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Sample records for strategy yielded higher

  1. Setting the Record Straight on "High-Yield" Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marzano, Robert J.

    2009-01-01

    Widely credited with proposing nine "high-yield" instructional strategies, author Robert J. Marzano sets the record straight about the broader number of strategies identified by the research. He provides a list of 41 strategies and suggests more nuanced ways of using, observing, and evaluating them. (Contains 1 figure.)

  2. Nitrogen rate strategies for reducing yield-scaled nitrous oxide emissions in maize

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Xu; Nafziger, Emerson D.; Pittelkow, Cameron M.

    2017-12-01

    Mitigating nitrogen (N) losses from agriculture without negatively impacting crop productivity is a pressing environmental and economic challenge. Reductions in N fertilizer rate are often highlighted as a solution, yet the degree to which crop yields and economic returns may be impacted at the field-level remains unclear, in part due to limited data availability. Farmers are risk averse and potential yield losses may limit the success of voluntary N loss mitigation protocols, thus understanding field-level yield tradeoffs is critical to inform policy development. Using a case study of soil N2O mitigation in the US Midwest, we conducted an ex-post assessment of two economic and two environmental N rate reduction strategies to identify promising practices for maintaining maize yields and economic returns while reducing N2O emissions per unit yield (i.e. yield-scaled emissions) compared to an assumed baseline N input level. Maize yield response data from 201 on-farm N rate experiments were combined with an empirical equation predicting N2O emissions as a function of N rate. Results indicate that the economic strategy aimed at maximizing returns to N (MRTN) led to moderate but consistent reductions in yield-scaled N2O emissions with small negative impacts on yield and slight increases in median returns. The economic optimum N rate strategy reduced yield-scaled N2O emissions in 75% of cases but increased them otherwise, challenging the assumption that this strategy will automatically reduce environmental impacts per unit production. Both environmental strategies, one designed to increase N recovery efficiency and one to balance N inputs with grain N removal, further reduced yield-scaled N2O emissions but were also associated with negative yield penalties and decreased returns. These results highlight the inherent tension between achieving agronomic and economic goals while reducing environmental impacts which is often overlooked in policy discussions. To enable the

  3. Engineering strategy of yeast metabolism for higher alcohol production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shimizu Hiroshi

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background While Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a promising host for cost-effective biorefinary processes due to its tolerance to various stresses during fermentation, the metabolically engineered S. cerevisiae strains exhibited rather limited production of higher alcohols than that of Escherichia coli. Since the structure of the central metabolism of S. cerevisiae is distinct from that of E. coli, there might be a problem in the structure of the central metabolism of S. cerevisiae. In this study, the potential production of higher alcohols by S. cerevisiae is compared to that of E. coli by employing metabolic simulation techniques. Based on the simulation results, novel metabolic engineering strategies for improving higher alcohol production by S. cerevisiae were investigated by in silico modifications of the metabolic models of S. cerevisiae. Results The metabolic simulations confirmed that the high production of butanols and propanols by the metabolically engineered E. coli strains is derived from the flexible behavior of their central metabolism. Reducing this flexibility by gene deletion is an effective strategy to restrict the metabolic states for producing target alcohols. In contrast, the lower yield using S. cerevisiae originates from the structurally limited flexibility of its central metabolism in which gene deletions severely reduced cell growth. Conclusions The metabolic simulation demonstrated that the poor productivity of S. cerevisiae was improved by the introduction of E. coli genes to compensate the structural difference. This suggested that gene supplementation is a promising strategy for the metabolic engineering of S. cerevisiae to produce higher alcohols which should be the next challenge for the synthetic bioengineering of S. cerevisiae for the efficient production of higher alcohols.

  4. A combined simple bubbling method with high performance liquid chromatography purification strategy, higher radiochemical yield and purity and faster preparation of carbon-11-raclopride.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Huacheng; Ning, Yanli; Zhang, Bucheng; Lou, Cen

    2015-01-01

    Carbon-11-raclopride (¹¹C-R) is a positron-emitting radiotracer successfully used for the study of cognitive control and widely applied in PET imaging. A simple automated preparation of ¹¹C-R by using the reaction of carbon-(11)-methyl triflate (¹¹C-MeOTF) or ¹¹C-methyl iodide (¹¹C-MeI) with demethylraclopride is described. Specifically we used a simple setup applied an additional "U" reaction vessel for ¹¹C-MeOTf compared with ¹¹C-MeI and assessed the influence of several solvents and of the amount of the percussor for ¹¹C-methylation of demethylraclopride by the bubbling method. The reversal of retention order between product and its precursor has been achieved for ¹¹C-R, enabling collection of the purified ¹¹C-R by using the HPLC column after shorter retention time. By the improved radiosynthesis and purification strategy, ¹¹C-R could be prepared with higher radiochemical yield than that of the previous studies. The yield for ¹¹C-MeOTf was 76% and for ¹¹C-CH3I >26% and with better radiochemical purity (>99% based on both ¹¹C-MeOTf and ¹¹C-MeI) as compared to the previously obtained purity of ¹¹C-R using HPLC method with acetonitrile as a part of mobile phase. Furthermore, by using ethanol as the organic modifier, residual solvent analysis prior to human injection could be avoided and ¹¹C-R could be injected directly following simple dilution and sterile filtration. Improved radiosynthesis and HPLC purification in combination with ethanol containing eluent, extremely shortened the time for preparation of ¹¹C-R, gave a higher radiochemical yield and purity for ¹¹C-R and can be used for multiple and faster synthesis of ¹¹C-R and probably for other ¹¹C-labeled radiopharmaceuticals.

  5. Post-weaning feed efficiency decreased in progeny of higher milk yielding beef cows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulliniks, J T; Edwards, S R; Hobbs, J D; McFarlane, Z D; Cope, E R

    2018-02-01

    Current trends in the beef industry focus on selecting production traits with the purpose of maximizing calf weaning weight; however, such traits may ultimately decrease overall post-weaning productivity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of actual milk yield in mature beef cows on their offspring's dry matter intake (DMI), BW, average daily gain, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and residual feed intake (RFI) during a ~75-day backgrounding feeding trial. A period of 24-h milk production was measured with a modified weigh-suckle-weigh technique using a milking machine. After milking, cows were retrospectively classified as one of three milk yield groups: Lower (6.57±1.21 kg), Moderate (9.02±0.60 kg) or Higher (11.97±1.46 kg). Calves from Moderate and Higher milk yielding dams had greater (Pfeeding phase; however, day 75 BW were not different (P=0.36) between Lower and Moderate calves. Body weight gain was greater (P=0.05) for Lower and Moderate calves from the day 0 BW to day 35 BW compared with Higher calves. Overall DMI was lower (P=0.03) in offspring from Lower and Moderate cows compared with their Higher milking counterparts. With the decreased DMI, FCR was lower (P=0.03) from day 0 to day 35 in calves from Lower and Moderate milk yielding dams. In addition, overall FCR was lower (P=0.02) in calves from Lower and Moderate milk yielding dams compared with calves from Higher milk yielding dams. However, calving of Lower milk yielding dams had an increased (P=0.04) efficiency from a negative RFI value compared with calves from Moderate and Higher milking dams. Results from this study suggest that increased milk production in beef cows decreases feed efficiency during a 75-day post-weaning, backgrounding period of progeny.

  6. Creating marketing strategies for higher education institutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lidia Białoń

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The article presents a thesis that the primary premise of creating marketing strategies for higher education institution is a three-dimensional notion of marketing. The first dimension lies in the theoretical notions of the essence of marketing, including the transactional marketing (1.0, relationship marketing (2.0 and spiritual marketing (3.0. The second dimension is formed by methods of marketing research and accurate notions of marketing, while the third are channels of marketing information. Harmonizing these three dimensions is a precondition for effective marketing. Among other conditions for effective strategies there are: aligning goals of the chosen strategy with the mission of higher education institution, correct choice of targeted segments of the market and of marketing tools. The article also gives a sample classification of marketing strategies based on these criteria, with emphasis on the fact, that every higher education institution employs its own strategy.

  7. Metacognition and Successful Learning Strategies in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Railean, Elena, Ed.; Alev Elçi, Ed.; Elçi, Atilla, Ed.

    2017-01-01

    Metacognition plays an important role in numerous aspects of higher educational learning strategies. When properly integrated in the educational system, schools are better equipped to build more efficient and successful learning strategies for students in higher education. "Metacognition and Successful Learning Strategies in Higher…

  8. Corn stover harvest strategy effects on grain yield and soil quality indicators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Douglas, K.; Stuart, B.; Adam, W.

    2013-01-01

    Developing strategies to collect and use cellulo sic biomass for bio energy production is important because those materials are not used as human food sources. This study compared corn (Zea mays L.) stover harvest strategies on a 50 ha Clarion- Nicol let-Webster soil Association site near Emmetsburg, Iowa, USA. Surface soil samples (0 to 15 cm) were analyzed after each harvest to monitor soil organic carbon (Soc), ph, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) changes. Grain yields in 2008, before the stover harvest treatments were imposed, averaged 11.4 Mg ha-1. In 2009, 2010, and 2011 grain yields averaged 10.1, 9.7, and 9.5 Mg ha-1, respectively. Although grain yields after stover harvest strategies imposed were lower than in 2008, there were no significant differences among the treatments. Four-year average stover collection rates ranged 1.0 to 5.2 Mg ha-1 which was 12 to 60% of the above-ground biomass. Soc showed a slight decrease during the study, but the change was not related to any specific stover harvest treatment. Instead, we attribute the Soc decline to the tillage intensity and lower than expected crop yields. Overall, these results are consistent with other Midwestern USA studies that indicate corn stover should not be harvested if average grain yields are less than 11 Mg ha-1

  9. Strategy for continuous improvement in IC manufacturability, yield, and reliability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dreier, Dean J.; Berry, Mark; Schani, Phil; Phillips, Michael; Steinberg, Joe; DePinto, Gary

    1993-01-01

    Continual improvements in yield, reliability and manufacturability measure a fab and ultimately result in Total Customer Satisfaction. A new organizational and technical methodology for continuous defect reduction has been established in a formal feedback loop, which relies on yield and reliability, failed bit map analysis, analytical tools, inline monitoring, cross functional teams and a defect engineering group. The strategy requires the fastest detection, identification and implementation of possible corrective actions. Feedback cycle time is minimized at all points to improve yield and reliability and reduce costs, essential for competitiveness in the memory business. Payoff was a 9.4X reduction in defectivity and a 6.2X improvement in reliability of 256 K fast SRAMs over 20 months.

  10. Higher antibiotic yielding mutants of bacillus subtilis by gamma radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmad, M.S.; Shaukat, G.A.; Malik, M.A.

    1987-01-01

    When Bacillus Subtilis AECL69 was grown in malt extract-pepetone-molasses-sugar (MPMS) medium, it could produce antibiotic substance(s) with antibacterial and antifungal properties in the culture fluid. The bacterial cells grown in MPMS medium were washed and suspended into distilled water and irradiated with gamma rays in Gammacell 220 at different doses. Higher antibiotic yielding isolates (plus mutants) were obtained from cell pollutions irradiated at 15 Kr. These gamma rays-induced plus mutants showed simultaneous higher production of antibacterial as well as antifungal activity. (author)

  11. Higher biomolecules yield in phytoplankton under copper exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Jaqueline Carmo; Echeveste, Pedro; Lombardi, Ana Teresa

    2018-05-30

    Copper is an important metal for industry, and its toxic threshold in natural ecosystems has increased since the industrial revolution. As an essential nutrient, it is required in minute amounts, being toxic in slightly increased concentrations, causing great biochemical transformation in microalgae. This study aimed at investigating the physiology of Scenedesmus quadricauda, a cosmopolitan species, exposed to copper concentrations including those that trigger intracellular biochemical modifications. The Cu exposure concentrations tested ranged from 0.1 to 25 µM, thus including environmentally important levels. Microalgae cultures were kept under controlled environmental conditions and monitored daily for cell density, in vivo chlorophyll a, and photosynthetic quantum yield (Φ M ). After 24 h growth, free Cu 2+ ions were determined, and after 96 h, cellular Cu concentration, total carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and cell volume were determined. The results showed that both free Cu 2+ ions and cellular Cu increased with Cu increase in culture medium. Microalgae cell abundance and in vivo chlorophyll a were mostly affected at 2.5 µM Cu exposure (3.8 pg Cu cell -1 ) and above. Approximately 31% decrease of photosynthetic quantum yield was obtained at the highest Cu exposure concentration (25 µM; 25 pg Cu cell -1 ) in comparison with the control. However, at environmentally relevant copper concentrations (0.5 µM Cu; 0.4 pg Cu cell -1 ) cell volume increased in comparison with the control. Considering biomolecules accumulation per unit cell volume, the highest carbohydrates and proteins yield was obtained at 1.0 µM Cu (1.1 pg Cu cell -1 ), while for lipids higher Cu was necessary (2.5 µM Cu; 3.8 pg Cu cell -1 ). This study is a contribution to the understanding of the effects of environmentally significant copper concentrations in the physiology of S. quadricauda, as well as to biotechnological approach to increase biomolecule yield in

  12. Nitrogen, corn, and forest genetics: the agricultural yield strategy-implications for Douglas-fir management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy R. Silen

    1982-01-01

    Agricultural yield strategy simply aims to increase number of grain bearing stalks per acre. Forestry strategies look to thinning, fertilizer, and genetics, each to provide gains. The agricultural strategies applied to Douglas-fir appear to be impractical for long rotations. Concern is expressed for commitments to perpetual inputs of materials and energy to keep a...

  13. Strategies for narrowing the maize yield gap of household farms through precision fertigation under irrigated conditions using CERES-Maize model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jiangang; Wang, Guangyao; Chu, Qingquan; Chen, Fu

    2017-07-01

    Nitrogen (N) application significantly increases maize yield; however, the unreasonable use of N fertilizer is common in China. The analysis of crop yield gaps can reveal the limiting factors for yield improvement, but there is a lack of practical strategies for narrowing yield gaps of household farms. The objectives of this study were to assess the yield gap of summer maize using an integrative method and to develop strategies for narrowing the maize yield gap through precise N fertilization. The results indicated that there was a significant difference in maize yield among fields, with a low level of variation. Additionally, significant differences in N application rate were observed among fields, with high variability. Based on long-term simulation results, the optimal N application rate was 193 kg ha -1 , with a corresponding maximum attainable yield (AY max ) of 10 318 kg ha -1 . A considerable difference between farmers' yields and AY max was observed. Low agronomic efficiency of applied N fertilizer (AE N ) in farmers' fields was exhibited. The integrative method lays a foundation for exploring the specific factors constraining crop yield gaps at the field scale and for developing strategies for rapid site-specific N management. Optimization strategies to narrow the maize yield gap include increasing N application rates and adjusting the N application schedule. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  14. Corporate real estate strategies for future higher education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ronald Beckers; Driessen Jasper

    2017-01-01

    Purpose – This paper aims to explore the alignment of Corporate Real Estate (CRE) strategies of Dutch Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) with the developments in higher education. Methodology/approach – The paper first illustrates the key developments in higher education learning and

  15. Milk yield, feed efficiency and metabolic profiles in Jersey and Holstein cows assigned to different fat supplementation strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alstrup, Lene; Nielsen, M.O.; Lund, Peter

    2015-01-01

    , compared to their lowest recorded weight after calving. Subsequently, the cows were randomly assigned to one of the four treatments until the end of lactation. There was no effect of feeding strategy on DM intake during week 9–40 of lactation. Fat supplemented rations (WCR; RPF) increased yield of milk...... energy efficiency in Jersey cows but increased energy efficiency in Holstein cows. Because fat supplementation reduced dietary protein concentration and increased milk production, protein intake was lower and N efficiency was higher on WCR and RPF than on CON. Metabolite concentrations in jugular vein...

  16. Higher School Marketing Strategy Formation: Classifying the Factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. K. Shemetova

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with the main trends of higher school management strategy formation. The author specifies the educational changes in the modern information society determining the strategy options. For each professional training level the author denotes the set of strategic factors affecting the educational service consumers and, therefore, the effectiveness of the higher school marketing. The given factors are classified from the stand-points of the providers and consumers of educational service (enrollees, students, graduates and postgraduates. The research methods include the statistic analysis and general methods of scientific analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, comparison, and classification. The author is convinced that the university management should develop the necessary prerequisites for raising the graduates’ competitiveness in the labor market, and stimulate the active marketing policies of the relating subdivisions and departments. In author’s opinion, the above classification of marketing strategy factors can be used as the system of values for educational service providers. 

  17. Coping by Copying? Higher Education Institutions' Student Recruitment Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frolich, Nicoline; Brandt, Synnove; Hovdhaugen, Elisabeth; Aamodt, Per Olaf

    2009-01-01

    Growing national and international competition for students puts pressure on higher education institutions (HEIs) to develop marketing and student recruitment strategies; these are also driven by financial stress caused by performance-based funding mechanisms. In this paper we explore Norwegian HEIs' student recruitment strategies. What type of…

  18. INTERNAL MARKETING STRATEGY IN A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aléssio Bessa Sarquis

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Internal marketing comprises the set of strategies to enable internally compliance of the organization's marketing promises. This study examines the use of internal marketing strategies in a higher education institution in the process of implementing a new educational model. This is one case study with qualitative and exploratory approach. The data collection techniques used were interviews and document analysis, interpreted through content analysis. The results show that the most commonly used strategies are: implementation of employee training programs; development of materials / guidance handouts; creating web blog; and the application of internal research. The testimonies indicate that the internal marketing strategies contributed to the implementation of new educational model, but there is dissatisfaction among managers with the internal marketing program of the institution.

  19. "Academic Strategy: The Management Revolution in American Higher Education," by George Keller (1983) Can Strategy Work in Higher Education?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Temple, Paul

    2018-01-01

    Keller's book was one of the first works to suggest strategic approaches to the management of higher education institutions. His case study method proved popular with readers. However, the limitations of his approach to strategy grew more apparent over time, although many of his insights remain valid today.

  20. Influence of solid-liquid separation strategy on biogas yield from a stratified swine production system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cestonaro do Amaral, André; Kunz, Airton; Radis Steinmetz, Ricardo Luis; Scussiato, Lucas Antunes; Tápparo, Deisi Cristina; Gaspareto, Taís Carla

    2016-03-01

    As the fourth largest swine producer and exporter, Brazil has increased its participation in the global swine production market. Generally, these units concentrate a large number of animals and generate effluents that must be correctly managed to prevent environmental impacts, being anaerobic digestion is an interesting alternative for treating these effluents. The low-volatile solid concentration in the manure suggests the need for solid-liquid separation as a tool to improve the biogas generation capacity. This study aimed to determine the influence of simplified and inexpensive solid-liquid separation strategies (screening and settling) and the different manures produced during each swine production phase (gestating and farrowing sow houses, nursery houses and finishing houses) on biogas and methane yield. We collected samples in two gestating sow houses (GSH-a and GSH-b), two farrowing sow houses (FSH-a and FSH-b), a nursery house (NH) and a finishing house (FH). Biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests were performed according to international standard procedures. The settled sludge fraction comprised 20-30% of the raw manure volume, which comprises 40-60% of the total methane yield. The methane potential of the settled sludge fraction was approximately two times higher than the methane potential of the supernatant fraction. The biogas yield differed among the raw manures from different swine production phases (GSH-a 326.4 and GSH-b 577.1; FSH-a 860.1 and FSH-b 479.2; NH -970.2; FH 474.5 NmLbiogas.gVS(-1)). The differences were relative to the production phase (feed type and feeding techniques) and the management of the effluent inside the facilities (water management). Brazilian swine production has increased his participation in the global market, been the fourth producer and the fourth exporter. The segregation of swine production in multiple sites has increased its importance, due to the possibilities to have more specialized units. Generally, these units

  1. European Strategies and Higher Education (CPP RPS 34/2012)

    OpenAIRE

    Kwiek, Marek

    2012-01-01

    This paper discusses EU-level developments in policy thinking in the area of higher education, training, and labour markets based on the analysis of a major large-scale strategy promoted by the European Commission in the 2000s: “Education and Training 2010” (ET 2010, launched in 2001, followed by a new strategy for the next decade, “Education and Training 2020”, ET 2020). The strategy shows major EU-level conceptualizations in the areas of education, training and labour market policies. The m...

  2. Targeting Millennials: Social Media Strategies within Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sessa, Whitney L.

    2015-01-01

    Using a quantitative survey method with an online questionnaire as the data collection tool, the author surveyed 189 social media managers working at American Higher Education institutions to identify forms of social media in use, along with the most popular strategies that colleges and universities use with Facebook.

  3. Core Processes Roadmap to Deploy the Higher Education Institution's Internationalization Strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena FLEACĂ

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Technological development, competition and globalisation are radically changing the landscape of higher education which maintains its crucial role in individual and societal advancement. Many higher education institutions are competing on increasing their attractiveness by providing innovative curricula, excellence in teaching and research opportunities. The paper attempts to tackle the push for stronger international presence which brings favourable conditions for internationalisation strategy at institutional level. Based on useful methods from quality management and business process reengineering, the author proposed a coherent organizational model for a higher education institution strategy, mainstreaming key areas as international mobility for students and staff, internationalization and improvement of curricula and new e-learning methods, and strategic cooperation, partnerships and capacity building with international stakeholders. The findings stress the benefits of a holistic approach in assuring the governance of internationalization strategy composed of three core processes groups - academic, research, and wider business relationships – so as to provide that process architecture is able to deliver a value added internationalised higher education offer.

  4. Formulation of Higher Education Institutional Strategy Using Operational Research Approaches

    Science.gov (United States)

    Labib, Ashraf; Read, Martin; Gladstone-Millar, Charlotte; Tonge, Richard; Smith, David

    2014-01-01

    In this paper a framework is proposed for the formulation of a higher education institutional (HEI) strategy. This work provides a practical example, through a case study, to demonstrate how the proposed framework can be applied to the issue of formulation of HEI strategy. The proposed hybrid model is based on two operational research…

  5. Creating marketing strategies for higher education institutions

    OpenAIRE

    Lidia Białoń

    2015-01-01

    The article presents a thesis that the primary premise of creating marketing strategies for higher education institution is a three-dimensional notion of marketing. The first dimension lies in the theoretical notions of the essence of marketing, including the transactional marketing (1.0), relationship marketing (2.0) and spiritual marketing (3.0). The second dimension is formed by methods of marketing research and accurate notions of marketing, while the third are channels of marketing infor...

  6. DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OF PARTNERSHIP OF HIGHER EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND BUSINESS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Mazur

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available In the article the cooperation of higher education, science and business is analysed. A conflict of civilizations wave development in the confrontation of two forces: the "factory of Education" and force change is disclosed. European and Ukrainian higher education quality estimation is analysed. The effect of unsynchronization in time is educed between the necessities of business and possibilities of education and science. Reasons of bribery are exposed at higher school. The development strategy of partnership of higher education, science and business is proposed.

  7. Synthesis of N-[methyl-11C]hydromorphone by using multivariate strategies for optimization of radiochemical yields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rimland, Annika; Bergson, Goeran; Obenius, Ulf; Sjoeberg, Stefan; Langstroem, Bengt

    1987-01-01

    The synthesis of N-[methyl- 11 C]hydromorphone has been performed by using [ 11 C]methyl iodide and desmethyl hydromorphone in a mixture of dimethylsulphoxide and dimethylformamide as solvent. Optimization of the radiochemical yield by varying the reaction conditions was performed by using multivariate strategies. The labelled hydromorphone was obtained in 72% radiochemical yield in the alkylation reaction with [ 11 C]-methyl iodide, counted from the end of the [ 11 C]methyl iodide synthesis. N-[Methyl- 11 C]hydromorphone was obtained as a ready injectable pharmaceutical solution with a total synthesis time of 40 min and in a 10% total radiochemical yield, with a radiochemical purity > 99.5%, according to HPLC analysis. (author)

  8. A general solution strategy of modified power method for higher mode solutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Peng; Lee, Hyunsuk; Lee, Deokjung

    2016-01-01

    A general solution strategy of the modified power iteration method for calculating higher eigenmodes has been developed and applied in continuous energy Monte Carlo simulation. The new approach adopts four features: 1) the eigen decomposition of transfer matrix, 2) weight cancellation for higher modes, 3) population control with higher mode weights, and 4) stabilization technique of statistical fluctuations using multi-cycle accumulations. The numerical tests of neutron transport eigenvalue problems successfully demonstrate that the new strategy can significantly accelerate the fission source convergence with stable convergence behavior while obtaining multiple higher eigenmodes at the same time. The advantages of the new strategy can be summarized as 1) the replacement of the cumbersome solution step of high order polynomial equations required by Booth's original method with the simple matrix eigen decomposition, 2) faster fission source convergence in inactive cycles, 3) more stable behaviors in both inactive and active cycles, and 4) smaller variances in active cycles. Advantages 3 and 4 can be attributed to the lower sensitivity of the new strategy to statistical fluctuations due to the multi-cycle accumulations. The application of the modified power method to continuous energy Monte Carlo simulation and the higher eigenmodes up to 4th order are reported for the first time in this paper. -- Graphical abstract: -- Highlights: •Modified power method is applied to continuous energy Monte Carlo simulation. •Transfer matrix is introduced to generalize the modified power method. •All mode based population control is applied to get the higher eigenmodes. •Statistic fluctuation can be greatly reduced using accumulated tally results. •Fission source convergence is accelerated with higher mode solutions.

  9. Quality Assurance Strategies of Higher Education in Iraq and Kurdistan: A Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaghed, Nabeel; Dezaye, Ahmed

    2009-01-01

    This paper reports on two different strategies that have been implemented in Iraq to improve quality assurance in the higher education sector in Iraq. One strategy has been developed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Baghdad. It involved conducting a pilot study at the University of Babylon. This pilot included…

  10. Winter sowing of adapted lines as a potential yield increase strategy in lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barrios, A.; Aparicio, T.; Rodríguez, M.J.; Pérez de la Vega, M.; Caminero, C.

    2016-11-01

    Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik. subsp. culinaris) is a traditional crop in Spain although current grain yield in Spain is relatively low and unstable. The effect of an early sowing date (winter sowing) on yield in the Spanish Central Plateau (meseta) was analyzed comparing it to the traditional spring sowing. Yield from eleven cultivars currently available for sowing in Spain and two F6:7 populations of recombinant inbred lines (RIL), ´Precoz´ × ´WA8649041´ (89 lines) and ´BGE016365´ × ´ILL1918´ (118 lines), was evaluated in winter and spring sowing dates for three seasons (2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08) and two localities. Yield and stability were assessed by the method of consistency of performance with some modifications. When comparing with the best currently available cultivars sown in the traditional spring sowing date, (with an estimated average yield of 43.9 g/m in our experimental conditions), winter sowing using adapted breeding lines proved to be a suitable strategy for increasing lentil yield and yield stability in the Spanish meseta, with an average yield increase of 111% (reaching an estimated yield of 92.8 g/m). Results point to that lentil production can greatly increase in the Spanish meseta if adequate plant materials, such as some of the lines analyzed, are sown at late fall. (Author)

  11. Winter sowing of adapted lines as a potential yield increase strategy in lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abel Barrios

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik. subsp. culinaris is a traditional crop in Spain although current grain yield in Spain is relatively low and unstable. The effect of an early sowing date (winter sowing on yield in the Spanish Central Plateau (meseta was analyzed comparing it to the traditional spring sowing. Yield from eleven cultivars currently available for sowing in Spain and two F6:7  populations of recombinant inbred lines (RIL, ´Precoz´ × ´WA8649041´ (89 lines and ´BGE016365´ × ´ILL1918´ (118 lines, was evaluated in winter and spring sowing dates for three seasons (2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08 and two localities. Yield and stability were assessed by the method of consistency of performance with some modifications. When comparing with the best currently available cultivars sown in the traditional spring sowing date, (with an estimated average yield of 43.9 g/m in our experimental conditions, winter sowing using adapted breeding lines proved to be a suitable strategy for increasing lentil yield and yield stability in the Spanish meseta, with an average yield increase of 111% (reaching an estimated yield of 92.8 g/m. Results point to that lentil production can greatly increase in the Spanish meseta if adequate plant materials, such as some of the lines analyzed, are sown at late fall.

  12. Teaching Strategies and Gender in Higher Education Instrumental Studios

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhukov, Katie

    2012-01-01

    This study investigates instrumental music teaching strategies in higher education settings, in order to identify those employed and their frequency and context of use. An instrument- and gender-balanced sample of 24 lessons from five institutions was analysed using a researcher-designed observational instrument. The results reveal the…

  13. An integrated mentoring strategy for service learning in higher ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Higher education in South Africa, in general, has been charged with the lack of clear strategy and commitment to relevant teaching and research that is grounded in experiential and emancipatory approaches to learning, especially given the dearth of institutional responsiveness to social responsibility. The result is that ...

  14. A Top Down Strategy to Enhance Information Technologies into Israeli Higher Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah Guri-Rosenblit

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available This article examines the integration of the new information technologies (IT into Israeli higher education, and most particularly its research universities through a top-down strategy, initiated by the Israeli Council for Higher Education since the end of 1999. This top-down strategy has created a systemic change that will affect the many layers of university activities rather than in a random, sporadic manner undertaken by enthusiastic individuals. This article discusses the built-in contradictions and dilemmas in the process of adapting distance teaching methods by conventional universities in Israel (as well as in other higher education systems. It examines the merits of a top-down strategy aimed to implement the IT through a macro-level, systemic approach, and analyses the differential uses of the IT in Israeli higher education institutions, relating to variables of: access-outreach; teaching-learning processes; study materials production; data and information retrieval; administrative functions; the creation of researchers' communities; inter-institutional collaboration; and associated costs. The article concludes with some suggestions for effective implementation of the IT in different types of higher education institutions in a comprehensive and systematic manner, that will take into account their academic ethos and organizational infrastructure, and cater to the unique needs and characteristics of their relevant constituencies.

  15. Aligning corporate real estate with the corporate strategies of higher education institutions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beckers, R; van der Voordt, Theo; Dewulf, G

    2015-01-01

    Purpose
    The purpose of this paper is to explore how corporate real estate (CRE) managers of higher education institutions formulate their CRE strategies and CRE operating decisions to align CRE with the corporate strategies of these institutions.

    Design/methodology/approach
    An

  16. Aligning corporate real estate with the corporate strategies of higher education institutions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Theo van der Voordt; Geert Dewulf; Ronald Beckers

    2015-01-01

    Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how corporate real estate (CRE) managers of higher education institutions formulate their CRE strategies and CRE operating decisions to align CRE with the corporate strategies of these institutions. Design/methodology/approach – An analytical

  17. Strategy of Slovak Republic's government to use higher education as an investment into human capital

    OpenAIRE

    Smereková, Erika

    2016-01-01

    Bc. Erika Smereková Strategy of Slovak Republic's Government to use higher education as an investment in human capital Abstract The Master thesis on the topic "Strategy of Slovak Republic's government to use higher education as an investment in human capital" presents results to the following research question: To what extent is it a part of strategy of Slovak Republic's educational policy to use higher education as an investment in human capital? The thesis specifically focuses on the idea o...

  18. Yield, yield components and dry matter digestibility of alfalfa experimental populations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katić Slobodan

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Alfalfa is the most important forage crop grown in the temperate regions. It is cultivated for production of vegetative aerial mass used fresh or as hay, and recently as haylage and silage. In many centres worldwide, efforts are made to breed and create new alfalfa cultivars with both higher yields and of higher nutritional value. The aim of this paper was to determine yield and digestibility of 12 experimental populations of alfalfa, and to compare their results to the yields of well-known domestic alfalfa commercial cultivars. The results show significant differences in yield of green forage and dry matter among alfalfa populations, as well as in yield components, height, proportion of leaves in yield and growth rate (tab. 1, 2 and 3. Differences between in vitro digestible dry matter (% and yields of in vitro digestible dry matter (t ha-1 were also significant (tab. 5 and 6. Yield and quality of experimental populations were at the same level or higher than of control cultivars. Synthetic SINUSA exceeded the control cutivars (NS Mediana ZMS V and Banat VS in yield and quality of dry matter. .

  19. Differential use of learning strategies in first-year higher education: the impact of personality, academic motivation, and teaching strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donche, Vincent; De Maeyer, Sven; Coertjens, Liesje; Van Daal, Tine; Van Petegem, Peter

    2013-06-01

    Although the evidence in support of the variability of students' learning strategies has expanded in recent years, less is known about the explanatory base of these individual differences in terms of the joint influences of personal and contextual characteristics. Previous studies have often investigated how student learning is associated with either personal or contextual factors. This study takes an integrative research perspective into account and examines the joint effects of personality, academic motivation, and teaching strategies on students' learning strategies in a same educational context in first-year higher education. In this study, 1,126 undergraduate students and 90 lecturers from eight professional bachelor programmes in a university college participated. Self-report measures were used to measure students' personality, academic motivation, and learning strategies. Students' processing and regulation strategies are mapped using the Inventory of Learning Styles. Key characteristics of more content-focused versus learning-focused teaching strategies were measured. Multivariate multi-level analysis was used to take the nested data structure and interrelatedness of learning strategies into account. Different personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism) and academic motivation (amotivation, autonomous, and controlled motivation) were found to be independently associated with student learning strategies. Besides these student characteristics, also teaching strategies were found to be directly associated with learning strategies. The study makes clear that the impact of teaching strategies on learning strategies in first-year higher education cannot be overlooked nor overinterpreted, due to the importance of students' personality and academic motivation which also partly explain why students learn the way they do. © 2013 The British Psychological Society.

  20. Optimizing rate of nitrogen application for higher growth and yield of wheat (triticum aestivum l.) cultivars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maqsood, M.; Shehzad, M.A.; Asim, A.; Ahmad, W.

    2012-01-01

    In order to optimize the nitrogen rates in three wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars for obtaining higher grain yield, a split plot experiment based on Randomized Complete Block Design with three replicates was conducted in the research field of University of Agriculture, Faisalabad during Rabi season 2006-07. Among treatments nitrogen levels (N0= 0, N/sub 1/= 50, N2= 100, N3= 150 kg ha/sup -1/) in main while wheat cultivars (V1= Punjnad-I, V/sub 2/= Fareed-2006, V3=Uqab-2000) were allocated in sub plots during the course of growing season. Traits as plant height, fertile tillers, spike length, spikelets spike-1, grains spike-1, 1000-grain weight, straw yield, grain yield and harvest index (HI) were significantly (P=0.05) affected by treatment combinations. Maximum grain yield was obtained by V3 (Uqab-2000) cultivar when treated with N3 (150 kg ha/sup -1/) fertilizer level. Also, results showed that with increasing nitrogen rates, wheat yield increases significantly up to a level of significance (P=0.05). Increasing nitrogen levels led to significantly increase in plant height (101.81 cm), spike bearing tillers (495.77), grains spike/sup -1/ (61.45), straw yield (8.60 t ha/sup -1/) and harvest index (36.17%) of V3 (Uqab-2000). In all traits except germination count, V3 (Uqab-2000) was found to be superior. (author)

  1. An Analysis of a Free Cashflow Portfolio Investment Strategy ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    An Analysis of a Free Cashflow Portfolio Investment Strategy. ... African Journal of Finance and Management ... risks that are less than one, so without additional risk, the investment strategy yields higher returns than an international investment ...

  2. Unused natural variation can lift yield barriers in plant breeding.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amit Gur

    2004-10-01

    Full Text Available Natural biodiversity is an underexploited sustainable resource that can enrich the genetic basis of cultivated plants with novel alleles that improve productivity and adaptation. We evaluated the progress in breeding for increased tomato (Solanum lycopersicum yield using genotypes carrying a pyramid of three independent yield-promoting genomic regions introduced from the drought-tolerant green-fruited wild species Solanum pennellii. Yield of hybrids parented by the pyramided genotypes was more than 50% higher than that of a control market leader variety under both wet and dry field conditions that received 10% of the irrigation water. This demonstration of the breaking of agricultural yield barriers provides the rationale for implementing similar strategies for other agricultural organisms that are important for global food security.

  3. Process-oriented guided inquiry learning strategy enhances students' higher level thinking skills in a pharmaceutical sciences course.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soltis, Robert; Verlinden, Nathan; Kruger, Nicholas; Carroll, Ailey; Trumbo, Tiffany

    2015-02-17

    To determine if the process-oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) teaching strategy improves student performance and engages higher-level thinking skills of first-year pharmacy students in an Introduction to Pharmaceutical Sciences course. Overall examination scores and scores on questions categorized as requiring either higher-level or lower-level thinking skills were compared in the same course taught over 3 years using traditional lecture methods vs the POGIL strategy. Student perceptions of the latter teaching strategy were also evaluated. Overall mean examination scores increased significantly when POGIL was implemented. Performance on questions requiring higher-level thinking skills was significantly higher, whereas performance on questions requiring lower-level thinking skills was unchanged when the POGIL strategy was used. Student feedback on use of this teaching strategy was positive. The use of the POGIL strategy increased student overall performance on examinations, improved higher-level thinking skills, and provided an interactive class setting.

  4. Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning Strategy Enhances Students’ Higher Level Thinking Skills in a Pharmaceutical Sciences Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verlinden, Nathan; Kruger, Nicholas; Carroll, Ailey; Trumbo, Tiffany

    2015-01-01

    Objective. To determine if the process-oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) teaching strategy improves student performance and engages higher-level thinking skills of first-year pharmacy students in an Introduction to Pharmaceutical Sciences course. Design. Overall examination scores and scores on questions categorized as requiring either higher-level or lower-level thinking skills were compared in the same course taught over 3 years using traditional lecture methods vs the POGIL strategy. Student perceptions of the latter teaching strategy were also evaluated. Assessment. Overall mean examination scores increased significantly when POGIL was implemented. Performance on questions requiring higher-level thinking skills was significantly higher, whereas performance on questions requiring lower-level thinking skills was unchanged when the POGIL strategy was used. Student feedback on use of this teaching strategy was positive. Conclusion. The use of the POGIL strategy increased student overall performance on examinations, improved higher-level thinking skills, and provided an interactive class setting. PMID:25741027

  5. Observations of parent-child co-shoppers in supermarkets: children's involvement in food selections, parental yielding, and refusal strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Dougherty, Maureen; Story, Mary; Stang, Jamie

    2006-01-01

    The study aimed to collect descriptive information on the decision-making processes of adult shoppers around food purchases when young children are present. Anthropological field observations were conducted on adult-child grocery shoppers. Eleven supermarkets in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan region. A convenience sample (n = 142) of adult-child shoppers at 8 budget and 3 deluxe supermarkets located in diverse urban and suburban areas. Observations registered adult-child interactions over food selections, including parental yielding or refusal strategies and child engagement in shopping. Means and frequencies were calculated for food items considered. In 67 (50.4%) of the total 133 observations, a child initiated a request. Half (55.2%) of the requests were for sweets or snacks. Nearly half (47.8%) of adults yielded to the child's request. Brands and marketing techniques appeared to be a factor in 28.6% of selections. The most frequent adult refusals either provided an explanation or ignored the request. Adults yield to children's requests for sweets and snacks nearly as often as they refuse them. However, effective refusal strategies are used by many adults. Opportunities exist in the grocery store for adults to reinforce young children's interest in food and nutrition.

  6. Service Strategies for Higher Educational Institutions Based on Student Segmentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghosh, Amit K.; Javalgi, Rajshekhar; Whipple, Thomas W.

    2008-01-01

    Over the last decade, higher education institutions in the U.S. have faced increased competition and expenditures coupled with declines in financial support. Furthermore, they often have been forced to cater to the needs of an increasingly diverse group of students and must design service strategies based on the unique needs of each group. This…

  7. On yield gaps and yield gains in intercropping

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gou, Fang; Yin, Wen; Hong, Yu; Werf, van der Wopke; Chai, Qiang; Heerink, Nico; Ittersum, van Martin K.

    2017-01-01

    Wheat-maize relay intercropping has been widely used by farmers in northwest China, and based on field experiments agronomists report it has a higher productivity than sole crops. However, the yields from farmers’ fields have not been investigated yet. Yield gap analysis provides a framework to

  8. Slope Controls Grain Yield and Climatic Yield in Mountainous Yunnan province, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duan, X.; Rong, L.; Gu, Z.; Feng, D.

    2017-12-01

    Mountainous regions are increasingly vulnerable to food insecurity because of limited arable land, growing population pressure, and climate change. Development of sustainable mountain agriculture will require an increased understanding of the effects of environmental factors on grain and climatic yields. The objective of this study was to explore the relationships between actual grain yield, climatic yield, and environmental factors in a mountainous region in China. We collected data on the average grain yield per unit area in 119 counties in Yunnan province from 1985 to 2012, and chose 17 environmental factors for the same period. Our results showed that actual grain yield ranged from 1.43 to 6.92 t·ha-1, and the climatic yield ranged from -0.15 to -0.01 t·ha-1. Lower climatic yield but higher grain yield was generally found in central areas and at lower slopes and elevations in the western and southwestern counties of Yunnan province. Higher climatic yield but lower grain yield were found in northwestern parts of Yunnan province on steep slopes. Annual precipation and temperature had a weak influence on the climatic yield. Slope explained 44.62 and 26.29% of the variation in grain yield and climatic yield. The effects of topography on grain and climatic yields were greater than climatic factors. Slope was the most important environmental variable for the variability in climatic and grain yields in the mountainous Yunnan province due to the highly heterogeneous topographic conditions. Conversion of slopes to terraces in areas with higher climatic yields is an effective way to maintain grain production in response to climate variability. Additionally, soil amendments and soil and water conservation measures should be considered to maintain soil fertility and aid in sustainable development in central areas, and in counties at lower slopes and elevations in western and southwestern Yunnan province.

  9. Modeling Growth and Yield of Schizolobium amazonicum under Different Spacings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gilson Fernandes da Silva

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to present an approach to model the growth and yield of the species Schizolobium amazonicum (Paricá based on a study of different spacings located in Pará, Brazil. Whole-stand models were employed, and two modeling strategies (Strategies A and B were tested. Moreover, the following three scenarios were evaluated to assess the accuracy of the model in estimating total and commercial volumes at five years of age: complete absence of data (S1; available information about the variables basal area, site index, dominant height, and number of trees at two years of age (S2; and this information available at five years of age (S3. The results indicated that the 3 × 2 spacing has a higher mortality rate than normal, and, in general, greater spacing corresponds to larger diameter and average height and smaller basal area and volume per hectare. In estimating the total and commercial volumes for the three scenarios tested, Strategy B seems to be the most appropriate method to estimate the growth and yield of Paricá plantations in the study region, particularly because Strategy A showed a significant bias in its estimates.

  10. Building Bridges: Seeking Structure and Direction for Higher Education Motivated Learning Strategy Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fryer, Luke K.

    2017-01-01

    Many of our current higher education (HE) learning strategy models intersect at important points. At the same time, these theories also often demonstrate important unique perspectives on student learning within HE. Currently, research with one learning strategy model rarely leads to developments in others, as each group of researchers works in…

  11. High Titer and Yields Achieved with Novel, Low-Severity Pretreatment Strategy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2016-03-01

    NREL researchers obtained high concentration sugar syrups in enzymatic hydrolysis that are fermentable to ethanol and other advanced biofuels and intermediate products at high yields. The novel DMR process is simpler and bypasses all severe pretreatment methods, thus reducing the environmental impact. The results are unprecedented. Researchers achieved a high concentration of sugars (230g/L of monomeric sugar and 270 g/L total sugar) and this low toxicity, highly fermentable syrup yielded 86 g/L ethanol (> 90 percent conversion). In addition, the lignin streams from this process can readily be converted to jet or renewable diesel blendstocks through a hydrodeoxygenation step. The NREL-developed, low severity DMR process may potentially replace higher severity chemical pretreatments and associated expensive reactors constructed of exotic alloys with a simpler process, using commercial-scale equipment commonly associated with the pulp and paper industry, to produce high concentration, low toxicity sugar streams and highly reactive lignin streams from non-food renewable biomass for biological and catalytic upgrading to advanced biofuels and chemicals. The simpler DMR process with black liquor recycling could reduce environmental and life-cycle impacts, and repurpose shuttered pulp and paper mills to help revitalize rural economies.

  12. [Academic stress, desertion, and retention strategies for students in higher education].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suárez-Montes, Nancy; Díaz-Subieta, Luz B

    2015-04-01

    A systematic review was performed to specify the characteristics of academic stress that affect the mental health of the university population. To do this, recent publications regarding academic stress, student desertion, and retention strategies were examined. Throughout this text, we present the results of the review in terms of the definitions of academic stress, student desertion, and retention strategies. In the same way, we examine the interpretative models with regard to student desertion and approach retention strategies in higher education. We also review retention experiences of several other countries. In terms of Colombia, we present aspects related to student desertion and retention programs from the point of view of the National Ministry of Education and from the experience of some universities with consolidated programs.

  13. UK Higher Education Institutions' Technology-Enhanced Learning Strategies from the Perspective of Disruptive Innovation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flavin, Michael; Quintero, Valentina

    2018-01-01

    The publication of institutional strategies for learning, teaching and assessment in UK higher education is practically ubiquitous. Strategies for technology-enhanced learning are also widespread. This article examines 44 publicly available UK university strategies for technology-enhanced learning, aiming to assess the extent to which…

  14. Using historical wafermap data for automated yield analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tobin, K.W.; Karnowski, T.P.; Gleason, S.S.; Jensen, D.; Lakhani, F.

    1999-01-01

    To be productive and profitable in a modern semiconductor fabrication environment, large amounts of manufacturing data must be collected, analyzed, and maintained. This includes data collected from in- and off-line wafer inspection systems and from the process equipment itself. This data is increasingly being used to design new processes, control and maintain tools, and to provide the information needed for rapid yield learning and prediction. Because of increasing device complexity, the amount of data being generated is outstripping the yield engineer close-quote s ability to effectively monitor and correct unexpected trends and excursions. The 1997 SIA National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors highlights a need to address these issues through open-quotes automated data reduction algorithms to source defects from multiple data sources and to reduce defect sourcing time.close quotes SEMATECH and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been developing new strategies and technologies for providing the yield engineer with higher levels of assisted data reduction for the purpose of automated yield analysis. In this article, we will discuss the current state of the art and trends in yield management automation. copyright 1999 American Vacuum Society

  15. Synthetic Brassica napus L.: Development and Studies on Morphological Characters, Yield Attributes, and Yield

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. A. Malek

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Brassica napus was synthesized by hybridization between its diploid progenitor species B. rapa and B. oleracea followed by chromosome doubling. Cross with B. rapa as a female parent was only successful. Among three colchicine treatments (0.10, 0.15, and 0.20%, 0.15% gave the highest success (86% of chromosome doubling in the hybrids (AC; 2=19. Synthetic B. napus (AACC, 2=38 was identified with bigger petals, fertile pollens and seed setting. Synthetic B. napus had increased growth over parents and exhibited wider ranges with higher coefficients of variations than parents for morphological and yield contributing characters, and yield per plant. Siliqua length as well as beak length in synthetic B. napus was longer than those of the parents. Number of seeds per siliqua, 1000-seed weight and seed yield per plant in synthetic B. napus were higher than those of the parents. Although flowering time in synthetic B. napus was earlier than both parents, however the days to maturity was little higher over early maturing B. rapa parent. The synthesized B. napus has great potential to produce higher seed yield. Further screening and evaluation is needed for selection of desirable genotypes having improved yield contributing characters and higher seed yield.

  16. Strategies for academic leadership towards increasing productivity in higher education institutions; business education case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iordache-Platis Magdalena

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Higher education institutions face a lot of challenges in the contemporary context. Labour market is s strict evaluator of the graduates’ competences and skills and thus, of the study programmes. An attractive university is a university with a large demand for studies, with many partners and projects, with a high visibility at national and international level, with a considerable research production. At present, the lack of resources characterizes the difficult situation for decision making process which is a real challenge for the academic leadership. On one hand, the competiton requires the need of continuous development and of differentiation strategy while on the other hand, insufficient financial, human, material, informational resources, including time as a specific restriction generate huge opportunities and threats for institutions. Possibilities of being efficient are to be explored. The aim of this paper is to explore possible strategies to increase productivity in higher education institutions. Main objectives of the study are the following: a. to define productivity in higher education institutions, on the basis of the academics’ perceptions, as well as of students’ perceptions; b. to provide a diagnosis of the current state of the prductivity in higher education institutions; c. to contribute to new clarifications on leadership strategies for increasing productivity in higher education institutions. Based on the literature review, the paper reveal proper answers to questions, such as: what is productivity, how is it measured, what is its impact, which are the increasing possibilities in business context. The study methodology is also based on a questionnaire dedicated to the two groups of respondents – academics and students. Their perceptions are then compared in order to reveal the common view. Main output of the research include: a. A new conceptual clarification for the productivity in higher education institutions; b. A

  17. Supplementary effects of higher levels of various disaccharides on processing yield, quality properties and sensory attributes of Chinese - style pork jerky.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chih-Ming; Lin, Hsien-Tang

    2017-12-01

    This study evaluated the supplementary effect of higher concentrations of various disaccharides on processing yield, major physicochemical properties, and sensory attributes of Chinese-style pork jerky (CSPJ). CSPJ samples were prepared by marinating sliced ham (4 mm) with three dissaccharides, including sucrose, lactose, and maltose, at 0%, 15%, 18%, 21%, and 24%. Subsequently, the CSPJ samples were dried and roasted. The moisture content, water activity, crude protein, moisture-to-protein ratio, pH, processing yield, shear force, color, and sensory attributes of the CSPJ samples were evaluated. The quality characteristics of CSPJ samples prepared with sucrose were more acceptable. By contrast, CSPJ samples prepared with lactose showed the lowest scores. However, the processing yield and moisture content were the highest for CSPJ samples prepared with lactose, which may be associated with improved benefits for cost reduction. Furthermore, sucrose and lactose supplementation resulted in contrasting quality characteristics; for example, CSPJ samples with sucrose and maltose supplementation had higher sensory scores for color than samples with lactose supplementation. Additionally, most quality characteristics of CSPJ samples with sucrose supplementation contrasted with those of the samples with lactose supplementation; for example, the samples with sucrose supplementation had higher scores for sensory attributes than those with lactose supplementation. Sucrose supplementation up to 21% to 24% was associated with the highest overall acceptability scores (5.19 to 5.80), enhanced quality characteristics, increased processing yield, and reduced production cost.

  18. Supplementary effects of higher levels of various disaccharides on processing yield, quality properties and sensory attributes of Chinese - style pork jerky

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chih-Ming Chen

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective This study evaluated the supplementary effect of higher concentrations of various disaccharides on processing yield, major physicochemical properties, and sensory attributes of Chinese-style pork jerky (CSPJ. Methods CSPJ samples were prepared by marinating sliced ham (4 mm with three dissaccharides, including sucrose, lactose, and maltose, at 0%, 15%, 18%, 21%, and 24%. Subsequently, the CSPJ samples were dried and roasted. The moisture content, water activity, crude protein, moisture-to-protein ratio, pH, processing yield, shear force, color, and sensory attributes of the CSPJ samples were evaluated. Results The quality characteristics of CSPJ samples prepared with sucrose were more acceptable. By contrast, CSPJ samples prepared with lactose showed the lowest scores. However, the processing yield and moisture content were the highest for CSPJ samples prepared with lactose, which may be associated with improved benefits for cost reduction. Furthermore, sucrose and lactose supplementation resulted in contrasting quality characteristics; for example, CSPJ samples with sucrose and maltose supplementation had higher sensory scores for color than samples with lactose supplementation. Additionally, most quality characteristics of CSPJ samples with sucrose supplementation contrasted with those of the samples with lactose supplementation; for example, the samples with sucrose supplementation had higher scores for sensory attributes than those with lactose supplementation. Conclusion Sucrose supplementation up to 21% to 24% was associated with the highest overall acceptability scores (5.19 to 5.80, enhanced quality characteristics, increased processing yield, and reduced production cost.

  19. Production planning and backup sourcing strategy of a buyer-dominant supply chain with random yield and demand

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Kebing; Xiao, Tiaojun

    2015-11-01

    This paper studies the backup sourcing strategy of the buyer and the production planning of the supplier in presence of both random yield and random demand. Since the production is susceptible to the randomness of yield beyond the control of the supplier, the buyer may access to a backup sourcing option for the finished items. We analyse the value of backup sourcing for both the decentralised and centralised channels. Backup sourcing strategy of the buyer may lower the supply chain's performance. We show that the order quantity of the buyer does not change the stocking factor of the supplier's input. Meanwhile, compared with the centralised operation, the decentralised operation is more dependent on the backup sourcing to reduce supply shortage of the contracting supplier. From the channel's perspective, an incentive scheme is developed to facilitate the coordination of both the buyer and the contracting supplier, we show that the proposed option contract can allow the supply chain members to share the respective risks involved in the production and selling processes. Finally, we also provide qualitative insights based on numerical examples of the centralised and decentralised solutions.

  20. Yield, Quality, and Nutrient Concentrations of Strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa Duch. cv. 'Sonata') Grown with Different Organic Fertilizer Strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pokhrel, Bhaniswor; Laursen, Kristian Holst; Petersen, Karen Koefoed

    2015-06-17

    Four combinations of two solid organic fertilizers (Monterra Malt and chicken manure) applied before planting and two liquid organic fertilizers (broad bean and Pioner Hi-Fruit/K-Max) given through drip irrigation (fertigation) were compared with inorganic fertilization regarding growth, yield, nutrient concentration, and fruit quality of strawberries. Broad bean fertigation combined with Monterra Malt resulted in a similar fruit yield as inorganic fertilizer and a higher yield than Monterra Malt combined with Pioner; however, total soluble solids, firmness, and titratable acid were improved with Pioner fertigation, although these parameters were more affected by harvest time than the applied fertilizers. The concentrations of most nutrients in fruits and leaves were higher in inorganically fertigated plants. The reductions in fruit yield in three of four treatments and fruit weight in all organic treatments may be due to a combination of the following conditions in the root zone: (1) high pH and high NH4(+)/NO3(-) ratio; (2) high EC and/or high NaCl concentration; (3) cation imbalance; and (4) nutrient deficiency.

  1. Concepts, strategies and potentials using hypo-g and other features of the space environment for commercialization using higher plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krikorian, A. D.

    1985-01-01

    Opportunities for releasing, capturing, constructing and/or fixing the differential expressions or response potentials of the higher plant genome in the hypo-g environment for commercialization are explored. General strategies include improved plant-growing, crop and forestry production systems which conserve soil, water, labor and energy resources, and nutritional partitioning and mobilization of nutrients and synthates. Tissue and cell culture techniques of commercial potential include the growing and manipulation of cultured plant cells in vitro in a bioreactor to produce biologicals and secondary plants of economic value. The facilitation of plant breeding, the cloning of specific pathogen-free materials, the elimination of growing point or apex viruses, and the increase of plant yield are other O-g applications. The space environment may be advantageous in somatic embryogenesis, the culture of alkaloids, and the development of completely new crop plant germ plasm.

  2. Effect of Alternative Irrigation Strategies on Yield and Quality of Fiesta Raisin Grapes Grown in California

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabel Abrisqueta

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Traditionally, grapes are fully irrigated, but alternative irrigation strategies to reduce applied irrigation water may be necessary in the future as occurrences of drought increase. This study was conducted in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV of California from 2012 to 2014. Three irrigation treatments were used to study the effects on the yield and quality of Fiesta grapes. The treatments included: grower irrigation (GI weekly irrigation lasting for approximately 65 h; sustained deficit (SD equal to 80% of the GI treatment; and regulated deficit (RD equal to 50% of the GI until fruit set when it was increased to 80% of the GI through harvest and reduced to 50% of the GI after harvest. Average water use across treatments was ≈489 mm. Average yield across all treatments was 7.9 t ha−1, 9.1 t ha−1 and 11.8 t ha−1 in 2012, 2013, and 2014, respectively. Yield was sustained in SD and RD, with up to a 20% reduction in applied water use compared to GI. There were no differences in raisin quality and grade among any of the treatments in any year. The percentage of substandard grapes decreased from an average of 12.6% in 2012 to 3.6% in 2013 and 2014. Growers may use a sustained deficit approach during periods of limited water availability to minimize the effect on yield.

  3. Stress Management Coping Strategies of Academic Leaders in an Institution of Higher Learning in Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gurnam Kaur Sidhu

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In today’s demanding academic environment, academic leaders need to be well equipped with stress management coping strategies as they often find themselves in challenging situations and responsibilities. Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to investigate the stress management coping strategies used by academic leaders in an institution of higher learning located in Selangor, Malaysia. A mixed-methods research design was employed and the sample population involved 46 academic leaders from a public university. Data were collected using a questionnaire and semistructured interviews. The quantitative data were statistically analyzed using SPSS while the qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The findings showed that a majority of the academic leaders opted towards positive problem-focused engagement strategies such as cognitive restructuring and problem solving strategies followed by emotion-focused engagement which included expressing emotion and social support strategies. Besides that, academic leaders did confess that they sometimes do use disengagement strategies such as wishful thinking, problem avoidance and self-criticism coping strategies but they stressed that they faced problems and stress in a positive and constructive manner. The findings of this study imply that academic leaders in this study are engaged and well informed of stress coping strategies. However, it is recommended that top management in institutions of higher learning take the initiatives in providing necessary support to academic leaders by educating them on stress management coping strategies.

  4. Do generic strategies impact performance in higher educational institutions? A SEM-based investigation

    OpenAIRE

    Ahlam Mohammad Alzoubi; Okechukwu Lawrence Emeagwali

    2016-01-01

    This study set out to initiate an investigation into the linkage between generic strategy and performance in higher educational institutions and the moderating effect of institution-type. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), it examined the responses of a stratified sample of academics and administrative staff (n= 333) randomly selected from eight universities in northern Cyprus. Findings suggest that while there is a weak effect of differentiation strategy on performance, a strong effec...

  5. Connectivity strategies for higher-order neural networks applied to pattern recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spirkovska, Lilly; Reid, Max B.

    1990-01-01

    Different strategies for non-fully connected HONNs (higher-order neural networks) are discussed, showing that by using such strategies an input field of 128 x 128 pixels can be attained while still achieving in-plane rotation and translation-invariant recognition. These techniques allow HONNs to be used with the larger input scenes required for practical pattern-recognition applications. The number of interconnections that must be stored has been reduced by a factor of approximately 200,000 in a T/C case and about 2000 in a Space Shuttle/F-18 case by using regional connectivity. Third-order networks have been simulated using several connection strategies. The method found to work best is regional connectivity. The main advantages of this strategy are the following: (1) it considers features of various scales within the image and thus gets a better sample of what the image looks like; (2) it is invariant to shape-preserving geometric transformations, such as translation and rotation; (3) the connections are predetermined so that no extra computations are necessary during run time; and (4) it does not require any extra storage for recording which connections were formed.

  6. Growth and yield of cowpea/sunflower crop rotation under different irrigation management strategies with saline water

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antônia Leila Rocha Neves

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate the effect of management strategies of irrigation with saline water on growth and yield of cowpea and sunflower in a crop rotation. The experiment was conducted in randomized blocks with thirteen treatments and five replications. The treatments consisted of: T1 (control, T2, T3 and T4 using water of 0.5 (A1, 2.2 (A2, 3.6 (A3 and 5.0 (A4 dS m-1, respectively, during the entire crop cycle; T5, T6 and T7, use of A2, A3 and A4 water, respectively, only in the flowering and fructification stage of the crop cycle; using different water in a cyclic way, six irrigations with A1 followed by six irrigations with A2 (T8, A3 (T9 and A4, (T10, respectively; T11, T12 and T13, using water A2, A3 and A4, respectively, starting at 11 days after planting (DAP and continuing until the end of the crop cycle. These treatments were employed in the first crop (cowpea, during the dry season, and the same plots were used for the cultivation of sunflower as succeeding crop during rainy season. The strategies of use of saline water in the salt tolerant growth stage (treatments T5, T6 and T7 or cyclically (treatments T8, T9 and T10 reduced the amount of good quality water used in the production of cowpea by 34 and 47%, respectively, without negative impacts on crop yield, and did not show the residual effects of salinity on sunflower as a succeeding crop. Thus, these strategies appear promising to be employed in areas with water salinity problems in the semiarid region of Brazil.

  7. A Top Down Strategy To Enhance Information Technologies into Israeli Higher Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guri-Rosenblit, Sara

    2002-01-01

    The integration of information technologies (IT) into Israeli higher education through a top-down strategy has created systemic change. The use of IT in Israeli universities varies in terms of access-outreach, teaching-learning processes, study materials production, data and information retrieval, administrative functions, the creation of…

  8. ROI on yield data analysis systems through a business process management strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rehani, Manu; Strader, Nathan; Hanson, Jeff

    2005-05-01

    The overriding motivation for yield engineering is profitability. This is achieved through application of yield management. The first application is to continually reduce waste in the form of yield loss. New products, new technologies and the dynamic state of the process and equipment keep introducing new ways to cause yield loss. In response, the yield management efforts have to continually come up with new solutions to minimize it. The second application of yield engineering is to aid in accurate product pricing. This is achieved through predicting future results of the yield engineering effort. The more accurate the yield prediction, the more accurate the wafer start volume, the more accurate the wafer pricing. Another aspect of yield prediction pertains to gauging the impact of a yield problem and predicting how long that will last. The ability to predict such impacts again feeds into wafer start calculations and wafer pricing. The question then is that if the stakes on yield management are so high why is it that most yield management efforts are run like science and engineering projects and less like manufacturing? In the eighties manufacturing put the theory of constraints1 into practice and put a premium on stability and predictability in manufacturing activities, why can't the same be done for yield management activities? This line of introspection led us to define and implement a business process to manage the yield engineering activities. We analyzed the best known methods (BKM) and deployed a workflow tool to make them the standard operating procedure (SOP) for yield managment. We present a case study in deploying a Business Process Management solution for Semiconductor Yield Engineering in a high-mix ASIC environment. We will present a description of the situation prior to deployment, a window into the development process and a valuation of the benefits.

  9. Promoting Hong Kong's Higher Education to Asian Markets: Market Segmentations and Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheung, Alan C. K.; Yuen, Timothy W. W.; Yuen, Celeste Y. M.; Cheng, Yin Cheong

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: The main purpose of this study is threefold: to analyze the current conditions of higher education services offered in the three target markets; to conduct market segmentation analysis of these markets; and to recommend the most appropriate market entry strategies for Hong Kong's education service providers. Design/methodology/approach:…

  10. Intensifying the intrinsic motivation by differentiating the teaching strategies in higher education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tulbure, C.

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Learning motivation represents one of the most importantpredictors of academic achievement in higher education. In this empirical study, we have implemented a formative program to improve the university students’ academic achievement and their intrinsic learning motivation. To fully use their intellectual potential, students were treated according to their learning style, throughout one academic year. When we considered the within subject design, both intrinsic motivation and academic achievement significantly increased at the end of the study. Only intrinsic motivation proved to be significantly higher for the between subject comparison. Because our formative program proved to have a significant impact on students’ learning motivation, we recommend the differentiated teaching strategies to improve the academic achievement in higher education.

  11. Růstová a hodnotová investiční strategie aplikovaná na vybraných akciích z New York Stock Exchange

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radim Gottwald

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Purpose of the article: Nowadays, investors use many investment strategies. They can realize different profits using different strategies because of different principles of strategies. Author assesses two investment strategies. Calculating different financial indicators leads to comparison of yield and risk of indexes related to these strategies. Presented results could be important for investors within their investment decision in order to create investment portfolio. Methodology/methods: Growth and value investment strategies are theoretically described and applied in real data within 2008–2012. Using the CAPM model, author divides stocks of the NYSE included in the base of the DJIA into growth stocks and value stocks. Author compares index trends in charts, interpolates individual index charts by trend line and calculates financial indicators. Scientific aim: The aim of the article is to assess growth and value investment strategies which are applied to chosen stocks traded on the NYSE within 2008–2012. Author compares yield and risk of growth index with yield and risk of value index and DJIA index. Findings: Author applies growth and value investment strategies to chosen stocks. Sharpe ratio of indexes within whole period 2008–2012 is negative, whereas Jensen’s alpha is positive. Information ratio is positive only within 2008. Value investment strategy has lead to higher yield than growth investment strategy since October 2010, whereas before this month values had not been so different, but rather similar. Risk of value index is higher than risk of growth index and smaller than risk of DJIA index within each year of whole period 2008–2012. Conclusions: Similarly to results of empirical studies cited in this article, results of author indicate that value stock yields are higher than growth stock yields. Based on assessment of these investment strategies, investors could use results when they are making investment decision.

  12. High-yield oil palm expansion spares land at the expense of forests in the Peruvian Amazon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gutiérrez-Vélez, Víctor H; DeFries, Ruth; Uriarte, María; Lim, Yili; Pinedo-Vásquez, Miguel; Padoch, Christine; Baethgen, Walter; Fernandes, Katia

    2011-01-01

    High-yield agriculture potentially reduces pressure on forests by requiring less land to increase production. Using satellite and field data, we assessed the area deforested by industrial-scale high-yield oil palm expansion in the Peruvian Amazon from 2000 to 2010, finding that 72% of new plantations expanded into forested areas. In a focus area in the Ucayali region, we assessed deforestation for high- and smallholder low-yield oil palm plantations. Low-yield plantations accounted for most expansion overall (80%), but only 30% of their expansion involved forest conversion, contrasting with 75% for high-yield expansion. High-yield expansion minimized the total area required to achieve production but counter-intuitively at higher expense to forests than low-yield plantations. The results show that high-yield agriculture is an important but insufficient strategy to reduce pressure on forests. We suggest that high-yield agriculture can be effective in sparing forests only if coupled with incentives for agricultural expansion into already cleared lands.

  13. Influence of yield surface curvature on the macroscopic yielding and ductile failure of isotropic porous plastic materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dæhli, Lars Edvard Bryhni; Morin, David; Børvik, Tore; Hopperstad, Odd Sture

    2017-10-01

    Numerical unit cell models of an approximative representative volume element for a porous ductile solid are utilized to investigate differences in the mechanical response between a quadratic and a non-quadratic matrix yield surface. A Hershey equivalent stress measure with two distinct values of the yield surface exponent is employed as the matrix description. Results from the unit cell calculations are further used to calibrate a heuristic extension of the Gurson model which incorporates effects of the third deviatoric stress invariant. An assessment of the porous plasticity model reveals its ability to describe the unit cell response to some extent, however underestimating the effect of the Lode parameter for the lower triaxiality ratios imposed in this study when compared to unit cell simulations. Ductile failure predictions by means of finite element simulations using a unit cell model that resembles an imperfection band are then conducted to examine how the non-quadratic matrix yield surface influences the failure strain as compared to the quadratic matrix yield surface. Further, strain localization predictions based on bifurcation analyses and imperfection band analyses are undertaken using the calibrated porous plasticity model. These simulations are then compared to the unit cell calculations in order to elucidate the differences between the various modelling strategies. The current study reveals that strain localization analyses using an imperfection band model and a spatially discretized unit cell are in reasonable agreement, while the bifurcation analyses predict higher strain levels at localization. Imperfection band analyses are finally used to calculate failure loci for the quadratic and the non-quadratic matrix yield surface under a wide range of loading conditions. The underlying matrix yield surface is demonstrated to have a pronounced influence on the onset of strain localization.

  14. INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TEACHING STRATEGIES AND LEARNING STYLES IN HIGHER EDUCATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina Tulbure

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Within this paper, we are focusing on the relationships between teaching strategies, learning styles, and the students’ academic achievement in higher education. The main objective of this study is to compare three groups of pre-service teachers having different majors (i.e., Educational Sciences, Economic Sciences, and Foreign Languages in order to identify the potential differences in their academic achievement. More precisely, we attempt to highlight the categories of teaching strategies that lead to the best academic achievement for students having the same learning style, and different fields of study. A sample of 269 pre-service teachers from three faculties belonging to Transilvania University of Braşov participated in the study. The data was collected through a survey method and the one-way analysis of variance was used to determine the differences among the groups. Significant differences among the three categories of students with different majors occurred in relation with the most effective teaching strategies corresponding to each learning style category.

