Feasibility of rice straw as a raw material for the production of soda cellulose pulp

The main objective of this work is to evaluate the suitability of rice straw and soda–anthraquinone (soda–AQ) pulping process to produce pulp and paper. To reach this aim, it was used a central composite factorial design to study the influence of operational variables (temperature (155–185 °C), cooking time (30–90 min), soda concentration (10–20%), anthraquinone concentration (0–1%) and liquid/solid ratio (6–8)), in soda–anthraquinone cooking of rice straw on pulps and paper sheets properties obtained.Based on the yield values obtained, nearly one half of the raw material can be efficiently converted into cellulose pulp and paper sheets. Also, the Kappa number/viscosity ratio of the pulp facilitates its efficient bleaching. Finally, based on the values for above-described physical properties, the pulp can be used to obtain paper or board and recycled paper (as % virgin fibre).In Spain are produced annually 757,000 t of rice straw. If we considered an average yield process of 45%, it would be possible to obtain 340,000 tons of pulp. These tons would be absorbed by the market taking into account the necessities in cellulosic pulp consumption.     

Tropical cyclone losses in the USA and the impact of climate change — A trend analysis based on data from a new approach to adjusting storm losses

Economic losses caused by tropical cyclones have increased dramatically. Historical changes in losses are a result of meteorological factors (changes in the incidence of severe cyclones, whether due to natural climate variability or as a result of human activity) and socio-economic factors (increased prosperity and a greater tendency for people to settle in exposed areas). This paper aims to isolate the socio-economic effects and ascertain the potential impact of climate change on this trend. Storm losses for the period 1950–2005 have been adjusted to the value of capital stock in 2005 so that any remaining trend cannot be ascribed to socio-economic developments. For this, we introduce a new approach to adjusting losses based on the change in capital stock at risk. Storm losses are mainly determined by the intensity of the storm and the material assets, such as property and infrastructure, located in the region affected. We therefore adjust the losses to exclude increases in the capital stock of the affected region. No trend is found for the period 1950–2005 as a whole. In the period 1971–2005, since the beginning of a trend towards increased intense cyclone activity, losses excluding socio-economic effects show an annual increase of 4% per annum. This increase must therefore be at least due to the impact of natural climate variability but, more likely than not, also due to anthropogenic forcings.     

High diversity of deep-sea Gromia from the Arabian Sea revealed by small subunit rDNA sequence analysis

Gromia is a large marine protist with filose pseudopodia and ovoid test, common in coastal intertidal and sublittoral waters. Although deep-water Gromia-like morphospecies were discovered in the 1990s, their relations to the shallow water species have never been established. Moreover, very little is known about the diversity within Gromia, reflecting the fact that these morphologically relatively simple protists have few characters useful for species identification. Consequently, we have analysed the SSU rDNA and ITS rDNA genes to examine gromiid diversity in two different areas located on the Oman and Pakistan margins of the Arabian Sea (water depths 1,000–2,000 m). In total, 27 deep-sea gromiid sequences of the SSU rDNA gene and six sequences of the ITS rDNA region were obtained. Our data confirm that Gromia-like protists from the bathyal deep sea are related to the shallow-water gromiids. Within Arabian Sea Gromia, we identified seven distinctive lineages, five of which form a monophyletic group branching as a sister group to shallow-water species. Six lineages of Arabian Sea Gromia can be defined morphologically, while one lineage includes specimens that look identical to specimens from two other lineages. This indicates that each Gromia lineage represents probably a separate species and suggests that deep-sea gromiid diversity is higher than indicated by their simple morphology.     

CANOPY COVER AND SHADE DETERMINATIONS IN RIPARIAN ZONES1

ABSTRACT: Three instruments commonly used to measure stream canopy cover were evaluated: the clinometer, a modified spherical convex densiometer Model A, and a hemispherical image system. The hemispherical image system was also used to model shade. At each of five locations throughout Oregon, canopy cover above a stream was measured from the center of the stream along a series of transects. Vegetation along the reaches sampled ranged from a densely vegetated coastal forest stand to a sparsely vegetated eastern Oregon meadow. When techniques were compared within each site, canopy cover measured with the clinometer was similar to that measured with hemispherical imagery. The densiometer measurements, however, were typically lower than, though still highly correlated with, those derived from hemispherical images and from the clinometer. Because of site‐specific factors, the differences between all methods were significant in the Willamette and John Day Provinces. Canopy cover and shade were not equivalent for the streams studied.     

Wheat yield functions for analysis of land-use change in China

CERES-Wheat, a dynamic process crop growth model, is specified and validated for eight sites in the major wheat-growing regions of China. Crop model results are then used to test the Mitscherlich-Baule and the quadratic functional forms for yield response to nitrogen fertilizer, irrigation water, temperature, and precipitation. The resulting functions are designed to be used in a linked biophysical-economic model of land-use and land-cover change in China. While both functions predict yield responses adequately, the Mitscherlich-Baule function is preferable to the quadratic function because its parameters are biologically and physically realistic. Variables explaining a significant proportion of simulated yield variance are nitrogen, irrigation water, and precipitation; temperature was a less significant component of yield variation within the range of observed year-to-year variability at the study sites. Crop model simulations with a generic soil with median characteristics of the eight sites compared to simulations with site-specific soils showed that agricultural soils in China have similar and, in general, low-to-moderate water-holding capacities and organic matter contents. The validated crop model is useful for simulating the range of conditions under which wheat is grown in China, and provides the means to estimate production functions when experimental field data are not available.     

Female preferences based on male nutritional chemical traits

Selection favors females that attend to reliable information about male genetic quality and fitness. Male nutritional condition can be a significant sign of mate quality since poor nutrition can be related to reduced sperm quality, low sperm quantity, sexually transmitted diseases, and parasites. We tested whether female Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, preferred the chemical cues of males that were well fed with high-protein diet over those fed with low-protein diet. Females do not only discriminate between males but also show a preference for well-fed males, discriminating between the odors with respect to nutritional state, suggesting that they were responding to a food-specific chemical cue. It is therefore likely that nutritional condition is related to the production of pheromones in males. Our results suggest that information about male nutritional state can be conveyed in chemical cues and that females attend to these cues during mate choice.     

Making framing of uncertainty in water management practice explicit by using a participant-structured approach

By now, the need for addressing uncertainty in the management of water resources is widely recognized, yet there is little expertise and experience how to effectively deal with uncertainty in practice. Uncertainties in water management practice so far are mostly dealt with intuitively or based on experience. That way decisions can be quickly taken but analytic processes of deliberate reasoning are bypassed. To meet the desire of practitioners for better guidance and tools how to deal with uncertainty more practice-oriented systematic approaches are needed. For that purpose we consider it important to understand how practitioners frame uncertainties. In this paper we present an approach where water managers developed criteria of relevance to understand and address uncertainties. The empirical research took place in the Doñana region of the Guadalquivir estuary in southern Spain making use of the method of card sorting. Through the card sorting exercise a broad range of criteria to make sense of and describe uncertainties was produced by different subgroups, which were then merged into a shared list of criteria. That way framing differences were made explicit and communication on uncertainty and on framing differences was enhanced. In that, the present approach constitutes a first step to enabling reframing and overcoming framing differences, which are important features on the way to robust decision-making. Moreover, the elaborated criteria build a basis for the development of more structured approaches to deal with uncertainties in water management practice.