This dissertation traces the long-term evolution of the Inner Bluegrass region of central Kentucky with a focus on the period between the first Euro-American incursions into the area and the Civil War era. Utilizing an agroecological perspective that analyzes cultivated landscapes for their ecological features, it explores the ever-shifting mix of cultural and natural influences that shaped the local environment. Most prominently, it reveals the extent to which intertwined strands of capitalism and slavery mingled with biology to produce the celebrated Bluegrass agricultural system. It begins with an appraisal of the landscape before white men like Daniel Boone arrived, emphasizing the roles native cultures played in shaping regional ecology and arguing for a more complex periodization of eighteenth century Kentucky. The frontier period from the 1770s through the 1790s witnessed a struggle for control over the region linked to competing ideas about how the local landscape might best be used by humans. That Euro-Americans ultimately emerged victorious in this contest held tremendous ecological consequences as domesticated species, organized according to Euro-American agricultural principles, spread across the region. Introduced plants, such as corn, hemp, and bluegrass, and livestock, including hogs, cattle, sheep and horses, increasingly filled ecological niches previously held by native flora and fauna like cane, elk, and buffalo. As Kentuckians set about refining their influence over the surrounding natural world during the final decades of the eighteenth century and into the nineteenth, their actions demonstrated the varied ecological, economic, and cultural connections and incentives engendered by their slave-reliant, market-oriented agricultural system. These connections exposed the Bluegrass landscape to national and international currents that enriched some Kentuckians, encouraged the exploitation of others, and facilitated a dramatic simplification of the regional ecology in pursuit of economic gain. Yet, the transformations of the local ecology and the demands of those cultivating it also affected national and international events such as the American Revolution, Louisiana Purchase, and the Civil War. The environmental history of the Bluegrass agricultural landscape demonstrates the complexity of influences on the antebellum world and suggests that complexity continues to affect the regional ecology and culture well into the twenty-first century.

Research was conducted in 2012 and 2013 to evaluate the use of saflufenacil in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Studies included a preemergence evaluation of different rates of saflufenacil in comparison to one rate of carfentrazone, a postemergence evaluation of saflufenacil at different rates and carfentrazone at one rate at different postemergence timings, an adjuvant evaluation to assess rice injury and weed control from different adjuvants when mixed with saflufenacil, a Clearfield program evaluation where saflufenacil was compared to other broadleaf herbicides in a Clearfield weed control program, and a cultivar tolerance evaluation where postemergence applications of saflufenacil were compared to carfentrazone on five different commercial rice cultivars.

No description available.

Fibre plants favour different growth conditions and require different levels of husbandry. However, the fibres share some physical and material properties, which make them difficult to distinguish in the archaeological record. This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of methods for characterising bast fibres including; fibre chemical analysis, mechanical testing and fibre morphology, to propose that longitudinal microfibrillar angle (MFA) and cross-sectional circularity (Ct) used in a two-step procedure to analyse selected modern fibres of nettle (Urtica dioica L.), flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) and hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) could offer an alternative approach. The reliability of MFA and Ct, as diagnostic features, was evaluated under a temperature accelerated degradation 48week trial with eight fibre types from three deposition soils Post deposition, surviving fibres were subjected to evaluation of changes in MFA and Ct. An additional check on the diagnostic efficacy was conducted within a blind-test protocol. Finally, the research programme employs MFA and Ct in the diagnosis of a range of archaeological textile fibres from museum collections and fibres from the Kasr el Yahud mass burial. The thesis includes recommendations to address future post thesis research programmes.

Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) has a long history of human use. Early in the 20th century, some predicted hemp would be the first billion dollar crop given its multiple industrial applications. Government policy that restricted, then prohibited, hemp's use in the U.S. prevented that from happening. A reawakening to the versatility and usefulness of hemp for products ranging from engineering fibers and textiles to food and health products has developed over the last 30 years. Hemp-based products are thriving on the market for public demand. In Virginia, passage of legislation in 2017 made hemp a legal cash crop. Appropriate management decisions rely on information available from researchers. However, very few data on hemp production are available for this region. Hemp varieties may differ in part due to the broad range of latitude associated with their source of origin (e.g., from Italy to Finland in Europe) and thus the plant's differential responses to light and temperature regimes. Thus, a factor such as varietal response to soil temperature at germination could be an important variable for successful establishment, which is critical to crop productivity. Stand establishment, in turn, may be affected by factors such as germination temperature, which has implications for planting date. Along with establishment, few data have been published regarding hemp's tolerance to different herbicides. To date, the only published studies from the Southern region of the United States regarding hemp production in response to herbicide treatments were conducted in Kentucky. Generating basic information on hemp response to temperature for germination and tolerance to herbicides will be important step for developing a suite of useful agronomic practices that support the incorporation of hemp into Virginia cropping systems. The hemp industry's development in Virginia is still in its early stages, and the research described here focused on questions related to germination temperature and herbicide tolerance will help to improve our understanding of and determine suitable agronomic practices for the crop We thus designed experiments to test the following null hypotheses: Industrial hemp will not differ in germination response to temperatures, regardless of source of origin. Industrial hemp will not differ in measures of visible injury, yield, and growth in response to preemergent or postemergent herbicide treatments. / Master of Science / Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) has a long history of human use. Early in the 20th century, some predicted hemp would be the first billion dollar crop given its multiple industrial applications. Government policy that restricted, then prohibited, hemp’s use in the U.S. prevented that from happening. A reawakening to the versatility and usefulness of hemp for products ranging from engineering fibers and textiles to food and health products has developed over the last 30 years. Hemp-based products are thriving on the market for public demand. In Virginia, passage of legislation in 2017 made hemp a legal cash crop. Appropriate management decisions rely on information available from researchers. However, very few data on hemp production are available for this region. Hemp varieties may differ in part due to the broad range of latitude associated with their source of origin (e.g., from Italy to Finland in Europe) and thus the plant’s differential responses to light and temperature regimes. Thus, a factor such as varietal response to soil temperature at germination could be an important variable for successful establishment, which is critical to crop productivity. Stand establishment, in turn, may be affected by factors such as germination temperature, which has implications for planting date. Along with establishment, few data have been published regarding hemp’s tolerance to different herbicides. To date, the only published studies from the Southern region of the United States regarding hemp production in response to herbicide treatments were conducted in Kentucky. Generating basic information on hemp response to temperature for germination and tolerance to herbicides will be important step for developing a suite of useful agronomic practices that support the incorporation of hemp into Virginia cropping systems. The hemp industry’s development in Virginia is still in its early stages, and the research described here – focused on questions related to germination temperature and herbicide tolerance – will help to improve our understanding of and determine suitable agronomic practices for the crop We thus designed experiments to test the following null hypotheses: Industrial hemp will not differ in germination response to temperatures, regardless of source of origin. Industrial hemp will not differ in measures of visible injury, yield, and growth in response to preemergent or postemergent herbicide treatments.

Hemp seed proteins (HSP) were investigated for physicochemical and functional properties in model food systems. In addition, the HSP were enzymatically digested and the released peptides investigated as potential therapeutic agents. Membrane isolated HSP (mHPC) were the most soluble with >60% solubility at pH 3-9 when compared to a maximum of 27% for isoelectric pH-precipitated proteins (iHPI). However, iHPI formed emulsions with smaller oil droplet sizes (<1 µm) while mHPI formed bigger oil droplets. The iHPI was subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis using different concentrations (1-4%) of six proteases (pepsin, pancreatin, flavourzyme, thermoase, papain and alcalase) to produce various HSP hydrolysates (HPHs). HPHs had strong in vitro inhibitions of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and renin activities, the two main enzyme systems involved in hypertension. Oral administration of the HPHs to spontaneously hypertensive rats led to fast and persistent reductions in systolic blood pressure. The HPHs also inhibited in vitro activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), a serine hydrolase whose excessive activities lead to inadequate level of the cholinergic neurotransmitter, acetylcholine (ACh). Inadequate ACh level in the brain has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD); therefore, AChE inhibition is a therapeutic target. The 1% pepsin HPH was the most active with up to 54% AChE inhibition at 10 µg/mL peptide concentration. The 1% pepsin HPH (dominated by <1 kDa) was subjected to reverse-phase HPLC peptide purification coupled with tandem mass spectrometry, which led to identification of several peptide sequences. Some of the peptides inhibited activities of both animal and human AChE forms with LYV being the most potent against human AChE (IC50 = 7 µg/ml). Thus the LYV peptide may serve as a useful template for the development of future potent AChE-inhibitory peptidomimetics. In conclusion, several novel AChE-inhibitory peptides were discovered and their amino acid sequences elucidated for the first time. Results from this work identified HSP products that could serve as functional ingredients in the food industry. The work also produced and confirmed the in vitro AChE-inhibitory activities of several new peptide sequences that may serve as therapeutic agents for AD management. / October 2015