  15. Closing Yield Gaps: How Sustainable Can We Be?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prajal Pradhan

    Full Text Available Global food production needs to be increased by 60-110% between 2005 and 2050 to meet growing food and feed demand. Intensification and/or expansion of agriculture are the two main options available to meet the growing crop demands. Land conversion to expand cultivated land increases GHG emissions and impacts biodiversity and ecosystem services. Closing yield gaps to attain potential yields may be a viable option to increase the global crop production. Traditional methods of agricultural intensification often have negative externalities. Therefore, there is a need to explore location-specific methods of sustainable agricultural intensification. We identified regions where the achievement of potential crop calorie production on currently cultivated land will meet the present and future food demand based on scenario analyses considering population growth and changes in dietary habits. By closing yield gaps in the current irrigated and rain-fed cultivated land, about 24% and 80% more crop calories can respectively be produced compared to 2000. Most countries will reach food self-sufficiency or improve their current food self-sufficiency levels if potential crop production levels are achieved. As a novel approach, we defined specific input and agricultural management strategies required to achieve the potential production by overcoming biophysical and socioeconomic constraints causing yield gaps. The management strategies include: fertilizers, pesticides, advanced soil management, land improvement, management strategies coping with weather induced yield variability, and improving market accessibility. Finally, we estimated the required fertilizers (N, P2O5, and K2O to attain the potential yields. Globally, N-fertilizer application needs to increase by 45-73%, P2O5-fertilizer by 22-46%, and K2O-fertilizer by 2-3 times compared to the year 2010 to attain potential crop production. The sustainability of such agricultural intensification largely depends

  16. The "E" Is for Everything: E-Commerce, E-Business, and E-Learning in Higher Education. EDUCAUSE Leadership Strategies, No. 2. Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katz, Richard N., Ed.; Oblinger, Diana G., Ed.

    The Educause Leadership Strategies series addresses themes related to information technology's influence on higher education. This second volume in the series explores how the "e-revolution" will affect higher education, particularly how higher education can participate in anticipated changes in ways that strengthen the best of what…

  17. Examining the roles that changing harvested areas, closing yield-gaps, and increasing yield ceilings have had on crop production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, M.; Ray, D. K.; Mueller, N. D.; Foley, J. A.

    2011-12-01

    With an increasing and increasingly affluent population, there has been tremendous effort to examine strategies for sustainably increasing agricultural production to meet this surging global demand. Before developing new solutions from scratch, though, we believe it is important to consult our recent agricultural history to see where and how agricultural production changes have already taken place. By utilizing the newly created temporal M3 cropland datasets, we can for the first time examine gridded agricultural yields and area, both spatially and temporally. This research explores the historical drivers of agricultural production changes, from 1965-2005. The results will be presented spatially at the global-level (5-min resolution), as well as at the individual country-level. The primary research components of this study are presented below, including the general methodology utilized in each phase and preliminary results for soybean where available. The complete assessment will cover maize, wheat, rice, soybean, and sugarcane, and will include country-specific analysis for over 200 countries, states, territories and protectorates. Phase 1: The first component of our research isolates changes in agricultural production due to variation in planting decisions (harvested area) from changes in production due to intensification efforts (yield). We examine area/yield changes at the pixel-level over 5-year time-steps to determine how much each component has contributed to overall changes in production. Our results include both spatial patterns of changes in production, as well as spatial maps illustrating to what degree the production change is attributed to area and/or yield. Together, these maps illustrate where, why, and by how much agricultural production has changed over time. Phase 2: In the second phase of our research we attempt to determine the impact that area and yield changes have had on agricultural production at the country-level. We calculate a production

  18. Applying Project Management Strategies in a Large Curriculum Conversion Project in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardner, Joel; Bennett, Patrick A.; Hyatt, Niccole; Stoker, Kevin

    2017-01-01

    Higher education is undergoing great changes that require universities to adapt quickly, and making these changes can be difficult. One discipline that can aid in executing change is project management, which has developed a set of clear processes and strategies for completing initiatives quickly and effectively. Several authors have identified…

  19. Physiological quality of soybean seeds under different yield environments and plant density

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Felipe A. Baron

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Yield potential of agricultural fields associated with plant spatial arrangement could determine the physiological quality of soybean (Glycine max L. seeds. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the physiological quality of soybean seeds from different yield environments and plant densities. Experiments were carried out in Boa Vista das Missões-RS, Brazil, during the 2014/2015 growing season. Yield environments were delineated by overlapping yield maps from the 2008, 2009/2010 and 2011/2012 growing seasons. The experimental design was a randomized complete block in a 2 x 5 factorial arrangement with two yield environments (low and high and five plant densities, with four replicates. Two varieties were tested: Brasmax Ativa RR (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 plants m-1 and Nidera 5909 RR (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 plants m-1. After harvested, the seeds were analysed as following: first count index, germination, abnormal seedlings, dead seeds, electrical conductivity, accelerate aging test, root length, hypocotyl length and seedling length. The spatial variability of seed vigor in the production field could be reduced by adjusting plant density, but the adjustment should consider the variety. Harvest according to yield environment is a strategy to separate lots of seeds with higher vigor, originated from high-yield environments.

  20. Effect of Different Alternate Irrigation Strategies using Saline and Non-Saline Water on Corn Yield, Salinity and Moisture Distribution in Soil Profile

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Reza Kiani

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Lack of water and deterioration in the quality of soil and water resources are considered to be the prime cause of reduced crop yield in arid and semi-arid regions ‘More crop per drop’ by trickle irrigation, deficit irrigation, and uncommon water are the best strategies for mitigating water crises. Different irrigation management strategies are needed to increase production in different areas. In areas where sufficient water is available, a full irrigation strategy could be a suitable option, while in areas where water is limited, deficit irrigation would be an appropriate method, and finally in areas where water resources are saline, management strategies for achieving sustainable production as well as economic yields would be suitable. Maize is the third most important grain crop in the world following wheat and rice and it is the main source of nutrition for humans and animals. Because of the importance of maize in the world, increasing maize production under environmental stresses is a big challenge for agricultural scientists. Different methods of irrigation and the use of saline water that had satisfactory results for increasing agricultural production have been studied by several investigators . The main objective of this study was to establish an efficient use of limited water resources as well as to explore the possibility of replacing saline water with fresh water using different management techniques. Materials and Methods: A field experiment was conducted over two maize cropping seasons (2012–2013 in northern Iran (Gorgan Agricultural Research Station to compare different alternate irrigation scenarios using saline water on corn yield, salinity and soil moisture distribution in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Treatments were: T1 and T2 = 100 and 50 % of crop water requirement with non-saline water, respectively; T3 and T4 = variable and fixed full irrigation with saline and non

  1. Closing Yield Gaps: How Sustainable Can We Be?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pradhan, Prajal; Fischer, Günther; van Velthuizen, Harrij; Reusser, Dominik E.; Kropp, Juergen P.

    2015-01-01

    Global food production needs to be increased by 60–110% between 2005 and 2050 to meet growing food and feed demand. Intensification and/or expansion of agriculture are the two main options available to meet the growing crop demands. Land conversion to expand cultivated land increases GHG emissions and impacts biodiversity and ecosystem services. Closing yield gaps to attain potential yields may be a viable option to increase the global crop production. Traditional methods of agricultural intensification often have negative externalities. Therefore, there is a need to explore location-specific methods of sustainable agricultural intensification. We identified regions where the achievement of potential crop calorie production on currently cultivated land will meet the present and future food demand based on scenario analyses considering population growth and changes in dietary habits. By closing yield gaps in the current irrigated and rain-fed cultivated land, about 24% and 80% more crop calories can respectively be produced compared to 2000. Most countries will reach food self-sufficiency or improve their current food self-sufficiency levels if potential crop production levels are achieved. As a novel approach, we defined specific input and agricultural management strategies required to achieve the potential production by overcoming biophysical and socioeconomic constraints causing yield gaps. The management strategies include: fertilizers, pesticides, advanced soil management, land improvement, management strategies coping with weather induced yield variability, and improving market accessibility. Finally, we estimated the required fertilizers (N, P2O5, and K2O) to attain the potential yields. Globally, N-fertilizer application needs to increase by 45–73%, P2O5-fertilizer by 22–46%, and K2O-fertilizer by 2–3 times compared to the year 2010 to attain potential crop production. The sustainability of such agricultural intensification largely depends on the way

  2. Seed yield components and their potential interaction in grasses - to what extend does seed weigth influence yield?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boelt, B; Gislum, R

    2010-01-01

     In a first-year seed crop of red fescue (Festuca rubra L.) the degree of lodging was controlled by the use of Moddus (Trinexapac-ethyl). Seed weight was found to increase by the decreasing degree of lodging prior to harvest. The higher seed weights were accompanied by higher yields even though...... the number of reproductive tillers and floret site utilization (FSU) were unaffected by the treatments. Seed yield is affected by several yield components and reflects the interaction between the seed yield potential (e.g. number of reproductive tillers, number of spikelets and florets/spikelet per...... reproductive tiller), the utilization of the potential (e.g. seed set, seed weight) and the realization of the seed yield potential, defined as the number of florets forming a saleable seed. The realization of the seed yield potential is affected by seed retention, seed weight and other traits associated...

  3. Comparing organic farming and land sparing: optimizing yield and butterfly populations at a landscape scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hodgson, Jenny A; Kunin, William E; Thomas, Chris D; Benton, Tim G; Gabriel, Doreen

    2010-11-01

    Organic farming aims to be wildlife-friendly, but it may not benefit wildlife overall if much greater areas are needed to produce a given quantity of food. We measured the density and species richness of butterflies on organic farms, conventional farms and grassland nature reserves in 16 landscapes. Organic farms supported a higher density of butterflies than conventional farms, but a lower density than reserves. Using our data, we predict the optimal land-use strategy to maintain yield whilst maximizing butterfly abundance under different scenarios. Farming conventionally and sparing land as nature reserves is better for butterflies when the organic yield per hectare falls below 87% of conventional yield. However, if the spared land is simply extra field margins, organic farming is optimal whenever organic yields are over 35% of conventional yields. The optimal balance of land sparing and wildlife-friendly farming to maintain production and biodiversity will differ between landscapes. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

  4. Pyrolysis of Lantana camara and Mimosa pigra: Influences of temperature, other process parameters and incondensable gas evolution on char yield and higher heating value.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mundike, Jhonnah; Collard, François-Xavier; Görgens, Johann F

    2017-11-01

    Pyrolysis of invasive non-indigenous plants, Lantana camara (LC) and Mimosa pigra (MP) was conducted at milligram-scale for optimisation of temperature, heating rate and hold time on char yield and higher heating value (HHV). The impact of scaling-up to gram-scale was also studied, with chromatography used to correlate gas composition with HHV evolution. Statistically significant effects of temperature on char yield and HHV were obtained, while heating rate and hold time effects were insignificant. Milligram-scale maximised HHVs were 30.03MJkg -1 (525°C) and 31.01MJkg -1 (580°C) for LC and MP, respectively. Higher char yields and HHVs for MP were attributed to increased lignin content. Scaling-up promoted secondary char formation thereby increasing HHVs, 30.82MJkg -1 for LC and 31.61MJkg -1 for MP. Incondensable gas analysis showed that temperature increase beyond preferred values caused dehydrogenation that decreased HHV. Similarly, CO evolution profile explained differences in optimal HHV temperatures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Effect of natural biostimulants on yield and nutritional quality: an example of sweet yellow pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parađiković, Nada; Vinković, Tomislav; Vinković Vrček, Ivana; Žuntar, Irena; Bojić, Mirza; Medić-Šarić, Marica

    2011-09-01

    Modifications in growing techniques can affect the yield and nutritional quality of various cultivated plant species. Owing to its high nutritional value, pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) was used in this study as a model plant to investigate the effect of natural biostimulants on yield and fruit quality parameters under conditions of reduced fertilisation. A positive influence of biostimulant treatment on yield parameters was observed. The overall increase in the pigment content of leaves after biostimulant application agreed well with the higher total and commercial yields of treated pepper cultivars compared with their controls. The results showed that natural biostimulants had a positive effect on the vitamin C and total phenolic contents in pepper fruits during the hot summer season. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS) antioxidant activities were also significantly higher (P hydroponically. Thus the application of biostimulants could be considered as a good production strategy for obtaining high yields of nutritionally valuable vegetables with lower impact on the environment. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

  6. The Growth Trend in Learning Strategies during the Transition from Secondary to Higher Education in Flanders

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coertjens, Liesje; Donche, Vincent; De Maeyer, Sven; van Daal, Tine; Van Petegem, Peter

    2017-01-01

    As in many OECD countries, the first year in Flemish Higher Education is a major hurdle. Research on the experience of the transition period from secondary to higher education highlights the importance of the change in students' teaching/learning environment. Though this change is hypothesised to affect students' learning strategies, and hereby…

  7. Active and silent chromophore isoforms for phytochrome Pr photoisomerization: An alternative evolutionary strategy to optimize photoreaction quantum yields

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Yang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Photoisomerization of a protein bound chromophore is the basis of light sensing of many photoreceptors. We tracked Z-to-E photoisomerization of Cph1 phytochrome chromophore PCB in the Pr form in real-time. Two different phycocyanobilin (PCB ground state geometries with different ring D orientations have been identified. The pre-twisted and hydrogen bonded PCBa geometry exhibits a time constant of 30 ps and a quantum yield of photoproduct formation of 29%, about six times slower and ten times higher than that for the non-hydrogen bonded PCBb geometry. This new mechanism of pre-twisting the chromophore by protein-cofactor interaction optimizes yields of slow photoreactions and provides a scaffold for photoreceptor engineering.

  8. Powdery Mildew Control and Yield Response of Inodorus Melon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ippolito Camele

    Full Text Available The research was carried out on melon (Cucumis melo L. var. inodorus Naud. in 2006 and 2007 at “Pantanello” Experimental Farm (40° 24’N; 16° 48’E; 10 m a.s.l.; Metaponto, southern Italy to evaluate the efficacy of a low environmental impact control strategy against powdery mildew of cucurbits. Winter melon was treated with a new anti-oidium formulation, called Stifénia, obtained from fenugreek seeds and stimulating the plant self-defence. The adopted experimental design included two control strategies (1. biological, using Stifénia and 2. conventional, using penconazole, myclobutanil and sulphur and an untreated control (treated with water alone applied to two cultivars of inodorus melon (cv ‘Amarillo’ and HF1 ‘Cocorito’, the latter a genotype resistant to powdery mildew. Stifénia applications were not effective against the disease; in fact, there were no differences in percentage of attacked plant surface between treated plots and untreated ones. The melon marketable yield was significantly higher with the conventional strategy respect to Stifénia and control. Repeated applications of Stifénia resulted in a significant decrease of marketable yield even in comparison with the untreated control. The cultivars significantly affected powdery mildew development, since the resistant one (‘Cocorito’ was attacked later and damaged always lower than the non-resistant genotype (‘Amarillo’. Laboratory analyses carried out on infected leaves always confirmed that Golovinomyces cichoracearum D.C. was responsible of the disease.

  9. An International Orientation on Institutional Strategies and Governmental Policies for the Use of ICT in Higher Education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Wende, Marijk; Beerkens, Eric

    1999-01-01

    This article provides an international comparative overview of institutional strategies, collaboration patterns and governmental policies related to the use of ICT in higher education. It has been produced as part of an international comparative study on the use of ICT in higher education. A study

  10. Impacts of Agro-Ecological Practices on Soil Losses and Cash Crop Yield

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela De Benedetto

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the impact of agro-ecological practices on soil losses, by assessing experimental field topography changes and cauliflower crop yield after an artificial extreme rainfall event. Data were collected in an innovative experimental device in which different combined agronomic strategies were tested such as hydraulic arrangement, crop rotations and agro-ecological service crops (ASC introduction. The collection of elevation data was carried out in kinematic way before rainfall, and in punctual surveys to evaluate the effects of artificial event on this parameter. Non-parametric tests were performed to evaluate differences between samples. High-resolution digital elevation models were generated from independent data using kriging, and elevation difference maps were produced. The results indicated that the data before and after the artificial rainfall were statistically different. The raised strips suffered soil loss showing that the strip with permanent intercropping was higher than that in the absence of ASC. A significant rise of elevation was registered in the furrowed strips after rainfall, and deposition of soil occurred at the lowest areas of the experimental field. Moreover, the study showed a relationship between cash crop yield and elevation: the areas with lower elevation (higher flooding were characterized by the lowest yield.

  11. Strategies of Raising the Quality of Higher Education and Attaining Equality of Educational Opportunities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrovskiy, Igor V.; Agapova, Elena N.

    2016-01-01

    The aim of the research is to develop the policy and strategy recommendations to increase the quality of higher education in Russian Federation. The study examines the significance of equal educational opportunities and the influence of this factor on the educational systems of developing countries. Transformational processes in the domain of…

  12. Modeling change in learning strategies throughout higher education: a multi-indicator latent growth perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coertjens, Liesje; Donche, Vincent; De Maeyer, Sven; Vanthournout, Gert; Van Petegem, Peter

    2013-01-01

    The change in learning strategies during higher education is an important topic of research in the Student Approaches to Learning field. Although the studies on this topic are increasingly longitudinal, analyses have continued to rely primarily on traditional statistical methods. The present research is innovative in the way it uses a multi-indicator latent growth analysis in order to more accurately estimate the general and differential development in learning strategy scales. Moreover, the predictive strength of the latent growth models are estimated. The sample consists of one cohort of Flemish University College students, 245 of whom participated in the three measurement waves by filling out the processing and regulation strategies scales of the Inventory of Learning Styles--Short Versions. Independent-samples t-tests revealed that the longitudinal group is a non-random subset of students starting University College. For each scale, a multi-indicator latent growth model is estimated using Mplus 6.1. Results suggest that, on average, during higher education, students persisting in their studies in a non-delayed manner seem to shift towards high-quality learning and away from undirected and surface-oriented learning. Moreover, students from the longitudinal group are found to vary in their initial levels, while, unexpectedly, not in their change over time. Although the growth models fit the data well, significant residual variances in the latent factors remain.

  13. Modeling change in learning strategies throughout higher education: a multi-indicator latent growth perspective.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liesje Coertjens

    Full Text Available The change in learning strategies during higher education is an important topic of research in the Student Approaches to Learning field. Although the studies on this topic are increasingly longitudinal, analyses have continued to rely primarily on traditional statistical methods. The present research is innovative in the way it uses a multi-indicator latent growth analysis in order to more accurately estimate the general and differential development in learning strategy scales. Moreover, the predictive strength of the latent growth models are estimated. The sample consists of one cohort of Flemish University College students, 245 of whom participated in the three measurement waves by filling out the processing and regulation strategies scales of the Inventory of Learning Styles--Short Versions. Independent-samples t-tests revealed that the longitudinal group is a non-random subset of students starting University College. For each scale, a multi-indicator latent growth model is estimated using Mplus 6.1. Results suggest that, on average, during higher education, students persisting in their studies in a non-delayed manner seem to shift towards high-quality learning and away from undirected and surface-oriented learning. Moreover, students from the longitudinal group are found to vary in their initial levels, while, unexpectedly, not in their change over time. Although the growth models fit the data well, significant residual variances in the latent factors remain.

  14. Metabolic enzyme cost explains variable trade-offs between microbial growth rate and yield.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meike T Wortel

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Microbes may maximize the number of daughter cells per time or per amount of nutrients consumed. These two strategies correspond, respectively, to the use of enzyme-efficient or substrate-efficient metabolic pathways. In reality, fast growth is often associated with wasteful, yield-inefficient metabolism, and a general thermodynamic trade-off between growth rate and biomass yield has been proposed to explain this. We studied growth rate/yield trade-offs by using a novel modeling framework, Enzyme-Flux Cost Minimization (EFCM and by assuming that the growth rate depends directly on the enzyme investment per rate of biomass production. In a comprehensive mathematical model of core metabolism in E. coli, we screened all elementary flux modes leading to cell synthesis, characterized them by the growth rates and yields they provide, and studied the shape of the resulting rate/yield Pareto front. By varying the model parameters, we found that the rate/yield trade-off is not universal, but depends on metabolic kinetics and environmental conditions. A prominent trade-off emerges under oxygen-limited growth, where yield-inefficient pathways support a 2-to-3 times higher growth rate than yield-efficient pathways. EFCM can be widely used to predict optimal metabolic states and growth rates under varying nutrient levels, perturbations of enzyme parameters, and single or multiple gene knockouts.

  15. Librarian co-authors correlated with higher quality reported search strategies in general internal medicine systematic reviews.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rethlefsen, Melissa L; Farrell, Ann M; Osterhaus Trzasko, Leah C; Brigham, Tara J

    2015-06-01

    To determine whether librarian and information specialist authorship was associated with better reported systematic review (SR) search quality. SRs from high-impact general internal medicine journals were reviewed for search quality characteristics and reporting quality by independent reviewers using three instruments, including a checklist of Institute of Medicine Recommended Standards for the Search Process and a scored modification of the Peer Review of Electronic Search Strategies instrument. The level of librarian and information specialist participation was significantly associated with search reproducibility from reported search strategies (Χ(2) = 23.5; P Librarian co-authored SRs had significantly higher odds of meeting 8 of 13 analyzed search standards than those with no librarian participation and six more than those with mentioned librarian participation. One-way ANOVA showed that differences in total search quality scores between all three groups were statistically significant (F2,267 = 10.1233; P librarian or information specialist co-authors are correlated with significantly higher quality reported search strategies. To minimize bias in SRs, authors and editors could encourage librarian engagement in SRs including authorship as a potential way to help improve documentation of the search strategy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Optimal survey strategies and predicted planet yields for the Korean microlensing telescope network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henderson, Calen B.; Gaudi, B. Scott; Skowron, Jan; Penny, Matthew T.; Gould, Andrew P.; Han, Cheongho; Nataf, David

    2014-01-01

    The Korean Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet) will consist of three 1.6 m telescopes each with a 4 deg 2 field of view (FoV) and will be dedicated to monitoring the Galactic Bulge to detect exoplanets via gravitational microlensing. KMTNet's combination of aperture size, FoV, cadence, and longitudinal coverage will provide a unique opportunity to probe exoplanet demographics in an unbiased way. Here we present simulations that optimize the observing strategy for and predict the planetary yields of KMTNet. We find preferences for four target fields located in the central Bulge and an exposure time of t exp = 120 s, leading to the detection of ∼2200 microlensing events per year. We estimate the planet detection rates for planets with mass and separation across the ranges 0.1 ≤ M p /M ⊕ ≤ 1000 and 0.4 ≤ a/AU ≤ 16, respectively. Normalizing these rates to the cool-planet mass function of Cassan et al., we predict KMTNet will be approximately uniformly sensitive to planets with mass 5 ≤ M p /M ⊕ ≤ 1000 and will detect ∼20 planets per year per dex in mass across that range. For lower-mass planets with mass 0.1 ≤ M p /M ⊕ < 5, we predict KMTNet will detect ∼10 planets per year. We also compute the yields KMTNet will obtain for free-floating planets (FFPs) and predict KMTNet will detect ∼1 Earth-mass FFP per year, assuming an underlying population of one such planet per star in the Galaxy. Lastly, we investigate the dependence of these detection rates on the number of observatories, the photometric precision limit, and optimistic assumptions regarding seeing, throughput, and flux measurement uncertainties.

  17. Pattern of Water Use and Seed Yield under Terminal Drought in Chickpea Genotypes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiayin Pang

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Drought, particularly terminal drought, reduces the yield of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.. Terminal drought tolerance and water use patterns were evaluated under controlled conditions in 10 genotypes of desi chickpea. Withholding water from early podding reduced vegetative growth, reproductive growth, seed yield, and water use efficiency for seed yield in all genotypes. The genotype Neelam, which produced the highest seed yield when water was withheld, used the least water when well-watered; however, its aboveground biomass at maturity did not differ significantly from six of the nine other genotypes. Indeed, the water-stressed Neelam had the lowest daily transpiration rate during the early stages of water stress and the highest during the later stages, thereby maintaining the highest soil water content in the first 16 days after water was withheld, which enabled higher pod production, lower pod abortion, and better seed filling. Genotypes differed in the threshold value of the fraction of transpirable soil water when flowering and seed set ceased in the water-stress treatment. We conclude that a conservative water use strategy benefits seed yield of chickpea exposed to water shortage during early podding.

  18. Rice Research to Break Yield Barriers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verma, Vivek; Ramamoorthy, Rengasamy; Kohli, Ajay; Kumar, Prakash P.

    2015-10-01

    The world’s population continues to expand and it is expected to cross 9 billion by 2050. This would significantly amplify the demand for food, which will pose serious threats to global food security. Additional challenges are being imposed due to a gradual decrease in the total arable land and global environmental changes. Hence, it is of utmost importance to review and revise the existing food production strategies by incorporating novel biotechnological approaches that can help to break the crop yield barriers in the near future. In this review, we highlight some of the concerns hampering crop yield enhancements. The review also focuses on modern breeding techniques based on genomics as well as proven biotechnological approaches that enable identification and utilization of candidate genes. Another aspect of discussion is the important area of research, namely hormonal regulation of plant development, which is likely to yield valuable regulatory genes for such crop improvement efforts in the future. These strategies can serve as potential tools for developing elite crop varieties for feeding the growing billions.

  19. Disability inclusion in higher education in Uganda: Status and strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emong, Paul; Eron, Lawrence

    2016-01-01

    Uganda has embraced inclusive education and evidently committed itself to bringing about disability inclusion at every level of education. Both legal and non-legal frameworks have been adopted and arguably are in line with the intent of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on education. The CRPD, in Article 24, requires states to attain a right to education for persons with disabilities without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunities at all levels of education. Despite Uganda's robust disability legal and policy framework on education, there is evidence of exclusion and discrimination of students with disabilities in the higher education institutions. The main objective of this article is to explore the status of disability inclusion in higher education and strategies for its realisation, using evidence from Emong's study, workshop proceedings where the authors facilitated and additional individual interviews with four students with disabilities by the authors. The results show that there are discrimination and exclusion tendencies in matters related to admissions, access to lectures, assessment and examinations, access to library services, halls of residence and other disability support services. The article recommends that institutional policies and guidelines on support services for students with disabilities and special needs in higher education be developed, data on students with disabilities collected to help planning, collaboration between Disabled Peoples Organisations (DPO's) strengthened to ensure disability inclusion and the establishment of disability support centres.

  20. Ideotype population exploration: growth, photosynthesis, and yield components at different planting densities in winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Ni; Yuan, Jinzhan; Li, Ming; Li, Jun; Zhang, Liyan; Liu, Lixin; Naeem, Muhammad Shahbaz; Zhang, Chunlei

    2014-01-01

    Rapeseed is one of the most important edible oil crops in the world and the seed yield has lagged behind the increasing demand driven by population growth. Winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) is widely cultivated with relatively low yield in China, so it is necessary to find the strategies to improve the expression of yield potential. Planting density has great effects on seed yield of crops. Hence, field experiments were conducted in Wuhan in the Yangtze River basin with one conventional variety (Zhongshuang 11, ZS11) and one hybrid variety (Huayouza 9, HYZ9) at five planting densities (27.0×10(4), 37.5×10(4), 48.0×10(4), 58.5×10(4), 69.0×10(4) plants ha(-1)) during 2010-2012 to investigate the yield components. The physiological traits for high-yield and normal-yield populations were measured during 2011-2013. Our results indicated that planting densities of 58.5×10(4) plants ha(-1) in ZS11 and 48.0×10(4) plants ha(-1) in HYZ9 have significantly higher yield compared with the density of 27.0×10(4) plants ha(-1) for both varieties. The ideal silique numbers for ZS11 and HYZ9 were ∼0.9×10(4) (n m(-2)) and ∼1×10(4) (n m(-2)), respectively, and ideal primary branches for ZS11 and HYZ9 were ∼250 (n m(-2)) and ∼300 (n m(-2)), respectively. The highest leaf area index (LAI) and silique wall area index (SAI) was ∼5.0 and 7.0, respectively. Moreover, higher leaf net photosynthetic rate (Pn) and water use efficiency (WUE) were observed in the high-yield populations. A significantly higher level of silique wall photosynthesis and rapid dry matter accumulation were supposed to result in the maximum seed yield. Our results suggest that increasing the planting density within certain range is a feasible approach for higher seed yield in winter rapeseed in China.

  1. Improving the yield from fermentative hydrogen production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraemer, Jeremy T; Bagley, David M

    2007-05-01

    Efforts to increase H(2) yields from fermentative H(2) production include heat treatment of the inoculum, dissolved gas removal, and varying the organic loading rate. Although heat treatment kills methanogens and selects for spore-forming bacteria, the available evidence indicates H(2) yields are not maximized compared to bromoethanesulfonate, iodopropane, or perchloric acid pre-treatments and spore-forming acetogens are not killed. Operational controls (low pH, short solids retention time) can replace heat treatment. Gas sparging increases H(2) yields compared to un-sparged reactors, but no relationship exists between the sparging rate and H(2) yield. Lower sparging rates may improve the H(2) yield with less energy input and product dilution. The reasons why sparging improves H(2) yields are unknown, but recent measurements of dissolved H(2) concentrations during sparging suggest the assumption of decreased inhibition of the H(2)-producing enzymes is unlikely. Significant disagreement exists over the effect of organic loading rate (OLR); some studies show relatively higher OLRs improve H(2) yield while others show the opposite. Discovering the reasons for higher H(2) yields during dissolved gas removal and changes in OLR will help improve H(2) yields.

  2. Response of maize varieties to nitrogen application for leaf area profile, crop growth, yield and yield components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akmal, M.; Hameed-urRehman; Farhatullah; Asim, M.; Akbar, H.

    2010-01-01

    An experiment was conducted at NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar, to study maize varieties and Nitrogen (N) rates for growth, yield and yield components. Three varieties (Azam, Jalal and Sarhad white) and three N rates (90, 120, 150, kg N ha/sup -1/) were compared. Experiment was conducted in a Randomized Complete Block design; split plot arrangement with 4 replications. Uniform and recommended cultural practices were applied during the crop growth. The results revealed that maize variety 'Jalal' performed relatively better crop growth rate (CGR) and leaf area profile (LAP) at nodal position one to six as compared to the other two varieties (Sarhad white and Azam). This resulted higher radiation use efficiency by the crop canopy at vegetative stage of development and hence contributed higher assimilates towards biomass production. Heavier grains in number and weight were due to higher LAP and taller plants of Jalal which yielded higher in the climate. Nitrogen applications have shown that maize seed yield increase in quadratic fashion with increased N to a plateau level. Considering soil fertility status and cropping system, the 150 kg ha/sup -1/ N application to maize variety Jalal in Peshawar is required for maximum biological and seed production. (author)

  3. Vulnerability of Maize Yields to Droughts in Uganda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Terence Epule Epule

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Climate projections in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA forecast an increase in the intensity and frequency of droughts with implications for maize production. While studies have examined how maize might be affected at the continental level, there have been few national or sub-national studies of vulnerability. We develop a vulnerability index that combines sensitivity, exposure and adaptive capacity and that integrates agroecological, climatic and socio-economic variables to evaluate the national and spatial pattern of maize yield vulnerability to droughts in Uganda. The results show that maize yields in the north of Uganda are more vulnerable to droughts than in the south and nationally. Adaptive capacity is higher in the south of the country than in the north. Maize yields also record higher levels of sensitivity and exposure in the north of Uganda than in the south. Latitudinally, it is observed that maize yields in Uganda tend to record higher levels of vulnerability, exposure and sensitivity towards higher latitudes, while in contrast, the adaptive capacity of maize yields is higher towards the lower latitudes. In addition to lower precipitation levels in the north of the country, these observations can also be explained by poor soil quality in most of the north and socio-economic proxies, such as, higher poverty and lower literacy rates in the north of Uganda.

  4. Enhanced Sucrose Loading Improves Rice Yield by Increasing Grain Size.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Liang; Lu, Qingtao; Wen, Xiaogang; Lu, Congming

    2015-12-01

    Yield in cereals is a function of grain number and size. Sucrose (Suc), the main carbohydrate product of photosynthesis in higher plants, is transported long distances from source leaves to sink organs such as seeds and roots. Here, we report that transgenic rice plants (Oryza sativa) expressing the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) phloem-specific Suc transporter (AtSUC2), which loads Suc into the phloem under control of the phloem protein2 promoter (pPP2), showed an increase in grain yield of up to 16% relative to wild-type plants in field trials. Compared with wild-type plants, pPP2::AtSUC2 plants had larger spikelet hulls and larger and heavier grains. Grain filling was accelerated in the transgenic plants, and more photoassimilate was transported from the leaves to the grain. In addition, microarray analyses revealed that carbohydrate, amino acid, and lipid metabolism was enhanced in the leaves and grain of pPP2::AtSUC2 plants. Thus, enhancing Suc loading represents a promising strategy to improve rice yield to feed the global population. © 2015 American Society of Plant Biologists. All Rights Reserved.

  5. Comparing predicted yield and yield stability of willow and Miscanthus across Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Søren; Jaiswal, Deepak; Bentsen, Niclas Scott

    2016-01-01

    was 12.1 Mg DM ha−1 yr−1 for willow and 10.2 Mg DM ha−1 yr−1 for Miscanthus. Coefficent of variation as a measure for yield stability was poorest on the sandy soils of northern and western Jutland and the year-to-year variation in yield was greatest on these soils. Willow was predicted to outyield...... Miscanthus on poor, sandy soils whereas Miscanthus was higher yielding on clay-rich soils. The major driver of yield in both crops was variation in soil moisture, with radiation and precipitation exerting less influence. This is the first time these two major feedstocks for northern Europe have been compared....... The semi-mechanistic crop model BioCro was used to simulate the production of both short rotation coppice (SRC) willow and Miscanthus across Denmark. Predictions were made from high spatial resolution soil data and weather records across this area for 1990-2010. The potential average, rain-fed mean yield...

  6. The perceived influence of diversity factors on effective strategy implementation in a higher education institution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Strydom

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Managing diversity is one of the major challenges in higher education institutions in South Africa. Additionally, effective strategy implementation is vital for an institution to be successful and sustainable. Questionnaires were distributed to the management of Walter Sisulu University, South Africa, to investigate the relationship between diversity factors and effective strategy implementation. The questionnaires interrogated the effect of the acculturation process, the degree of structural integration, the degree of informal integration, institutional bias and intergroup conflict, and how these factors influence strategy implementation. Structural equation modelling (SEM was employed as the statistical tool to confirm the hypothetical model. Results of this study revealed that there is no statistically significant relationship between diversity and strategy implementation at the institution, and imply that diversity among staff do not impact on the successful achievement of strategic objectives in the institution. The findings of the study are contrary to empirical evidence by other studies. Keywords: Education, Sociology, Political science, Psychology

  7. Effects of Higher-order Cognitive Strategy Training on Gist Reasoning and Fact Learning in Adolescents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacquelyn F Gamino

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Improving the reasoning skills of adolescents across the United States has become a major concern for educators and scientists who are dedicated to identifying evidence-based protocols to improve student outcome. This small sample randomized, control pilot study sought to determine the efficacy of higher-order cognitive training on gist-reasoning and fact-learning in an inner-city public middle school. The study compared gist-reasoning and fact-learning performances after training in a smaller sample when tested in Spanish, many of the students’ native language, versus English. The 54 eighth grade students who participated in this pilot study were enrolled in an urban middle school, predominantly from lower socio-economic status families, and were primarily of minority descent. The students were randomized into one of three groups, one that learned cognitive strategies promoting abstraction of meaning, a group that learned rote memory strategies, or a control group to ascertain the impact of each program on gist-reasoning and fact-learning from text-based information. We found that the students who had cognitive strategy instruction that entailed abstraction of meaning significantly improved their gist-reasoning and fact-learning ability. The students who learned rote memory strategies significantly improved their fact-learning scores from a text but not gist-reasoning ability. The control group showed no significant change in either gist-reasoning or fact-learning ability. A trend toward significant improvement in overall reading scores for the group that learned to abstract meaning as well as a significant correlation between gist-reasoning ability and the critical thinking on a state-mandated standardized reading test was also found. There were no significant differences between English and Spanish performance of gist reasoning and fact learning. Our findings suggest that teaching higher-order cognitive strategies facilitates gist

  8. A Model Formative Assessment Strategy to Promote Student-Centered Self-Regulated Learning in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bose, Jayakumar; Rengel, Zed

    2009-01-01

    Adult learners are already involved in the process of self-regulation; hence, higher education institutions should focus on strengthening students' self-regulatory skills. Self-regulation can be facilitated through formative assessment. This paper proposes a model formative assessment strategy that would complement existing university teaching,…

  9. Modelling crop yield in Iberia under drought conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribeiro, Andreia; Páscoa, Patrícia; Russo, Ana; Gouveia, Célia

    2017-04-01

    The improved assessment of the cereal yield and crop loss under drought conditions are essential to meet the increasing economy demands. The growing frequency and severity of the extreme drought conditions in the Iberian Peninsula (IP) has been likely responsible for negative impacts on agriculture, namely on crop yield losses. Therefore, a continuous monitoring of vegetation activity and a reliable estimation of drought impacts is crucial to contribute for the agricultural drought management and development of suitable information tools. This works aims to assess the influence of drought conditions in agricultural yields over the IP, considering cereal yields from mainly rainfed agriculture for the provinces with higher productivity. The main target is to develop a strategy to model drought risk on agriculture for wheat yield at a province level. In order to achieve this goal a combined assessment was made using a drought indicator (Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, SPEI) to evaluate drought conditions together with a widely used vegetation index (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI) to monitor vegetation activity. A correlation analysis between detrended wheat yield and SPEI was performed in order to assess the vegetation response to each time scale of drought occurrence and also identify the moment of the vegetative cycle when the crop yields are more vulnerable to drought conditions. The time scales and months of SPEI, together with the months of NDVI, better related with wheat yield were chosen to perform a multivariate regression analysis to simulate crop yield. Model results are satisfactory and highlighted the usefulness of such analysis in the framework of developing a drought risk model for crop yields. In terms of an operational point of view, the results aim to contribute to an improved understanding of crop yield management under dry conditions, particularly adding substantial information on the advantages of combining

  10. Arbiters of Effectiveness and Efficiency: The Frames and Strategies of Management Consulting Firms in US Higher Education Reform

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClure, Kevin R.

    2017-01-01

    A growing number of public colleges and universities in the United States have hired management consulting firms to help develop strategies aimed at increasing institutional effectiveness and efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to explore the frames and strategies of consultants in US public higher education reform efforts. Drawing upon a…

  11. Selection indices for yield and quality traits in sweet corn

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asghar, M.J.; Mehdi, S.S.

    2010-01-01

    The efficiency of three selection indices, viz., Smith-Hazel index (SHI), Desired gain index (DGI) and Base Index (BI) was compared for the improvement of an open pollinated sweet corn (Zea mays L. Saccharata) population. The data of genetic studies on various yield and quality traits among S1 families were used to construct these selection indices. Smith-Hazel index was found to be the most efficient in improving the aggregate genotype of yield traits for most of the selection strategies. Base index proved to be more efficient as compared to Smith-Hazel index in the improvement of aggregate genotype for five out of six selection strategies of quality traits. Both smith-hazel and Base indices were found useful for the improvement of sweetness and sweet flavour for all the selection strategies. When selection was confined to eight yield and four quality traits simultaneously, Base index proved to be more efficient as compared to Smith-Hazel index and desired gain index in improving the aggregate genotype for almost all the selection strategies. (author)

  12. Evaluating alternative management strategies for bigeye tuna, Thunnus obesus, in the Indian Ocean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuhe Tong

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus support a large commercial fishery in the Indian Ocean. However, explicit management strategies and harvest control rules are yet to be developed for the management of this fishery. We used a stochastic age-structured production model as an operating model to evaluate several potential management strategies under different assumptions of stock productivity. Five management strategies—constant fishing mortality, constant catch, quasi-constant catch, constant escapement, and status-dependent strategies—were evaluated and compared using the performance indicators including average catch, average spawning stock biomass, variation in catch, average fishing mortality and lowest biomass during the time period considered in the simulation. This study shows that (1 for the constant catch strategy, an annual catch of 90000 t would result in a low risk of stock being overfished while obtaining a stable catch; (2 for the constant fishing mortality strategy fishing mortality of 0.3 per year could yield a higher catch, but might have a high probability (64% of stock dropping below the spawning stock biomass (SSB that could achieve maximum sustainable yield (SSBmsy; and (3 for the quasi-constant catch strategy an annual catch of 110000 t was sustainable if the current SSB was higher than SSBmsy. Constant escapement and status-dependent strategies were robust with respect to different levels of virgin recruitment and steepness. This study suggests that it is important to incorporate uncertainties associated with key life history, fisheries and management processes in evaluating management strategies.

  13. Impact of management strategies in the basal rot, charcoal rots epidemiology and Phaseolus vulgaris L. yield.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ulacio Osorio Dilcia

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available The effect of chemical, physical, biologycal and cultural strategies individually or combinated were evaluated in the epidemiology of the basal rot (Sclerotium rolfsii, charcoal rot (Macrophomina phaseolina and the Phaseolus vulgaris cv Tacarigua yield at Barinas state from Venezuela. In the experiment, Tebuconazole (Teb was applicated at seed (1 L/Ton and at soil, a los 30 y 60 days after of the sow (1 L/ha; Trichoderma harzianum (Tri was applicated at seed (15 g for each 1.5 k and to 15, 30, 45 y 60 days after of the sow (30 g/10 L of water. On the other hand, soil was solarizated (Sol during 15 days and calcium nitrate (Ca (60 g/10 L of water was applicated each 15 days until 60 days of growth of cultivated plants. Basal rot was registered as far as 42 days after of the sow, showing less of 5.3% in Teb y the combination SolTeb. The hightest incidence of this disease was observed in the treatment Tri with 28.5%, being highter that control (14.5%. Last to 42 days predominated the charcoal rot in the rest of the plants for a total of 100% of incidente in everything the treatments. Nevertheless, Teb showed the hightest yield with 555 k/ha, being different estatistically at treatment TriCa, which showed the lowest yield with 31 k/ha, however, the roots not formed nodules nitrogen uptake in these replications with the fungicide and Ca. It is concluded that S. rolfsii was sensible at action of some of the treatments; but not M. phaseolina; nevertheless, the plants were capables to produce seeds health apparently in treatments in which observed less severity of charcoal rot.

  14. Ecological dynamics of age selective harvesting of fish population: Maximum sustainable yield and its control strategy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jana, Debaldev; Agrawal, Rashmi; Upadhyay, Ranjit Kumar; Samanta, G.P.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Age-selective harvesting of prey and predator are considered by multi-delayed prey-predator system. • System experiences stable coexistence to oscillatory mode and vice versa via Hopf-bifurcation depending upon the parametric restrictions. • MSY, bionomic equilibrium and optimal harvesting policy are also depending upon the age-selection of prey and predator. • All the analytic results are delay dependent. • Numerical examples support the analytical findings. - Abstract: Life history of ecological resource management and empirical studies are increasingly documenting the impact of selective harvesting process on the evolutionary stable strategy of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. In the present study, the interaction between population and their independent and combined selective harvesting are framed by a multi-delayed prey-predator system. Depending upon the age selection strategy, system experiences stable coexistence to oscillatory mode and vice versa via Hopf-bifurcation. Economic evolution of the system which is mainly featured by maximum sustainable yield (MSY), bionomic equilibrium and optimal harvesting vary largely with the commensurate age selections of both population because equilibrium population abundance becomes age-selection dependent. Our study indicates that balance between harvesting delays and harvesting intensities should be maintained for better ecosystem management. Numerical examples support the analytical findings.

  15. Effect of Different Tillage Methods and Cover Crop Types on Yield and Yield Components of Wheat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z Sharefee

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Conservation agriculture is an appropriate strategy for maintaining and improving agricultural resources which increases crop production and stability and also provides environmental protection. This attitude contributes to the conservation of natural resources (soil, water, and air and is one of the most effective ways to overcome the drought crisis, water management and compensation of soil organic matter in arid and semi-arid regions. The practice of zero-tillage decreases the mineralization of organic matter and contributes to the sequestration of organic carbon in the soil. Higher amounts of organic matter in the soil improve soil structure and root growth, water infiltration and retention, and cation exchange capacity. In addition, zero-tillage reduces soil compaction and crop production costs. Cover crops are cultivated to protect the soil from erosion and elements loss by leaching or runoff and also improve the soil moisture and temperature. Given that South Khorasan farmers still use traditional methods of cultivation of wheat, and cover crops have no place in their farming systems, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cover crops types and tillage systems on yield and yield components of wheat in Birjand region. Materials and Methods A split plot field experiment was conducted based on randomized complete block design with three replications at the Research Farm of the University of Birjand over the growing season of 2014-2015. The main factor was the type of tillage (no-till, reduced tillage and conventional tillage and cover crop type (chickling pea (Lathyrus sativus, rocket salad (Eruca sativa, triticale (X Triticosecale witmack, barley (Hordeum vulgaris and control (no cover crop was considered as sub plots. Cover crops were planted on July 2014. Before planting wheat, cover crops were dried through spraying paraquat herbicide using a backpack sprayer at a rate of 3 L ha-1. Then the three tillage

  16. Effect of methanol feeding strategies on production and yield of recombinant mouse endostatin from Pichia pastoris.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trinh, L B; Phue, J N; Shiloach, Joseph

    2003-05-20

    Pichia pastoris, a methylotrophic yeast, is an efficient producer of recombinant proteins in which the heterologous gene is under the control of the methanol-induced AOX1 promoter. Hence, the accepted production procedure has two phases: In the first phase, the yeast utilizes glycerol and biomass is accumulated; in the second phase, the yeast utilizes methanol which is used both as an inducer for the expression of the recombinant protein and as a carbon source. Since the yeast is sensitive to methanol concentration, the methanol is supplied gradually to the growing culture. Three methanol addition strategies were evaluated for the purpose of optimizing recombinant endostatin production. Two strategies were based on the yeast metabolism; one responding to the methanol consumption using a methanol sensor, and the other responding to the oxygen consumption. In these two strategies, the methanol supply is unlimited. The third strategy was based on a predetermined exponential feeding rate, controling the growth rate at 0.02 h(-1), in this strategy the methanol supply is limited. Throughout the induction phase glycerol, in addition to methanol, was continuously added at a rate of 1 g L h(-1). Total endostatin production was similar in all three strategies, (400 mg was obtained from 3 L initial volume), but the amount of methanol added and the biomass produced were lower in the predetermined rate method. This caused the specific production of endostatin per biomass and per methanol to be 2 times higher in the predetermined rate than in the other two methods, making the growth control strategy not only more efficient but also more convenient for downstream processing. Copyright 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 82: 438-444, 2003.

  17. Invigorating self-regulated learning strategies of mathematics among higher education students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chechi, Vijay Kumar; Bhalla, Jyoti

    2017-07-01

    The global market is transforming at its ever-increasing rate of knots. Consequently, the work skills challenges that current students will encounter throughout their lifetimes will be drastically different from those of present and past and proffering new-fangled opportunities and posing new challenges. However, in order to deal with tomorrow's opportunities and challenges students ought to equip with higher order cognitive skills which are substantially different from those needed in the past. In order to accomplish this intention, students must be academically self-regulated, as academic self-regulation is playing a vital role for academic success, particularly in higher education. Students must be prepared in such a way that they should take responsibility for their own learning. Self-regulation suggests activities and thinking processes that learners can engage in during his learning. Self-regulation is encompassing a number of inter-dependent aspect viz. affective beliefs, cognition and meta-cognitive skills [1]. It helps the learners to make sagacious use of their intellect and expertise [2]. As statistics has shown that the achievement of students in mathematics has persistently been poor. Along with it, mathematics is considered as one of the most important subject course in architecture, agriculture, medicine, pharmacy and especially in engineering. In spite of its importance, most of the students considered it as a dull and dry subject and their performance is remarkably low and alarming. Therefore, the present paper will highlight various factors affecting performance of higher education students in mathematics and will suggest different self-regulated learning strategies which will act as boon for higher education students.

  18. An evaluation of the effect of altering nutrition and nutritional strategies in early lactation on reproductive performance and estrous behavior of high-yielding Holstein-Friesian dairy cows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilmore, H S; Young, F J; Patterson, D C; Wylie, A R G; Law, R A; Kilpatrick, D J; Elliott, C T; Mayne, C S

    2011-07-01

    Reproductive performance in the high-yielding dairy cow has severely decreased in the last 40 yr. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of 4 nutritional strategies in improving the reproductive performance of high-yielding dairy cows. It was hypothesized that offering cows a high-starch ration in early lactation would enhance the onset of luteal activity, and that decreasing the severity of negative energy balance in the early postcalving period would improve reproductive parameters. Nutritional regimens aimed at improving fertility were applied to 96 Holstein-Friesian dairy animals. Upon calving, animals were allocated in a balanced manner to one of 4 dietary treatments. Primiparous animals were balanced according to live weight, body condition score and calving date. Multiparous animals were balanced according to parity, previous lactation milk yield, liveweight, body condition score and calving date. Treatment 1 was based on an industry best practice diet (control) to contain 170 g of crude protein/kg of dry matter. Treatment 2 was an individual cow feeding strategy, whereby the energy balance (EB) of individual animals was managed so as to achieve a predetermined target daily EB profile (±10 MJ/d). Treatment 3 was a high-starch/high-fat combination treatment, whereby an insulinogenic (high-starch) diet was offered in early lactation to encourage cyclicity and followed by a lipogenic (low-starch, high-fat) diet to promote embryo development. Treatment 4 was a low-protein diet, containing 140 g of crude protein/kg of dry matter, supplemented with protected methionine at an inclusion level of 40 g per animal per day. The nutritional strategies implemented in this study had no statistically significant effects on cow fertility measures, which included the onset of luteal activity, conception rate, in-calf rate, and the incidence of atypical cycles. The individual cow feeding strategy improved EB in early lactation but had no benefit on conception

  19. Start-up strategies for thermophilic anaerobic digestion of pig manure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moset, V.; Bertolini, E.; Cerisuelo, A.; Cambra, M.; Olmos, A.; Cambra-López, M.

    2014-01-01

    Sludge physicochemical composition, methane (CH 4 ) yield, and methanogenic community structure and dynamics using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were determined after start-up of anaerobic digestion of pig manure. Eight thermophilic continuous stirred anaerobic digesters were used during 126 days. Four management strategies were investigated: a feedless and a non-feedless period followed by a gradual or an abrupt addition of pig manure (two digesters per strategy). During the first 43 days, VFA (volatile fatty acids) accumulations and low CH 4 yield were observed in all digesters. After this period, digesters recovered their initial status being propionic acid the last parameter to be re-established. Non-feedless digesters with an abrupt addition of pig manure showed the best performances (lower VFA accumulation and higher CH 4 yield). Differences in microbial orders and dynamics, however, were less evident among treatments. Hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis, Methanomicrobiales first and Methanobacteriales second, was the dominant metabolic pathway in all digesters. Further research is needed to clarify the role and activity of hydrogenotrophic methanogens during the recovery start-up period and to identify the best molecular tools and methodologies to monitor microbial populations and dynamics reliably and accurately in anaerobic digesters. - Highlights: • Four start-up strategies for thermophilic anaerobic digestion of pig manure were tested. • Physicochemical composition, methane yield and methanogenic community were determined. • During the first 43 days, a decline in reactor's performance occurred. • The best start-up strategy was non-feedless with an abrupt addition of pig slurry. • Hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis was the dominant metabolic pathway

  20. Initial Effects of Differently Treated Biogas Residues from Municipal and Industrial Wastes on Spring Barley Yield Formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prays, Nadia; Kaupenjohann, Martin

    2016-01-01

    Soil application of biogas residues (BGRs) is important for closing nutrient cycles. This study examined the efficiency and impact on yields and yield formation of solid-liquid separated residues from biodegradable municipal and industrial wastes (bio-waste) in comparison to complete BGRs, nitrification inhibitor, agricultural BGRs, mineral fertilizer and unfertilized plots as control. The experiment was set up as a randomized block design on silt loam Cambisol. Biogas residues from four biogas plants were evaluated. Plants per m², ears per plant, grains per ear and thousand grain weight (TGW) were measured at harvest. Fertilization with BGRs resulted in similar biomass yields compared with mineral fertilizer. Mineral fertilizer (71 dt/ha) and plots fertilized with liquid fraction (59–62 dt/ha) indicated a trend to higher yields than solid fraction or complete BGR due to its high ammonia content. Liquid fractions and fraction with nitrification inhibitor induced fewer plants per m² than corresponding solid and complete variants due to a potential phytotoxicity of high NH4-N concentration during germination. However, barley on plots fertilized with liquid fraction compensated the disadvantages at the beginning during the vegetation period and induced higher grain yields than solid fraction. This was attributable to a higher number of ears per plant and grains per ear. In conclusion, BGRs from biodegradable municipal and industrial wastes can be used for soil fertilization and replace considerable amounts of mineral fertilizer. Our study showed that direct application of the liquid fraction of BGR is the most suitable strategy to achieve highest grain yields. Nevertheless potential phytotoxicity of the high NH4-N concentration in the liquid fraction should be considered. PMID:27116355

  1. Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency in Extremely-Late Sown Winter Wheat Cultivars under Two Irrigation Regimes in the North China Plain.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bin Wang

    Full Text Available Wheat production is threatened by water shortages and groundwater over-draft in the North China Plain (NCP. In recent years, winter wheat has been increasingly sown extremely late in early to mid-November after harvesting cotton or pepper. To improve water use efficiency (WUE and guide the extremely late sowing practices, a 3-year field experiment was conducted under two irrigation regimes (W1, one-irrigation, 75 mm at jointing; W2, two-irrigation, 75 mm at jointing and 75 mm at anthesis in 3 cultivars differing in spike size (HS4399, small spike; JM22, medium spike; WM8, large spike. Wheat was sown in early to mid-November at a high seeding rate of 800-850 seeds m(-2. Average yields of 7.42 t ha(-1 and WUE of 1.84 kg m(-3 were achieved with an average seasonal evapotranspiration (ET of 404 mm. Compared with W2, wheat under W1 did not have yield penalty in 2 of 3 years, and had 7.9% lower seasonal ET and 7.5% higher WUE. The higher WUE and stable yield under W1 was associated with higher 1000-grain weight (TGW and harvest index (HI. Among the 3 cultivars, JM22 had 5.9%-8.9% higher yield and 4.2%-9.3% higher WUE than WM8 and HS4399. The higher yield in JM22 was attributed mainly to higher HI and TGW due to increased post-anthesis biomass and deeper seasonal soil water extraction. In conclusion, one-irrigation with a medium-sized spike cultivar JM22 could be a useful strategy to maintain yield and high WUE in extremely late-sown winter wheat at a high seeding rate in the NCP.

  2. Strategies Towards Effective Management of Higher Education for Building a Culture of Peace in Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asiyai, Romina Ifeoma

    2015-01-01

    This study was aimed at investigating strategies for effective management of higher education for building a culture of peace in Nigeria. Four research questions and four hypotheses guided the investigation. The study is a survey research which adopted the ex-post-facto design. The respondents comprised of one thousand four hundred and eighty…

  3. Strategies for the anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste: an overview

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hartmann, H.; Ahring, Birgitte Kiær

    2006-01-01

    Different process strategies for anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) are reviewed weighing high-solids versus low-solids, mesophilic versus thermophilic and single-stage versus multi-stage processes. The influence of different waste characteristics...... such as composition of biodegradable fractions, C:N ratio and particle size is described. Generally, source sorting of OFMSW and a high content of food waste leads to higher biogas yields than the use of mechanically sorted OFMSW. Thermophilic processes are more efficient than mesophilic processes in terms of higher...... biogas yields at different organic loading rates (OLR). Highest biogas yields are achieved by means of wet thermophilic processes at OLRs lower than 6 kg-VS(.)m(-3) d(-1). High-solids processes appear to be relatively more efficient when OLRs higher than 6 kg-VS(.)m(-3) d(-1) are applied. Multi...

  4. An Inquiry into Conflict Management Strategies: Study of Higher Education Institutions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Din, Siraj ud; Khan, Bakhtiar; Bibi, Zainab

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to gain an insight into the conflict management strategies (CMS) of faculty in the higher education institutions (HEIs) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. To achieve the above mentioned purpose, survey method was used with the help of questionnaire. In this research, impact of CMS was assessed on the negative…

  5. Targhee Russet: A high yielding dual purpose, long russet potato cultivar having higher protein and vitamin C content and resistance to tuber soft rot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Targhee Russet is a dark-skinned russet potato variety with tubers slightly longer than Russet Burbank. It produces higher total and marketable yields than does Russet Burbank at most of the sites it was tested in the western United States. Tuber dormancy is about 58 days shorter than Russet Burba...

  6. A preliminary yield trial of some soybean mutant lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ratma, Rivaie

    1985-01-01

    A preliminary yield trial of some soybean mutant lines, derived from irradiated Orba variety with dose of 0.40 kGy, were carried out during the wet and dry season in 1979-1982 in Muara and Citayam, Bogor. The result obtained showed that yield potential of mutant lines no. M6/40/10 was higher than that of the control in dry season in 1979 as well as in the wet season of 1979/80 in Muara. Whereas, the yield potential of the mutant lines no. M6/40/8 and no. M6/40/14 were higher than that of the control only in the wet season. The yield potential of semi dwarf mutant lines no. M6/40/68 was highly significant compared to that of the control in dry season in Muara and the wet season in 1981/82 in Citayam. Whereas, the yield potential of the mutant lines no. M6/40/69 was higher yield compared to that of the control in dry season in 1981 in Muara. (author). 10 refs

  7. High-Yield Production of Levulinic Acid from Pretreated Cow Dung in Dilute Acid Aqueous Solution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jialei Su

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Agricultural waste cow dung was used as feedstock for the production of a high value–added chemical levulinic acid (LA in dilute acid aqueous solutions. A high LA yield of 338.9 g/kg was obtained from the pretreated cow dung, which was much higher than that obtained from the crude cow dung (135 g/kg, mainly attributed to the breakage of the lignin fraction in the lignocellulose structure of the cow dung by potassium hydroxide (KOH pretreatment, and thus enhanced the accessibility of cow dung to the acid sites in the catalytic reaction. Meanwhile, another value-added chemical formic acid could be obtained with a yield of ca. 160 g/kg in the process, implying a total production of ca. 500 g/kg yield for LA and formic acid from the pretreated cow dung with the proposed process. The developed process was shown to be tolerant to high initial substrate loading with a satisfied LA yield. This work provides a promising strategy for the value-increment utilization of liglocellulosic agricultural residues.

  8. Soil Texture and Cultivar Effects on Rice (Oryza sativa, L. Grain Yield, Yield Components and Water Productivity in Three Water Regimes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fugen Dou

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to determine the effects of water regime/soil condition (continuous flooding, saturated, and aerobic, cultivar ('Cocodrie' and 'Rondo', and soil texture (clay and sandy loam on rice grain yield, yield components and water productivity using a greenhouse trial. Rice grain yield was significantly affected by soil texture and the interaction between water regime and cultivar. Significantly higher yield was obtained in continuous flooding than in aerobic and saturated soil conditions but the latter treatments were comparable to each other. For Rondo, its grain yield has decreased with soil water regimes in the order of continuous flooding, saturated and aerobic treatments. The rice grain yield in clay soil was 46% higher than in sandy loam soil averaged across cultivar and water regime. Compared to aerobic condition, saturated and continuous flooding treatments had greater panicle numbers. In addition, panicle number in clay soil was 25% higher than in sandy loam soil. The spikelet number of Cocodrie was 29% greater than that of Rondo, indicating that rice cultivar had greater effect on spikelet number than soil type and water management. Water productivity was significantly affected by the interaction of water regime and cultivar. Compared to sandy loam soil, clay soil was 25% higher in water productivity. Our results indicated that cultivar selection and soil texture are important factors in deciding what water management option to practice.

  9. Shade tree diversity, cocoa pest damage, yield compensating inputs and farmers' net returns in West Africa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hervé Bertin Bisseleua Daghela

    Full Text Available Cocoa agroforests can significantly support biodiversity, yet intensification of farming practices is degrading agroforestry habitats and compromising ecosystem services such as biological pest control. Effective conservation strategies depend on the type of relationship between agricultural matrix, biodiversity and ecosystem services, but to date the shape of this relationship is unknown. We linked shade index calculated from eight vegetation variables, with insect pests and beneficial insects (ants, wasps and spiders in 20 cocoa agroforests differing in woody and herbaceous vegetation diversity. We measured herbivory and predatory rates, and quantified resulting increases in cocoa yield and net returns. We found that number of spider webs and wasp nests significantly decreased with increasing density of exotic shade tree species. Greater species richness of native shade tree species was associated with a higher number of wasp nests and spider webs while species richness of understory plants did not have a strong impact on these beneficial species. Species richness of ants, wasp nests and spider webs peaked at higher levels of plant species richness. The number of herbivore species (mirid bugs and cocoa pod borers and the rate of herbivory on cocoa pods decreased with increasing shade index. Shade index was negatively related to yield, with yield significantly higher at shade and herb covers<50%. However, higher inputs in the cocoa farms do not necessarily result in a higher net return. In conclusion, our study shows the importance of a diverse shade canopy in reducing damage caused by cocoa pests. It also highlights the importance of conservation initiatives in tropical agroforestry landscapes.

  10. Net energy yield from production of conventional oil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dale, Michael; Krumdieck, Susan; Bodger, Pat

    2011-01-01

    Historic profitability of bringing oil to market was profound, but most easy oil has been developed. Higher cost resources, such as tar sands and deep off-shore, are considered the best prospects for the future. Economic modelling is currently used to explore future price scenarios commensurate with delivering fuel to market. Energy policy requires modelling scenarios capturing the complexity of resource and extraction aspects as well as the economic profitability of different resources. Energy-return-on-investment (EROI) expresses the profitability of bringing energy products to the market. Net energy yield (NEY) is related to the EROI. NEY is the amount of energy less expenditures necessary to deliver a fuel to the market. This paper proposes a pattern for EROI of oil production, based on historic oil development trends. Methodology and data for EROI is not agreed upon. The proposed EROI function is explored in relation to the available data and used to attenuate the International Energy Agency (IEA) world oil production scenarios to understand the implications of future declining EROI on net energy yield. The results suggest that strategies for management and mitigation of deleterious effects of a peak in oil production are more urgent than might be suggested by analyses focussing only on gross production. - Highlights: → Brief introduction to methodological issues concerning net energy analysis. → Description of EROI function over the whole production cycle of an energy resource. → Calibration of this function to EROI data from historic oil production. → Application to determine the net energy yield from current global oil production. → Calculation of net energy yield from IEA projections of future oil production.

  11. Effect of NS-nitragin application on soybean yield and yield components

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marinković Jelena

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Agricultural soils of Serbia are low in soybean symbiotic bacteria and application of bacteriological preparations has been introduced as a regular cultivation practice when growing soybean. A trial was set up on experimental field of Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops from Novi Sad on chernozem soil using a randomized block design with four replicates. Mineral nitrogen fertilizers were used in rates of 0, 30, 60, and 90 kg ha-1 in the experiment. Each of the nitrogen treatments had two variations, with and without inoculation. The effects of inoculation and different nitrogen fertilizer rates on yield and yield components were determined based on the pod number, seed number, 1000 seed mass and protein and oil content in seeds. Significantly higher pod number was observed in inoculated plants with the application of 30 kg N ha-1. Inoculation with NS-Nitragin increased seed number per plant. In treatment with no mineral nitrogen applied and with application of 30 kg N ha-1 and 60 kg N ha-1, 1000 seed mass was statistically higher in inoculated plants than in uninoculated ones. Inoculation produced statistically significant difference in soybean yield only in the treatment with no mineral nitrogen applied. Inoculation and applied mineral nitrogen rates had no significant effect on protein content in soybean grain.

  12. Seed yield response to N fertilization and potential of proximal sensing in Italian ryegrass seed crops

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vleugels, Tim; Rijckaert, Georges; Gislum, René

    2017-01-01

    Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.) seed crops are often routinely fertilized with a predetermined amount of nitrogen (N) fertilizer in spring. However, nitrate leaching and increasing N fertilizer prices require rationalized fertilizer applications without compromises in seed yield....... The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the seed yield response to N fertilization, and (2) to evaluate if NDVI values can reliably predict the N status in Italian ryegrass seed crops. During eight years, field trials were conducted with two cultivars ‘Melclips’ and ‘Melquatro’, and seven N strategies...... applied after the forage cut as single or split application: 0, 60, 60 + 30, 90, 90 + 30, 120 and 150 kg N ha−1. NDVI values were obtained with a ‘GreenSeeker’ optical sensor. Maximum seed yield was attained at 141 kg N ha−1 total available N (92 kg N ha−1 fertilized). Higher fertilizations only increased...

  13. Academic Workload: The Silent Barrier to the Implementation of Technology-Enhanced Learning Strategies in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregory, Mary Sarah-Jane; Lodge, Jason Michael

    2015-01-01

    The effect of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) strategies in higher education has arguably been transformative despite the not-insignificant barriers existing in this context. Throughout the discourse very little attention has been paid to those primarily responsible for this implementation--academic teaching staff. This paper aims to highlight…

  14. Development of bioprocess for high density cultivation yield of the probiotic Bacillus coagulans and its spores

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kavita R. Pandey

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Bacillus coagulans is a spore forming lactic acid bacterium. Spore forming bacteria, have been extensively studied and commercialized as probiotics. Probiotics are produced by fermentation technology. There is a limitation to biomass produced by conventional modes of fermentation. With the great demand generated by range of probiotic products, biomass is becoming very valuable for several pharmaceutical, dairy and probiotic companies. Thus, there is a need to develop high cell density cultivation processes for enhanced biomass accumulation. The bioprocess development was carried out in 6.6 L bench top lab scale fermentor. Four different cultivation strategies were employed to develop a bioprocess for higher growth and sporulation efficiencies of probiotic B. coagulans. Batch fermentation of B. coagulans yielded 18 g L-1 biomass (as against 8.0 g L-1 productivity in shake flask with 60% spore efficiency. Fed-batch cultivation was carried out for glucose, which yielded 25 g L-1 of biomass. C/N ratio was very crucial in achieving higher spore titres. Maximum biomass yield recorded was 30 g L-1, corresponding to 3.8 × 1011 cells mL-1 with 81% of cells in sporulated stage. The yield represents increment of 85 times the productivity and 158 times the spore titres relative to the highest reported values for high density cultivation of B. coagulans.

  15. Accelerated yield learning in agressive lithography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monahan, Kevin M.; Ashkenaz, Scott M.; Chen, Xing; Lord, Patrick J.; Merrill, Mark A.; Quattrini, Rich; Wiley, James N.

    2000-06-01

    As exposure wavelengths decrease from 248 nm to 193, 157, and even 13 nm (EUV), small process defects can cause collapse of the lithographic process window near the limits of resolution, particularly for the gate and contact structures in high- performance devices. Such sensitivity poses a challenge for lithography process module control. In this work, we show that yield loss can be caused by a combination of macro, micro, CD, and overlay defects. A defect is defined as any yield- affecting process variation. Each defect, regardless of cause, is assumed to have a specific 'kill potential.' The accuracy of the lithographic yield model can be improved by identifying those defects with the highest kill potential or, more importantly, those that pose the highest economic risk. Such economic considerations have led us to develop a simple heuristic model for understanding sampling strategies in defect metrology and for linking metrology capability to yield and profitability.

  16. YIELD STABILITY OF NEW HYBRID RICE ACROSS LOCATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Satoto

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The adaptation of hybrid rice varieties mostly are in specific location and season, but there are some of the varieties have a wide adaptation then adopted by the farmer in the large area. Replicated yield trials were conducted to study the stability of hybrid rice yield and identify the best location to optimize their yield per ha. The trials were conducted in three location such as Sukamandi, Salatiga and Malang during two seasons in 2011. Data across location and season were analazed by using AMMI and Eberhart Russel methods. The AMMI analysis showed that the IR79156A/PK88 was adaptable to favorable environments but unstable. This hybrid is always performing well and produce the higher yield compare to check variety. Some of other hybrids were good only in specific location, i.e. IR62829A/BP2280-1E-12-22 and IR58029A/BP2280-1E-12-22. Those hybrids produced higher yield in Salatiga and Malang, respectively. Seem to AMMI analysis, the result of Eberhart and Russell method also showed that IR79156A/PK81 was the best hybrid with regression slope (b around 1 with the yield average higher than average of all hybrids. It indicated that this hybrid has a wide adaptation and probably can be cultivated in the wider ecosystem.

