Influence of different light sources on the production process of tomato in intensive photoculture

Introduction. The development of ideas about the influence of the light environment - the radiation spectrum, intensity and duration of exposure, on the physiology of plants, serves as the basis for the creation of effective light sources for protected ground.Purpose. Comparative test of the influence of a light environment with different spectral composition on the productivity and quality of tomatoes in conditions of intensive photo culture.Methods. Investigations were made under controlled conditions of intensive photoculture when growing dwarf tomatoes of the variety Natasha selections of the “Federal Scientific Vegetable Center” on thin-layer soil analogs with the supply of a nutrient solution to the plant roots through a slit capillary in vegetative light installations developed at the ARI. The light sources were high-pressure sodium lamps and LED lamps SD1, SD2, and SD3 with different emission spectra. Results. Tomatoes of the Natasha variety, illuminated during development with HPS lamps, formed almost the same yield with an average fruit weight of 42.5 kg/m2 per layer per year. Natasha tomato grown under LED lamps showed a tendency to lower productivity by 29% under SD1 and by 8% under SD2 and higher by 19% under underSD3 compared to that under HPS lamps. A comparative assessment of the biochemical composition of tomato fruits indicates their high quality under all tested light sources.Conclusion. Cultivation of dwarf tomato varieties on thin-layer soil analogs showed the best results in terms of productivity with good quality plant products under LED lamps SD3 with a radiation spectrum close to sunlight.

Optimal Earthquake Intensity Measures for Probabilistic Seismic Demand Models of Base-Isolated Nuclear Power Plant Structures

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the optimal earthquake intensity measures (IMs) for probabilistic seismic demand models (PSDMs) of the base-isolated nuclear power plant (NPP) structures. The numerical model of NPP structures is developed using a lumped-mass stick model, in which a bilinear model is employed to simulate the force-displacement relations of base isolators. In this study, 20 different IMs are considered and 90 ground motion records are used to perform time-history analyses. The seismic engineering demand parameters (EDPs) are monitored in terms of maximum floor displacement (MFD), the maximum floor acceleration (MFA) of the structures, and maximum isolator displacement (MID). As a result, a set of PSDMs of the base-isolated structure is developed based on three EDPs (i.e., MFD, MFA, and MID) associated with 20 IMs. Four statistical parameters including the coefficient of determination, efficiency (i.e., standard deviation), practicality, and proficiency are then calculated to evaluate optimal IMs for seismic performances of the isolated NPP structures. The results reveal that the optimal IMs for PSDMs with respect to MFD and MID are velocity spectrum intensity, Housner intensity, peak ground velocity, and spectral velocity at the fundamental period. Meanwhile, peak ground acceleration, acceleration spectrum intensity, A95, effective peak acceleration, and sustained maximum acceleration are efficient IMs for PSDMs with respect to MFA of the base-isolated structures. On the other hand, cumulative absolute velocity is not recommended for determining the exceedance of the operating basis earthquake of base-isolated NPP structures.

LEDitSHAKE – A Lighting System to Optimize the Secondary Metabolite Content of Plant Cell Suspension Cultures

1.1 Background Plant secondary metabolites are widely used in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. They can be extracted from naturally grown plants or plant cell suspension cultures grown under sterile conditions. In the latter case, yields and quality strongly depend on the cultivation environment, including optimal illumination. Current shaking incubators do not allow different light wavelengths, intensities and photoperiods to be tested in parallel. We therefore developed a system for multiplexed customized illumination within a single shaking incubator, and used it to optimize anthocyanin production in grapevine cell suspension cultures. 1.2 Results We used 3D printing to integrate light-emitting diode assemblies into flask housings to develop the LEDitSHAKE system, allowing 12 different lighting conditions (spectrum, intensity and photoperiod) to be tested simultaneously in a single shaking incubator. We used a Design of Experiments approach to determine the effect of 24 different light compositions on the total anthocyanin content of replicate grapevine cell suspension cultures. All tested conditions achieved higher yields than standard illumination or dark cultivation, and the optimal spectrum (8.3 µmol m− 2 s− 1 red, 8.3 µmol m− 2 s− 1 green, 33.3 µmol m− 2 s− 1 blue, and UV turned on) increased the total anthocyanin concentration by 2.42-fold after 4 weeks. Based on the resulting model, we predicted the optimal lighting conditions for the upregulation and downregulation of 30 anthocyanins, and found that short-wavelength light (blue, UV) maximized the concentration of most anthocyanins, whereas long-wavelength light (red) had the opposite effect. For example, the cyanidin glucoside concentration was predicted to increase 2.99-fold compared to the source culture with optimized illumination (12 µmol m− 2 s− 1 green, 38 µmol m− 2 s− 1 blue, and UV turned on for 1 h/day). 1.3 Conclusions The LEDitSHAKE system enables the screening of up to 12 different lighting conditions in terms of spectrum, intensity and photoperiod within a single shaking incubator using a Design of Experiments approach, as exemplified by the optimization of the anthocyanin content and composition in grapevine cell suspension cultures. Our results demonstrate proof of principle that the LEDitSHAKE system is suitable for the optimization of processes based on plant cell suspension cultures.

