JULES-crop: a parametrisation of crops in the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator

Studies of climate change impacts on the terrestrial biosphere have been completed without recognition of the integrated nature of the biosphere. Improved assessment of the impacts of climate change on food and water security requires the development and use of models not only representing each component but also their interactions. To meet this requirement the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) land surface model has been modified to include a generic parametrisation of annual crops. The new model, JULES-crop, is described and evaluation at global and site levels for the four globally important crops; wheat, soybean, maize and rice. JULES-crop demonstrates skill in simulating the inter-annual variations of yield for maize and soybean at the global and country levels, and for wheat for major spring wheat producing countries. The impact of the new parametrisation, compared to the standard configuration, on the simulation of surface heat fluxes is largely an alteration of the partitioning between latent and sensible heat fluxes during the later part of the growing season. Further evaluation at the site level shows the model captures the seasonality of leaf area index, gross primary production and canopy height better than in the standard JULES. However, this does not lead to an improvement in the simulation of sensible and latent heat fluxes. The performance of JULES-crop from both an Earth system and crop yield model perspective is encouraging. However, more effort is needed to develop the parametrisation of the model for specific applications. Key future model developments identified include the introduction of processes such as irrigation and nitrogen limitation which will enable better representation of the spatial variability in yield.

Improving productivity and water use efficiency: a case study of farms in England

The idea of Sustainable Intensification comes as a response to the challenge of avoiding resources such as land, water and energy being overexploited while increasing food production for an increasing demand from a growing global population. Sustainable Intensification means that farmers need to simultaneously increase yields and sustainably use limited natural resources, such as water. Within the agricultural sector water has a number of uses including irrigation, spraying, drinking for livestock and washing (vegetables, livestock buildings). In order to achieve Sustainable Intensification measures are needed that enable policy makers and managers to inform them about the relative performance of farms as well as of possible ways to improve such performance. We provide a benchmarking tool to assess water use (relative) efficiency at a farm level, suggest pathways to improve farm level productivity by identifying best practices for reducing excessive use of water for irrigation. Data Envelopment Analysis techniques including analysis of returns to scale were used to evaluate any excess in agricultural water use of 66 Horticulture Farms based on different River Basin Catchments across England. We found that farms in the sample can reduce on average water requirements by 35% to achieve the same output (Gross Margin) when compared to their peers on the frontier. In addition, 47% of the farms operate under increasing returns to scale, indicating that farms will need to develop economies of scale to achieve input cost savings. Regarding the adoption of specific water use efficiency management practices, we found that the use of a decision support tool, recycling water and the installation of trickle/drip/spray lines irrigation system has a positive impact on water use efficiency at a farm level whereas the use of other irrigation systems such as the overhead irrigation system was found to have a negative effect on water use efficiency.

Effect of high temperature and water stress on groundnuts under field conditions

Groundnuts cultivated in the semiarid tropics are often exposed to water stress (mid-season and end season) and high temperature (> 34 °C) during the critical stages of flowering and pod development. This study evaluated the effects of both water stress and high temperature under field conditions at ICRISAT, India. Treatments included two irrigations (full irrigation, 100 % of crop evapotranspiration; and water stress, 40 % of crop evapotranspiration), four temperature treatments from a combination of two sowing dates and heat tunnels with mean temperatures from sowing to maturity of 26.3° (T1), 27.3° (T2), 29.0° (T3) and 29.7 °C (T4) and two genotypes TMV2 and ICGS 11. The heat tunnels were capable of raising the day temperature by > 10 °C compared to ambient. During the 20-day high-temperature treatment at flowering, mean temperatures were 33.8° (T1), 41.6° (T2), 38.7° (T3) and 43.5°C (T4). The effects of water stress and high temperature were additive and temporary for both vegetative and pod yield, and disappeared as soon as high-temperature stress was removed. Water use efficiency was significantly affected by the main effects of temperature and cultivar and not by water stress treatments. Genotypic differences for tolerance to high temperature can be attributed to differences in flowering pattern, flower number, peg-set and harvest index. It can be inferred from this study that genotypes that are tolerant to water stress are also tolerant to high temperature under field conditions. In addition, genotypes with an ability to establish greater biomass and with a significantly greater partitioning of biomass to pod yield would be suitable for sustaining higher yields in semiarid tropics with high temperature and water stress.

