throughput mapping of latent heat flux (λET) is critical to efforts to optimize water resources management and to accelerate forest tree breeding for improved drought tolerance. Ideally, investigation of the energy response at the tree level may promote tailored irrigation strategies and, thus, maximize crop biomass productivity. However, data availability is limited and planning experimental campaigns in the field can be highly operationally complex. To this end, a multi-platform multi-sensor observational approach is herein developed to dissect the λET signature of a black poplar (Populus nigra) breeding population (“POP6”) at the canopy level. POP6 comprised more than 4600 …
Interspecific hybridization improves the performance of Lotus spp. under saline stress
2019
Abstract Salinity is one of the most frequent limiting conditions in pasture production for grazing livestock. Legumes, such as Lotus spp. with high forage quality and capable of adapting to different environments, improves pasture performance in restrictive areas. In order to determine potential cultivars with better forage traits, the current study assess the response to salt stress of L. tenuis, L. corniculatus and a novel L. tenuis x L. corniculatus accession. For this purpose, chlorophyll fluorescence, biomass production, ion accumulation and anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins levels have been evaluated in control and salt-treated plants PSII activity was affected by salt in L. tenuis,…
Combined approaches to identify genomic regions involved in phenotypic differentiation between low divergent breeds: Application in Sardinian sheep p…
2019
Selective breeding has led to modifications in the genome of many livestock breeds. In this study, we identified the genomic regions that may explain some of the phenotypic differences between two closely related breeds from Sardinia. A total of 44 animals, 20 Sardinian Ancestral Black (SAB) and 24 Sardinian White (SW), were genotyped using the Illumina Ovine 50K array. A total of 68, 38 and 15 significant markers were identified using the case–control genome-wide association study (GWAS), the Bayesian population differentiation analysis (FST) and the Rsb metric, respectively. Comparisons among the approaches revealed a total of 22 overlapping markers between GWAS and FST and one marker bet…
Identifying conserved genes involved in crop tolerance to cold stress
2022
Low temperature is a limiting factor for crop productivity in tropical and subtropical climates. Cold stress response in plants involves perceiving and relaying the signal through a transcriptional cascade composed of different transduction components, resulting in altered gene activity. We performed a meta-analysis of four previously published datasets of cold-tolerant and cold-sensitive crops to better understand the gene regulatory networks and identify key genes involved in cold stress tolerance conserved across phylogenetically distant species. Re-analysing the raw data with the same bioinformatics pipeline, we identified common cold tolerance-related genes. We found 236 and 242 common…
Selection in captive populations
1986
We have briefly reviewed types of genetic variation and selection in the wild as contrasted with selection in captive populations, along with the objectives of captive breeding programs, before recommending selection procedures for the genetic management of captive populations. Although some inadvertent selection for tameness and adaptation to captive environments is inevitable in captive populations, any selection that is actively applied to captive populations should have clearly defined objectives. Much of the apparent disagreement about genetic management of captive populations probably stems from the varying objectives of different captive breeding programs. Objectives differ depending…
Progress in EU Breeding Blanket design and integration
2018
Abstract In Europe (EU), in the frame of the EUROfusion consortium activities, four Breeding Blanket (BB) concepts are being developed with the aim of fulfilling the performances required by a near-term fusion power demonstration plant (DEMO) in terms of tritium self-sufficiency and electricity production. The four blanket options cover a wide range of technological possibilities, as water and helium are considered as possible coolants and solid ceramic breeder in combination with beryllium and PbLi as tritium breeder and neutron multipliers. The strategy for the BB selection and operation has to account for the challenging schedule of the EU DEMO, the ambitious operational requirements of …
Status of the EU DEMO HCLL breeding blanket design development
2018
International audience; In the framework of the European “HORIZON 2020” innovation and research programme, the EUROfusion Consortium develops a design of a fusion power demonstrator (DEMO). One of the key components in the fusion reactor is the Breeding Blanket (BB) surrounding the plasma, ensuring tritium self-sufficiency, heat removal for conversion into electricity, and neutron shielding. CEA-Saclay, with the support of Wigner-RCP and Centrum výzkumu Řež, is in charge of the development of one of the four BB concepts investigated in Europe for DEMO: the Helium Cooled Lithium Lead (HCLL) BB. The rationales of the HCLL are the use of Eurofer as structural material, eutectic liquid lithium-…
Utility of island populations in re-introduction programmes--relationships between Arabian gazelles (Gazella arabica) from the Farasan Archipelago an…
2014
Understanding local adaptation and population differentiation is vital to the success of re-introduction initiatives. As other mammals living on islands, Arabian gazelles (G. arabica) show reduced body size on the Farasan archipelago, which we corroborated in this study through morphometric analyses of skulls. In the light of the steep population decline on the Arabian Peninsula – but stable population development on the archipelago – we tested the potential suitability of Farasan gazelles as a source for re-introductions on the mainland. We therefore investigated genetic differentiation between Farasan and mainland populations using eleven nuclear microsatellite loci and detected a distinc…
Preliminary CAD implementation of EU-DEMO primary heat transfer systems for HCPB breeding blanket option
2019
Abstract This paper focuses on the 3D CAD implementation of the pipework and the main equipment of the Primary Heat Transfer System of EU-DEMO fusion power plant. In particular, the systems related to the Helium-Cooled Pebble Bed Breeding Blanket option are considered here. During the pulse operation, the breeding blanket modules will be the main thermal power source; Divertor and the Vacuum Vessel will contribute in the definition of the total reactor power. All the In-Vessel generated power is rejected to the Power Conversion System through a molten salt Intermediate Heat Transport System. The latter is equipped with an Energy Storage System to allow for continuous operation also during t…