Effects of input management and crop diversity on non-renewable energy use efficiency of cropping systems in the Canadian Prairie     

R.P. Zentner  P. Basnyat  S.A. Brandt  A.G. Thomas  D. Ulrich  C.A. Campbell  C.N. Nagy  B. Frick  R. Lemke  S.S. Malhi  M.R. Fernandez 《European Journal of Agronomy》2011,34(2):113-123

Although producers’ prime objective may be to increase net returns, many are also interested in conserving and enhancing the quality the soil, water and air resources through adopting more environmentally friendly production practices. This study compared non-renewable energy inputs, energy output, and energy use efficiency of nine dryland cropping systems comprised of a factorial combination of three methods of input management [high (HIGH), i.e., conventional tillage plus full recommended rates of fertilizer and pesticides; reduced (RED), i.e., conservation tillage plus reduced rates of fertilizer and pesticides; and organic (ORG), i.e., conventional tillage plus N-fixing legumes and non-chemical means of weed and pest control]; and three crop rotation systems with varying levels of cropping diversity [a fallow-based rotation with low crop diversity (LOW); a diversified rotation using annual cereal, oilseed and pulse grains (DAG); and a diversified rotation using annual grains and perennial forages (DAP)]. The study was conducted over the 1996–2007 period on a Dark Brown Chernozemic soil (Typic Boroll) in the Canadian Prairies. As expected, total direct plus indirect energy input was the highest for the HIGH and RED input treatments (3773 MJ ha^?1 year^?1), and 50% less for ORG management. Most of the energy savings came from the non-use of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides in the ORG management treatments. Further, total energy use was the highest for the DAG treatments (3572 MJ ha^?1 year^?1), and similar but about 18% lower for the DAP and LOW crop diversity treatments compared to DAG. Thus, overall, the HIGH/DAG and RED/DAG systems had the highest energy requirements (4409 MJ ha^?1 year^?1) and ORG/DAP had the lowest (1806 MJ ha^?1 year^?1). Energy output (calorimetric energy content) was typically the highest for the HIGH input treatments (26,541 MJ ha^?1 year^?1), was about 4% less with RED, and 37% less with ORG management. The latter reflected the lower crop yields obtained with organic management. Similarly, energy output was the highest for the DAP treatments (25,008 MJ ha^?1 year^?1), about 5% less for DAG, and 20% less for the LOW crop diversity treatments. The higher energy output with the DAP treatments largely reflected that the entire harvested biomass of the forage crops was included in energy output, while for grain crops only the seed was included. The straw and crop residues from annual crops were returned to the land to protect the soil from erosion and to maintain soil organic matter as this is the recommended practice in this semi-arid region. In contrast to energy output and to net energy produced, energy use efficiency (measured as yield of grain plus forage produced per unit of energy input or as energy output/energy input ratio) was the highest for the ORG input treatments (497 kg of harvested production GJ^?1 of energy input, and an energy output/energy input ratio of 8.8). We obtained lower, but generally similar energy use efficiency for the HIGH and RED input treatments (392 kg GJ^?1 and ratio of 7.1). Thus, overall, ORG/DAP was the most energy efficient cropping system, while RED/LOW and RED/DAG generally ranked the lowest in energy use efficiency. Our findings support the current movement of producers toward ORG management as a means of reducing the reliance on non-renewable energy inputs and improving overall energy use efficiency of their cropping systems. Our results also suggest that moving away from traditional monoculture cereal rotations that employ frequent summer fallowing, toward extended and diversified crop rotations that use reduced tillage methods, although resulting in an increase in energy output, will not significantly reduce the overall reliance on non-renewable energy inputs, nor enhance energy use efficiency, unless perennial legume forages and/or legume grain crops are included in the cropping mix.  相似文献   

Microspectrophotometry of photoreceptor organelles from eyes of the prawn Palaemonetes   总被引：3，自引：0，他引：3  

T H Goldsmith  A E Dizon  H R Fernandez 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》1968,161(840):468-470

Microspectrophotometric measurements of individual dark-adapted rhabdoms of the prawn Palaemonetes vulgaris reveal the presence of two light-sensitive pigments. A pigment with maximum absorbancy at 555 nanometers is converted by light to a long-lived intermediate with wavelength of maximum absorbancy at 496 nanometers. A second pigment with wavelength of maximum absorbancy at 496 nanometers bleaches in the light, seemingly without forming detectable products at wavelengths longer than 375 nanometers. Both pigments occur in each layer of microvilli.  相似文献   

The illusion of control: industrialized agriculture,nature, and food safety   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Diana Stuart 《Agriculture and Human Values》2008,25(2):177-181

I explore the role of nature in the agrifood system and how attempts to fit food production into a large-scale manufacturing model has lead to widespread outbreaks of food borne illness. I illustrate how industrial processing of leafy greens is related to the outbreak of E. coli 0157:H7 associated with spinach in the fall of 2006. I also use this example to show how industry attempts to create the illusion of control while failing to address weaknesses in current processing systems. The leafy greens industry has focused efforts on sterilizing the growing environment and adopting new technologies, while neglecting to change the concentrated structure of processing systems. Repeated breakdowns in these systems illustrate a widening fault line between attempted and failed control of nature in industrial food production.