Field phenotyping of potato to assess root and shoot characteristics associated with drought tolerance

Aims Potatoes are a globally important source of food whose production requires large inputs of fertiliser and water. Recent research has highlighted the importance of the root system in acquiring resources. Here measurements, previously generated by field phenotyping, tested the effect of root size on maintenance of yield under drought (drought tolerance). Methods Twelve potato genotypes, including genotypes with extremes of root size, were grown to maturity in the field under a rain shelter and either irrigated or subjected to drought. Soil moisture, canopy growth, carbon isotope discrimination and final yields were measured. Destructively harvested field phenotype data were used as explanatory variables in a general linear model (GLM) to investigate yield under conditions of drought or irrigation. Results Drought severely affected the small rooted genotype Pentland Dell but not the large rooted genotype Cara. More plantlets, longer and more numerous stolons and stolon roots were associated with drought tolerance. Previously measured carbon isotope discrimination did not correlate with the effect of drought. Conclusions These data suggest that in-field phenotyping can be used to identify useful characteristics when known genotypes are subjected to an environmental stress. Stolon root traits were associated with drought tolerance in potato and could be used to select genotypes with resilience to drought.

Relative importance of transpiration rate and leaf morphological traits for the regulation of leaf temperature

Urban greening solutions such as green roofs help improve residents’ thermal comfort and building insulation. However, not all plants provide the same level of cooling. This is partially due to differences in plant structure and function, including different mechanisms that plants employ to regulate leaf temperature. Ranking of multiple leaf/plant traits involved in the regulation of leaf temperature (and, consequently, plants’ cooling ‘service’) is not well understood. We therefore investigated the relative importance of water loss, leaf colour, thickness and extent of pubescence for the regulation of leaf temperature, in the context of species for semi-extensive green roofs. Leaf temperature were measured with an infrared imaging camera in a range of contrasting genotypes within three plant genera (Heuchera, Salvia and Sempervivum). In three glasshouse experiments (each evaluating three or four genotypes of each genera) we varied water availability to the plants and assessed how leaf temperature altered depending on water loss and specific leaf traits. Greatest reductions in leaf temperature were closely associated with higher water loss. Additionally, in non-succulents (Heuchera, Salvia), lighter leaf colour and longer hair length (on pubescent leaves) both contributed to reduced leaf temperature. However, in succulent Sempervivum, colour/pubescence made no significant contribution; leaf thickness and water loss rate were the key regulating factors. We propose that this can lead to different plant types having significantly different potentials for cooling. We suggest that maintaining transpirational water loss by sustainable irrigation and selecting urban plants with favourable morphological traits is the key to maximising thermal benefits provided by applications such as green roofs.

Space, authenticity and utopia in the hip-hop teen dance film

The dance film flourished in the 2000s in the form of the hip-hop teen dance film. Such films as Save the Last Dance (Thomas Carter, 2001), Honey (Billy Woodruff, 2002) and Step Up (Anne Fletcher, 2006) drew on hip-hop’s dominance of the mainstream music industry and combined the teen film’s pre-existing social problem and musical narratives. Yet various tension were created by their interweaving of representations of post-industrial city youth with the utopian sensibilities of the classical Hollywood musical. Their narratives celebrated hip-hop performance, and depicted dance’s ability to bridge cultural boundaries and bring together couples and communities. These films used hip-hop to define space and identity yet often constructed divisions within their soundscapes, limiting hip-hop’s expressive potential. This article explores the cycle’s celebration of, yet struggle with, hip-hop through examining select films’ interactions between soundscape, narrative and form. It will engage with these films’ attempts to marry the representational, narrative and aesthetic meanings of hip-hop culture with the form and ideologies of the musical genre, particularly the tensions and continuities that arise from their engagement with the genre’s utopian qualities identified by Richard Dyer (1985). Yet whilst these films illustrate the tensions and challenges of combining hip-hop culture and the musical genre, they also demonstrate an effective integration of hip-hop soundscape and the dancing body in their depiction of dance, highlighting both form’s aesthetics of layering, rupture and flow (Rose, 1994: 22).

