Preharvest factors affecting quality and antioxidant levels on Abate Fétel pears: study of superficial scald with a multivariate statistical approach and neural networks

There are only a few insights concerning the influence that agronomic and management variability may have on superficial scald (SS) in pears. Abate Fétel pears were picked during three seasons (2018, 2019 and 2020) from thirty commercial orchards in the Emilia Romagna region, Italy. Using a multivariate statistical approach, high heterogeneity between farms for SS development after cold storage with regular atmosphere was demonstrated. Indeed, some factors seem to affect SS in all growing seasons: high yields, soil texture, improper irrigation and Nitrogen management, use of plant growth regulators, late harvest, precipitations, Calcium and cow manure, presence of nets, orchard age, training system and rootstock. Afterwards, we explored the spatio/temporal variability of fruit attributes in two pear orchards. Environmental and physiological spatial variables were recorded by a portable RTK GPS. High spatial variability of the SS index was observed. Through a geostatistical approach, some characteristics, including soil electrical conductivity and fruit size, have been shown to be negatively correlated with SS. Moreover, regression tree analyses were applied suggesting the presence of threshold values of antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content, and acidity against SS. High pulp firmness and IAD values before storage, denoting a more immature fruit, appeared to be correlated with low SS. Finally, a convolution neural networks (CNN) was tested to detect SS and the starch pattern index (SPI) in pears for portable device applications. Preliminary statistics showed that the model for SS had low accuracy but good precision, and the CNN for SPI denoted good performances compared to the Ctifl and Laimburg scales. The major conclusion is that Abate Fétel pears can potentially be stored in different cold rooms, according to their origin and quality features, ensuring the best fruit quality for the final consumers. These results might lead to a substantial improvement in the Italian pear industry.

Moving toward stock units identification based on spatial population structure of marine species in the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent waters through multidisciplinary and holistic approaches for the sustainability of fisheries resources

Investigating stock identity of marine species in a multidisciplinary holistic approach can reveal patterns of complex spatial population structure and signatures of potential local adaptation. The population structure of common sole (Solea solea) in the Mediterranean Sea was delineated using genomic and otolith data, including single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) markers and otolith data. SNPs were correlated with environmental and spatial variables to evaluate the impact of these features on the actual genetic population structure. Integrated holistic approach was applied to combine the tracers with different spatio-temporal scales. SNPs data was also used to illustrate the population structure of European hake (Merluccius merluccius) within the Alboran Sea, extending into the neighboring Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The aim was to identify patterns of neutral and potential adaptive genetic variation by applying seascape genomic framework. Results from both genetic and otolith data suggested significant divergence among putative populations of common sole, confirming a clear separation between Western, Adriatic Sea and Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Evidence of fine-scale population structure in the Western Mediterranean Sea was observed at outlier loci level and in the Adriatic. Our study not only indicates that separation among Mediterranean sole population is led primarily by neutral processes, but it also suggests the presence of local adaptation influenced by environmental and spatial factors. The holistic approach by considering the spatio-temporal scales of variation confirmed that the same pattern of separation between these geographical sites is currently occurring and has occurred for many generations. Results showed the occurrence of population structure in Merluccius merluccius by detecting westward–eastward differentiation among populations and distinct subgroups at a fine geographical scale using outlier SNPs. These results enhance the knowledge of the population structure of commercially relevant species to support the application of spatial stock assessment models, including a redefinition of fishery management units.

Idee, Natur, Geist. Schellings allgemeine Ontologie des Wirklichen nach der "Darstellung des Naturprocesses" von 1843/44