Enhanced Mechanical Properties of Metallic Glass Thin Films via Modification of Structural Heterogeneity

The structure of Cu50Zr50 and Co56Ta35B9 metallic glass thin films (MGTF) was effectively tailored via various applied substrate temperatures by means of the magnetron sputtering technology. Obviously enhanced hardness and elastic modulus are achieved by different compositional MGTFs by increasing the substrate temperature. Compared with the CuZr MGTFs, the CoTaB MGTF deposited at 473 K displays the smaller strain-rate sensitivity exponent, m, and a weaker spectrum intensity based on the nanoindentation creep test, suggesting its better creep resistance. In addition, the STZ volume of the CoTaB MGTF significantly decreases after depositing at higher temperature. According to the nano-scratch analysis, the CoTaB MGTF at the substrate temperatures of 473 K performs the shallower scratch width and the larger H3/E2 value, indicating its better tribological property.

Effects of Propofol and Ketamine on The Neural Oscillations in CA1 of Rat Intact Hippocampus

In this study, in vitro intact hippocampal preparation model was utilized to observe the effects of propofol and ketamine on the neural oscillations in CA1 of rat hippocampus. The intact hippocampi were dissected from the brain tissues of rats aged 14-16 days postnatal. Local field potential (LFP) recordings were performed with propofol and ketamine bath application at different concentrations. The power spectrum intensity of LFP in all the frequency bands, including delta (1-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-13 Hz), beta (13-30 Hz) and gamma (30-80 Hz), were inhibited in a concentrationdependent manner by both general anesthetics. In order to further investigate the underlying mechanisms, the major binding site of propofol and ketamine were blocked respectively by picrotoxin and (2R)-amino-5-phosphonopentanoate when bath applying the general anesthetics. It revealed that the inhibitory effect of propofol on hippocampal oscillations might be via γ-aminobutyric acid A receptor, while the inhibitory effect of ketamine might be unconcerned with N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor.

Empirical Correlations between Generalized Ground-Motion Intensity Measures for Earthquakes in China

ABSTRACT This study used earthquake records from China to investigate comprehensively the correlation coefficients between various intensity measures (IMs), including peak ground acceleration, peak ground velocity, spectral acceleration, spectrum intensity, acceleration spectrum intensity, Arias intensity, cumulative absolute velocity, and significant duration. After collection of metadata information, 681 three-component ground-motion recordings with magnitudes of Mw 4.9–6.9 were carefully processed and extracted from the China National Strong-Motion Observation Network System dataset (2007–2015). The applicability of both the Next Generation Attenuation (NGA)-West2 ground-motion model (GMM) and of other GMMs was verified for different IMs, regarding the China dataset. Then, empirical correlation coefficients between different IMs were computed, considering the uncertainty due to the different sample sizes of the observational data using the bootstrap sampling method and Fisher z transformation. Finally, the median values of the correlation coefficients were fitted as a continuous function of the vibration period in the range of 0.01–10.0 s and compared with the results of similar studies developed for shallow crustal regions worldwide. The developed region-specific correlation coefficient prediction model yielded tendencies approximately like those reported in other studies. However, obvious differences were found in long-period ranges of amplitude-based IMs, cumulative effect IMs, and significant duration. These results suggest the necessity of using region-specific correlation coefficients for generalized IMs in China. The presented results and parametric models could be easily implemented in a generalized IM ground-motion selection method or a vector-based probability seismic hazard analysis procedure for China.

DOAS Calibration Technique for SO2 Emission Measurement Based on H2SO4 and Na2SO3 Reaction

The coal used as a primary fuel in an Indonesian power plant produces sulfur dioxide emission from its burning process. Several testing and monitoring methods developed, from laboratory analysis, CEMs based instrument, and absorption spectroscopy method developed for this purpose. Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) method based on Lambert-Beer law used as emission quantification. DOAS instrumentation developed in this research to measure sulfur dioxide as one of the emission parameters. Sulfur dioxide generated from the reaction between the sulfuric acid and dilute sodium sulfite. CCD spectrometer used to measure sulfur dioxide spectrum intensity at 260 to 350 nm absorption cross-section. There is a high correlation between sulfur dioxide gas produced by that reaction to spectrum intensity, with coefficient determination (r2) 0.9783, 0.9822, 0.9866, 0.9928 or coefficient correlation (r) 0.989, 0.991, 0.993, and 0.996 from lowest range concentration to highest range concentration. Precision analysis from gas calibration standard using Horwitz ratio indicates instrument setup precise enough with 0.504 Horwitz ratio, according to its acceptable range. The suspended particulate matter may interfere with UV penetration into CCD detector in emission simulation test using gasoline generator exhaust that causes 2.5 times deviation error between typical 800 ppm concentrated sulfur dioxide from chemical reaction and gasoline generator exhaust.