Towards more precise sugar beet management based on geostatistical analysis of spatial variability within fields

Within-field variation in sugar beet yield and quality was investigated in three commercial sugar beet fields in the east of England to identify the main associated variables and to examine the possibility of predicting yield early in the season with a view to spatially variable management of sugar beet crops. Irregular grid sampling with some purposively-located nested samples was applied. It revealed the spatial variability in each sugar beet field efficiently. In geostatistical analyses, most variograms were isotropic with moderate to strong spatial dependency indicating a significant spatial variation in sugar beet yield and associated growth and environmental variables in all directions within each field. The Kriged maps showed spatial patterns of yield variability within each field and visual association with the maps of other variables. This was confirmed by redundancy analyses and Pearson correlation coefficients. The main variables associated with yield variability were soil type, organic matter, soil moisture, weed density and canopy temperature. Kriged maps of final yield variability were strongly related to that in crop canopy cover, LAI and intercepted solar radiation early in the growing season, and the yield maps of previous crops. Therefore, yield maps of previous crops together with early assessment of sugar beet growth may make an early prediction of within-field variability in sugar beet yield possible. The Broom’s Barn sugar beet model failed to account for the spatial variability in sugar yield, but the simulation was greatly improved when corrected for early canopy development cover and when the simulated yield was adjusted for weeds and plant population. Further research to optimize inputs to maximise sugar yield should target the irrigation and fertilizing of areas within fields with low canopy cover early in the season.

Microbial culture and checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization assessment of bacteria in root canals of primary teeth pre- and post-endodontic therapy with a calcium hydroxide/chlorhexidine paste

Aim. To investigate the root canal microbiota of primary teeth with apical periodontitis and the in vivo antimicrobial effects of a calcium hydroxide/chlorhexidine paste used as root canal dressing. Design. Baseline samples were collected from 30 root canals of primary teeth with apical periodontitis. Then, the root canals were filled with a calcium hydroxide paste containing 1% chlorhexidine for 14 days and the second bacteriologic samples were taken prior to root canal filling. Samples were submitted to microbiologic culture procedure to detect root canal bacteria and processed for checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization. Results. Baseline microbial culture revealed high prevalence and cfu number of anaerobic, black-pigmented bacteroides, Streptococcus, and aerobic microorganisms. Following root canal dressing, the overall number of cfu was dramatically diminished compared to initial contamination (P < 0.05), although prevalence did not change (P > 0.05). Of 35 probes used for checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization, 31 (88.57%) were present at baseline, and following root canal dressing, the number of positive probes reduced to 13 (37.14%). Similarly, the number of bacterial cells diminished folowing application of calcium hydroxide/chlorhexidine root canal dressing (P = 0.006). Conclusion. Apical periodontitis is caused by a polymicrobial infection, and a calcium hydroxide/chlorhexidine paste is effective in reducing the number of bacteria inside root canals when applied as a root canal dressing.

Tissue damage after sodium hypochlorite extrusion during root canal treatment

Sodium hypochlorite solution is toxic to vital tissues, causing severe effects if extruded during endodontic treatment. This paper presents a report on the tissue damage related to inadvertent extrusion of concentrated sodium hypochlorite solution during root canal treatment. A 65-year-old woman was referred with moderate pain, ecchymosis, and severe swelling of the right side of the face. These symptoms appeared immediately after a root canal treatment of the maxillary right canine, which had been started 21 hours earlier. It was diagnosed as air emphysema related to sodium hypochlorite solution extravasation during the endodontic treatment. To avoid this, an initial radiograph should be taken to determine the correct canal working length and confirm root canal integrity. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2009; 108: e46-e49)

Endodontic Chelators Induce Nitric Oxide Expression by Murine-cultured Macrophages

