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Crop production is among the most extensive human activities on the planet – with critical importance for global food security, land use, environmental burden, and climate. Yet despite the key role that croplands play in global land use and Earth systems, there remains little understanding of how spatial patterns of global crop cultivation have recently evolved and which crops have contributed most to these changes. Here we construct a new data library of subnational crop-specific irrigated and rainfed harvested area statistics and combine it with global gridded land cover products to develop a global gridded (5-arcminute) irrigated and rainfed cropped area (MIRCA-OS) dataset for the years 2000 to 2015 for 23 crop classes. These global data products support critical insights into the spatially detailed patterns of irrigated and rainfed cropland change since the start of the century and provide an improved foundation for a wide array of global assessments spanning agriculture, water resource management, land use change, climate impact, and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cropping system practice is the sequential cultivation of crops in different crop seasons of a year. Cropping system practices determine the land productivity and sustainability of agriculture in regions and, therefore, information on cropping systems of different regions in the form of maps and statistics form critical inputs in crop planning for optimal use of resources. Although satellite-based crop mapping is widely practiced, deriving cropping systems maps using satellites is less reported. Here, we developed moderate-resolution maps of the major cropping systems of South Asia for the year 2014–2015 using multi-temporal satellite data together with a spectral matching technique (SMT) developed with an extensive set of field observation data supplemented with expert-identified crops in high-resolution satellite images. We identified and mapped 27 major cropping systems of South Asia at 250 m spatial resolution. The rice-wheat cropping system is the dominant system, followed by millet-wheat and soybean-wheat. The map showing the cropping system practices of regions opens up many use cases related to the agriculture performance of the regions. Comparison of such maps of different time periods offers insights on sensitive regions and analysis of such maps in conjunction with resources maps such as climate, soil, etc., enables optimization of resources vis-à-vis enhancing land productivity. Thus, the current study offers new opportunities to revisit the cropping system practices and redesign the same to meet the challenges of food security and climate resilient agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The future generation of wireless communications systems uses the generalized frequency division multiplexing (GFDM) due to its viable candidate waveform to perform multiple user scheduling. It is a non‐orthogonal waveform susceptible to intercarrier and intersymbol interference (ISI); still, it offers flexible pulse shaping that enhances the efficiency of user scheduling. Here, to accomplish spatial diversity, the multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) is incorporated with GFDM to enhance the performance; there is also an extra inter‐antenna interference problem that limits the model's performance. The issue concerning inter‐antenna interference can be resolved by adopting pilot‐based information transfer. The detection of a signal at the receiver based on the minimum mean square error has the issue of computational complexity while enhancing the estimation quality of a detector. Hence, a low‐complexity channel estimation technique is proposed in this research using the V‐degree polynomial‐based channel estimation technique, wherein the cubic order computation is reduced to square order. Also, the proposed adaptive pulse shaping technique, wherein the filter coefficient is optimized using the gazelle optimization algorithm (GOA) to provide optimal pulse shaping filter parameters by employing bit error rate (BER) as the objective function. The performance of a proposed V‐degree polynomial‐based channel estimation is analyzed based on various assessment measures like BER and MSE and acquired the minimal values of 5.75E‐05 and 2.07E‐05, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As wind energy expands to achieve the United States' net zero emission goals, compensatory mitigation will be required to offset negative effects on birds and bats. The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is particularly susceptible to collision with wind turbines, but only 1 option for offsetting mortalities has been approved by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service despite many sources of anthropogenic‐caused mortality. We update a previously developed vehicle‐collision model with data collected during 3 winters from 2016 to 2019 and integrate a resource equivalency analysis so that relocation of road‐killed game animals can be used as mitigation to offset incidental mortality. We parameterized golden eagle behaviors using motion‐sensitive cameras placed at roadside carcasses. We quantified the effects of different carcass‐relocation schemes based on vehicle and carcass characteristics observed for Wyoming, USA. Our model results indicate that while eagles saved per relocated carcass depends on relocation interval and vehicle traffic volume, carcass relocation is a viable mitigation strategy; up to 7 eagles could be saved each year in some counties. While some uncertainty remains about the precise credit received from each carcass relocated, delaying the inclusion of additional mitigation methods prevents opportunities for conservation action. An adaptive management program could be a way forward where management and monitoring are combined to further improve estimates of mitigation credit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Induction immunosuppression therapy plays a significant role in the prevention of acute rejection in renal transplantation. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of rabbit anti‑thymocyte globulin (rATG) used as induction immunosuppression in Indian patients undergoing renal transplantation. Patients and Methods: RISE was a multicenter (n = 20), prospective observational cohort study of patients aged ≥ 18 years undergoing a first or repeat renal transplant and receiving rATG as part of the routine management practice. Twelve‑month acute rejection was evaluated as a primary endpoint. Results: A total of 325 patients were enrolled, of which 313 patients received at least one dose of rATG with a mean (standard deviation [SD]) duration of induction therapy of 2.07 (1.33) days. The mean (SD) cumulative rATG induction dose was 2.6 (1.5) mg/kg. The mean (SD) glomerular filtration rate was 64.59 (19.57) mL/min/1.73 m² at 6 months and 64.93 (20.26) mL/min/1.73 m² at 1 year. The incidence of acute rejection at 1 year was 7.7% (n = 23). Graft rejection at 6 months was observed in 6.7% (n = 20) patients and an average time to first graft rejection of 5.4 and 10.3 months at 6 and 12 months, respectively. In total, 342 adverse events (AEs) were reported (n = 154, 49.2%) after 12 months, of which 11 events were related to the rATG treatment. Pyrexia was the most commonly reported serious adverse event (n = 10, 3.2%). Seven deaths were reported during the study. Conclusions: The study revealed the effectiveness and safety of rATG induction therapy in the Indian context as expected based on the data from randomized clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Author(s): Josh M. Gray [sup.1] , Steve Frolking [sup.2] , Eric A. Kort [sup.3] , Deepak K. Ray [sup.4] , Christopher J. Kucharik [sup.5] , Navin Ramankutty [sup.6] [sup.7] , [...], Increases in agricultural productivity are shown, using production statistics and a carbon accounting model, to explain as much as a quarter of the observed increase in the seasonal amplitude of the Northern Hemisphere atmospheric carbon dioxide cycle. Agricultural advance increases atmospheric CO.sub.2 seasonality The atmospheric CO.sub.2 record displays a seasonal cycle reflecting seasonal variations in CO.sub.2 uptake by terrestrial vegetation. An increase in the amplitude of this seasonal cycle over the past five decades cannot be fully explained at present. Two groups now report that the intensification of agriculture may have been a key contributor to the increase in atmospheric CO.sub.2 seasonal amplitude. Ning Zeng et al. used the VEGAS terrestrial biosphere model to show that enhanced mid-latitude agricultural productivity contributed 45% of the increasing amplitude of global net surface carbon fluxes for the period 1961 to 2010, compared to 29% from climate change and 26% from CO.sub.2 fertilization. Josh Gray et al. used crop production statistics from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and a carbon accounting model to demonstrate that as much as a quarter of the observed change in atmospheric CO.sub.2 seasonality can be explained by elevated crop productivity, with maize, wheat, rice and soybean major contributors. These studies will contribute to a better understanding of the global carbon cycle, and highlight the extent to which human actions are changing large-scale biosphere-atmosphere interactions. Ground- and aircraft-based measurements show that the seasonal amplitude of Northern Hemisphere atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO.sub.2) concentrations has increased by as much as 50 per cent over the past 50 years.sup.1,2,3. This increase has been linked to changes in temperate, boreal and arctic ecosystem properties and processes such as enhanced photosynthesis, increased heterotrophic respiration, and expansion of woody vegetation.sup.4,5,6. However, the precise causal mechanisms behind the observed changes in atmospheric CO.sub.2 seasonality remain unclear.sup.2,3,4. Here we use production statistics and a carbon accounting model to show that increases in agricultural productivity, which have been largely overlooked in previous investigations, explain as much as a quarter of the observed changes in atmospheric CO.sub.2 seasonality. Specifically, Northern Hemisphere extratropical maize, wheat, rice, and soybean production grew by 240 per cent between 1961 and 2008, thereby increasing the amount of net carbon uptake by croplands during the Northern Hemisphere growing season by 0.33 petagrams. Maize alone accounts for two-thirds of this change, owing mostly to agricultural intensification within concentrated production zones in the midwestern United States and northern China. Maize, wheat, rice, and soybeans account for about 68 per cent of extratropical dry biomass production, so it is likely that the total impact of increased agricultural production exceeds the amount quantified here.

Contemporary agriculture faces enormous challenges (1-3). Even with recent productivity gains, roughly one in seven people lack access to food or are chronically malnourished, stemming from continued poverty and mounting [...], Increasing population and consumption are placing unprecedented demands on agriculture and natural resources. Today, approximately a billion people are chronically malnourished while our agricultural systems are concurrently degrading land, water, biodiversity and climate on a global scale. To meet the world's future food security and sustainability needs, food production must grow substantially while, at the same time, agriculture's environmental footprint must shrink dramatically. Here we analyse solutions to this dilemma, showing that tremendous progress could be made by halting agricultural expansion, closing 'yield gaps' on underperforming lands, increasing cropping efficiency, shifting diets and reducing waste. Together, these strategies could double food production while greatly reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture.

In the coming decades, a crucial challenge for humanity will be meeting future food demands without undermining further the integrity of the Earth's environmental systems (1-6). Agricultural systems are already [...]