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:19:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2008 - Ana Maria Motta Ribeiro.pdf: 1483676 bytes, checksum: f690f9b834362b5dbb0eb9c9597a9fbd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-02-29 / This paper tries to analyze, in a critical way, the syndicalism in the Polo Sindical do Subm?dio S?o Francisco, inserted in a region identified by the Press as the Hemp Polygon. It intends to understand, from the field work, the insertion of the subject of the hemp plantation (criminalized) in the agenda of the Polo Sindical do Subm?dio S?o Francisco. The study intends to understand this phenomenon through a historical retrospection and an analysis about the region understood as a social-political production of territorialities. Also, it develops an attempt of explanation of the crossing between illegal agriculture and the dynamic of syndical struggle for the recovery of the version which the entity produces and legitimates as its biography in order to understand how and by whom the justification of that crossing is built. In this process of sociological undoing of the Hemp Polygon, it is shown how, when and through which means the subject of the illegal cultivation enters the agenda of the entity. / Esta TESE tenta analisar de modo cr?tico o sindicalismo do P?lo Sindical do Subm?dio S?o Francisco inserido numa regi?o identificada pela M?dia como o Pol?gono da Maconha . Pretende compreender, a partir de pesquisa de campo, a entrada do tema do plantio de maconha (criminalizado) na agenda do P?lo Sindical do Subm?dio S?o Francisco. O estudo pretende entender esse fen?meno atrav?s de uma retrospectiva hist?rica e de uma an?lise sobre a regi?o entendida como uma produ??o s?cio pol?tica de territorialidades. Tamb?m desenvolve uma tentativa de explica??o do cruzamento entre agricultura il?cita e a din?mica da luta sindical, pela recupera??o da vers?o que a entidade produz e legitima como sua biografia para entender como ? elaborada e por quem, a justificativa desse cruzamento. Neste processo de desconstru??o sociol?gica do Pol?gono da Maconha, se destaca como, quando e atrav?s de que media??es o tema do cultivo il?cito entra na agenda da entidade.

