POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF NEW CARIBBEAN-AREA WINTER FRESH TOMATO AND CUCUMBER SUPPLIES ON THE U.S. INDUSTRY

Crop Production/Industries,

GENERAL CROPLAND RETIREMENT: EFFECTS ON THE SOUTH OF RETIRING LOW-NET-RETURN ACREAGE VS. RETIRING HIGH-COST PRODUCTION

Land Economics/Use,

Direct laser written polymer waveguides with out of plane couplers for optical chips

Optical technologies call for waveguide networks featuring high integration densities, low losses, and simple operation. Here, we present polymer waveguides fabricated from a negative tone photoresist via two-photon-lithography in direct laser writing, and show a detailed parameter study of their performance. Specifically, we produce waveguides featuring bend radii down to 40 {\mu}m, insertion losses of the order of 10 dB, and loss coefficients smaller than 0.81 dB/mm, facilitating high integration densities in writing fields of 300 {\mu}m x 300 {\mu}m. A novel three-dimensional coupler design allows for coupling control as well as direct observation of outputs in a single field of view through a microscope objective. Finally, we present beam-splitting devices to construct larger optical networks, and we show that the waveguide material is compatible with the integration of quantum emitters

Subsurface lateral flow from hillslope and its contribution to nitrate loading in streams through an agricultural catchment during subtropical rainstorm events

Subsurface lateral flow from agricultural hillslopes is often overlooked compared with overland flow and tile drain flow, partly due to the difficulties in monitoring and quantifying. The objectives of this study were to examine how subsurface lateral flow generated through soil pedons from cropped hillslopes and to quantify its contribution to nitrate loading in the streams through an agricultural catchment in the subtropical region of China. Profiles of soil water potential along hillslopes and stream hydro-chemographs in a trenched stream below a cropped hillslope and at the catchment outlet were simultaneously recorded during two rainstorm events. The dynamics of soil water potential showed positive matrix soil water potential over impermeable soil layer at 0.6 to 1.50 m depths during and after the storms, indicating soil water saturation and drainage processes along the hillslopes irrespective of land uses. The hydro-chemographs in the streams, one trenched below a cropped hillslope and one at the catchment outlet, showed that the concentrations of particulate nitrogen and phosphorus corresponded well to stream flow during the storm, while the nitrate concentration increased on the recession limbs of the hydrographs after the end of the storm. All the synchronous data revealed that nitrate was delivered from the cropped hillslope through subsurface lateral flow to the streams during and after the end of the rainstorms. A chemical mixing model based on electricity conductivity (EC) and H<sup>+</sup> concentration was successfully established, particularly for the trenched stream. The results showed that the subsurface lateral flow accounted for 29% to 45% of total stream flow in the trenched stream, responsible for 86% of total NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>-N loss (or 26% of total N loss), and for 5.7% to 7.3% of total stream flow at the catchment outlet, responsible for about 69% of total NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>-N loss (or 28% of total N loss). The results suggest that subsurface lateral flow through hydraulically stratified soil pedons have to be paid more attention for controlling non-point source surface water pollution from intensive agricultural catchment particularly in the subtropical areas with great soil infiltration

Analysis of Frankia populations in three soils devoid of actinorhizal plants

Frankia populations were analyzed in three soils devoid of actinorhizal plants but containing monocultures of birch (Betula pendula Roth), pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) or spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karsten). Bioassays using seedlings of Alnus incana as capture plants resulted in nodulation capacities of 3160±7, 2267±13, and 2747±6 nodulation units g−1 of these soils, respectively. Comparative sequence analysis of an actinomycetes-specific insertion in domain III of the 23S rRNA allowed a grouping of isolates obtained from nodules of the capture plants into three distinct groups of the Alnus host infection group. This separation was confirmed by the analysis of genomic fingerprints of the isolates generated by rep-PCR fingerprinting with the BOX primer. Genomic fingerprints also demonstrated that all isolates differed from each other. The isolates accounted for a significant proportion of the Frankia population in root nodules of the capture plants as shown by in situ hybridization with specific probes. However, only those Frankia strains isolated from soil of the birch stand via Alnus seemed to represent the total Frankia population in root nodules. Nodules induced after inoculation with soil from the pine or spruce stand also contained Frankia populations which were not isolated during this study and which could not be identified by in situ hybridization. Depending upon whether the soil originated from a birch, pine or spruce stand, different Frankia populations were found in the nodules of the capture plants. Because a nested PCR on nucleic acids extracted from these different soils did not indicate differences in the diversity of the total Frankia populations, it was concluded that Frankia populations in nodules of the capture plants represent the fraction of physiologically active, infecting frankiae in the soils rather than the total Frankia populatio