Introduction: Endodontic chelators may extrude to apical tissues during instrumentation activating cellular events on periapical tissues. This study assessed in vitro the expression of nitric oxide (NO) concentrations by murine peritoneal macrophages after contact with MTAD (Dentsply/Tulsa, Tulsa, OK), Tetraclean (Ogna Laboratori Farmaceutici, Muggio, Italy), Smear Clear (Sybron Endo, Orange, CA), and EDTA (Biodinamica, Ibipora, PR, Brazil). Methods: Macrophage cells were obtained from Swiss mice after peritoneal lavage. Chelators were diluted in distilled water obtaining 12 concentrations, and MTT assay identified the concentrations, per group, displaying the highest cell viability (analysis of variance, p < 0.01). Selected concentrations were tested for NO expression using Griess reaction. Culture medium and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were used as controls. Results: Analysis of variance and Tukey tests showed that all chelators displayed elevated NO concentrations compared with the negative control (p < 0.01). MTAD induced the lowest NO expression, followed by Tetraclean, EDTA, and Smear Clear. No difference was observed between MTAD and Tetraclean (p > 0.01), Tetraclean and EDTA (p > 0.01), and EDTA and Smear Clear (p > 0.01). LPS ranked similar to both EDTA and Smear Clear (p > 0.01). Conclusion: The tested endodontic chelators displayed severe proinflammatory effects on murine-cultured macrophages. Citric acid-based solutions induce lower No release than EDTA-based irrigants. (J Endod 2009;35:824-828)

On site flotation for recovering polluted aquatic systems: is it a feasible solution for a Brazilian urban river?

Pinheiros River (Brazil) plays a pivotal role in supplying water to Billings Reservoir, which presents multiple uses (human drinking, energy generation, irrigation, navigation, fishing and leisure) An intense monitoring program was performed during the years 2007 and 2008 to find out whether on site flotation is a feasible solution or not for improving the water quality of this urban river, attenuating the pollutants load caused by the water pumping to the reservoir (approximately 10 m(3)s(-1)) The monitoring of 18 variables (13,429 laboratorial analysis during the period of 490 days), suggested that despite the convenience of the on site approach for water treatment, especially for rivers located in fully urbanized areas, the flotation system is not enough itself to recover Pinheiros River water quality, given the several constraints that apply Total phosphorus removal was high in percentage terms (about 90%), although the remaining concentrations were not so low (mean of 0 05 mg L(-1)) The removal efficiency of some variables was insufficient, leading to high final mean concentrations of metals [e g aluminium (0 29 mg L(-1)), chromium (0 02 mg L(-1)) and iron (1 1 mg L(-1))] as well as nitrogen-ammonia (25 8 mg L(-1)) and total suspended solids (18 mg L(-1)) in the treated water

Holoprosencephaly and Holoprosencephaly-Like Phenotypes: Review of Facial and Molecular Findings in Patients From a Craniofacial Hospital in Brazil

Here we report on the clinical and genetic data for a large sample of Brazilian patients studied at the Hospital de Reabilitacao de Anomalas Craniofaciais-Universidade de Sao Paulo (HRAC-USP) who presented with either the classic holoprosencephaly or the holoprosencephaly-like (HPE-L) phenotype. The sample included patients without detected mutations in some HPE determinant genes such as SHH, GLI2, SIX3, TGIF, and PTCH, as well as the photographic documentation of the previously reported patients in our Center. The HPE-L phenotype has been also called of HPE ``minor forms"" or ""microforms,"" The variable phenotype, the challenge of genetic counseling, and the similarities to patients with isolated cleft lip/palate are discussed. (c) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Seismic activity triggered by water wells in the Parana Basin, Brazil