Ziel dieser Dissertation ist es, die grundlegenden philosophisch-theoretischen Implikationen von Schellings letzter systematischer Darlegung seiner Naturphilosophie nach dem Berliner Textfragment von 1843/44, der “Darstellung des Naturprocesses”, zu untersuchen. Angesichts der sich zwischen den 1830 und den 1860 Jahren in Berlin abzeichnenden neuen intellektuellen Tendenzen und der Entwicklungen in den Naturwissenschaften legt Schelling hier die Grundlagen für eine allgemeine Ontologie des Wirklichen in kritischer Auseinandersetzung mit Kants transzendentalem Idealismus. Innerhalb des systematischen Horizonts der "apriorischen Vernunftwissenschaft" oder "negativen Philosophie" stellt er im ersten Teil seines Werkes die Prinzipien fest, die die „Idee des Existierenden“ ausmachen, und beschreibt die rationale Operation, die durchgeführt werden muss, um zum Gedanken einer „Welt außer der Idee“ zu gelangen. Die philosophisch-systematischen Annahmen, die mit dem Übergang von der bloßen Idee des Existierenden zum Gedanken der außeridealen Welt verbunden sind, werden im ersten Kapitel dieser Dissertation untersucht. Im zweiten Teil seines Werkes definiert Schelling durch eine detaillierte Analyse von Kants Transzendentalen Ästhetik den Raum als diejenige Form, in der uns die Existenzen als voneinander getrennt vorstellen lassen. Obwohl der Zeitbegriff von Schelling nur am Rande behandelt wird, trägt er zusammen mit dem Raum dazu bei, die erste ontologische Grundstruktur der außeridealen Welt zu definieren. Die Analyse von Schellings Konzeption der raumzeitlichen Grundstruktur der außeridealen Welt stellt das Thema des zweiten Kapitels dieser Dissertation dar. Schließlich bestimmt Schelling im dritten Teil seines Werkes die Finalität als diejenige Kausalitätsform, die es ermöglicht, die außerideale Welt als einen werdenden Kontext zu verstehen, dessen Entwicklungsstufen die siderische Welt, die unorganische Welt und die organische Welt sind. Die Schelling‘sche Definition der Teleologie der Natur als zweite ontologische Grundstruktur der außeridealen Welt ist das Thema des dritten Kapitels dieser Dissertation.

Analyse de la mobilité spatio-temporelle des armes à feu volées au Québec

Dans ce mémoire, les armes à feu impliquées dans la commission de crimes sont étudiées à partir de leur mobilité spatio-temporelle. Afin d’opérationnaliser cette mobilité, deux mesures spécifiques ont été créées, soit le « temps-au-recouvrement » et la « distance-au-recouvrement ». Ces mesures permettent d’analyser les répercussions des armes à feu en circulation illégale sur la formation du marché illégal dans le territoire québécois. Des analyses descriptives ont d’abord été effectuées dans cette étude à partir de trois segments de la banque de données québécoise des armes à feu recouvrées : la banque complète, les armes à feu impliquées dans la commission de crimes et les armes volées. Le sous-groupe de 501 d’armes à feu volées est le seul qui a été soumis à des analyses de régressions multiples sur la mobilité puisque ces armes sont les seules permettant d’avoir plus d’informations sur leur mouvement antérieur au recouvrement par les autorités policières. Les résultats montrent qu’il y a une mobilité spatio-temporelle plus importante chez les armes de poing, celles impliquées dans les crimes de marché, les armes non-enregistrées ainsi que celles sans restriction. Afin de mieux comprendre la dynamique des armes volées, le statut de l’enregistrement s’avère la variable la plus importante puisqu’elle permet de déterminer à quel point ces armes vont être enracinées dans le marché illégal au Québec. Effectivement, les armes volées non-enregistrées sont plus susceptibles de converger vers les marchés criminels, ce qui augmente considérablement leur « durée » de vie et leur mobilité dans la province.

