Harvesting fruit of equivalent chronological age and fruit position shows individual effects of UV radiation on aspects of the strawberry ripening process

The effect of UV radiation on fruit secondary compounds of strawberry cv ‘Elsanta’ was recorded taking chronological age and fruit position on the truss into account. When fruit of similar age post-anthesis, and truss position were compared, we found that the concentration of secondary compounds differed according to fruit position on the truss. UV radiation hastened the rate of colour development and resulted in an increase in fruit anthocyanin (14–31%), flavonoid (9–21%) and phenolic (9–20%) contents at harvesting; but it had no effect on fruit soluble solid content, pH and volatile composition. It did, however, increase leaf flavonoid (16%) and phenolic (8%) concentrations. Fruit ripened under a UV transparent film were firmer, smaller but greater in number than fruit ripened under a UV opaque film. Overall, the results indicate that UV radiation does not affect all aspects of strawberry ripening but independently alters rate of colour development and fruit firmness

Curve crossing for the reflected Levy process at zero and infinity

Let $R_{t}=\sup_{0\leq s\leq t}X_{s}-X_{t}$ be a Levy process reflected in its maximum. We give necessary and sufficient conditions for finiteness of passage times above power law boundaries at infinity. Information as to when the expected passage time for $R_{t}$ is finite, is given. We also discuss the almost sure finiteness of $\limsup_{t\to 0}R_{t}/t^{\kappa}$, for each $\kappa\geq 0$.

Towards effective water reuse: drivers, challenges and strategies shaping the organisational management of reclaimed water in Jordan

Treated wastewater or reclaimed water is gaining recognition as a valuable water resource around the world. To assess why, where and how water reuse takes place in Jordan, semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of 29 key organisations in 2008. The analysis reveals that water scarcity is a key driver for water reuse. However, despite such recognition, reuse was described positively by only a small proportion of the interviewees (n = 6). Negative and neutral perceptions regarding reuse dominated and the research found that this was related to two underlying challenges: (i) the requirement for more intensive management when using reclaimed water compared with freshwater and (ii) concern over societal acceptance of water reuse. These factors were found to be associated with the risks posed to humans and their environments, combined with negative emotional and cultural responses to human waste and its applications. Numerous strategies are identified that are employed by organisations to overcome these challenges. Wastewater treatment, regulation, monitoring, the mixing of treated effluent with freshwater and limited public discussion of water reuse are all employed to achieve maximum use of reclaimed water. Each strategy presents benefits of sort, but some may paradoxically also inhibit optimal use of reclaimed water. Careful modifications to the existing strategies of Jordanian agencies, such as more open discussion of reuse, could lead to greater social, economic and environmental gains.

Practicing sustainability in PFI project management

This paper investigates the relationship of the project management in Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and sustainability. A live PFI project is selected as a case study, where contract review and monitoring on project management are carried out to evaluate the sustainability of project management. The PFI procurement shows great advantages in increased contractual responsibilities of the contractor in sustainable construction, and also in practicing sustainability in project management. Six main sustainable attributes of the project management are selected to evaluate the sustainability of project management in the PFI project. The project management process in the case study is closely monitored in order to verify how the PFI project promotes sustainability in practice. The project management in the different stages of the PFI project, including tendering, design, construction and operation, contributes to the six sustainable attributes in different ways. The project management in PFI project paid more attention in sustainable development during its whole process. As the private sector is responsible to the whole life of the building project, the project manager has to consider the long-term benefits during the management process. The government should take advantages of PFI project management in practicing sustainability therefore to promote sustainable development of the national infrastructure services.

Understanding advances in the simulation of intraseasonal variability in the ECMWF model. Part II: the application of process-based diagnostics

In Part I of this study it was shown that moving from a moisture-convergent- to a relative-humidity-dependent organized entrainment rate in the formulation for deep convection was responsible for significant advances in the simulation of the Madden – Julian Oscillation (MJO) in the ECMWF model. However, the application of traditional MJO diagnostics were not adequate to understand why changing the control on convection had such a pronounced impact on the representation of the MJO. In this study a set of process-based diagnostics are applied to the hindcast experiments described in Part I to identify the physical mechanisms responsible for the advances in MJO simulation. Increasing the sensitivity of the deep convection scheme to environmental moisture is shown to modify the relationship between precipitation and moisture in the model. Through dry-air entrainment, convective plumes ascending in low-humidity environments terminate lower in the atmosphere. As a result, there is an increase in the occurrence of cumulus congestus, which acts to moisten the mid troposphere. Due to the modified precipitation – moisture relationship more moisture is able to build up, which effectively preconditions the tropical atmosphere for the t ransition t o d eep convection. R esults from this study suggest that a tropospheric moisture control on convection is key to simulating the interaction between the convective heating and the large-scale wave forcing associated with the MJO.