Il rinnovato interesse nella coltivazione della canapa industriale non è stato supportato da studi approfonditi e generalmente si basa su esperienze dirette di coltivazione. Questo studio si prefigge come obbiettivo quello di sfruttare tutte la parti della pianta di canapa per migliorare l’economicità complessiva della sua coltivazione tramite l’uso di tecniche agronomiche e di pratiche post-raccolta. La Cannabis sativa ha un vasto campo di applicazioni, tra cui le più promettenti in termini di ritorno economico sono il cosmetico e il farmaceutico. I composti naturali più interessanti della Cannabis sono i cannabinoidi non-psicoattivi cannabidiolo (CBD) e cannabigerolo (CBG) presenti in elevate concentrazioni nelle foglie e nelle brattee di Cannabis. Altri metaboliti secondari prodotti dalla canapa e di grande interesse sono le cannflavine, una classe di prenil-flavonoidi caratteristico di questa specie. Nel primo e nel secondo capitolo la dinamica temporale di accumulo dei metaboliti secondari ad elevato valore aggiunto è stata monitorata per alcune delle varietà più comuni di canapa industriale ed è stata determinata la produzione potenziale di questi composti. Nel terzo capitolo una collezione di semi di canapa è stata valutata per le caratteristiche morfologiche e per il contenuto e la qualità dell’olio. Concludendo questo studio contribuisce allo sviluppo di una coltivazione della canapa per le molteplici destinazioni d’uso dei semi e del fitocomplesso. / Rapidly growing interest into industrial hemp cultivation is not supported by strong data and generally is referred to a limited experience on field cultivation. This study aims to exploit all the parts of hemp plant, in order to ameliorate the overall economy of its cultivation and by providing information on agronomic management and post-harvest operations. Cannabis sativa has a wide range of industrial applications and the most promising, in terms of economic revenues, are the cosmetic and pharmaceutics. The most interesting phytochemicals in Cannabis are the cannabinoids, in particular the non-intoxicating compounds cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG), present at high concentration in the leaves and bracts of Cannabis. Some other promising secondary metabolites of hemp are cannflavins, a class of prenyl-flavonoids characteristic of this species. In the first and second chapter the time course accumulation of high added-value compounds was monitored for some of the most common industrial hemp cultivars, and the potential production was assessed. In the third chapter a collection of hemp seeds was evaluated for its morphological characteristics and for its oil content and quality. In conclusion this thesis contributes to a further development of multipurpose hemp cultivation for seed and phytocomplex production.

Produktionen av syntetiska textilfibrer har lett till stora konsekvenser för miljön, bland annat i form av utsläpp av mikroplaster samt stora koldioxidutsläpp. Textilbranschen har i och med globaliseringen centrerat produktionen till ett fåtal låglöneländer och avståndet mellan producent och konsument har gjort det svårare för användaren att förstå vilket avtryck en vara lämnar på miljön. För att kunna ställa om till en mer hållbar textilindustri, finns inom EU en strävan efter innovativa lösningar och nya affärsmodeller. Ett område som fått ett stort genomslag inom hållbara material är biokompositer, som helt eller delvis är tillverkade av förnybara råvaror och är biologiskt nedbrytbara. Högskolan i Borås koordinerar projektet Biobaserade restströmmar med potential i teknisk textilindustri och har för detta köpt in spillmaterial från företaget Svensk Hampaindustri (SHI), i form av hampastjälkar. Som komplement till tidigare studier inom projektets ramar, syftar denna studie till att undersöka spillmaterialets potential utifrån estetiska aspekter, för att kunna bredda dess användningsområden till att omfatta heminredning och således förbättra möjligheterna att tillvarata lokalproducerat växtmaterial. För att ta reda på detta framställdes tre biokompositer av spillmaterialet. I två utav materialen tillsattes även behandlade hampafibrer respektive ull, för att undersöka om och hur det förändrade resultatet utifrån ett estetiskt perspektiv. I syfte att undersöka kundintresset utvärderades dessa materialprototyper genom en liten marknadsundersökning. På grund av det knappa underlaget, kan inga långtgående slutsatser dras utifrån resultatet men det ger dock en indikation på att det finns ett kundintresse för materialen utifrån dess estetiska aspekter och framför allt i kombination med dess fördelar avseende hållbarhet, däribland lokal produktion. Respondenterna kunde se en rad potentiella användningsområden för biokompositerna inom området heminredning. Resultaten stärker således tesen om att spillmaterialet från SHI kan utgöra en lokal källa till hållbara produkter, där det estetiska har en avgörande roll och att det är befogat med satsningar på infrastruktur och ny teknik för att kunna ta tillvara och förädla detta. Att möjliggöra för odlarna själva att bereda fibrerna för framställning av kompositer eller textilier, skulle dessutom kunna stärka den lokala kunskapen om råvaran och kunna bidra till ökad lokal självförsörjning. Resultaten av studien kan således vara ett steg i rätt riktning mot ett systemskifte där hållbar lokal produktutveckling och design ersätter globala värdekedjor och mot omställningen mot en mer hållbar och fossilfri ekonomi vilket EU eftersträvar. / The production of synthetic textile fibers has resulted in major environmental impacts, including large emissions of carbon dioxide and microplastics. Along with the globalization, the textile industry has concentrated the production to a few low-wage countries and the distance between producer and consumer has made it more difficult for the user to understand the environmental impact of a product. In order to promote a more sustainable textile industry, there is a quest for innovative solutions and new business models within the EU. One significant area when it comes to sustainable materials is biocomposites, which are made entirely or partially from renewable and biodegradable sources. The University of Borås coordinates a project called Bio-based residual streams with potential in the technical textile industry, and has for this purpose purchased waste material from the company Svensk Hampaindustri (SHI), in terms of hemp stalks. As a complement to previous studies within the framework of the project, this report aims to investigate the potential of the waste material based on aesthetic aspects in order to expand the areas of use to also include interior decoration. This could improve the possibility of making better use of locally produced plant material. To investigate this, three biocomposites were produced from the waste material. In two of the materials, treated hemp fibers and wool were added, to find out whether it affected the result from an easthetic perspective, and in that case how. In order to investigate the customer interest, these material prototypes were evaluated through a small market survey. The result indicates that there is a customer interest for the materials based on its aesthetic aspects and especially in combination with its advantages regarding sustainability, including local production. The respondents could see a wide range of potential uses for the biocomposites in the field of home decoration. The results strenghten the thesis that the waste material from SHI can contribute as a local source of sustainable products, where the aesthetics has a major role and that investments in infrastructure and new technology according to the processing of the raw material, is justified. Enabling the farmers to prepare the fibers themselves for the production of composites or textiles, could also strengthen local knowledge of the raw material and further contribute to increased local self-sufficiency. The results of the report can therefore promote a system shift where sustainable product development and design replaces global value chains and further support the transition to a more sustainable and fossil free economy, in accordance with the ambition of the EU.

