We assess emerging relationships between production decisions and market channel selection among a small sample of hemp growers (22) in Colorado and Kentucky using qualitative interviews. We found producers differences by market channel, product and state. For instance, producers who relied on intermediated marketing strategies cultivated more acres on average and used fewer distinct market channels and strategies than those relying on direct markets. Product differences were found regarding processing, storage and perishability. Respondents identified four factors critical to their choice of market channels for their hemp products: research, profitability, trust and knowledge. The findings can help inform public and private decision-making regarding best hemp marketing practices and future needs of the hemp industry.

This paper presents a lake-level record established for the last millennium at Lake Saint-Point in the French Jura Mountains. A comparison of this lake-level record with a solar irradiance record supports the hypothesis of a solar forcing of variations in the hydrological cycle linked to climatic oscillations over the last millennium in west-central Europe, with higher lake levels during the solar minimums of Oort (around AD 1060), Wolf (around AD 1320), Spörer (around AD 1450), Maunder (around AD 1690), and Dalton (around AD 1820). Further comparisons of the Saint-Point record with the fluctuations of the Great Aletsch Glacier (Swiss Alps) and a record of Rhône River floods from Lake Bourget (French Alps) give evidence of possible imprints of proxy sensitivity on reconstructed paleohydrological records. In particular, the Great Aletsch record shows an increasing glacier mass from AD 1350 to 1850, suggesting a cumulative effect of the Little Ice Age cooling and/or a possible reflection of a millennial-scale general cooling until the mid-19th century in the Northern Hemisphere. In contrast, the Saint-Point and Bourget records show a general trend toward a decrease in lake levels and in flood magnitude anti-correlated with generally increasing solar irradiance.

In 1987 an action plan for the recovery of the European populations of Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii was launched. Intervention on the breeding grounds has included the wardening of sites to prevent human disturbance, the provision of nest-boxes to discourage predation, patrolling and controlling to reduce predator presence, planting of Lavatera arborea to shelter nesting birds, and use of the media to establish local interest and commitment. Intervention in the wintering area has focused on Ghana and the reduction there of trapping pressure, through the “Save the Seashore Birds Project-Ghana”, which has involved site protection, legal reform, training, surveys and education programmes.

This paper deals with the development and application of in vivo spatially-resolved bimodal spectroscopy(AutoFluorescence AF and Diffuse Reflectance DR), to discriminate various stages of skin precancer in a preclinicalmodel (UV-irradiated mouse): Compensatory Hyperplasia CH, Atypical Hyperplasia AH and Dysplasia D. A programmableinstrumentation was developed for acquiring AF emission spectra using 7 excitation wavelengths:360, 368, 390, 400, 410, 420 and 430 nm, and DR spectra in the 390–720 nm wavelength range. After various steps of intensityspectra preprocessing (filtering, spectral correction and intensity normalization), several sets of spectralcharacteristics were extracted and selected based on their discrimination power statistically tested forevery pair-wise comparison of histological classes. Data reduction with Principal Components Analysis (PCA)was performed and 3 classification methods were implemented (k-NN, LDA and SVM), in order to compare diagnosticperformance of each method. Diagnostic performance was studied and assessed in terms of sensitivity (Se) andspecificity (Sp) as a function of the selected features, of the combinations of 3 different inter-fibers distances and of thenumbers of principal components, such that: Se and Sp≈ 100% when discriminating CH vs. others; Sp≈ 100% and Se> 95% when discriminating Healthy vs. AH or D; Sp≈ 74% and Se≈ 63% for AH vs. D.

An approach is proposed for the evaluation of surface fatiguedamage of hot forming tools that undergo severe thermomechanical loading. Fatigue crack propagation in a hot worktool steel X38CrMoV5-47HRC is investigated using singleedgecracked tension specimens with 3 different thicknesses(2.5, 1, 0.6 mm) and two R-values. The stress intensity factoris evaluated with ABAQUS®. Paris curves are established forthe crack propagation experiments.

Irradiation is one of the main processes which influences theevolution of dust in astrophysical environments. This articlereviews the basics of particle-matter interactions and gives anintroduction to the induced modifications including phasetransformation, sputtering, implantation, charging effects andtransmutation. We also discuss the role of the nature of theincident particle (energetic photons, electrons and ions) as a function of itsenergy. Finally, we briefly review the main results obtained byirradiation studies on ices, carbonaceous matter and silicates.