  17. Seed priming with iron and zinc in bread wheat: effects in germination, mitosis and grain yield.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reis, Sara; Pavia, Ivo; Carvalho, Ana; Moutinho-Pereira, José; Correia, Carlos; Lima-Brito, José

    2018-07-01

    Currently, the biofortification of crops like wheat with micronutrients such as iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) is extremely important due to the deficiencies of these micronutrients in the human diet and in soils. Agronomic biofortification with Fe and Zn can be done through different exogenous strategies such as soil application, foliar spraying, and seed priming. However, the excess of these micronutrients can be detrimental to the plants. Therefore, in the last decade, a high number of studies focused on the evaluation of their phytotoxic effects to define the best strategies for biofortification of bread wheat. In this study, we investigated the effects of seed priming with different dosages (1 mg L -1 to 8 mg L -1 ) of Fe and/or Zn in germination, mitosis and yield of bread wheat cv. 'Jordão' when compared with control. Overall, our results showed that: micronutrient dosages higher than 4 mg L -1 negatively affect the germination; Fe and/or Zn concentrations higher than 2 mg L -1 significantly decrease the mitotic index and increase the percentage of dividing cells with anomalies; treatments performed with 8 mg L -1 of Fe and/or 8 mg L -1 Zn caused negative effects in germination, mitosis and grain yield. Moreover, seed priming with 2 mg L -1 Fe + 2 mg L -1 Zn has been shown to be non-cytotoxic, ensuring a high rate of germination (80%) and normal dividing cells (90%) as well as improving tillering and grain yield. This work revealed that seed priming with Fe and Zn micronutrients constitutes a useful and alternative approach for the agronomic biofortification of bread wheat.

  18. Comparative effectiveness of correction strategies in connected discourse tracking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lunato, K E; Weisenberger, J M

    1994-10-01

    The effectiveness of four correction strategies commonly used in connected discourse tracking was investigated in the present study. The strategies were 1) verbatim repetition of a word or phrase; 2) use of antonyms or synonyms as cues; 3) use of phonemic cues, with no whole word repetition; and 4) going back or ahead in the text, with no repetition of the missed segment. Four normal-hearing adults served as listeners. Live-voice presentation of text by two female talkers was employed for all conditions. Listeners were tested in two stimulus presentation modes, speechreading alone and speechreading plus a multichannel tactile aid. Results indicated that strategy 1, repetition of the missed segment, produced the highest tracking rates, significantly higher than any of the other strategies. Strategy 2 produced the lowest tracking rates. Strategies 1 and 3 yielded the lowest percentage of initially missed words, or blockages, and strategy 4 the highest percentage. Significantly higher tracking rates were found under the speechreading plus tactile aid presentation mode, compared with speechreading alone. Further, tracking rates increased significantly from the beginning to the end of training. Data were compared with a more typical CDT task, in which all correction strategies were operative, and results showed little difference in tracking rates between this task and the constrained CDT employing only strategy 1. Overall, results suggest that simple repetition of missed segments is an effective correction strategy for CDT and argue for its inclusion in computer-assisted tracking implementations.

  19. Funding Systems for Higher Education and Their Impacts on Institutional Strategies and Academia: A Comparative Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frolich, Nicoline; Kalpazidou Schmidt, Evanthia; Rosa, Maria J.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss how funding systems influence higher education institutions and their strategies and core tasks. Design/methodology/approach: Taking the results of a comparative study between Denmark, Norway and Portugal as a point of departure, the paper identifies and analyses the main features of these state…

  20. Biochar boosts tropical but not temperate crop yields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeffery, Simon; Abalos, Diego; Prodana, Marija; Catarina Bastos, Ana; van Groenigen, Jan Willem; Hungate, Bruce A.; Verheijen, Frank

    2017-05-01

    Applying biochar to soil is thought to have multiple benefits, from helping mitigate climate change [1, 2], to managing waste [3] to conserving soil [4]. Biochar is also widely assumed to boost crop yield [5, 6], but there is controversy regarding the extent and cause of any yield benefit [7]. Here we use a global-scale meta-analysis to show that biochar has, on average, no effect on crop yield in temperate latitudes, yet elicits a 25% average increase in yield in the tropics. In the tropics, biochar increased yield through liming and fertilization, consistent with the low soil pH, low fertility, and low fertilizer inputs typical of arable tropical soils. We also found that, in tropical soils, high-nutrient biochar inputs stimulated yield substantially more than low-nutrient biochar, further supporting the role of nutrient fertilization in the observed yield stimulation. In contrast, arable soils in temperate regions are moderate in pH, higher in fertility, and generally receive higher fertilizer inputs, leaving little room for additional benefits from biochar. Our findings demonstrate that the yield-stimulating effects of biochar are not universal, but may especially benefit agriculture in low-nutrient, acidic soils in the tropics. Biochar management in temperate zones should focus on potential non-yield benefits such as lime and fertilizer cost savings, greenhouse gas emissions control, and other ecosystem services.

  1. Predicting Great Lakes fish yields: tools and constraints

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, C.A.; Schupp, D.H.; Taylor, W.W.; Collins, J.J.; Hatch, Richard W.

    1987-01-01

    Prediction of yield is a critical component of fisheries management. The development of sound yield prediction methodology and the application of the results of yield prediction are central to the evolution of strategies to achieve stated goals for Great Lakes fisheries and to the measurement of progress toward those goals. Despite general availability of species yield models, yield prediction for many Great Lakes fisheries has been poor due to the instability of the fish communities and the inadequacy of available data. A host of biological, institutional, and societal factors constrain both the development of sound predictions and their application to management. Improved predictive capability requires increased stability of Great Lakes fisheries through rehabilitation of well-integrated communities, improvement of data collection, data standardization and information-sharing mechanisms, and further development of the methodology for yield prediction. Most important is the creation of a better-informed public that will in turn establish the political will to do what is required.

  2. Increasing crop diversity mitigates weather variations and improves yield stability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaudin, Amélie C M; Tolhurst, Tor N; Ker, Alan P; Janovicek, Ken; Tortora, Cristina; Martin, Ralph C; Deen, William

    2015-01-01

    Cropping sequence diversification provides a systems approach to reduce yield variations and improve resilience to multiple environmental stresses. Yield advantages of more diverse crop rotations and their synergistic effects with reduced tillage are well documented, but few studies have quantified the impact of these management practices on yields and their stability when soil moisture is limiting or in excess. Using yield and weather data obtained from a 31-year long term rotation and tillage trial in Ontario, we tested whether crop rotation diversity is associated with greater yield stability when abnormal weather conditions occur. We used parametric and non-parametric approaches to quantify the impact of rotation diversity (monocrop, 2-crops, 3-crops without or with one or two legume cover crops) and tillage (conventional or reduced tillage) on yield probabilities and the benefits of crop diversity under different soil moisture and temperature scenarios. Although the magnitude of rotation benefits varied with crops, weather patterns and tillage, yield stability significantly increased when corn and soybean were integrated into more diverse rotations. Introducing small grains into short corn-soybean rotation was enough to provide substantial benefits on long-term soybean yields and their stability while the effects on corn were mostly associated with the temporal niche provided by small grains for underseeded red clover or alfalfa. Crop diversification strategies increased the probability of harnessing favorable growing conditions while decreasing the risk of crop failure. In hot and dry years, diversification of corn-soybean rotations and reduced tillage increased yield by 7% and 22% for corn and soybean respectively. Given the additional advantages associated with cropping system diversification, such a strategy provides a more comprehensive approach to lowering yield variability and improving the resilience of cropping systems to multiple environmental

  3. Strategy Use and Strategy Choice in Fraction Magnitude Comparison

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fazio, Lisa K.; DeWolf, Melissa; Siegler, Robert S.

    2016-01-01

    We examined, on a trial-by-trial basis, fraction magnitude comparison strategies of adults with more and less mathematical knowledge. College students with high mathematical proficiency used a large variety of strategies that were well tailored to the characteristics of the problems and that were guaranteed to yield correct performance if executed…

  4. Protected area types, strategies and impacts in Brazil's Amazon: public protected area strategies do not yield a consistent ranking of protected area types by impact

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfaff, Alexander; Robalino, Juan; Sandoval, Catalina; Herrera, Diego

    2015-01-01

    The leading policy to conserve forest is protected areas (PAs). Yet, PAs are not a single tool: land users and uses vary by PA type; and public PA strategies vary in the extent of each type and in the determinants of impact for each type, i.e. siting and internal deforestation. Further, across regions and time, strategies respond to pressures (deforestation and political). We estimate deforestation impacts of PA types for a critical frontier, the Brazilian Amazon. We separate regions and time periods that differ in their deforestation and political pressures and document considerable variation in PA strategies across regions, time periods and types. The siting of PAs varies across regions. For example, all else being equal, PAs in the arc of deforestation are relatively far from non-forest, while in other states they are relatively near. Internal deforestation varies across time periods, e.g. it is more similar across the PA types for PAs after 2000. By contrast, after 2000, PA extent is less similar across PA types with little non-indigenous area created inside the arc. PA strategies generate a range of impacts for PA types—always far higher within the arc—but not a consistent ranking of PA types by impact. PMID:26460126

  5. Protected area types, strategies and impacts in Brazil's Amazon: public protected area strategies do not yield a consistent ranking of protected area types by impact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfaff, Alexander; Robalino, Juan; Sandoval, Catalina; Herrera, Diego

    2015-11-05

    The leading policy to conserve forest is protected areas (PAs). Yet, PAs are not a single tool: land users and uses vary by PA type; and public PA strategies vary in the extent of each type and in the determinants of impact for each type, i.e. siting and internal deforestation. Further, across regions and time, strategies respond to pressures (deforestation and political). We estimate deforestation impacts of PA types for a critical frontier, the Brazilian Amazon. We separate regions and time periods that differ in their deforestation and political pressures and document considerable variation in PA strategies across regions, time periods and types. The siting of PAs varies across regions. For example, all else being equal, PAs in the arc of deforestation are relatively far from non-forest, while in other states they are relatively near. Internal deforestation varies across time periods, e.g. it is more similar across the PA types for PAs after 2000. By contrast, after 2000, PA extent is less similar across PA types with little non-indigenous area created inside the arc. PA strategies generate a range of impacts for PA types--always far higher within the arc--but not a consistent ranking of PA types by impact. © 2015 The Author(s).

  6. Improved sugar yields from biomass sorghum feedstocks: comparing low-lignin mutants and pretreatment chemistries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godin, Bruno; Nagle, Nick; Sattler, Scott; Agneessens, Richard; Delcarte, Jérôme; Wolfrum, Edward

    2016-01-01

    For biofuel production processes to be economically efficient, it is essential to maximize the production of monomeric carbohydrates from the structural carbohydrates of feedstocks. One strategy for maximizing carbohydrate production is to identify less recalcitrant feedstock cultivars by performing some type of experimental screening on a large and diverse set of candidate materials, or by identifying genetic modifications (random or directed mutations or transgenic plants) that provide decreased recalcitrance. Economic efficiency can also be increased using additional pretreatment processes such as deacetylation, which uses dilute NaOH to remove the acetyl groups of hemicellulose prior to dilute acid pretreatment. In this work, we used a laboratory-scale screening tool that mimics relevant thermochemical pretreatment conditions to compare the total sugar yield of three near-isogenic brown midrib ( bmr ) mutant lines and the wild-type (WT) sorghum cultivar. We then compared results obtained from the laboratory-scale screening pretreatment assay to a large-scale pretreatment system. After pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis, the bmr mutants had higher total sugar yields than the WT sorghum cultivar. Increased pretreatment temperatures increased reactivity for all sorghum samples reducing the differences observed at lower reaction temperatures. Deacetylation prior to dilute acid pretreatment increased the total sugar yield for all four sorghum samples, and reduced the differences in total sugar yields among them, but solubilized a sizable fraction of the non-structural carbohydrates. The general trends of increased total sugar yield in the bmr mutant compared to the WT seen at the laboratory scale were observed at the large-scale system. However, in the larger reactor system, the measured total sugar yields were lower and the difference in total sugar yield between the WT and bmr sorghum was larger. Sorghum bmr mutants, which have a reduced lignin content showed

  7. Wheat-yield response to irrigation and nitrogen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirda, C.; Derici, R.; Kanber, R.; Yazar, A.; Koc, M.; Barutcular, C.

    2000-01-01

    Wheat-yield responses to the application of different rates of N fertilizer, under irrigated and rainfed conditions, were evaluated over four growing seasons. Nitrogen applied at tillering was utilized more effectively with proportionately less residual in the soil compared to that applied at planting. Subsequent crops of maize or cotton were positively affected by residual fertilizer N. Volatilization and leaching losses of applied N were small. Crop-water consumption showed strong positive associations with N rate. No wheat-grain-yield benefits accrued from irrigation, although straw yields were increased. Tiller production increased with N-fertilizer usage, however, tiller survival decreased at high N and was highest at 160 kg N ha -1 . Higher N rates produced higher stomatal conductance, increased rates of CO 2 assimilation and higher water-use efficiency. The CERES-Wheat growth-simulation model predicted rather closely the progress of dry-matter production, leaf area index, seasonal evapotranspiration, phenological development and of many other plant-growth attributes. The data indicated that the rate of 160 kg N ha -1 , which is commonly used by the farmers of the region, is acceptable, not only for optimum grain yields but also to minimize the risks of leaching NO 3 - to groundwater. (author)

  8. Barriers and Strategies on Adoption of E-Learning in Tanzanian Higher Learning Institutions: Lessons for Adopters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kisanga, Dalton; Ireson, Gren

    2015-01-01

    Tanzanian Higher learning institutions (HLIs) are faced with challenges of adopting e-learning in education. This study involved experts in e-learning to examine barriers of adopting e-learning and the best strategies to address them. Data were gathered from a series of semi-structured interviews with e-learning experts from two HLIs in Tanzania.…

  9. Developing Marketing Higher Education Strategies Based on Students’ Satisfaction Evolution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreea Orîndaru

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The educational system worldwide is currently under the spotlight as it shows significant signs of an ongoing crisis in its search for resources, visibility in the crowded market and significance to the ever-changing society. Within this framework, higher education institutions (HEIs are taking significant actions for maintaining students as clients of their educational services. As competition on this market is becoming stronger, HEIs face difficulties in keeping students, leading them to a continuous evaluation of student satisfaction indicators. Beyond HEIs’ managers, researchers in marketing higher education have contributed to the development of a comprehensive literature where still very few have forwarded a longitudinal research model for student satisfaction evaluation despite the need for such approaches. Given this context, the current paper presents a first step towards a longitudinal study as it displays, in a compare and contrast vision, the results of two different quantitative research projects developed in the same student community, with the same objective, but conducted in two different years. Among the most significant results of this research refer to an important decline in students’ satisfaction with a significant increase in the number of students that have a neutral perception. This is highly expected to determine a major impact on university’s overall performance and, therefore, it constitutes a strong argument for determining underlying causes, and especially developing the appropriate marketing strategies to tackle with these issues. Based on this result and other similar research outcomes, strategic and tactic recommendations are granted in the final part of this paper.

  10. The effects of vermicompost and chemical fertilizers on yield and yield components of marshmallow (Altheae officinalis L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.A. Sadeghi

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available In order to investigate the effects of vermicompost and chemical fertilizers on growth characteristics, yield and yield components of marshmallow (Altheaeofficinalis L., a field experiment was conducted as factorial layout based on a randomized complete block design with three replications at Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran, during growing season of 2012. Experimental treatments were designed based on 3 levels of vermicompost (0, 5 and 10 t ha-1 and 5 levels of nitrogen fertilizer (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of 200 kg N ha-1. Results indicated that applied vermicompost had significant effects on increasing leaf area, flower weight per plant and grain yield of marshmallow. Flower weight per plant and grain yield of marshmallow was increased by 2 to 3 times by applying vermicompost at 10 t. ha-1, as compared to control treatment. In addition, nitrogen fertilizer had a significant effect on increasing flower weight per plant and grain, mucilage and oil yields of marshmallow. It seems that applying vermicompost can be suitable strategy in reducing the problems caused by excessive using of chemical fertilizers.

  11. Effect of Limited Drip Irrigation Regime on Yield and Yield Components of Sesame under Mediterranean Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Panayiota PAPASTYLIANOU

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Sesame is one of the most important oilseed crops in the world. Irrigation is of great importance to sesame production due to its positive effect on growth parameters. Although sesame has good drought tolerance compared with many other crops, it is particularly susceptible to drought damage during the seedling, flowering and seed filling stages and this can lead to yield loss. The aim of this study was to determine the response of sesame landraces to different irrigation applications during the 2015 growing season. The experiment was set up as a split plot design with three replicates, four main plots (irrigation treatments, designated as 100%, 75% 50% and 0 of the daily crop evapotranspiration and two sub-plots (sesame landraces, Limnos and Evros. Different characteristics such as plant height, number of seeds per capsule, and number of capsules per plant, seed yield, 1000-seed weight and % capsules without seeds, were recorded. The results indicated that all traits except 1000-seed weight were significantly affected by irrigation regimes. Plant height, shattering losses and number of capsules per plant decreased with increasing water shortage. Seed yield and number of seeds per capsule were less affected by irrigation level and showed higher values in the 50% of the daily crop evapotranspiration treatment. Limnos produced higher seed yield and number of seeds per capsule under all irrigation regimes. Evros showed higher plant height and shattering losses than Limnos. The results of this study suggest that sesame landraces can use water efficiently, are locally adapted and associated with traditional farming systems.

  12. TASKILLAN II - Pilot strategies for workload management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Segal, Leon D.; Wickens, Christopher D.

    1990-01-01

    This study focused on the strategies used by pilots in managing their workload level, and their subsequent task performance. Sixteen licensed pilots flew 42 missions on a helicopter simulation, and were evaluated on their performance of the overall mission, as well as individual tasks. Pilots were divided in four groups, defined by the presence or absence of scheduling control over tasks and the availability of intelligence concerning the type and stage of difficulties imposed during the flight. Results suggest that intelligence supported strategies that yielded significant higher performance levels, while scheduling control seemed to have no impact on performance. Both difficulty type and the stage of difficulty impacted performance significantly, with strongest effects for time stresss and difficulties imposed late in the flight.

  13. Total Quality Management in Higher Education: Clearing the Hurdles. A Survey on Strategies for Implementing Quality Management Practices in Higher Education. A GOAL/QPC Application Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seymour, Daniel

    Based on a survey of Quality Management (QM) practitioners at 21 colleges, this study presents the 10 most difficult implementation hurdles to QM in higher education and a set of hurdle-clearing strategies. The hurdles are: (1) lack of time to implement QM; (2) perception that QM is something for janitorial and housing staffs but not applicable to…

  14. Uncovering Web search strategies in South African higher education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Surika Civilcharran

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: In spite of the enormous amount of information available on the Web and the fact that search engines are continuously evolving to enhance the search experience, students are nevertheless faced with the difficulty of effectively retrieving information. It is, therefore, imperative for the interaction between students and search tools to be understood and search strategies to be identified, in order to promote successful information retrieval. Objectives: This study identifies the Web search strategies used by postgraduate students and forms part of a wider study into information retrieval strategies used by postgraduate students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN, Pietermaritzburg campus, South Africa. Method: Largely underpinned by Thatcher’s cognitive search strategies, the mixed-methods approach was utilised for this study, in which questionnaires were employed in Phase 1 and structured interviews in Phase 2. This article reports and reflects on the findings of Phase 2, which focus on identifying the Web search strategies employed by postgraduate students. The Phase 1 results were reported in Civilcharran, Hughes and Maharaj (2015. Results: Findings reveal the Web search strategies used for academic information retrieval. In spite of easy access to the invisible Web and the advent of meta-search engines, the use of Web search engines still remains the preferred search tool. The UKZN online library databases and especially the UKZN online library, Online Public Access Catalogue system, are being underutilised. Conclusion: Being ranked in the top three percent of the world’s universities, UKZN is investing in search tools that are not being used to their full potential. This evidence suggests an urgent need for students to be trained in Web searching and to have a greater exposure to a variety of search tools. This article is intended to further contribute to the design of undergraduate training programmes in order to deal

  15. Post-heading heat stress and yield impact in winter wheat of China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Bing; Liu, Leilei; Tian, Liying; Cao, Weixing; Zhu, Yan; Asseng, Senthold

    2014-02-01

    Wheat is sensitive to high temperatures, but the spatial and temporal variability of high temperature and its impact on yield are often not known. An analysis of historical climate and yield data was undertaken to characterize the spatial and temporal variability of heat stress between heading and maturity and its impact on wheat grain yield in China. Several heat stress indices were developed to quantify heat intensity, frequency, and duration between heading and maturity based on measured maximum temperature records of the last 50 years from 166 stations in the main wheat-growing region of China. Surprisingly, heat stress between heading and maturity was more severe in the generally cooler northern wheat-growing regions than the generally warmer southern regions of China, because of the delayed time of heading with low temperatures during the earlier growing season and the exposure of the post-heading phase into the warmer part of the year. Heat stress between heading and maturity has increased in the last decades in most of the main winter wheat production areas of China, but the rate was higher in the south than in the north. The correlation between measured grain yields and post-heading heat stress and average temperature were statistically significant in the entire wheat-producing region, and explained about 29% of the observed spatial and temporal yield variability. A heat stress index considering the duration and intensity of heat between heading and maturity was required to describe the correlation of heat stress and yield variability. Because heat stress is a major cause of yield loss and the number of heat events is projected to increase in the future, quantifying the future impact of heat stress on wheat production and developing appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies are critical for developing food security policies in China and elsewhere. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Ecohydrology of agroecosystems: probabilistic description of yield reduction risk under limited water availability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vico, Giulia; Porporato, Amilcare

    2013-04-01

    Supplemental irrigation represents one of the main strategies to mitigate the effects of climate variability and stabilize yields. Irrigated agriculture currently provides 40% of food production and its relevance is expected to further increase in the near future, in face of the projected alterations of rainfall patterns and increase in food, fiber, and biofuel demand. Because of the significant investments and water requirements involved in irrigation, strategic choices are needed to preserve productivity and profitability, while maintaining a sustainable water management - a nontrivial task given the unpredictability of the rainfall forcing. To facilitate decision making under uncertainty, a widely applicable probabilistic framework is proposed. The occurrence of rainfall events and irrigation applications are linked probabilistically to crop development during the growing season and yields at harvest. Based on these linkages, the probability density function of yields and corresponding probability density function of required irrigation volumes, as well as the probability density function of yields under the most common case of limited water availability are obtained analytically, as a function of irrigation strategy, climate, soil and crop parameters. The full probabilistic description of the frequency of occurrence of yields and water requirements is a crucial tool for decision making under uncertainty, e.g., via expected utility analysis. Furthermore, the knowledge of the probability density function of yield allows us to quantify the yield reduction hydrologic risk. Two risk indices are defined and quantified: the long-term risk index, suitable for long-term irrigation strategy assessment and investment planning, and the real-time risk index, providing a rigorous probabilistic quantification of the emergence of drought conditions during a single growing season in an agricultural setting. Our approach employs relatively few parameters and is thus easily and

  17. Winter wheat grain yield and its components in the North China Plain: irrigation management, cultivation, and climate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lihua Lv

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Irrigation has been identified as the main driving factor of groundwater drawdown in the North China Plain (NCP. In order to develop appropriate irrigation strategies for satisfactory yields of wheat (Triticum aestivum L., grain yield (GY, yield components, and water use efficiency (WUE were studied. A field experiment was conducted with two types of winter wheat, 'Shimai15' and 'Shixin733', and five irrigation treatments, including rainfed and four spring irrigation water applications, in four growing seasons (2005 to 2009. Results showed that maximum GY was achieved with three irrigation treatments in the 2005-2006 and 2008-2009 dry seasons and two irrigation treatments in the 2006-2007 normal season. However, in the 2007-2008 wet season, the four irrigation treatments, especially the additional irrigation event at the reviving stage (28, produced maximum GY. Grain yield was significantly related to seasonal full evapotranspiration (ET and 410 to 530 mm of seasonal full ET, including 143 mm rainfall and 214 mm irrigation water, which led to maximum GY. The two types of cultivars responded differently to irrigation management in different rainfall years. The yield of the water-saving cv. 'Shimai 15' was much higher in the dry seasons than in the other seasons. Variations of yield components were mainly caused by irrigation time and meteorological factors. The higher accumulated temperature during the sowing and tillering stages (24 and irrigation or precipitation at the reviving stage (28 significantly improved tiller growth. The lower average temperature in March and April greatly increased grain number per spike. Sunshine duration played a decisive role in improving grain weight. Our results provide very useful information about irrigation time and frequency of winter wheat in the NCP in order to obtain high yield but reduce the use of underground water.

  18. Analysis of B{yields}K{sup *}{sub J}({yields}K{pi}){mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -} in the higher kaon resonance region

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lue, Cai-Dian [Institute of High Energy Physics, Beijing, BJ (China); Wang, Wei [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

    2011-11-15

    We study the resonant contributions in the process anti B{sup 0} {yields} K{sup -} {pi}{sup +}{mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -} with the K{sup -}{pi}{sup +} invariant mass square m{sup 2}{sub K{pi}} element of [1, 5] GeV{sup 2}. Width effects of the involved strange mesons, K{sup *}(1410), K{sup *}{sub 0}(1430), K{sup *}{sub 2}(1430), K{sup *}(1680), K{sup *}{sub 3}(1780) and K{sup *}{sub 4}(2045), are incorporated. In terms of the helicity amplitudes, we derive a compact form for the full angular distributions, through which the branching ratios, forward-backward asymmetries and polarizations are attained. We propose that the uncertainties in the B {yields} K{sup *}{sub J} form factors can be pinned down by the measurements of a set of SU(3)-related processes. Using results from the large energy limit, we derive the dependence of branching fractions on the m{sub K{pi}}, and find that the K{sup *}{sub 2} resonance has a clear signature, in particular, in the transverse polarizations. (orig.)

  19. Measurements of beryllium sputtering yields at JET

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jet-Efda Contributors Stamp, M. F.; Krieger, K.; Brezinsek, S.

    2011-08-01

    The lifetime of the beryllium first wall in ITER will depend on erosion and redeposition processes. The physical sputtering yields for beryllium (both deuterium on beryllium (Be) and Be on Be) are of crucial importance since they drive the erosion process. Literature values of experimental sputtering yields show an order of magnitude variation so predictive modelling of ITER wall lifetimes has large uncertainty. We have reviewed the old beryllium yield experiments on JET and used current beryllium atomic data to produce revised beryllium sputtering yields. These experimental measurements have been compared with a simple physical sputtering model based on TRIM.SP beryllium yield data. Fair agreement is seen for beryllium yields from a clean beryllium limiter. However the yield on a beryllium divertor tile (with C/Be co-deposits) shows poor agreement at low electron temperatures indicating that the effect of the higher sputtering threshold for beryllium carbide is important.

  20. Effect of sowing dates on yield and yield components on mutant-cum-hybrid lines of bread wheat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sial, M.A.; Arain, M.A.; Dahot, M.U.; Laghari, K.A.; Naqvi, M.H.; Markhand, G.S.; Mangrio, S.M.; Mirbahar, A.A.

    2010-01-01

    Twenty-one stable wheat mutant lines along with four check varieties viz., Sarsabz, Kiran-95, T.J.83 and Khirman were evaluated under normal and late sowing dates. The observations were recorded on phenological, morphological and meteorological parameters. Higher yield and improvement in various yield components were recorded at normal sowing as compared to late sowing. Six mutant lines showed superiority in yield than check varieties at normal sowings while three mutants produced more yield than check varieties except Sarsabz at late sowings. At normal sowing eleven mutant lines matured earlier than all check varieties including short duration variety T.J-83 whereas two mutant lines were earlier than Sarsabz and Kiran-95 and thirteen than T.J-83 and Khirman. (author)

  1. Development of Learning Virtual Objects as a Strategy to Foster Student Retention in Higher Education

    OpenAIRE

    Yois S. Pascuas Rengifo; César Omar Jaramillo Morales; Fredy Antonio Verástegui González

    2015-01-01

    Rev.esc.adm.neg One of the problems that the Colombian higher education system is facing is the problem of student desertion, shwoing that a great amount of students leave their university studies during the first semesters. For this reason, the National Education Ministry and Universidad de la Amazonia implement a new strategy to foster student retention and graduation through academic levelling. This paper shows eight learning virtual objects from different learning áreas, applying tech...

  2. Fed-Batch Feeding Strategies for Enzymatic Biodiesel Production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Price, Jason Anthony; Nordblad, Mathias; Woodley, John

    2014-01-01

    of the differences in the interfacial and bulk concentrations of the enzyme. The model is then used to evaluate various feeding strategies to improve the enzymatic biodiesel production. The feeding strategies investigated, gave insight into how the methanol should be fed to potentially mitigate enzyme deactivation...... while improving the biodiesel yield. The best experimental results gave a yield of 703 .76 g FAME L-1 and a reactor productivity of 28.12 g FAME L-1 h-1. In comparison, to reach the same yield, the optimised two step feeding strategy took 6.25 hours less, which equates to an increase the reactor...

  3. Predicting paddlefish roe yields using an extension of the Beverton–Holt equilibrium yield-per-recruit model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colvin, M.E.; Bettoli, Phillip William; Scholten, G.D.

    2013-01-01

    Equilibrium yield models predict the total biomass removed from an exploited stock; however, traditional yield models must be modified to simulate roe yields because a linear relationship between age (or length) and mature ovary weight does not typically exist. We extended the traditional Beverton-Holt equilibrium yield model to predict roe yields of Paddlefish Polyodon spathula in Kentucky Lake, Tennessee-Kentucky, as a function of varying conditional fishing mortality rates (10-70%), conditional natural mortality rates (cm; 9% and 18%), and four minimum size limits ranging from 864 to 1,016mm eye-to-fork length. These results were then compared to a biomass-based yield assessment. Analysis of roe yields indicated the potential for growth overfishing at lower exploitation rates and smaller minimum length limits than were suggested by the biomass-based assessment. Patterns of biomass and roe yields in relation to exploitation rates were similar regardless of the simulated value of cm, thus indicating that the results were insensitive to changes in cm. Our results also suggested that higher minimum length limits would increase roe yield and reduce the potential for growth overfishing and recruitment overfishing at the simulated cm values. Biomass-based equilibrium yield assessments are commonly used to assess the effects of harvest on other caviar-based fisheries; however, our analysis demonstrates that such assessments likely underestimate the probability and severity of growth overfishing when roe is targeted. Therefore, equilibrium roe yield-per-recruit models should also be considered to guide the management process for caviar-producing fish species.

  4. Effect of the Yield Stress and r-value Distribution on the Earing Profile of Cup Drawing with Yld2000-2d Yield Function

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lou, Yanshan; Bae, Gihyun; Lee, Changsoo; Huh, Hoon

    2010-06-01

    This paper deals with the effect of the yield stress and r-value distribution on the earing in the cup drawing. The anisotropic yield function, Yld2000-2d yield function, is selected to describe the anisotropy of two metal sheets, 719B and AA5182-O. The tool dimension is referred from the Benchmark problem of NUMISHEET'2002. The Downhill Simplex method is applied to identify the anisotropic coefficients in Yld2000-2d yield function. Simulations of the drawing process are performed to investigate the earing profile of two materials. The earing profiles obtained from simulations are compared with the analytical model developed by Hosford and Caddell. Simulations are conducted with respect to the change of the yield stress and r-value distribution, respectively. The correlation between the anisotropy and the earing tendency is investigated based on simulation data. Finally, the earing mechanism is analyzed through the deformation process of the blank during the cup deep drawing. It can be concluded that ears locate at angular positions with lower yield stress and higher r-value while the valleys appear at the angular position with higher yield stress and lower r-value. The effect of the yield stress distribution is more important for the cup height distribution than that of the r-value distribution.

  5. Relation of watershed setting and stream nutrient yields at selected sites in central and eastern North Carolina, 1997-2008

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harden, Stephen L.; Cuffney, Thomas F.; Terziotti, Silvia; Kolb, Katharine R.

    2013-01-01

    Data collected between 1997 and 2008 at 48 stream sites were used to characterize relations between watershed settings and stream nutrient yields throughout central and eastern North Carolina. The focus of the investigation was to identify environmental variables in watersheds that influence nutrient export for supporting the development and prioritization of management strategies for restoring nutrient-impaired streams. Nutrient concentration data and streamflow data compiled for the 1997 to 2008 study period were used to compute stream yields of nitrate, total nitrogen (N), and total phosphorus (P) for each study site. Compiled environmental data (including variables for land cover, hydrologic soil groups, base-flow index, streams, wastewater treatment facilities, and concentrated animal feeding operations) were used to characterize the watershed settings for the study sites. Data for the environmental variables were analyzed in combination with the stream nutrient yields to explore relations based on watershed characteristics and to evaluate whether particular variables were useful indicators of watersheds having relatively higher or lower potential for exporting nutrients. Data evaluations included an examination of median annual nutrient yields based on a watershed land-use classification scheme developed as part of the study. An initial examination of the data indicated that the highest median annual nutrient yields occurred at both agricultural and urban sites, especially for urban sites having large percentages of point-source flow contributions to the streams. The results of statistical testing identified significant differences in annual nutrient yields when sites were analyzed on the basis of watershed land-use category. When statistical differences in median annual yields were noted, the results for nitrate, total N, and total P were similar in that highly urbanized watersheds (greater than 30 percent developed land use) and (or) watersheds with greater

  6. Effect of nitrogen and water deficit type on the yield gap between the potential and attainable wheat yield

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiangang Liu

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Water deficit and N fertilizer are the two primary limiting factors for wheat yield in the North China plain, the most important winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. production area in China. Analyzing the yield gap between the potential yield and the attainable yield can quantify the potential for increasing wheat production and exploring the limiting factors to yield gap in the high-yielding farming region of North China Plain. The Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT model was used to identify methods to increase the grain yield and decrease the gap. In order to explore the impact of N and cultivars on wheat yield in the different drought types, the climate conditions during 1981 to 2011 growing seasons was categorized into low, moderate, and severe water deficit classes according to the anomaly percentage of the water deficit rate during the entire wheat growing season. There are differences (P < 0.0001 in the variations of the potential yields among three cultivars over 30 yr. For all three water deficit types, the more recent cultivars Jimai22 and Shijiazhuang8 had higher yields compared to the older 'Jinan17'. As the N fertilizer rate increased, the yield gap decreased more substantially during the low water deficit years because of the significant increase in attainable yield. Overall, the yield gaps were smaller with less water stress. Replacement of cultivars and appropriate N fertilizer application based on the forecasted drought types can narrow the yield gap effectively.

  7. A risk hedging strategy under the nonparallel-shift yield curve

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Pu; He, Xubiao

    2005-08-01

    Under the assumption of the movement of rigid, a nonparallel-shift model in the term structure of interest rates is developed by introducing Fisher & Weil duration which is a well-known concept in the area of interest risk management. This paper has studied the hedge and replication for portfolio immunization to minimize the risk exposure. Throughout the experiment of numerical simulation, the risk exposures of the portfolio under the different risk hedging strategies are quantitatively evaluated by the method of value at risk (VaR) order statistics (OS) estimation. The results show that the risk hedging strategy proposed in this paper is very effective for the interest risk management of the default-free bond.

  8. Path Analysis of Grain Yield and Yield Components and Some Agronomic Traits in Bread Wheat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohsen Janmohammadi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Development of new bread wheat cultivars needs efficient tools to monitor trait association in a breeding program. This investigation was aimed to characterize grain yield components and some agronomic traits related to bread wheat grain yield. The efficiency of a breeding program depends mainly on the direction of the correlation between different traits and the relative importance of each component involved in contributing to grain yield. Correlation and path analysis were carried out in 56 bread wheat genotypes grown under field conditions of Maragheh, Iran. Observations were recorded on 18 wheat traits and correlation coefficient analysis revealed grain yield was positively correlated with stem diameter, spike length, floret number, spikelet number, grain diameter, grain length and 1000 seed weight traits. According to the variance inflation factor (VIF and tolerance as multicollinearity statistics, there are inconsistent relationships among the variables and all traits could be considered as first-order variables (Model I with grain yield as the response variable due to low multicollinearity of all measured traits. In the path coefficient analysis, grain yield represented the dependent variable and the spikelet number and 1000 seed weight traits were the independent ones. Our results indicated that the number of spikelets per spikes and leaf width and 1000 seed weight traits followed by the grain length, grain diameter and grain number per spike were the traits related to higher grain yield. The above mentioned traits along with their indirect causal factors should be considered simultaneously as an effective selection criteria evolving high yielding genotype because of their direct positive contribution to grain yield.

  9. Assessment of Above- and Below-ground Competition between Sesame (Sesamume indicum L. and Pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus and Its Effects on Sesame Yield and Yield Components

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.J Yanegh

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available This study carried out in a factorial layout on completely randomaized block design with three replications, to evaluate the above- and below- ground competition between sesame (Sesamum indicum and pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus, and their impacts on sesame yield and yield component. The experimental treatments were all combination of crop-weed competition (shoot competition, root competition and root-shoot competition and sesame plant densitys (1, 2 and 4 plant per pot. Plants were sown in plastic pots (24 cm diameter and 28 cm height in year 2010, at feild of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. For study the shoot competition of sesame-pigweed, the roots were separated by plastic when the pots were filled with soil before sowing the seeds. Three weeks after emerging, shoots of plants were separated vertical barrier (30 x 70 cm for studing root competition. Results showed that competition treatments had a significant effect on seed weight per plant and yield components except 1000 seed weight. Among competition produced higher yield and yield components compared to othere treatments. However, sesame and pigweed biological weight in root-shoot competition was 2.6 and 13.7 respectively, that was higher than other competition treatments and was significant. Capsule number in main and sub branches, capsule number in plant, seed number in capsule and seed number in plant in complete competition treatment was 15, 2.58, 17.5, 43.7 and 693.89 respectively, that was higher than other treatments and differences among them was significant. Sesame density also had a significant effect on seed weight per plant and yield components. When low density were used (one plant, yield and yield components was more, therefore in one plant per pot density biological weight of sesame was 3.82 gr, and in higher densities the mentioned traits decreased significantly.

  10. Increasing yield and nitrogen use efficiency of rice through multiple-split fertilizer application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rallos, R.V.; Rivera, F.G.; Samar, E.D.; Rojales, J.S.; Anida, A.H.

    2015-01-01

    The low availability of nitrogen (N) is one of the most important limiting factors impeding the increase in rice yield among the various factors. Split N fertilizer applications can play an important role in nutrient management strategy that is productive, profitable and environmentally responsible. In this study, the recoveries and efficiencies of a multiple-split N fertilizer application of were determined using 15N labeled fertilizer, in order to provide science-based foundation for the nitrogen management in sustainable rice production. A lysimeter experiment with five treatments in four replications was set-up T0 (control). T1 (45 kg N ha“- “1), T2 (90 kg N ha“- “1), T3 (135 kg N ha“- “1) and T4 (180 kg N ha“- “1). 15N tracer analysis showed that, on average, only 30% of applied N is recovered by the crop following one time basal application. In contrast, higher fertilizer nitrogen use efficiencies (FNUE) (>50%) were observed following multiple-split N application. The result of FNUE also corroborates with the significant increase in rice grain yield. Many crops, however, have different nutrient requirements, therefore as in all fertilization strategies, it is highly recommended that source, rate, time and place of application should be considered in making split fertilization decisions. (author)

  11. The impact of constructivist teaching strategies on the acquisition of higher order cognition and learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merrill, Alison Saricks

    The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative mixed design study was to compare the effectiveness of brain-based teaching strategies versus a traditional lecture format in the acquisition of higher order cognition as determined by test scores. A second purpose was to elicit student feedback about the two teaching approaches. The design was a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design study with repeated measures on the last factor. The independent variables were type of student, teaching method, and a within group change over time. Dependent variables were a between group comparison of pre-test, post-test gain scores and a within and between group comparison of course examination scores. A convenience sample of students enrolled in medical-surgical nursing was used. One group (n=36) was made up of traditional students and the other group (n=36) consisted of second-degree students. Four learning units were included in this study. Pre- and post-tests were given on the first two units. Course examinations scores from all four units were compared. In one cohort two of the units were taught via lecture format and two using constructivist activities. These methods were reversed for the other cohort. The conceptual basis for this study derives from neuroscience and cognitive psychology. Learning is defined as the growth of new dendrites. Cognitive psychologists view learning as a constructive activity in which new knowledge is built on an internal foundation of existing knowledge. Constructivist teaching strategies are designed to stimulate the brain's natural learning ability. There was a statistically significant difference based on type of teaching strategy (t = -2.078, df = 270, p = .039, d = .25)) with higher mean scores on the examinations covering brain-based learning units. There was no statistical significance based on type of student. Qualitative data collection was conducted in an on-line forum at the end of the semester. Students had overall positive responses about the

  12. AMT1;1 transgenic rice plants with enhanced NH4(+) permeability show superior growth and higher yield under optimal and suboptimal NH4(+) conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranathunge, Kosala; El-Kereamy, Ashraf; Gidda, Satinder; Bi, Yong-Mei; Rothstein, Steven J

    2014-03-01

    The major source of nitrogen for rice (Oryza sativa L.) is ammonium (NH4(+)). The NH4(+) uptake of roots is mainly governed by membrane transporters, with OsAMT1;1 being a prominent member of the OsAMT1 gene family that is known to be involved in NH4(+) transport in rice plants. However, little is known about its involvement in NH4(+) uptake in rice roots and subsequent effects on NH4(+) assimilation. This study shows that OsAMT1;1 is a constitutively expressed, nitrogen-responsive gene, and its protein product is localized in the plasma membrane. Its expression level is under the control of circadian rhythm. Transgenic rice lines (L-2 and L-3) overexpressing the OsAMT1;1 gene had the same root structure as the wild type (WT). However, they had 2-fold greater NH4(+) permeability than the WT, whereas OsAMT1;1 gene expression was 20-fold higher than in the WT. Analogous to the expression, transgenic lines had a higher NH4(+) content in the shoots and roots than the WT. Direct NH4(+) fluxes in the xylem showed that the transgenic lines had significantly greater uptake rates than the WT. Higher NH4(+) contents also promoted higher expression levels of genes in the nitrogen assimilation pathway, resulting in greater nitrogen assimilates, chlorophyll, starch, sugars, and grain yield in transgenic lines than in the WT under suboptimal and optimal nitrogen conditions. OsAMT1;1 also enhanced overall plant growth, especially under suboptimal NH4(+) levels. These results suggest that OsAMT1;1 has the potential for improving nitrogen use efficiency, plant growth, and grain yield under both suboptimal and optimal nitrogen fertilizer conditions.

  13. AMT1;1 transgenic rice plants with enhanced NH4 + permeability show superior growth and higher yield under optimal and suboptimal NH4 + conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rothstein, Steven J.

    2014-01-01

    The major source of nitrogen for rice (Oryza sativa L.) is ammonium (NH4 +). The NH4 + uptake of roots is mainly governed by membrane transporters, with OsAMT1;1 being a prominent member of the OsAMT1 gene family that is known to be involved in NH4 + transport in rice plants. However, little is known about its involvement in NH4 + uptake in rice roots and subsequent effects on NH4 + assimilation. This study shows that OsAMT1;1 is a constitutively expressed, nitrogen-responsive gene, and its protein product is localized in the plasma membrane. Its expression level is under the control of circadian rhythm. Transgenic rice lines (L-2 and L-3) overexpressing the OsAMT1;1 gene had the same root structure as the wild type (WT). However, they had 2-fold greater NH4 + permeability than the WT, whereas OsAMT1;1 gene expression was 20-fold higher than in the WT. Analogous to the expression, transgenic lines had a higher NH4 + content in the shoots and roots than the WT. Direct NH4 + fluxes in the xylem showed that the transgenic lines had significantly greater uptake rates than the WT. Higher NH4 + contents also promoted higher expression levels of genes in the nitrogen assimilation pathway, resulting in greater nitrogen assimilates, chlorophyll, starch, sugars, and grain yield in transgenic lines than in the WT under suboptimal and optimal nitrogen conditions. OsAMT1;1 also enhanced overall plant growth, especially under suboptimal NH4 + levels. These results suggest that OsAMT1;1 has the potential for improving nitrogen use efficiency, plant growth, and grain yield under both suboptimal and optimal nitrogen fertilizer conditions. PMID:24420570

  14. Yield gap analysis of feed-crop livestock systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Linden, van der Aart; Oosting, Simon J.; Ven, van de Gerrie W.J.; Veysset, Patrick; Boer, de Imke J.M.; Ittersum, van Martin K.

    2018-01-01

    Sustainable intensification is a strategy contributing to global food security. The scope for sustainable intensification in crop sciences can be assessed through yield gap analysis, using crop growth models based on concepts of production ecology. Recently, an analogous cattle production model

  15. Flipped-Class Pedagogy Enhances Student Metacognition and Collaborative-Learning Strategies in Higher Education But Effect Does Not Persist

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Vliet, E. A.; Winnips, J. C.; Brouwer, N.

    2015-01-01

    In flipped-class pedagogy, students prepare themselves at home before lectures, often by watching short video clips of the course contents. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of flipped classes on motivation and learning strategies in higher education using a controlled, pre- and

  16. Closing yield gaps: perils and possibilities for biodiversity conservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phalan, Ben; Green, Rhys; Balmford, Andrew

    2014-04-05

    Increasing agricultural productivity to 'close yield gaps' creates both perils and possibilities for biodiversity conservation. Yield increases often have negative impacts on species within farmland, but at the same time could potentially make it more feasible to minimize further cropland expansion into natural habitats. We combine global data on yield gaps, projected future production of maize, rice and wheat, the distributions of birds and their estimated sensitivity to changes in crop yields to map where it might be most beneficial for bird conservation to close yield gaps as part of a land-sparing strategy, and where doing so might be most damaging. Closing yield gaps to attainable levels to meet projected demand in 2050 could potentially help spare an area equivalent to that of the Indian subcontinent. Increasing yields this much on existing farmland would inevitably reduce its biodiversity, and therefore we advocate efforts both to constrain further increases in global food demand, and to identify the least harmful ways of increasing yields. The land-sparing potential of closing yield gaps will not be realized without specific mechanisms to link yield increases to habitat protection (and restoration), and therefore we suggest that conservationists, farmers, crop scientists and policy-makers collaborate to explore promising mechanisms.

  17. Successful and unsuccessful cannabis quitters: Comparing group characteristics and quitting strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rooke Sally E

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In order to improve treatments for cannabis use disorder, a better understanding of factors associated with successful quitting is required. Method This study examined differences between successful (n = 87 and unsuccessful (n = 78 cannabis quitters. Participants completed a questionnaire addressing demographic, mental health, and cannabis-related variables, as well as quitting strategies during their most recent quit attempt. Results Eighteen strategies derived from cognitive behavioral therapy were entered into a principal components analysis. The analysis yielded four components, representing (1 Stimulus Removal, (2 Motivation Enhancement, (3 (lack of Distraction, and (4 (lack of Coping. Between groups comparisons showed that unsuccessful quitters scored significantly higher on Motivation Enhancement and (lack of Coping. This may indicate that unsuccessful quitters focus on the desire to quit, but do not sufficiently plan strategies for coping. Unsuccessful quitters also had significantly more symptoms of depression and stress; less education; lower exposure to formal treatment; higher day-to-day exposure to other cannabis users; and higher cannabis dependence scores. Conclusions The findings suggest that coping, environmental modification, and co-morbid mental health problems may be important factors to emphasize in treatments for cannabis use disorder.

  18. Adaptation Strategies of Wheat to Climate Change (Case Study: Ahvaz Region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Delghandi

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction In recent years human activities induced increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2. Increases in [CO2] caused global warming and Climate change. Climate change is anticipated to cause negative and adverse impacts on agricultural systems throughout the world. Higher temperatures are expected to lead to a host of problems. On the other hand, increasing of [CO2] anticipated causing positive impacts on crop yield. Considering the socio-economic importance of agriculture for food security, it is essential to undertake assessments of how future climate change could affect crop yields, so as to provide necessary information to implement appropriate adaptation strategies. In this perspective, the aim of this study was to assess potential climate change impacts and on production for one of the most important varieties of wheat (chamran in Khouzestan plain and provide directions for possible adaptation strategies. Materials and Methods: For this study, The Ahvaz region located in the Khuzestan province of Iran was selected. Ahvaz has a desert climate with long, very hot summers and mild, short winters. At first, thirteen GCM models and two greenhouse gases emission (GHG scenarios (A2 and B1 was selected for determination of climate change scenarios. ∆P and ∆T parameters at monthly scale were calculated for each GCM model under each GHG emissions scenario by following equation: Where ∆P, ∆T are long term (thirty years precipitation and temperature differences between baseline and future period, respectively. average future GCM temperature (2015-2044 for each month, , average baseline period GCM temperature (1971-2000 for each month, , average future GCM precipitation for each month, , average baseline period GCM temperature (1971-2000 for each month and i is index of month. Using calculated ∆Ps for each month via AOGCM models and Beta distribution, Cumulative probability distribution function (CDF determined for generated ∆Ps.

  19. Origin of the reversed yield asymmetry in Mg-rare earth alloys at high temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hidalgo-Manrique, P.; Herrera-Solaz, V.; Segurado, J.; Llorca, J.; Gálvez, F.; Ruano, O.A.; Yi, S.B.; Pérez-Prado, M.T.

    2015-01-01

    The mechanical behaviour in tension and compression of an extruded Mg–1 wt.% Mn–1 wt.% Nd (MN11) alloy was studied along the extrusion direction in the temperature range −175 °C to 300 °C at both quasi-static and dynamic strain rates. Microstructural analysis revealed that the as-extruded bar presents a recrystallized microstructure and a weak texture that remain stable in the whole temperature range. A remarkable reversed yield stress asymmetry was observed above 150 °C, with the compressive yield stress being significantly higher than the tensile yield stress. The origin of this anomalous reversed yield stress asymmetry, which to date remains unknown, was investigated through the analysis of the macro and microtexture development during deformation, as well as by means of crystal plasticity finite element simulations of a representative volume element of the polycrystal. The critical resolved shear stresses of slip and twining for simulated single crystals were obtained as a function of the temperature by means of an inverse optimisation strategy. Experimental and simulation results suggest that the reversed yield asymmetry may be primarily attributed to the non-Schmid behaviour of pyramidal 〈c + a〉 slip, which is the dominant deformation mechanism at high temperatures. It is proposed, furthermore, that the asymmetry is enhanced at quasi-static strain rates by the stronger interaction of 〈c + a〉 dislocations with the diffusing solute atoms and particles in compression than in tension

  20. The Impact of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Water Yield in the Jing- Jin-Ji Region in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Suxiao; Yang, Hong

    2017-04-01

    Water yield is one of the key ecosystem services sustaining both people's life and economic development. However, the water yield function is sensitive to anthropogenic activity especially the land use and land cover change (LUCC). Assessment of historical LUCC and its impact on water yield could benefit designing and implementing appropriate land use strategy that enhance the water yield capacity. Beijing (Jing) and its surrounding areas of Tianjin (Jin) and Hebei (Ji) is the political, cultural and economic center of China. The region is facing increasingly water crisis. Taking the Jing-Jin-Ji region as a study area, this study analyzed the historical LUCC and its impact on water yield by using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model to spatially map and quantify the changes of water yield from 1995 to 2010. The results showed there was main decline in area of wetland and forest and increase in area of crop land and built up land. An abrupt decline in water yield was found for year 2000. The water yield was influenced to a great extent by precipitation and evapotranspiration, but the land use played an important role in the water yield capacity (water yield per unit area) through plant cover that affected evapotranspiration, soil water permeability and the capacity of holding the moisture content. By general ranking, the water yield capacity of different land use type was as follows: built-up>bare land>cropland> grassland>forest >wetland, which illustrated that the built-up and bare land had higher run off rate while the vegetation area had higher capacity to control surface run off to increase the groundwater. A good understanding of temporal-spatial allocation of historical LUCC and Water yield of the Jing-Jin-Ji region could help guide land use policy decisions that take into consideration of tradeoffs with respect to spatial distribution of ecosystem services amongst the three administrative entities (Jing-Jin-Ji) and

  1. Dividend yield strategies: Dogs of the Dow and Hounds of the Bay

    OpenAIRE

    Kapur, Ratul; Suryavanshi, Saurabh

    2006-01-01

    Over the years ‘Dogs of The Dow’ strategy has become an increasingly popular and intensely argued subject for both practitioners and academicians. This thesis examines the multifarious aspects of the ‘Dogs of The Dow’ (DoD) strategy and highlights both the euphemism of the believers and reservations of the skeptics. Further on, we empirically test the DoD strategy over a 16-year period from 1990 to 2005. A parallel study, Hounds of The Bay (HoB) is also carried out for the Canadian markets, o...

  2. Development of Learning Virtual Objects as a Strategy to Foster Student Retention in Higher Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yois S. Pascuas Rengifo

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Rev.esc.adm.neg One of the problems that the Colombian higher education system is facing is the problem of student desertion, shwoing that a great amount of students leave their university studies during the first semesters. For this reason, the National Education Ministry and Universidad de la Amazonia implement a new strategy to foster student retention and graduation through academic levelling. This paper shows eight learning virtual objects from different learning áreas, applying technological tolos to design didactic interactive and creative environments.

  3. The Effect of Crop Residue and Different NPK Fertilizer Rates on yield Components and Yield of Wheat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    fatemeh khamadi

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Integrated nutrient management involving crop residue/green manures and chemical fertilizer is potential alternative to provide a balanced supply of nutrients, enhance soil quality and thereby sustain higher productivity. The present experiment was undertaken to evaluate the effect of different crop residue management practices and NPK levels on yield components and yield of wheat. Materials and methods Field experiments were conducted during 2012-2014 at department of agronomy, Chamran University. Experiment was laid out in a randomized block designs in split plot arrangement. With three replications. Crop residues were assigned to main plot consistent CR1: wheat residue; CR2: rape residue; CR3: barley residue; CR4: barley residue + vetch; CR5: wheat straw + mungbean; CR6: vetch residue; CR7: mungbean residue; CR8: No residue incorporation as main plot and three NPK fertilizer rates: F1: (180N-120P-100K kg.ha-1; F2: (140N-90P-80K kg.ha-1; F3: (90N-60P-40K kg.ha-1 as sub plots. Twelve hills were collected at physiological maturity for measuring yield components from surrounding area of grain yield harvest area. Yield components, viz. number of spike per m2, seed per spike, 1000- grain weight, plant height were measured. Grain and straw yields were recorded from the central 5 m2 grain yield harvest area of each treatment and harvest index was calculated. Data were subjected to analysis by SAS and mean companions were performed using the Duncan multiple range test producer. Also, graphs were drawn in Excel software. Results and discussion The result of analysis variance showed significant difference between crop residues for evaluated traits. The result indicated that the highest biological and grain yield was obtained when wheat treated with CR5: wheat straw + mungbean (green manure and CR4: barley straw + vetch (green manure. Biological and grain yield increased 31 and 26% respectively by CR5 comparing with control. The highest

  4. Relative yield-per-recruit and management strategies for Cynoscion acoupa (Perciformes: Sciaenidae in Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orlando José Ferrer Montaño

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Acoupa weakfish, Cynoscion acoupa, in Lake Maracaibo is subject to intense commercial fishing by an artisanal fleet, and a recent decrease in fish size observed from landings is of concern. This fishery has not yet been modeled, and its assessment and the establishment of management practices to overcome the current overfished condition are urgently needed. To address this, we used recent and past empirical growth estimates to model relative yield-per-recruit under different lengths at first capture. Our results from relative yield-perrecruit analysis showed evidence that growth and recruitment overfishing occur under current fishing practices in Lake Maracaibo. Particular attention was given to fishing practices in El Tablazo Bay where young, small fish predominate in the commercial catches (mean total length=33.7cm, well below the length at first sexual maturity (~40cm TL for both sexes. As management strategies, we propose to set a mesh size limit at or above 8.89cm (3.5in, which will reduce fishing mortality of immature fish, increase yield-per-recruit, and will result in an increase of Acoupa weakfish recruitment for the long term in Lake Maracaibo.La curvina, Cynoscion acoupa, en el Lago de Maracaibo se encuentra sometida a una intensa actividad pesquera comercial. No obstante, antes de este estudio no se había examinado el potencial efecto de la sobrepesca a través del modelado. Utilizamos estimados empíricos de crecimiento actuales y pasados para modelar el rendimiento-por-recluta relativo bajo diferentes longitudes de primera captura. Presentamos evidencia a partir de resultados de rendimiento-por-recluta relativo que indica que existe sobrepesca por crecimiento y reclutamiento bajo las prácticas pesqueras actuales en el Lago de Maracaibo. Se puso particular atención a las pesquerías en la Bahía El Tablazo donde predominan peces jóvenes pequeños en las capturas (longitud total promedio=33.7cm, muy por debajo de la longitud de

  5. Women in Higher Education Administration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Association of American Colleges, Washington, DC. Project on the Status and Education of Women.

    Two papers are presented that examine the barriers to women in academic decision making and identify a variety of effective strategies for improving the status of women in higher education administration. "Strategies for Advancing Women in Higher Education Administration," by Garry D. Hays, proposes that commitment to increasing the…

  6. Quantitative Genetic Analysis for Yield and Yield Components in Boro Rice (Oryza sativa L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Supriyo CHAKRABORTY

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Twenty-nine genotypes of boro rice (Oryza sativa L. were grown in a randomized block design with three replications in plots of 4m x 1m with a crop geometry of 20 cm x 20 cm between November-April, in Regional Agricultural Research Station, Nagaon, India. Quantitative data were collected on five randomly selected plants of each genotype per replication for yield/plant, and six other yield components, namely plant height, panicles/plant, panicle length, effective grains/panicle, 100 grain weight and harvest index. Mean values of the characters for each genotype were used for analysis of variance and covariance to obtain information on genotypic and phenotypic correlation along with coheritability between two characters. Path analyses were carried out to estimate the direct and indirect effects of boro rice�s yield components. The objective of the study was to identify the characters that mostly influence the yield for increasing boro rice productivity through breeding program. Correlation analysis revealed significant positive genotypic correlation of yield/plant with plant height (0.21, panicles/plant (0.53, panicle length (0.53, effective grains/panicle (0.57 and harvest index (0.86. Path analysis based on genotypic correlation coefficients elucidated high positive direct effect of harvest index (0.8631, panicle length (0.2560 and 100 grain weight (0.1632 on yield/plant with a residual effect of 0.33. Plant height and panicles/plant recorded high positive indirect effect on yield/plant via harvest index whereas effective grains/panicle on yield/plant via harvest index and panicle length. Results of the present study suggested that five component characters, namely harvest index, effective grains/plant, panicle length, panicles/plant and plant height influenced the yield of boro rice. A genotype with higher magnitude of these component characters could be either selected from the existing genotypes or evolved by breeding program for genetic

  7. Academic Game Changers: A Study of the Social Networking Strategies of Leaders Guiding Disruptive Innovations in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Langteau, Paula T.

    2017-01-01

    This study examines the internal and external networking strategies of leaders furthering potentially disruptive innovations in higher education. The goal of the research was to understand specifically what types of networks they develop, activate, and leverage; the functions of those networks; and the ways they engage them to further their…

  8. Reported credibility techniques in higher education evaluation studies that use qualitative methods: A research synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Hongjing; Hitchcock, John

    2018-06-01

    This synthesis study examined the reported use of credibility techniques in higher education evaluation articles that use qualitative methods. The sample included 118 articles published in six leading higher education evaluation journals from 2003 to 2012. Mixed methods approaches were used to identify key credibility techniques reported across the articles, document the frequency of these techniques, and describe their use and properties. Two broad sets of techniques were of interest: primary design techniques (i.e., basic), such as sampling/participant recruitment strategies, data collection methods, analytic details, and additional qualitative credibility techniques (e.g., member checking, negative case analyses, peer debriefing). The majority of evaluation articles reported use of primary techniques although there was wide variation in the amount of supporting detail; most of the articles did not describe the use of additional credibility techniques. This suggests that editors of evaluation journals should encourage the reporting of qualitative design details and authors should develop strategies yielding fuller methodological description. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Sample preservation, transport and processing strategies for honeybee RNA extraction: Influence on RNA yield, quality, target quantification and data normalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forsgren, Eva; Locke, Barbara; Semberg, Emilia; Laugen, Ane T; Miranda, Joachim R de

    2017-08-01

    Viral infections in managed honey bees are numerous, and most of them are caused by viruses with an RNA genome. Since RNA degrades rapidly, appropriate sample management and RNA extraction methods are imperative to get high quality RNA for downstream assays. This study evaluated the effect of various sampling-transport scenarios (combinations of temperature, RNA stabilizers, and duration) of transport on six RNA quality parameters; yield, purity, integrity, cDNA synthesis efficiency, target detection and quantification. The use of water and extraction buffer were also compared for a primary bee tissue homogenate prior to RNA extraction. The strategy least affected by time was preservation of samples at -80°C. All other regimens turned out to be poor alternatives unless the samples were frozen or processed within 24h. Chemical stabilizers have the greatest impact on RNA quality and adding an extra homogenization step (a QIAshredder™ homogenizer) to the extraction protocol significantly improves the RNA yield and chemical purity. This study confirms that RIN values (RNA Integrity Number), should be used cautiously with bee RNA. Using water for the primary homogenate has no negative effect on RNA quality as long as this step is no longer than 15min. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Flipped-Class Pedagogy Enhances Student Metacognition and Collaborative-Learning Strategies in Higher Education But Effect Does Not Persist

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Vliet, E. A.; Winnips, J. C.; Brouwer, N.

    2015-01-01

    In flipped-class pedagogy, students prepare themselves at home before lectures, often by watching short video clips of the course contents. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of flipped classes on motivation and learning strategies in higher education using a controlled, pre- and posttest approach. The same students were followed in a traditional course and in a course in which flipped classes were substituted for part of the traditional lectures. On the basis of the validated Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), we found that flipped-class pedagogy enhanced the MSLQ components critical thinking, task value, and peer learning. However, the effects of flipped classes were not long-lasting. We therefore propose repeated use of flipped classes in a curriculum to make effects on metacognition and collaborative-learning strategies sustainable. PMID:26113628

  11. Effects of some biostimulators on yield and seed viability of linseed

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jevđović Radosav

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The impact of the application of some biostimulators on the yield and quality of linseed oil on humogley and chernozem. Tested fl ax cultivar Mira was produced in the Institute for Medicinal Plant Research ‘Dr Josif Pančić’ from Belgrade. EPIN EKSTRA and CIRKON were applied as biostimulators. The seed yield, germination energy (GE and total germination (TG were investigated. The higher average yield was achieved on the chernozem type of soil. A variant with the application of EPIN EKSTRA biostimulator gave the highest yield on both soil types. A variant with the application of CIRKON biostimulator gave slightly higher yield than the control, on both soil types. The highest germination energy and total germination were achieved in the variant with the application biostimulator EPIN EKSTRA.

  12. Implementing a Standardized Social Networks Testing Strategy in a Low HIV Prevalence Jurisdiction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schumann, Casey; Kahn, Danielle; Broaddus, Michelle; Dougherty, Jacob; Elderbrook, Megan; Vergeront, James; Westergaard, Ryan

    2018-05-15

    Alternative HIV testing strategies are needed to engage individuals not reached by traditional clinical or non-clinical testing programs. A social networks recruitment strategy, in which people at risk for or living with HIV are enlisted and trained by community-based agencies to recruit individuals from their social, sexual, or drug-using networks for HIV testing, demonstrates higher positivity rates compared to other non-clinical recruitment strategies in some jurisdictions. During 2013-2015, a social networks testing protocol was implemented in Wisconsin to standardize an existing social networks testing program. Six community-based, non-clinical agencies with multiple sites throughout the state implemented the protocol over the 2-year period. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. The new positivity rate (0.49%) through social networks testing did not differ from that of traditional counseling, testing, and referral recruitment methods (0.48%). Although social networks testing did not yield a higher new positivity rate compared to other testing strategies, it proved to be successful at reaching high risk individuals who may not otherwise engage in HIV testing.

  13. New Work Demands in Higher Education. A Study of the Relationship between Excessive Workload, Coping Strategies and Subsequent Health among Academic Staff

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melin, Marika; Astvik, Wanja; Bernhard-Oettel, Claudia

    2014-01-01

    This study investigates the relationship between the work conditions in higher education work settings, the academic staff's strategies for handling excessive workload and impact on well-being and work-life balance. The results show that there is a risk that staff in academic work places will start using compensatory coping strategies to deal with…

  14. Blue Ocean Strategy for Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bragança, Ricardo

    2016-01-01

    In today's higher education world we see a shift in teaching and educational trends that are slowly materializing due to the advent of new technologies, new academic frameworks and the need to adapt to society's incremental advancements. The implementation of reforms, however, did not have the desired outcome since those were applied to an…

  15. Nut crop yield records show that budbreak-based chilling requirements may not reflect yield decline chill thresholds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pope, Katherine S.; Dose, Volker; Da Silva, David; Brown, Patrick H.; DeJong, Theodore M.

    2015-06-01

    Warming winters due to climate change may critically affect temperate tree species. Insufficiently cold winters are thought to result in fewer viable flower buds and the subsequent development of fewer fruits or nuts, decreasing the yield of an orchard or fecundity of a species. The best existing approximation for a threshold of sufficient cold accumulation, the "chilling requirement" of a species or variety, has been quantified by manipulating or modeling the conditions that result in dormant bud breaking. However, the physiological processes that affect budbreak are not the same as those that determine yield. This study sought to test whether budbreak-based chilling thresholds can reasonably approximate the thresholds that affect yield, particularly regarding the potential impacts of climate change on temperate tree crop yields. County-wide yield records for almond ( Prunus dulcis), pistachio ( Pistacia vera), and walnut ( Juglans regia) in the Central Valley of California were compared with 50 years of weather records. Bayesian nonparametric function estimation was used to model yield potentials at varying amounts of chill accumulation. In almonds, average yields occurred when chill accumulation was close to the budbreak-based chilling requirement. However, in the other two crops, pistachios and walnuts, the best previous estimate of the budbreak-based chilling requirements was 19-32 % higher than the chilling accumulations associated with average or above average yields. This research indicates that physiological processes beyond requirements for budbreak should be considered when estimating chill accumulation thresholds of yield decline and potential impacts of climate change.

  16. Closing yield gaps in China by empowering smallholder farmers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Weifeng; Cao, Guoxin; Li, Xiaolin; Zhang, Hongyan; Wang, Chong; Liu, Quanqing; Chen, Xinping; Cui, Zhenling; Shen, Jianbo; Jiang, Rongfeng; Mi, Guohua; Miao, Yuxin; Zhang, Fusuo; Dou, Zhengxia

    2016-09-01

    Sustainably feeding the world’s growing population is a challenge, and closing yield gaps (that is, differences between farmers’ yields and what are attainable for a given region) is a vital strategy to address this challenge. The magnitude of yield gaps is particularly large in developing countries where smallholder farming dominates the agricultural landscape. Many factors and constraints interact to limit yields, and progress in problem-solving to bring about changes at the ground level is rare. Here we present an innovative approach for enabling smallholders to achieve yield and economic gains sustainably via the Science and Technology Backyard (STB) platform. STB involves agricultural scientists living in villages among farmers, advancing participatory innovation and technology transfer, and garnering public and private support. We identified multifaceted yield-limiting factors involving agronomic, infrastructural, and socioeconomic conditions. When these limitations and farmers’ concerns were addressed, the farmers adopted recommended management practices, thereby improving production outcomes. In one region in China, the five-year average yield increased from 67.9% of the attainable level to 97.0% among 71 leading farmers, and from 62.8% to 79.6% countywide (93,074 households); this was accompanied by resource and economic benefits.