Cold pressed Hemp (Cannabis sativa L) seed oil, which contains a favorable ratio of omega-6/omega-3 and a considerable amount of vitamin E, is a high nutrition value product with various health benefits. However, the presence of a large amount of chlorophyll makes the oil highly susceptible to photo-oxidation and limits its applications. Chlorophyll and other pigments in edible oils are commonly reduced through oil bleaching process. The objective of this study was to reduce the chlorophyll content in cold pressed hemp seed oil using ultrasonic bleaching and evaluate the impacts on carotene content, peroxide value, conjugated diene, total phenolic content and oxidative stability. The bleaching efficiency increased significantly as the ultrasound power (0 to 60% pressure amplitude) and concentration of bleaching clay (20 to 40 g/kg) increased. At 20% ultrasound power, the chlorophyll reduction (%) of different clays was found to be 99.4% (industrial clay) > 97.8% (activated bentonite) > 82.7% (sepiolite) > 47.1% (non-activated bentonite). Ultrasonic bleaching significantly reduced (p<0.05) the total chlorophyll content, total carotene content and primary oxidation products of hemp seed oil. During accelerated oxidation tests (40 and 60 ℃), the developments of peroxide value and conjugated diene were significantly (p<0.05) slower for hemp seed oil treated with ultrasonic bleaching compared to the control oil. Enhanced oxidative stability was observed in hemp seed oil after ultrasonic bleaching. In addition, another objective of this study was to evaluate the impacts of solvent and heat treatment on phenolic profile and antioxidant activity of cold pressed canola and hemp meals. For canola meal, a solvent-mixture of aqueous methanol (70%) and aqueous acetone (70%) in a ratio of 1:1 (v/v) extracted (p<0.05) slightly higher total phenolic content (11.3 mg SAE/g), while aqueous methanol (70%) extracts exhibited higher DPPH scavenging effect (40.4%). For hemp meal, aqueous acetone (80%) extracts exhibited higher total phenolic content (6.0 mg GAE/g) and DPPH scavenging effect (12.5%). Total phenolic content and antioxidant activity in canola meal extracts were significantly higher (p<0.05) than those in hemp meal extracts. After heat treatments at temperature from 140 to 180 ℃, canola and hemp meal extracts showed equal or lower total phenolic content and DPPH scavenging effect. / May 2017