In the context of increased globalisation and competitiveness, producers of animal products have been the most affected with considerable reductions in profit margins. Research on nutrition in farm animals is thus still needed to reduce the costs of production by increasing metabolic efficiency. To achieve this goal, the objective is always to control animal performance accurately by improved quantification of animal requirements and by precise feed evaluation. At the same time, the farming and agri-food sectors are faced with a general saturation of food markets in Europe and with an increasing demand by consumers for high-quality meat and dairy products. This has also led to specific research in nutrition which aims to optimise metabolic activity of muscle and mammary gland to produce meat and dairy products of the desirable composition. This paper aims to address this important question: how animal nutrition may help to optimise metabolic efficiency and product quality. Today this needs better knowledge of tissue and organ requirements and of nutrient fate within tissues and organs as well as of their contribution to the quality of animal products. Furthermore, in order to achieve this goal of greater understanding of animal response to nutrition, new concepts and techniques are available to decipher mechanisms that were impossible to address adequately a few years ago. In this connection, emerging approaches such as genomics and modelling provide the means for a better insight into the mechanisms which regulate metabolism at tissue or whole body level.

In a recent paper [Phys. Rev. B 68, 153313 (2003)], we reported the first experimental observation of the strong coupling regime in a GaN-based microcavity. The λ/2 GaN optical cavity was grown by molecular beam epitaxy on a Si(111) substrate. The upper mirror is a SiO2/Si3N4 dielectric mirror and the silicon substrate acts as the bottom mirror. With such a relatively simple and low-finesse microcavity, a Rabi splitting of 31 meV was measured at 5K. On the basis of this very encouraging result, approaches to fabricate high-finesse GaN-based cavities exhibiting strong coupling with stable polaritons at room temperature are discussed.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of photoperiod and feeding level on lipid metabolism in ovine perirenal and subcutaneous adipose tissues (AT) and in skeletal and cardiac muscles. Twenty dry non-pregnant ovariectomised ewes were divided into two groups and subjected to either 8 h or 16 h light/d, and underfed at 22 % energy requirements for 7 d. Half of the ewes in each group were slaughtered and the remaining ewes were refed at 190 % energy requirements for 14 d, until slaughtering. Refeeding increased (2.6–4.3-fold) malic enzyme (ME), fatty acid synthase (FAS), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH) activities in subcutaneous AT as well as lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in perirenal (3.5-fold) and subcutaneous (10-fold) AT and to a lesser extent (1.4-fold) in the skeletal longissimus thoracis and cardiac muscles. Moreover, variations of LPL mRNA level followed variations of LPL activity: refeeding increased perirenal AT- and cardiac muscle-mRNA levels (7.4- and 2-fold respectively). The main finding of this study is that, for a given level of food intake, long days (compared with short days) increased the LPL activity in the longissimus thoracis muscle and, in refed ewes, the activities of LPL and ME in subcutaneous AT. Furthermore, long days increased LPL mRNA level in cardiac muscle and perirenal AT. Thus, our results show that there are direct effects of photoperiod on sheep AT lipogenic potential, as well as on muscle LPL activity, which are not caused by changes in nutrient availability.

Transition metal oxides are high-capacity lithium storage materials of interest as possible anode materials in the next generation of Li ion batteries. By using X-ray absorption spectroscopy we have obtained an understanding of the process of Li uptake and removal within Na0.25MoO3. Our results show the Li2O matrix on reduction is not inert; Mo-O bonds are reversibly consumed on discharge and are regenerated on charge, with the Li2O matrix acting as the oxygen reservoir. The migration of oxygen atoms from the matrix to the active centers occurs at a voltage below that expected for the Li2O free energy of formation. Polarization on charge is not due only to oxygen migration but also to metal rearrangement within the electrode material. The reversibility of the Mo-O bond formation on repeated cycles is a function of the depth of discharge, with 200 mV being the lower limit.

The electrical and electroluminescent properties of MOVPE GaN p-n homojunctions have been analyzed as a function of temperature and bias. Electroluminescence is observed for V>3 V under dc and ac conditions. The main emission at low T is a donor-acceptor transition involving shallow acceptors, though it disappears at higher T due to the ionization of the acceptors and compensation by ionized donors. Room temperature dc and ac electroluminescence spectra evolve under increasing bias from a blue-shifting visible band involving deep states at the p-type side of the p-n junction, to a band-to-band UV recombination at high bias. In agreement, the superlinear dependence of light-current characteristics at low current injection becomes linear when the defects are saturated. Time analysis of the spectra vs pulse duration and duty cycle allows the determination of the visible radiative recombination and relaxation times associated to the Mg-related deep states, which are found to behave as acceptors lying 0.55 eV above the valence band. A simple 3-level model is able to explain the visible emission, which involves the conduction band (or shallow donor) and those deep acceptors in the p-layer. Optimum UV/visible ratio emission requires intense and relatively long pulses, with a high duty cycle to impede visible recombination.