  17. STRATEGIES FOR THE MARKETING OF HIGHER EDUCATION WITH COMPARATIVE CONTEXTUAL REFERENCES BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND TURKEY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Ayhan YILMAZ

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available Dr. Ugur DEMIRAYAnadolu University andEditor-in-Chief of TOJDEEskisehir, TURKEYEducation is now a global product with institutions worldwide competing for students and finding ever more creative ways to satisfy student needs and preferences. With the continuing rise in the preference for flexible distance learning, educational institutions are finding that when students and faculty have significantly different cultural backgrounds and learning styles that the expectations of the learning experience can be unfulfilled. In Australia, international students have made education Australia’s third largest service export, earning $5.8 billion. This means that student populations have moved from being homogenous and captive to domestic constraints and expectations, to being multi-cultural, dispersed and subject to a plethora of constraints and expectations. Today in Turkey, education is the responsibility of government however, in recent years, the private sector has entered the market providing educational services at all levels. In particular, after the 1990s, private higher education institutions (HEIs with a commercial focus have mushroomed. In 2007, there are 25 private universities in Turkey with more than 2.000.000 students enrolled in these universities. Of these students, more than 1.000.000 are registered in distance education faculties. With such large student numbers competition between private universities for students has intensified particularly over the last 15 years. As a consequence the need to develop strategies for attracting students has become more important. Marketing strategies in Turkey have tended to concentrate on three distinct categories: strategies between governmental HEIs, private HEIs and distance education HEIs. The contribution of technologies to education processes has been immense with students and faculty each learning to adapt to an environment of continuous change and opportunities. This paper seeks to explore

  18. [Study on High-yield Cultivation Measures for Arctii Fructus].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Shi-yong; Jiang, Xiao-bo; Wang, Tao; Sun, Ji-ye; Hu, Shang-qin; Zhang, Li

    2015-02-01

    To find out the high yield cultivation measures for Arctii Fructus. Completely randomized block experiment design method was used in the field planting, to analyze the effect of different cultivation way on agronomic characters, phenological phase,quality and quantity of Arctii Fructus. Arctium lappa planted on August 28 had the best results of plant height, thousand seeds weight and yield. The highest yield of Arctii Fructus was got at the density of 1,482 plants/667 m2. Arctiin content was in an increase trend with the planting time delay and planting density increasing. The plant height, thousand seeds weight, yield and arctiin content by split application of fertilizer were significantly higher than that by one-time fertilization. Compared with open field Arctium lappa, plant height, yield, arctiin content and relative water content of plastic film mulching Arctium lappa was higher by 7.74%, 10.87%, 6.38% and 24.20%, respectively. In the topping Arctium lappa, the yield was increased by 11.09%, with 39. 89% less branching number. Early planting time and topping shortened the growth cycle of Arctium lappa plant. The high-yield cultivation measures of Arctii Fructus are: around August 28 to sowing, planting density of 1 482 plants/667 m2, split application of fertilizer for four times, covering film on surface of the soil and topping in bolting.

  19. Recruitment strategies and yields for the Pathobiology of Prediabetes in a Biracial Cohort: a prospective natural history study of incident dysglycemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebenibo, Sotonte; Edeoga, Chimaroke; Ammons, Ann; Egbuonu, Nonso; Dagogo-Jack, Samuel

    2013-05-10

    The Pathobiology of Prediabetes in A Biracial Cohort study is a prospective evaluation of the transition from normal to impaired glucose regulation among African American and Caucasian adults with parental type 2 diabetes. This report describes recruitment strategies and relative yields for the 376 enrolled subjects. Recruitment occurred over 3.4 years, with clinical and metabolic assessments during 2.1-5.5 years of quarterly follow-up. The major recruitment sources were advertisements, community outreach, and clinical facilities. Advertisements included newspaper, television, radio, Internet, distributed brochures, utility bill inserts, and direct mailing. Community outreach included screening events during religious gatherings and health fairs, and referral by friends and families. The category of clinical facilities covered all subjects referred by health workers or recruited through area clinics and hospitals. 57.7% of participants were African American and 42.3% were Caucasian; the mean age (± SD) was 44.2 ± 10.6 years, and ~70% were female. Advertisements yielded 52.4% of all participants, compared to 34.8% from community outreach and 12.8% from clinical facilities (P for trend advertising as the source of study information, whereas more African Americans than Caucasians cited community outreach. The accrual from clinical facilities was similar in both groups. Advertisements and community outreach were robust recruitment sources for assembling a diverse longitudinal diabetes offspring cohort, but each had differential yields in African Americans and Caucasians. Thus, a multifaceted approach comprising passive and active components is needed to recruit a multiracial clinical research population.

  20. Model-Based Nutrient Feeding Strategies for the Increased Production of Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) by Alcaligenes latus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gahlawat, Geeta; Srivastava, Ashok K

    2017-10-01

    Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable polymers which are considered as an effective alternative for conventional plastics due to their mechanical properties similar to the latter. However, the widespread use of these polymers is still hampered due to their higher cost of production as compared to plastics. The production cost could be overcome by obtaining high yields and productivity. The goal of the present research was to enhance the yield of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) with the help of two simple fed-batch cultivation strategies. In the present study, average batch kinetic and substrate limitation/inhibition study data of Alcaligenes latus was used for the development of PHB model which was then adopted for designing various off-line nutrient feeding strategies to enhance PHB accumulation. The predictive ability of the model was validated by experimental implementation of two fed-batch strategies. One such dynamic strategy of fed-batch cultivation under pseudo-steady state with respect to nitrogen and simultaneous carbon feeding strategy resulted in significantly high biomass and PHB concentration of 39.17 g/L and 29.64 g/L, respectively. This feeding strategy demonstrated a high PHB productivity and PHB content of 0.6 g/L h and 75%, respectively, which were remarkably high in comparison to batch cultivation. The mathematical model can also be employed for designing various other nutrient feeding strategies.

  1. Plant-based assessment of inherent soil productivity and contributions to China's cereal crop yield increase since 1980.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mingsheng Fan

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: China's food production has increased 6-fold during the past half-century, thanks to increased yields resulting from the management intensification, accomplished through greater inputs of fertilizer, water, new crop strains, and other Green Revolution's technologies. Yet, changes in underlying quality of soils and their effects on yield increase remain to be determined. Here, we provide a first attempt to quantify historical changes in inherent soil productivity and their contributions to the increase in yield. METHODS: The assessment was conducted based on data-set derived from 7410 on-farm trials, 8 long-term experiments and an inventory of soil organic matter concentrations of arable land. RESULTS: Results show that even without organic and inorganic fertilizer addition crop yield from on-farm trials conducted in the 2000s was significantly higher compared with those in the 1980s - the increase ranged from 0.73 to 1.76 Mg/ha for China's major irrigated cereal-based cropping systems. The increase in on-farm yield in control plot since 1980s was due primarily to the enhancement of soil-related factors, and reflected inherent soil productivity improvement. The latter led to higher and stable yield with adoption of improved management practices, and contributed 43% to the increase in yield for wheat and 22% for maize in the north China, and, 31%, 35% and 22% for early and late rice in south China and for single rice crop in the Yangtze River Basin since 1980. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, without an improvement in inherent soil productivity, the 'Agricultural Miracle in China' would not have happened. A comprehensive strategy of inherent soil productivity improvement in China, accomplished through combining engineering-based measures with biological-approaches, may be an important lesson for the developing world. We propose that advancing food security in 21st century for both China and other parts of world will depend on continuously improving

  2. Flipped-Class Pedagogy Enhances Student Metacognition and Collaborative-Learning Strategies in Higher Education but Effect Does Not Persist

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Vliet, E. A.; Winnips, J. C.; Brouwer, N.

    2015-01-01

    In flipped-class pedagogy, students prepare themselves at home before lectures, often by watching short video clips of the course contents. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of flipped classes on motivation and learning strategies in higher education using a controlled, pre- and posttest approach. The same students were followed…

  3. A higher yielding mutant of black gram with improved nodule formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, R.K.; Raghuvanshi, S.S.

    1987-01-01

    Dry seeds of black gram (Vigna mungo (L) Hopper) var. T 9 with 12.2% moisture content were irradiated at 10, 20 and 30 krad of gamma rays. This was followed by combined treatment of one set in each dose with freshly prepared 0. 25% EMS in phosphate buffer at 7.0 pH at 30± deg. C for 6 hours. In M 2 population of 20 krad two mutants with pentafoliate instead of trifoliate leaves were found. This character was true breeding in M 3 M 6 generation. Crosses revealed monogenic recessive inheritance of this character. The proposed gene symbol is p5. This mutant has normal maturity period and the plant height is the same as T 9 (ca. 50 cm). Preliminary yield trials indicate superiority of the mutant line over control. The mutant line also shows a significant improvement in number and weight of root nodules, potentially improving green manuring value. Improvement of root nodulation in mungbean mutants was reported before by others

  4. Analysis of seed and ware potato production systems and yield constraints in Argentina

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Caldiz, D.O.

    2000-01-01

    The aim of this thesis is to analyze the seed and ware potato production systems in Argentina and their possible yield constraints in order to develop specific strategies to increase seed quality and tuber yield.

    This thesis starts with a survey of the actual potato

  5. Effects of different on-farm management on yield and water use efficiency of Potato crop cultivated in semiarid environments under subsurface drip irrigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghazouani, Hiba; Provenzano, Giuseppe; Rallo, Giovanni; Mguidiche, Amel; Douh, Boutheina; Boujelben, Abdelhamid

    2016-04-01

    In Tunisia the amount of water for irrigated agriculture is higher than about 80% of the total resource.The increasing population and the rising food demand, associated to the negative effects of climate change,make it crucial to adopt strategies aiming to improve water use efficiency (WUE). Moreover, the absence of an effective public policy for water management amplifies the imbalance between water supply and its demand. Despite improved irrigation technologies can enhance the efficiency of water distribution systems, to achieve environmental goals it is also necessaryto identify on-farm management strategies accounting for actual crop water requirement. The main objective of the paper was to assess the effects of different on-farm managementstrategies (irrigation scheduling and planting date) on yield and water use efficiency of Potato crop (Solanumtuberosum L.) irrigated with a subsurface drip system, under the semi-arid climate of central Tunisia. Experiments were carried out during three growing seasons (2012, 2014 and 2015) at the High Agronomic Institute of ChottMariem in Sousse, by considering different planting dates and irrigation depths, the latter scheduled according to the climate observed during the season. All the considered treatments received the same pesticide and fertilizer management. Experiments evidenced that the climatic variability characterizing the examined seasons (photoperiod, solar radiation and average temperature) affects considerably the crop phenological stages, and the late sowing shortens the crop cycle.It has also been demonstrated that Leaf Area Index (LAI) and crop yield resulted relatively higher for those treatments receiving larger amounts of seasonal water. Crop yield varied between 16.3 t/ha and 39.1 t/ha, with a trend linearly related to the ratio between the seasonal amount of water supplied (Irrigation, I and Precipitation, P) and the maximum crop evapotranspiration (ETm). The maximum crop yield was in particular

  6. Effect of irrigation water salinity and zinc application on yield, yield components and zinc accumulation of wheat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    mohamad ahmadi

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Salinity stress is one of the most important problems of agriculture in crop production in arid and semi arid regions. Under these conditions, in addition to management strategies, proper and adequate nutrition also has an important role in crop improvement. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to study the effect of 4 different irrigation water salinities (blank, 4, 8 and 12 dS m-1, prepared with 1:1 molar ratio of chlorides of calcium and sodium and magnesium sulphate salts. and 5 different zinc applications (0, 10, 20, 30 mg Kg-1 soil and foliar application of salt of zinc sulphate on yield, yield components and zinc concentration of wheat, using a completely randomized design, factorial with three replications. Plant height, spike length, 1000 grain weight, number of grain per spike, grain and straw yield was decreased by Irrigation water salinity. And all of these parameters were improved by zinc application except 1000 grain weight. Zinc absorption and concentration in straw and grain was decreased by Saline water compared to blank. And concentration of zinc significantly was increased in straw and grain by increase zinc application. The results indicated that, zinc application under low to medium salinity conditions improved growth and yield of wheat due to decreasing the impacts salinity.

  7. Comparison of breeding methods for forage yield in red clover

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Libor Jalůvka

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Three methods of red clover (Trifolium pratense L. breeding for forage yield in two harvest years on locations in Bredelokke (Denmark, Hladké Životice (Czech Republic and Les Alleuds (France were compared. Three types of 46 candivars1, developed by A recurrent selection in subsequent generations (37 candivars, divided into early and late group, B polycross progenies (4 candivars and C ge­no-phe­no­ty­pic selection (5 candivars were compared. The trials were sown in 2005 and cut three times in 2006 and 2007; their evaluation is based primarily on total yield of dry matter. The candivars developed by polycross and geno-phenotypic selections gave significantly higher yields than candivars from the recurrent selection. However, the candivars developed by the methods B and C did not differ significantly. The candivars developed by these progressive methods were suitable for higher yielding and drier environment in Hladké Životice (where was the highest yield level even if averaged annual precipitation were lower by 73 and 113 mm in comparison to other locations, respectively; here was ave­ra­ge yield higher by 19 and 13% for B and C in comparison to A method. Highly significant interaction of the candivars with locations was found. It can be concluded that varieties specifically aimed to different locations by the methods B and C should be bred; also the parental entries should be selected there.

  8. Estimation of rice yield affected by drought and relation between rice yield and TVDI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hongo, C.; Tamura, E.; Sigit, G.

    2016-12-01

    Impact of climate change is not only seen on food production but also on food security and sustainable development of society. Adaptation to climate change is a pressing issue throughout the world to reduce the risks along with the plans and strategies for food security and sustainable development. As a key adaptation to the climate change, agricultural insurance is expected to play an important role in stabilizing agricultural production through compensating the losses caused by the climate change. As the adaptation, the Government of Indonesia has launched agricultural insurance program for damage of rice by drought, flood and pest and disease. The Government started a pilot project in 2013 and this year the pilot project has been extended to 22 provinces. Having the above as background, we conducted research on development of new damage assessment method for rice using remote sensing data which could be used for evaluation of damage ratio caused by drought in West Java, Indonesia. For assessment of the damage ratio, estimation of rice yield is a key. As the result of our study, rice yield affected by drought in dry season could be estimated at level of 1 % significance using SPOT 7 data taken in 2015, and the validation result was 0.8t/ha. Then, the decrease ratio in rice yield about each individual paddy field was calculated using data of the estimated result and the average yield of the past 10 years. In addition, TVDI (Temperature Vegetation Dryness Index) which was calculated from Landsat8 data in heading season indicated the dryness in low yield area. The result suggests that rice yield was affected by irrigation water shortage around heading season as a result of the decreased precipitation by El Nino. Through our study, it becomes clear that the utilization of remote sensing data can be promising for assessment of the damage ratio of rice production precisely, quickly and quantitatively, and also it can be incorporated into the insurance procedures.

  9. Yield gap analysis in long-term experiments with intensive rice cultivation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laureles, E.V.; Correa, T. Jr.; Buresh, R.J.

    2007-01-01

    The long-term continuous cropping experiment at IRRI is cultivated with three rice crops in a year, making it the world's most intensively cropped long-term rice experiment. The availability of comprehensive rice production records, compiled weather data, and tested crop models provides a means to evaluate long-term trends in measured and potential yields and yield gaps in this rice production system. Yield trends were assessed using the highest yielding cultivar in each cropping season from 1979 to 2005. Potential yield of the highest yielding cultivar in each season was determined using three rice models (ORYZA, TERM, and CERES) run with the actual transplanting and harvest dates for the cultivar. The yield gap was determined from the difference between the simulated potential grain yield and the measured grain yield. Measured and potential yields and the yield gap varied across seasons and years. Measured yields were higher in the dry season than in the early and late wet seasons. The yield gap tended to be higher in the wet season than in the dry season. Climatic parameters, particularly solar radiation, influenced the performance of rice cultivars. The relatively larger yield gaps in the late wet season than in the dry season were associated with increased spikelet sterility. The cumulative measured yield for the three annual rice crop was near 80 percent of the annual yield potential in years with best practices for fertilizer N and crop management. The long term trends suggest that effective timing and rates of N fertilization and effective control of diseases were critical in achieving 80 percent of the annual yield potential

  10. PTV dose prescription strategies for SBRT of metastatic liver tumours

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pooter, Jacco A. de; Wunderink, Wouter; Mendez Romero, Alejandra; Storchi, Pascal R.M.; Heijmen, Ben J.M.

    2007-01-01

    Purpose: Recently we have demonstrated that our in-house developed algorithm for automated plan generation for fully non-coplanar SBRT of liver patients (designated Cycle) yields plans that are superior to conventionally generated plans of experienced dosimetrists. Here we use Cycle in the comparison of plans with prescription isodoses of 65% or 80% of the isocentre dose. Methods: Plans were generated using CT-data of 15 previously treated patients. For each patient, both for the 65%- and the 80% strategy, Cycle was used to generate a plan with the maximum isocentre dose, D isoc , while strictly obeying a set of hard constraints for the organs at risk (OAR). Plans for the two strategies were compared using D isoc , D PTV,99% (the minimum dose delivered to 99% of the PTV), and the generalised equivalent uniform dose, gEUD PTV (a), for several values of the parameter a. Moreover, for the OARs, the distance to the constraint values was analysed. Results: The 65% strategy resulted in treatment plans with a higher D isoc (average 17.6%, range 7.6-31.1%) than the 80% strategy, at the cost of a somewhat lower D PTV,99% (average -2.0%, range -9.6% to 9.3%). On average, voxels with a dose in the 65% strategy, lower than the minimum PTV dose in the 80% strategy, were within 0.2 cm from the PTV surface. For a ≥ -10, the 65% strategy yielded on average a significantly (P PTV (a) than the 80% strategy, whereas for highly negative a-values the 80% approach was slightly better, although not significantly. Large variations between patients were observed. Generally, for the OAR the approach to the constraint levels was similar for the two strategies. Conclusion: On average, PTV dose delivery is superior with the 65% strategy. However, apart from the isocentre dose, for each applied PTV dose parameter at least one patient would have been better off with the 80% dose prescription strategy

  11. Simulating future wheat yield under climate change, carbon dioxide enrichment and technology improvement in Iran. Case study: Azarbaijan region

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mansouri, H.; Raei, Y.; Zaeim, A.N.

    2015-07-01

    Climate change and technology development can affect crop productivity in future conditions. Precise estimation of crops yield change as affected by climate and technology in the future is an effective approach for management strategies. The aim of this study was to estimate the impacts of climate change, technology improvement, CO2 enrichment, and overall impacts on wheat yield under future conditions. Wheat yield was projected for three future time periods (2020, 2050 and 2080) compared to baseline year (2011) under two scenarios of IPCC Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) including SRES-A2 as regional economic scenario and SRES-B1 as global environmental scenario in Azarbaijan region (NW of Iran). A linear regression model, describing the relationship between wheat yield and historical year, was developed to investigate technology development effect. The decision support system for agro-technology transfer (DSSAT4.5) was used to evaluate the influence of climate change on wheat yield. The most positive effects were found for wheat yield as affected by technology in all studied regions. Under future climate change, the SRES projected a decrease in yield, especially in West Azarbaijan region. When the effects of elevated CO2 were considered, all regions resulted to increase in wheat yield. Considering all components effect in comparison with baseline (2011), yield increase would range from 5% to 38% across all times, scenarios and regions. According to our findings, it seems that we may expect a higher yield of wheat in NW Iran in the future if technology development continues as well as past years. (Author)

  12. Quality and Yield of Cannabis Products

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kastorp, Grith; Lindholst, Christian

    2011-01-01

    Abstract. 180 seizures containing 667 different samples of cannabis products from 5 police districts in Jutland were examined from 2008 to the present. The samples were divided into the groups: hashish, marihuana (leaves and buds) and whole plants (indoors and outdoors). Cannabis seized from indoor...... cultivation was examined in order to determine THC content and yield. The results are used by the Danish Police Attorney to estimate expected yields in cases with unripe cannabis plants. The results indicate that the THC content found in locally grown marihuana is slightly higher than in hashish. However...

  13. High yield fabrication of fluorescent nanodiamonds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boudou, Jean-Paul; Curmi, Patrick A; Jelezko, Fedor; Wrachtrup, Joerg; Balasubramanian, Gopalakrischnan; Reuter, Rolf; Aubert, Pascal; Sennour, Mohamed; Thorel, Alain; Gaffet, Eric

    2009-01-01

    A new fabrication method to produce homogeneously fluorescent nanodiamonds with high yields is described. The powder obtained by high energy ball milling of fluorescent high pressure, high temperature diamond microcrystals was converted in a pure concentrated aqueous colloidal dispersion of highly crystalline ultrasmall nanoparticles with a mean size less than or equal to 10 nm. The whole fabrication yield of colloidal quasi-spherical nanodiamonds was several orders of magnitude higher than those previously reported starting from microdiamonds. The results open up avenues for the industrial cost-effective production of fluorescent nanodiamonds with well-controlled properties.

  14. High yield fabrication of fluorescent nanodiamonds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boudou, Jean-Paul; Curmi, Patrick A [Structure and Activity of Normal and Pathological Biomolecules-INSERM/UEVE U829, Universite d' Evry-Val d' Essonne, Batiment Maupertuis, Rue du pere Andre Jarlan, F-91025 Evry (France); Jelezko, Fedor; Wrachtrup, Joerg; Balasubramanian, Gopalakrischnan; Reuter, Rolf [3.Physikalisches Institut, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 57, D-70550 Stuttgart (Germany); Aubert, Pascal [Nanometric Media Laboratory, Universite d' Evry-Val d' Essonne, Batiment Maupertuis, Rue du pere Andre Jarlan, F-91025 Evry (France); Sennour, Mohamed; Thorel, Alain [Centre des Materiaux, Mines Paris, ParisTech, BP 87, F-91000 Evry (France); Gaffet, Eric [Nanomaterials Research Group-UMR 5060, CNRS, UTBM, Site de Sevenans, F-90010 Belfort (France)], E-mail: jpb.cnrs@free.fr, E-mail: pcurmi@univ-evry.fr, E-mail: f.jelezko@physik.uni-stuttgart.de

    2009-06-10

    A new fabrication method to produce homogeneously fluorescent nanodiamonds with high yields is described. The powder obtained by high energy ball milling of fluorescent high pressure, high temperature diamond microcrystals was converted in a pure concentrated aqueous colloidal dispersion of highly crystalline ultrasmall nanoparticles with a mean size less than or equal to 10 nm. The whole fabrication yield of colloidal quasi-spherical nanodiamonds was several orders of magnitude higher than those previously reported starting from microdiamonds. The results open up avenues for the industrial cost-effective production of fluorescent nanodiamonds with well-controlled properties.

  15. Influence of gamma rays on the yield of Linum usitatissimum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghouse, A.K.M.; Abidi, S.H.

    1979-01-01

    The impact of various acute doses of gamma-rays has been studied in an oil yielding Indian variety, Neelum of Linum usitatissimum. It has been found that gamma irradiation brings about an increase in the yield of the crop at lower doses upto 75 krads, while the higher ones like 125 and 150 krads reduce the yield to half. (auth.)

  16. Teaching strategies to elicit excellence in higher education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wolfensberger, Marca; van der Rijst, Roeland M.

    2011-01-01

    Pedagogy for gifted and talented students in higher education is the main topic of this study. Teachers of educational programmes designed for talented or highly motivated students in higher education (here called honours programmes) are challenged to stimulate students to increase the quality of

  17. Yield and Yield Components of Vetch (Vigna radiata as Affected by the Use of Vermicompost and Phosphate Bio-fertilizer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Mehdi Rahimi

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available To evaluate the effects different levels of phosphate biofertilizer barvar-2 and vermi compost on yield and yield components of vetch plant (Vigna radiata L.in Yasouj a factorial experiments was performed in completely randomized design in crop year of 2013. Experimental treatments were phosphate biofertilizer barvar-2 at 3 levels (0, 50, 100 gram per hectare and vermicompost at 4 levels (0, 10, 20, 30 ton per hectare. In this study stem height, root length, biological yield, seed yield and harvest index was measured. ANOVA and comparison of means showed that vermicompost significantly increased stem height, economic and biological yields. Results, also, indicated that highest yield and biomass, 4.3 and 18.8 g/plant, observed respectively when 100 g/ha of barvar-2 and 30 t/ha of vermi compost were used. Using both of phosphate biofertilizer barvar-2 and vermicompost was better than their individnal usage. This indicates that combined use of these 2 factors would produce higher yield. It can be concluded that application of 100 g/ha of barvar-2 and 30 t/ha of vermicompost would a proper recommendation.

  18. Effect of different tillage intensity on yields and yield-forming factors in winter wheat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Houšť

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents results of a study on application of minimum tillage technologies when growing winter wheat. Experiments were performed in the sugar-beet-growing region with loamy chernozem within the period of 2005–2009. Aanalysed and evaluated were effects of different methods of soil processing on yield-forming factors in stands of winter wheat grown after three different preceding crops (i.e. alfalfa, maize for silage and pea. Evaluated were the following four variants of tillage: (1 conventional ploughing to the depth of 0.22 m (Variant 1; (2 ploughing to the depth of 0.15 m (Variant 2; (3 direct sowing into the untilled soil (Variant 3, and (4 shallow tillage to the depth of 0.10 m (Variant 4.The effect of different tillage intensity on winter wheat yields was statistically non-significant after all forecrops. After alfalfa, the highest and the lowest average yields were recorded in Variant 2 (i.e. with ploughing to the depth of 0.15 m and Variant 3 (direct sowing into the untilled soil, respectively. After maize grown for silage, higher yields were obtained in Variant 2 and Variant 1 (conventional ploughing while in Variants 4 and 3 the obtained yields were lower. When growing winter wheat after pea as a preceding crop, the highest and the lowest average yields were recorded after direct sowing (Variant 3 and in Variant 1 (i.e. ploughing to the depth of 0.22 m, respectively. Results of studies on effect of different tillage technologies on yields of winter wheat crops indicate that under the given pedological and climatic conditions it is possible to apply methods of reduced tillage intensity. However, the choice of the corresponding technology must be performed with regard to the type of preceding crop.

  19. The didactic configuration of teaching strategies with Information and communication technology in pedagogical practices of the engineering made in two Mexican higher education institutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martha Patricia ASTUDILLO TORRES

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available In this article explains the didactic configuration of teaching strategies with information and communications technology (ICT that designs and implements the higher education teachers in their educational practice, with the objective of facilitating the curricula of three subjects belonging to the careers of civil Engineering and environmental Engineering of the two most important institutions of higher education of the state of Chiapas, Mexico. Similarly, it exposed a categorization of teaching strategies with ICT emerged from the ethnographic study carried out in these Mexican universities.

  20. Water yield issues in the jarrah forest of south-western Australia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruprecht, J. K.; Stoneman, G. L.

    1993-10-01

    this complexity and evaluate forest management strategies both at the large catchment scale and at long time-scales. The extensive network of small catchment experiments, regional studies, process studies and catchment modelling at both the small and large scale, which are carried out in the jarrah forest, are all considered as integral components of the research to develop these management strategies to optimise water yield from the jarrah forest, without forfeiting other forest values.

  1. A higher yielding mutant of black gram with improved nodule formation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, R K; Raghuvanshi, S S [Plant Genetic Unit, Department of Botany, University of Lucknow (India)

    1987-07-01

    Dry seeds of black gram (Vigna mungo (L) Hopper) var. T{sub 9} with 12.2% moisture content were irradiated at 10, 20 and 30 krad of gamma rays. This was followed by combined treatment of one set in each dose with freshly prepared 0. 25% EMS in phosphate buffer at 7.0 pH at 30{+-} deg. C for 6 hours. In M{sub 2} population of 20 krad two mutants with pentafoliate instead of trifoliate leaves were found. This character was true breeding in M{sub 3} M{sub 6} generation. Crosses revealed monogenic recessive inheritance of this character. The proposed gene symbol is p5. This mutant has normal maturity period and the plant height is the same as T{sub 9} (ca. 50 cm). Preliminary yield trials indicate superiority of the mutant line over control. The mutant line also shows a significant improvement in number and weight of root nodules, potentially improving green manuring value. Improvement of root nodulation in mungbean mutants was reported before by others.

  2. Exposure to Cigarette Smoke Constituents in a Population of Adult Cigarette Smokers in the U.S. Who Spontaneously Switched to Cigarettes with Lower or Higher Machine Measured ‘Tar’ Yield

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad-Kah RS

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Changes in exposure to cigarette smoke and smoking behavior were assessed in adult smokers participating in a multi-center, cross-sectional study who spontaneously switched to > 3 mg lower or higher machine measured ‘tar’ yield. Of 2,542 consenting smokers only 23 down-switchers (DWNSW and 68 up-switchers (UPSW met study eligibility criteria. Biomarkers of exposure (BOE to selected smoke constituents were measured. Large variability was observed in the BOEs (e.g. CV% for nicotine equivalents (nicotine and five of its metabolites, NE per day ranged from 59% to 78%. On average, DWNSW smoked two more cigarettes/day (+ 9% that had ~ 5.9 mg lower ‘tar’ yield. Mean NE/day were 12.0 ± 6.2 mg/day compared to 13.9 ± 8.2 mg/day after down switching. Slightly lower levels of NE/cigarette (-8%, total NNAL/day and per cigarette were observed (-18% and -23% in the DWNSW's. UPSW smoked two fewer cigarettes/day (-13% with higher ‘tar’ yield (~ 8.4 mg higher ‘tar’. NE/day was 12.5 ± 9.7 vs. 12.8 ± 9.0 mg/day. Total NNAL values per day and per cigarette were lower (-24% and -17%. Due to the large variability and insufficient power to detect significant differences in exposure based on post-hoc power calculations, no definitive conclusions can be drawn from this study. These results suggest that it might not be feasible to conduct a definitive assessment of changes in exposure among spontaneous switchers.

  3. 70-79 Effects of Crop Rotation and NP Fertilizer Rate on Grain Yield a

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    amendment enabled maize yields and soil fertility to be maintained at a higher level. Multiple ... Higher grain yield and high net return of maize were realized following Niger seed, ...... Generation, Transfer and Gap Analysis Workshop. Nekemt ...

  4. OPTIMIZING THE MARKETING MIX - AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT IN DEVELOPING COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES IN THE FIELD OF HIGHER EDUCATION

    OpenAIRE

    Monica Paula Raţiu; Emanuela Maria Avram

    2013-01-01

    The reason why marketing strategies were implemented in the field of academic activities, where intangible goods are being provided, was the similarity between these and the field of service provision. Higher education aims at preparing specialists in all fields of activity so as they can successfully meet the increasingly sophisticated labor and thus universities contribute significantly to the achievement of this desideratum and to the enrichment of knowledge in order to ensure social devel...

  5. Evaluating the effect of ration composition on income over feed cost and milk yield.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buza, M H; Holden, L A; White, R A; Ishler, V A

    2014-05-01

    that intermediate levels of forage cost and higher levels of total feed cost per cow per day resulted in both higher milk yield and higher IOFC. This suggests that optimal ration formulation rather than least cost strategies may be key to increasing milk yield and IOFC, and that profit margin may be affected more by quality of the feed rather than the cost. Copyright © 2014 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Evaluation of high yielding soybean germplasm under water limitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prince, Silvas J; Murphy, Mackensie; Mutava, Raymond N; Zhang, Zhengzhi; Nguyen, Na; Kim, Yoon Ha; Pathan, Safiullah M; Shannon, Grover J; Valliyodan, Babu; Nguyen, Henry T

    2016-05-01

    Limited information is available for soybean root traits and their plasticity under drought stress. To date, no studies have focused on examining diverse soybean germplasm for regulation of shoot and root response under water limited conditions across varying soil types. In this study, 17 genetically diverse soybean germplasm lines were selected to study root response to water limited conditions in clay (trial 1) and sandy soil (trial 2) in two target environments. Physiological data on shoot traits was measured at multiple crop stages ranging from early vegetative to pod filling. The phenotypic root traits, and biomass accumulation data are collected at pod filling stage. In trial 1, the number of lateral roots and forks were positively correlated with plot yield under water limitation and in trial 2, lateral root thickness was positively correlated with the hill plot yield. Plant Introduction (PI) 578477A and 088444 were found to have higher later root number and forks in clay soil with higher yield under water limitation. In sandy soil, PI458020 was found to have a thicker lateral root system and higher yield under water limitation. The genotypes identified in this study could be used to enhance drought tolerance of elite soybean cultivars through improved root traits specific to target environments. © 2015 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  7. Estimation of heterosis in yield and yield attributing traits in single cross hybrids of maize

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hari Prasad Sharma

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available A field experiment was conducted at National Maize Research Program, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal during winter season from 6th October, 2015 to 5th March 2016 to estimate different heterosis on single cross maize hybrids . Thirteen maize hybrids were tested randomized complete block design with three replications. Hybrid namely RML-98/RL-105 gave the highest standard heterosis (57.5% for grain yield over CP-666 followed by RML-4/NML-2 (32.6%, RML-95/RL-105 (29% and RML-5/RL-105 (20.6%. The hybrid RML-98/RL-105 produced the highest standard heterosis (75.1% for grain yield over Rajkumar followed by RML-4/NML-2(50.2%, RML-95/RL-105(46.6%, RML-5/RL-105 and (35.7%. Mid and better parent heterosis were significantly higher for yield and yield attributes viz. ear length, ear diameter, no of kernel row per ear, no of kernel per row and test weight. The highest positive mid-parent heterosis for grain yield was found in RML-98/RL-105 followed by RML-5/RL-105, RML-95/RL-105, and RML-4/NML-2. For the grain yield the better parent heterosis was the highest in RML-98/RL-105, followed by RML-5/RL-105, RML-95/RL-105, and RML-4/NML-2. These results suggested that maize production can be maximized by cultivating hybrids namely RML-98/RL-105, RML-5/RL-105, RML-95/RL-105, and RML-4/NML-2 .

  8. The Application of Dividend Yield Based Investment Strategy in Indonesian Stock Exchange

    OpenAIRE

    Ekaputra, Adriansyah; Sukarno, Subiakto

    2012-01-01

    Stock market development in Indonesia is growing rapidly, coupled with the increase of Indonesia's investment rating by investment research and rating companies such as Moody's and S&P, it makes Indonesian stock market look sexy in the eyes of investors from various countries. The investment strategy that simple and applicable is often sought by investors to maximize the investors' portfolio. One investment strategy is evolving but still not widely used in Indonesia is an investment strat...

  9. Yield advantage and water saving in maize/pea intercrop

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mao, L.; Zhang, L.; Li, W.; Werf, van der W.; Sun, J.; Spiertz, J.H.J.; Li, L.

    2012-01-01

    Intercropping is a well-established strategy for maximization of yield from limited land, but mixed results have been obtained as to its performance in terms of water use efficiency. Here, two maize/pea intercrop layouts were studied in comparison to sole maize and sole pea with and without plastic

  10. Predicting spring barley yield from variety-specific yield potential, disease resistance and straw length, and from environment-specific disease loads and weed pressure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Østergård, Hanne; Kristensen, Kristian; Pinnschmidt, Hans O.

    2008-01-01

    For low-input crop production, well-characterised varieties increase the possibilities of managing diseases and weeds. This analysis aims at developing a framework for analyzing grain yield using external varietal information about disease resistance, weed competitiveness and yield potential and ...... growth habit. Higher grain yield was thus predicted for taller plants under weed pressure. The results are discussed in relation to the model framework, impact of the considered traits and use of information from conventional variety testing in organic cropping systems....

  11. High-yield secretion of recombinant proteins from the microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos-Martinez, Erick Miguel; Fimognari, Lorenzo; Sakuragi, Yumiko

    2017-09-01

    Microalga-based biomanufacturing of recombinant proteins is attracting growing attention due to its advantages in safety, metabolic diversity, scalability and sustainability. Secretion of recombinant proteins can accelerate the use of microalgal platforms by allowing post-translational modifications and easy recovery of products from the culture media. However, currently, the yields of secreted recombinant proteins are low, which hampers the commercial application of this strategy. This study aimed at expanding the genetic tools for enhancing secretion of recombinant proteins in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a widely used green microalga as a model organism and a potential industrial biotechnology platform. We demonstrated that the putative signal sequence from C. reinhardtii gametolysin can assist the secretion of the yellow fluorescent protein Venus into the culture media. To increase the secretion yields, Venus was C-terminally fused with synthetic glycomodules comprised of tandem serine (Ser) and proline (Pro) repeats of 10 and 20 units [hereafter (SP) n , wherein n = 10 or 20]. The yields of the (SP) n -fused Venus were higher than Venus without the glycomodule by up to 12-fold, with the maximum yield of 15 mg/L. Moreover, the presence of the glycomodules conferred an enhanced proteolytic protein stability. The Venus-(SP) n proteins were shown to be glycosylated, and a treatment of the cells with brefeldin A led to a suggestion that glycosylation of the (SP) n glycomodules starts in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Taken together, the results demonstrate the utility of the gametolysin signal sequence and (SP) n glycomodule to promote a more efficient biomanufacturing of microalgae-based recombinant proteins. © 2017 The Authors. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and The Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Soybean yield in relation to distance from the Itaipu reservoir

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Faria, Rogério Teixeira; Junior, Ruy Casão; Werner, Simone Silmara; Junior, Luiz Antônio Zanão; Hoogenboom, Gerrit

    2016-07-01

    Crops close to small water bodies may exhibit changes in yield if the water mass causes significant changes in the microclimate of areas near the reservoir shoreline. The scientific literature describes this effect as occurring gradually, with higher intensity in the sites near the shoreline and decreasing intensity with distance from the reservoir. Experiments with two soybean cultivars were conducted during four crop seasons to evaluate soybean yield in relation to distance from the Itaipu reservoir and determine the effect of air temperature and water availability on soybean crop yield. Fifteen experimental sites were distributed in three transects perpendicular to the Itaipu reservoir, covering an area at approximately 10 km from the shoreline. The yield gradient between the site closest to the reservoir and the sites farther away in each transect did not show a consistent trend, but varied as a function of distance, crop season, and cultivar. This finding indicates that the Itaipu reservoir does not affect the yield of soybean plants grown within approximately 10 km from the shoreline. In addition, the variation in yield among the experimental sites was not attributed to thermal conditions because the temperature was similar within transects. However, the crop water availability was responsible for higher differences in yield among the neighboring experimental sites related to water stress caused by spatial variability in rainfall, especially during the soybean reproductive period in January and February.

  13. Using Low Resolution Satellite Imagery for Yield Prediction and Yield Anomaly Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oscar Rojas

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Low resolution satellite imagery has been extensively used for crop monitoring and yield forecasting for over 30 years and plays an important role in a growing number of operational systems. The combination of their high temporal frequency with their extended geographical coverage generally associated with low costs per area unit makes these images a convenient choice at both national and regional scales. Several qualitative and quantitative approaches can be clearly distinguished, going from the use of low resolution satellite imagery as the main predictor of final crop yield to complex crop growth models where remote sensing-derived indicators play different roles, depending on the nature of the model and on the availability of data measured on the ground. Vegetation performance anomaly detection with low resolution images continues to be a fundamental component of early warning and drought monitoring systems at the regional scale. For applications at more detailed scales, the limitations created by the mixed nature of low resolution pixels are being progressively reduced by the higher resolution offered by new sensors, while the continuity of existing systems remains crucial for ensuring the availability of long time series as needed by the majority of the yield prediction methods used today.

  14. Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizae on tomato yield, nutrient uptake, water relations, and soil carbon dynamics under deficit irrigation in field conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowles, Timothy M; Barrios-Masias, Felipe H; Carlisle, Eli A; Cavagnaro, Timothy R; Jackson, Louise E

    2016-10-01

    Plant strategies to cope with future droughts may be enhanced by associations between roots and soil microorganisms, including arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. But how AM fungi affect crop growth and yield, together with plant physiology and soil carbon (C) dynamics, under water stress in actual field conditions is not well understood. The well-characterized mycorrhizal tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) genotype 76R (referred to as MYC+) and the mutant nonmycorrhizal tomato genotype rmc were grown in an organic farm with a deficit irrigation regime and control regime that replaced evapotranspiration. AM increased marketable tomato yields by ~25% in both irrigation regimes but did not affect shoot biomass. In both irrigation regimes, MYC+ plants had higher plant nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations (e.g. 5 and 24% higher N and P concentrations in leaves at fruit set, respectively), 8% higher stomatal conductance (gs), 7% higher photosynthetic rates (Pn), and greater fruit set. Stem water potential and leaf relative water content were similar in both genotypes within each irrigation regime. Three-fold higher rates of root sap exudation in detopped MYC+ plants suggest greater capacity for water uptake through osmotic driven flow, especially in the deficit irrigation regime in which root sap exudation in rmc was nearly absent. Soil with MYC+ plants also had slightly higher soil extractable organic C and microbial biomass C at anthesis but no changes in soil CO2 emissions, although the latter were 23% lower under deficit irrigation. This study provides novel, field-based evidence for how indigenous AM fungi increase crop yield and crop water use efficiency during a season-long deficit irrigation and thus play an important role in coping with increasingly limited water availability in the future. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Evaluation of sources of organic manure on the growth and yield of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Moringa 20 t ha1 produce the highest dry matter of the plants. The least fruit number of fruits per plant than Kumba and fruit yield in t ha-1 was higher in Gilo. There was no significant interaction between varieties and manure. Yield of both varieties was higher in Makurdi than Obubra Moringa Oleifera leaf biomas and poultry ...

  16. Yield performance and stability of CMS-based triticale hybrids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mühleisen, Jonathan; Piepho, Hans-Peter; Maurer, Hans Peter; Reif, Jochen Christoph

    2015-02-01

    CMS-based triticale hybrids showed only marginal midparent heterosis for grain yield and lower dynamic yield stability compared to inbred lines. Hybrids of triticale (×Triticosecale Wittmack) are expected to possess outstanding yield performance and increased dynamic yield stability. The objectives of the present study were to (1) examine the optimum choice of the biometrical model to compare yield stability of hybrids versus lines, (2) investigate whether hybrids exhibit a more pronounced grain yield performance and yield stability, and (3) study optimal strategies to predict yield stability of hybrids. Thirteen female and seven male parental lines and their 91 factorial hybrids as well as 30 commercial lines were evaluated for grain yield in up to 20 environments. Hybrids were produced using a cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS)-inducing cytoplasm that originated from Triticumtimopheevii Zhuk. We found that the choice of the biometrical model can cause contrasting results and concluded that a group-by-environment interaction term should be added to the model when estimating stability variance of hybrids and lines. midparent heterosis for grain yield was on average 3 % with a range from -15.0 to 11.5 %. No hybrid outperformed the best inbred line. Hybrids had, on average, lower dynamic yield stability compared to the inbred lines. Grain yield performance of hybrids could be predicted based on midparent values and general combining ability (GCA)-predicted values. In contrast, stability variance of hybrids could be predicted only based on GCA-predicted values. We speculated that negative effects of the used CMS cytoplasm might be the reason for the low performance and yield stability of the hybrids. For this purpose a detailed study on the reasons for the drawback of the currently existing CMS system in triticale is urgently required comprising also the search of potentially alternative hybridization systems.

  17. Brazilian Soybean Yields and Yield Gaps Vary with Farm Size

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeffries, G. R.; Cohn, A.; Griffin, T. S.; Bragança, A.

    2017-12-01

    Understanding the farm size-specific characteristics of crop yields and yield gaps may help to improve yields by enabling better targeting of technical assistance and agricultural development programs. Linking remote sensing-based yield estimates with property boundaries provides a novel view of the relationship between farm size and yield structure (yield magnitude, gaps, and stability over time). A growing literature documents variations in yield gaps, but largely ignores the role of farm size as a factor shaping yield structure. Research on the inverse farm size-productivity relationship (IR) theory - that small farms are more productive than large ones all else equal - has documented that yield magnitude may vary by farm size, but has not considered other yield structure characteristics. We examined farm size - yield structure relationships for soybeans in Brazil for years 2001-2015. Using out-of-sample soybean yield predictions from a statistical model, we documented 1) gaps between the 95th percentile of attained yields and mean yields within counties and individual fields, and 2) yield stability defined as the standard deviation of time-detrended yields at given locations. We found a direct relationship between soy yields and farm size at the national level, while the strength and the sign of the relationship varied by region. Soybean yield gaps were found to be inversely related to farm size metrics, even when yields were only compared to farms of similar size. The relationship between farm size and yield stability was nonlinear, with mid-sized farms having the most stable yields. The work suggests that farm size is an important factor in understanding yield structure and that opportunities for improving soy yields in Brazil are greatest among smaller farms.

  18. Simulate the Effect of Climate Change on Development, Irrigation Requirements and Soybean Yield in Gorgan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.R. Nehbandani

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Atmospheric CO2 concentration has continuously been increasing during the past century and it is expected to increase from current 384 ppm to 550 ppm in 2050. This increase is expected to increase global temperature by 1.4 to 5.8 oC which can have major effects on crop plants. Since both CO2 and temperature are among the most important environmental variables that regulate physiological and phenological processes in plants, it is critical to evaluate the effects of CO2 and air temperature on the growth and yield of key crop plants. Warming of Earth's atmosphere can increase dark respiration and photorespiration in C3 plants. Rate of photosynthesis is affected by temperature, Therefore, rate of biochemical reactions, morphological reactions, CO2 and energy exchange with the atmosphere could be affected by temperature. Increase in CO2 concentration causes further yield improvement in C3 plants (Such as wheat, rice and soybeans in comparison with C4 plants (Such as corn, sorghum and sugarcane. In general, increasing CO2 concentration affects plant processes in two ways:direct effect on physiological processes in plant and indirect effect by changes in temperature and rainfall. Studying climate change effects including increase in temperature and CO2 concentration can help understanding adaptation strategies to reach higher and sustainable crop yields. Therefore, the objective of this research was to examine the effects of temperature and CO2 changes on days to maturity, irrigation water requirement, and yield in soybean under irrigation conditions of Gorganusing SSM-iLegume-Soybean model. Materials and methods: The model SSM-iLegume-Soybean simulates phenological development, leaf development and senescence, crop mass production and partitioning, plant nitrogen balance, yield formation and soil water and nitrogen balances. The model includes responses of crop processes to environmental factors of solar radiation, temperature and

  19. Effects of Row Spacing and Plant Density on Yield and Yield Components of Sweet Corn in Climatic Conditions of Isfahan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Khodaeian

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available To evaluate the effects of row spacing and plant density on yield and yield components of sweet corn, variety KSC403, an experiment was conducted in Research Farm of Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran, in 2007, as randomized complete block design with a split-plot layout and three replications. The main plots were allocated to two row spacing (60 and 75 cm and the sub-plots accommodated four levels of plant density (50000, 70000, 90000 and 110000 plants per ha. There was significant increase in leaf area index, shoot dry weight, 100-grain fresh weight and grain fresh yield, as row width was decreased from 75 to 60 cm but the plant height was decreased. There was no significant effect of row spacing on number of rows per ear, number of grains per row and number of grains per ear. Plant height, leaf area index, shoot dry weight per m2 and number of ears per m2 were increased with an increase in plant density. The number of rows per ear, number of grains per row, number of grains per ear, 100-grain fresh weight and grain fresh yield were significantly higher under plant densities of 90000 and 110000 as compared to 50000 and 70000 plants per ha. There was significant interaction between row spacing and plant density for leaf area index, shoot dry weight, number of grains per ear, 100-grain fresh weight and grain fresh yield. Under all plant densities, the grain fresh yield was higher in 60-cm row width compared to 70-cm row width. However, the difference between these two row spacing was not significant in plant densities of 50000 and 110000 plants per ha. The highest grain fresh yield (33940 kg/ha was achieved under row spacing 60 cm and 70000 plants per ha and the least grain fresh yield (20750 kg/ha was obtained in under 75 cm row width and 110000 plants per ha. Considering the obtained results of this experiment, to have maximum grain fresh yield of sweet corn under Isfahan climate, the row spacing of 60 cm and plant density of

  20. The OsSPL16-GW7 regulatory module determines grain shape and simultaneously improves rice yield and grain quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shaokui; Li, Shan; Liu, Qian; Wu, Kun; Zhang, Jianqing; Wang, Shuansuo; Wang, Yi; Chen, Xiangbin; Zhang, Yi; Gao, Caixia; Wang, Feng; Huang, Haixiang; Fu, Xiangdong

    2015-08-01

    The deployment of heterosis in the form of hybrid rice varieties has boosted grain yield, but grain quality improvement still remains a challenge. Here we show that a quantitative trait locus for rice grain quality, qGW7, reflects allelic variation of GW7, a gene encoding a TONNEAU1-recruiting motif protein with similarity to C-terminal motifs of the human centrosomal protein CAP350. Upregulation of GW7 expression was correlated with the production of more slender grains, as a result of increased cell division in the longitudinal direction and decreased cell division in the transverse direction. OsSPL16 (GW8), an SBP-domain transcription factor that regulates grain width, bound directly to the GW7 promoter and repressed its expression. The presence of a semidominant GW7(TFA) allele from tropical japonica rice was associated with higher grain quality without the yield penalty imposed by the Basmati gw8 allele. Manipulation of the OsSPL16-GW7 module thus represents a new strategy to simultaneously improve rice yield and grain quality.

  1. Local yield stress statistics in model amorphous solids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbot, Armand; Lerbinger, Matthias; Hernandez-Garcia, Anier; García-García, Reinaldo; Falk, Michael L.; Vandembroucq, Damien; Patinet, Sylvain

    2018-03-01

    We develop and extend a method presented by Patinet, Vandembroucq, and Falk [Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 045501 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.045501] to compute the local yield stresses at the atomic scale in model two-dimensional Lennard-Jones glasses produced via differing quench protocols. This technique allows us to sample the plastic rearrangements in a nonperturbative manner for different loading directions on a well-controlled length scale. Plastic activity upon shearing correlates strongly with the locations of low yield stresses in the quenched states. This correlation is higher in more structurally relaxed systems. The distribution of local yield stresses is also shown to strongly depend on the quench protocol: the more relaxed the glass, the higher the local plastic thresholds. Analysis of the magnitude of local plastic relaxations reveals that stress drops follow exponential distributions, justifying the hypothesis of an average characteristic amplitude often conjectured in mesoscopic or continuum models. The amplitude of the local plastic rearrangements increases on average with the yield stress, regardless of the system preparation. The local yield stress varies with the shear orientation tested and strongly correlates with the plastic rearrangement locations when the system is sheared correspondingly. It is thus argued that plastic rearrangements are the consequence of shear transformation zones encoded in the glass structure that possess weak slip planes along different orientations. Finally, we justify the length scale employed in this work and extract the yield threshold statistics as a function of the size of the probing zones. This method makes it possible to derive physically grounded models of plasticity for amorphous materials by directly revealing the relevant details of the shear transformation zones that mediate this process.

  2. Rice yield estimation with multi-temporal Radarsat-2 data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chi-Farn; Son, Nguyen-Thanh; Chen, Cheng-Ru

    2015-04-01

    Rice is the most important food crop in Taiwan. Monitoring rice crop yield is thus crucial for agronomic planners to formulate successful strategies to address national food security and rice grain export issues. However, there is a real challenge for this monitoring purpose because the size of rice fields in Taiwan was generally small and fragmented, and the cropping calendar was also different from region to region. Thus, satellite-based estimation of rice crop yield requires the data that have sufficient spatial and temporal resolutions. This study aimed to develop models to estimate rice crop yield from multi-temporal Radarsat-2 data (5 m resolution). Data processing were carried out for the first rice cropping season from February to July in 2014 in the western part of Taiwan, consisting of four main steps: (1) constructing time-series backscattering coefficient data, (2) spatiotemporal noise filtering of the time-series data, (3) establishment of crop yield models using the time-series backscattering coefficients and in-situ measured yield data, and (4) model validation using field data and government's yield statistics. The results indicated that backscattering behavior varied from region to region due to changes in cultural practices and cropping calendars. The highest correlation coefficient (R2 > 0.8) was obtained at the ripening period. The robustness of the established models was evaluated by comparisons between the estimated yields and in-situ measured yield data showed satisfactory results, with the root mean squared error (RMSE) smaller than 10%. Such results were reaffirmed by the correlation analysis between the estimated yields and government's rice yield statistics (R2 > 0.8). This study demonstrates advantages of using multi-temporal Radarsat-2 backscattering data for estimating rice crop yields in Taiwan prior to the harvesting period, and thus the methods were proposed for rice yield monitoring in other regions.

  3. Authentic Assessment and Pedagogical Strategies in Higher Education

    OpenAIRE

    Chan Yuen Fook; Gurnam Kaur Sidhu

    2010-01-01

    Problem statement: Researchers have noted that there is a mismatch between curriculum content and assessment practices in higher education. At the moment, the focus is still on the assessment of learning and not much on assessment for learning. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the implementation of authentic assessment in higher education in Malaysia. Approach: The study employed a qualitative research method and involved the use of instruments such as interviews, document analy...

  4. Contribution of insect pollinators to crop yield and quality varies with agricultural intensification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ignasi Bartomeus

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Background. Up to 75% of crop species benefit at least to some degree from animal pollination for fruit or seed set and yield. However, basic information on the level of pollinator dependence and pollinator contribution to yield is lacking for many crops. Even less is known about how insect pollination affects crop quality. Given that habitat loss and agricultural intensification are known to decrease pollinator richness and abundance, there is a need to assess the consequences for different components of crop production.Methods. We used pollination exclusion on flowers or inflorescences on a whole plant basis to assess the contribution of insect pollination to crop yield and quality in four flowering crops (spring oilseed rape, field bean, strawberry, and buckwheat located in four regions of Europe. For each crop, we recorded abundance and species richness of flower visiting insects in ten fields located along a gradient from simple to heterogeneous landscapes.Results. Insect pollination enhanced average crop yield between 18 and 71% depending on the crop. Yield quality was also enhanced in most crops. For instance, oilseed rape had higher oil and lower chlorophyll contents when adequately pollinated, the proportion of empty seeds decreased in buckwheat, and strawberries’ commercial grade improved; however, we did not find higher nitrogen content in open pollinated field beans. Complex landscapes had a higher overall species richness of wild pollinators across crops, but visitation rates were only higher in complex landscapes for some crops. On the contrary, the overall yield was consistently enhanced by higher visitation rates, but not by higher pollinator richness.Discussion. For the four crops in this study, there is clear benefit delivered by pollinators on yield quantity and/or quality, but it is not maximized under current agricultural intensification. Honeybees, the most abundant pollinator, might partially compensate the loss of wild

  5. Contribution of insect pollinators to crop yield and quality varies with agricultural intensification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartomeus, Ignasi; Potts, Simon G; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf; Vaissière, Bernard E; Woyciechowski, Michal; Krewenka, Kristin M; Tscheulin, Thomas; Roberts, Stuart P M; Szentgyörgyi, Hajnalka; Westphal, Catrin; Bommarco, Riccardo

    2014-01-01

    Background. Up to 75% of crop species benefit at least to some degree from animal pollination for fruit or seed set and yield. However, basic information on the level of pollinator dependence and pollinator contribution to yield is lacking for many crops. Even less is known about how insect pollination affects crop quality. Given that habitat loss and agricultural intensification are known to decrease pollinator richness and abundance, there is a need to assess the consequences for different components of crop production. Methods. We used pollination exclusion on flowers or inflorescences on a whole plant basis to assess the contribution of insect pollination to crop yield and quality in four flowering crops (spring oilseed rape, field bean, strawberry, and buckwheat) located in four regions of Europe. For each crop, we recorded abundance and species richness of flower visiting insects in ten fields located along a gradient from simple to heterogeneous landscapes. Results. Insect pollination enhanced average crop yield between 18 and 71% depending on the crop. Yield quality was also enhanced in most crops. For instance, oilseed rape had higher oil and lower chlorophyll contents when adequately pollinated, the proportion of empty seeds decreased in buckwheat, and strawberries' commercial grade improved; however, we did not find higher nitrogen content in open pollinated field beans. Complex landscapes had a higher overall species richness of wild pollinators across crops, but visitation rates were only higher in complex landscapes for some crops. On the contrary, the overall yield was consistently enhanced by higher visitation rates, but not by higher pollinator richness. Discussion. For the four crops in this study, there is clear benefit delivered by pollinators on yield quantity and/or quality, but it is not maximized under current agricultural intensification. Honeybees, the most abundant pollinator, might partially compensate the loss of wild pollinators in

  6. Interaction of different irrigation strategies and soil textures on the nitrogen uptake of field grown potatoes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ahmadi, S.H.; Andersen, Mathias Neumann; Lærke, Poul Erik

    2011-01-01

    Nitrogen (N) uptake (kg ha-1) of field-grown potatoes was measured in 4.32 m2 lysimeters that were filled with coarse sand, loamy sand, and sandy loam and subjected to full (FI), deficit (DI), and partial root-zone drying (PRD) irrigation strategies. PRD and DI as water-saving irrigation treatments...... in the loamy sand had the highest amount of N uptake. The interaction between irrigation treatments and soil textures was significant, and implied that under non-limiting water conditions, loamy sand is the suitable soil for potato production because plants can take up sufficient amounts of N and it could...... potentially lead to higher yield. However, under limited water conditions and applying water-saving irrigation strategies, sandy loam and coarse sand are better growth media because N is more available for the potatoes. The simple yield prediction model was developed that could explains ca. 96...

  7. Evaluation of Yield, Yield Components and Growth Indices of Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L. in Conventional and Organic Farming Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahdieh Hajghani

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Application of organic fertilizers in sustainable agriculture systems improves yield sustainability of field crop. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L. is native to Middle East and belongs to the Asteraceae family. It is resistant to saline conditions, water stress, and can reach the deep-lying water of soil. The humic acid (HA mentioned as an environmentally friendly, organic matter with low levels of hormonal-like compounds is useful in improving agriculture production (Samavat and Malakuti 2006. The HA influence on plant growth depends on the source, concentration and molecular weight of the substance. Vermicompost is produced by earthworms, mainly Eisenia foetida, it has higher levels of available nutrients compared to the original materials of composts produced by other methods. Recent evidences suggest that using different amounts of vermicompost increased vegetative traits and concentration of minerals in sunflower. However, there has been little discussion about organic farming of safflower. The main objectives of the present study were to determine the effect of organic treatments on yield, yield components, and growth indices of safflower and to compare it with conventional agriculture. Materials and methods This research was conducted in Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Station in Kerman, Iran during 2012–2013. It was carried out in a randomized complete block (RCB design and had three replications. The current research has been performed to investigate the effects of two different sources of organic fertilizer on spring safflower. Four levels of vermicompost (V: 0, 3, 6 and 9 t ha-1 were considered in the main plots. Liquid humic acid at four different concentrations (HA: 0, 1000, 2000 and 3000 ppm were examined and kept in the subplots. Humic acid as a foliar treatment on leaf surface was applied twice at the beginning of stem elongation and at flowering times. In this study, aimed to compare organic farming

  8. Yield stress independent column buckling curves

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stan, Tudor‐Cristian; Jönsson, Jeppe

    2017-01-01

    of the yield stress is to some inadequate degree taken into account in the Eurocode by specifying that steel grades of S460 and higher all belong to a common set of “raised” buckling curves. This is not satisfying as it can be shown theoretically that the current Eurocode formulation misses an epsilon factor......Using GMNIA and shell finite element modelling of steel columns it is ascertained that the buckling curves for given imperfections and residual stresses are not only dependent on the relative slenderness ratio and the cross section shape but also on the magnitude of the yield stress. The influence...... in the definition of the normalised imperfection magnitudes. By introducing this factor it seems that the GMNIA analysis and knowledge of the independency of residual stress levels on the yield stress can be brought together and give results showing consistency between numerical modelling and a simple modified...

  9. Production yields of 2-alkylcyclobutanones in irradiated foods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marchioni, E.; Ennahar, S. [Universite de Strasbourg, Illkirch (France). Faculte de Pharmacie. Lab. de Chimie Analytique et Sciences de l' Aliment], e-mail: marchion@unistra.fr, e-mail: ennahar@unistra.fr; Horvatovich, P. [University of Groningen (Netherlands). Dept. of Pharmacy. Analytical Biochemistry], e-mail: p.l.horvatovich@rug.nl; Ndiaye, B. [Centre Hospitalier National de Fann, Dakar (Senegal)], e-mail: ibamath@hotmail.com

    2009-07-01

    2-alkycyclobutanones are formed by irradiation exclusively, and are considered as unique radiolytic product (URP). Because of the URP character of the 2-alkycyclobutanones, these compounds are good marker of irradiation treatment. The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) developed an analytical method (EN 1785) for detection of 2-alkycyclobutanones having a detection limit of 0.2 pmol, limiting the application to foodstuffs treated for microbial disinfection (doses > 0.5 kGy), with fat content higher than 1.0 g %. The use of this EN 1785 and the supercritical extraction analytical methods allowed the determination of the production yields of 2-alkycyclobutanones in broad range of foodstuffs. The obtained production yields were between 0.20 and 12.21 nmol/mmol fatty acid/kGy), and showed strong dependency from he nature of the food matrix. The amount 2-alkycyclobutanones intake from irradiated foodstuffs by consumer calculated based on production yields determined in this work show, that the doses used in toxicological studies were much higher, than that are consumed by human through eating irradiated foods. (author)

  10. Production yields of 2-alkylcyclobutanones in irradiated foods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marchioni, E.; Ennahar, S.

    2009-01-01

    2-alkycyclobutanones are formed by irradiation exclusively, and are considered as unique radiolytic product (URP). Because of the URP character of the 2-alkycyclobutanones, these compounds are good marker of irradiation treatment. The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) developed an analytical method (EN 1785) for detection of 2-alkycyclobutanones having a detection limit of 0.2 pmol, limiting the application to foodstuffs treated for microbial disinfection (doses > 0.5 kGy), with fat content higher than 1.0 g %. The use of this EN 1785 and the supercritical extraction analytical methods allowed the determination of the production yields of 2-alkycyclobutanones in broad range of foodstuffs. The obtained production yields were between 0.20 and 12.21 nmol/mmol fatty acid/kGy), and showed strong dependency from he nature of the food matrix. The amount 2-alkycyclobutanones intake from irradiated foodstuffs by consumer calculated based on production yields determined in this work show, that the doses used in toxicological studies were much higher, than that are consumed by human through eating irradiated foods. (author)

  11. Recycling as a strategy against rare earth element criticality: a systemic evaluation of the potential yield of NdFeB magnet recycling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rademaker, Jelle H; Kleijn, René; Yang, Yongxiang

    2013-09-17

    End-of-life recycling is promoted by OECD countries as a promising strategy in the current global supply crisis surrounding rare earth elements (REEs) so that dependence on China, the dominant supplier, can be decreased. So far the feasibility and potential yield of REE recycling has not been systematically evaluated. This paper estimates the annual waste flows of neodymium and dysprosium from permanent magnets, the main deployment of these critical REEs, during the 2011-2030 period. The estimates focus on three key permanent magnet waste flows: wind turbines, hybrid and electric vehicles, and hard disk drives (HDDs) in personal computers (PCs). This is a good indication of the end-of-life recycling of neodymium and dysprosium maximum potential yield. Results show that for some time to come, waste flows from permanent magnets will remain small relative to the rapidly growing global REE demand. Policymakers therefore need to be aware that during the next decade recycling is unlikely to substantially contribute to global REE supply security. In the long term, waste flows will increase sharply and will meet a substantial part of the total demand for these metals. Future REE recycling efforts should, therefore, focus on the development of recycling technology and infrastructure.

  12. Yield-scaled global warming potential of two irrigation management systems in a highly productive rice system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvana Tarlera

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Water management impacts both methane (CH4 and nitrous oxide (N2O emissions from rice paddy fields. Although controlled irrigation is one of the most important tools for reducing CH4emission in rice production systems it can also increase N2O emissions and reduce crop yields. Over three years, CH4 and N2O emissions were measured in a rice field in Uruguay under two different irrigation management systems, using static closed chambers: conventional water management (continuous flooding after 30 days of emergence, CF30; and an alternative system (controlled deficit irrigation allowing for wetting and drying, AWDI. AWDI showed mean cumulative CH4 emission values of 98.4 kg CH4 ha−1, 55 % lower compared to CF30, while no differences in nitrous oxide emissions were observed between treatments ( p > 0.05. No yield differences between irrigation systems were observed in two of the rice seasons ( p > 0.05 while AWDI promoted yield reduction in one of the seasons ( p< 0.05. When rice yield and greenhouse gases (GHG emissions were considered together, the AWDI irrigation system allowed for lower yield-scaled total global warming potential (GWP. Higher irrigation water productivity was achieved under AWDI in two of the three rice seasons. These findings suggest that AWDI could be an option for reducing GHG emissions and increasing irrigation water productivity. However, AWDI may compromise grain yield in certain years, reflecting the importance of the need for fine tuning of this irrigation strategy and an assessment of the overall tradeoff between relationships in order to promote its adoption by farmers.

  13. The Effects of Drought Stress on Yield, Yield Components and Anti-oxidant of Two Garlic (Allium sativum L. Ecotypes with Different Planting Densities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    shiva akbari

    2016-07-01

    Drought stress decreased bulb yield and dry matter percentage significantly. Planting density had significant effects on bulb yield and the yield of planting density of 50 plants m-2 were significantly higher than two other densities. The interaction of drought stress and ecotype factors affected the dry matter percentage. Drought stress decreased fresh and dry weight, length of bulbs and the bulb diameter significantly. Drought stress decreased fresh and dry weight, diameter, length and number of cloves significantly as well. Drought stress is an important limiting factor at the initial phase of plant growth and establishment. It affects both elongation and expansion growth (Shao et al., 2008. Fresh and dry weight and length of cloves were significantly higher in Toroud ecotype. In contrast, the number of cloves in the bulb was significantly higher in Tabas. Studying the correlation coefficients showed that the bulb yield per unit area was significantly and positively correlated with diameter, weight and length of cloves and bulbs and also the dry matter percentage at P≤0.001. The maximum correlation belonged to yield at the unit area and weight of the bulb (r=0.72. In other words, any bulb-weight-increasing factor did have the highest effect on increasing the yield per unit area as well. Drought stress, increased leaf non-enzymatic anti-oxidant significantly. Anti-oxidants plays significant roles in ROS scavenging and influences cellular ROS balance. Activation of antioxidant system helps the plants to tolerate stress form induced damage. The effect of ecotype was significant on anti-oxidant content and the value were significantly higher in Toroud ecotype. Toroud ecotype showed resisting reactions against higher levels of drought stress by increasing the non-enzymatic anti-oxidant content and created tolerating mechanisms versus stress. Conclusion Drought stress reduced yield and yield parameters and increased non-enzymatic anti-oxidant content of garlic. The

  14. Higher Education Institutions: A Strategy towards Sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casarejos, Fabricio; Frota, Mauricio Nogueira; Gustavson, Laura Morten

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to guide higher education institutions (HEIs) in accomplishing sustainability goals while strengthening their associated systems and processes. Pursuing this goal, this study proposes a conceptual framework for modeling the HEI organizational environment; a set of strategic sustainability actions to drive…

  15. Deep tissue optical imaging of upconverting nanoparticles enabled by exploiting higher intrinsic quantum yield through use of millisecond single pulse excitation with high peak power

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Haichun; Xu, Can T.; Dumlupinar, Gökhan

    2013-01-01

    We have accomplished deep tissue optical imaging of upconverting nanoparticles at 800 nm, using millisecond single pulse excitation with high peak power. This is achieved by carefully choosing the pulse parameters, derived from time-resolved rate-equation analysis, which result in higher intrinsic...... quantum yield that is utilized by upconverting nanoparticles for generating this near infrared upconversion emission. The pulsed excitation approach thus promises previously unreachable imaging depths and shorter data acquisition times compared with continuous wave excitation, while simultaneously keeping...... therapy and remote activation of biomolecules in deep tissues....

  16. Integration of ARTP mutagenesis with biosensor-mediated high-throughput screening to improve L-serine yield in Corynebacterium glutamicum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xin; Zhang, Xiaomei; Xu, Guoqiang; Zhang, Xiaojuan; Shi, Jinsong; Xu, Zhenghong

    2018-05-03

    L-Serine is widely used in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetics industries. Although direct fermentative production of L-serine from sugar in Corynebacterium glutamicum has been achieved, the L-serine yield remains relatively low. In this study, atmospheric and room temperature plasma (ARTP) mutagenesis was used to improve the L-serine yield based on engineered C. glutamicum ΔSSAAI strain. Subsequently, we developed a novel high-throughput screening method using a biosensor constructed based on NCgl0581, a transcriptional factor specifically responsive to L-serine, so that L-serine concentration within single cell of C. glutamicum can be monitored via fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). Novel L-serine-producing mutants were isolated from a large library of mutagenized cells. The mutant strain A36-pDser was screened from 1.2 × 10 5 cells, and the magnesium ion concentration in the medium was optimized specifically for this mutant. C. glutamicum A36-pDser accumulated 34.78 g/L L-serine with a yield of 0.35 g/g sucrose, which were 35.9 and 66.7% higher than those of the parent C. glutamicum ΔSSAAI-pDser strain, respectively. The L-serine yield achieved in this mutant was the highest of all reported L-serine-producing strains of C. glutamicum. Moreover, the whole-genome sequencing identified 11 non-synonymous mutations of genes associated with metabolic and transport pathways, which might be responsible for the higher L-serine production and better cell growth in C. glutamicum A36-pDser. This study explored an effective mutagenesis strategy and reported a novel high-throughput screening method for the development of L-serine-producing strains.