Diana StuartEmail:

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The site of attachment in human rhinovirus 14 for antiviral agents that inhibit uncoating   总被引：37，自引：0，他引：37  

T J Smith  M J Kremer  M Luo  G Vriend  E Arnold  G Kamer  M G Rossmann  M A McKinlay  G D Diana  M J Otto 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》1986,233(4770):1286-1293

WIN 51711 and WIN 52084 are structurally related, antiviral compounds that inhibit the replication of rhino (common cold) viruses and related picornaviruses. They prevent the pH-mediated uncoating of the viral RNA. The compounds consist of a 3-methylisoxazole group that inserts itself into the hydrophobic interior of the VP1 beta-barrel, a connecting seven-membered aliphatic chain, and a 4-oxazolinylphenoxy group (OP) that covers the entrance to an ion channel in the floor of the "canyon." Viral disassembly may be inhibited by preventing the collapse of the VP1 hydrophobic pocket or by blocking the flow of ions into the virus interior.  相似文献   

Role of nonimmune IgG bound to PfEMP1 in placental malaria     

Flick K  Scholander C  Chen Q  Fernandez V  Pouvelle B  Gysin J  Wahlgren M 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2001,293(5537):2098-2100

Infections with Plasmodium falciparum during pregnancy lead to the accumulation of parasitized red blood cells (infected erythrocytes, IEs) in the placenta. IEs of P. falciparum isolates that infect the human placenta were found to bind immunoglobulin G (IgG). A strain of P. falciparum cloned for IgG binding adhered massively to placental syncytiotrophoblasts in a pattern similar to that of natural infections. Adherence was inhibited by IgG-binding proteins, but not by glycosaminoglycans or enzymatic digestion of chondroitin sulfate A or hyaluronic acid. Normal, nonimmune IgG that is bound to a duffy binding-like domain beta of the P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) might at the IE surface act as a bridge to neonatal Fc receptors of the placenta.  相似文献   

RNA structure. Pulling on hair(pins)     

Fernandez JM  Chu S  Oberhauser AF 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2001,292(5517):653-654

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Cuba's national food program and its prospects for food security     

Carmen Diana Deere 《Agriculture and Human Values》1993,10(3):35-51

Cuba's National Food Program aims to assure its population a minimum degree of food security during the current period of transition from dependency upon the ex-Socialist trading bloc. A number of important elements of the Food Program, however, were conceived before the demise of COMECON in an effort to deepen food import substitution. This paper reviews the degree of Cuba's food import dependence before the breakup of the Socialist bloc, the initial targets of the National Food Program, and how these have been modified due to the severe reduction in Cuba's normal level of imports of petroleum and other agricultural inputs. It is argued that Cuba's reliance upon scientific advances combined with a return to traditional, ecologically-benign agricultural practices and large-scale labor mobilizations have allowed it to overcome a drastic shortfall in production as a result of the reduced level of imports of modern agricultural inputs. At the same time, it has been exceedingly difficult for the country to maintain production levels at the trend of the late 1980s or to continue to aspire to meet the ambitious targets of the initial Food Program plan.Carmen Diana Deere is Professor of Economics and Director of Latin American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The author has been carrying out field research in Cuba since the mid 1980s, in recent years, in a collaborative study with colleagues at the University of Havana. She is grateful to Carollee Bengelsdorf, Ernel Gonzales, Cristobal Kay, Mieke Meurs, Lupo Nuñez, Niurka Pérez, Brian Pollitt, and José Luís Rodríguez for their comments on earlier drafts. This article is an updated and condensed version of Institute of Social Studies Working Paper Series #124 (The Hague, 1992).  相似文献   

Human chromosome 7: DNA sequence and biology     

Scherer SW  Cheung J  MacDonald JR  Osborne LR  Nakabayashi K  Herbrick JA  Carson AR  Parker-Katiraee L  Skaug J  Khaja R  Zhang J  Hudek AK  Li M  Haddad M  Duggan GE  Fernandez BA  Kanematsu E  Gentles S  Christopoulos CC  Choufani S  Kwasnicka D  Zheng XH  Lai Z  Nusskern D  Zhang Q  Gu Z  Lu F  Zeesman S  Nowaczyk MJ  Teshima I  Chitayat D  Shuman C  Weksberg R  Zackai EH  Grebe TA  Cox SR  Kirkpatrick SJ  Rahman N  Friedman JM  Heng HH  Pelicci PG  Lo-Coco F  Belloni E  Shaffer LG  Pober B  Morton CC  Gusella JF  Bruns GA  Korf BR 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2003,300(5620):767-772

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Ultrahigh-density nanowire lattices and circuits     

Melosh NA  Boukai A  Diana F  Gerardot B  Badolato A  Petroff PM  Heath JR 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2003,300(5616):112-115

We describe a general method for producing ultrahigh-density arrays of aligned metal and semiconductor nanowires and nanowire circuits. The technique is based on translating thin film growth thickness control into planar wire arrays. Nanowires were fabricated with diameters and pitches (center-to-center distances) as small as 8 nanometers and 16 nanometers, respectively. The nanowires have high aspect ratios (up to 10(6)), and the process can be carried out multiple times to produce simple circuits of crossed nanowires with a nanowire junction density in excess of 10(11) per square centimeter. The nanowires can also be used in nanomechanical devices; a high-frequency nanomechanical resonator is demonstrated.  相似文献   

Robust crossover assurance and regulated interhomolog access maintain meiotic crossover number     

Rosu S  Libuda DE  Villeneuve AM 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2011,334(6060):1286-1289

Most organisms rely on interhomolog crossovers (COs) to ensure proper meiotic chromosome segregation but make few COs per chromosome pair. By monitoring repair events at a defined double-strand break (DSB) site during Caenorhabditis elegans meiosis, we reveal mechanisms that ensure formation of the obligate CO while limiting CO number. We find that CO is the preferred DSB repair outcome in the absence of inhibitory effects of other (nascent) recombination events. Thus, a single DSB per chromosome pair is largely sufficient to ensure CO formation. Further, we show that access to the homolog as a repair template is regulated, shutting down simultaneously for both CO and noncrossover (NCO) pathways. We propose that regulation of interhomolog access limits CO number and contributes to CO interference.  相似文献