The effects of spatial and temporal heterogeneity on the population dynamics of four animal species in a Danish landscape

Background: Variation in carrying capacity and population return rates is generally ignored in traditional studies of population dynamics. Variation is hard to study in the field because of difficulties controlling the environment in order to obtain statistical replicates, and because of the scale and expense of experimenting on populations. There may also be ethical issues. To circumvent these problems we used detailed simulations of the simultaneous behaviours of interacting animals in an accurate facsimile of a real Danish landscape. The models incorporate as much as possible of the behaviour and ecology of skylarks Alauda arvensis, voles Microtus agrestis, a ground beetle Bembidion lampros and a linyphiid spider Erigone atra. This allows us to quantify and evaluate the importance of spatial and temporal heterogeneity on the population dynamics of the four species. Results: Both spatial and temporal heterogeneity affected the relationship between population growth rate and population density in all four species. Spatial heterogeneity accounted for 23–30% of the variance in population growth rate after accounting for the effects of density, reflecting big differences in local carrying capacity associated with the landscape features important to individual species. Temporal heterogeneity accounted for 3–13% of the variance in vole, skylark and spider, but 43% in beetles. The associated temporal variation in carrying capacity would be problematic in traditional analyses of density dependence. Return rates were less than one in all species and essentially invariant in skylarks, spiders and beetles. Return rates varied over the landscape in voles, being slower where there were larger fluctuations in local population sizes. Conclusion: Our analyses estimated the traditional parameters of carrying capacities and return rates, but these are now seen as varying continuously over the landscape depending on habitat quality and the mechanisms of density dependence. The importance of our results lies in our demonstration that the effects of spatial and temporal heterogeneity must be accounted for if we are to have accurate predictive models for use in management and conservation. This is an area which until now has lacked an adequate theoretical framework and methodology.

Insights into the dynamics and sources of atmospheric lead and particulate matter in Sao Paulo, Brazil, from high temporal resolution sampling

We present the first results of a study investigating the processes that control concentrations and sources of Pb and particulate matter in the atmosphere of Sao Paulo City Brazil Aerosols were collected with high temporal resolution (3 hours) during a four-day period in July 2005 The highest Pb concentrations measured coincided with large fireworks during celebration events and associated to high traffic occurrence Our high-resolution data highlights the impact that a singular transient event can have on air quality even in a megacity Under meteorological conditions non-conducive to pollutant dispersion Pb and particulate matter concentrations accumulated during the night leading to the highest concentrations in aerosols collected early in the morning of the following day The stable isotopes of Pb suggest that emissions from traffic remain an Important source of Pb in Sao Paulo City due to the large traffic fleet despite low Pb concentrations in fuels (C) 2010 Elsevier BV All rights reserved

Disentangling social networks from spatiotemporal dynamics: the temporal structure of a dolphin society

Social networks are static illustrations of dynamic societies, within which social interactions are constantly changing. Fundamental sources of variation include ranging behaviour and temporal demographic changes. Spatiotemporal dynamics can favour or limit opportunities for individuals to interact, and then a network may not essentially represent social processes. We examined whether a social network can embed such nonsocial effects in its topology, whereby emerging modules depict spatially or temporally segregated individuals. To this end, we applied a combination of spatial, temporal and demographic analyses to a long-term study of the association patterns of Guiana dolphins, Sotalia guianensis. We found that association patterns are organized into a modular social network. Space use was unlikely to reflect these modules, since dolphins' ranging behaviour clearly overlapped. However, a temporal demographic turnover, caused by the exit/entrance of individuals (most likely emigration/immigration), defined three modules of associations occurring at different times. Although this factor could mask real social processes, we identified the temporal scale that allowed us to account for these demographic effects. By looking within this turnover period (32 months), we assessed fission-fusion dynamics of the poorly known social organization of Guiana dolphins. We highlight that spatiotemporal dynamics can strongly influence the structure of social networks. Our findings show that hypothetical social units can emerge due to the temporal opportunities for individuals to interact. Therefore, a thorough search for a satisfactory spatiotemporal scale that removes such nonsocial noise is critical when analysing a social system. (C) 2012 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of the population structure and temporal changes in spatial dynamics and genetic characteristics of the Atlantic bluefin tuna under a fishery independent framework.

