Electrons, Photons, and Force: Quantitative Single-Molecule Measurements from Physics to Biology

Single-molecule measurement techniques have illuminated unprecedented details of chemical behavior, including observations of the motion of a single molecule on a surface, and even the vibration of a single bond within a molecule. Such measurements are critical to our understanding of entities ranging from single atoms to the most complex protein assemblies. We provide an overview of the strikingly diverse classes of measurements that can be used to quantify single-molecule properties, including those of single macromolecules and single molecular assemblies, and discuss the quantitative insights they provide. Examples are drawn from across the single-molecule literature, ranging from ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy studies of adsorbate diffusion on surfaces to fluorescence studies of protein conformational changes in solution

Negotiations of Justice in the Anthropocene: Mining Conflicts, Unacknowledged Loss and Responsibility for Absent Others

Starting from the premise that modern legal institutions are increasingly challenged by the temporal and spatial implications of Anthropocene phenomena, this article shows how various civil-society actors struggle for a more just approach to coal-exit policies in the Rhineland’s brown coal-mining region. Contrary to general criticisms arguing that the Anthropocene narrative inherently disregards a differentiated perspective on issues of justice, I follow approaches that engage with the concept’s generative tensions and situate it ethnographically. The article goes on to suggest that growing awareness of the entanglements of industrial infrastructures with planetary crises has led to local protests against mining coinciding with an engagement for future planetary habitability. Whereas mining-induced losses were previously written off as a necessary sacrifice for growth and progress, I discuss how the affected inhabitants reframe them in this emerging context as injustices on a planetary scale. Motivated by a responsibility towards non-human others and coming generations, these coal-critical actors contest official transition measures that center on ‘green growth’ and instead call for situated policies that account for matters of concern related to accelerated planetary change. The article concludes by arguing that the pursuit of justice in the Anthropocene is fundamentally characterized by a responsibility towards absent others, spatially and temporally

Monitoring Forage Mass with Low-Cost UAV Data: Case Study at the Rengen Grassland Experiment

AbstractMonitoring and predicting above ground biomass yield of grasslands are of key importance for grassland management. Established manual methods such as clipping or rising plate meter measurements provide accurate estimates of forage yield, but are time consuming and labor intensive, and do not provide spatially continuous data as required for precision agriculture applications. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate the potential of sward height metrics derived from low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle-based image data to predict forage yield. The study was conducted over a period of 3 consecutive years (2014–2016) at the Rengen Grassland Experiment (RGE) in Germany. The RGE was established in 1941 and is since then under the same management regime of five treatments in a random block design and two harvest cuts per year. For UAV-based image acquisition, a DJI Phantom 2 with a mounted Canon Powershot S110 was used as a low-cost aerial imaging system. The data were investigated at different levels (e.g., harvest date-specific, year-specific, and plant community-specific). A pooled data model resulted in an R2 of 0.65 with a RMSE of 956.57 kg ha−1, although cut-specific or date-specific models yielded better results. In general, the UAV-based metrics outperformed the traditional rising plate meter measurements, but was affected by the timing of the harvest cut and plant community.</jats:p