Vanadium oxide/polypyrrole hybrid gels were synthesized by two different strategies. These approaches were focused on either the sequential or consecutive polymerization of the inorganic and organic networks. Both techniques led to monolithic hybrid aerogels. Aerogels synthesized by the consecutive network formation method (“cosynthesis”) with compositions of approximately [PPy]0.8V205intercalated nearly twice as much Li per V2O5(2·8·3·0 Li/V205) as non-hybridized V20, aerogel (1·5 Li/V205). When suitable oxidation and polymerization treatments were applied to the materials, their specific capacity remained reasonably high (180−190 mAh/g compared to 220 mAh/g exhibited by V205, aerogel).

The adaptable layer structure of molybdenum trioxide was exploited to insert the amino derivative form of the conductive polymer poly(para-phenylene) (PPPNH2) within the van der Waals gap. Two polymer insertion routes were designed that yield novel PPPNH2-MoO3 materials of different composition. Characterization of these materials using powder XRD, thermal analysis, and FTIR spectroscopy shows insertion of the polymer has occurred. The properties of the nanocomposites for low potential electrochemical lithium insertion were compared to those of the sodium molybdenum bronze using the materials as cathodes in conventional lithium cells. Initial results indicate the specific charge capacity and irreversibility during the first charge are effected by polymer content whereas polarization is not.

Low-potential Li insertion materials comprised of molybdenum oxides (Ax MoO3) have been prepared by a “chimie douce” route. Li insertion below 200 mV is associated with dramatic transformation of the structure, leading to a material which displays good cyclability with a high reversible specific capacity of 940 mA/g in the voltage window 3.0–0.005V (volumetric capacity of 4000 mAh/cc), albeit with notable polarization on charge. The structural and compositional changes on discharge to 200 mV have been studied by a combination of XRD, and XAS. The interlayer ions have also been exchanged for Sn, and the electrochemical characteristics of these materials are compared with the alkali derivatives.

A comparison of Li insertion in manganese oxide phases with a tunnel (todorokite) framework, its two-dimensional layered precursor (birnessite/buserite), and Li-exchanged materials are presented. The results outline the effect of the MnO6 octahedral arrangement and framework composition on the electrochemical response. The interlayer cations in the lamellar materials are exchangeable for Li, giving rise to a lithiated birnessite that displays a sustainable capacity of 125 mAh/g. For todorokite, molten salt exchange using LiNO3 results in displacement of water from the tunnels, and incorporation of additional Li into the structure. Some of this Li is extractable during charge, resulting in a reversible capacity of 172 mAh/g in the voltage window 4.2–2.0V.

Vanadium pentoxide/polypyrrole aerogel (ARG) nanocomposites were prepared by hydrolysis of VO(OC3H7)3 using pyrrole/water/acetone mixtures. Monolithic green-black gels with polypyrrole/V ratios ranging from 0.15 to 1.0 resulted from simultaneous polymerization of the pyrrole and vanadium alkoxide precursors. Supercritical drying yielded high surface (150–200 m2/g) aerogels, of sufficient mechanical integrity to allow them to be cut without fracturing. TEM studies of the aerogels show that they are comprised of fibers similar to that of V2O5 ARG's, but with a much shorter chain length. Evidence from IR that the inorganic and organic components strongly interact leads us to propose that this impedes the vanadium condensation process. The result is ARG's that exhibit decreased electronic conductivity with increasing polymer content. Despite the unexpected deleterious effect of the conductive polymer on the bulk conductivity, at low polymer content, the nanocomposite materials show enhanced electrochemical properties for Li insertion compared to the pristine aerogel.

The 2D lithiated manganese oxide with Rancieite-type structure (lithium phyllomanganate), synthesized via a soft chemistry route (T≤60ºC) is hydrated at room temperature and can be dehydrated progressively by a thermal treatment. This compound and a series of samples obtained after annealing at different temperatures were characterized and studied for their electrochemical lithium intercalation properties. They are poorly crystallized, with however the advantage of a manganese oxidation state very close to 4, a mustto get high specific capacity. Their chemical characterization was achieved after gathering results obtained from complementary techniques such as AAS, redox titration, TGA and XPS measurements. Special care was taken for the chemical characterization of electrode compositions effectively used in the electrochemical cells.

Electrochemical lithium intercalation was systematically studied for the series of samples, when starting in charge or in discharge after assembly of the Li battery. The electrochemical behavior is discussed in relation with the manganese average oxidation state and the interlayer water content. Materials of the series showing the larger specific capacities were further examined on the application point of view, for their reversibility, cyclability and high rate capability upon Li intercalation.

This work shows that the anhydrous material which is obtained at 300ºC, with the composition Li0.42MnIII 0.20MnIV 0.8002.11, is a promising rechargeable layered manganese dioxide material.