As a large and long-lived species with high economic value, restricted spawning areas and short spawning periods, the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT; Thunnus thynnus) is particularly susceptible to over-exploitation. Although BFT have been targeted by fisheries in the Mediterranean Sea for thousands of years, it has only been in these last decades that the exploitation rate has reached far beyond sustainable levels. An understanding of the population structure, spatial dynamics, exploitation rates and the environmental variables that affect BFT is crucial for the conservation of the species. The aims of this PhD project were 1) to assess the accuracy of larval identification methods, 2) determine the genetic structure of modern BFT populations, 3) assess the self-recruitment rate in the Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean spawning areas, 4) estimate the immigration rate of BFT to feeding aggregations from the various spawning areas, and 5) develop tools capable of investigating the temporal stability of population structuring in the Mediterranean Sea. Several weaknesses in modern morphology-based taxonomy including demographic decline of expert taxonomists, flawed identification keys, reluctance of the taxonomic community to embrace advances in digital communications and a general scarcity of modern user-friendly materials are reviewed. Barcoding of scombrid larvae revealed important differences in the accuracy of the taxonomic identifications carried out by different ichthyoplanktologists following morphology-based methods. Using a Genotyping-by-Sequencing a panel of 95 SNPs was developed and used to characterize the population structuring of BFT and composition of adult feeding aggregations. Using novel molecular techniques, DNA was extracted from bluefin tuna vertebrae excavated from late iron age, ancient roman settlements Byzantine-era Constantinople and a 20th century collection. A second panel of 96 SNPs was developed to genotype historical and modern samples in order to elucidate changes in population structuring and allele frequencies of loci associated with selective traits.

Spatial and Temporal Melt Variability at Helheim Glacier, East Greenland, and Its Effect on Ice Dynamics

Understanding the behavior of large outlet glaciers draining the Greenland Ice Sheet is critical for assessing the impact of climate change on sea level rise. The flow of marine-terminating outlet glaciers is partly governed by calving-related processes taking place at the terminus but is also influenced by the drainage of surface runoff to the bed through moulins, cracks, and other pathways. To investigate the extent of the latter effect, we develop a distributed surface-energy-balance model for Helheim Glacier, East Greenland, to calculate surface melt and thereby estimate runoff. The model is driven by data from an automatic weather station operated on the glacier during the summers of 2007 and 2008, and calibrated with independent measurements of ablation. Modeled melt varies over the deployment period by as much as 68% relative to the mean, with melt rates approximately 77% higher on the lower reaches of the glacier trunk than on the upper glacier. We compare melt variations during the summer season to estimates of surface velocity derived from global positioning system surveys. Near the front of the glacier, there is a significant correlation (on >95% levels) between variations in runoff (estimated from surface melt) and variations in velocity, with a 1 day delay in velocity relative to melt. Although the velocity changes are small compared to accelerations previously observed following some calving events, our findings suggest that the flow speed of Helheim Glacier is sensitive to changes in runoff. The response is most significant in the heavily crevassed, fast-moving region near the calving front. The delay in the peak of the cross-correlation function implies a transit time of 12-36 h for surface runoff to reach the bed.

Revealing regional deforestation dynamics in north-eastern Madagascar - Insights from multi-temporal land cover change analysis

The north-eastern escarpment of Madagascar harbours the island’s last remaining large-scale humid forest massifs surrounded by a small-scale agricultural mosaic. There is high deforestation, commonly thought to be caused by shifting cultivation practiced by local land users to produce upland rice. However, little is known about the dynamics between forest and shifting cultivation systems at a regional level. Our study presents a first attempt to quantify changes in the extent of forest and different agricultural land cover classes, and to identify the main dynamics of land cover change for two intervals, 1995–2005 and 2005–2011. Over the 16-year study period, the speed of forest loss increased, the total area of upland rice production remained almost stable, and the area of irrigated rice fields slightly increased. While our findings seem to confirm a general trend of land use intensification, deforestation through shifting cultivation is still on the rise. Deforestation mostly affects the small forest fragments interspersed in the agricultural mosaic and is slowly leading to a homogenization of the landscape. These findings have important implications for future interventions to slow forest loss in the region, as the processes of agricultural expansion through shifting cultivation versus intensified land use cannot per se be considered mutually exclusive.