Triggered seismicity is commonly associated with deep water reservoirs or injection wells where water is injected at high pressure into the reservoir rock. However, earth tremors related solely to the opening of groundwater wells are extremely rare. Here we present a clear case of seismicity induced by pore-pressure changes following the drilling of water wells that exploit a confined aquifer in the intracratonic Parana Basin of southeastern Brazil. Since 2004, shallow seismic activity, with magnitudes up to 2.9 and intensities V MM, has been observed near deep wells (120-200 m) that were drilled in early 2003 near the town of Bebedouro. The wells were drilled for irrigation purposes, cross a sandstone layer about 60-80 m thick and extract water from a confined aquifer in fractured zones between basalt flow layers. Seismic activity, mainly event swarms, has occurred yearly since 2004, mostly during the rainy season when the wells are not pumped. During the dry season when the wells are pumped almost continuously, the activity is very low. A seismographic network, installed in March 2005, has located more than 2000 microearthquakes. The events are less than 1 km deep (mostly within the 0.5 km thick basalt layer) and cover an area roughly 1.5 km x 5 km across. The seismicity generally starts in a small area and expands to larger distances with an equivalent hydraulic diffusivity ranging from 0.06 to 0.6 m(2)/s. Geophysical and geothermal logging of several wells in the area showed that water from the shallow sandstone aquifer enters the well at the top and usually forms waterfalls. The waterfalls flow down the sides of the wells and feed the confined, fractured aquifer in the basalt layer at the bottom. Two seismic areas are observed: the main area surrounds several wells that are pumped continuously during the dry season, and a second area near another well (about 10 km from the first area) that is not used for irrigation and not pumped regularly. The main area displays cyclic annual activity, but the second area does not. We explain the earthquake swarms as being triggered by pore pressure diffusion in the fractured basalt layer due to additional pressure from the newly connected surface aquifer. This reaches critically prestressed areas up to a few kilometers away from the wells. During periods of continuous pumping, the reduction of pore pressure in the confined aquifer stops the seismic activity. Our study suggests that this kind of activity may be more common than previously thought and implies that many other cases of small tremors associated with the drilling of water wells may have gone unnoticed.

Induced seismicity in the Castarthao reservoir, NE Brazil - Preliminary results

The Castanhao reservoir was built in the state of Ceara, a dry region in Northeastern Brazil, to regulate the flow of the Jaguaribe River, for irrigation, and for power generation. It is an earth-filled dam, 60 m high, with a water capacity of 4.5 x 10(9) m(3). The seismicity in the area has been monitored since 1998, with a few interruptions, using one analog or one digital station and, during a few periods, a three-station network. The first earthquakes likely to be induced events were detected in 2003, when the water level was about 20 in high. In early 2004 a very heavy rainfall season quickly filled the reservoir. Shortly after, an increase in the seismic activity occurred and many micro-earthquakes were recorded. We suggest that this activity resulted from an increase in pore pressure due to undrained response. Therefore, we may classify this cluster of microearthquakes as ""initial seismicity."" We deployed a network with four analog stations in the area, following this activity, to determine the epicentral zone. At least three epicentral areas under the reservoir were detected. The spatio-temporal analysis of the available data revealed that the seismicity occurs in clusters and that these were activated at different periods. We identified four sets of faults (N-S-, E-W-, NW-SE-, and NE-SW-oriented), some of which moved in shallow crustal levels and as recently as the Quaternary (1.8 Ma). Under the present-day stress regime, the last two sets moved as strike-slip structures. We suggest a possible correlation between dormant faults and the observed induced seismicity. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Upregulation of E2F1 in cerebellar neuroprogenitor cells and cell cycle arrest during postnatal brain development

In the developing cerebellum, proliferation of granular neuroprogenitor (GNP) cells lasts until the early postnatal stages when terminal maturation of the cerebellar cortex occurs. GNPs are considered cell targets for neoplastic transformation, and disturbances in cerebellar GNP cell proliferation may contribute to the development of pediatric medulloblastoma. At the molecular level, proliferation of GNPs is regulated through an orchestrated action of the SHH, NOTCH, and WNT pathways, but the underlying mechanisms still need to be dissected. Here, we report that expression of the E2F1 transcription factor in rat GNPs is inversely correlated with cell proliferation rate during postnatal development, as opposed to its traditional SHH-dependent induction of cell cycle. Proliferation of GNPs peaked at postnatal day 3 (P3), with a subsequent continuing decrease in proliferation rates occurring until P12. Such gradual decline in proliferating neuroprogenitors paralleled the extent of cerebellum maturation confirmed by histological analysis with cresyl violet staining and temporal expression profiling of SHH, NOTCH2, and WNT4 genes. A time course analysis of E2F1 expression in GNPs revealed significantly increased levels at P12, correlating with decreased cell proliferation. Expression of the cell cycle inhibitor p18 (Ink4c) , a target of E2F1, was also significantly higher at P12. Conversely, increased E2F1 expression did not correlate with either SMAC/DIABLO and BCL2 expression profiles or apoptosis of cerebellar cells. Altogether, these results suggest that E2F1 may also be involved in the inhibition of GNP proliferation during rat postnatal development despite its conventional mitogenic effects.