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AbstractA large number of small- to medium-sized community ponds exist in most parts of the Terai region in Nepal. Such ponds could be a viable alternative for other forms of surface irrigation. But, with the lack of efficient management, many of these ponds remain underutilized. An effort was made to facilitate the rehabilitation of such a pond in a selected village of Rupandehi District in Western Terai region of Nepal. This paper aims to evaluate the changed water availability situation in post-monsoon seasons after the pond rehabilitation. The paper also evaluates the feasibility of such interventions especially focusing on the potential to provide additional water and improve agricultural productivity. Results showed small increases in quantifiable indicators such as water availability, cropping intensity, productivity and income. The new institutional setup improved water allocation, improved operation and maintenance, and increased social awareness among the people about the importance of underutilized water resources. The intervention has the potential to be replicated in similar contexts.

The ‘4 per mille Soils for Food Security and Climate’ was launched at the COP21 with an aspiration to increase global soil organic matter stocks by 4 per 1000 (or 0.4 %) per year as a compensation for the global emissions of greenhouse gases by anthropogenic sources. This paper surveyed the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock estimates and sequestration potentials from 20 regions in the world (New Zealand, Chile, South Africa, Australia, Tanzania, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, India, China Taiwan, South Korea, China Mainland, United States of America, France, Canada, Belgium, England & Wales, Ireland, Scotland, and Russia). We asked whether the 4 per mille initiative is feasible for the region. The outcomes highlight region specific efforts and scopes for soil carbon sequestration. Reported soil C sequestration rates globally show that under best management practices, 4 per mille or even higher sequestration rates can be accomplished. High C sequestration rates (up to 10 per mille) can be achieved for soils with low initial SOC stock (topsoil less than 30 t C ha− 1), and at the first twenty years after implementation of best management practices. In addition, areas which have reached equilibrium will not be able to further increase their sequestration. We found that most studies on SOC sequestration only consider topsoil (up to 0.3 m depth), as it is considered to be most affected by management techniques. The 4 per mille number was based on a blanket calculation of the whole global soil profile C stock, however the potential to increase SOC is mostly on managed agricultural lands. If we consider 4 per mille in the top 1m of global agricultural soils, SOC sequestration is between 2-3 Gt C year− 1, which effectively offset 20–35% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. As a strategy for climate change mitigation, soil carbon sequestration buys time over the next ten to twenty years while other effective sequestration and low carbon technologies become viable. The challenge for cropping farmers is to find disruptive technologies that will further improve soil condition and deliver increased soil carbon. Progress in 4 per mille requires collaboration and communication between scientists, farmers, policy makers, and marketeers.

AbstractSome cases of occurrence of matrix effects (mostly ion suppression) in protein‐precipitated plasma samples, and their influence on the validity of plasma concentrations and pharmacokinetic parameters, are discussed. The comparison of matrix effects using either electrospray (TurboIonspray, TISP) or atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) indicated that APCI is less prone to matrix effects. Nevertheless, TISP is usually the first choice of ionization technique since unknown thermally labile metabolites might be present in the plasma samples causing erroneous results. A high impact of ion suppression on the plasma concentrations after intravenous (i.v.) administration was found, depending on the drug formulation (vehicle). Since ion suppression caused significantly lower plasma concentrations (by a factor of up to 5.5) after i.v. dosing, the area under the curve (AUC) was underestimated and the plasma clearance was consequently erroneously high, with an impact on drug candidate selection. By simple stepwise dilution (e.g. 10‐fold and 50‐fold) of the supernatant of protein‐precipitated plasma samples, including all calibration and quality control samples, the matrix effects were recognized and eliminated. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Heat stress is a global issue constraining pig productivity, and it is likely to intensify under future climate change. Technological advances in earth observation have made tools available that enable identification and mapping livestock species that are at risk of exposure to heat stress due to climate change. Here, we present a methodology to map the current and likely future heat stress risk in pigs using R software by combining the effects of temperature and relative humidity. We applied the method to growing-finishing pigs in Uganda. We mapped monthly heat stress risk and quantified the number of pigs exposed to heat stress using 18 global circulation models and projected impacts in the 2050s. Results show that more than 800 000 pigs in Uganda will be affected by heat stress in the future. The results can feed into evidence-based policy, planning and targeted resource allocation in the livestock sector.

The lignocellulosic C4 perennial crop miscanthus and, more particularly, one of its species, Miscanthus × giganteus, are especially interesting for bioenergy production because they combine high biomass production with a low environmental impact. However, few varieties are available, which is risky due to disease susceptibility. Gathering worldwide references, this review shows a high genotypic and environmental variability for traits of interest related to miscanthus biomass production and composition, which may be useful in breeding programs for enhancing the availability of suitable clones for bioenergy production. The M. × giganteus species and certain clones in the Miscanthus sinensis species seem particularly interesting due to high biomass production per hectare. Although the industrial requirements for biomass composition have not been fully defined for the different bioenergy conversion processes, the M. × giganteus and Miscanthus sacchariflorus species, which show high lignin contents, appear more suitable for thermochemical conversion processes. In contrast, the M. sinensis species and certain M. × giganteus clones with low lignin contents were interesting for biochemical conversion processes. The M. sacchariflorus species is also interesting as a progenitor for breeding programs, due to its low ash content, which is suitable for the different bioenergy conversion processes. Moreover, mature miscanthus crops harvested in winter seem preferred by industry to enhance efficiency and reduce the expense of the processes. This investigation on miscanthus can be extrapolated to other monocotyledons and perennial crops, which may be proposed as feedstocks in addition to miscanthus.