  17. Smart households: Dispatch strategies and economic analysis of distributed energy storage for residential peak shaving

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng, Menglian; Meinrenken, Christoph J.; Lackner, Klaus S.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Cost-effectiveness of building-based storage for peak shaving has hitherto not been well understood. • Several existing storage technologies are shown to provide cost-effective peak shaving. • Setting grid demand targets rather than hard demand limits improves economics. • Accounting for seasonal demand variations in storage dispatch strategy improves economics further. • Total-energy-throughput approach is used to determine storage lifetimes. - Abstract: Meeting time-varying peak demand poses a key challenge to the U.S. electricity system. Building-based electricity storage – to enable demand response (DR) without curtailing actual appliance usage – offers potential benefits of lower electricity production cost, higher grid reliability, and more flexibility to integrate renewables. DR tariffs are currently available in the U.S. but building-based storage is still underutilized due to insufficiently understood cost-effectiveness and dispatch strategies. Whether DR schemes can yield a profit for building operators (i.e., reduction in electricity bill that exceeds levelized storage cost) and which particular storage technology yields the highest profit is yet to be answered. This study aims to evaluate the economics of providing peak shaving DR under a realistic tariff (Con Edison, New York), using a range of storage technologies (conventional and advanced batteries, flywheel, magnetic storage, pumped hydro, compressed air, and capacitors). An agent-based stochastic model is used to randomly generate appliance-level demand profiles for an average U.S. household. We first introduce a levelized storage cost model which is based on a total-energy-throughput lifetime. We then develop a storage dispatch strategy which optimizes the storage capacity and the demand limit on the grid. We find that (i) several storage technologies provide profitable DR; (ii) annual profit from such DR can range from 1% to 39% of the household’s non-DR electricity

  18. effect of deficit irrigation on growth and yield of okro

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    reduce the demand for irrigation water (Boland et al., 1993). Deficit irrigation is another way in which water use efficiency can be maximized for higher yields per unit of irrigation water. Stegman (1982) reported that the yield of maize, sprinkler irrigated to induce a 30 - 40 percent depletion of available water between.

  19. Fishing diseased abalone to promote yield and conservation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben-Horin, Tal; Lafferty, Kevin D.; Bidegain, Gorka; Lenihan, Hunter S.

    2016-01-01

    Past theoretical models suggest fishing disease-impacted stocks can reduce parasite transmission, but this is a good management strategy only when the exploitation required to reduce transmission does not overfish the stock. We applied this concept to a red abalone fishery so impacted by an infectious disease (withering syndrome) that stock densities plummeted and managers closed the fishery. In addition to the non-selective fishing strategy considered by past disease-fishing models, we modelled targeting (culling) infected individuals, which is plausible in red abalone because modern diagnostic tools can determine infection without harming landed abalone and the diagnostic cost is minor relative to the catch value. The non-selective abalone fishing required to eradicate parasites exceeded thresholds for abalone sustainability, but targeting infected abalone allowed the fishery to generate yield and reduce parasite prevalence while maintaining stock densities at or above the densities attainable if the population was closed to fishing. The effect was strong enough that stock and yield increased even when the catch was one-third uninfected abalone. These results could apply to other fisheries as the diagnostic costs decline relative to catch value.

  20. Fishing diseased abalone to promote yield and conservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ben-Horin, Tal; Lafferty, Kevin D; Bidegain, Gorka; Lenihan, Hunter S

    2016-03-05

    Past theoretical models suggest fishing disease-impacted stocks can reduce parasite transmission, but this is a good management strategy only when the exploitation required to reduce transmission does not overfish the stock. We applied this concept to a red abalone fishery so impacted by an infectious disease (withering syndrome) that stock densities plummeted and managers closed the fishery. In addition to the non-selective fishing strategy considered by past disease-fishing models, we modelled targeting (culling) infected individuals, which is plausible in red abalone because modern diagnostic tools can determine infection without harming landed abalone and the diagnostic cost is minor relative to the catch value. The non-selective abalone fishing required to eradicate parasites exceeded thresholds for abalone sustainability, but targeting infected abalone allowed the fishery to generate yield and reduce parasite prevalence while maintaining stock densities at or above the densities attainable if the population was closed to fishing. The effect was strong enough that stock and yield increased even when the catch was one-third uninfected abalone. These results could apply to other fisheries as the diagnostic costs decline relative to catch value. © 2016 The Author(s).

  1. Sequential and simultaneous strategies for biorefining of wheat straw using room temperature ionic liquids, xylanases and cellulases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Husson, Eric; Auxenfans, Thomas; Herbaut, Mickael; Baralle, Manon; Lambertyn, Virginie; Rakotoarivonina, Harivoni; Rémond, Caroline; Sarazin, Catherine

    2018-03-01

    Sequential and simultaneous strategies for fractioning wheat straw were developed in combining 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium acetate [C2mim][OAc], endo-xylanases from Thermobacillus xylanilyticus and commercial cellulases. After [C2mim][OAc]-pretreatment, hydrolysis catalyzed by endo-xylanases of wheat straw led to efficient xylose production with very competitive yield (97.6 ± 1.3%). Subsequent enzymatic saccharification allowed achieving a total degradation of cellulosic fraction (>99%). These high performances revealed an interesting complementarity of [C2mim][OAc]- and xylanase-pretreatments for increasing enzymatic digestibility of cellulosic fraction in agreement with the structural and morphological changes of wheat straw induced by each of these pretreatment steps. In addition a higher tolerance of endo-xylanases from T. xylaniliticus to [C2mim][AcO] until 30% v/v than cellulases from T. reesei was observed. Based on this property, a simultaneous strategy combining [C2mim][OAc]- and endo-xylanases as pretreatment in a one-batch produced xylose with similar yield than those obtained by the sequential strategy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Weed Diversity Affects Soybean and Maize Yield in a Long Term Experiment in Michigan, USA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrero, Rosana; Lima, Mauricio; Davis, Adam S; Gonzalez-Andujar, Jose L

    2017-01-01

    Managing production environments in ways that promote weed community diversity may enhance both crop production and the development of a more sustainable agriculture. This study analyzed data of productivity of maize (corn) and soybean in plots in the Main Cropping System Experiment (MCSE) at the W. K. Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research (KBS-LTER) in Michigan, USA, from 1996 to 2011. We used models derived from population ecology to explore how weed diversity, temperature, and precipitation interact with crop yields. Using three types of models that considered internal and external (climate and weeds) factors, with additive or non-linear variants, we found that changes in weed diversity were associated with changes in rates of crop yield increase over time for both maize and soybeans. The intrinsic capacity for soybean yield increase in response to the environment was greater under more diverse weed communities. Soybean production risks were greatest in the least weed diverse systems, in which each weed species lost was associated with progressively greater crop yield losses. Managing for weed community diversity, while suppressing dominant, highly competitive weeds, may be a helpful strategy for supporting long term increases in soybean productivity. In maize, there was a negative and non-additive response of yields to the interaction between weed diversity and minimum air temperatures. When cold temperatures constrained potential maize productivity through limited resources, negative interactions with weed diversity became more pronounced. We suggest that: (1) maize was less competitive in cold years allowing higher weed diversity and the dominance of some weed species; or (2) that cold years resulted in increased weed richness and prevalence of competitive weeds, thus reducing crop yields. Therefore, we propose to control dominant weed species especially in the years of low yield and extreme minimum temperatures to improve maize yields

  3. A comparison of individual cow versus group concentrate allocation strategies on dry matter intake, milk production, tissue changes, and fertility of Holstein-Friesian cows offered a grass silage diet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Little, M W; O'Connell, N E; Ferris, C P

    2016-06-01

    A diverse range of concentrate allocation strategies are adopted on dairy farms. The objectives of this study were to examine the effects on cow performance [dry matter (DM) intake (DMI), milk yield and composition, body tissue changes, and fertility] of adopting 2 contrasting concentrate allocation strategies over the first 140 d of lactation. Seventy-seven Holstein-Friesian dairy cows were allocated to 1 of 2 concentrate allocation strategies at calving, namely group or individual cow. Cows on the group strategy were offered a mixed ration comprising grass silage and concentrates in a 50:50 ratio on a DM basis. Cows on the individual cow strategy were offered a basal mixed ration comprising grass silage and concentrates (the latter included in the mix to achieve a mean intake of 6kg/cow per day), which was formulated to meet the cow's energy requirements for maintenance plus 24kg of milk/cow per day. Additional concentrates were offered via an out-of-parlor feeding system, with the amount offered adjusted weekly based on each individual cow's milk yield during the previous week. In addition, all cows received a small quantity of straw in the mixed ration part of the diet (approximately 0.3kg/cow per day), plus 0.5kg of concentrate twice daily in the milking parlor. Mean concentrate intakes over the study period were similar with each of the 2 allocation strategies (11.5 and 11.7kg of DM/cow per day for group and individual cow, respectively), although the pattern of intake with each treatment differed over time. Concentrate allocation strategy had no effect on either milk yield (39.3 and 38.0kg/d for group and individual cow, respectively), milk composition, or milk constituent yield. The milk yield response curves with each treatment were largely aligned with the concentrate DMI curves. Cows on the individual cow treatment had a greater range of concentrate DMI and milk yields than those on the group treatment. With the exception of a tendency for cows on the

  4. Forage yield and quality response of annual ryegrass ( Lolium ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The dry matter (DM) content, in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD), crude protein (CP) and metabolisable energy (ME) were higher in the treatments being irrigated once every two weeks. These results conclude that higher irrigation coupled with high N application significantly improved the dry matter yield, while water ...

  5. Strategies for Constraining the Atmospheres of Temperate Terrestrial Planets with JWST

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batalha, Natasha E.; Lewis, Nikole K.; Line, Michael R.; Valenti, Jeff; Stevenson, Kevin

    2018-04-01

    The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is expected to discover dozens of temperate terrestrial planets orbiting M-dwarfs with atmospheres that could be followed up with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Currently, the TRAPPIST-1 system serves as a benchmark for determining the feasibility and resources required to yield atmospheric constraints. We assess these questions and leverage an information content analysis to determine observing strategies for yielding high-precision spectroscopy in transmission and emission. Our goal is to guide observing strategies of temperate terrestrial planets in preparation for the early JWST cycles. First, we explore JWST’s current capabilities and expected spectral precision for targets near the saturation limits of specific modes. In doing so, we highlight the enhanced capabilities of high-efficiency readout patterns that are being considered for implementation in Cycle 2. We propose a partial saturation strategy to increase the achievable precision of JWST's NIRSpec Prism. We show that JWST has the potential to detect the dominant absorbing gas in the atmospheres of temperate terrestrial planets by the 10th transit using transmission spectroscopy techniques in the near-infrared (NIR). We also show that stacking ⪆10 transmission spectroscopy observations is unlikely to yield significant improvements in determining atmospheric composition. For emission spectroscopy, we show that the MIRI Low Resolution Spectroscopy (LRS) is unlikely to provide robust constraints on the atmospheric composition of temperate terrestrial planets. Higher-precision emission spectroscopy at wavelengths longward of those accessible to MIRI LRS, as proposed in the Origins Space Telescope concept, could help improve the constraints on molecular abundances of temperate terrestrial planets orbiting M-dwarfs.

  6. The Barrier and Strategy of Higher Education in Developing Human Resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Zakiy

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to find out the characteristics of human resources, the barriers and strategies of college in developing human resource. This is a library research. The results of this study are a. Characteristics of human resources are: (1 kafa’ah, (2 himmatul-’amal, (3 amanah; b. The obstacles faced by college, both Islamic and public universities as producers of sharia-based human resources are the limitations of Islamic finance economists who comprehensively master financial economics and sharia sciences, the limitations of sharia based teaching curriculum, the lack of textbooks on sharia economics, no linkage with sharia financial institutions and limited funds so research on sharia economy is still very limited; (c. The strategies that can be done by universities are: looking for qualified human resources, having good intangible asset and quality system and organizational support. From these strategies, it is expected that college can contribute by providing qualified practitioners and academicians of sharia economic. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui karakteristik Sumber Daya Insani (SDI, Hambatan perguruan tinggi dalam mengembangkan SDI, dan strategi perguruan tinggi dalam mengembangkan SDI. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan library research. Hasil penelitian ini adalah a. Karakteristik dari SDI adalah Sumber Daya Manusia (SDM yang bercirikan tiga hal, yaitu: (1 kafa’ah, (2 himmatul-‘amal, (3 amanah; b. Hambatan yang dihadapi perguruan tinggi baik PTAI (perguruan Tinggi Agama Islam maupun umum sebagai penyedia SDI berbasis ekonomi syariah adalah keterbatasan ahli ekonomi keuangan Islam yang menguasai secara komprehensif ekonomi keuangan dan ilmu syariah, keterbatasan segi kurikulum pengajaran yang berbasis syariah, kurangnya buku teks tentang ekonomi syariah, belum adanya linkage dengan lembaga keuangan syariah dan keterbatasan dana sehingga riset tentang ekonomi syariah masih sangat terbatas

  7. Global climate change increases risk of crop yield losses and food insecurity in the tropical Andes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tito, Richard; Vasconcelos, Heraldo L; Feeley, Kenneth J

    2018-02-01

    One of the greatest current challenges to human society is ensuring adequate food production and security for a rapidly growing population under changing climatic conditions. Climate change, and specifically rising temperatures, will alter the suitability of areas for specific crops and cultivation systems. In order to maintain yields, farmers may be forced to change cultivation practices, the timing of cultivation, or even the type of crops grown. Alternatively, farmers can change the location where crops are cultivated (e.g., to higher elevations) to track suitable climates (in which case the plants will have to grow in different soils), as cultivated plants will otherwise have to tolerate warmer temperatures and possibly face novel enemies. We simulated these two last possible scenarios (for temperature increases of 1.3°C and 2.6°C) in the Peruvian Andes through a field experiment in which several traditionally grown varieties of potato and maize were planted at different elevations (and thus temperatures) using either the local soil or soil translocated from higher elevations. Maize production declined by 21%-29% in response to new soil conditions. The production of maize and potatoes declined by >87% when plants were grown under warmer temperatures, mainly as a result of the greater incidence of novel pests. Crop quality and value also declined under simulated migration and warming scenarios. We estimated that local farmers may experience severe economic losses of up to 2,300 US$ ha -1  yr -1 . These findings reveal that climate change is a real and imminent threat to agriculture and that there is a pressing need to develop effective management strategies to reduce yield losses and prevent food insecurity. Importantly, such strategies should take into account the influences of non-climatic and/or biotic factors (e.g., novel pests) on plant development. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. Responses of Seed Yield, Yield Components and Some Morpho-physiological Traits of Wheat Cultivars (Triticum aestivum to the Application Methods of Fulzyme Biofertilizer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Eslami

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available To study the effect of application methods of Fulzym biofertilizer (containing Bacillus subtilis on yield, yield components and some morpho-physiological characteristics of four cultivars wheat, an experiment was conducted in field of Astan Quds Razavi in 2010- 2011. The experiment performed was in split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications. Four wheat cultivars (Falat, Pishtaz, Bahar and Toos were assigned to main plots and four biofertilizer application methods (as seed inoculation, using in irrigation water, seed inoculation and irrigation and control to sub plots. Results indicated that Falat had the lowest plant height (61.5 cm than other varieties. Plant height of Toos and Pishtaz were about 14.5 percent higher than Falat. Application methods of Fulzym increased chlorophyll content and plant height. Highest chlorophyll contents were obtained when seeds inoculated by Fulzyme and used through irrigation. At the end of growing season, it was found that chlorophyll content of Falat and Toos flag leaves were higher than Pishtaz and Bahar. It was also revealed that Bahar when Fulzyme was used showed a better response to treatments than other varieties as for as biological and seed yields were concerned. Highest seed yield produced by irrigation and combination of seed inoculation and irrigation (9063 and 8609 kg.ha-1 and lowest seed yield (5858 kg.ha-1 to Falat in the control treatment.

  9. Understanding the weather signal in national crop-yield variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frieler, Katja; Schauberger, Bernhard; Arneth, Almut; Balkovič, Juraj; Chryssanthacopoulos, James; Deryng, Delphine; Elliott, Joshua; Folberth, Christian; Khabarov, Nikolay; Müller, Christoph; Olin, Stefan; Pugh, Thomas A. M.; Schaphoff, Sibyll; Schewe, Jacob; Schmid, Erwin; Warszawski, Lila; Levermann, Anders

    2017-06-01

    Year-to-year variations in crop yields can have major impacts on the livelihoods of subsistence farmers and may trigger significant global price fluctuations, with severe consequences for people in developing countries. Fluctuations can be induced by weather conditions, management decisions, weeds, diseases, and pests. Although an explicit quantification and deeper understanding of weather-induced crop-yield variability is essential for adaptation strategies, so far it has only been addressed by empirical models. Here, we provide conservative estimates of the fraction of reported national yield variabilities that can be attributed to weather by state-of-the-art, process-based crop model simulations. We find that observed weather variations can explain more than 50% of the variability in wheat yields in Australia, Canada, Spain, Hungary, and Romania. For maize, weather sensitivities exceed 50% in seven countries, including the United States. The explained variance exceeds 50% for rice in Japan and South Korea and for soy in Argentina. Avoiding water stress by simulating yields assuming full irrigation shows that water limitation is a major driver of the observed variations in most of these countries. Identifying the mechanisms leading to crop-yield fluctuations is not only fundamental for dampening fluctuations, but is also important in the context of the debate on the attribution of loss and damage to climate change. Since process-based crop models not only account for weather influences on crop yields, but also provide options to represent human-management measures, they could become essential tools for differentiating these drivers, and for exploring options to reduce future yield fluctuations.

  10. Impact of environmental conditions on biomass yield, quality, and bio-mitigation capacity of Saccharina latissima

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bruhn, Annette; Tørring, Ditte Bruunshøj; Thomsen, Marianne

    2016-01-01

    of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Environmental factors determine the yield and quality of the cultivated seaweed biomass and, in return, the seaweed aquaculture affects the marine environment by nutrient assimilation. Consequently, site selection is critical for obtaining optimal biomass yield...... environmental conditions and cultivation success. The biomass yields fluctuated 10-fold between sites due to local variations in light and nutrient availability.Yields were generally low, i.e. up to 510 g fresh weight (FW) per meter seeded line; however, the dry matter contents of protein and high...

  11. Photon up-conversion increases biomass yield in Chlorella vulgaris.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menon, Kavya R; Jose, Steffi; Suraishkumar, Gadi K

    2014-12-01

    Photon up-conversion, a process whereby lower energy radiations are converted to higher energy levels via the use of appropriate phosphor systems, was employed as a novel strategy for improving microalgal growth and lipid productivity. Photon up-conversion enables the utilization of regions of the solar spectrum, beyond the typical photosynthetically active radiation, that are usually wasted or are damaging to the algae. The effects of up-conversion of red light by two distinct sets of up-conversion phosphors were studied in the model microalgae Chlorella vulgaris. Up-conversion by set 1 phosphors led to a 2.85 fold increase in biomass concentration and a 3.2 fold increase in specific growth rate of the microalgae. While up-conversion by set 2 phosphors resulted in a 30% increase in biomass and 12% increase in specific intracellular neutral lipid, while the specific growth rates were comparable to that of the control. Furthermore, up-conversion resulted in higher levels of specific intracellular reactive oxygen species in C. vulgaris. Up-conversion of red light (654 nm) was shown to improve biomass yields in C. vulgaris. In principle, up-conversion can be used to increase the utilization range of the electromagnetic spectrum for improved cultivation of photosynthetic systems such as plants, algae, and microalgae. Copyright © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  12. The effect of melliferous bee (Apis mellifera carnica poll and mechanical means on seed yield, yield components and quality of alfalfa seed (Medicago sativa L

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jevtić Goran

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Number of alfalfa pollinators in free pollination was investigated as well as effect of measures that promote pollination alfalfa (using sugar syrup and mechanical means. In first year of investigations, with higher precipitation, higher number of others pollinators (80,8 then honeybees (45,6 on alfalfa field was determined. In second year, there were much more honeybees (139,5 then all others alfalfa pollinators (12,37. Pollination improvement with sugar syrup had positive effect on seed yield and seed yield components since by this way more seeds were obtained compare to free pollination and by using mechanical means. Highest seed yield was obtained with sugar syrup (44,90 gm-2, with mechanical improvement of pollination 40,74 gm-2 and in free pollination 30,41 gm-2. As for yield components pollination improvement gave better results compare to free pollination. Pod setting and number of seeds per pod were especially significant compare to control. There were no statistically significant differences between free pollination and improved pollination for seed quality components (mass of 1000 seeds, energy of germination and germination ability.

  13. Effect of planting date on yield of wheat genotypes in Sindh

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khokhar, Z.; Hussain, I.

    2010-01-01

    Due to reduction in tillering period and increased risk of hot weather during grain filling, late planting results in linear reduction in wheat grain yield. A study was undertaken to determine the effects of planting dates on growth and yield of different wheat genotypes in Sindh. The trial was laid out in RCBD with split plot arrangement having four replications during 2000-01 and 2001-02 at Sakrand, Sindh. Four sowing dates i.e. November 1 and 15, December 1 and 15 were in main plots, whereas six wheat genotypes (V-7001, V-7002, V-7004, MPT-6, Abadgar-93, and Anmol-91) were in sub plots. Because of better tillering, plant growth, growth period, number of grain per unit area and grain weight, November 15 planted wheat had maximum grain yield of 5904 kg ha/sup -1/, followed by November 1 and December 1 which gave 5302 and 4948 kg ha/sup -1 /respectively. Wheat planted on December 15 resulted in minimum grain yield of 4756 kg ha/sup -1/. Wheat genotype, V-7002 had significantly (P<0.05) higher grain yield of 5578 kg ha/sup -1/ in comparison with other genotypes. Whereas genotype MPT-6 had grain yield of 5366 kg ha-1 that was also significantly higher than other genotypes. However, V-7004 had minimum grain yield of 4716 kg ha/sup -1/ in comparison with other genotypes. While evaluating performance of different genotypes on different sowing dates, V-7002 resulted in maximum yield on November 15 and late planting. On the other hand, V-7004 had lower yield on all planting dates. Results from the study revealed that maximum grain yield could be achieved with wheat planted in first fortnight of November and any delay in wheat planting might reduce wheat yield. (author)

  14. Deficit irrigation and fertilization strategies to improve soil quality and alfalfa yield in arid and semi-arid areas of northern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Qianmin; Kamran, Muhammad; Ali, Shahzad; Sun, Lefeng; Zhang, Peng; Ren, Xiaolong; Jia, Zhikuan

    2018-01-01

    In the arid and semi-arid areas of northern China, overexploitation of fertilizers and extensive irrigation with brackish groundwater have led to soil degradation and large areas of farmland have been abandoned. In order to improve the soil quality of abandoned farmland and make reasonable use of brackish groundwater, we conducted field trials in 2013 and 2014. In our study, we used three fertilization modes (CF, chemical fertilizer; OM, organic manure and chemical fertilizer; NF, no fertilizer) and three deficit irrigation levels (I 0 : 0 mm; I 75 : 75 mm; I 150 : 150 mm). The results showed that the activities of soil urease, alkaline phosphatase, invertase, catalase, and dehydrogenase in the OM treatment were significantly improved compared with those in the CF and NF treatments under the three deficit irrigation levels. Compared with NF, the OM treatment significantly increased soil organic carbon (SOC), water-soluble carbon (WSC), total nitrogen, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen (MBC and MBN), and soil respiration rate, and significantly decreased soil C:N and MBC:MBN ratios and the metabolic quotient, thus improving the soil quality of abandoned farmland. Furthermore, the OM treatment increased alfalfa plant height, leaf area index, leaf chlorophyll content, and biomass yield. Under the CF and OM fertilization modes, the activities of urease and catalase in I 150 were significantly higher than those in I 0 , whereas irrigating without fertilizer did not significantly increase the activity of these two enzymes. Regardless of fertilization, alkaline phosphatase activity increased with an increase in irrigation amount, whereas invertase activity decreased. The results showed that deficit irrigation with brackish groundwater under the OM treatment can improve soil quality. Over the two years of the study, maximum SOC, total nitrogen, WSC, MBC, and MBN were observed under the OM-I 150 treatment, and the alfalfa biomass yield of this treatment was also

  15. Deficit irrigation and fertilization strategies to improve soil quality and alfalfa yield in arid and semi-arid areas of northern China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qianmin Jia

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Background In the arid and semi-arid areas of northern China, overexploitation of fertilizers and extensive irrigation with brackish groundwater have led to soil degradation and large areas of farmland have been abandoned. In order to improve the soil quality of abandoned farmland and make reasonable use of brackish groundwater, we conducted field trials in 2013 and 2014. Methods In our study, we used three fertilization modes (CF, chemical fertilizer; OM, organic manure and chemical fertilizer; NF, no fertilizer and three deficit irrigation levels (I0: 0 mm; I75: 75 mm; I150: 150 mm. Results The results showed that the activities of soil urease, alkaline phosphatase, invertase, catalase, and dehydrogenase in the OM treatment were significantly improved compared with those in the CF and NF treatments under the three deficit irrigation levels. Compared with NF, the OM treatment significantly increased soil organic carbon (SOC, water-soluble carbon (WSC, total nitrogen, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen (MBC and MBN, and soil respiration rate, and significantly decreased soil C:N and MBC:MBN ratios and the metabolic quotient, thus improving the soil quality of abandoned farmland. Furthermore, the OM treatment increased alfalfa plant height, leaf area index, leaf chlorophyll content, and biomass yield. Under the CF and OM fertilization modes, the activities of urease and catalase in I150 were significantly higher than those in I0, whereas irrigating without fertilizer did not significantly increase the activity of these two enzymes. Regardless of fertilization, alkaline phosphatase activity increased with an increase in irrigation amount, whereas invertase activity decreased. Discussion The results showed that deficit irrigation with brackish groundwater under the OM treatment can improve soil quality. Over the two years of the study, maximum SOC, total nitrogen, WSC, MBC, and MBN were observed under the OM-I150 treatment, and the alfalfa

  16. Satellite-based assessment of grassland yields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, K.; Siegmund, R.; Wagner, M.; Hartmann, S.

    2015-04-01

    Cutting date and frequency are important parameters determining grassland yields in addition to the effects of weather, soil conditions, plant composition and fertilisation. Because accurate and area-wide data of grassland yields are currently not available, cutting frequency can be used to estimate yields. In this project, a method to detect cutting dates via surface changes in radar images is developed. The combination of this method with a grassland yield model will result in more reliable and regional-wide numbers of grassland yields. For the test-phase of the monitoring project, a study area situated southeast of Munich, Germany, was chosen due to its high density of managed grassland. For determining grassland cutting robust amplitude change detection techniques are used evaluating radar amplitude or backscatter statistics before and after the cutting event. CosmoSkyMed and Sentinel-1A data were analysed. All detected cuts were verified according to in-situ measurements recorded in a GIS database. Although the SAR systems had various acquisition geometries, the amount of detected grassland cut was quite similar. Of 154 tested grassland plots, covering in total 436 ha, 116 and 111 cuts were detected using CosmoSkyMed and Sentinel-1A radar data, respectively. Further improvement of radar data processes as well as additional analyses with higher sample number and wider land surface coverage will follow for optimisation of the method and for validation and generalisation of the results of this feasibility study. The automation of this method will than allow for an area-wide and cost efficient cutting date detection service improving grassland yield models.

  17. Predicted Exoplanet Yields for the HabEx Mission Concept

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stark, Christopher; Mennesson, Bertrand; HabEx STDT

    2018-01-01

    The Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) is a concept for a flagship mission to directly image and characterize extrasolar planets around nearby stars and to enable a broad range of general astrophysics. The HabEx Science and Technology Definition Team (STDT) is currently studying two architectures for HabEx. Here we summarize the exoplanet science yield of Architecture A, a 4 m monolithic off-axis telescope that uses a vortex coronagraph and a 72m external starshade occulter. We summarize the instruments' capabilities, present science goals and observation strategies, and discuss astrophysical assumptions. Using a yield optimization code, we predict the yield of potentially Earth-like extrasolar planets that could be detected, characterized, and searched for signs of habitability and/or life by HabEx. We demonstrate that HabEx could also detect and characterize a wide variety of exoplanets while searching for potentially Earth-like planets.

  18. Flipped-Class Pedagogy Enhances Student Metacognition and Collaborative-Learning Strategies in Higher Education But Effect Does Not Persist.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Vliet, E A; Winnips, J C; Brouwer, N

    2015-01-01

    In flipped-class pedagogy, students prepare themselves at home before lectures, often by watching short video clips of the course contents. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of flipped classes on motivation and learning strategies in higher education using a controlled, pre- and posttest approach. The same students were followed in a traditional course and in a course in which flipped classes were substituted for part of the traditional lectures. On the basis of the validated Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), we found that flipped-class pedagogy enhanced the MSLQ components critical thinking, task value, and peer learning. However, the effects of flipped classes were not long-lasting. We therefore propose repeated use of flipped classes in a curriculum to make effects on metacognition and collaborative-learning strategies sustainable. © 2015 E. A. van Vliet et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2015 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

  19. Effect of genotype and applied management on alfalfa yield and quality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milić Dragan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available It is essential to apply advanced management for successful production of alfalfa hay with premium quality (high content of protein and minerals. The maximum yield and the best quality of alfalfa in Serbia can be obtained by cutting four or five times per year. In alfalfa stands, use of cutting system with three cuts per year is inefficient and does not allow full exploitation of cultivar genetic potential and environmental conditions. It is possible, and economically beneficial to grow alfalfa on pseudoglay soils after application of lime and organic manure, with recommended rates 2.5 t ha-1 lime and 30 t ha-1 manure. Cutting alfalfa at the beginning of flowering stage (5 cuts per year provides hay with better quality - higher content of crude protein and lower portion of fibre fractions (neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre, acid detergent lignin, and there is no reduction in dry matter yield. There is no differences in alfalfa quality after application of lower (2.5 t ha-1 and higher dose (5.0 t ha-1 of lime + 30 t ha-1 of organic manure, but there is significant increase of dry matter yield and protein yield per hectare followed by higher level of metabolic energy per unit area. Upon the results of this study, base of successful alfalfa production would be to develop management system and cultivars for different environments that would maximize hay yields without significant loses of quality.

  20. Are strategies in physics discrete? A remote controlled investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heck, Robert; Sherson, Jacob F.; www. scienceathome. org Team; players Team

    2017-04-01

    In science, strategies are formulated based on observations, calculations, or physical insight. For any given physical process, often several distinct strategies are identified. Are these truly distinct or simply low dimensional representations of a high dimensional continuum of solutions? Our online citizen science platform www.scienceathome.org used by more than 150,000 people recently enabled finding solutions to fast, 1D single atom transport [Nature2016]. Surprisingly, player trajectories bunched into discrete solution strategies (clans) yielding clear, distinct physical insight. Introducing the multi-dimensional vector in the direction of other local maxima we locate narrow, high-yield ``bridges'' connecting the clans. This demonstrates for this problem that a continuum of solutions with no clear physical interpretation does in fact exist. Next, four distinct strategies for creating Bose-Einstein condensates were investigated experimentally: hybrid and crossed dipole trap configurations in combination with either large volume or dimple loading from a magnetic trap. We find that although each conventional strategy appears locally optimal, ``bridges'' can be identified. In a novel approach, the problem was gamified allowing 750 citizen scientists to contribute to the experimental optimization yielding nearly a factor two improvement in atom number.

  1. The impact of an international online accreditation system on pedagogical models and strategies in higher education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garista Patrizia

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Health promotion practice is characterised by a diverse workforce drawn from a broad range of disciplines, bringing together an extensive breadth of knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes and values stemming from biomedical and social science frameworks. One of the goals of the CompHP Project was to ensure that higher education training would not only reach competency-based standards necessary for best practice, but also facilitate mobility within the EU and beyond through the accreditation of professional practitioners and educational courses. As a result, higher education institutions in Italy and elsewhere are requested to shift the focus from the definition of learning objectives to the identification of teaching strategies and assessment measures to guarantee that students have acquired the competencies identified. This requires reflection on the pedagogical models underpinning course curricula and teaching–learning approaches in higher education, not only to meet the competency-based standards but also to incorporate overarching transversal competencies inherent to the profession and, more specifically, to the online accreditation procedure. Professionals applying for registration require competence in foreign languages, metacognition and be digitally literate. The article provides a brief overview of the development and structure of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education online accreditation system and proposes a pedagogical reflection on course curricula.

  2. Effects of sowing dates and different fertilizers on yield, yield components, and oil percentage of castor bean (Ricinus communis L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    parviz rezvani moghadam

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available In order to study the effects of sowing dates and different fertilizers on yield, yield components, and oil percentage of castor bean, an experiment was conducted at Experimental station, College of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran in years 2004-2005. The experimental treatments comprised all combinations of four sowing dates (11 April, 25 April, 8 May and 22 May and three different fertilizers (cow manure (30 tons/ha, compost (30 tons/ha, chemical fertilizers (100 kg/ha N and 250 kg/ha of super phosphate and no fertilizer as control. Different characteristics such as plant height, main inflorescence height, number of inflorescence per plant, number of secondary stems per plant, number of capsules per plant, number of grain per plant, grain weight per plant, 100 seed weight, grain yield, oil percentage and oil yield were recorded. A factorial arrangement based on a randomized complete block design with three replications was used. The results showed by delaying sowing date grain yield, seed oil percentage and oil yield were decreased, but there was no significant differences between 25 April, 8 May and 22 May sowing dates. Harvest index and 100 seed weight did not affect by neither sowing dates nor fertilizer treatments. The highest number of branches per plant, number of fertile inflorescences per plant, number of fertile capsules per plant, number of grain per plant, grain weight per plant and biological yield were obtained at 8 May sowing date on chemical fertilizer. Percentage of seed oil, grain yield and oil yield was higher at the first sowing date (11 April in compost and chemical fertilizer treatments. Keywords: Castor bean, sowing date, fertilizer, grain yield, oil percentage.

  3. Higher Education Language Policy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauridsen, Karen M.

    2013-01-01

    Summary of recommendations HEIs are encouraged, within the framework of their own societal context, mission, vision and strategies, to develop the aims and objectives of a Higher Education Language Policy (HELP) that allows them to implement these strategies. In this process, they may want......: As the first step in a Higher Education Language Policy, HEIs should determine the relative status and use of the languages employed in the institution, taking into consideration the answers to the following questions:  What is/are the official language(s) of the HEI?  What is/are the language...... and the level of internationalisation the HEI has or wants to have, and as a direct implication of that, what are the language proficiency levels expected from the graduates of these programme?  Given the profile of the HEI and its educational strategies, which language components are to be offered within...

  4. Yield Gap, Indigenous Nutrient Supply and Nutrient Use Efficiency for Maize in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Xinpeng; Liu, Xiaoyan; He, Ping; Johnston, Adrian M.; Zhao, Shicheng; Qiu, Shaojun; Zhou, Wei

    2015-01-01

    Great achievements have been attained in agricultural production of China, while there are still many difficulties and challenges ahead that call for put more efforts to overcome to guarantee food security and protect environment simultaneously. Analyzing yield gap and nutrient use efficiency will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies to increase grain yield. On-farm datasets from 2001 to 2012 with 1,971 field experiments for maize (Zea mays L.) were collected in four maize agro-ecological regions of China, and the optimal management (OPT), farmers’ practice (FP), a series of nutrient omission treatments were used to analyze yield gap, nutrient use efficiency and indigenous nutrient supply by adopting meta-analysis and ANOVA analysis. Across all sites, the average yield gap between OPT and FP was 0.7 t ha-1, the yield response to nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) were 1.8, 1.0, and 1.2 t ha-1, respectively. The soil indigenous nutrient supply of N, P, and K averaged 139.9, 33.7, and 127.5 kg ha-1, respectively. As compared to FP, the average recovery efficiency (RE) of N, P, and K with OPT increased by percentage point of 12.2, 5.5, and 6.5, respectively. This study indicated that there would be considerable potential to further improve yield and nutrient use efficiency in China, and will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies, while some management measures such as soil, plant and nutrient are necessary and integrate with advanced knowledge and technologies. PMID:26484543

  5. Yield Gap, Indigenous Nutrient Supply and Nutrient Use Efficiency for Maize in China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinpeng Xu

    Full Text Available Great achievements have been attained in agricultural production of China, while there are still many difficulties and challenges ahead that call for put more efforts to overcome to guarantee food security and protect environment simultaneously. Analyzing yield gap and nutrient use efficiency will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies to increase grain yield. On-farm datasets from 2001 to 2012 with 1,971 field experiments for maize (Zea mays L. were collected in four maize agro-ecological regions of China, and the optimal management (OPT, farmers' practice (FP, a series of nutrient omission treatments were used to analyze yield gap, nutrient use efficiency and indigenous nutrient supply by adopting meta-analysis and ANOVA analysis. Across all sites, the average yield gap between OPT and FP was 0.7 t ha-1, the yield response to nitrogen (N, phosphorus (P, and potassium (K were 1.8, 1.0, and 1.2 t ha-1, respectively. The soil indigenous nutrient supply of N, P, and K averaged 139.9, 33.7, and 127.5 kg ha-1, respectively. As compared to FP, the average recovery efficiency (RE of N, P, and K with OPT increased by percentage point of 12.2, 5.5, and 6.5, respectively. This study indicated that there would be considerable potential to further improve yield and nutrient use efficiency in China, and will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies, while some management measures such as soil, plant and nutrient are necessary and integrate with advanced knowledge and technologies.

  6. Yield Gap, Indigenous Nutrient Supply and Nutrient Use Efficiency for Maize in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Xinpeng; Liu, Xiaoyan; He, Ping; Johnston, Adrian M; Zhao, Shicheng; Qiu, Shaojun; Zhou, Wei

    2015-01-01

    Great achievements have been attained in agricultural production of China, while there are still many difficulties and challenges ahead that call for put more efforts to overcome to guarantee food security and protect environment simultaneously. Analyzing yield gap and nutrient use efficiency will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies to increase grain yield. On-farm datasets from 2001 to 2012 with 1,971 field experiments for maize (Zea mays L.) were collected in four maize agro-ecological regions of China, and the optimal management (OPT), farmers' practice (FP), a series of nutrient omission treatments were used to analyze yield gap, nutrient use efficiency and indigenous nutrient supply by adopting meta-analysis and ANOVA analysis. Across all sites, the average yield gap between OPT and FP was 0.7 t ha-1, the yield response to nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) were 1.8, 1.0, and 1.2 t ha-1, respectively. The soil indigenous nutrient supply of N, P, and K averaged 139.9, 33.7, and 127.5 kg ha-1, respectively. As compared to FP, the average recovery efficiency (RE) of N, P, and K with OPT increased by percentage point of 12.2, 5.5, and 6.5, respectively. This study indicated that there would be considerable potential to further improve yield and nutrient use efficiency in China, and will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies, while some management measures such as soil, plant and nutrient are necessary and integrate with advanced knowledge and technologies.

  7. Accuracy of genomic selection for alfalfa biomass yield in different reference populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Annicchiarico, Paolo; Nazzicari, Nelson; Li, Xuehui; Wei, Yanling; Pecetti, Luciano; Brummer, E Charles

    2015-12-01

    Genomic selection based on genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) data could accelerate alfalfa yield gains, if it displayed moderate ability to predict parent breeding values. Its interest would be enhanced by predicting ability also for germplasm/reference populations other than those for which it was defined. Predicting accuracy may be influenced by statistical models, SNP calling procedures and missing data imputation strategies. Landrace and variety material from two genetically-contrasting reference populations, i.e., 124 elite genotypes adapted to the Po Valley (sub-continental climate; PV population) and 154 genotypes adapted to Mediterranean-climate environments (Me population), were genotyped by GBS and phenotyped in separate environments for dry matter yield of their dense-planted half-sib progenies. Both populations showed no sub-population genetic structure. Predictive accuracy was higher by joint rather than separate SNP calling for the two data sets, and using random forest imputation of missing data. Highest accuracy was obtained using Support Vector Regression (SVR) for PV, and Ridge Regression BLUP and SVR for Me germplasm. Bayesian methods (Bayes A, Bayes B and Bayesian Lasso) tended to be less accurate. Random Forest Regression was the least accurate model. Accuracy attained about 0.35 for Me in the range of 0.30-0.50 missing data, and 0.32 for PV at 0.50 missing data, using at least 10,000 SNP markers. Cross-population predictions based on a smaller subset of common SNPs implied a relative loss of accuracy of about 25% for Me and 30% for PV. Genome-wide association analyses based on large subsets of M. truncatula-aligned markers revealed many SNPs with modest association with yield, and some genome areas hosting putative QTLs. A comparison of genomic vs. conventional selection for parent breeding value assuming 1-year vs. 5-year selection cycles, respectively, indicated over three-fold greater predicted yield gain per unit time for genomic selection

  8. Hot-boning enhances cook yield of boneless skinless chicken thighs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhuang, H; Bowker, B C; Buhr, R J; Brambila, G Sanchez

    2014-06-01

    Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of postmortem deboning time on cook yield of boneless skinless chicken thighs. In experiment 1, chicken thigh meat was deboned at 0.75 (hot-bone), 2, and 24 h postmortem (PM) and trimmed to obtain mainly iliotibialis muscle. Samples were cooked directly from a frozen state. Cook yield of the muscle was significantly influenced by PM deboning time. Hot-boned thighs exhibited a 7% greater cook yield than the samples deboned at 24 h. In experiment 2, boneless skinless chicken thighs were deboned at 0.3, 2, and 24 h PM and cooked directly from a fresh, never-frozen state at 24 h PM. Cook yield of the hot-boned thighs was significantly higher than those of the 2 and 24 h deboned samples, which did not differ from each other. In experiment 3, whole legs (thigh + drumstick) were cut from the carcass backbone at 0.3 (hot-cut), 2, and 24 h PM. Thighs were separated from the legs (drumsticks) at either the same time the whole legs were removed from the carcasses or at 24 h PM. Intact thighs (bone in) were cooked fresh at 24 h PM. Color of fresh thigh muscles, cook yield, and Warner-Bratzler shear force of cooked samples were measured. Cook yield of the thighs cut from the backbone before chilling was significantly higher than those cut from the carcasses at 2 and 24 h PM, which did not differ from each other. The PM time at which intact thighs were separated from the leg (drumstick) did not influence cook yield. These results demonstrate that postmortem deboning time can significantly affect cook yield of boneless skinless chicken thigh products. Deboning chicken thighs after chilling reduces the cook yield. Differences in the cook yield of thighs may also result from the removal of whole chicken legs from the carcass backbone. Poultry Science Association Inc.

  9. Optimizing rice yields while minimizing yield-scaled global warming potential.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pittelkow, Cameron M; Adviento-Borbe, Maria A; van Kessel, Chris; Hill, James E; Linquist, Bruce A

    2014-05-01

    To meet growing global food demand with limited land and reduced environmental impact, agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are increasingly evaluated with respect to crop productivity, i.e., on a yield-scaled as opposed to area basis. Here, we compiled available field data on CH4 and N2 O emissions from rice production systems to test the hypothesis that in response to fertilizer nitrogen (N) addition, yield-scaled global warming potential (GWP) will be minimized at N rates that maximize yields. Within each study, yield N surplus was calculated to estimate deficit or excess N application rates with respect to the optimal N rate (defined as the N rate at which maximum yield was achieved). Relationships between yield N surplus and GHG emissions were assessed using linear and nonlinear mixed-effects models. Results indicate that yields increased in response to increasing N surplus when moving from deficit to optimal N rates. At N rates contributing to a yield N surplus, N2 O and yield-scaled N2 O emissions increased exponentially. In contrast, CH4 emissions were not impacted by N inputs. Accordingly, yield-scaled CH4 emissions decreased with N addition. Overall, yield-scaled GWP was minimized at optimal N rates, decreasing by 21% compared to treatments without N addition. These results are unique compared to aerobic cropping systems in which N2 O emissions are the primary contributor to GWP, meaning yield-scaled GWP may not necessarily decrease for aerobic crops when yields are optimized by N fertilizer addition. Balancing gains in agricultural productivity with climate change concerns, this work supports the concept that high rice yields can be achieved with minimal yield-scaled GWP through optimal N application rates. Moreover, additional improvements in N use efficiency may further reduce yield-scaled GWP, thereby strengthening the economic and environmental sustainability of rice systems. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. Developing trading strategies based on fractal finance: An application of MF-DFA in the context of Islamic equities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewandaru, Ginanjar; Masih, Rumi; Bacha, Obiyathulla Ismath; Masih, A. Mansur. M.

    2015-11-01

    We provide a new contribution to trading strategies by using multi-fractal de-trended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA), imported from econophysics, to complement various momentum strategies. The method provides a single measure that can capture both persistency and anti-persistency in stock prices, accounting for multifractality. This study uses a sample of Islamic stocks listed in the U.S. Dow Jones Islamic market for a sample period covering 16 years starting in 1996. The findings show that the MF-DFA strategy produces monthly excess returns of 6.12%, outperforming other various momentum strategies. Even though the risk of the MF-DFA strategy may be relatively higher, it can still produce a Sharpe ratio of 0.164, which is substantially higher than that of the other strategies. When we control for the MF-DFA factor with the other factors, its pure factor return is still able to yield a monthly excess return of 1.35%. Finally, we combine the momentum and MF-DFA strategies, with the proportions of 90/10, 80/20, and 70/30 and by doing so we demonstrate that the MF-DFA measure can boost the total monthly excess returns as well as Sharpe ratio. The value added is non-linear which implies that the additional returns are associated with lower incremental risk.

  11. Yield and Yield Attributes Responses of Soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill to Elevated CO2 and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Inoculation in the Humid Transitory Rainforest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nurudeen ADEYEMI

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Variations in yield components and grain yield of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF inoculated soybean varieties (Glycine max L. Merrill grown in CO2 enriched environment in the humid rainforest were tested.  A screen house trial was established with soybean varieties (‘TGx 1448-2E’, ‘TGx 1440-1E’ and ‘TGx 1740-2F’, AMF inoculation (with and without and CO2 enrichment (350±50 ppm and 550±50 ppm in open top chamber, arranged in completely randomised design, replicated three times. A field trial was also conducted; the treatments were arranged in a split-split plot configuration fitted into randomised complete block design. In the main plot the variant was CO2 enrichment, the sub-plot consisted of AMF inoculation (with and without, while the sub-sub plot consisted of soybean varieties, replicated three times. Both trials had significantly higher grain yield at elevated CO2 than ambient. This could be attributed to improved yield attributes, more spore count and root colonisation. In both trials, inoculated soybean had significantly higher dry pod weight than un-inoculated, which could suggest the increased grain yield observed on the field. AMF inoculated soybean varieties outperformed un-inoculated in both CO2 enriched and ambient concentrations. AMF inoculated soybean variety ‘TGx 1740-2F’ is most preferable in CO2 enriched environment, while variety ‘TGx 1448-2E’ had the most stable grain yield in all growth environments.

  12. Economic Sustainability of Payments for Water Yield in Slash Pine Plantations in Florida

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andres Susaeta

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Forests play an important role with respect to water resources, and can be managed to increase surface- and groundwater recharge. With the creation of a forest water yield payment system, privately-owned forests, which comprise the majority of forest area in the Southeastern US, could become an important potential source of additional water supply. The economic tradeoffs between timber revenues and water yield are not well understood. To address this, we use the example case of slash pine production in Florida, and employ a forest stand-level optimal rotation model that incorporates forest management, and assessed a range of feasible water yield prices on forest profitability. Our analysis was limited to a range of water yield prices ($0.03, $0.07, and $0.30 kL−1 that would make water yield from slash pine economically competitive with water supply alternatives (e.g., reservoir construction. Even at relatively low water prices, we found that managing slash pine forests for both timber and water yield was preferred to managing just for timber when assuming an initial tree density less than 2200 trees·ha−1. However, with higher levels of initial tree planting density and low water prices, managing slash pine for timber production alone was more profitable unless stands are heavily-thinned, suggesting that even mid-rotation stands could be included in a forest water yield payments program. Compared to low-tree planting density and lightly thinned slash pine forests, an intensive approach of planting a lot of trees and then heavily thinning them generated 8% to 33% higher profits, and 11% more ($192 ha−1 on average. We conclude that payments for water yield are economically feasible for slash pine stands in Florida, and would benefit forest landowners, particularly with higher prices for water yield.

  13. Comparison of Depletion Strategies for the Enrichment of Low-Abundance Proteins in Urine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filip, Szymon; Vougas, Konstantinos; Zoidakis, Jerome; Latosinska, Agnieszka; Mullen, William; Spasovski, Goce; Mischak, Harald; Vlahou, Antonia; Jankowski, Joachim

    2015-01-01

    Proteome analysis of complex biological samples for biomarker identification remains challenging, among others due to the extended range of protein concentrations. High-abundance proteins like albumin or IgG of plasma and urine, may interfere with the detection of potential disease biomarkers. Currently, several options are available for the depletion of abundant proteins in plasma. However, the applicability of these methods in urine has not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we compared different, commercially available immunodepletion and ion-exchange based approaches on urine samples from both healthy subjects and CKD patients, for their reproducibility and efficiency in protein depletion. A starting urine volume of 500 μL was used to simulate conditions of a multi-institutional biomarker discovery study. All depletion approaches showed satisfactory reproducibility (n=5) in protein identification as well as protein abundance. Comparison of the depletion efficiency between the unfractionated and fractionated samples and the different depletion strategies, showed efficient depletion in all cases, with the exception of the ion-exchange kit. The depletion efficiency was found slightly higher in normal than in CKD samples and normal samples yielded more protein identifications than CKD samples when using both initial as well as corresponding depleted fractions. Along these lines, decrease in the amount of albumin and other targets as applicable, following depletion, was observed. Nevertheless, these depletion strategies did not yield a higher number of identifications in neither the urine from normal nor CKD patients. Collectively, when analyzing urine in the context of CKD biomarker identification, no added value of depletion strategies can be observed and analysis of unfractionated starting urine appears to be preferable.

  14. Milk Yield and Quality of Holstein and Jersey Breeds of Cattle in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Friesian cows were used to evaluate the effects of breed, month of lactation and milking time on the milk yield and quality of commercial dairy cows under the tropical climate of Nigeria. Mean milk yield and milk protein were significantly higher ...

  15. Yielding of leaf celery Apium graveolens L. var. secalinum Alef. depending on the number of harvests and irrigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ewa Rożek

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Leaf celery (Apium graveolensvar. secalinum is a vegetable with medicinal and spicy properties. Its numerous intensely fragrant leaves can be cut several times during the plant growing period. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of irrigation and number of harvests on leaf celery yield of the cultivars ‘Afina’ and‘Gewone Snij’. Plant irrigation significantly increased leaf yield and plant height of leaf celery. Higher total yield was obtained from non-irrigated plants when leaves were harvested three times, whereas for irrigated plants yield was higher in the case of two leaf harvests. Irrespective of the experimental factors, higher yield was obtained from the cultivar ‘Gewone Snij’.

  16. Impact of harvesting time on ultimate methane yield of switchgrass grown in eastern Canada

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gilbert, Y.; Masse, D. [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Sherbrooke, PQ (Canada). Dairy and Swine Research and Development Centre; Savoie, P.; Belanger, G.; Parent, G. [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Quebec City, PQ (Canada). Soils and Crops Research and Development Centre; Babineau, D.L. [Groupe EBI, Berthierville, PQ (Canada)

    2010-07-01

    European research in green energy production from crops has resulted in the development of full scale bioreactors that use energy crops as feedstock. Switchgrass has been touted as one of the most promising crops for energy production among several perennial grass species grown under moderate to hot climates. However, few studies have been conducted in colder climate conditions. This study examined the mesophilic methane yield of switchgrass grown under the cooler growing conditions that exist in northeastern North America. In 2007, switchgrass was harvested in late July, August and September and conserved as silage. The regrowth of plots harvested in late July was also harvested in late September as a two-cut strategy. A 30 L small-scale laboratory digester was used to anaerobically digest the switchgrass silage samples. Specific methane yield decreased considerably with advancing plant development, but was similar between the first harvest in late July and the regrowth in late September. Nearly 25 per cent more methane could be produced by hectare for the two-cut strategy compared to harvesting once in late August. It was concluded that additional studies are needed to determine the effect of cutting times and strategies on the long term yield of switchgrass and to establish the production cost of this renewable energy.

  17. Irrigation offsets wheat yield reductions from warming temperatures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tack, Jesse; Barkley, Andrew; Hendricks, Nathan

    2017-11-01

    Temperature increases due to climate change are expected to cause substantial reductions in global wheat yields. However, uncertainty remains regarding the potential role for irrigation as an adaptation strategy to offset heat impacts. Here we utilize over 7000 observations spanning eleven Kansas field-trial locations, 180 varieties, and 29 years to show that irrigation significantly reduces the negative impact of warming temperatures on winter wheat yields. Dryland wheat yields are estimated to decrease about eight percent for every one-degree Celsius increase in temperature, yet irrigation completely offsets this negative impact in our sample. As in previous studies, we find that important interactions exist between heat stress and precipitation for dryland production. Here, uniquely, we observe both dryland and irrigated trials side-by-side at the same locations and find that precipitation does not provide the same reduction in heat stress as irrigation. This is likely to be because the timing, intensity, and volume of water applications influence wheat yields, so the ability to irrigate—rather than relying on rainfall alone—has a stronger influence on heat stress. We find evidence of extensive differences of water-deficit stress impacts across varieties. This provides some evidence of the potential for adapting to hotter and drier climate conditions using optimal variety selection. Overall, our results highlight the critical role of water management for future global food security. Water scarcity not only reduces crop yields through water-deficit stress, but also amplifies the negative effects of warming temperatures.

  18. The characteristics of high-yield genotype of early-mature mutant lines in barley

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Xiulan; Han Yuepeng; He Zhentian; Yang Hefeng

    2000-01-01

    The correlation and genetic parameters of eight agronomic traits of 36 early mature mutant lines induced from barley Sunong 9052 were studied by stepwise regression and path analysis. The results showed that: (1) the growing period of early mutants was shortened 2-13 days from that of their parent and the trait of yield had a great mutation range; (2) the number of grain per panicle significantly correlated with the days from sowing to heading; (3) according to direct path coefficients, the main characters related with individual plant-yield were in order of productive panicle per plant > 1000-grain-weight > number of grain per panicle > fertility, the high-yield genotype had more productive panicle and higher 10000-grain-weight, and to increase the yield in the breeding of early mature mutation was to select the lines with more tillers and productive panicles, higher 1000-grain-weight and lower number of grain per panicle; (4) the higher broad-sense heritability and genetic variation coefficient were found in 1000-grain-weight and the days from sowing to heading

  19. The Role of Iron and Zinc on Tuber Yield and Yield Components of Potato

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elham Jam

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The soils of potato production fields in Ardabil due to alkalinity and not having a proper crop rotations are deficient in micronutrients. To evaluate the effect of these micronutrients on the yield and some traits affecting potato tubers an experiment was conducted in a complete randomized block design with three replications in Ardabil during 2012. Micronutrient treatments used were the various concentrations of iron and zinc (0.002, 0.004 and 0.008 concentrations of these elements as Fe1Zn1, Fe1Zn2, Fe1Zn3, Fe2Zn1, Fe2Zn2, Fe2Zn3, Fe3Zn1 and Fe3Zn2 and a control treatment (Fe0Zn0. Analysis of variance of traits under study showed statistically significant differences among treatments in terms of tuber yield, number of tubers per plant, tuber size, skin thickness and volumetric weight and dry weight of tubers. The highest tuber yield (48.10 t.ha-1 and maximum skin thickness were obtained from Fe1Zn3 treatment. The highest tuber number belonged to Fe2Zn1 (0.004 and 0.002 concentrations of iron and zinc and Fe1Zn3 (0.002 and 0.008 concentrations of iron and zinc. Tuber weights higher than 35 grams and higest volumetric tuber weight were produced by using Fe3Zn2. The conclusion is this that using Fe1Zn3 traetment (0.002 and 0.008 concentrations resulted in highest tuber yield and thickness of tuber skin.

  20. Ncl Synchronously Regulates Na+, K+, and Cl- in Soybean and Greatly Increases the Grain Yield in Saline Field Conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Do, Tuyen Duc; Chen, Huatao; Hien, Vu Thi Thu; Hamwieh, Aladdin; Yamada, Tetsuya; Sato, Tadashi; Yan, Yongliang; Cong, Hua; Shono, Mariko; Suenaga, Kazuhiro; Xu, Donghe

    2016-01-08

    Salt stress inhibits soybean growth and reduces gain yield. Genetic improvement of salt tolerance is essential for sustainable soybean production in saline areas. In this study, we isolated a gene (Ncl) that could synchronously regulate the transport and accumulation of Na(+), K(+), and Cl(-) from a Brazilian soybean cultivar FT-Abyara using map-based cloning strategy. Higher expression of the salt tolerance gene Ncl in the root resulted in lower accumulations of Na(+), K(+), and Cl(-) in the shoot under salt stress. Transfer of Ncl with the Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method into a soybean cultivar Kariyutaka significantly enhanced its salt tolerance. Introgression of the tolerance allele into soybean cultivar Jackson, using DNA marker-assisted selection (MAS), produced an improved salt tolerance line. Ncl could increase soybean grain yield by 3.6-5.5 times in saline field conditions. Using Ncl in soybean breeding through gene transfer or MAS would contribute to sustainable soybean production in saline-prone areas.

  1. Executive Summary High-Yield Scenario Workshop Series Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leslie Park Ovard; Thomas H. Ulrich; David J. Muth Jr.; J. Richard Hess; Steven Thomas; Bryce Stokes

    2009-12-01

    To get a collective sense of the impact of research and development (R&D) on biomass resource availability, and to determine the feasibility that yields higher than baseline assumptions used for past assessments could be achieved to support U.S. energy independence, an alternate “High-Yield Scenario” (HYS) concept was presented to industry experts at a series of workshops held in December 2009. The workshops explored future production of corn/agricultural crop residues, herbaceous energy crops (HECs), and woody energy crops (WECs). This executive summary reports the findings of that workshop.

  2. Linguistic Knowledge Aspects in Academic Reading: Challenges and Deployed Strategies by English-Major Undergraduates at a Jordanian Institution of Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albashtawi, Abeer H.; Jaganathan, Paramaswari; Singh, Manjet

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate the linguistic knowledge aspect in academic reading, the challenges and the deployed strategies by English major undergraduates at a Jordanian institution of higher education. The importance of the study is attributed to the importance of the academic reading at university which is closely related to the academic…

  3. Signal-background interference effects for gg{yields}H{yields}W{sup +}W{sup -} beyond leading order

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bonvini, Marco [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany); Caola, Fabrizio; Melnikov, Kirill [Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore (United States). Dept. of Physics and Astronomy; Forte, Stefano [Univ. di Milano, Sezione di Milano (Italy). Dipt. di Fisica; INFN, Sezione di Milano (Italy); Ridolfi, Giovanni [Univ. di Genova, Sezione di Genova (Italy). Dipt. di Fisica; INFN, Sezione di Genova (Italy)

    2013-04-15

    We study the effect of QCD corrections to the gg {yields} H {yields} W{sup +}W{sup -} signal-background interference at the LHC for a heavy Higgs boson. We construct a soft-collinear approximation to the NLO and NNLO corrections for the background process, which is exactly known only at LO. We estimate its accuracy by constructing and comparing the same approximation to the exact result for the signal process, which is known up to NNLO, and we conclude that we can describe the signal-background interference to better than O(10%) accuracy. We show that our result implies that, in practice, a fairly good approximation to higher-order QCD corrections to the interference may also be obtained by rescaling the known LO result by a K-factor computed using the signal process.

  4. Trading forests for yields in the Peruvian Amazon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibbs, Holly

    2012-03-01

    Our knowledge of how agriculture expands, and the types of land it replaces, is remarkably limited across the tropics. Most remote-sensing studies focus on the net gains and losses in forests and agricultural land rather than the land-use transition pathways (Gibbs et al 2010). Only a handful of studies identify land sources for new croplands or plantations, and then only for farming systems aggregated together (e.g., Koh and Wilcove 2008, Morton et al 2006, Gibbs et al 2010). Gutiérrez-Vélez et al (2011), however, have taken a leap forward by tracking the different expansion pathways for smallholder and industrial oil palm plantations. Using a combination of Landsat, MODIS and field surveys, they investigate whether higher yields in new agricultural lands spare forests in the Peruvian Amazon and in a smaller focus area in the Ucayali region. Across the Peruvian Amazon, they show that between 2000 and 2010, new high-yield oil palm plantations replaced forests 72% of the time and accounted for 1.3% of total deforestation, with most expansion occurring after 2006. Gutiérrez-Vélez et al went further in the Ucayali region and compared land sources for new high-yield and low-yield plantations. Expansion of higher-yield agricultural lands should logically reduce the total area needed for production, thus potentially sparing forests. In the Ucayali focus area, expansion of high-yield oil palm did convert less total land area but more forest was cleared than with low-yield expansion. Smaller-scale plantations tended to expand into already cleared areas while industrial-scale plantations traded their greater yields for forests, leading to higher land-clearing carbon emissions per production unit (Gibbs et al 2008). Gutiérrez-Vélez et al show that higher yields may require less land for production but more forest may be lost in the process, and they emphasize the need for stronger incentives for land sparing. The potential land-saving nature of these high-yield

  5. Effect of Row Intercropping Patterns on Yield, Yield Components, and Weed Control of Fenugreek (Trigonellafoenumgreacum L. and Anise (Pimpinellaanisum L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F Mardani

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Due to population growth and food shortage agricultural production is on increasing demand. In this order increasing cultivation area and yield per unit area are two ways of obtaining higheragricultural production (20. There is another important way that without incurring additional costs and use of water and fertilizer could result in higher production. This approach is increasing agricultural production per unit area by growing more than one crop in a year. Intercropping will be successful when competition for sources issless than competition within a species. Plants in the mixture can be chosen in a way that a species benefits from environmental changes caused by other species in mixed cultures directly (7, 15. Intercropping inhibits the growth and development of weeds and leads to increased production. Since the system will reduce the pesticide use, environmental pollution will be also less proportionally (37. Materials and Methods In order to evaluate the yield, yield components and potential weeds control under intercropping fenugreek and anise, an experiment was carried out based on a randomized complete block design with three replicationsat the Agricultural Research Field of Yasouj University during growing season of 2012-2013. Treatments included pure cultures of fenugreek and anise, single-row, double-row and three-tier intercropping of fenugreek and anise at no weed control and weed control conditions. Results and Discussion The results showed that different intercropping treatments had significant effects on pod number per plant, grain weight and grain and biological yield of fenugreek and also, on number of lateral branches, number of grains per plant and grain and biological yield of anise. There were nosignificant effects on plant height, number of lateral branches, number of grain per pod, harvest index of fenugreek, as well as plant height, number of umbel let per plant, seed weight and harvest index of anise. The

  6. Effect of Integrated Nutrient Management on Yield and Yield ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Declining soil fertility is one of the major problems causing yield reduction of barley ... (VC) with inorganic NP on growth, yield and yield components of food barley. ... The experiments were laid out in a randomized complete block design with ...

  7. Yield potential of a radiation induced early-dwarf mutant in linseed

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nayar, G.G.

    1975-01-01

    An early maturing dwarf mutant, TL-1 was isolated in the high yielding linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) wariety Neelum following seed irradiation with 50 kR gamma rays. The yield components of the mutant have been evaluated for its productivity in the M 7 generation. TL-1 is compact and significantly short in height (41.8 +- 2.71 cm) as compared to Neelum (79.2 +- 3.08 cm). In flowering the mutant is 30 days earlier than the parent under Trombay conditions. TL-1 and Neelum did not differ significantly in their mean number of primary branches. Although the mean seed yield per plant is lower, in 1000 seed weight the mutant is markedly superior to the parent. The oil content in TL-1 is significantly higher by 3.5 percent points than Neelum and its oil is lighter in colour. By growing more plants per unit area with reduced spacing, the yield potential of TL-1 was considerably increased. The productivity of oil per hectare per day of TL-1 was higher than Neelum. (author)

  8. Climate Variability and Sugarcane Yield in Louisiana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenland, David

    2005-11-01

    )], mean maximum August temperature, mean minimum February temperature, soil water surplus between April and September, and occurrence of autumn (fall) hurricanes, were built into a model to simulate adjusted yield values. The CCV model simulates the yield value with an rmse of 5.1 t ha-1. The mean of the adjusted yield data over the study period was 60.4 t ha-1, with values for the highest and lowest years being 73.1 and 50.6 t ha-1, respectively, and a standard deviation of 5.9 t ha-1. Presumably because of the almost constant high water table and soil water availability, higher precipitation totals, which are inversely related to radiation and temperature, tend to have a negative effect on the yields. Past trends in the values of critical climatic variables and general projections of future climate suggest that, with respect to the climatic environment and as long as land drainage is continued and maintained, future levels of sugarcane yield will rise in Louisiana.

  9. The effect of conservation tillage on crop yield in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongwen LI,Jin HE,Huanwen GAO,Ying CHEN,Zhiqiang ZHANG

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Traditional agricultural practices have resulted in decreased soil fertility, shortage of water resources and deterioration of agricultural ecological environment, which are seriously affecting grain production. Conservation tillage (CT research has been developed and applied in China since the 1960s and 1970s, and a series of development policies have been issued by the Chinese government. Recent research and application have shown that CT has positive effects on crop yields in China. According to the data from the Conservation Tillage Research Center (CTRC, Chinese Ministry of Agriculture (MOA, the mean crop yield increase can be at least 4% in double cropping systems in the North China Plain and 6% in single cropping systems in the dryland areas of North-east and North-west China. Crop yield increase was particularly significant in dryland areas and drought years. The mechanism for the yield increase in CT system can be attributed to enhanced soil water content and improved soil properties. Development strategies have been implemented to accelerate the adoption of CT in China.

  10. Yield trends and yield gap analysis of major crops in the world

    OpenAIRE

    Hengsdijk, H.; Langeveld, J.W.A.

    2009-01-01

    This study aims to quantify the gap between current and potential yields of major crops in the world, and the production constraints that contribute to this yield gap. Using an expert-based evaluation of yield gaps and the literature, global and regional yields and yield trends of major crops are quantified, yield gaps evaluated by crop experts, current yield progress by breeding estimated, and different yield projections compared. Results show decreasing yield growth for wheat and rice, but ...

  11. Motivational Strategies and Possible Influence on Secondary School ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... and administered to the 360 teachers. The data collected were subjected to statistical analyses using ANOVA. The test yielded significant influence of motivational strategies on teachers' work performance. Based on the findings, recommendations were made. KEY WORDS: Motivational Strategies, Teaching Performance.

  12. Evolution of uranium fission-fragment charge yields with neutron number. Strong effect of multi-chance fission on yield asymmetries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moeller, Peter [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Theoretical Division, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Schmitt, Christelle [CEA/DSM-CNRS/IN2P3, Grand Accelerateur National d' Ions Lourds, Caen (France)

    2017-01-15

    We use the Brownian shape-motion model, with its recent extensions, which allow modeling of odd-even staggering, to calculate the evolution of fission-fragment charge distributions with neutron number for the compound-system sequence {sup 234}U, {sup 236}U, {sup 238}U, and {sup 240}U. We compare to experimental data where available, for neutron- and electromagnetic-induced fission over a compound-nucleus excitation energy range from about 6 to 20 MeV. A notable result of the study is that the evolution of the location of the peak charge yield from Z = 54 in {sup 234}U towards Z = 52 in heavier isotopes, seen in the experimental data, is present also in the calculated yields. We further show that to describe yields at higher compound-nucleus excitation energies, then, already at 20 MeV, it is necessary to take multi-chance fission into account. (orig.)

  13. Equity yields

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vrugt, E.; van Binsbergen, J.H.; Koijen, R.S.J.; Hueskes, W.

    2013-01-01

    We study a new data set of dividend futures with maturities up to ten years across three world regions: the US, Europe, and Japan. We use these asset prices to construct equity yields, analogous to bond yields. We decompose the equity yields to obtain a term structure of expected dividend growth

  14. Impacts of Climate Variability and Change on Banana Yields in the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Climate variability and change are existing sets of conditions which affect crop productivity. An evaluation of their impacts on banana yield in the CDC-DelMonte Banana Project at Tiko is fundamental in conceiving adaptation strategies towards coping with, and minimizing their deleterious impacts for maximum productivity ...