Complex temporal patterns in molecular dynamics:a direct measure of the phase-space exploration by the trajectory at macroscopic time scales

Computer simulated trajectories of bulk water molecules form complex spatiotemporal structures at the picosecond time scale. This intrinsic complexity, which underlies the formation of molecular structures at longer time scales, has been quantified using a measure of statistical complexity. The method estimates the information contained in the molecular trajectory by detecting and quantifying temporal patterns present in the simulated data (velocity time series). Two types of temporal patterns are found. The first, defined by the short-time correlations corresponding to the velocity autocorrelation decay times (â‰0.1â€ps), remains asymptotically stable for time intervals longer than several tens of nanoseconds. The second is caused by previously unknown longer-time correlations (found at longer than the nanoseconds time scales) leading to a value of statistical complexity that slowly increases with time. A direct measure based on the notion of statistical complexity that describes how the trajectory explores the phase space and independent from the particular molecular signal used as the observed time series is introduced. © 2008 The American Physical Society.

Neuronal network dynamics during epileptogenesis in the medial temporal lobe

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, a large fraction of which is resistant to pharmacotherapy. In this light, understanding the mechanisms of epilepsy and its intractable forms in particular could create new targets for pharmacotherapeutic intervention. The current project explores the dynamic changes in neuronal network function in the chronic temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in rat and human brain in vitro. I focused on the process of establishment of epilepsy (epileptogenesis) in the temporal lobe. Rhythmic behaviour of the hippocampal neuronal networks in healthy animals was explored using spontaneous oscillations in the gamma frequency band (SγO). The use of an improved brain slice preparation technique resulted in the natural occurence (in the absence of pharmacological stimulation) of rhythmic activity, which was then pharmacologically characterised and compared to other models of gamma oscillations (KA- and CCh-induced oscillations) using local field potential recording technique. The results showed that SγO differed from pharmacologically driven models, suggesting higher physiological relevance of SγO. Network activity was also explored in the medial entorhinal cortex (mEC), where spontaneous slow wave oscillations (SWO) were detected. To investigate the course of chronic TLE establishment, a refined Li-pilocarpine-based model of epilepsy (RISE) was developed. The model significantly reduced animal mortality and demonstrated reduced intensity, yet high morbidy with almost 70% mean success rate of developing spontaneous recurrent seizures. We used SγO to characterize changes in the hippocampal neuronal networks throughout the epileptogenesis. The results showed that the network remained largely intact, demonstrating the subtle nature of the RISE model. Despite this, a reduction in network activity was detected during the so-called latent (no seizure) period, which was hypothesized to occur due to network fragmentation and an abnormal function of kainate receptors (KAr). We therefore explored the function of KAr by challenging SγO with kainic acid (KA). The results demonstrated a remarkable decrease in KAr response during the latent period, suggesting KAr dysfunction or altered expression, which will be further investigated using a variety of electrophysiological and immunocytochemical methods. The entorhinal cortex, together with the hippocampus, is known to play an important role in the TLE. Considering this, we investigated neuronal network function of the mEC during epileptogenesis using SWO. The results demonstrated a striking difference in AMPAr function, with possible receptor upregulation or abnormal composition in the early development of epilepsy. Alterations in receptor function inevitably lead to changes in the network function, which may play an important role in the development of epilepsy. Preliminary investigations were made using slices of human brain tissue taken following surgery for intratctable epilepsy. Initial results showed that oscillogenesis could be induced in human brain slices and that such network activity was pharmacologically similar to that observed in rodent brain. Overall, our findings suggest that excitatory glutamatergic transmission is heavily involved in the process of epileptogenesis. Together with other types of receptors, KAr and AMPAr contribute to epilepsy establishment and may be the key to uncovering its mechanism.

Divisible quantum dynamics satisfies temporal Tsirelson's bound

We show that divisibility of qubit quantum processes implies temporal Tsirelson's bound. We also prove that the classical bound of the temporal Bell's inequality holds for dynamics that can be described by entanglement-breaking channels---a more general class of dynamics than that allowed by classical physics.