Sunlight-mediated inactivation of health-relevant microorganisms in water: a review of mechanisms and modeling approaches.

Health-relevant microorganisms present in natural surface waters and engineered treatment systems that are exposed to sunlight can be inactivated by a complex set of interacting mechanisms. The net impact of sunlight depends on the solar spectral irradiance, the susceptibility of the specific microorganism to each mechanism, and the water quality; inactivation rates can vary by orders of magnitude depending on the organism and environmental conditions. Natural organic matter (NOM) has a large influence, as it can attenuate radiation and thus decrease inactivation by endogenous mechanisms. Simultaneously NOM sensitizes the formation of reactive intermediates that can damage microorganisms via exogenous mechanisms. To accurately predict inactivation and design engineered systems that enhance solar inactivation, it is necessary to model these processes, although some details are not yet sufficiently well understood. In this critical review, we summarize the photo-physics, -chemistry, and -biology that underpin sunlight-mediated inactivation, as well as the targets of damage and cellular responses to sunlight exposure. Viruses that are not susceptible to exogenous inactivation are only inactivated if UVB wavelengths (280-320 nm) are present, such as in very clear, open waters or in containers that are transparent to UVB. Bacteria are susceptible to slightly longer wavelengths. Some viruses and bacteria (especially Gram-positive) are susceptible to exogenous inactivation, which can be initiated by visible as well as UV wavelengths. We review approaches to model sunlight-mediated inactivation and illustrate how the environmental conditions can dramatically shift the inactivation rate of organisms. The implications of this mechanistic understanding of solar inactivation are discussed for a range of applications, including recreational water quality, natural treatment systems, solar disinfection of drinking water (SODIS), and enhanced inactivation via the use of sensitizers and photocatalysts. Finally, priorities for future research are identified that will further our understanding of the key role that sunlight disinfection plays in natural systems and the potential to enhance this process in engineered systems

Modeling the effects of climate and land use change on carbon and trace gas budgets over the Amazon Region using NASA satellite products.

Abstract ID: 14. Publicado também on-line

Graphic Design & Painting

Starting with the desire to explore the connection between GD and painting, I realized the only difference between the two is the context in which the work is created. Both graphic design and painting seek to impart messages upon the viewer and explore a certain perspective. Success can be measured in both disciplines by the effectiveness of the communicated message

Terrestrial Carbon Sinks in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado Region Predicted from MODIS Satellite Data and Ecosystem Modeling

A simulation model based on satellite observations of monthly vegetation cover from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) was used to estimate monthly carbon fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems of Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado regions over the period 2000-2004. Net ecosystem production (NEP) flux for atmospheric CO2 in the region for these years was estimated. Consistently high carbon sink fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems on a yearly basis were found in the western portions of the states of Acre and Rondonia and the northern portions of the state of Par a. These areas were not significantly impacted by the 2002-2003 El Nino event in terms of net annual carbon gains. Areas of the region that show periodically high carbon source fluxes from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere on yearly basis were found throughout the state of Maranhao and the southern portions of the state of Amazonas. As demonstrated though tower site comparisons, NEP modeled with monthly MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) inputs closely resembles the measured seasonal carbon fluxes at the LBA Tapajos tower site. Modeling results suggest that the capacity for use of MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data to predict seasonal uptake rates of CO2 in Amazon forests and Cerrado woodlands is strong