  15. Hot spots of wheat yield decline with rising temperatures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asseng, Senthold; Cammarano, Davide; Basso, Bruno; Chung, Uran; Alderman, Phillip D; Sonder, Kai; Reynolds, Matthew; Lobell, David B

    2017-06-01

    Many of the irrigated spring wheat regions in the world are also regions with high poverty. The impacts of temperature increase on wheat yield in regions of high poverty are uncertain. A grain yield-temperature response function combined with a quantification of model uncertainty was constructed using a multimodel ensemble from two key irrigated spring wheat areas (India and Sudan) and applied to all irrigated spring wheat regions in the world. Southern Indian and southern Pakistani wheat-growing regions with large yield reductions from increasing temperatures coincided with high poverty headcounts, indicating these areas as future food security 'hot spots'. The multimodel simulations produced a linear absolute decline of yields with increasing temperature, with uncertainty varying with reference temperature at a location. As a consequence of the linear absolute yield decline, the relative yield reductions are larger in low-yielding environments (e.g., high reference temperature areas in southern India, southern Pakistan and all Sudan wheat-growing regions) and farmers in these regions will be hit hardest by increasing temperatures. However, as absolute yield declines are about the same in low- and high-yielding regions, the contributed deficit to national production caused by increasing temperatures is higher in high-yielding environments (e.g., northern India) because these environments contribute more to national wheat production. Although Sudan could potentially grow more wheat if irrigation is available, grain yields would be low due to high reference temperatures, with future increases in temperature further limiting production. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Factors influencing diagnostic yield of CT-guided percutaneous core needle biopsy for bone lesions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Y.; Du, Y.; Luo, T.Y.; Yang, H.F.; Yu, J.H.; Xu, X.X.; Zheng, H.J.; Li, B.

    2014-01-01

    Aim: To evaluate the factors influencing diagnostic yield of computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous core needle biopsy (CNB) for bone lesions. Materials and methods: Between September 2005 and July 2011, 162 consecutive CT-guided CNB procedures were performed in 155 patients. The variables analysed were age, sex, lesion location, lesion type, lesion size, specimen size, biopsy needle gauge, and individual radiologist. The factors influencing diagnostic yield of CT-guided percutaneous CNB for bone lesions were determined by multivariate analysis of variables. Results: The diagnostic yield was 81.5%. Diagnostic yield was 89.9% for lytic bone lesions and 48.5% for sclerotic bone lesions (p < 0.001), and 89.2% for lesions ≥3 cm and 73.4% for lesions <3 cm (p = 0.010). The significant factors influencing diagnostic yield of CT-guided percutaneous CNB for bone lesions were lesion type [p < 0.001; odds ratio (OR) for a lytic lesion was approximately 12 times higher than that for a sclerotic lesion; 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.22–34.01], and lesion size (p = 0.012; OR for a lesion size ≥3 cm was about five-times higher than that for a lesion size <3 cm; 95% CI: 1.42–16.71). Conclusion: Lesion type and lesion size are determining factors in diagnostic yield. The higher diagnostic yield is correlated with lytic lesion and lesion size ≥3 cm

  17. Effect of cropping system on yield of some sweetpotato and okra ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A field trial was conducted for 2 years to determine cropping system effect on yield of some sweetpotato and okra cultivars in an intercropping system. Sweetpotato variety TIS 87/0087 produced significantly (P<0.05) higher number of tubers per plant than Tis 8164 and Tis 2532.op.1.13 varieties. Tuber yield was also ...

  18. Yield Gap, Indigenous Nutrient Supply and Nutrient Use Efficiency for Maize in China

    OpenAIRE

    Xu, Xinpeng; Liu, Xiaoyan; He, Ping; Johnston, Adrian M.; Zhao, Shicheng; Qiu, Shaojun; Zhou, Wei

    2015-01-01

    Great achievements have been attained in agricultural production of China, while there are still many difficulties and challenges ahead that call for put more efforts to overcome to guarantee food security and protect environment simultaneously. Analyzing yield gap and nutrient use efficiency will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies to increase grain yield. On-farm datasets from 2001 to 2012 with 1,971 field experiments for maize (Zea mays L.) were collected in four m...

  19. Effect of Seed Priming, Sowing methods and Bio-fertilizers on Yield and Yield Components of Seedy Watermelon (Citrullus Lanatus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Zarandi

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Watermelon (Citrullus Lanatus is one of the most important fresh fruits in Iran particularly during summer. After China, in terms of production and cultivation area, Iran placed second in the world. Research conducted in different regions (especially in arid and semi-arid regions, like Iran indicated that poor germination and establishment of seedlings in the field causes low yield, particularly in vegetables. Seed priming, (to increase the percentage and rate of germination and transplanting to increase plant establishment and use of bio-fertilizers to increase food availability during the growing season are inevitable to transfer to ecological agriculture. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effect of seeds osmopriming, transplanting and bio-fertilizers on watermelon grain yield. Materials and Methods This experiment was conducted at split plot based on complete block design with three replications in the Laboratory, Greenhouse and the Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2013. First factor was seed priming in two levels (unprimed and primed, the second factor was transplanting in two levels (direct sowing and transplantation and the third factor was bio-fertilizers containing pseudomonas and Azotobacter in two levels (non bio-fertilizers and bio-fertilizers. Leaf area index (LAI, number of fruits per plant, number of seeds per fruit, 1000 seed weight, grain yield and total dry matter were determined. Results and Discussion Transplants produced using osmoprimed seeds that had been sprayed with bio-fertilizers on the field (T2P2K2 had higher LAI than the other treatments (Table 3. Bio-fertilizers in both transplanting and direct sowing produced more LAI, but osmopriming of seeds with PEG 6000 had little impact on LAI (Table 3. LAI is one of the growth parameters which had a great effect to achieve maximum yield that needs to be at higher level before flowering. Izadkhah et al. (2010 and

  20. Contrasting response of biomass and grain yield to severe drought in Cappelle Desprez and Plainsman V wheat cultivars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenny Paul

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available We report a case study of natural variations and correlations of some photosynthetic parameters, green biomass and grain yield in Cappelle Desprez and Plainsman V winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cultivars, which are classified as being drought sensitive and tolerant, respectively. We monitored biomass accumulation from secondary leaves in the vegetative phase and grain yield from flag leaves in the grain filling period. Interestingly, we observed higher biomass production, but lower grain yield stability in the sensitive Cappelle cultivar, as compared to the tolerant Plainsman cv. Higher biomass production in the sensitive variety was correlated with enhanced water-use efficiency. Increased cyclic electron flow around PSI was also observed in the Cappelle cv. under drought stress as shown by light intensity dependence of the ratio of maximal quantum yields of Photosystem I and Photosystem II, as well by the plot of the Photosystem I electron transport rate as a function of Photosystem II electron transport rate. Higher CO2 uptake rate in flag leaves of the drought-stressed Plainsman cv. during grain filling period correlates well with its higher grain yield and prolonged transpiration rate through spikes. The increase in drought factor (DFI and performance (PI indices calculated from variable chlorophyll fluorescence parameters of secondary leaves also showed correlation with higher biomass in the Cappelle cultivar during the biomass accumulation period. However, during the grain filling period, DFI and PI parameters of the flag leaves were higher in the tolerant Plainsman V cultivar and showed correlation with grain yield stability. Our results suggest that overall biomass and grain yield may respond differentially to drought stress in different wheat cultivars and therefore phenotyping for green biomass cannot be used as a general approach to predict grain yield. We also conclude that photosynthetic efficiency of flag and secondary leaves

  1. Line tester analysis of yield and yield related attributed in different sunflower genotypes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Din, S.U.; Khan, M.A.; Usman, K.; Sayal, O.U.

    2014-01-01

    This paper encompasses the study of line * tester analysis to chalk out genetic implications regarding yield and yield relating components in different genotypes of sunflower. Eight parents (four CMS lines and four restorers) along with their sixteen F1 hybrids were considered and planted in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) replicated thrice at experimental area of Oilseed Research Program, National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, Pakistan in 2011. Combining ability for some important morphological traits included days to flower initiation, days to flower completion, days to maturity, plant height, head diameter and seed yield plant-1. In this concern general combining ability (GCA), reciprocals combining ability (RCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) for all traits were studied. The GCA and SCA variances due to lines and testers interaction were significant for all the characters. However, the magnitude of GCAs from CMS lines (females) and restorers (pollinators) were higher than the SCA indicating preponderance of additive genes in the expression of all the traits. Among the lines, CMS-HA-54 whereas in testers, RHP-71, by manifesting maximum GCA effects were considered as the best general combiners for almost all the traits indicating the presence of more additive gene effects in these parents, therefore may serve as potential parents for hybridization and to improve the characters studied. Among the F1 hybrids, CMS HA-99 * RHP-76 (1.54, 212.65) and CMS HA-101 * RHP-73 (0.91, 432.73) were found as the best specific combiners for head or capitulum and seed yield. Hence, if farming community and researchers include these hybrids in their selection and hybridization program for the trait under study optimum result may be obtained. (author)

  2. Аbоut a theoretical yield of glucose from starch

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. V. Ananskikh

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Starch is the raw materials for production of crystal food glucose. With at enzyme conversion of the high purity starch, it is possible to receive glucosic syrups of a glucose equivalent (GE 98%, where there is about 95% glucose and maltose and maltotriose – of about 5%. Starch hydrolysis is carried out with a gain of solids. Thus, 100 kg of amylum is possible to give up to 109.81 kg of glucose syrup on dry basis. Taking in account the losses at manufacture steps a yield can decrease to 105.61 kg. The purified glucose syrup is concentrated up to 73–75% of dry matters and goes to a crystallization step. Crystallization of glucose is carried out in a supersaturated solution within 56–70 hours at reduced temperature from 46–48 °C to 24–26 °C, resulting a mixture of glucose crystals and an intercrystal run-off syrup called a massecuite. The crystallization process is stopped when a 50% of crystals content in massecuite is reached. At the same time glucose yield will be 105.61/2 = 52.8%. Crystallization is carried out according to the single-stage scheme, with partial return of the end product – hydrol into the hydrolised syrup. Then the massecuite is sent to a centrifugation step for dividing glucose crystals and a run-off syrup, which is partially returned to the initial syrup to reduce in GE. The second part of the run-off syrup goes to realization. It must be kept in mind: the higher GE of the glucose syrup sent to a crystallization step, the more quantity of a hydrol is possible to be returned to hydrolysed syrup. Therefore, it is in a resulted a higher yield of glucose crystals. On the basis of the carried-out calculations the computer program was made with which it is possible to define a theoretical glucose and a hydrol yield, while changing values of a hydrolysed syrup. The higher GE values of a hydrolysed syrup are the higher yield of crystal glucose and the lower one of hydrol are. So, at 98% GE of a hydrolysed syrup it is

  3. Relationship between expansion strategy and growth of charismatic ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... vital strategy being prayer. Other important growth strategies were: evangelism, type of sermon, membership welfare and service structure. The Franchise/ Business model was found to yield better church growth than the Episcopal model. Keywords: Franchise, Business model, Episcopal model, charismatic churches ...

  4. Effect of Mycorrhizal Fungus (Glomus spp on Wheat (Triticumaestivum Yield and Yield Components with Regard to Irrigation Water Quality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S Habibi

    2016-02-01

    reflect saline stress on mycorrhizal symbiosis than on wheat plants. Results and Discussion The results showed that salinity decreased colonization percentage and grain number per spike but it did not affect yield and yield components significantly. In non- inoculated soil, the formed mycorrhizal symbiosis by indigenous fungi improved colonization percentage, while it did not result in significant differences of the yield and its components. The inoculation with mycorrhiza fungi was successful. Mycorrhizal colonization rates of 15-32% and mycorrhizal dependency rates of 7-13% were observed in the inoculated treatments, and this effect led to significantly higher grain yield, spike number and grain number per plant in compare with control. Furthermore, there was a significant interaction on colonization percentage and whole yield components between AMF inoculation and salinity except for spike number. Spike per plant, grain number per spike and colonization percentage affected by mycorrhizal inoculation in interaction with soil sterilization. Colonization percentage was positively correlated with spike number, grain number per plant and grain yield (significant at α=1%. Conclusions Enhanced yield under all mycorrhizal treatments related to higher grain number per plant, whereas there was no significant difference between these treatments for grain weight. Although the colonization levels of individual mycorrhizal treatments were generally lower, the fostering of grain yield was even strongly more pronounced than with mixed mycorrhizal treat (significant at α=1%. Effects of salinity and soil sterilization varied depending on the species of fungi and water quality. In comparison with other mycorrhizal treatment, G. geosporum showed higher salt tolerant relatively on display of superior colonization percentage and grain number per plant in salinity with tap water; and the colonization percentage by G. mosseae was not affected by soil indigenous fungi. The results showed

  5. Colored plastic mulch microclimates affect strawberry fruit yield and quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiukhy, Saeid; Raeini-Sarjaz, Mahmoud; Chalavi, Vida

    2015-08-01

    Significant reduction of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa, Duch.) fruit yield and quality, as a consequence of conventional cultivation method, is common in the Caspian Sea region, Iran. Recently, growers started using plastic mulches to overcome these shortcomings. Plastic mulches have different thermal and radiation properties and could affect strawberry fruit yield and quality. In the present study, the effect of different colored plastic mulches (black, red, and white) along with conventional practice was tested on yield and quality of strawberry Camarosa cultivar, in a completely randomized block design. Colored plastic mulches had highly significant effect on fruit weight, size, and phytochemical contents. In the most harvest times, mean fruit weight was significantly higher in red plastic relative to white and control treatments. Total fruit weight of plastic mulches was not significantly different, while all were statistically higher than that of control. Fruit size significantly increased over red plastic mulch. Total fruit numbers over plastic mulches were significantly higher than that of control treatment. The content of phenolic compounds was similar between treatments, while anthocyanin content, IC(50) value, and flavonoid content significantly were affected by colored plastics. In conclusion, colored plastic mulches could affect strawberry fruit weight and quality through altering strawberry thermal and radiation environment.

  6. Sensitivity of CERES-Maize yield simulation to the selected weather data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zalud, Z.; Stastna, M.

    2000-01-01

    Sensitivity analysis of selected weather data runs after successful parametrization and validation of the CERES-Maize simulation model. Estimation of the potential yield has been carried out during the long term experiment (1980-1997) as well as the estimation of influence of meteorological parameters on the simulation results for the water-limited yield. 10 % under and over stimulation of global radiation and precipitation as well as increasing and decreasing temperature by 1 deg C on simulated potential and water-limited yield have been done. In most of the years, air temperature underestimation resulted in a higher simulated grain yield and overstimulation shown a lower yield for water limited level. Overestimation of precipitation during wet days in growing period of the maize leads to an increase of amount of water available for the plant and to increase the yield. Underestimation of global radiation by 10 % resulted in a decline in simulated grain yield from -8.8 to -9.9 %. The overestimation caused increase of the yield from 7.8 to 10 %. Overestimation by 10 % resulted in a slight underestimation of the yield in low yielding years and underestimation of global radiation by 10 % in overestimation of the yield. The effect was opposite in high yielding years

  7. Whey cheese: membrane technology to increase yields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riera, Francisco; González, Pablo; Muro, Claudia

    2016-02-01

    Sweet cheese whey has been used to obtain whey cheese without the addition of milk. Pre-treated whey was concentrated by nanofiltration (NF) at different concentration ratios (2, 2.5 and 2.8) or by reverse osmosis (RO) (2-3 times). After the concentration, whey was acidified with lactic acid until a final pH of 4.6-4.8, and heated to temperatures between 85 and 90 °C. The coagulated fraction (supernatant) was collected and freely drained over 4 h. The cheese-whey yield and protein, fat, lactose and ash recoveries in the final product were calculated. The membrane pre-concentration step caused an increase in the whey-cheese yield. The final composition of products was compared with traditional cheese-whey manufacture products (without membrane concentration). Final cheese yields found were to be between 5 and 19.6%, which are higher than those achieved using the traditional 'Requesón' process.

  8. PERFORMANCE OF YIELD AND YIELD CONTRIBUTING CHARACTERISTICS OF BC2F3 POPULATION WITH ADDITION OF BLAST RESISTANT GENE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Mahmudul Hasan

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACTThe study was carried out in the University Putra Malaysia (UPM Rice Research Centre to evaluate the yield performance of newly developed selected blast resistant plants of BC2F3 generations derived from a cross between MR263, a high yielding rice variety but blast susceptible and Pongsu Seribu 1, donor with blast resistant (Pi-7(tand Pi-d (t1, Pir2-3(tgenes and qLN2 QTL, Malaysian local variety. On the basis of assessed traits, the plants 12, 6, 7, 5, 21, 22, 5, 26, 11, 8, 10, 13 and 15 had the higher yield, blast resistant and good morphological traits. More than 70% heritability was found in days to maturity, plant height, tiller numbers per hill, and panicle per hill, 80% heritability was found in filled grain and yield per hill and more than 90% heritability was found in grain length, grain width and seed weight. Cluster analysis based on the traits grouped 30 plants along with MR263 into seven clusters. According to PCA, the first four principal components account for about 69.3% total variation for all measured traits and exhibited high correlation among the characteristics analyzed.

  9. Genetic options for improving fodder yield and quality in forage sorghum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Aruna

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Improving yield and quality of fodder from forage sorghum is important, especially in the semi-arid tropics, where sorghum is a major source of fodder. The aim of this work was to understand the genetic basis of fodder yield and quality traits, and character associations, and to estimate combining ability of the parents. The experiment was carried out during 2 successive rainy seasons using 10 parents crossed in a half-diallel design. Significant differences among the genotypes for fodder yield, quality and cell wall constituents were observed. Important quality traits, crude protein and digestibility (IVOMD, were not correlated with fodder yield, indicating the potential to improve yield and quality simultaneously in forage sorghum. General combining ability and specific combining ability variances showed that, for almost all characters, both additive and non-additive gene effects were important, with a predominance of non-additive effects. Parental lines SEVS4, HC308 and UPMC503 were good general combiners for yield and quality. The brown midrib lines, EC582508 and EC582510, were good general combiners for low lignin and high IVOMD. Strategies for improving forage sorghum to suit animal and biofuel industries are discussed.Keywords: Digestibility, crude protein, ADL, diallel analysis, gene effects.DOI: 10.17138/TGFT(349-58

  10. Temporal changes in climatic variables and their impact on crop yields in southwestern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hong-Bin; Gou, Yu; Wang, Hong-Ye; Li, Hong-Mei; Wu, Wei

    2014-08-01

    Knowledge of variability in climatic variables changes and its impact on crop yields is important for farmers and policy makers, especially in southwestern China where rainfed agriculture is dominant. In the current study, six climatic parameters (mean temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, sunshine hours, temperature difference, and rainy days) and aggregated yields of three main crops (rice: Oryza sativa L., oilseed rape: Brassica napus L., and tobacco: Nicotiana tabacum L.) during 1985-2010 were collected and analyzed for Chongqing-a large agricultural municipality of China. Climatic variables changes were detected by Mann-Kendall test. Increased mean temperature and temperature difference and decreased relative humidity were found in annual and oilseed rape growth time series (Pchanges in climatic variables in this region. Yield of rice increased with rainfall (Pclimatic variables to crop yields. Temperature difference and sunshine hours had higher direct and indirect effects via other climatic variables on yields of rice and tobacco. Mean temperature, relative humidity, rainy days, and temperature difference had higher direct and indirect effects via others on yield of oilseed rape.

  11. Maximum credibly yield for deuteriuim-filled double shell imaging targets meeting requirements for yield bin Category A

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilson, Douglas Carl [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Loomis, Eric Nicholas [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-08-17

    We are anticipating our first NIF double shell shot using an aluminum ablator and a glass inner shell filled with deuterium shown in figure 1. The expected yield is between a few 1010 to a few 1011 dd neutrons. The maximum credible yield is 5e+13. This memo describes why, and what would be expected with variations on the target. This memo evaluates the maximum credible yield for deuterium filled double shell capsule targets with an aluminum ablator shell and a glass inner shell in yield Category A (< 1014 neutrons). It also pertains to fills of gas diluted with hydrogen, helium (3He or 4He), or any other fuel except tritium. This memo does not apply to lower z ablator dopants, such as beryllium, as this would increase the ablation efficiency. This evaluation is for 5.75 scale hohlraum targets of either gold or uranium with helium gas fills with density between 0 and 1.6 mg/cc. It could be extended to other hohlraum sizes and shapes with slight modifications. At present only laser pulse energies up to 1.5 MJ were considered with a single step laser pulse of arbitrary shape. Since yield decreases with laser energy for this target, the memo could be extended to higher laser energies if desired. These maximum laser parameters of pulses addressed here are near the edge of NIF’s capability, and constitute the operating envelope for experiments covered by this memo. We have not considered multiple step pulses, would probably create no advantages in performance, and are not planned for double shell capsules. The main target variables are summarized in Table 1 and explained in detail in the memo. Predicted neutron yields are based on 1D and 2D clean simulations.

  12. Effects of Bean-Maize Intercropping,Phosphorus and Manure Additions on N2 fixation and Grain Yield of Phaseolus Vulgaris in the Central Kenya Highlands

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kimani, S.K.; Mwangale, N.; Gathua, K.W.; Delve, R.; Cadisch, G.

    1999-01-01

    Sole bean and intercropped bean crops were studied for four seasons from 1996-1998. Addition of organic P at the recommended rate of 60 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 increased bean standing biomass and grain yields during the first season. Cattle manure applied at the rate of 12 t ha -1 (25% moisture content), had a negative effect on bean yield during the first season, possibly due to short-term nutrient immobilisation induced by the high C:N ratio of manure. In subsequent seasons, manure additions resulted in higher grain yields compared to inorganic P. Intercropping bean with maize lowered grain yields by 10-100%. N 2 fixed on beans on average from 55 to 69%. Intercropping thus provides a strategy for a better N resource use where the maize competes efficiently for available soil mineral N and the legume replenishes part of the extracted N via atmospheric N 2 fixation. However, the amounts of N 2 fixed appear not to be enough to replenish whole systems N in grain crops and so additional N 2 are needed. Thus more attention needs to be given to manure management and its long-term impact on soil fertility

  13. Impact of organic and inorganic fertilizers on growth, fruit yield ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Fruit yield obtained with Ogbomoso local was 45 and 56% higher than what was obtained for Roma VF and Califonia wonder, respectively. In terms of vitamin C content, Roma VF fertilized with 50% NPK + 50% TC gave the highest value which is 23 to 67% higher than values obtained from the other treatment combinations.

  14. Calculated secondary yields for proton broadband using DECAY TURTLE

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sondgeroth, A.

    1995-02-01

    The calculations for the yields were done by Al Sondgeroth and Anthony Malensek. The authors used the DECAY deck called PBSEC E.DAT from the CMS DECKS library. After obtaining the run modes and calibration modes from the liaison physicist, they made individual decay runs, using DECAY TURTLE from the CMS libraries and a production spectrum subroutine which was modified by Anthony, for each particle and decay mode for all particle types coming out of the target box. Results were weighted according to branching ratios for particles with more than one decay mode. The production spectra were produced assuming beryllium as the target. The optional deuterium target available to broadband will produce slightly higher yields. It should be noted that they did not include pion yields from klong decays because they could not simulate three body decays. Pions from klongs would add a very small fraction to the total yield

  15. Evaluation of Yield, Yield Components and Essential Oil Content of Marigold (Calendula officinalis L. with the Use of Nitrogen and Vermicompost

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alireza Pazoki

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Environmenal problems resulting from application of nitrogen fertilizers in the production plant materials led agricultural specialists to use clean and alternative methods to towards the organic farming and use of organic fertilizers. In this study, thus, the effect of nitrogen and vermicompost fertilizer rates on yield, yield components, essential oil content and some morphological traits of marigold was studied in a split plot experiment based on completely randomized blocks design with 3 replications in Shahr-e-Rey region during 2013 growing season. Nitrogen rates with 3 levels (0, 60, 120 and 180 kg.ha-1 were assigned to main plots and vermicompost with 3 levels (0, 10, and 20 t.ha-1 to the sub plots. Mean comparison of simple effects indicated that the plants treated with 120 kg.ha-1 nitrogen fertilizer and 20 t.ha-1 organic fertilizer vermicompost produced higher trait values under study than control (non application of vermincompost. Interaction effect of experimented factors was significant on all traits under evaluation. Thus, highest seed yield (1567 kg.ha-1, biological yield (6664 kg.ha-1 and essential oil yield (8.85 kg.ha-1 obtained by the application of 120 kg.ha-1 nitrogen fertilizer and 20 t.ha-1 varmicompost. Based on the results obtained it could be said that nitrogen and vermicompost may improve seed and biological yield and yield components of marigold.

  16. The yield of different pleural fluid volumes for Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Groote-Bidlingmaier, Florian; Koegelenberg, Coenraad Frederik; Bolliger, Chris T; Chung, Pui Khi; Rautenbach, Cornelia; Wasserman, Elizabeth; Bernasconi, Maurizio; Friedrich, Sven Olaf; Diacon, Andreas Henri

    2013-03-01

    We prospectively compared the culture yields of two pleural fluid volumes (5 and 100 ml) inoculated in liquid culture medium in 77 patients of whom 58 (75.3%) were diagnosed with pleural tuberculosis. The overall fluid culture yield was high (60.3% of cases with pleural tuberculosis). The larger volume had a faster time to positivity (329 vs 376 h, p=0.055) but its yield was not significantly higher (53.5% vs 50%; p=0.75). HIV-positive patients were more likely to have positive cultures (78.9% vs 51.5%; p=0.002).

  17. Oversampling as a methodological strategy for the study of self-reported health among lesbian, gay and bisexual populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderssen, Norman; Malterud, Kirsti

    2017-08-01

    Epidemiological research on lesbian, gay and bisexual populations raises concerns regarding self-selection and group sizes. The aim of this research was to present strategies used to overcome these challenges in a national population-based web survey of self-reported sexual orientation and living conditions-exemplified with a case of daily tobacco smoking. The sample was extracted from pre-established national web panels. Utilizing an oversampling strategy, we established a sample including 315 gay men, 217 bisexual men, 789 heterosexual men, 197 lesbian women, 405 bisexual women and 979 heterosexual women. We compared daily smoking, representing three levels of differentiation of sexual orientation for each gender. The aggregation of all non-heterosexuals into one group yielded a higher odds ratio (OR) for non-heterosexuals being a daily smoker. The aggregation of lesbian and bisexual women indicated higher OR between this group and heterosexual women. The full differentiation yielded no differences between groups except for bisexual compared with heterosexual women. The analyses demonstrated the advantage of differentiation of sexual orientation and gender, in this case bisexual women were the main source of group differences. We recommend an oversampling procedure, making it possible to avoid self-recruitment and to increase the transferability of findings.

  18. Effect of tillage fertilizer treatments on maize fodder yield under rainfed conditions of Pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khaliq, P.; Cheema, N.M.; Malik, M.A.

    2012-01-01

    The effect of deep and shallow tillage and fertilizer treatments i.e., recommended dose of fertilizer (RF), farm yard manure (FYM) and recommended dose of fertilizer plus farmyard manure (RF+FYM) on maize fodder yield was studied under rainfed conditions of Pakistan. It was observed that the emergence count m-2, maize fodder biomass, plant height, number of leaves per plant and maize fodder yield enhanced, with the application of RF+FYM. However, the effect of FYM+RF and recommended dose of fertilizer was statistically non-significant and on average basis RF+FYM treatment produced higher green fodder (19971.5 kg ha/sup -1/) than fodder yield of 18349.1 kg ha/sup -1/ produced by applying recommended dose of fertilizer. However, green fodder yield produced with these two fertilizer treatments were significantly higher than that of the FYM and control treatments. The FYM treatment gave lowest fodder yield (16997 kg ha/sup -1/) and was significantly lower than the fodder yield (17278.7 kg ha/sup -1/) obtained in control treatment. The nutrient availability in RF+FYM treatment significantly increased the biomass production, however, application of FYM promoted the weed infestation that reduced the green fodder yield of maize, but it improved the overall forage yield as recorded in RF+FYM treatment. The effect of deep tillage on maize fodder yield was non-significant. (author)

  19. Thermal decomposition of expanded polystyrene in a pebble bed reactor to get higher liquid fraction yield at low temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chauhan, R.S.; Gopinath, S.; Razdan, P.; Delattre, C.; Nirmala, G.S.; Natarajan, R.

    2008-01-01

    Expanded polystyrene is one of the polymers produced in large quantities due to its versatile application in different fields. This polymer is one of the most intractable components in municipal solid waste. Disposal of polymeric material by pyrolysis or catalytic cracking yields valuable hydrocarbon fuels or monomers. Literature reports different types of reactors and arrangements that have uniform temperatures during pyrolysis and catalytic cracking. The present study focuses on reducing the temperature to maximize the quantity of styrene monomer in the liquid product. A bench scale reactor has been developed to recover the styrene monomer and other valuable chemicals. Experiments were carried under partial oxidation and vacuum conditions in the temperature range of 300-500 deg. C. In the pyrolysis optimization studies, the best atmospheric condition was determined to be vacuum, the pyrolysis temperature should be 500 deg. C, yield of liquid product obtained was 91.7% and yield of styrene obtained was 85.5%. In the characterization studies, distillation and IR spectroscopy experiments were carried out. The remaining of the liquid product comprises of benzene, ethyl benzene, and styrene dimers and trimers

  20. Cognitive strategy interventions improve word problem solving and working memory in children with math disabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swanson, H Lee

    2015-01-01

    This study investigated the role of strategy instruction and working memory capacity (WMC) on problem solving solution accuracy in children with and without math disabilities (MD). Children in grade 3 (N = 204) with and without MD subdivided into high and low WMC were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: verbal strategies (e.g., underlining question sentence), visual strategies (e.g., correctly placing numbers in diagrams), verbal + visual strategies, and an untreated control. The dependent measures for training were problem solving accuracy and two working memory transfer measures (operation span and visual-spatial span). Three major findings emerged: (1) strategy instruction facilitated solution accuracy but the effects of strategy instruction were moderated by WMC, (2) some strategies yielded higher post-test scores than others, but these findings were qualified as to whether children were at risk for MD, and (3) strategy training on problem solving measures facilitated transfer to working memory measures. The main findings were that children with MD, but high WM spans, were more likely to benefit from strategy conditions on target and transfer measures than children with lower WMC. The results suggest that WMC moderates the influence of cognitive strategies on both the targeted and non-targeted measures.

  1. High-yield production of herbicidal thaxtomins and analogs in a nonpathogenic Streptomyces strain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Guangde; Zhang, Yucheng; Powell, Magan M; Zhang, Peilan; Zuo, Ran; Zhang, Yi; Kallifidas, Dimitrios; Tieu, Albert M; Luesch, Hendrik; Loria, Rosemary; Ding, Yousong

    2018-03-30

    Thaxtomins are virulence factors of most plant pathogenic Streptomyces strains. Due to their potent herbicidal activity, attractive environmental compatibility and inherent biodegradability, thaxtomins are key active ingredients of bioherbicides approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. However, the low yield of thaxtomins in native Streptomyces producers limits their wide agricultural applications. Here, we describe the high-yield production of thaxtomins in a heterologous host. The thaxtomin gene cluster from S. scabiei 87.22 was cloned and expressed in S. albus J1074 after chromosomal integration. The production of thaxtomins and nitro-tryptophan analogs were observed using LC-MS analysis. When culturing the engineered S. albus J1074 in the minimal medium TMDc, the yield of the most abundant and herbicidal analog, thaxtomin A, was 10 times higher than S. scabiei 87.22, and optimization of the medium resulted in the highest yield of thaxtomin analogs at about 222 mg/L. Further engineering of the thaxtomin biosynthetic gene cluster through gene deletion led to the production of multiple biosynthetic intermediates important to the chemical synthesis of new analogs. Additionally, the versatility of the thaxtomin biosynthetic system in S. albus J1074 was capitalized to produce one unnatural fluorinated analog 5-F-thaxtomin A, whose structure was elucidated by a combination of MS and 1D and 2D NMR analyses. Natural and unnatural thaxtomins demonstrated potent herbicidal activity in radish seedling assays. These results indicated that S. albus J1074 has the potential to produce thaxtomins and thereof with high yield, fostering their agricultural applications. IMPORTANCE Thaxtomins are agriculturally valuable herbicidal natural products but the productivity of native producers is limiting. Heterologous expression of thaxtomin gene cluster in S. albus J1074 resulted in the highest yield of thaxtomins ever reported, representing a significant leap

  2. Effects of live weight adjusted feeding strategy on plasma indicators of energy balance in Holstein cows managed for extended lactation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gaillard, Charlotte; Vestergaard, Mogens; Weisbjerg, Martin Riis

    2016-01-01

    In early lactation, most of the dairy cows are in negative energy balance; the extent and duration depend in part on the feeding strategy. Previous studies showed an increased lactation milk yield by use of a live weight (LW) adjusted feeding strategy with a high energy diet before and a reduced......, the HD-LD cows had higher glucose and lower beta-hydroxybutyrate and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) concentrations than the LD-LD cows. After the shift until 36 weeks after calving, plasma NEFA was higher in HD-LD than LD-LD cows. Insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 were not affected...... of the negative energy balance, and that the reduction in diet energy concentration from LW nadir will extend the negative energy balance period further. Sixty-two Holstein cows (30% first parity) were managed for 16 months extended lactation and randomly allocated to one of two feeding strategies at calving. Two...

  3. Breeding high yielding varieties of pigeon pea, mungbean and black gram using induced mutations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pawar, S.E.; Wanjari, K.B.

    1994-01-01

    The present communication emphasis the developing of high yielding varieties of pigeon pea, mungbean and black gram using induced mutation with disease resistance in these crops. This would help in stabilisation of the higher yield potential

  4. EFFECT OF BODY CONDITION AND SEASON ON THE YIELD AND QUALITY OF CATTLE EMBRYOS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Kubovičová

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Unsatisfactory reproductive performance in dairy cows has been associated with environmental influences, such as season, chronic and acute changes in dietary intake and body composition. These factors can affect fertility especially ovarian function and yield and quality of oocytes and embryos. In our study the cow ´s body condition affected the overall embryo recovery rate (proportion of collected embryos to palpated corpora lutea. The significantly higher number of embryos was collected from cows with BCS 2.5- 2.75 (68.32 % embryo recovery rate and 3.0- 3.25 (63.30 % compared to the cows with BCS 2.0-2.25 (53.33% and 3.5-4.0 (47.87%; P0.05. On the contrary, the yield of transferable embryos was higher (P<0.05 during the autumn months (78.94% compared to spring (58.38% or summer (60.00% months. In conclusion, body condition and season may affect the yield and quality of bovine embryos. Higher embryo yield was recorded in average BCS (2.5-3.25 cows, whilst most transferable embryos were obtained in the higher BCS (3.5-4.0. Our results indicate that the best season for collection of transferable bovine embryos is autumn.

  5. Using Satellite Data to Unpack Causes of Yield Gaps in India's Wheat Belt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, M.; Singh, B.; Srivastava, A.; Malik, R. K.; McDonald, A.; Lobell, D. B.

    2016-12-01

    India will face significant food security challenges in the coming decades due to climate change, natural resource degradation, and population growth. Yields of wheat, one of India's staple crops, are already stagnating and will be significantly impacted by warming temperatures. Despite these challenges, wheat yields can be enhanced by implementing improved management in regions with existing yield gaps. To identify the magnitude and causes of current yield gaps, we produced 30 m resolution yield maps across India's main wheat belt, the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP), from 2000 to 2015. Yield maps were derived using a new method that translates satellite vegetation indices to yield estimates using crop model simulations, bypassing the need for ground calibration data that rarely exist in smallholder systems. We find that yields can be increased by 5% on average and up to 16% in the eastern IGP by improving management to current best practices within a given district. However, if policies and technologies are put in place to improve management to current best practices in Punjab, the highest yielding state, yields can be increased by 29% in the eastern IGP. Considering which factors most influence wheat yields, we find that later sow dates and warmer temperatures are most associated with low yields across the IGP. This suggests that strategies that reduce the negative effects of heat stress, like earlier sowing and planting heat-tolerant wheat varieties, are critical to India's current and future food security.

  6. Impact of Different Milk Yields on Milk Quality in Bohemian Spotted Cattle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Hanuš

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available The milk yield (MY is a significant economic and health factor. MY influences the health state of dairy cows, their reproduction performance, longevity and milk indicators (MIs. Differences within MIs between 2 higher (1; 8 348 kg per lactation; 240 individual milk samples and 2 lower yielding herds (2; 7 344; 239 of Bohemian Spotted dairy cows (B were tested. Sampling was carried out during summer and winter feeding seasons. Lactation factors were well balanced. Group 1 was on a higher genetical level, had better nutrition and higher MY by 13.7% (P P P > 0.05. The U was higher (5.707 > 4.365 mmol l-1 in group 1, AC and URN as well (0.0362 > 0.0238 mmol l-1 and 51.94 > 41.97%. It corresponds with nitrogen and energy metabolism.

  7. Estimating yield gaps at the cropping system level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guilpart, Nicolas; Grassini, Patricio; Sadras, Victor O; Timsina, Jagadish; Cassman, Kenneth G

    2017-05-01

    Yield gap analyses of individual crops have been used to estimate opportunities for increasing crop production at local to global scales, thus providing information crucial to food security. However, increases in crop production can also be achieved by improving cropping system yield through modification of spatial and temporal arrangement of individual crops. In this paper we define the cropping system yield potential as the output from the combination of crops that gives the highest energy yield per unit of land and time, and the cropping system yield gap as the difference between actual energy yield of an existing cropping system and the cropping system yield potential. Then, we provide a framework to identify alternative cropping systems which can be evaluated against the current ones. A proof-of-concept is provided with irrigated rice-maize systems at four locations in Bangladesh that represent a range of climatic conditions in that country. The proposed framework identified (i) realistic alternative cropping systems at each location, and (ii) two locations where expected improvements in crop production from changes in cropping intensity (number of crops per year) were 43% to 64% higher than from improving the management of individual crops within the current cropping systems. The proposed framework provides a tool to help assess food production capacity of new systems ( e.g. with increased cropping intensity) arising from climate change, and assess resource requirements (water and N) and associated environmental footprint per unit of land and production of these new systems. By expanding yield gap analysis from individual crops to the cropping system level and applying it to new systems, this framework could also be helpful to bridge the gap between yield gap analysis and cropping/farming system design.

  8. Debranching improves morpho-physiological characters, fruit quality and yield of tomato

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mondal, M.M.A.; Razzaque, A.H.M.

    2016-01-01

    Farmers are commercially cultivated tomato with different levels of shoot pruning but this production practice has not been defined clearly. The experiment was conducted under sub-tropical condition to assess the effect of different levels of debranching on morpho-physiological, reproductive and yield contributing characters in determinate tomato cultivar cv. Binatomato-5. The debranching levels were: i) control, ii) only main stem (MS), iii) MS with 2 branches, iv) MS with 3 branches and v) MS with 4 branches. Based on recommended spacing (50 cm * 50 cm), the higher fruit yield plant-1 as well as fruit yield per hectare were observed in more branch bearing plants of the treatment control (MS with 5-6 branches), MS with 3 branches and MS with 4 branches due to production of higher number of fruits plant-1 with being the highest in MS with 3 branches due to increase fruit size. The lowest fruit yield per plant as well as per hectare was observed in uniculm plants due to lower number of fruits per plant. This study suggests that plants that have MS with three branches may be recommended for commercial cultivation of tomato under sub-tropical condition. (author)

  9. VERMICOMPOST APPLICATION IMPROVING SEMIARID-GROWN CORN GREEN EAR AND GRAIN YIELDS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    PAULO SÉRGIO LIMA E SILVA

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Intensive corn farming quickly depletes soil organic matter in the nutrient-poor soils of the Brazilian semiarid region. Application of vermicompost, an excellent organic fertilizer, could help solve that problem. This study evaluated the effect of applying Eisenia fetida vermicompost in the seeding furrows, at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 Mg.ha-1 application rates, on the green ear yield and grain yield of two corn cultivars. Treatments were replicated five times with split-plots (vermicompost application rates within plots in a completely randomized block design. The number of mature ears, number of kernels per ear (cultivar BR 106, and 100-kernel weight (cultivar AG 1051 were not affected by vermicompost application rate. However, vermicompost application increased total number and weight of unhusked and husked marketable green ears as well as grain yield. Total number of green ears was higher in cultivar BR 106 than in cultivar AG 1051. Conversely, grain yield and total ear weight and marketable weight of unhusked and husked green ears was higher in cultivar AG 1051, but responses in the latter two traits were dose-dependent.

  10. Tradeoffs between water requirements and yield stability in annual vs. perennial crops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vico, Giulia; Brunsell, Nathaniel A.

    2018-02-01

    Population growth and changes in climate and diets will likely further increase the pressure on agriculture and water resources globally. Currently, staple crops are obtained from annuals plants. A shift towards perennial crops may enhance many ecosystem services, but at the cost of higher water requirements and lower yields. It is still unclear when the advantages of perennial crops overcome their disadvantages and perennial crops are thus a sustainable solution. Here we combine a probabilistic description of the soil water balance and crop development with an extensive dataset of traits of congeneric annuals and perennials to identify the conditions for which perennial crops are more viable than annual ones with reference to yield, yield stability, and effective use of water. We show that the larger and more developed roots of perennial crops allow a better exploitation of soil water resources and a reduction of yield variability with respect to annual species, but their yields remain lower when considering grain crops. Furthermore, perennial crops have higher and more variable irrigation requirements and lower water productivity. These results are important to understand the potential consequences for yield, its stability, and water resource use of a shift from annual to perennial crops and, more generally, if perennial crops may be more resilient than annual crops in the face of climatic fluctuations.

  11. Comparison of operating strategies for increased biogas production from thin stillage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moestedt, Jan; Nordell, Erik; Schnürer, Anna

    2014-04-10

    The effect of increasing organic loading rate (OLR) and simultaneously decreasing hydraulic retention time (HRT) during anaerobic digestion of sulphur- and nitrogen-rich thin stillage was investigated during operation of continuously stirred tank laboratory reactors at two different temperatures. The operating strategies and substrate were set in order to mimic an existing full-scale commercial biogas plant in Sweden. The reactors were operated for 554-570 days with a substrate mixture of thin stillage and milled grain, resulting in high ammonium concentrations (>4.5gL(-1)). Initially, one reactor was operated at 38°C, as in the full-scale plant, while in the experimental reactor the temperature was raised to 44°C. Both reactors were then subjected to increasing OLR (from 3.2 to 6.0gVSL(-1)d(-1)) and simultaneously decreasing HRT (from 45 to 24 days) to evaluate the effects of these operational strategies on process stability, hydrogen sulphide levels and microbial composition. The results showed that operation at 44°C was the most successful strategy, resulting in up to 22% higher methane yield compared with the mesophilic reactor, despite higher free ammonia concentration. Furthermore, kinetic studies revealed higher biogas production rate at 44°C compared with 38°C, while the level of hydrogen sulphide was not affected. Quantitative PCR analysis of the microbiological population showed that methanogenic archaea and syntrophic acetate-oxidising bacteria had responded to the new process temperature while sulphate-reducing bacteria were only marginally affected by the temperature-change. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Foliar copper uptake by maize plants: effects on growth and yield

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rogério Hidalgo Barbosa

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available A slight increase in the levels of a certain nutrient can cause a significant increase in crop yield or can cause phytotoxicity symptoms. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of foliar application of copper (Cu on the growth and yield of DG-501 maize. The experiment was carried out between December 2009 and April 2010 in conventional tillage. When plants were with six to eight leaves, Cu (0, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600g ha-1 was applied to the leaves. Treatments were arranged in randomized complete block with five replications. When 50% of the plants were in flowering, it was evaluated the plant height, culm diameter, height of the first ear insertion, leaf area, and chlorophyll content. At harvest, it was evaluated diameter and length of the ear, yield and thousand grain weight. There was a linear reduction in the plant height and in the height of the first ear insertion with increasing Cu doses. On the other hand, chlorophyll content, leaf area, diameter and length of ear, thousand grain weight and yield increased at doses up to 100g ha-1 Cu, however, decreased at higher doses. Therefore, foliar Cu application at doses higher than 100g ha-1 has toxic effect in maize plants with losses in growth and yield.

  13. Atomic Oxygen Erosion Yield Dependence Upon Texture Development in Polymers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banks, Bruce A.; Loftus, Ryan J.; Miller, Sharon K.

    2016-01-01

    The atomic oxygen erosion yield (volume of a polymer that is lost due to oxidation per incident atom) of polymers is typically assumed to be reasonably constant with increasing fluence. However polymers containing ash or inorganic pigments, tend to have erosion yields that decrease with fluence due to an increasing presence of protective particles on the polymer surface. This paper investigates two additional possible causes for erosion yields of polymers that are dependent upon atomic oxygen. These are the development of surface texture which can cause the erosion yield to change with fluence due to changes in the aspect ratio of the surface texture that develops and polymer specific atomic oxygen interaction parameters. The surface texture development under directed hyperthermal attack produces higher aspect ratio surface texture than isotropic thermal energy atomic oxygen attack. The fluence dependence of erosion yields is documented for low Kapton H (DuPont, Wilmington, DE) effective fluences for a variety of polymers under directed hyperthermal and isotropic thermal energy attack.

  14. Association between Empirically Estimated Monsoon Dynamics and Other Weather Factors and Historical Tea Yields in China: Results from a Yield Response Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca Boehm

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Farmers in China’s tea-growing regions report that monsoon dynamics and other weather factors are changing and that this is affecting tea harvest decisions. To assess the effect of climate change on tea production in China, this study uses historical weather and production data from 1980 to 2011 to construct a yield response model that estimates the partial effect of weather factors on tea yields in China, with a specific focus on East Asian Monsoon dynamics. Tea (Camellia sinensis (L. Kunze has not been studied using these methods even though it is an important crop for human nutrition and the economic well-being of rural communities in many countries. Previous studies have approximated the monsoon period using historical average onset and retreat dates, which we believe limits our understanding of how changing monsoon patterns affect crop productivity. In our analysis, we instead estimate the monsoon season across China’s tea growing regions empirically by identifying the unknown breakpoints in the year-by-province cumulative precipitation. We find that a 1% increase in the monsoon retreat date is associated with 0.481%–0.535% reduction in tea yield. In the previous year, we also find that a 1% increase in the date of the monsoon retreat is associated with a 0.604% decrease in tea yields. For precipitation, we find that a 1% increase in average daily precipitation occurring during the monsoon period is associated with a 0.184%–0.262% reduction in tea yields. In addition, our models show that 1% increase in the average daily monsoon precipitation from the previous growing season is associated with 0.258%–0.327% decline in yields. We also find that a 1% decrease in solar radiation in the previous growing season is associated with 0.554%-0.864% decrease in tea yields. These findings suggest the need for adaptive management and harvesting strategies given climate change projections and the known negative association between excess

  15. Cross-Border Partnerships in Higher Education: Strategies and Issues. International Studies in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakamoto, Robin, Ed.; Chapman, David, Ed.

    2012-01-01

    "Cross-border Partnerships in Higher Education" looks beyond student and faculty exchanges to examine the myriad ways international colleges and universities work together as institutions. These partnerships have involved the creation of branch campuses, joint research and technology initiatives, collaboration in strengthening…

  16. Investigation of Tolerance, Yield and Yield Components of Wheat Cultivars to Salinity of Irrigation Water at Sensitive Stages of Growth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B Saadatian

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available This research in order to study of tolerance ability of wheat cultivates yield and yield components to salinity of irrigation water at sensitive stages of growth, was carried out as a factorial based on a randomized complete block design with 3 replications at greenhouse of Agricultural Faculty of Bu-Ali Sina University, in 2009. Treatments were included wheat cultivars of Alvand, Tous, Sayson and Navid and salinity of irrigation water induced by sodium chloride at five levels of 0, 4, 8, 12 and 16 dS m-1. The results showed that percentage and rate of emergence, plant height, 1000-grain weight, number of seed per spike, number of spike per pot, biological and grain yield reduced by increasing salinity level. At all stress levels Navid cv. had highest emergence percentage. In non-stress and 4 dS m-1, Alvand cv. and at higher levels of stress, Tous cv. had high height in reproductive phase. At control and 4 dS m-1, Sayson cv. and at 8, 12 and 16 dS m-1, Tous cv. in majority of yield and yield components traits had significant superior than other cultivars. Tolerance index of Sayson cv. at 4 and 8 dS m-1 was more than other cultivars but at 12 and 16 dS m-1, maximum value of this index was belonged to Tous cv. At all salinity levels, Alvand cv. had least tolerance index to stress. Number of spike per pot had maximum direct effect on grain yield of wheat cultivars in stress condition. Also indirect effect of biological yield via number of spike per pot than other its indirect effects, had maximum share in wheat seed yield.

  17. A Theoretical Model for Estimation of Yield Strength of Fiber Metal Laminate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhat, Sunil; Nagesh, Suresh; Umesh, C. K.; Narayanan, S.

    2017-08-01

    The paper presents a theoretical model for estimation of yield strength of fiber metal laminate. Principles of elasticity and formulation of residual stress are employed to determine the stress state in metal layer of the laminate that is found to be higher than the stress applied over the laminate resulting in reduced yield strength of the laminate in comparison with that of the metal layer. The model is tested over 4A-3/2 Glare laminate comprising three thin aerospace 2014-T6 aluminum alloy layers alternately bonded adhesively with two prepregs, each prepreg built up of three uni-directional glass fiber layers laid in longitudinal and transverse directions. Laminates with prepregs of E-Glass and S-Glass fibers are investigated separately under uni-axial tension. Yield strengths of both the Glare variants are found to be less than that of aluminum alloy with use of S-Glass fiber resulting in higher laminate yield strength than with the use of E-Glass fiber. Results from finite element analysis and tensile tests conducted over the laminates substantiate the theoretical model.

  18. Preliminary study of light yield dependence on LAB liquid scintillator composition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ye Xingchen; Yu Boxiang; Zhou Xiang

    2015-01-01

    Liquid scintillator (LS) will be adopted as the detector material in JUNO (Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory). The energy resolution requirement of JUNO is 3%, which has never previously been reached. To achieve this energy resolution, the light yield of liquid scintillator is an important factor. PPO (the fluor) and bis-MSB (the wavelength shifter) are the two main materials dissolved in LAB. To study the influence of these two materials on the transmission of scintillation photons in LS, 25 and 12 cm-long quartz vessels were used in a light yield experiment. LS samples with different concentration of PPO and bis-MSB were tested. At these lengths, the light yield growth is not obvious when the concentration of PPO is higher than 4 g/L. The influence from bis-MSB becomes insignificant when its concentration is higher than 8 mg/L. This result could provide some useful suggestions for the JUNO LS. (authors)

  19. Light affects Varronia curassavica essential oil yield by increasing trichomes frequency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emily V.R. da S. Feijó

    Full Text Available Light can act on essential oil yield directly on synthesis of secondary metabolites, or indirectly on plant growth. Varronia curassavica Jacq., Boraginaceae, is a native medicinal species from Brazil known as “erva-baleeira”, with anti-inflammatory activity related to its essential oil. Despite pharmacological evidences of this species and its economic importance for herbal medicine production, little is known about the effect of light on growth and essential oil production. This study aimed to analyze the influence of different irradiances on growth, frequency of trichomes, essential oil yield and composition of V. curassavica. The irradiance affected plant growth, but no significant alteration on leaf biomass was detected. The increase in essential oil content under higher irradiance reflected on essential oil yield, and is associated with higher frequency of glandular, globular trichomes. The essential oil composition, rich in caryophyllene derivatives was affected by irradiance, but α-humulene, the constituent of pharmaceutical interest, remained unchanged.

  20. Plant yield and nitrogen content of a digitgrass in response to azospirillum inoculation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schank, S.C.; Weier, K.L.; MacRae, I.C.

    1981-02-01

    Two Australian soils, a vertisol (pH 6.8, 0.299% N) and a sandy yellow podzol (pH 6.2, 0.042% N), were used with digitgrass, Digitaria sp. X46-2 (PI 421785), in a growth room experiment. Comparisons were made between plants inoculated with live and autoclaved bacterial suspensions of Australian and Brazilian isolates of Azospirillum brasilense. Seedlings were inoculated on days 10 and 35. Acetylene-reducing activity was measured five times during the experiment. Dry matter yields of the digitgrass on the podzol (low N) inoculated with liver bacteria were 23% higher than those of the controls. On the vertisol (high N), yield increases from inoculation with live bacteria were 8.5%. The higher-yielding plants had significantly lower precent nitrogen, but when total nitrogen of the tops was calculated, the inoculated plants had a higher total N than did the controls (P = 0.04). Acetylene-reducing activity was variable in the experiment, ranging from 0.5 to 11.9 mu mol of C2H2 core -1 day -1. Live bacterial treatment induced a proliferation of roots, possible earlier maturity, higher percent dry matter, and a higher total N in the tops. (Refs. 21).

  1. Differential metabolite profiles during fruit development in high-yielding oil palm mesocarp.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huey Fang Teh

    Full Text Available To better understand lipid biosynthesis in oil palm mesocarp, in particular the differences in gene regulation leading to and including de novo fatty acid biosynthesis, a multi-platform metabolomics technology was used to profile mesocarp metabolites during six critical stages of fruit development in comparatively high- and low-yielding oil palm populations. Significantly higher amino acid levels preceding lipid biosynthesis and nucleosides during lipid biosynthesis were observed in a higher yielding commercial palm population. Levels of metabolites involved in glycolysis revealed interesting divergence of flux towards glycerol-3-phosphate, while carbon utilization differences in the TCA cycle were proven by an increase in malic acid/citric acid ratio. Apart from insights into the regulation of enhanced lipid production in oil palm, these results provide potentially useful metabolite yield markers and genes of interest for use in breeding programmes.

  2. Gamma rays role in the improvement of yield and early maturity in soybean

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moualla, M Y; Ali, N M [Atomic Energy Commission, P.O.Box 6091, Damascus (Syrian Arab Republic)

    1995-10-01

    Seeds from soybean variety glycine max (L) Merr., were irradiated with three doses of gamma rays: 100, 150 and 200 Gray in order to obtain high yielding and early maturity mutants to grown after wheat in a two crop rotation. All the three doses induced morphological and physiological variation and malformation that increased with increasing the dose. Coefficient of variation values were higher in M2 than in their respective values of M3. The results showed no selection efficiency under the non optimal environmental growing conditions with this lack of efficiency being more evident for yield than for early maturity. Using FTAB statistical programme 20 M2 and M3 plant were selected for each character and when evaluated in the following generation, it was clear that selection efficiency was higher for early maturity than for yield; the latter being high yielding and 4 early maturing m 4 mutants were obtained. 3 tabs.

  3. Gamma rays role in the improvement of yield and early maturity in soybean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moualla, M.Y.; Ali, N.M.

    1995-01-01

    Seeds from soybean variety glycine max (L) Merr., were irradiated with three doses of gamma rays: 100, 150 and 200 Gray in order to obtain high yielding and early maturity mutants to grown after wheat in a two crop rotation. All the three doses induced morphological and physiological variation and malformation that increased with increasing the dose. Coefficient of variation values were higher in M2 than in their respective values of M3. The results showed no selection efficiency under the non optimal environmental growing conditions with this lack of efficiency being more evident for yield than for early maturity. Using FTAB statistical programme 20 M2 and M3 plant were selected for each character and when evaluated in the following generation, it was clear that selection efficiency was higher for early maturity than for yield; the latter being high yielding and 4 early maturing m 4 mutants were obtained. 3 tabs

  4. Rigid particle revisited: Extrinsic curvature yields the Dirac equation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deriglazov, Alexei, E-mail: alexei.deriglazov@ufjf.edu.br [Depto. de Matemática, ICE, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, MG (Brazil); Laboratory of Mathematical Physics, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Lenin Ave. 30 (Russian Federation); Nersessian, Armen, E-mail: arnerses@ysu.am [Yerevan State University, 1 Alex Manoogian St., Yerevan 0025 (Armenia); Laboratory of Mathematical Physics, Tomsk Polytechnic University, 634050 Tomsk, Lenin Ave. 30 (Russian Federation)

    2014-03-01

    We reexamine the model of relativistic particle with higher-derivative linear term on the first extrinsic curvature (rigidity). The passage from classical to quantum theory requires a number of rather unexpected steps which we report here. We found that, contrary to common opinion, quantization of the model in terms of so(3.2)-algebra yields massive Dirac equation. -- Highlights: •New way of canonical quantization of relativistic rigid particle is proposed. •Quantization made in terms of so(3.2) angular momentum algebra. •Quantization yields massive Dirac equation.

  5. Research and Support Strategies For Women's Higher Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babbitt, Samuel F.; And Others

    Inadequate support is presently offered for the study of certain important questions which have serious implications for educational policies affecting women. Priority should be given to the support of those areas of research and program development and evaluation that have the most critical implications for both the higher education of women and…

  6. impacts of climate and farming management on maize yield

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ACSS

    2015-11-24

    Nov 24, 2015 ... Dry spells may affect crop growth and final yields, even .... Supplemental soil information, up to the depth of. 93 cm was .... be slightly cooler (Tmax) due to its higher attitude. (1807 m ... All climate data processing and plotting.

  7. [Milk yield and environmental factors: Multiple regression analysis of the association between milk yield and udder health, fertility data and replacement rate].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fölsche, C; Staufenbiel, R

    2014-01-01

    The relationship between milk yield and both fertility and general animal health in dairy herds is discussed from opposing viewpoints. The hypothesis (1) that raising the herd milk yield would decrease fertility results, the number of milk cells as an indicator for udder health and the replacement rate as a global indicator for animal health as well as increasing the occurrence of specific diseases as a herd problem was compared to the opposing hypotheses that there is no relationship (2) or that there is a differentiated and changing relationship (3). A total of 743 herd examinations, considered independent, were performed in 489 herds between 1995 and 2010. The milk yield, fertility rate, milk cell count, replacement rate, categorized herd problems and management information were recorded. The relationship between the milk yield and both the fertility data and animal health was evaluated using simple and multiple regression analyses. The period between calving and the first service displayed no significant relationship to the herd milk yield. Simple regression analysis showed that the period between calving and gestation, the calving interval and the insemination number were significantly positively associated with the herd milk yield. This positive correlation was lost in multiple regression analysis. The milk cell count and replacement rate using both the simple and multiple regression analyses displayed a significant negative relationship to the milk yield. The alternative hypothesis (3) was confirmed. A higher milk yield has no negative influence on the milk cell count and the replacement rate in terms of the udder and general health. When parameterizing the fertility, the herd milk yield should be considered. Extending the resting time may increase the milk yield while preventing a decline in the insemination index.

  8. Secondary scintillation yield from GEM and THGEM gaseous electron multipliers for direct dark matter search

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monteiro, C. M. B.; Fernandes, L. M. P.; Veloso, J. F. C. A.; Oliveira, C. A. B.; dos Santos, J. M. F.

    2012-07-01

    The search for alternatives to PMTs as photosensors in optical TPCs for rare event detection has significantly increased in the last few years. In particular, in view of the next generation large volume detectors, the use of photosensors with lower natural radioactivity, such as large area APDs or GM-APDs, with the additional possibility of sparse surface coverage, triggered the intense study of secondary scintillation production in micropattern electron multipliers, such as GEMs and THGEMs, as alternatives to the commonly used uniform electric field region between two parallel meshes. The much higher scintillation output obtained from the electron avalanches in such microstructures presents an advantage in those situations. The accurate knowledge of the amount of such scintillation is important for correct detector simulation and optimization. It will also serve as a benchmark for software tools developed and/or under development for the calculation of the amount of such scintillation.The secondary scintillation yield, or electroluminescence yield, in the electron avalanches of GEMs and THGEMs operating in gaseous xenon and argon has been determined for different gas pressures. At 1 bar, THGEMs deliver electroluminescence yields that are more than one order of magnitude higher when compared to those achieved in GEMs and two orders of magnitude when compared to those achieved in a uniform field gap. The THGEM electroluminescence yield presents a faster decrease with pressure when comparing to the GEM electroluminescence yield, reaching similar values to what is achieved in GEMs for xenon pressures of 2.5 bar, but still one order of magnitude higher than that produced in a uniform field gap. Another exception is the GEM operating in argon, which presents an electroluminescence yield similar to that produced in a uniform electric field gap, while the THGEM achieves yields that are more than one order of magnitude higher.

  9. One-pot high-yield synthesis of single-crystalline gold nanorods using glycerol as a low-cost and eco-friendly reducing agent

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Parveen, Rashida [University of São Paulo, Institute of Chemistry of São Carlos (Brazil); Gomes, Janaina F. [Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Departamento de Engenharia Química (Brazil); Ullah, Sajjad [University of São Paulo, Institute of Chemistry of São Carlos (Brazil); Acuña, José J. S. [Universidade Federal do ABC, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (Brazil); Tremiliosi-Filho, Germano, E-mail: germano@iqsc.usp.br [University of São Paulo, Institute of Chemistry of São Carlos (Brazil)

    2015-10-15

    The formation of gold nanorods (AuNRs) has recently attracted great attention due to their shape-dependent optical properties that are important for many applications. The development of simpler and safer methods for the high-yield synthesis of AuNRs employing low-cost and easily handled reagents is thus of great importance. Here, we introduce, for the first time, a one-pot seedless method for the preparation of single-crystalline AuNRs in almost 100 % yield based on the use of glycerol in alkaline medium as an eco-friendly, low-cost and pH-tunable reducing agent. The synthesized AuNRs were characterized by UV–Vis–NIR spectroscopy, FEG–SEM and HRTEM. The effect of the presence of capping agent (CTAB) and the concentration of reactants (glycerol, NaOH and AgNO{sub 3}) on the yield and aspect ratio (AR) of AuNRs is discussed. The AR and yield of AuNRs showed a clear dependence on the pH and temperature of the reaction mixture as well as on the concentration of AgNO{sub 3} added as an auxiliary reagent. The longitudinal plasmon resonance band of the resulting AuNRs can be tuned between 620 and 1200 nm by varying the reaction conditions. AuNRs with an aspect ratio (AR) of around 4 were obtained in almost 100 % yield at room temperature and under mild reducing environment. The formation of AuNRs is faster at higher pH (>11) and higher temperature (>30 °C), but the AuNR yield is smaller (<70 %). Variation in the pH of the reaction mixture in the range 12–13.5 results in the formation of AuNRs with different ARs and in different yields (27–99 %). Detailed study of the AuNRs crystallography by HRTEM showed that the AuNRs grow in [001] direction and have a perfect single-crystalline fcc structure, free from structural faults or dislocations. The present green method, which introduces glycerol as a tunable reducing agent with a pH-dependent reducing power, can provide a more general strategy for the preparation of a wide range of metallic nanoparticles.

  10. Yield trends and yield gap analysis of major crops in the world

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hengsdijk, H.; Langeveld, J.W.A.

    2009-01-01

    This study aims to quantify the gap between current and potential yields of major crops in the world, and the production constraints that contribute to this yield gap. Using an expert-based evaluation of yield gaps and the literature, global and regional yields and yield trends of major crops are

  11. Quartz crystal microbalance-based system for high-sensitivity differential sputter yield measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rubin, B.; Topper, J. L.; Farnell, C. C.; Yalin, A. P.

    2009-01-01

    We present a quartz crystal microbalance-based system for high sensitivity differential sputter yield measurements of different target materials due to ion bombardment. The differential sputter yields can be integrated to find total yields. Possible ion beam conditions include ion energies in the range of 30-350 eV and incidence angles of 0 deg. - 70 deg. from normal. A four-grid ion optics system is used to achieve a collimated ion beam at low energy (<100 eV) and a two-grid ion optics is used for higher energies (up to 750 eV). A complementary weight loss approach is also used to measure total sputter yields. Validation experiments are presented that confirm high sensitivity and accuracy of sputter yield measurements.

  12. Innovative training strategy for higher education: the photonics training platform at University of Bordeaux

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vieules, Marie Bénédicte; Oberlé, Jean; Cormier, Eric

    2017-08-01

    The Photonics training platform of University of Bordeaux aims at renewing higher education offer by structuring training (initial and continuing) on a "sector-specific" approach. The initiative is organized around key professional sectors identified in collaboration with regional socio-economic partners as well as research and teaching teams from Bordeaux's higher education facilities. The training platform intends to improve the hiring potential of students through a better match between the initial training courses and the labor market needs and to develop lifelong training courses in the University of Bordeaux. It aims at organizing these courses according to an approach by field and to establish their position at national and international levels. The platform acts on three priority axes: training provision, national and international partnerships, pedagogical innovation as well as lifelong learning improvement. Its strategy is based on the latter priorities and consists in the development of the training offer on the application sectors in close connection with industrials and a significant involvement in internationalization. The Photonics training platform strives to become a collaborative lab of ideas to design innovative learning tools by revisiting teaching methods in relation with technological developments; create a community of education experts in the field of photonics to spread this key enabling technology around scientific thematic taught in university. This project provides resources available to all stakeholders for better efficiency in the design and management of training projects and will be engaged in a continuous improvement process to establish the continuity of projects and quality enhancement.

  13. The effect of sowing date and plant density on yield and yield components of safflower (Carthamus tinctorious L. in Rokh plateau .

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    seyd fazel fazeli kakhaki

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available To investigate the effect of sowing date and plant density on yield and yield components of safflower ( Carthamus tinctorious as well as evaluating the possibility of the second sowing of the plant in Torbat Heidariyeh , a field experiment was conducted in Rokh, Cold Season Cereal Research Station 2005 . The experiment was conducted in split plot arrangement in complete randomized block design with four replications . Main plots were sowing date in five levels including 9 April, 10 May, 31 May, 20 June, 11 July and sub plots were plant density in three levels including 300000, 400000, 500000 plants per hectar. Some charactristics such as the number of capitulum per square meter, seed number in capitulum, seed weight, harvest index and seed yeild was evaluated.The highest seed yield was obtained in first sowing date in 3347 kg/ha and a delay in sowing date resulted a decrease in yield. The cold weather in (05/11/2005 caused flower fertility not accured, consequently, sowing was not successful . Results showed that the effect of sowing date on yield depends on the number of capitulum per unit area and the number of grains per capitulum. These two characteristics in th first sowing date in respect of the other dates were higher. The effect of density on yield was significant resulted on yield increase due to capitulum increase in unit area. As a result, the first sowing date with the highest density is recommended. However, The third and fourth sowing date can be considered as the second planting in a sequeational cropping system .

  14. Connectivity strategies to enhance the capacity of weight-bearing networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janaki, T.M.; Gupte, Neelima

    2003-01-01

    The connectivity properties of a weight-bearing network are exploited to enhance its capacity. We study a 2D network of sites where the weight-bearing capacity of a given site depends on the capacities of the sites connected to it in the layers above. The network consists of clusters, viz., a set of sites connected with each other with the largest such collection of sites being denoted as the maximal cluster. New connections are made between sites in successive layers using two distinct strategies. The key element of our strategies consists of adding as many disjoint clusters as possible to the sites on the trunk T of the maximal cluster. In the first strategy the reconnections start from the last layer upwards and stop when no new sites are added. In the second case, the reconnections start from the top layer and go all the way down to the last layer. The new networks can bear much higher weights than the original networks and have much lower failure rates. The first strategy leads to a greater enhancement of stability, whereas the second leads to a greater enhancement of capacity compared to the original networks. The original network used here is a typical example of the branching hierarchical class. However, the application of strategies similar to ours can yield useful results in other types of networks as well

  15. Stability Parameters for Grain Yield and its Component Traits in Maize Hybrids of Different FAO Maturity Groups

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dragan Djurovic

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available An objective evaluation of maize hybrids in intensive cropping systems requires identification not only of yield components and other agronomically important traits but also of stability parameters. Grain yield and its components were assessed in 11 maize hybrids with different lengths of growing season (FAO 300-700 maturity groups using analysis of variance and regression analysis at three different locations in Western Serbia. The test hybrids and locations showed significant differences in grain yield, grain moisture content at maturity, 1,000-kernel weight and ear length. A significant interaction was observed between all traits and the environment. The hybrids with higher mean values of the traits, regardless of maturity group, generally exhibited sensitivity i.e. adaptation to more favourable environmental conditions as compared to those having lower mean values. Regression coefficient (bi values for grain yield mostly suggested no significant differences relative to the mean. The medium-season hybrid gave high yields and less favourable values of stability parameters at most locations and in most years, as compared to mediumlate hybrids. As compared to medium-early hybrids, medium-late hybrids (FAO 600 and 700 mostly exhibited unfavourable values of stability parameters i.e. a specific response and better adaptation to favourable environmental conditions, and gave higher average yields. Apart from producing lower average yields, FAO 300 and 400 hybrids showed higher yield stability as compared to the other hybrids tested. Medium-late hybrids had higher yields and showed a better response to favourable environmental conditions compared to early-maturing hybrids. Therefore, they can be recommended for intensive cultural practices and low-stress environments. Due to their more favourable stability parameter values, medium-early hybrids can be recommended for low-intensity cultural practices and stressful environments.

  16. Laboratory Evolution to Alternating Substrate Environments Yields Distinct Phenotypic and Genetic Adaptive Strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sandberg, Troy E.; Lloyd, Colton J.; Palsson, Bernhard O.