The relationship between community-based organisations and the effective management of coastal and marine resources in the Western Indian Ocean region

This study examines the relationship between community based organisations and marine and coastal resource management in the Western Indian Ocean Region.

Evaluating the ability of process based models to project sea-level change

We evaluate the ability of process based models to reproduce observed global mean sea-level change. When the models are forced by changes in natural and anthropogenic radiative forcing of the climate system and anthropogenic changes in land-water storage, the average of the modelled sea-level change for the periods 1900–2010, 1961–2010 and 1990–2010 is about 80%, 85% and 90% of the observed rise. The modelled rate of rise is over 1 mm yr−1 prior to 1950, decreases to less than 0.5 mm yr−1 in the 1960s, and increases to 3 mm yr−1 by 2000. When observed regional climate changes are used to drive a glacier model and an allowance is included for an ongoing adjustment of the ice sheets, the modelled sea-level rise is about 2 mm yr−1 prior to 1950, similar to the observations. The model results encompass the observed rise and the model average is within 20% of the observations, about 10% when the observed ice sheet contributions since 1993 are added, increasing confidence in future projections for the 21st century. The increased rate of rise since 1990 is not part of a natural cycle but a direct response to increased radiative forcing (both anthropogenic and natural), which will continue to grow with ongoing greenhouse gas emissions

Economic valuation of an offshore wind farm in Greece: the role of individual’s base-state influences and beliefs in the value formation process

The increased concern for the impacts of climate change on the environment, along with the growing industry of renewable energy sources, and especially wind power, has made the valuation of environmental services and goods of great significance. Offshore wind energy is being exploited exponentially and its importance for renewable energy generation is increasing. We apply a double-bound dichotomous Contingent Valuation Method analysis in order to both a) estimating the Willingness to Pay (WTP) of Greek residents for green electricity produced by offshore wind farm located between the islands of Tinos and Andros and b) identifying factors behind respondents’ WTP including individual’s behaviour toward environment and individual’s views on climate change and renewable energy. A total of 141 respondents participated in the questionnaire. Results show that the respondents are willing to pay on average 20€ every two months through their electricity bill in return for carbon-free electricity and water saving from the wind farm. Respondents’ environmental consciousness and their perception towards climate change and renewable energy have a positive effect on their WTP.

IFRS for SMEs: the IASB’S due process

This study explores the role of the International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB) due process in developing its International Financial Reporting Standards for Small and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS or SMEs)standard. There were tensions between the IASB’s desire to minimise divergence from full IFRS and preserve recognition and measurement principles, and the primary reasons for undertaking the project – to meet the needs of users of financial statements of SMEs and to reduce the financial reporting burden on SMEs. Examination of events during the development of the project reveals much that was not apparent from material in the public domain. Most significantly, the IASB recognised that the final title of the standard, IFRS for SMEs, does not necessarily describe the scope of the standard. This paper also shows that the due process followed in the case of the IFRS for SMEs project barely reflected the ‘will of people’ but was more inclined towards acting as a communicative function for the IASB without any commitment to change its stance on the SME standard.

Generalized drivers in the mammalian endangerment process

An important challenge for conservation today is to understand the endangerment process and identify any generalized patterns in how threats occur and aggregate across taxa. Here we use a global database describing main current external threats in mammals to evaluate the prevalence of distinct threatening processes, primarily of anthropogenic origin, and to identify generalized drivers of extinction and their association with vulnerability status and intrinsic species' traits. We detect several primary threat combinations that are generally associated with distinct species. In particular, large and widely distributed mammals are affected by combinations of direct exploitation and threats associated with increasing landscape modification that go from logging to intense human land-use. Meanwhile, small, narrowly distributed species are affected by intensifying levels of landscape modification but are not directly exploited. In general more vulnerable species are affected by a greater number of threats, suggesting increased extinction risk is associated with the accumulation of external threats. Overall, our findings show that endangerment in mammals is strongly associated with increasing habitat loss and degradation caused by human land-use intensification. For large and widely distributed mammals there is the additional risk of being hunted.