Strength, stiffness, strain at fracture and moisture content of onion skins were measured after incubation at a range of humidities. Higher relative humidity (RH) resulted in skins which had greater moisture content, were stronger in multi-directional tests and which were less stiff. In uni-directional tests, skins incubated at higher RH had extended more at fracture than those incubated at low...

Distributed measurement of humidity is a sought-after capability for various fields of application, especially in the civil engineering and structural health monitoring sectors. This article presents a method for distributed humidity sensing along polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) polymer optical fibers (POFs) by analyzing wavelength-dependent Rayleigh backscattering and attenuation characteristic...

The desiccation-tolerant state in seeds is associated with high levels of certain sugars and maturation proteins. The aim of this work was to evaluate the contributions of these components to desiccation tolerance in soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merrill cv Chippewa 64). When axes of immature seeds (34 d after flowering) were excised and gradually dried (6 d), desiccation tolerance was induced. By ...

ABSTRACT Growth characteristics of the fungus Trichoderma stromaticum, a mycoparasite on the mycelium and fruiting bodies of Crinipellis perniciosa, the causal agent of witches'-broom disease of cacao, were evaluated under controlled environmental conditions. The ability of T. stromaticum to produce conidia and germinate on dry brooms was evaluated at three constant temperatures (20, 25, and 30...

Mesoporous silicon (PSi) microcavities (MC) based on one-dimensional photonic crystals have been studied as optical sensors for relative humidity (RH). Oxidized PSi modified the structure of the MC such that the spectral position of the MC resonance peak depended on the humidity. A spectral shift of the MC resonance peak of up to 6 nm to longer wavelengths was observed as the RH increased from ...

The photocycle of the blue-light photoreceptor protein Photoactive Yellow Protein (PYP) was studied at reduced relative humidity (RH). Photocycle kinetics and spectra were measured in thin films of PYP in which the relative humidity was set at values between 29 and 98% RH with saturated solutions of various salts. We show that in this range, approximately 200 water molecules per PYP molecule ar...

The short-term effects of high temperatures are a serious concern in the context of climate change. In areas that today have mild climates the research activity has been rather limited, despite the fact that differences in temperature susceptibility will play a fundamental role in understanding the exposure, acclimatization, adaptation and health risks of a changing climate. In addition, many s...

It is well known that low relative humidity is an ingredient that leads to higher fire danger due to the relatively rapid response of fine fuels to atmospheric humidity. Rapid fluctuations in relative humidity, though, have not been addressed extensively in fire weather studies or operations, perhaps partly due to the difficulty of observing such fluctuations and the even greater difficulty in ...

INTRODUCTION According to the World Health Organization estimates annually in the world die due to CVI every sixth women and 10(th) man. This paper is the research of the correlation between changes in relative air humidity and stroke (CVA) in the Sarajevo Canton. Included are patients who experienced an acute stroke in the Canton of Sarajevo and treated in the pre hospital phase by the staff o...