    2017-01-01

    conditions and different adaptation strategies depending on the substrates being switched between; in some environments, a persistent "generalist" strain developed, while in another, two "specialist" subpopulations arose that alternated dominance. Diauxic lag phenotype varied across the generalists...... maintain simple, static culturing environments so as to reduce selection pressure complexity. In this study, we investigated the adaptive strategies underlying evolution to fluctuating environments by evolving Escherichia coli to conditions of frequently switching growth substrate. Characterization...... of evolved strains via a number of different data types revealed the various genetic and phenotypic changes implemented in pursuit of growth optimality and how these differed across the different growth substrates and switching protocols. This work not only helps to establish general principles of adaptation...

  17. Photophysics of the variable quantum yield of asymmetric bilirubin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Troup, G.J.

    1998-01-01

    Full text: Bilirubin (BR), responsible for neonatal jaundice, is a molecule containing two pyrromethenone chromophores conjoined by a 'saturated' carbon CH 2 group. Because this disease is cured by phototherapy, BR has been extensively studied by laser means. When the chromophores in each half of the molecule are identical, we have symmetrical BR (SBR); when they are not, we have asymmetric BR (ASBR). The quantum yield of the photoproducts in simple organic solution from SBR is not wavelength-dependent, while that from ASBR is. Because of the proximity of the two chromophores, both the SBR and ASBR systems are subject to Davidoff (dynamic electric dipole) splitting of the chromophore excited states. A quantum mechanical calculation shows that when the two (ASBR) chromophore states are not degenerate, the higher Davidoff state is preferentially occupied by the chromophore with the 'original' higher energy, and the lower Davidoff state by the chromophore of 'original' lower energy. This is just what is required for the quantum yield to vary with wavelength. If the variation of the quantum yield of ASBR in the presence of human serum albumen is approximated by a square-wave (narrow line approximation), the deduced ratio of the short wavelength photoproduct yield with the long wavelength one is in agreement with accepted values for the 'original' energy difference of the chromophores, and the Davidoff splitting parameter. A previous explanation has involved variation of relaxation processes with wavelength, but only qualitatively. The quantum yields for SBRs bonded to HSA are not yet published, but show wavelength variation, possibly from asymmetric bonding. In 0.1% ammonia/methanol however, there is no such variation for the SBRs, while for ASBR, there is, and the photoproduct ratios for long and short wavelength are reciprocals of one another, as predicted by our theory

  18. Recurrent unexplained palpitations (RUP) study comparison of implantable loop recorder versus conventional diagnostic strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giada, Franco; Gulizia, Michele; Francese, Maura; Croci, Francesco; Santangelo, Lucio; Santomauro, Maurizio; Occhetta, Eraldo; Menozzi, Carlo; Raviele, Antonio

    2007-05-15

    The aim of the study was to compare the diagnostic yield and the costs of implantable loop recorder (ILR) with those of the conventional strategy in patients with unexplained palpitations. In patients with unexplained palpitations, especially in those with infrequent symptoms, the conventional strategy, including short-term ambulatory electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring and electrophysiological study, sometimes fails to establish a diagnosis. We studied 50 patients with infrequent (1 min) palpitations. Before enrollment, patients had a negative initial evaluation, including history, physical examination, and ECG. Patients were randomized either to conventional strategy (24-h Holter recording, a 4-week period of ambulatory ECG monitoring with an external recorder, and electrophysiological study) (n = 24) or to ILR implantation with 1-year monitoring (n = 26). Hospital costs of the 2 strategies were calculated. A diagnosis was obtained in 5 patients in the conventional strategy group, and in 19 subjects in the ILR group (21% vs. 73%, p < 0.001). Despite the higher initial cost, the cost per diagnosis in the ILR group was lower than in the conventional strategy group (euro 3,056 +/- euro 363 vs. euro 6,768 +/- euro 6,672, p = 0.012). In subjects without severe heart disease and with infrequent palpitations, ILR is a safe and more cost-effective diagnostic approach than conventional strategy.

  19. Investigation of nutrient feeding strategies in a countercurrent mixed-acid multi-staged fermentation: experimental data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Aaron Douglas; Lockman, Nur Ain; Holtzapple, Mark T

    2011-06-01

    Nutrients are essential for microbial growth and metabolism in mixed-culture acid fermentations. Understanding the influence of nutrient feeding strategies on fermentation performance is necessary for optimization. For a four-bottle fermentation train, five nutrient contacting patterns (single-point nutrient addition to fermentors F1, F2, F3, and F4 and multi-point parallel addition) were investigated. Compared to the traditional nutrient contacting method (all nutrients fed to F1), the near-optimal feeding strategies improved exit yield, culture yield, process yield, exit acetate-equivalent yield, conversion, and total acid productivity by approximately 31%, 39%, 46%, 31%, 100%, and 19%, respectively. There was no statistical improvement in total acid concentration. The traditional nutrient feeding strategy had the highest selectivity and acetate-equivalent selectivity. Total acid productivity depends on carbon-nitrogen ratio.

  20. Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp. Metabolomics: Osmoprotection as a Physiological Strategy for Drought Stress Resistance and Improved Yield

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piebiep Goufo

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Plants usually tolerate drought by producing organic solutes, which can either act as compatible osmolytes for maintaining turgor, or radical scavengers for protecting cellular functions. However, these two properties of organic solutes are often indistinguishable during stress progression. This study looked at individualizing properties of osmotic adjustment vs. osmoprotection in plants, using cowpea as the model species. Two cultivars were grown in well-watered soil, drought conditions, or drought followed by rewatering through fruit formation. Osmoadaptation was investigated in leaves and roots using photosynthetic traits, water homoeostasis, inorganic ions, and primary and secondary metabolites. Multifactorial analyses indicated allocation of high quantities of amino acids, sugars, and proanthocyanidins into roots, presumably linked to their role in growth and initial stress perception. Physiological and metabolic changes developed in parallel and drought/recovery responses showed a progressive acclimation of the cowpea plant to stress. Of the 88 metabolites studied, proline, galactinol, and a quercetin derivative responded the most to drought as highlighted by multivariate analyses, and their correlations with yield indicated beneficial effects. These metabolites accumulated differently in roots, but similarly in leaves, suggesting a more conservative strategy to cope with drought in the aerial parts. Changes in these compounds roughly reflected energy investment in protective mechanisms, although the ability of plants to adjust osmotically through inorganic ions uptake could not be discounted.

  1. Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) Metabolomics: Osmoprotection as a Physiological Strategy for Drought Stress Resistance and Improved Yield.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goufo, Piebiep; Moutinho-Pereira, José M; Jorge, Tiago F; Correia, Carlos M; Oliveira, Manuela R; Rosa, Eduardo A S; António, Carla; Trindade, Henrique

    2017-01-01

    Plants usually tolerate drought by producing organic solutes, which can either act as compatible osmolytes for maintaining turgor, or radical scavengers for protecting cellular functions. However, these two properties of organic solutes are often indistinguishable during stress progression. This study looked at individualizing properties of osmotic adjustment vs. osmoprotection in plants, using cowpea as the model species. Two cultivars were grown in well-watered soil, drought conditions, or drought followed by rewatering through fruit formation. Osmoadaptation was investigated in leaves and roots using photosynthetic traits, water homoeostasis, inorganic ions, and primary and secondary metabolites. Multifactorial analyses indicated allocation of high quantities of amino acids, sugars, and proanthocyanidins into roots, presumably linked to their role in growth and initial stress perception. Physiological and metabolic changes developed in parallel and drought/recovery responses showed a progressive acclimation of the cowpea plant to stress. Of the 88 metabolites studied, proline, galactinol, and a quercetin derivative responded the most to drought as highlighted by multivariate analyses, and their correlations with yield indicated beneficial effects. These metabolites accumulated differently in roots, but similarly in leaves, suggesting a more conservative strategy to cope with drought in the aerial parts. Changes in these compounds roughly reflected energy investment in protective mechanisms, although the ability of plants to adjust osmotically through inorganic ions uptake could not be discounted.

  2. Effect of Mycorrhiza Symbiosis on Yield, Yield Components and Water Use Efficiency of Sesame (Sesamum indicum L. Affected by Different Irrigation Regimes in Mashhad Condition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A Koocheki

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Plant association with mycorrhiza has been considered as one of the options to improve input efficiency particularly for water and nutrient - (Allen and Musik, 1993; Bolan, 1991. This has been due to kncreasing the absorbing area of the root and therefore better contact with water and nutrients. Inoculation with mycorrhiza enhances nutrient uptake with low immobility such as phosphorus and solphur-, improve association and could be an option to drought and other environmental abnormalities such as salinity (Rice et al., 2002. Moreover, higher water use efficiency (WUE for crops -has been reported in the literatures (Sekhara and Reddy, 1993.The sustainable use of scarce water resources in Iran is a priority for agricultural development. The pressure of using water in agriculture sector is increasing, so creating ways to improve water-use efficiency and taking a full advantage of available water are crucial. Water stress reduce crop yield by impairing the growth of crop canopy and biomass. Scheduling water application is very crucial for efficient use of drip irrigation system, as excessive irrigation reduces yield, while inadequate irrigation causes water stress and reduces production. The aim of present study was to evaluate the symbiotic effect of mycorrhiza on yield, yield components and water use efficiency of sesame under different irrigation regimes in Mashhad. Material and Methods In order to investigate the impact of inoculation with two species of Arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi on yield, yield components and water use efficiency (WUE of sesame (Sesamum indicum L. under different irrigation regimes, an experiment was conducted as split plot based on a randomized complete block design with three replications during two growing seasons 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 at the Agricultural Research Station, College of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.. The experimental factors were three irrigation regimes include 2000, 3000 and

  3. Simulating the potential yield and yield gaps of sugar beet due to water and nitrogen limitations in Khorasan province using SUCROS model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R Deihimfard

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Crop productivity is highly constrained by water and nitrogen limitations in many areas of the world (Kalra et al., 2007. Therefore, there is a need to investigate more on nitrogen and water management to achieve higher production as well as quality. Irrigated sugar beet in the cropping systems of Khorasan province in northeastern of Iran accounts for about 34% of the land area under sugar beet production (~115,000 ha with an average yield of around 36 t.ha-1 (Anonymous, 2009. However, there is a huge yield gap (the difference between potential and water and nitrogen-limited yield mainly due to biotic and abiotic factors causing major reduction in farmers’ yield. Accordingly, yield gap analysis should be carried out to reduce the yield reduction and reach the farmer’s yield to the potential yield. The current study aimed to simulate potential yield as well as yield gap related to water and nitrogen shortage in the major sugar beet-growing areas of Khorasan province of Iran. Materials and methods This study was carried out in 6 locations across Khorasan province, which is located in the northeast of Iran. Long term weather data for 1986 to 2009 were obtained from Iran Meteorological Organization for 6 selected locations. The weather data included daily sunshine hours (h, daily maximum and minimum temperatures (◦C, and daily rainfall (mm. Daily solar radiation was estimated using the Goudriaan (1993 method. The validated SUCROSBEET model (Deihimfard, 2011; Deihimfard et al., 2011 was then used to estimate potential, water and nitrogen-limited yield and yield gap of sugar beet for 6 selected locations across the Khorasan province in the northeast of Iran. This model simulates the impacts of weather, genotype and management factors on crop growth and development, soil water and nitrogen balance on a daily basis and finally it predicts crop yield. The model requires input data, including local weather and soil conditions, cultivar

  4. EFFECT OF COVER CROPS ON SOIL ATTRIBUTES, PLANT NUTRITION, AND IRRIGATED TROPICAL RICE YIELD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ANDRE FROES DE BORJA REIS

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In flood plains, cover crops are able to alter soil properties and significantly affect rice nutrition and yield. The aims of this study were to determine soil properties, plant nutrition, and yield of tropical rice cultivated on flood plains after cover crop cultivation with conventional tillage (CT and no-tillage system (NTS at low and high nitrogen (N fertilization levels. The experimental design was a randomized block in a split-split-plot scheme with four replications. In the main plots were cover crops sunhemp (Crotalaria juncea and C. spectabilis, velvet bean (Mucuna aterrima, jackbean (Canavalia ensiformis, pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan, Japanese radish (Raphanus sativus, cowpea (Vigna unguiculata and a fallow field. In the subplots were the tillage systems (CT or NTS. The nitrogen fertilization levels in the sub-subplots were (10 kg N ha-1 and 45 kg N ha-1. All cover crops except Japanese radish significantly increased mineral soil nitrogen and nitrate concentrations. Sunhemp, velvet bean, and cowpea significantly increased soil ammonium content. The NTS provides higher mineral nitrogen and ammonium content than that by CT. Overall, cover crops provided higher levels of nutrients to rice plants in NTS than in CT. Cover crops provide greater yield than fallow treatments. Rice yield was higher in NTS than in CT, and greater at a higher rather than lower nitrogen fertilization level.

  5. Voyager 2 Uranus targeting strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cesarone, R. J.; Gray, D. L.; Potts, C. L.; Francis, K.

    1986-01-01

    One of the major challenges involved in the Voyager 2 Uranus flyby is to deliver the spacecraft to an appropriate aimpoint at the optimum time, so as to maximize the science return of the mission, while yet keeping propellant expenditure low. An unusual targeting strategy has been devised to satisfy these requirements. Its complexity arises from the great distance of the planet Uranus and the limited performance capabilities of Voyager. This selected strategy is developed in relation to a set of candidate strategies, mission requirements and shifting science objectives. The analysis of these candidates is conducted via a Monte Carlo simulation, the results of which yield data for the comparative evaluation and eventual and selection of the actual targeting strategy to be employed.

  6. High yield CTMP fibres as a possibility of the more efficient yield of wood raw material

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Klašnja Bojana A.

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The evident shortage of wood as a raw material has become a limiting factor in the pulp and paper industry which is the greatest consumer of wood in Europe. The situation in our country is similar. During the few past years, the production of poplar and willow pulpwood was 220.000 m3 per year, which is insufficient for the planned increase in the production of sulphate pulp (175.000 tons till 2005. This paper deals with the aspects of the more efficient yield of raw material, based on the significantly higher yield of CTMP fibres, as well as with the significance of the lower adverse effect on the environment. It also analyses the conditions of production and the quality of the obtained fibres, as a possible substitute for chemical pulp and secondary fibres in papers of different quality. The main reasons for the production and use of CTMP fibres in our country are reported.

  7. Increased SBPase activity improves photosynthesis and grain yield in wheat grown in greenhouse conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Driever, Steven M; Simkin, Andrew J; Alotaibi, Saqer; Fisk, Stuart J; Madgwick, Pippa J; Sparks, Caroline A; Jones, Huw D; Lawson, Tracy; Parry, Martin A J; Raines, Christine A

    2017-09-26

    To meet the growing demand for food, substantial improvements in yields are needed. This is particularly the case for wheat, where global yield has stagnated in recent years. Increasing photosynthesis has been identified as a primary target to achieve yield improvements. To increase leaf photosynthesis in wheat, the level of the Calvin-Benson cycle enzyme sedoheptulose-1,7-biphosphatase (SBPase) has been increased through transformation and expression of a Brachypodium distachyon SBPase gene construct. Transgenic lines with increased SBPase protein levels and activity were grown under greenhouse conditions and showed enhanced leaf photosynthesis and increased total biomass and dry seed yield. This showed the potential of improving yield potential by increasing leaf photosynthesis in a crop species such as wheat. The results are discussed with regard to future strategies for further improvement of photosynthesis in wheat.This article is part of the themed issue 'Enhancing photosynthesis in crop plants: targets for improvement'. © 2017 The Authors.

  8. Effect of Irrigation Timing on Root Zone Soil Temperature, Root Growth and Grain Yield and Chemical Composition in Corn

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xuejun Dong

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available High air temperatures during the crop growing season can reduce harvestable yields in major agronomic crops worldwide. Repeated and prolonged high night air temperature stress may compromise plant growth and yield. Crop varieties with improved heat tolerance traits as well as crop management strategies at the farm scale are thus needed for climate change mitigation. Crop yield is especially sensitive to night-time warming trends. Current studies are mostly directed to the elevated night-time air temperature and its impact on crop growth and yield, but less attention is given to the understanding of night-time soil temperature management. Delivering irrigation water through drip early evening may reduce soil temperature and thus improve plant growth. In addition, corn growers typically use high-stature varieties that inevitably incur excessive respiratory carbon loss from roots and transpiration water loss under high night temperature conditions. The main objective of this study was to see if root-zone soil temperature can be reduced through drip irrigation applied at night-time, vs. daytime, using three corn hybrids of different above-ground architecture in Uvalde, TX where day and night temperatures during corn growing season are above U.S. averages. The experiment was conducted in 2014. Our results suggested that delivering well-water at night-time through drip irrigation reduced root-zone soil temperature by 0.6 °C, increase root length five folds, plant height 2%, and marginally increased grain yield by 10%. However, irrigation timing did not significantly affect leaf chlorophyll level and kernel crude protein, phosphorous, fat and starch concentrations. Different from our hypothesis, the shorter, more compact corn hybrid did not exhibit a higher yield and growth as compared with taller hybrids. As adjusting irrigation timing would not incur an extra cost for farmers, the finding reported here had immediate practical implications for farm

  9. Evaluation of yield and N2 fixation of mutant lines of groundnut in Malaysia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rusli, I.; Harun, A.R.; Rahman, K.A.; Shamsuddin, S.; Rahim, K.A.; Danso, S.K.A.

    1998-01-01

    The 15 N-dilution technique was used to evaluate N 2 fixation in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in three field trials of cultivars Matjan and V-13 (parents), their selected mutant lines, and a other local and foreign genotypes. Matjan mutant MJ/40/42 consistently produced the highest pod yields, at above 4 t ha -1 , 14-22% higher yields than the parent. In contrast, none of the V-13 mutants had consistently better yields than the parent. The mutant lines did not show consistent agronomic performance from year to year. Total dry matter yield did not correlate with pod yield, and pod yield did not correlate with amount of N fixed

  10. Yields of ZP sweet maize hybrids in dependence on sowing densities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Srdić Jelena

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Sweet maize differs from maize of standard grain quality by many important traits that affect the ear appearance, and especially by traits controlling taste. The ear appearance trait encompasses the kernel row number, configuration, row pattern (direction and arrangement, seed set, kernel width and depth, ear shape and size. The quality of immature kernels is controlled by genes by which sweet maize differs from common maize. In order to obtain high-ranking and high-quality yields, it is necessary to provide the most suitable cropping practices for sweet maize hybrids developed at the Maize Research Institute, Zemun Polje. The adequate sowing density is one of more important elements of correct cropping practices. The objective of the present study was to determine the effect of four sowing densities in four ZP sweet maize hybrids of different FAO maturity groups on ear qualitative traits and yields obtained on chernozem type of soil in Zemun Polje. The observed traits of sweet maize (ear length, kernel row number, number of kernels per row, yield and shelling percentage significantly varied over years. The higher sowing density was the higher yield of sweet maize was, hence the highest ear yield of 9.67 t ha-1 , on the average for all four hybrids, was recorded at the highest sowing density of 70,000 plants ha-1. The highest yield was detected in the hybrid ZP 424su. The highest shelling percentage (67.81% was found in the hybrid ZP 521su at the sowing density of 60,000 plants ha-1. Generally, it can be stated that sweet maize hybrids of a shorter growing season (FAO 400 could be cultivated up to 70,000 plants ha-1, while those of a longer growing season (FAO 500 could be grown up to 60,000 plants ha-1. In such a way, the most favorable parameters of yields and the highest yields can be obtained.

  11. Barriers to, and emerging strategies for, HIV testing among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chikwari, Chido D; Dringus, Stefanie; Ferrand, Rashida A

    2018-05-01

    HIV/AIDS is one of the leading causes of death among adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa and 40% of new HIV infections worldwide occur in this group. HIV testing and counselling (HTC) is the critical first step to accessing HIV treatment. The prevalence of undiagnosed HIV infection is substantially higher in adolescents compared with adults. We review barriers to HTC for adolescents and emerging HTC strategies appropriate to adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. There are substantial individual, health system and legal barriers to HTC among adolescents, and stigma by providers and communities remains an important obstacle. There has been progress made in recent years in developing strategies that address some of these barriers, increase uptake of HTC and yield of HIV. These include targeted approaches focused on provision of HTC among those higher risk of being infected, for example, index-linked HTC and use of screening tools to identify those at risk of HIV. Community-based HIV-testing approaches including HIV self-testing and incentives have also been shown to increase uptake of HTC. In implementing HTC strategies, consideration must be given to scalability and cost-effectiveness. HTC approaches must be coupled with linkage to appropriate care and prevention services.

  12. Deep rooting conferred by DEEPER ROOTING 1 enhances rice yield in paddy fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arai-Sanoh, Yumiko; Takai, Toshiyuki; Yoshinaga, Satoshi; Nakano, Hiroshi; Kojima, Mikiko; Sakakibara, Hitoshi; Kondo, Motohiko; Uga, Yusaku

    2014-07-03

    To clarify the effect of deep rooting on grain yield in rice (Oryza sativa L.) in an irrigated paddy field with or without fertilizer, we used the shallow-rooting IR64 and the deep-rooting Dro1-NIL (a near-isogenic line homozygous for the Kinandang Patong allele of DEEPER ROOTING 1 (DRO1) in the IR64 genetic background). Although total root length was similar in both lines, more roots were distributed within the lower soil layer of the paddy field in Dro1-NIL than in IR64, irrespective of fertilizer treatment. At maturity, Dro1-NIL showed approximately 10% higher grain yield than IR64, irrespective of fertilizer treatment. Higher grain yield of Dro1-NIL was mainly due to the increased 1000-kernel weight and increased percentage of ripened grains, which resulted in a higher harvest index. After heading, the uptake of nitrogen from soil and leaf nitrogen concentration were higher in Dro1-NIL than in IR64. At the mid-grain-filling stage, Dro1-NIL maintained higher cytokinin fluxes from roots to shoots than IR64. These results suggest that deep rooting by DRO1 enhances nitrogen uptake and cytokinin fluxes at late stages, resulting in better grain filling in Dro1-NIL in a paddy field in this study.

  13. The influence of aging stress on the yield point phenomenon in the zirconium alloy, ozhennite 0.5

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dickson, J.I.; Sayar, A.

    1977-01-01

    The influence of aging stress on the occurrence of yield points during interrupted tensile tests was studied in the temperature range 423 to 623 K for aging times of 2 to 10 min. The results indicate that at the lower temperatures the yield points are produced by dislocation rearrangements, with a minimum yield drop resulting from an aging close to the internal stress estimated by an unloading to zero stress relaxation technique. Above approximately 458 K, solute atoms can play an important role in the formation of the yield points. When this solute strain-aging occurs strongly, a maximum yield drop is at times obtained by aging at a stress close to the measured internal stress. At the higher deformation temperatures, the yield drop decreases more rapidly with increasing plastic strain, which result appears related to the greater amount of tangling of dislocations produced at the higher temperatures. (Auth.)

  14. Evaluation of Yield and Yield Components of Some Pinto bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. Genotypes under Late Season Water Deficit Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    somayyeh soheili movahhed

    2017-10-01

    indicated that Ks21189 genotype showed maximum number of pod perplant (9.2, number of grain per pod (2.91, 100 grain weight, grain yield (741.6 Kg.Ha-1, biological yield (2857 Kg.Ha-1 and Harvest Index (27.31% under drought stress conditions. In addition, this genotype had the least reduction for all traits under water limitation conditions in comparison to control. These findings confirm the resistance of Ks21189 genotype to drought stress and stimulating this genotype to least reduction in Grain yield under water limitation conditions. Minimum number of pod per plant (4.52, number of grain per pod (1.62, grain yield (503.1 Kg.Ha-1, biological yield (2301.6 Kg.Ha-1 and Harvest Index (22.66% was obtained in sadri genotype under drought conditions. Sadri genotype was identified as water deficit stress sensitive genotypes with reduction of yield up to 80.18%. In all genotypes, water deficit stress reduced grain yield due to reduced yield components (number of pod per plant, number of grain per pod and 100 grain weight. Conclusion The results of this experiment showed that water deficit stress on yield and yield components of bean genotypes had a negative effect. The highest and lowest yield and yield components were obtained from normal irrigation and drought stress treatments, respectively. Ks21189 genotype was more stable in water deficit treatment than other genotypes; however grain yield reduce in normal irrigation treatment was lower than other genotypes. Therefore, it seems that this genotype can be used as an appropriate genotype for supplemental evaluation in water deficit stress conditions. Correlation analysis showed significant and positive correlation between biological yield, number of pods per plant, number of grains per pod with grain yield. We concluded that genotypes with higher biological yield under drought stress conditions can produce maximum number of pods per plant, number of grains per pod and grain yield. Acknowledgments We would like to express our

  15. Improving Aspergillus niger tannase yield by N+ ion beam implantation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Jin

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available This work aimed to improve tannase yield of Aspergillus niger through N+ ion beam implantation in submerged fermentation. The energy and dose of N+ ion beam implantation were investigated. The results indicated that an excellent mutant was obtained through nine successive implantations under the conditions of 10 keV and 30-40 (×2.6×10(13 ions/cm², and its tannase yield reached 38.5 U/mL, which was about five-time higher than the original strain. The study on the genetic stability of the mutant showed that its promising performance in tannase production could be stable. The studies of metal ions and surfactants affecting tannase yield indicated that manganese ions, stannum ions, xylene and SDS contained in the culture medium had positive effects on tannase production under submerged fermentation. Magnesium ions, in particular, could enhance the tannase yield by the mutant increasing by 42%, i.e. 53.6 U/mL. Accordingly, low-energy ion implantation could be a desirable approach to improve the fungal tannase yield for its commercial application.

  16. High-yielding and photolabile approaches to the covalent attachment of biomolecules to surfaces via hydrazone chemistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ju Hun; Domaille, Dylan W; Noh, Hyunwoo; Oh, Taeseok; Choi, Chulmin; Jin, Sungho; Cha, Jennifer N

    2014-07-22

    The development of strategies to couple biomolecules covalently to surfaces is necessary for constructing sensing arrays for biological and biomedical applications. One attractive conjugation reaction is hydrazone formation--the reaction of a hydrazine with an aldehyde or ketone--as both hydrazines and aldehydes/ketones are largely bioorthogonal, which makes this particular reaction suitable for conjugating biomolecules to a variety of substrates. We show that the mild reaction conditions afforded by hydrazone conjugation enable the conjugation of DNA and proteins to the substrate surface in significantly higher yields than can be achieved with traditional bioconjugation techniques, such as maleimide chemistry. Next, we designed and synthesized a photocaged aryl ketone that can be conjugated to a surface and photochemically activated to provide a suitable partner for subsequent hydrazone formation between the surface-anchored ketone and DNA- or protein-hydrazines. Finally, we exploit the latent functionality of the photocaged ketone and pattern multiple biomolecules on the same substrate, effectively demonstrating a strategy for designing substrates with well-defined domains of different biomolecules. We expect that this approach can be extended to the production of multiplexed assays by using an appropriate mask with sequential photoexposure and biomolecule conjugation steps.

  17. Factors affecting the optimal performance of a high-yield pulping operation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Broderick, G [Noranda Technology Centre, Pointe-Claire, PQ (Canada); Paris, J [Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal, PQ (Canada); Valada, J L [Quebec Univ., Trois-Rivieres, PQ (Canada)

    1995-06-01

    Strategies for operating a chemical-mechanical pulp mill were investigated from data based on process models from some one hundred pilot scale pulping runs. Optimal values for 55 process and pulp quality variables have been calculated by applying a genetic algorithm search to a fuzzy model of the overall system. Best pulp quality was achieved and maintained when the chemical pretreatment was conducted at moderately low temperatures using a high SO{sub 2} concentration, which produced high sulphonation and high yield at the same time. By characterizing the quality of the pulp at the fibre level, optimization results were said to be more easily transferable to other high yield pulping systems. 19 refs., 6 tabs.

  18. Tradeoffs between vigor and yield for crops grown under different management systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simic Milas, Anita; Keller Vincent, Robert; Romanko, Matthew; Feitl, Melina; Rupasinghe, Prabha

    2016-04-01

    Remote sensing can provide an effective means for rapid and non-destructive monitoring of crop status and biochemistry. Monitoring pattern of traditional vigor algorithms generated from Landsat 8 OLI satellite data represents a robust method that can be widely used to differentiate the status of crops, as well as to monitor nutrient uptake functionality of differently treated seeds grown under different managements. This study considers 24 factorial parcels of winter wheat in 2013, corn in 2014, and soybeans in 2015, grown under four different types of agricultural management. The parcels are located at the Kellogg Biological Station, Long-Term Ecological Research site in the State of Michigan USA. At maturity, the organic crops exhibit significantly higher vigor and significantly lower yield than conventionally managed crops under different treatments. While organic crops invest in their metabolism at the expense of their yield, the conventional crops manage to increase their yield at the expense of their vigor. Landsat 8 OLI is capable of 1) differentiating the biochemical status of crops under different treatments at maturity, and 2) monitoring the tradeoff between crop yield and vigor that can be controlled by the seed treatments and proper conventional applications, with the ultimate goal of increasing food yield and food availability, and 3) distinguishing between organic and conventionally treated crops. Timing, quantity and types of herbicide applications have a great impact on early and pre-harvest vigor, maturity and yield of conventionally treated crops. Satellite monitoring using Landsat 8 is an optimal tool for coordinating agricultural applications, soil practices and genetic coding of the crop to produce higher yield as well as have early crop maturity, desirable in northern climates.

  19. STUDY ON THE MARKETING STRATEGY OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION (CASE COMPANY SAMK INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS)

    OpenAIRE

    Khanal, Ichha; khanal, Ichha

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of conducting this thesis was to study on the marketing strategy of an educational institution. The aim of this thesis was to study on current marketing strategy and suggest the case company with new and effective ideas for marketing. The theoretical part of this thesis hold three main elements with basic knowledge of marketing. Along with marketing mix, this thesis also covered segmentation as well as marketing strategy. For the time being, SWOT approach was utilized to...

  20. Sustainability Assessment of Plant Protection Strategies in Swiss Winter Wheat and Potato Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrik Mouron

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Production of arable crops in Switzerland is subsidized for services performed within the Proof of Ecological Performance (PEP program, the crop protection part of which is based on IPM principles. Within PEP, chemical insect control must rely on those approved insecticides that are deemed harmless for beneficial arthropods. Approved insecticides potentially impacting beneficial arthropods may also be applied, but only if unavoidable and with an official permit. In order to assess the ecological and economic sustainability of this PEP program, a reference insecticide strategy illustrating the current PEP requirements was compared with other strategies. For this purpose, a sustainability assessment taking account of ecotoxicological risks and economic viability in addition to the preservation of beneficial arthropods was performed according to the SustainOS methodology. The results show that the one-off use of Audienz (spinosad to control cereal leaf beetle (Oulema melanopus—a key pest in winter wheat—would significantly improve sustainability vis-à-vis the reference (Nomolt (teflubenzuron plus Biscaya (thiacloprid. However, in the case of the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata, in potato crops, where Audienz is considered the reference, no alternative would exhibit better sustainability. Moreover, the study shows that strategies using Novodor (Bacillus thuringiensis protect beneficial species well but have the drawbacks of increased yield risk and higher costs. The conclusions drawn from these analyses allow recommendations for modifications of the PEP requirements for these two pest insects. The SustainOS methodology, a multi-step process combining expert knowledge with quantitative assessments including a sensitivity analysis of key target parameters and a rule-based aggregation of assessment results, yielded valuable insights into the sustainability of different crop protection strategies.

  1. Spatial Sampling of Weather Data for Regional Crop Yield Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Bussel, Lenny G. J.; Ewert, Frank; Zhao, Gang; Hoffmann, Holger; Enders, Andreas; Wallach, Daniel; Asseng, Senthold; Baigorria, Guillermo A.; Basso, Bruno; Biernath, Christian; hide

    2016-01-01

    Field-scale crop models are increasingly applied at spatio-temporal scales that range from regions to the globe and from decades up to 100 years. Sufficiently detailed data to capture the prevailing spatio-temporal heterogeneity in weather, soil, and management conditions as needed by crop models are rarely available. Effective sampling may overcome the problem of missing data but has rarely been investigated. In this study the effect of sampling weather data has been evaluated for simulating yields of winter wheat in a region in Germany over a 30-year period (1982-2011) using 12 process-based crop models. A stratified sampling was applied to compare the effect of different sizes of spatially sampled weather data (10, 30, 50, 100, 500, 1000 and full coverage of 34,078 sampling points) on simulated wheat yields. Stratified sampling was further compared with random sampling. Possible interactions between sample size and crop model were evaluated. The results showed differences in simulated yields among crop models but all models reproduced well the pattern of the stratification. Importantly, the regional mean of simulated yields based on full coverage could already be reproduced by a small sample of 10 points. This was also true for reproducing the temporal variability in simulated yields but more sampling points (about 100) were required to accurately reproduce spatial yield variability. The number of sampling points can be smaller when a stratified sampling is applied as compared to a random sampling. However, differences between crop models were observed including some interaction between the effect of sampling on simulated yields and the model used. We concluded that stratified sampling can considerably reduce the number of required simulations. But, differences between crop models must be considered as the choice for a specific model can have larger effects on simulated yields than the sampling strategy. Assessing the impact of sampling soil and crop management

  2. Genetic Analysis of Yield and Physiological Traits in Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L. under Irrigation and Drought Stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azam POURMOHAMMAD

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Implementing appropriate breeding strategies for sunflower, alongside dependable information on heritability and gene effects upon yield and related traits under drought conditions, are all necessary. Thirty sunflower hybrids were produced by line × tester cross of six male-sterile and five restorer lines. Their hybrids were evaluated in three levels of irrigation, as follows: (1 non-stressed plots, irrigated at regular intervals (W1; (2 mild water stress (W2, irrigated from the beginning of the button stage (R4 to seed filling initiation (R6; (3 severe water stress (W3 started from the beginning of button stage (R4 to physiological maturity. Based on observations and specific methods for determination, canopy temperatures, chlorophyll index, relative water content and proline content, were studied by additive effects, under the different irrigation conditions. Canopy temperatures,chlorophyll index, relative water content, leaf water potential, proline content and yield were controlled by additive effects under mild stressed conditions. Under severe stress conditions however, canopy temperatures, leaf water potential and proline content were controlled by additive effects, while chlorophyll index and relative water content were controlled by both additive and dominant effects, as seed yield was mainly influenced by the dominant effects. The narrow sense heritability ranged from 47-97% for all traits, except for chlorophyll fluorescence. Yield correlated positively with chlorophyll index and relative water content, and negatively with canopy temperature and leaf water potential. Therefore, under drought stressed conditions in breeding programs, canopy temperatures, chlorophyll index and relative water content can be reliable criteria for the selection of tolerant genotypes with prospect to higher yields.

  3. Pooling strategies for St Petersburg gamblers

    OpenAIRE

    Csörgö, Sandor; Simons, Gordon

    2006-01-01

    Peter offers to play exactly one St Petersburg game with each of [math] players, Paul [math] , [math] , Paul [math] , whose conceivable pooling strategies are described by all possible probability distributions [math] . Comparing infinite expectations, we characterize among all [math] those admissible strategies for which the pooled winnings, each distributed as [math] , yield a finite added value for each and every one of Paul [math] , [math] , Paul [math] in comparison with their individual...

  4. A crop model-based approach for sunflower yields

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João Guilherme Dal Belo Leite

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Pushed by the Brazilian biodiesel policy, sunflower (Helianthus annuus L. production is becoming increasingly regarded as an option to boost farmers' income, particularly under semi-arid conditions. Biodiesel related opportunities increase the demand for decision-making information at different levels, which could be met by simulation models. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the crop model OILCROP-SUN to simulate sunflower development and growth under Brazilian conditions and to explore sunflower water- and nitrogen-limited, water-limited and potential yield and yield variability over an array of sowing dates in the northern region of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. For model calibration, an experiment was conducted in which two sunflower genotypes (H358 and E122 were cultivated in a clayey soil. Growth components (leaf area index, above ground biomass, grain yield and development stages (crop phenology were measured. A database composed of 27 sunflower experiments from five Brazilian regions was used for model evaluation. The spatial yield distribution of sunflower was mapped using ordinary kriging in ArcGIS. The model simulated sunflower grain productivity satisfactorily (Root Mean Square Error ≈ 13 %. Simulated yields were relatively high (1,750 to 4,250 kg ha-1 and the sowing window was fairly wide (Oct to Feb for northwestern locations, where sunflower could be cultivated as a second crop (double cropping at the end of the rainy season. The hybrid H358 had higher yields for all simulated sowing dates, growth conditions and selected locations.

  5. Measurements of sputtering yields for low-energy plasma ions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishi, M.; Yamada, M.; Suckewer, S.; Rosengaus, E.

    1979-04-01

    Sputtering yields of various wall/limiter materials of fusion devices have been extensively measured in the relevant plasma environment for low-energy light ions (E 14 cm -3 and electron temperature up to 10eV. Target materials used were C (graphite), Ti, Mo, Ta, W, and Fe (stainless steel). In order to study the dependence of the sputtering yields on the incident energy of ions, the target samples were held at negative bias voltage up to 300V. The sputtering yields were determined by a weight-loss method and by spectral line intensity measurements. The data obtained in the present experiment agree well with those previously obtained at the higher energies (E greater than or equal to 200eV) by other authors using different schemes; the present data also extend to substantially lower energies (E approx. > 30eV) than hitherto

  6. AN EVALUATION OF RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR DAIRY FARMS

    OpenAIRE

    Bosch, Darrell J.; Johnson, Christian J.

    1992-01-01

    Variability in feed prices and crop yields are important sources of risk to dairy farmers. A simulation model of a representative dairy farm was used to evaluate crop insurance and hedging as risk management strategies. These strategies lowered expected net returns but also reduced risk. The preferred set of strategies at lower levels of risk aversion included hedging and crop insurance, although a base scenario in which no risk management strategies were employed was also efficient. The pref...

  7. Markets Drive the Specialization Strategies of Forest Peoples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuel Ruiz-Pérez

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available Engagement in the market changes the opportunities and strategies of forest-related peoples. Efforts to support rural development need to better understand the potential importance of markets and the way people respond to them. To this end, we compared 61 case studies of the commercial production and trade of nontimber forest products from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The results show that product use is shaped by local markets and institutions, resource abundance, and the relative level of development. Larger regional patterns are also important. High-value products tend to be managed intensively by specialized producers and yield substantially higher incomes than those generated by the less specialized producers of less managed, low-value products. We conclude that commercial trade drives a process of intensified production and household specialization among forest peoples.

  8. Membrane bioreactor biomass characteristics and microbial yield at ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In this study, a laboratory-scale MBR and SBR were operated in parallel and at very low MCRTs (3 d, 2 d, 1 d and 0.5 d) to assess the relative bioreactor performance, biomass characteristics, and microbial yield. This study confirmed that the MBR maintains higher solids levels and better overall effluent quality than ...

  9. Climate Change Effects on Agricultural Production of Iran: II. Predicting Productivity of Field Crops and Adaptation Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A Koocheki

    2016-07-01

    indicated the average over the different regions, yield of wheat, corn, chickpea and sugar beet will be decreased by 18.6, 19.1, 6.6, and 20%, respectively. This decrease is mainly due to temperature rise and only 5.6% of the negative effects of temperature will be compensated by increased CO2 concentration. Regression analysis showed the yield of the studied crops will be reduced between 9 to 17% per 1°C increase in mean temperature during the growing season. For wheat and corn such a reduction would also be expected for the duration of the grain filling period. Based on these results, reduction of the total growing period (planting to maturity as well as shortened grain filling period are the main causes of the predicted crops yield decline by the target year. On average up to 60% of the yield reduction over the country could be described by global warming and the pattern of the crops yield variation follows the same spatial pattern predicted for temperature rise in 2050. Therefore, adaptation strategies for the future climate should be designed to prevent the negative effects of increased temperature during the sensitive development stages. Simulation results obtained by SUCROS model showed that among different studied adaptation strategies, using new wheat cultivars with higher heat tolerance and changing planting dates are the most efficient management practices and drastically prevent yield reduction under defined future climate scenarios. Use of these readily implemented adaptation strategies is profitable based on the available resources by improving national wheat production compared to the same climatic scenarios without adaptation. Conclusions Despite of uncertainties in the predicted results of simulation models, the results of this research indicated that during the next few decades crop yields in different regions of Iran will be reduced due to climate change and more specifically temperature rise. This yield reduction could be more drastic under actual

  10. HVM die yield improvement as a function of DRSEM ADC

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maheshwary, Sonu; Haas, Terry; McGarvey, Steve

    2010-03-01

    Given the current manufacturing technology roadmap and the competitiveness of the global semiconductor manufacturing environment in conjunction with the semiconductor manufacturing market dynamics, the market place continues to demand a reduced die manufacturing cost. This continuous pressure on lowering die cost in turn drives an aggressive yield learning curve, a key component of which is defect reduction of manufacturing induced anomalies. In order to meet and even exceed line and die yield targets there is a need to revamp defect classification strategies and place a greater emphasize on increasing the accuracy and purity of the Defect Review Scanning Electron Microscope (DRSEM) Automated Defect Classification (ADC) results while placing less emphasis on the ADC results of patterned/un-patterned wafer inspection systems. The increased emphasis on DRSEM ADC results allows for a high degree of automation and consistency in the classification data and eliminates variance induced by the manufacturing staff. This paper examines the use of SEM based Auto Defect Classification in a high volume manufacturing environment as a key driver in the reduction of defect limited yields.

  11. VARIABILITY OF YIELD AND YIELD COMPONENTS IN “EGUSI ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    journal

    Estimate of expected genetic advance in seed yield plant-1 ranged between. 25.90-48.40%. ..... values in fruit and seed yield characters have been reported in culinary melon, ... and Khund, A. 2004. Extent of heterosis and heritability in some.

  12. Satellite-based studies of maize yield spatial variations and their causes in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Y.

    2013-12-01

    Maize production in China has been expanding significantly in the past two decades, but yield has become relatively stagnant in the past few years, and needs to be improved to meet increasing demand. Multiple studies found that the gap between potential and actual yield of maize is as large as 40% to 60% of yield potential. Although a few major causes of yield gap have been qualitatively identified with surveys, there has not been spatial analysis aimed at quantifying relative importance of specific biophysical and socio-economic causes, information which would be useful for targeting interventions. This study analyzes the causes of yield variation at field and village level in Quzhou county of North China Plain (NCP). We combine remote sensing and crop modeling to estimate yields in 2009-2012, and identify fields that are consistently high or low yielding. To establish the relationship between yield and potential factors, we gather data on those factors through a household survey. We select targeted survey fields such that not only both extremes of yield distribution but also all soil texture categories in the county is covered. Our survey assesses management and biophysical factors as well as social factors such as farmers' access to agronomic knowledge, which is approximated by distance to the closest demonstration plot or 'Science and technology backyard'. Our survey covers 10 townships, 53 villages and 180 fields. Three to ten farmers are surveyed depending on the amount of variation present among sub pixels of each field. According to survey results, we extract the amount of variation within as well as between villages and or soil type. The higher within village or within field variation, the higher importance of management factors. Factors such as soil type and access to knowledge are more represented by between village variation. Through regression and analysis of variance, we gain more quantitative and thorough understanding of causes to yield variation at

  13. Effects of supplemental irrigation on water consumption characteristics and grain yield in different wheat cultivars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meng Weiwei

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Shortage of water resources is a major limiting factor for wheat (Triticum aestivum L. production in the North China Plain. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of supplemental irrigation (SI on water use characteristics and grain yield of the wheat cultivars 'Jimai 22'and 'Zhouyuan 9369'. Two supplemental irrigation treatment regimens were designed based on target relative soil moisture contents in 0-140 cm soil layers at jointing rising to 75% of field capacity (FC for each cultivar, and at anthesis rising to 65% and 75% (W1, and 70% and 80% (W2 in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, respectively. Rain-fed (W0 treatment was used as control. Under W1, grain yield of 'Jimai 22' was 5.22% higher than that of W2, and water use efficiency (WUE of 'Zhouyuan 9369' was 4.0% higher than that under W2. No significant differences in WUE of 'Jimai 22' and grain yield of 'Zhouyuan 9369' were observed for the two treatment regimens in 2009-2010. Grain yield and WUE in W1 were higher than those of W2 for both cultivars in 2010-2011. W1 enhanced soil water consumption compared to W2, especially in the 100-200 cm soil layers, for both cultivars in 2009-2011. Meanwhile, 'Jimai 22' showed higher soil water consumption and ET from anthesis to mature stage, which resulted in increase in grain yield and WUE of 'Jimai 22' by 8.15-21.7% and 7.75-11.73% in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, respectively, compared with 'Zhouyuan 9369'. Thus, our results showed that SI increased the yield and WUE of 'Jimai 22' and W1 was the better treatment regimen.

  14. The Relation of Students’ Choice of Private Higher Education and Marketing Strategies in Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ozbal Okai

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Severe market conditions and advancing technology demand a well-planned and a strategic marketing approach in all sectors as well as in education sector. This study examined the relationship between the students’ choice and the marketing strategies of private higher education (HE in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH. To perceive this relation, we chose one of the private universities in Sarajevo. The study is based on a student survey which employed a questionnaire of 55 questions under 4 sub-groups and was done by 146 students. The first step of the questionnaire was determining the motives of the students to attend a private HE institution. The next part was to investigate the information sources of the students. These two steps followed the understanding of the evaluation criteria and the decision process of the students. Finally, the survey was concluded with the post enrollment observations of the students. The data obtained analyzed by SPSS software. The results revealed a strong consistency. The students were willing to have quality education and improve themselves via HE. They were using internet as a prior information source but would not make a final decision without parents’ confirmation. The overall satisfaction of the students showed that our subject university communicates with the target groups efficiently and enjoys the benefits of positive ‘word of mouth’ marketing. Finally, we addressed the marketing strategies that we reaped throughout the study to suggest a course of action to private HEIs in the conclusion part.

  15. Influence of Previous Crop on Durum Wheat Yield and Yield Stability in a Long-term Experiment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Maria Stellacci

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Long-term experiments are leading indicators of sustainability and serve as an early warning system to detect problems that may compromise future productivity. So the stability of yield is an important parameter to be considered when judging the value of a cropping system relative to others. In a long-term rotation experiment set up in 1972 the influence of different crop sequences on the yields and on yield stability of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf. was studied. The complete field experiment is a split-split plot in a randomized complete block design with two replications; the whole experiment considers three crop sequences: 1 three-year crop rotation: sugar-beet, wheat + catch crop, wheat; 2 one-year crop rotation: wheat + catch crop; 3 wheat continuous crop; the split treatments are two different crop residue managements; the split-split plot treatments are 18 different fertilization formulas. Each phase of every crop rotation occurred every year. In this paper only one crop residue management and only one fertilization treatment have been analized. Wheat crops in different rotations are coded as follows: F1: wheat after sugar-beet in three-year crop rotation; F2: wheat after wheat in three-year crop rotation; Fc+i: wheat in wheat + catch crop rotation; Fc: continuous wheat. The following two variables were analysed: grain yield and hectolitre weight. Repeated measures analyses of variance and stability analyses have been perfomed for the two variables. The stability analysis was conducted using: three variance methods, namely the coefficient of variability of Francis and Kannenberg, the ecovalence index of Wricke and the stability variance index of Shukla; the regression method of Eberhart and Russell; a method, proposed by Piepho, that computes the probability of one system outperforming another system. It has turned out that each of the stability methods used has enriched of information the simple variance analysis. The Piepho

  16. Management strategies for aligning higher education accomodation with the user needs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Theo van der Voordt; Ronald Beckers; Geert Dewulf

    2015-01-01

    Purpose This paper aims to explore the management strategies of facility managers and corporate real estate managers to align corporate real estate (CRE) with the needs of their organization and the end users in a changing context. Design/methodology/approach The paper first outlines the

  17. Potato yield and quality as a function of the plant density

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eero Varis

    1975-05-01

    Full Text Available The effects of potato plant density on yield quantity and quality were investigated at the Hankkija Plant Breeding Institute from 1971-73, using seed rates of 1600, 3200 and 4800 kg/ha, and seed sizes of 40, 80 and 120 g. The varieties used were Ijsselster and Record. The number of stems per m2 rose with increasing seed rate and with increasing seed size. Stem number increased with seed rate faster for small seed than for large. The response in stem number was greater for Ijsselster than for Record. The number of stems per seed tuber fell as the plant density rose. The number of tubers per m2 altered in the same direction as the number of stems, but less responsively. The reason for this was that the number of tubers per stem decreased with increasing plant density. The tuber yield showed a continual increase with increasing plant density. At the lowest stem densities (less than 20—25 stems/m2 small seed gave better results than other sizes, but at the higher plant densities, the importance of seed size faded away and the yield was dependant on the plant density alone. Net yield (gross yield 2 x seed rate, however, was higher the smaller the seed used, whatever the stem density. Tuber size decreased when plant density increased, the proportion of large tubers diminishing most, especially when small seed was used. The proportion of small tubers altered more for Ijsselster than for Record. Seed size and seed rate did not on average significantly affect the proportion of Class I potatoes, though small seed gave results slightly better than other sizes. The starch content of the yield rose when the seed rate was increased (16.0-16.3 -16.5 % and fell with increasing seed size (16.5 16.2 16.1 %. The maximum variation was 15.8-16.7 %. The specific gravity distribution improved with increasing plant density. Raw discolouration of the tubers did not alter significantly as the plant density rose. Blackening of the tubers decreased with increasing plant

  18. Fission product yields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valenta, V.; Hep, J.

    1978-01-01

    Data are summed up necessary for determining the yields of individual fission products from different fissionable nuclides. Fractional independent yields, cumulative and isobaric yields are presented here for the thermal fission of 235 U, 239 Pu, 241 Pu and for fast fission (approximately 1 MeV) of 235 U, 238 U, 239 Pu, 241 Pu; these values are included into the 5th version of the YIELDS library, supplementing the BIBFP library. A comparison is made of experimental data and possible improvements of calculational methods are suggested. (author)

  19. Effects of Plant Density on Sweet and Baby Corn (Hybrid KSC 403 Yield and Yield Components

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H Bavi

    2016-07-01

    GlM procedure. Means of all treatments were comprised using least significant difference (LSD at 5 % probability level. Results and Discussion The effects of plant density on yield components of baby corn was significant. Increasing the plant densities increased the ear number and percentage of non-standard ears. The Highest yield of ear without husk, standard and non-standard were obtained (2649.5, 766.97, and 3043.9 kg.ha-1, respectively with 13 plants.m-2. In sweet corn, increasing plant density from 7 to 13 plants.m-2, decreased row per ear, grain per row and thousand grain weight. Highest grain yield (1232.5 kg ha-1 and green ear (12607.2 kg ha-1 of sweet corn were obtained with plant density of 9.m-2. Conclusions Analysis of correlation showed that in both baby and sweet corn, there were positive and significant correlations between yield and its components. There was the high number of non-standard ears in all experimental treatments. In sweet corn, the standard ear without husk yield has positive and significant correlation with all traits except the percentage of standard ear and sheathed ear weight. In addition, unsuitable climate conditions during silking stage reduced the yield of sweet corn through the high number of aborted florets. Yield of sweet corn yield showed negative and significant correlation with grain row per ear and grain per row. However, increasing the ear number.m-2 increased yield in higher plant densities up to 9 plant.m-2 density. Generally, the baby corn had high yield with good quality in this region, but, standard ear percent of the baby corn of the hybrid KSC 403 was very low. On the other hand, sweet corn grain yield was low due to high air temperatures during pollination and maturity stages.

  20. Responses of Winter Wheat Yields to Warming-Mediated Vernalization Variations Across Temperate Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiuchen Wu

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Rapid climate warming, with much higher warming rates in winter and spring, could affect the vernalization fulfillment, a critical process for induction of crop reproductive growth and consequent grain filling in temperate winter crops. However, regional observational evidence of the effects of historical warming-mediated vernalization variations on temperate winter crop yields is lacking. Here, we statistically quantified the interannual sensitivity of winter wheat yields to vernalization degree days (VDD during 1975–2009 and its spatial relationship with multi-year mean VDD over temperate Europe (TE, using EUROSTAT crop yield statistics, observed and simulated crop phenology data and gridded daily climate data. Our results revealed a pervasively positive interannual sensitivity of winter wheat yields to variations in VDD (γVDD over TE, with a mean γVDD of 2.8 ± 1.5 kg ha−1 VDD−1. We revealed a significant (p < 0.05 negative exponential relationship between γVDD and multi-year mean VDD for winter wheat across TE, with higher γVDD in winter wheat planting areas with lower multi-year mean VDD. Our findings shed light on potential vulnerability of winter wheat yields to warming-mediated vernalization variations over TE, particularly considering a likely future warmer climate.

  1. Assessment of genetic diversity in tomato for fruit morphology, composition and yield

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zaif, K.; Amjad, M.; Saeed, A.

    2016-01-01

    Postharvest losses are of great concern in vegetable crops, including tomato, due to their perishable nature. Damage to tomato fruit during transportation is related to its shape besides other factors. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess genetic diversity in the available tomato germplasm (35 genotypes) for fruit morphology, biochemical composition and yield. Considerable variation was observed for all studied traits except number of locules per fruit, TSS and reducing sugars, for which very low range was recorded. While, moderate level of variation existed for stem-end blockiness, blossom-end blockiness and elongated shape which suggested that fruit of most of the varieties could belong to more than one category of fruit shape. Fruit length and diameter had significantly positive correlation with heart shape of tomato, while later was also correlated with blossom-end-blockiness. Heart shape of tomato fruit was also correlated with stem-end blockiness. Yield showed significantly positive correlation with number of inflorescence per plant. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed PC-I to PC-VI had Eigen values >1, which contributed 73.86% of total variability for different traits. The highest factor loading values for blossom-end-blockiness, stem-end-blockiness, heart shape and elongated shape was recorded in PC-6, PC-4, PC-6 and PC-2, respectively. Thirty five genotypes were grouped into three clusters. Higher yield and stem-end-blockiness was observed in genotypes from cluster II, while higher values for blossom-end-blockiness, heart shape and elongated shape were noticed in cluster I followed by cluster III. So, it can be assumed that genotypes in cluster II showed higher yield and also possessed blocky fruit, a desirable character for transportation and processing purpose. Moreover, it is suggested that genotypes of cluster I and cluster II can be crossed to find heterosis for yield and fruit shape related traits. (author)

  2. Retention Strategies for Reducing Voluntary Turnover in a Higher Education Institution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Susan K.

    2017-01-01

    Employees who choose to leave employment cause significant challenges for organizations. Compounded challenges exist when employee retention strategies are not effective, affecting job satisfaction and personnel replacement costs as the organization continues to lose qualified and valuable staff. This single case study, built on a psychological…

  3. Management strategies for aligning higher education accommodation with the user needs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beckers, R; van der Voordt, Theo; Dewulf, G

    2015-01-01

    Purpose – This paper aims to explore the management strategies of facility managers and corporate real estate managers to align corporate real estate (CRE) with the needs of their organization and the end users in a changing context. Design/methodology/approach – The paper first outlines the

  4. Making biodiversity-friendly cocoa pay: combining yield, certification, and REDD for shade management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldron, A; Justicia, R; Smith, L E

    2015-03-01

    The twin United Nations' Millennium Development Goals of biodiversity preservation and poverty reduction both strongly depend on actions in the tropics. In particular, traditional agroforestry could be critical to both biological conservation and human livelihoods in human-altered rainforest areas. However, traditional agroforestry is rapidly disappearing, because the system itself is economically precarious, and because the forest trees that shade traditional crops are now perceived to be overly detrimental to agricultural yield. Here, we show a case where the commonly used agroforestry shade metric, canopy cover, would indeed suggest complete removal of shade trees to maximize yield, with strongly negative biodiversity and climate implications. However, a yield over 50% higher was achievable if approximately 100 shade trees per hectare were planted in a spatially organized fashion, a win-win for biodiversity and the smallholder. The higher yield option was detected by optimizing simultaneously for canopy cover, and a second shade metric, neighboring tree density, which was designed to better capture the yield value of ecological services flowing from forest trees. Nevertheless, even a 50% yield increase may prove insufficient to stop farmers converting away from traditional agroforestry. To further increase agroforestry rents, we apply our results to the design of a sustainable certification (eco-labelling) scheme for cocoa-based products in a biodiversity hotspot, and consider their implications for the use of the United Nations REDD (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) program in agroforestry systems. Combining yield boost, certification, and REDD has the potential to incentivize eco-friendly agroforestry and lift smallholders out of poverty, simultaneously.

  5. Effects of Methanol Spraying on Qualitative traits, Yield and Yield Components of Soybean (Glycine max L. under Drought Stress Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J Esazadeh Panjali Kharabasi

    2017-12-01

    spraying. By increasing drought stress, proline content increased, while other traits were decreased and 70 percentage of available soil moisture depletion decreased the seed yield by 51.2%over than the control. With increasing of methanol spraying to 21 of volumetric percentage, all the investigate traits, except the proline content increased and increasing the volumetric percentage methanol more than it, was reduces them. The maximum amounts of quantity traits and stomatal conductance of soybean obtained at 21 volumetric percentage of methanol spraying, and the seed yield of this treatment was 25.6%higher than the control . These results are in agreement with those obtained by Purmousavi et al., (2009, Ruhul Amin et al., (2009, Shahmoradi et al., (2009 and Ibrahim and Kandil, (2007, who found that deficit irrigation, caused a significant decrease in yield and yield components of soybean. In general, irrigation decreasing may be lead to reducing photosynthesis activity and induce imbalanced relations between plant hormones and biological processes in the plant organs as a whole. These conditions in the treated soil are undoubtedly of great importance throughout the vegetative growth and dry matter accumulation in soybean plants. Drought stress reduces leaf size, stem extension and root proliferation; it disturbs plant water relations as well as dry matter production (Farooq et al., 2009. Conclusions In general, the results of experiment showed that the maximum amounts of quantitative traits, stomatal conductance and proline content of soybean, obtained by 21 volumetric percentage of methanol spraying and by this treatment, the seed yield was 25.6 % higher than control.

  6. Influence of levels of nitrogen and management on seed cotton yield and 15N recovery by cotton

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arulmozhiselvan, K.; Govindaswamy, M.

    1999-01-01

    Cotton var.MCU.5 showed varied response to N levels under different management practices. Higher yields were associated at 60-80 kg N ha -1 under combined application of urea, FYM and azospirillum. Whereas urea alone registered higher yield at 100-120 kg N ha -1 , high 15 N recovery (35.84%) was found to be associated with urea + FYM combination. (author)

  7. Corporate real estate alignment strategies in dutch higher education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Theo van der Voordt; Ronald Beckers

    2014-01-01

    This paper aims to explore the management approaches concerned with the process of aligning Corporate Real Estate (CRE) with organizational goals on a strategic level and regarding day-to-day operating activities in higher education institutes.

  8. Quantitative trait loci for rice yield-related traits using recombinant ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2011-08-19

    Aug 19, 2011 ... lated by map-based cloning strategy (Ashikari et al. 2005). ... 2000; Kojima et al. 2002; Doi et al. 2004). ... and PH but also on rice yield (Xue et al. 2008; Yan et al. ..... Cho Y. C., Suh J. P., Choi I. S., Hong H. C., Baek M. K., Kang K. H. et al. .... Yan C. J., Liang G. H., Chen F., Li X., Tang S. Z., Yi C. D. et al.

  9. Effect of cotton leaf-curl virus on the yield-components and fibre properties of cotton genotypes under varying plant spacing and nitrogen fertilizer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmad, S.; Hayat, K.; Ashraf, F.; Sadiq, M.A.

    2008-01-01

    Cotton leaf-curl virus (CLCu VB. Wala strain) is one of the major biotic constraints of cotton production in Punjab. Development of resistant cotton genotype is the most feasible, economical and effective method to combat this hazardous problem, but so far no resistant genotype has been reported. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare yield and yield-components and fiber traits of different genotypes/varieties under different plant spacing and nitrogen fertilizer as a management strategy to cope with this viral disease. Field experiment was conducted during 2006-07 to evaluate the effect of genotype, plant spacing and nitrogen fertilizer on cotton. Five genotypes (MNH-786, MNH-789, MNH- 6070, CIM- 496, and BH-160), three plant-spacings (15, 30 and 45 cm) and three nitrogen fertilizer-levels (6.5, 8.6 and 11 bags Urea / ha) were studied. Results showed that significant differences exist for plant height, no. of bolls/m/sup -2/, seed-cotton yield (kg/ha) due to genotype, interaction of genotype with plant spacing and nitrogen fertilizer level. Whereas boll weight, ginning out-turn, staple length and fiber fineness were not affected significantly by the plant spacing and nitrogen fertilizer, the effect due to genotype was significant for these traits. CLCuV infestation varied significantly with genotypes, while all other factors, i.e., plant spacing and nitrogen fertilizers, have non-significant effect. As the major objective of cotton cultivation is production of lint for the country and seed- cotton yield for the farmers, it is noted that genotypes grown in narrow plant-spacing (15 cm) and higher nitrogen fertilizer level (11.0 bags of urea/ha) produced maximum seed-cotton yield under higher CLCu V infestation in case of CIM-496, MNH-789 and BH-I60, while the new strain MNH-6070 gave maximum yield under 30cm plant-spacing and 8.6 bags of urea/ha has the 2.3% CLCu V infestation was observed in this variety. From the present study, it is concluded that

  10. Yield Stability in Winter Wheat Production: A Survey on German Farmers’ and Advisors’ Views

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janna Macholdt

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Most of the available research studies have focused on the production of high grain yields of wheat and have neglected yield stability. However, yield stability is a relevant factor in agronomic practice and, therefore, is the focus of this comprehensive survey. The aim was to first describe the importance of yield stability as well as currently used practical management strategies that ensure yield stability in wheat production and secondly, to obtain potential research areas supporting yield stability in the complex system of agronomy. The target groups were German farmers with experience in wheat production and advisors with expertise in the field of wheat cultivation or research. A sample size of 615 completed questionnaires formed the data basis of this study. The study itself provides evidence that the yield stability of winter wheat is even more important than the amount of yield for a large proportion of farmers (48% and advisors (47%. Furthermore, in the view of the majority of the surveyed farmers and advisors, yield stability is gaining importance in climate change. Data analysis showed that site adapted cultivar choice, favorable crop rotations and integrated plant protection are ranked as three of the most important agronomic management practices to achieve high yield stability of wheat. Soil tillage and fertilization occupied a middle position, whereas sowing date and sowing density were estimated with lower importance. However, yield stability is affected by many environmental, genetic and agronomic factors, which subsequently makes it a complex matter. Hence, yield stability in farming practice must be analyzed and improved in a systems approach.

  11. Effect of late-season nitrogen fertilization on grain yield and on flour rheological quality and stability in common wheat, under different production situations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Massimo Blandino

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The increasing demand for a high and homogeneous technological quality of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L. points out the necessity of improving wheat with by a higher protein (GPC and gluten content, strength of dough (W and dough stability. Among the current crop practices, late-season nitrogen (N fertilization, from heading to flowering, is generally considered the practice that has the most effects on the storage proteins and technological quality of the grain. In order to explore the influence late-season N application can have on the dough properties and on the formation of homogeneous lots in more detail, a research was set up between 2007 and 2013, over 6 growing seasons at different sites in North West Italy using the Bologna cultivar in each of the trials. Three different late-season N fertilization strategies were compared: T1, control without a late distribution of N; T2, foliar N fertilization at flowering; T3, top-dress granular soil fertilization at the beginning of heading. A randomized complete block experimental design with four replicates was adopted. The grain yield, GPC, W and P/L indexes were analyzed. Moreover, the rheological and enzymatic properties of the samples were studied using a Mixolab® analyser (Chòpin Technologies, Paris, France. Grain yield was found to be unaffected by the fertilization treatments, while the late N application (T2, T3 significantly increased GPC. Only the granular N fertilization (T3 increased the W index compared to T1, while the P/L index was not affected by any of the fertilization strategies. Furthermore, the T3 strategy was always more effective in reducing the variability of the W index than the T2 and the T1 strategies. Water absorption and dough development time were higher in T3, than in T1, while intermediate results were reached for T2. The effect of late-season N fertilization was also significant on the starch behaviour of the dough, as an increase in starch gelatinization and

  12. yield and yield componemts of extra early maize (zea mays l.)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SHARIFAI

    maize crop and improve the soil structures and chemical nutrients of the soil. The significant interaction between intra-row spacing and poultry manure on cob diameter, 100 grain weight and grain yield showed the importance of poultry manure on yield and yield components of maize crop. Poultry manure increases both ...

  13. An adapted yield criterion for the evolution of subsequent yield surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Küsters, N.; Brosius, A.

    2017-09-01

    In numerical analysis of sheet metal forming processes, the anisotropic material behaviour is often modelled with isotropic work hardening and an average Lankford coefficient. In contrast, experimental observations show an evolution of the Lankford coefficients, which can be associated with a yield surface change due to kinematic and distortional hardening. Commonly, extensive efforts are carried out to describe these phenomena. In this paper an isotropic material model based on the Yld2000-2d criterion is adapted with an evolving yield exponent in order to change the yield surface shape. The yield exponent is linked to the accumulative plastic strain. This change has the effect of a rotating yield surface normal. As the normal is directly related to the Lankford coefficient, the change can be used to model the evolution of the Lankford coefficient during yielding. The paper will focus on the numerical implementation of the adapted material model for the FE-code LS-Dyna, mpi-version R7.1.2-d. A recently introduced identification scheme [1] is used to obtain the parameters for the evolving yield surface and will be briefly described for the proposed model. The suitability for numerical analysis will be discussed for deep drawing processes in general. Efforts for material characterization and modelling will be compared to other common yield surface descriptions. Besides experimental efforts and achieved accuracy, the potential of flexibility in material models and the risk of ambiguity during identification are of major interest in this paper.

  14. Farm size, land yields, and the agricultural production function: an analysis for fifteen developing countries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cornia, G A

    1985-04-01

    This paper analyzes the relationship between factor inputs, land yields, and labor productivity for farms of different size on the basis of FAO farm management data for 15 developing countries. For all but three countries a strong negative correlation is found between farm size on the one side, and factor inputs and yields per hectare on the other. The fitting of unconstrained production functions to the above data suggests that in only few cases can the decline in yields for increasing farm size be attributed to decreasing returns to scale. The higher yields observed in small farms are mainly to be ascribed to higher factor inputs and to a more intensive use of land. Therefore, where conspicuous labor surpluses exist, the superiority of small farming provides solid arguments in favor of land redistribution. Such an agrarian reform would determine higher output, higher labor absorption and a more equitable income distribution, thus contributing in a decisive manner to the alleviation of rural poverty. The paper also provides estimates of cross-sectional production functions for the 15 countries analyzed. Empirical relations are found between the output elasticities of land, labor, and intermediate inputs and physical indicators of their scarcity. The paper concludes by proposing a simple method for deriving a long-term production function for agriculture. 23 references, 3 figures, 6 tables.

  15. Effects of diurnal temperature range and drought on wheat yield in Spain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernandez-Barrera, S.; Rodriguez-Puebla, C.; Challinor, A. J.

    2017-07-01

    This study aims to provide new insight on the wheat yield historical response to climate processes throughout Spain by using statistical methods. Our data includes observed wheat yield, pseudo-observations E-OBS for the period 1979 to 2014, and outputs of general circulation models in phase 5 of the Coupled Models Inter-comparison Project (CMIP5) for the period 1901 to 2099. In investigating the relationship between climate and wheat variability, we have applied the approach known as the partial least-square regression, which captures the relevant climate drivers accounting for variations in wheat yield. We found that drought occurring in autumn and spring and the diurnal range of temperature experienced during the winter are major processes to characterize the wheat yield variability in Spain. These observable climate processes are used for an empirical model that is utilized in assessing the wheat yield trends in Spain under different climate conditions. To isolate the trend within the wheat time series, we implemented the adaptive approach known as Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition. Wheat yields in the twenty-first century are experiencing a downward trend that we claim is a consequence of widespread drought over the Iberian Peninsula and an increase in the diurnal range of temperature. These results are important to inform about the wheat vulnerability in this region to coming changes and to develop adaptation strategies.

  16. Zero tillage: A potential technology to improve cotton yield

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abbas Hafiz Ghazanfar

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Zero tillage technology revealed with no use of any soil inverting technique to grow crops. The crop plant seed is planted in the soil directly after irrigation to make the soil soft without any replenishing in soil layers. A study was conducted to evaluate cotton genotypes FH-114 and FH-142 for the consecutive three years of growing seasons from 2013-15. The seed of both genotypes was sown with two date of sowing, 1 March and 1 May of each three years of sowing under three tillage treatments (zero tillage, minimum tillage and conventional tillage in triplicate completely randomized split-split plot design. It was found from results that significant differences were recorded for tillage treatments, date of sowing, genotypes and their interactions. Multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate the yield and it attributed traits for potential of FH-114 and FH-142 cotton genotypes. The genotype FH-142 was found with higher and batter performance as compared to FH-114 under zero tillage, minimum tillage and conventional tillage techniques. The traits bolls per plant, boll weight, fibre fineness, fibre strength, plant height, cotton yield per plant and sympodial branches per plant were found as most contributing traits towards cotton yield and production. It was also found that FH-142 gives higher output in terms of economic gain under zero tillage with 54% increase as compared to conventional tillage technique. It was suggested that zero tillage technology should be adopted to improve cotton yield and quality. It was also recommended that further study to evaluate zero tillage as potential technology should be performed with different regions, climate and timing throughout the world.

  17. Crop yield response to water stress imposed at different growth stages

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iqbal, M.; Mahmood Shah, M.; Wisal, M.

    1995-01-01

    Potato requires sufficient soil moisture and fertilization to produce high yields but the present water resoures are limited compared to the cultivable land, field experiments were conduced from 1991 to 1995 to study relationship between yield and crop water use as a function of water stress imposed at different growth stages. The irrigation treatments involved application of full and stress watering s selectively at four growth stages : Establishment , Flowering Tuber formation and ripening. In full watering, full water requirements of the crop were met, i.e., ET sub a = ET sub m whereas in stress watering about half the amount of full watering was applied, i.e., ET sub a < ET sub m. Changes in moisture content of the soil pre files after irrigation were monitored with the help of neutron moisture probe in order to compute ET sub a by the water balance method. The results obtained showed that the tuber yield was produced by full watering ( T 1) and the lowest by continuous stress watering (T 2). A plot of relative yield against relative evapotranspiration deficit revealed that ripening was the lest sensitive whereas early development followed by flowering the most sensitive growth stage to water stress. The crop water use efficiencies were generally higher in the treatments where a combination of normal and stress watering was applied compared to where all - normal watering s were applied. The traditional irrigation practice resulted in wasteful water application with relatively lower yields, hence the results from this project will have high value for the farming community to get this higher yields with scarce water resources. The studies with labelled fertilizer showed that planting and earthing - up were equally important growth stages of potato for applying fertilizer for its efficient utilization. 3 figs; 25 tabs; 12 refs (Author)

  18. Availability of public goods shapes the evolution of competing metabolic strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bachmann, Herwig; Fischlechner, Martin; Rabbers, Iraes; Barfa, Nakul; Branco dos Santos, Filipe; Molenaar, Douwe; Teusink, Bas

    2013-08-27

    Tradeoffs provide a rationale for the outcome of natural selection. A prominent example is the negative correlation between the growth rate and the biomass yield in unicellular organisms. This tradeoff leads to a dilemma, where the optimization of growth rate is advantageous for an individual, whereas the optimization of the biomass yield would be advantageous for a population. High-rate strategies are observed in a broad variety of organisms such as Escherichia coli, yeast, and cancer cells. Growth in suspension cultures favors fast-growing organisms, whereas spatial structure is of importance for the evolution of high-yield strategies. Despite this realization, experimental methods to directly select for increased yield are lacking. We here show that the serial propagation of a microbial population in a water-in-oil emulsion allows selection of strains with increased biomass yield. The propagation in emulsion creates a spatially structured environment where the growth-limiting substrate is privatized for populations founded by individual cells. Experimental evolution of several isogenic Lactococcus lactis strains demonstrated the existence of a tradeoff between growth rate and biomass yield as an apparent Pareto front. The underlying mutations altered glucose transport and led to major shifts between homofermentative and heterofermentative metabolism, accounting for the changes in metabolic efficiency. The results demonstrated the impact of privatizing a public good on the evolutionary outcome between competing metabolic strategies. The presented approach allows the investigation of fundamental questions in biology such as the evolution of cooperation, cell-cell interactions, and the relationships between environmental and metabolic constraints.

  19. Strategies of Legitimacy Through Social Media: The Networked Strategy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Castelló, Itziar; Etter, Michael; Nielsen, Finn Årup

    2016-01-01

    the concept of a networked legitimacy strategy. With this strategy, legitimacy is gained through participation in non-hierarchical open platforms and the co-construction of agendas. We explore the organizational transition needed to yield this new legitimacy approach. We argue that, in this context......How can corporations develop legitimacy when coping with stakeholders who have multiple, often conflicting sustainable development (SD) agendas? We address this question by conducting an in-depth longitudinal case study of a corporation's stakeholder engagement in social media and propose......, legitimacy gains may increase when firms are able to reduce the control over the engagements and relate non-hierarchically with their publics. We contribute to the extant literature on political corporate social responsibility and legitimacy by providing an understanding of a new context for engagement...

  20. Isolation and characterization of higher metallofullerenes Ca@C92 ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Administrator

    allofullerenes containing alkaline earth metal ions could be isolated although their relative yields are extremely low. Ca@C92 and Ca@C94 are also ... est cage size for lanthanide and alkaline earth higher metallofullerenes isolated and ... suming stage is to remove abundant hollow small cage fullerenes and enrich higher ...

  1. Effect of carrageenan addition on the yield and functional properties of charqui (Jerked Beef

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Eduardo Rocha Garcia

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this work was to evaluate the application of carrageenan (CAR to improve the functional properties of the jerked beef (JF and to increase its processing yield. JB produced from Vastus lateralis with CAR (1.0% at 25ºC and NaCl (15.0% had approximately 15.0% higher moisture and a 32.0% higher processing yield in comparison to the control samples.JB-CAR presented shear force approximately 5.0 and 20% lower in the samples uncooked salted and desalted cooked, respectively, and sensorial acceptance above 80%. The results demonstrated the possibility of applying carrageenan to jerked beef in order to obtain an increase in the processing yield and a tender product while maintaining the sensorial quality and its intermediate-moisture meat product nature.

  2. Yield response of cotton, maize, soybean, sugar beet, sunflower and wheat to deficit irrigation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirda, C.; Kanber, R.; Tulucu, K.

    1995-01-01

    Results of several field experiments on deficit irrigation programmes in Turkey are discussed. Deficit irrigation of sugar beet with water stress imposed (i e.,irrigation omitted)during ripening,stage saved nearly 22 % water, yet with no significant yield decrease. An experiment, conducted in Turkey Region, the European part of Turkey,and aimed at studying water production functions of sunflower(i e,yield vs water consumption), revealed that water stress imposed at either head forming or seed filling stags influence yield the least , and 40 % savings of irrigation water supply , compared with traditional practices in the region, can be achieved without significant yield reduction. Water stress imposed at vegetative and flowering stages of maize hindered the yield most significantly. The results showed that deficit irrigation can be a feasible option under limited supply of irrigation if stress occurs during yield formation stage. A four year field experiments aiming at developing deficit irrigation strategies for soybean showed that soybean was at the most sensitive to water stress during flowering and pod filling stages, and irrigation during these stages would ensure high yields. Results of experiments on cotton showed that irrigations omitted during yield formation stage did not significantly hinder the yield. Similarly wheat give good yield response if irrigated at booting,heading and milking stages, depending on w heather conditions. In areas where rainfall at planting is limited, supplementary irrigation during this period can ensure good establishment of wheat crop. 1 tab; 9 figs; 59 refs (Author)

  3. Household Contact Screening and Yield of Tuberculosis Cases-A Clinic Based Study in Chennai, South India.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dina Nair

    Full Text Available Contact investigation is an active case finding strategy to increase detection of Tuberculosis (TB and a key component of TB control programs. The household contacts are at a higher risk of exposure than members of the general population. The information on the value and yield of household contact screening and the approaches used in high incidence settings like India is limited.To evaluate the yield of active case finding in household contacts of newly diagnosed smear positive TB patients and the factors associated with increased yield.Retrospective record review of the household contacts of newly diagnosed sputum smear positive patients (index case enrolled in a clinical trial at National Institute of Research in Tuberculosis, Chennai during the period 2007-2014. A sequential screening algorithm with chest x-ray followed by symptom screen was employed to identify presumptive TB patients.643 household contacts of 280 index TB patients were identified out of which 544 (85% consented for screening. 71/544 (13% patients had an abnormal chest radiograph and out of them 70% were symptomatic. A total of 29/544 (5.3% contacts were found to have TB among whom 23/29 (79% were sputum smear positive. The number needed to screen (NNS to identify a new TB case among all household contacts was 19 and among those with an abnormal CXR was 02. Age group > 44 years, male gender and siblings of the index case was associated with abnormal chest radiograph whereas age group between 15-44 was significantly associated with developing TB disease among household contacts.Active screening among household contacts is an effective way to improve TB case detection. The yield for new TB cases among contacts with abnormal x-ray was high in this study and the use of Chest X-rays in combination with symptom screen is recommended.

  4. Inheritance of grain yield and its correlation with yield components in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SAM

    2014-03-19

    Mar 19, 2014 ... 7 × 7 incomplete diallel cross of seven wheat parents during the crop season of 2009 to 2010. Mean square of general ... Genetic background and yield traits of the seven parents. Parent. Pedigree. Released year ..... Correlation and path analysis for yield and yield contributing characters in wheat (Triticum ...

  5. Evaluation of early maize genotypes for grain yield and agromorphological traits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bishal Dhakal

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to assess the variation on agro-morphological traits and grain yield. A set of 14 early maize genotypes were studied at research field of Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS, Doti, Nepal in summer seasons of 2015 and 2016. The experiment was carried out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD with three replications in each year. The variation among genotypes was observed for grain yield and flowering. The genotype SO3TEY-PO-BM produced the highest grain yield (4.33 t/ha in 2015 whereas Rajahar Local Variety produced the highest grain yield (2.52 t/ha in 2016. The combined analysis over years showed that Farmer’s variety was found earlier in tasseling (36 days and silking (39 days, followed by S97TEYGHAYB(3 in tasseling (45 days and by S97TEYGHAYB(3 and Arun-4 in silking (48 days. EEYC1 produced the highest grain yield (3.17 t/ha, followed by COMPOL-NIBP (3.09 t/ha, SO3TEY-PO-BM (2.90 t/ha, S97TEYGHAYB(3 (2.78 t/ha and Rajahar Local variety (2.77 t/ha, respectively. The information on variation for the agro-morphological traits among studied early maize genotypes will be helpful to plant breeders in constructing their breeding materials and implementing selection strategies.

  6. Assessment of strategy formulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Acur, Nuran; Englyst, Linda

    2006-01-01

    of the success criteria through face-to-face interviews with 46 managers, workshops involving 40 managers, and two in-depth case studies. The success criteria have been slightly modified due to the empirical results, to yield the assessment tool. Findings – The resulting assessment tool integrates three generic...... approaches to strategy assessment, namely the goal-centred, comparative and improvement approaches, as found in the literature. Furthermore, it encompasses three phases of strategy formulation processes: strategic thinking, strategic planning and embedding of strategy. The tool reflects that the different......, but cases and managerial perceptions indicate that the need for accurate and detailed plans might be overrated in the literature, as implementation relies heavily on continuous improvement and empowerment. Concerning embedding, key aspects relate both to the goal-centred and improvement approaches, while...

  7. Career choice and perceptions of nursing among healthcare students in higher educational institutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liaw, Sok Ying; Wu, Ling Ting; Chow, Yeow Leng; Lim, Siriwan; Tan, Khoon Kiat

    2017-05-01

    Due to the ageing population and competition from other healthcare courses, a greater demand in the healthcare workforce has made it challenging for educational institutions to attract school leavers to enter nursing courses. Understanding the considerations of students who have chosen non-nursing healthcare courses and their perceptions of nursing can help identify specific strategies to enhance the attractiveness of nursing course. This study aims to examine the differences between healthcare career choices and perceptions of nursing as a career choice among first-year non-nursing healthcare students. A descriptive survey design was conducted at the beginning of the healthcare courses of seven healthcare groups and from four higher educational institutions in Singapore. A total of 451 students responded, yielding an overall response rate of 52.7%. The online survey was administered using a valid and reliable 35-item parallel scale, known as the Healthcare Career Choice and Nursing Career Choice. The participants perceived prior healthcare exposure as the most influential factor and self-efficacy as the least influential factor when choosing nursing as a career. In comparison to their own healthcare career choices, nursing was perceived to have greater gender stigma and, as nurses, they would be less likely to achieve higher qualifications and career advancements, and they would be less likely to enjoy fulfilling careers. They also perceived that they would be less likely to gain their parents' support to pursue nursing and to make their parents proud. This study provides educators and policy-makers with vital information to develop key strategies to improve nursing enrolment in educational institutions. These strategies include early exposure to nursing as a rewarding career during school years, addressing the issue of gender stigma, and promoting information on the career and educational advancement of a registered nurse to parents of school leavers. Copyright

  8. Open Access in Higher Education--Strategies for Engaging Diverse Student Cohorts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Signor, Luisa; Moore, Catherine

    2014-01-01

    With growth in online education, students gain tertiary qualifications through a mode more suited to their demographics such as work and life balance, learning styles and geographical accessibility. Inevitably this has led to a growth in diversity within student cohorts. The case study described in this paper illustrates strategies based on…

  9. Yield risks in global maize markets: Historical evidence and projections in key regions of the world

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nelson B. Villoria

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Simultaneous worldwide crop failures stemming from a more unstable climate may reduce the scope for international trade to compensate food shortages and stabilize food prices across the various regions of the world. Understanding the effects of changes in crop productivity on global markets requires knowledge about the extent to which crop yields may be systematically related across producing and consuming centers. This short communication contributes to this knowledge by investigating the potential changes in the strength of two key sources of supply risks in global maize markets: yield variance and cross-country yield correlation. We focus on the largest producing and consuming countries of the world. We capitalize on yield projections from the Global Gridded Crop Model Intercomparison project. Exploratory analysis of the skill of the underlying GGCMI models in reproducing key moments of the distribution of observed yields reveals that they overstate observed variances but faithfully reproduce observed patterns of cross-country correlations. We find no evidence of an increase in the degree of cross-country dependency of maize yields. We also find a higher incidence of what would be considered extremely low maize yields by present-time standards stemming from the projected downward trend in yields levels toward mid-century. The weak dependency of maize yields across countries, an the possibility of reducing the higher incidence of extremes through policies aimed to reverse the climate-induced downward trends in yields, suggest that international trade can become a valuable tool to ameliorate the effects of more unstable crop yields. Keywords: Extremely low yields, Maize markets, Food prices, Agricultural yields, Systemic risk in agriculture, Global agriculture, AgMIP, Global gridded crop model intercomparison

  10. STRATEGIES FOR HIGHER SATISFACTION OF THE ROMANIAN BANKING CUSTOMERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danciu Victor

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available A bank must identify, assesses and clearly and fully understands customers’ values and expectations if it’s target is their higher satisfaction. The banking customers are expecting to receive individual attention and support and good quality banking prod

  11. The potential of satellite-observed crop phenology to enhance yield gap assessments in smallholder landscapes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John M A Duncan

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Many of the undernourished people on the planet obtain their entitlements to food via agricultural-based livelihood strategies, often on underperforming croplands and smallholdings. In this context, expanding cropland extent is not a viable strategy for smallholders to meet their food needs. Therefore, attention must shift to increasing productivity on existing plots and ensuring yield gaps do not widen. Thus, supporting smallholder farmers to sustainably increase the productivity of their lands is one part of a complex solution to realising universal food security. However, the information (e.g. location and causes of cropland underperformance required to support measures to close yield gaps in smallholder landscapes are often not available. This paper reviews the potential of crop phenology, observed from satellites carrying remote sensing sensors, to fill this information gap. It is suggested that on a theoretical level phenological approaches can reveal greater intra-cropland thematic detail, and increase the accuracy of crop extent maps and crop yield estimates. However, on a practical level the spatial mismatch between the resolution at which crop phenology can be estimated from satellite remote sensing data and the scale of yield variability in smallholder croplands inhibits its use in this context. Similarly, the spatial coverage of remote sensing-derived phenology offers potential for integration with ancillary spatial datasets to identify causes of yield gaps. To reflect the complexity of smallholder cropping systems requires ancillary datasets at fine spatial resolutions which, often, are not available. This further precludes the use of crop phenology in attempts to unpick the causes of yield gaps. Research agendas should focus on generating fine spatial resolution crop phenology, either via data fusion or through new sensors (e.g. Sentinel-2 in smallholder croplands. This has potential to transform the applied use of remote sensing

  12. Influence of micronutrients and their method of application on yield and yield components of sunflower

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baraich, A.A.K.; Gandahi, A.W.

    2016-01-01

    The sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) has been recognized as a crop with high potentials that can successfully meet future oil requirements of the country. Formulation of micronutrients (MN) based fertilizer, in terms of application rate and method, and uptake of MN by sunflower has the ability not only to ensure nutrients availability to plants particularly in MN-limiting environments but also can manipulate the environmental hazards associated with over inorganic fertilization. To support this view, clear experimental evidence is still lacking. In addition, the current experiments aimed to evaluate the influence of MN and its method of application on yield and yield components of sunflower cultivars/hybrids. Three sunflower cultivars (HO-1, Hysun-39 and Ausigold-62) along with three MN (Z, B and Fe) and two application methods (soil and foliar) were used in the experiment. Three Zn application rate (3, 5 and 8 kg ha-1) along with 0.75 kg ha-1 B and 0.30 kg Fe ha-1 were used in four combinations such as 0-0-0, 0-0.75-0.30, 0-0.75-0.30, 3-0.75-0.30, 5-0.75-0.30, 8-0.75-0.30 kg Z, B and Fe ha-1, respectively. A control (no MN) treatment was also included for comparison. Two year averaged study exhibited that foliar application of Zn, B and Fe at rate of 8-0.30-0.75 kg ha-1 increased stem girth, head diameter, number of seeds head-1, seed weight head-1, seed index, oil content and seed yield by 21%, 27%, 13%, 34%, 19%, 24 and 31%, respectively over control. Among cultivars/hybrids, the hybrids HO-1 and Hysun-39 had taller plants, seed weight head-1, seeds head-1 and earlier in flowering and maturity. Flowering and maturity was delayed in Ausi Gold-62 with higher seed index and oil content. It is concluded that foliar application of micronutrients at the rate of 8+0.75+0.30 Zn, B and Fe kg ha-1 had substantially improved yield and yield related traits of sunflower cultivars HO-1, Hysun-39 and Ausi gold-62. (author)

  13. Effects of cutting frequency on alfalfa yield and yield components in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Effects of cutting frequency on alfalfa yield and yield components in Songnen Plain, Northeast China. J Chen, F Tang, R Zhu, C Gao, G Di, Y Zhang. Abstract. The productivity and quality of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is strongly influenced by cutting frequency (F). To clarify that the yield and quality of alfalfa if affected by F, ...

  14. Evaluation of Yield and Yield Components of Oilseed Rape in the Wheat-Oilseed Rape Strip Intercropping Influenced by Chemical and Biological Fertilizers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R Amirmardfar

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available To evaluate the effects of wheat (Triticum aestivum and oilseed rape (Brassica napus strip intercropping on yield components, seed and biological yields of oilseed rape, field experiments were carried out as factorial based on randomized complete block design with three replications at Research Farm of Tabriz University, Tabriz, Iran during 2010-2012 cropping seasons. The first factor consisted of four types of wheat and oilseed rape cropping system, sole crop of oilseed rape (A1,: strip intercropping with 8:3 (A2, 12:4 (A3 and 16:5 (A4 of wheat and oilseed rape rows, respectively and the other factor consisted of two fertilizer levels, B1: 100% chemical fertilizers (urea and triple superphosphate and B2: 50% chemical fertilizers + biofertilizers (Nitrazhin and Barvar2. The results showed that strip intercropping of wheat- oilseed rape resulted in significant increase in yield components, seed yield per occupied unit area and biological yield per occupied unit area of oilseed rape as compared with mono-cropping. The number of silique per plant in intercropping systems was significantly higher than that of mono-cropping. The highest seed yield was obtained in the 16:5 rows of wheat-oilseed rape with 343.76 g.m-2 and the lowest mean was observed in mono-cropping of oilseed rape with 260.21 g.m-2. Biological yield per occupied unit area and seed yield per intercropped unit area in B1 were significantly greater than that of B2, but this treatment had no significant effect on the other traits. Because, B1 and B2 had no significant difference in seed yield per occupied unit area and due to the importance of reduction in chemical fertilizers consumption and food and environmental health care, strip intercropping of wheat-oilseed rape under 50% chemical fertilizers + biofertilizers can be recommended as a suitable cultural method.

  15. Value of recruitment strategies used in a primary care practice-based trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, Shellie D; Bertoni, Alain G; Bonds, Denise E; Clinch, C Randall; Balasubramanyam, Aarthi; Blackwell, Caroline; Chen, Haiying; Lischke, Michael; Goff, David C

    2007-05-01

    "Physicians-recruiting-physicians" is the preferred recruitment approach for practice-based research. However, yields are variable; and the approach can be costly and lead to biased, unrepresentative samples. We sought to explore the potential efficiency of alternative methods. We conducted a retrospective analysis of the yield and cost of 10 recruitment strategies used to recruit primary care practices to a randomized trial to improve cardiovascular disease risk factor management. We measured response and recruitment yields and the resources used to estimate the value of each strategy. Providers at recruited practices were surveyed about motivation for participation. Response to 6 opt-in marketing strategies was 0.40% (53/13290), ranging from 0% to 2.86% by strategy; 33.96% (18/53) of responders were recruited to the study. Of those recruited from opt-out strategies, 8.68% joined the study, ranging from 5.35% to 41.67% per strategy. A strategy that combined both opt-in and opt-out approaches resulted in a 51.14% (90/176) response and a 10.80% (19/90) recruitment rate. Cost of recruitment was $613 per recruited practice. Recruitment approaches based on in-person meetings (41.67%), previous relationships (33.33%), and borrowing an Area Health Education Center's established networks (10.80%), yielded the most recruited practices per effort and were most cost efficient. Individual providers who chose to participate were motivated by interest in improving their clinical practice (80.5%); contributing to CVD primary prevention (54.4%); and invigorating their practice with new ideas (42.1%). This analysis provides suggestions for future recruitment efforts and research. Translational studies with limited funds could consider multi-modal recruitment approaches including in-person presentations to practice groups and exploitation of previous relationships, which require the providers to opt-out, and interactive opt-in approaches which rely on borrowed networks. These

  16. Heterogeneous global crop yield response to biochar: a meta-regression analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crane-Droesch, Andrew; Torn, Margaret S; Abiven, Samuel; Jeffery, Simon

    2013-01-01

    Biochar may contribute to climate change mitigation at negative cost by sequestering photosynthetically fixed carbon in soil while increasing crop yields. The magnitude of biochar’s potential in this regard will depend on crop yield benefits, which have not been well-characterized across different soils and biochars. Using data from 84 studies, we employ meta-analytical, missing data, and semiparametric statistical methods to explain heterogeneity in crop yield responses across different soils, biochars, and agricultural management factors, and then estimate potential changes in yield across different soil environments globally. We find that soil cation exchange capacity and organic carbon were strong predictors of yield response, with low cation exchange and low carbon associated with positive response. We also find that yield response increases over time since initial application, compared to non-biochar controls. High reported soil clay content and low soil pH were weaker predictors of higher yield response. No biochar parameters in our dataset—biochar pH, percentage carbon content, or temperature of pyrolysis—were significant predictors of yield impacts. Projecting our fitted model onto a global soil database, we find the largest potential increases in areas with highly weathered soils, such as those characterizing much of the humid tropics. Richer soils characterizing much of the world’s important agricultural areas appear to be less likely to benefit from biochar. (letter)

  17. Appraisal of pressmud and inorganic fertilizers on soil properties yield and sugarcane quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarwar, M.A.; Ibrahim, M.; Tahir, M.; Ahmad, K.; Khan, Z.I.; Valeem, E.E.

    2010-01-01

    A field experiment was conducted under semi-arid climatic conditions to evaluate the response of pressmud in combination with inorganic fertilizers and alone (only inorganic fertilizers) on the yield and sugarcane quality parameters besides a value-added product (locally called Gur). It is obvious from the results that inorganic fertilizer use (T2) has increased the tillers per plant, number of millable canes, stripped cane yield, sugar yield and juice present cane by 38.95 %, 38.66 %, 51.96 %, 54.92 % and 21.9 5% respectively, over the control (T1). Similarly when higher dose of pressmud was applied in integration with inorganic fertilizers (in T3), it increased total soluble solids, sucrose, purity, CSS and sugar recovery of juice by 7.83 %, 10.42 %, 2.80 %, 12.06 %, and 12.07 %, over the control (T1). The studies concluded that higher doses of mineral fertilizers increased gur % juice but it did not improve gur quality as done by higher doses of organic manures. Soil properties were also investigated before and after crop harvest. Maximum fertilizer use efficiency (124.29) was recorded in T2. (author)

  18. YIELD AND ITS COMPONENTS IN FIELD PEA (Pisum arvense L. LINES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A TEKELI

    2004-04-01

    Full Text Available Morphological characters such as main stem length (cm, number of branches per plant, leaf length (cm, number of leaves per main stem, number of leaflets per leaf, diameter of main stem (mm, pods / main stem and seeds / pod as well as agricultural herbage yield (t ha-1, dry matter yield (t ha-1, seed yield (t ha-1, crude protein (% were investigated in Trakya, during the 1999-2002. The maximum main stem length (124.375 cm, leaf length (24.808 cm, number of pods per main stem (16.526, herbage yield (27.881 t ha-1, dry matter yield (7.319 t ha-1 and seed yield (2.590 t ha-1 were determined from the 16-K and 16-DY field pea lines. K line has given higher values than four lines for the number of branches per plant (5.567. Main stem diameter ranged from 3.077 to 4.300 mm. It’s found that the 23.025 leaves/main stem, 6.833 leaflets/leaf, 7.692 seeds/pod and 17.550% crude protein from the field pea lines.

  19. Yield QTL analysis of Oryza sativa x O. glumaepatula introgression lines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Priscila Nascimento Rangel

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this work was to evaluate the yield performance of two generations (BC2F2 and BC2F9 of introgression lines developed from the interspecific cross between Oryza sativa and O. glumaepatula, and to identify the SSR markers associated to yield. The wild accession RS‑16 (O. glumaepatula was used as donor parent in the backcross with the high yielding cultivar Cica‑8 (O. sativa. A set of 114 BC2F1 introgression lines was genotyped with 141 polymorphic SSR loci distributed across the whole rice genome. Molecular analysis showed that in average 22% of the O. glumaepatula genome was introgressed into BC2F1 generation. Nine BC2F9 introgression lines had a significantly higher yield than the genitor Cica‑8, thus showing a positive genome interaction among cultivated rice and the wild O. glumaepatula. Seven QTL were identified in the overall BC2F2, with one marker interval (4879‑EST20 of great effect on yield. The alleles with positive effect on yield came from the cultivated parent Cica‑8.

  20. Evolutionary agroecology: individual fitness and population yield in wheat (Triticum aestivum).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weiner, Jacob; Du, Yan-Lei; Zhang, Cong; Qin, Xiao-Liang; Li, Feng-Min

    2017-09-01

    Although the importance of group selection in nature is highly controversial, several researchers have argued that plant breeding for agriculture should be based on group selection, because the goal in agriculture is to optimize population production, not individual fitness. A core hypothesis behind this claim is that crop genotypes with the highest individual fitness in a mixture of genotypes will not produce the highest population yield, because fitness is often increased by "selfish" behaviors, which reduce population performance. We tested this hypothesis by growing 35 cultivars of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in mixtures and monocultures, and analyzing the relationship between population yield in monoculture and individual yield in mixture. The relationship was unimodal, as predicted. The highest-yielding populations were from cultivars that had intermediate fitness, and these produced, on average, 35% higher yields than cultivars with the highest fitness. It is unlikely that plant breeding or genetic engineering can improve traits that natural selection has been optimizing for millions of years, but there is unutilized potential in traits that increase crop yield by decreasing individual fitness. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

  1. YIELD AND QUALITY OF YELLOW PASSION FRUITS ACCORDING TO ORGANIC FERTILIZATION AND ALTERNATIVE PHYTOSANITARY MANAGEMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anália Lúcia Vieira Pacheco

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Growing yellow passion fruit is a profitable activity, with a high demand for labor, and it is practiced especially by family-based farmers. However, the production cost is rather high and a significant part of this cost is associated with the expenses related to fertilization and phytosanitary treatments necessary for obtaining satisfactory yields and high commercial quality fruit. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of using organic compound in fertilization of plants and alternative products in phytosanitary treatments on the yield and quality of fruits. Yellow passion fruits were submitted to three types of fertilization (mineral, organic and organic-mineral and two types of phytosanitary treatment (‘conventional’ and ‘alternative’. This experiment evaluated fruit yield (kg/plant and fruit quality by using the following evaluations: seedless pulp yield, soluble solids content (SS, titratable acidity (TA, SS/TA ratio and vitamin C content. The different types of fertilization did not interfere in fruit yield, however, plants under conventional phytosanitary treatment displayed higher yields. The SS content and TA of the fruits were influenced only by fertilization, where plants that received mineral and organic-mineral fertilization produced fruit with higher contents of SS and TA. Pulp yield, SS/TA ratio and vitamin C content were not influenced by any of the evaluated factors. Regarding cultivation of passion fruit, it is possible to substitute some mineral fertilizers for organic fertilizers with no negative effects on the fruit yield or quality. However, the substitution of pesticides for alternative products compromises fruit yield.

  2. New high yielding mutant varieties of mustard (Brassica campestris L. var. yellow sarson)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahman, A.; Das, M.L.; Pathan, A.J.

    1992-01-01

    Mutation breeding work at the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture has been successful with the development of a number of promising mutants and with the release of two mutant varieties of mustard (Brassica campestris L. var. Yellow Sarson), Agrani and Safal, for commercial cultivation in Bangladesh. The mutant varieties have higher seed and oil yield with higher biomass production, tolerance to Alternaria blight and aphid under field conditions. The average seed yield of the varieties is 1726 and 1754 kg/ha as compared to 1447 kg/ha of the best check Sonali. These varieties have 42-43 per cent oil in the seed. (author). 7 refs., 3 tabs

  3. Effects of Drought Stress on Canola (Brassica napus L. Genotypes Yield and Yield Components

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R Khani

    2018-02-01

    in SAS ver. 9.2 and Minitab ver. 17 to test for normality. Means were separated using Fishers Least Significant Difference (LSD set at a 0.05 significance level. Results and Discussion As expected, canola genotypes showed different responses to availability of water at flowering and pod setting growth stages. Results indicated that drought stress at flowering and pod setting growth stages had severe influence on canola genotypes yield and its components. L72, L146, L183, L210 and Karaj 2 genotypes tend to produce higher yields compared to other genotypes in no-stress conditions. Hence, these genotypes are suitable for planting in irrigated lands or place that enough precipitation downfall especially in their phenological growth stages. In contrast, these genotypes are not suitable for planting in arid or semi-arid regions like Iran, because the yields reduced severely in drought stress conditions. However, KR18, HW101, SW101 and Karaj3 genotypes could not produce as same yield as L72, L146, L183, L210 and Karaj2 genotypes in no-stress condition, they had minimum yield loss in susceptible phenological growth stages especially flowering growth stage compared to other genotypes. L183 genotype could produce yield similar to tolerant genotypes, but its yield loss was high in comparison with no stress condition. Conclusions Based on our findings in this study, KR18, HW101, SW101 and Karaj3 can be considered the best among other 18 genotypes in the selection of genotypes tolerant to drought stress occurring in flowering and pod setting stages. However, this study must be repeated in other climates and different drought stress conditions to acknowledge what we achieved in this research. After that, decision can be made about planting these genotypes tolerant in arid and semi-arid regions. In this regard, we can also do more comprehensive works can be done on breeding of these genotypes, because water crisis will be the future challenge in Iran.

  4. Strategies to Foster Emotional Intelligence in Christian Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gliebe, Sudi Kate

    2012-01-01

    This article proposes five initiatives to foster emotional intelligence (EI) education throughout institutions of Christian higher education. Goleman (1995) identifies self-awareness, managing emotions, motivation, empathy, and social intelligence as the hallmark skills of emotional intelligence. The importance of mastering these skills and their…

  5. Corporate real estate alignment strategies in Dutch higher education

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Theo van der Voordt; Ronald Beckers

    2014-01-01

    Purpose – This paper aims to explore the management approaches concerned with the process of aligning Corporate Real Estate (CRE) with organizational goals on a strategic level and regarding day-to-day operating activities in higher education institutes. Methodology/approach – The paper first

  6. Development of a higher-order finite volume method for simulation of thermal oil recovery process using moving mesh strategy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahmadi, M. [Heriot Watt Univ., Edinburgh (United Kingdom)

    2008-10-15

    This paper described a project in which a higher order up-winding scheme was used to solve mass/energy conservation equations for simulating steam flood processes in an oil reservoir. Thermal recovery processes are among the most complex because they require a detailed accounting of thermal energy and chemical reaction kinetics. The numerical simulation of thermal recovery processes involves localized phenomena such as saturation and temperatures fronts due to hyperbolic features of governing conservation laws. A second order accurate FV method that was improved by a moving mesh strategy was used to adjust for moving coordinates on a finely gridded domain. The Finite volume method was used and the problem of steam injection was then tested using derived solution frameworks on both mixed and moving coordinates. The benefits of using a higher-order Godunov solver instead of lower-order ones were qualified. This second order correction resulted in better resolution on moving features. Preferences of higher-order solvers over lower-order ones in terms of shock capturing is under further investigation. It was concluded that although this simulation study was limited to steam flooding processes, the newly presented approach may be suitable to other enhanced oil recovery processes such as VAPEX, SAGD and in situ combustion processes. 23 refs., 28 figs.

  7. Study of genetic behavior of some early maturing and high yielding mutant lines of soybean in different locations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mir Ali, N.; Moualla, M.

    2007-01-01

    this study aimed at checking the stability of some mutant lines from soybean varieties in different locations and to select the best performing lines in each location. These lines 15 were selected according to previous experiments as being early maturing and/or that yield higher than the control. The study lasted three years, the experiment plants were grown in 3 locations: Raqa, Idleb and Lattakia. The experiment was designed as RCBD with 3 replicates for each variety. Results showed significant difference between lines, Locations and year in both earliness and yield, A significant interaction was realized between (line X location) and (line X year) for earliness and yield. For earliness (line X year) was not significant. The reverse situation was realized for yield. Location X year of yield and earliness was significant. Earliness was correlated positively with all characters (except for 100-seed-weight). Yield was positively and significantly correlated with characters of all lines. Three lines with higher yield than the control (142.61%) and same maturity time were selected. (author)

  8. A new set of parameters for 5 Gaussian fission yields systematics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Katakura, Jun-ichi

    2003-01-01

    A new set of parameters for 5 Gaussian-type fission yields systematics has been proposed for applying to high energy neutron or proton fission and to various kinds of fissioning systems including minor actinides. The mass yields calculated using the systematics were compared with various kinds of measured data including the fission with incident energy higher than 100 MeV and the fission of minor actinide nuclides. The comparisons showed rather good agreement between the calculated values and measured ones for various kinds of fissioning systems. (author)

  9. High-Yield Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles from Bicontinuous Microemulsions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. López-Cuenca

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The high-yield synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO primary nanoparticles with high purity and with diameters between 6 and 22 nm using bicontinuous microemulsions is reported in this work. The ZnO nanoparticles were made by hydrolysis of Zn(NO32 with NaOH aqueous solution and precipitation, followed by calcination of the precipitate. Higher yields and productivities of ZnO nanoparticles were obtained compared to values produced with w/o micremulsions reported in the literature. Particles were characterized by transmission electronic microscopy (TEM, X-ray diffraction, and atomic absorption spectroscopy.

  10. Mitigation of soil water repellency improves rootzone water status and yield in precision irrigated apples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kostka, S.; Gadd, N.; Bell, D.

    2009-04-01

    at 5% level of probability. As surfactant rate increased, wetting front depth increased and soil VWC increased for the surfactant treatments (p=0.05). Soil VWC was significantly lower (p=0.05) in untreated soils than in the surfactant treatments on each measurement date throughout the growing season. In the surfactant treatments, soil VWC at the 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm depths of the soil profile were 2-5 percentage points higher than at the same depths in the untreated control (p=0.05). Mean fruit size for the variety 'Pink Lady' was 17-33 g greater in the surfactant treatments than in the untreated control in the 2006/07 and 2007/08 seasons, respectively (p=0.05). Mean fruit size differences of 41 g were observed between surfactant treatments and the untreated control in the single year of results for the variety 'Gala'. Due to thinning, there were no differences in fruit number. Total yield (kg tree-1) differed significantly between the untreated and surfactant treated plots (p=0.05), however, yields between the two surfactant treatment rates were statistically equivalent. In the variety 'Pink Lady', surfactant treatment increased total yield by approximately 20% in each of the two test seasons. Yield increases in the surfactant treated 'Gala' were nearly 50% greater than the untreated control. When examining the yield differences on a hectare basis, yield increases of 3.7 - 6.0 Mg kg ha-1 were encountered between the surfactant treatments and the control in the two varieties tested. Mitigation of SWR resulted in increased net return of 6,000 - 9000 ha-1 for the variety 'Pink Lady' and 3,600 ha-1 for the cultivar 'Gala'. This study demonstrates that simple innovative management strategies such as low level surfactant treatments to water repellent soils resulted in improved infiltration, increased rootzone water reserves, and significant increases in apple yield and quality under deficit irrigation.

  11. Monolithic reactor : Higher yield, less energy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kreutzer, M.T.; Moulijn, J.A.; Kapteijn, F.; Mols, B.

    2004-01-01

    The production of margarine, the desulphurisation of crude oil, and the manufacture of synthetic diesel fuel, these are only three of the many industrial processes in which a three-phase reactor is used. Traditionally, this type of reactor is rather ill-defined. Success with a lab scale set-up is no

  12. Effect of fusarium wilt disease on seed yield of advance lentil genotypes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarwar, G.; Asghar, M.J.; Abbas, G.; Akhtar, K.P.

    2014-01-01

    Wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum is considered as the most damaging soil disease of lentil. Current study was carried out to see the effect of Fusarium wilt disease on seed yield of advance lentil genotypes in wilt sick plot. Fourteen entries were tested in national yield uniform trial (NUYT), 11 in adaptation yield trial (AYT), 15 in advance line yield trial-I (ALYT-I), 12 in advance line yield trial-II (ALYT-II) and 25 in preliminary yield trial (PYT) along with standard check. Mean seed yields of 891.04, 1281.78, 1153.81, 1080.04 and 789.45 kg ha/sup -1/were observed in NUYT, AYT, ALYT-I, ALYT-II and PYT, respectively. The average disease intensity in various trials was more than 30%. Disease severity was less than 10% in nine genotypes. This was also confirmed by high negative values of their losses over check. Out of these, the genotypes, 03501, NL 96625, NL 66184, NL 66106 and NL 31742/03 produced highest seed yield of 2945 kg ha/sup -1/, 2667 kg ha/sup -1/, 2490 kg ha/sup -1/,2390 kg ha/sup -1/and 2691 kg ha/sup -1/ respectively. The higher yield may be attributed to inbuilt resistance against such a drastic disease. Overall, seed yield and disease incidence were negatively correlated in all yield trials. The genotypes under severe wilt attack produced no seed yield. It is clear from this study that resistance/tolerance is available in lentil that can be selected based on high yield potential along with minimum yield losses for further breeding. (author)

  13. Bond yield curve construction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kožul Nataša

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In the broadest sense, yield curve indicates the market's view of the evolution of interest rates over time. However, given that cost of borrowing it closely linked to creditworthiness (ability to repay, different yield curves will apply to different currencies, market sectors, or even individual issuers. As government borrowing is indicative of interest rate levels available to other market players in a particular country, and considering that bond issuance still remains the dominant form of sovereign debt, this paper describes yield curve construction using bonds. The relationship between zero-coupon yield, par yield and yield to maturity is given and their usage in determining curve discount factors is described. Their usage in deriving forward rates and pricing related derivative instruments is also discussed.

  14. Yield of acid curd cheese produced from cow's milk from different lactation periods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salamończyk, Ewa; Młynek, Krzysztof; Guliński, Piotr; Zawadzka, Wiesława

    2017-01-01

    Milk production intensification has led in many countries, including Poland, to increased milk yields per cow. A higher milk yield resulted in changes in cow productivity, including extended lactations. There is a paucity of information on the quality of milk harvested during the last months of lactations exceed- ing 10 months. Production capacity cheese (“cheese expenditure”) is an important parameter of providing   a recovery as much as the possible components of the milk processed are dry substances, which in turn af- fects the economics of production. The aim of the study was to determine the influence of the lactation period (from standard lactation; extended lactation phase) on the performance of the acid curd cheese. the relation- ship between total protein content and acidity of fresh milk collected in two separate periods of lactation on the yield of acid cheese was also evaluated. The study included 1384 samples of milk collected from Polish Holstein-Friesian cows, the Black-White variety. The basic chemical composition of fresh milk and acid-curd cheese produced in the laboratory were analyzed. The cheese milk yield was evaluated on the basis of the quantity of the re- sulting curd mass. According to our estimates, under laboratory conditions an average of 100 kg of milk per cow in population produced an estimated 20.1 kg of curd cheese. The basic chemical composition of raw milk, which was diverse in terms of the period of lactation, showed a higher dry matter, fat and protein content in milk acquired during the extension phase of lactation compared to the milk of standard lactation. It has been found that the lower titratable acidity of fresh milk appeared with a higher yield of cheese curd. This difference was between 1.76 kg (with milk from cows milked during the extended lactation phase) to 2.72 kg from 100 kg of cheese milk (milk with the standard lactation). Thus, the optimum level of titratable acidity of milk for cheese yield is 6.0–7.5

  15. 7755 EFFECT OF NPK FERTILIZER ON FRUIT YIELD AND YIELD ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Win7Ent

    2013-06-03

    Jun 3, 2013 ... peasant farmers in Nigeria. With the increased ... did not significantly (p=0.05) increase the fruit yield nor the seed yield. Key words: NPK fertilizer, Fruit ..... SAS (Statistical Analysis System) Version 9.1. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, ...

  16. Hydrodistillation extraction time effect on essential oil yield, composition, and bioactivity of coriander oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheljazkov, Valtcho D; Astatkie, Tess; Schlegel, Vicki

    2014-01-01

    Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) is a major essential oil crop grown throughout the world. Coriander essential oil is extracted from coriander fruits via hydrodistillation, with the industry using 180-240 min of distillation time (DT), but the optimum DT for maximizing essential oil yield, composition of constituents, and antioxidant activities are not known. This research was conducted to determine the effect of DT on coriander oil yield, composition, and bioactivity. The results show that essential oil yield at the shorter DT was low and generally increased with increasing DT with the maximum yields achieved at DT between 40 and 160 min. The concentrations of the low-boiling point essential oil constituents: α-pinene, camphene, β-pinene, myrcene, para-cymene, limonene, and γ-terpinene were higher at shorter DT (essential oil constituent, linalool, was 51% at DT 1.15 min, and increased steadily to 68% with increasing DT. In conclusion, 40 min DT is sufficient to maximize yield of essential oil; and different DT can be used to obtain essential oil with differential composition. Its antioxidant capacity was affected by the DT, with 20 and 240 min DT showing higher antioxidant activity. Comparisons of coriander essential oil composition must consider the length of the DT.

  17. Temperature, Sowing and Harvest Dates, and Yield of Maize in the Southwestern US

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kafatos, M.; Stack, D.; Myoung, B.; Kim, S. H.; Kim, J.

    2014-12-01

    Since sowing date of maize is sensitive to climate variability and changes, it is of a practical importance to examine how sowing dates affect maize yields in various temperature regimes in the southwestern US. A 21-year (1991-2011) simulation of maize yield using Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) with observed meteorological forcing, shows that earlier sowing dates are favorable for higher yields primarily by increasing the length of growing season in cold mountaineous regions. In these regions, warmer conditions in the sowing period tend to advance the sowing date and then enhance yield. Over low-elevation warm regions, yields are less correlated with sowing dates and the length of growing season, perhaps because growing season temperatures are high enough for fast growth. Instead, in the warm regions, maize yields are sensitive to temperature variations during the late growing season due to adverse effects of extreme high temperature events on maize development.

  18. Effects of genetic selection for milk yield on energy balance, levels of hormones, and metabolites in lactating cattle, and possible links to reduced fertility

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Veerkamp, R.F.; Beerda, B.; Lende, van der T.

    2003-01-01

    Selection for a higher milk yield increases metabolic load via a higher yield per se and/or via physiological processes that facilitate milk yield, and it is difficult to differentiate between these two. Here, we aim to identify important pathways that contribute to the reduction in fertility

  19. Genetic basis of some yield components in gossypium hirsutum l

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Javed, A.; Azhar, F.M.; Khan, I.A.; Rana, S.A.

    2014-01-01

    A 5 * 5 diallel analysis was conducted to study the inheritance of seed cotton yield, number of bolls and boll weight in Gossypium hirsutum L. using combining ability technique. The analysis of the data revealed that variance due to specific combining ability was significant for all the three traits signifying the importance of non additive gene action. The comparison of the parents showed that NF-801-2-37 was the best general combiner for seed cotton yield, number of bolls and boll weight followed by Acala-63-75. Best hybrid combinations identified were Acala-63-75 * NF-801-2-37 for seed cotton yield and DPL-61 * NF-801-2-37 for number of bolls and boll weight. Higher proportion of dominance variance in all three traits suggested delayed selection or use of heterosis breeding in crop improvement programs. (author)

  20. Effects of different irrigation methods on pepper yield and soilborne diseases incidence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seral YÜCEL

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available In this study, the effect of different irrigation strategies and irrigation methods on yields and the incidence of wilt (Fusarium oxysporum and root rot (Fusarium solani and Macrophomina phaseolina diseases causing significant yield losses on field grown processing red pepper is determined. Experiments were carried out at Topçu Station of the Soil and Water Resources Research Institute of Tarsus in 2010 and 2011. Karaisalı processing pepper (Capsicum annuum L. was used in the experiments. Three furrows and five drip irrigation treatments were used in the study. The disease incidence rates were found 8.0-18.2% in furrow irrigation plots and 4.5-10.0% in drip irrigation plots in 2010, while it was 3.4-9.7% in furrow irrigation plots and 2.2-4.5% in drip irrigation plots in 2011. Pepper yields ranged from 3 416 to 4 417 kg da-1 and 3 376 to 4 779 kg da-1 in drip irrigated plots in 2010 and 2011, respectively. However, yields varied between 3 172-3 559 kg da-1 and 2 932-4 150 kg da-1 in furrow irrigated plots in 2010 and 2011 growing seasons.

  1. Fostering Creative Problem Solvers in Higher Education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhou, Chunfang

    2016-01-01

    to meet such challenges. This chapter aims to illustrate how to understand: 1) complexity as the nature of professional practice; 2) creative problem solving as the core skill in professional practice; 3) creativity as interplay between persons and their environment; 4) higher education as the context......Recent studies have emphasized issues of social emergence based on thinking of societies as complex systems. The complexity of professional practice has been recognized as the root of challenges for higher education. To foster creative problem solvers is a key response of higher education in order...... of fostering creative problem solvers; and 5) some innovative strategies such as Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and building a learning environment by Information Communication Technology (ICT) as potential strategies of creativity development. Accordingly, this chapter contributes to bridge the complexity...

  2. Dryland Winter Wheat Yield, Grain Protein, and Soil Nitrogen Responses to Fertilizer and Biosolids Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard T. Koenig

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Applications of biosolids were compared to inorganic nitrogen (N fertilizer for two years at three locations in eastern Washington State, USA, with diverse rainfall and soft white, hard red, and hard white winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cultivars. High rates of inorganic N tended to reduce yields, while grain protein responses to N rate were positive and linear for all wheat market classes. Biosolids produced 0 to 1400 kg ha−1 (0 to 47% higher grain yields than inorganic N. Wheat may have responded positively to nutrients other than N in the biosolids or to a metered N supply that limited vegetative growth and the potential for moisture stress-induced reductions in grain yield in these dryland production systems. Grain protein content with biosolids was either equal to or below grain protein with inorganic N, likely due to dilution of grain N from the higher yields achieved with biosolids. Results indicate the potential to improve dryland winter wheat yields with biosolids compared to inorganic N alone, but perhaps not to increase grain protein concentration of hard wheat when biosolids are applied immediately before planting.

  3. Do new production concepts and a new management of employment relations, yield higher employee performance and low job strain?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kraan, K.; Oeij, P.

    2006-01-01

    In this article old versus new production concepts (NPCs) and employment relation instruments, are studied, separately and in combination, to find out which yield high employee performance and low job strain. Therefore, in 2005, TNO conducted coupled surveys among 149 supervisors and employees. In

  4. Response of Yield and Yield Components of Tef [Eragrostis Tef ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The partial budget analysis also indicates that applications of 46 kg. N ha-1 and 10 kg P ha-1 are ..... (1994) indicated that where the grain yield response is negative, yield reduction is primarily caused by a .... An Economic Training. Manual.

  5. Mutation and screening of high-alcoholic-yield yeast by HEPE and optimization of the fermentation condition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han Jingjing; Lu Jiangtao; Zhang Qin; Wang Yan; Fu Yujie; Wang Shilong; Fu Haiying

    2011-01-01

    The Saccharomyces Cerevisiae YE0 was mutated using high-energy-pulse-electron (HEPE) beam. After ethanol stress and determination of the alcohol yield by gas chromatograph, the mutant YF1 with high alcoholic yield was obtained. The results showed that under the optimized fermentation conditions (34 degree C as the fermentation temperature, 72 h as the fermentation time and 30% as the glucose concentration), the alcoholic yield of YF1 was 15.57% which was 58.23% higher than that of the original strain YE0 (9.84%) under the same conditions. The growth rate and lethal temperature of the mutant YF1 were obviously enhanced to the original strain YE0. The mutant YF1 has a great potential application in industrial production of alcohol. And it can also be used as the original strain for further mutagenesis to get the strain of higher alcoholic yield. (authors)

  6. Effects of nitrogen application rate on dry matter redistribution, grain yield, nitrogen use efficiency and photosynthesis in malting barley

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cai, J; Jiang, D; Wollenweber, Bernd

    2012-01-01

    The harmonious combination of malting barley yield, quality and nitrogen (N) use-efficiency under nitrogen (N) rates applications was greatly conducive to production in China. The malting barley cultivar Supi 3 was planted during the growing seasons 2005 and 2006 at two contrasting sites in China....... Five nitrogen (N) application rates (0, 75, 150, 225 and 300 kg ha−1) were applied for research of effects of N rates application on grain yield, protein content and N use-efficiency. At both sites and in both years, grain yield increased with increasing N application rates up to 225 kg N ha−1...... with a quadrant model, the optimum N application rates for high grain yield with high nitrogen use-efficiency in malting barley could be indicated. So, the higher yields could be mainly ascribed to the higher accumulation of photoassimilates between anthesis and maturity. In order to achieve high grain yield...

  7. Investigating the Effect of Cultivate Lines Direction, Bio-Fertilizer Nitroxin and Superabsorbent Materials on Yield and Yield Components of Broad Leaf Vetch (Vicia narbonensis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E Latifinia

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction The excessive use of fertilizers has caused severe damages to the bio-cycle in the fields and has destroyed the sustainable agricultural machinery. These destructive effects have led to the recommended use of bio-fertilizers. Biodiversity is one of the key sources of supplying nutrients in sustainable agriculture. The use of biological fertilizers in a sustainable agricultural system leads to sustained yield in plant production. Biological fertilizer of nitroxin has increased biological yield and grain yield in fodder corn. Water shortage as a limiting factor has limited vegetation growth and development in these areas. Considering that Iran is a dry country, the use of super adsorbent is one of the ways to reduce water consumption. Investigators in the study of superabsorbent showed that superabsorbent had a significant and positive effect on the yield of forage plants. Crop directions can affect the amount of the product by increasing the leaf area and absorbing light. Proper orientation of crop lines increases the photosynthetic efficiency and increases the yield and yield components of the plant. Research has shown that yields are much higher in plants planted on the north-south lines compared with plants planted on east-west lines. Materials and Methods In order to investigate the effect of nitroxin and superabsorbent fertilizer on yield and yield components of broad leaf vetch in a research field of agricultural faculty, Lorestan University, as a split plot factorial based on a complete block design randomization was performed in three replicates. In this research, for main lines, the main factors were considered in the North-South and East-West directions in the main plots. Sub-factors In this experiment, nitroxin biosynthesis and superabsorbent materials were applied at two levels of consumption and non-consumption in sub plots. Nitroxin fertilizer was used as a seed lot at a rate of 1 liter per hectare and the stockosorb

  8. Do increases in cigarette prices lead to increases in sales of cigarettes with high tar and nicotine yields?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farrelly, Matthew C; Loomis, Brett R; Mann, Nathan H

    2007-10-01

    We used scanner data on cigarette prices and sales collected from supermarkets across the United States from 1994 to 2004 to test the hypothesis that cigarette prices are positively correlated with sales of cigarettes with higher tar and nicotine content. During this period the average inflation-adjusted price for menthol cigarettes increased 55.8%. Price elasticities from multivariate regression models suggest that this price increase led to an increase of 1.73% in sales-weighted average tar yields and a 1.28% increase in sales-weighted average nicotine yields for menthol cigarettes. The 50.5% price increase of nonmenthol varieties over the same period yielded an estimated increase of 1% in tar per cigarette but no statistically significant increase in nicotine yields. An ordered probit model of the impact of cigarette prices on cigarette strength (ultra-light, light, full flavor, unfiltered) offers an explanation: As cigarette prices increase, the probability that stronger cigarette types will be sold increases. This effect is larger for menthol than for nonmenthol cigarettes. Our results are consistent with earlier population-based cross-sectional and longitudinal studies showing that higher cigarette prices and taxes are associated with increasing consumption of higher-yield cigarettes by smokers.

  9. The effect of urea with urease inhibitors and urea on yield and nitrate content in potato tubers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karel Drápal

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The three-year field trial was established on two localities – Žabčice and Valečov in 2010–2012. Seven variants of nitrogen fertilization in four replications have been involved in this experiment – 100% of urea (U, 80% of urea, 60% of urea, 100% of UreaStabil (US, 80% of UreaStabil and 60% of UreaStabil, whilst 100% corresponded to 90 kg N.ha−1 after subtracting the content of Nmin in the soil, and the control variant without fertilization by mineral nitrogen. The two varieties with different lengths of vegetation periods have been chosen for the experiment – the early variety Karin and the mid-early variety Red Anna. In all cases, samples for the yield and qualitative analyses have been taken according to the phenological phase – the beginning of physiological maturity. The obtained results show that the highest average yield has been achieved in the variant of 100% of urea – 40.95 t. ha−1, the yield of this variant was statistically significantly higher than the yield of the other variants of fertilization (P < 0.05. Variants treated by urea without the urease inhibitor reached an average yield of 37.62 t.ha−1. However, this yield was not statistically significantly higher when comparing to the urea with the urease inhibitor (P > 0.05. In regard to localities, a relatively high average yield (44.58 t.ha−1 has been achieved on a characteristically potato-growing locality Valečov. This yield was statistically significantly higher than the one attained on the Žabčice locality (P < 0.05. In respect to varieties, the mid-early variety Red Anna attained a higher average yield (39.65 t. ha−1. Likewise, this yield was statistically significantly higher than the one of the early variety Karin (P < 0.05. The best year was 2012, in which the average yield of 38.73 t.ha−1 was achieved. This yield was statistically significantly higher than the yield of the year 2010 (P < 0.05. As far as nitrates are concerned, the

  10. A Remote Sensing-Derived Corn Yield Assessment Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shrestha, Ranjay Man

    Agricultural studies and food security have become critical research topics due to continuous growth in human population and simultaneous shrinkage in agricultural land. In spite of modern technological advancements to improve agricultural productivity, more studies on crop yield assessments and food productivities are still necessary to fulfill the constantly increasing food demands. Besides human activities, natural disasters such as flood and drought, along with rapid climate changes, also inflect an adverse effect on food productivities. Understanding the impact of these disasters on crop yield and making early impact estimations could help planning for any national or international food crisis. Similarly, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) insurance management utilizes appropriately estimated crop yield and damage assessment information to sustain farmers' practice through timely and proper compensations. Through County Agricultural Production Survey (CAPS), the USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS) uses traditional methods of field interviews and farmer-reported survey data to perform annual crop condition monitoring and production estimations at the regional and state levels. As these manual approaches of yield estimations are highly inefficient and produce very limited samples to represent the entire area, NASS requires supplemental spatial data that provides continuous and timely information on crop production and annual yield. Compared to traditional methods, remote sensing data and products offer wider spatial extent, more accurate location information, higher temporal resolution and data distribution, and lower data cost--thus providing a complementary option for estimation of crop yield information. Remote sensing derived vegetation indices such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) provide measurable statistics of potential crop growth based on the spectral reflectance and could

  11. Effect of Pesticide Application Rate on Yield of Vegetables and Soil ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    komla

    In tomatoes, lower rates of lindane increased yields whereas the higher ... some countries because it has been found to cause seizures and damage to the nervous system, ... soil microbial activity, and (ii) to determine whether lindane has any ...

  12. Effect of Different Treatments of Mixed and Row Intercropping on Yield and Yield Components of Sesame and Bean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sh Ghale Noyee

    2017-12-01

    , respectively. Hand-weeding method was used for controlling weeds. The first was done when most plants were, in the 6 leaf stage and in the height about 15cm, continued every 13 days until the growth of the canopy limited the growth of weeds. There was not used any fertilizer during the growing season. At the end of the growing season traits such as 1000 seed weight, number of capsules or pods per plant, number of seeds per capsule or pod, biological yield, seed yield and harvest index were recorded. In addition, the land equivalent ratio (LER was calculated to determine the advantages of intercropping. Analysis of variance and Duncan's mean comparison were used for statistical analysis. Results and Discussion The results showed that intercropping had a significant effect on all traits, in sesame and bean. 1000 seed weigh, number of capsules or pods per plant, number of seeds per capsule or pod and harvest index in the treatments of 25s75b, 50s50b and 75s25b, were the highest amounts. Number of seed per plant, seed yield and harvest index in sesame and 1000 seed weight, biological yield and seed yield in bean were affected by planting type which row planting had higher value than mixed planting. This can be due to better use of resources and avoid inter and intra species competition, in the circumstances stated above. The results showed that the total LER, LER of sesame, and LER of bean were higher in replacement intercropping planting than mixed planting. In addition, replacement intercropping had better performance in total LER, LER of sesame, and LER of bean, to additive intercropping. Also, total LER was more than 1 which highest values were observed in the treatments of 25s75b, 50s50b, 30s100b, 75s25b, 100s 30b and 10s100b (1.22, 1.19, 1.15, 1.15 and 1.14, respectively. It seems that better utilize of the growth resource in the inter cropping led to reach this result. The results showed that presence of bean in intercropping had positive effects on sesame, so that the

  13. Combining satellite remote sensing and surveys to understand persistent yield variation--- a case study in North China Plain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Y.; Lobell, D. B.; Chen, X.

    2015-12-01

    A large gap between maize yields on average farmers' fields and the highest yields achieved by either experiment or farmers is typical throughout the developing world, including in the North China Plain (NCP). This maize yield gap as identified by previous studies indicates large opportunities for raising yield by improving agronomy. Quzhou county is typical of the winter-wheat summer-maize system in NCP where the average plot size is as small as 0.25 hectares. To analyze this cropping system amidst the challenge of substantial heterogeneity, we identified fields that were either persistently higher or lower yielding according to the remote sensing yield estimates, and then conducted detailed field surveys. We found irrigation facility to be a major constraint to yield both in terms of irrigation water quality and farmers' access to wells. In total, improving the access to unsalty water would be associated with a 0.32t/ha (4.2%) increase in multi-year average yield. In addition, farmers' method of choosing cultivar, which likely relates to their overall knowledge level, significantly explained yield variation. In particular, those choosing cultivars according to technician advice, personal experiences and high yielding neighbors' advice had on average higher yield than farmers that either followed seed sellers' advice or collectively purchased seeds. Overall, the study presents a generalizable methodology of assessing yield gap as well as its persistent factors using a combination of satellite and survey data.

  14. The Temporal and Spatial Evolution of Water Yield in Dali County

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Yu

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Water yield is of great importance to the balance between supply and demand of water resources. The provision of freshwater for Dali is estimated and mapped in 1988, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2008, using the Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST modeling toolset. The stability of water yield’s spatial variation is analyzed by a sorting method. The factors are explored which lead to the change in the relative water yield capacity. The yields at five points in time are compared, and the result of which shows a sharp fluctuation. The water yield curve is of a similar waveform as precipitation. An obvious and relatively stable spatial variation appears for water yield. The highest water yield areas are mainly located in the area where the elevation is high and both the elevation and the slope changes are large, and the main land uses are Shrub Land and High Coverage Grassland. The lowest areas are mainly in the eastern part of Erhai or the surrounding area. Precipitation, construction land expansion and the implementation of policy on land use are the three main factors which contribute to the change of the relative water yield capacity during 1988–2008 in Dali. In the study area, the water yield appears highly sensitive to the change in precipitation. The elasticity coefficient is calculated to illustrate the sensitivity of the water yield to the precipitation. When the elasticity index is larger, the risk of natural disaster will be higher.

  15. Higher Education Lecturing and Humor: From Perspectives to Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nasiri, Fuzhan; Mafakheri, Fereshteh

    2015-01-01

    This article will review the issues surrounding the use of humor as an informal teaching method in higher education lecturing. The impact and usefulness of humor, from both a teacher's and a student's perspective, will be investigated. The aim is to classify the challenges and limitations of using humor in classrooms and to investigate and…

  16. Impacts of aerosol pollutant mitigation on lowland rice yields in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Tianyi; Li, Tao; Yue, Xu; Yang, Xiaoguang

    2017-10-01

    Aerosol pollution in China is significantly altering radiative transfer processes and is thereby potentially affecting rice photosynthesis and yields. However, the response of rice photosynthesis to aerosol-induced radiative perturbations is still not well understood. Here, we employ a process-based modelling approach to simulate changes in incoming radiation (RAD) and the diffuse radiation fraction (DF) with aerosol mitigation in China and their associated impacts on rice yields. Aerosol reduction has the positive effect of increasing RAD and the negative effect of decreasing DF on rice photosynthesis and yields. In rice production areas where the average RAD during the growing season is lower than 250 W m-2, aerosol reduction is beneficial for higher rice yields, whereas in areas with RAD>250 W m-2, aerosol mitigation causes yield declines due to the associated reduction in the DF, which decreases the light use efficiency. As a net effect, rice yields were estimated to significantly increase by 0.8%-2.6% with aerosol concentrations reductions from 20 to 100%, which is lower than the estimates obtained in earlier studies that only considered the effects of RAD. This finding suggests that both RAD and DF are important processes influencing rice yields and should be incorporated into future assessments of agricultural responses to variations in aerosol-induced radiation under climate change.

  17. Effects of planting method on agronomic characteristics, yield and yield components of sweet and super sweet corn (Zea mays L. varieties under saline conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Faridi

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available In order to evaluate the effects of planting pattern on morphological, Phonological, yield and yield components of sweet and super sweet corn (Zea mays L. varieties under saline conditions, a field experiment was conducted as split plots based on a randomized complete block design with four replications. Planting pattern in 3 levels included one row in ridge, two row in ridge and furrow planting, as a main plot and varieties in 4 levels sweet corn with 2 types (KSc 403 su, Merit and super sweet with two types (Basin, obsession as sub plots. The results showed that planting pattern had significant differences on plant height, ear height, leaf length, leaf width, number of kernel per row, number of rows per ear and 1000-kernel weight. but had no significant effects on the length of tassel, number of leaf/plant, number of leaf per plant above ear, stem diameter, time of anthesis, time of silking, anthesis silking interval ASI, grain yield, biological yield and harvest index. Different varieties had significant effects on the total characteristics studied except number of leaf above ear and stem diameter. Most of the conservable grain yield and harvest index was in Obsession variety (10 kg and 39%, respectively and the least was seen in Basin (4 kg and 20%, respectively. The result showed that use of furrow planting pattern for sweet and super sweet corn in saline conditions can effects result in higher yield.

  18. Correlation and path-cofficient analysis of seed yield and yield ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study was undertaken in order to determine the association among yield components and their direct and indirect effects on the seed yield of confectionery sunflower. 36 confectionery sunflower populations originated from different regions of Northwest Iran were characterized using 11 agromorphological traits ...

  19. Some compositional and health indicators of milk quality of dairy cows with higher milk yield at including of selected corn species into feeding ration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Pozdíšek

    2008-01-01

    influenced. More important differences were in total dry matter, 12.09 (K < 12.23 (P1 or 12.40 % (P2. While for wheat was not for triticale was similar effect observed in crude protein (CP of milk (3.08 (K or 3.05 (P1 < 3.23 % (P2. Similar trend was also confirmed in casein (CAS; 2.43 or 2.44 < 2.55 %; from P < 0.05 to P < 0.001 for CP and CAS. There were insignificant differences between groups for casein number, pH acidity, electrical conductivity, Mg and Cu (P > 0.05. Milk specific weight was lowest in P1 (P < 0.01, but this indicator is practically less important. More expressive differences were in somatic cell count (SCC in geometric mean 249 (P2 > 76 (K or 72 103/ml (P1. Because of quite typical high SCC variability in tri­ti­ca­le P2 group (in opposite to this low variability in K and P1 groups it could be caused by chance in animal selection for groups and all values met the standard demand for extra quality of milk. Therefore, it is not necessary to over estimate this result. Milk urea as metabolical indicator was higher in wheat group, significantly (P < 0.05 versus triticale group (23.39 (P1 > 20.80 (K and 20.50 mg / 100ml (P2, but all values lay in respected physiological range (from 20 to 30 mg / 100ml. In the Ca case it was significantly higher (P < 0.05 versus wheat in triticale milk group by 5.7 and 4.0 % (1306 (P2 > 1231 (K or 1253 (P1 mg / kg. This increase could be interested in terms of milk nutritive value, but not for routine milk payment. The levels of P and Fe in milk were higher in K versus experimental groups (P < 0.05. It is less interesting in terms of economy or nutrition. In general milk was a little different according to differences in corn portions of cow feeding rations and corn variant replacement. In terms of experiment the concrete corn replacement in concentrate portion of feeding ration could not have an essential impact on milk quality and it si possible to agree with such conception. However, the milk quality and yield

  20. Influence of sowing dates on phenological development and yield of dual purpose wheat cultivars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Munsif, F.; Arif, M.; Ali, K.

    2015-01-01

    Dual-purpose wheat is getting recognition among community in diverse farming systems. Success of the system depends on management decisions regarding appropriate sowing dates, choice of cultivars, harvesting time and stage. A comprehensive understanding of how these factors influence the growth and phenology of dual purpose wheat is needed for comparison of grain only wheat to dual purpose system to feed the ever increasing population under this system. The existing higher yielding varieties (Saleem-2000, Bathoor-2007, Fakhre Sarhad-99, Uqab-2000, Siran-2008, and Ghaznavi-98) of wheat were sown on various planting dates from early to normal (15th, 30th October and 14th November) and were given cut after 70 days of sowing. The experiment was arranged in randomized complete block design having split plot arrangement with three replications. Results of the study indicated that booting, heading and physiological maturity were significantly influenced by planting dates, among the cultivars and cutting imposed 70 days after sowing. Mid October sowing prolonged booting, heading, anthesis, maturity and had long stature plants and higher grain yield than sowing in mid November. Uqab-2000 booted, headed and reached to anthesis and maturity earlier followed by Ghaznavi-98, Bathoor-2007 and Saleem-2000. Uqab-2000 and Siran-2008 had higher grain yield than other cultivars. Booting, heading, anthesis and maturity were significantly delayed in cutting as compared to no cut plots. Wheat varieties Bathoor-2007, Uqab-2000 and Fakhre Sarhad-99 produced taller plants compared to Saleem-2000. It is concluded that early sowing on mid October had prolonged phenological traits and higher yield of wheat with long stature plants than later sowing (15th November) and variety Fakhre Sarhad-99 unlike Uqab-2000 was late with respect to phenological development. Cutting prior to stem elongation had not delayed the maturity from three days without substantial yield reduction which revealed that