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Sample records for unit-kernel sweet corn

  1. Kernel compositions of glyphosate-tolerant and corn rootworm-protected MON 88017 sweet corn and insect-protected MON 89034 sweet corn are equivalent to that of conventional sweet corn (Zea mays).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curran, Kassie L; Festa, Adam R; Goddard, Scott D; Harrigan, George G; Taylor, Mary L

    2015-03-25

    Monsanto Co. has developed two sweet corn hybrids, MON 88017 and MON 89034, that contain biotechnology-derived (biotech) traits designed to enhance sustainability and improve agronomic practices. MON 88017 confers benefits of glyphosate tolerance and protection against corn rootworm. MON 89034 provides protection against European corn borer and other lepidopteran insect pests. The purpose of this assessment was to compare the kernel compositions of MON 88017 and MON 89034 sweet corn with that of a conventional control that has a genetic background similar to the biotech sweet corn but does not express the biotechnology-derived traits. The sweet corn samples were grown at five replicated sites in the United States during the 2010 growing season and the conventional hybrid and 17 reference hybrids were grown concurrently to provide an estimate of natural variability for all assessed components. The compositional analysis included proximates, fibers, amino acids, sugars, vitamins, minerals, and selected metabolites. Results highlighted that MON 88017 and MON 89034 sweet corns were compositionally equivalent to the conventional control and that levels of the components essential to the desired properties of sweet corn, such as sugars and vitamins, were more affected by growing environment than the biotech traits. In summary, the benefits of biotech traits can be incorporated into sweet corn with no adverse effects on nutritional quality.

  2. Evaluation of Biosynthesis, Accumulation and Antioxidant Activityof Vitamin E in Sweet Corn (Zea mays L. during Kernel Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lihua Xie

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Sweet corn kernels were used in this research to study the dynamics of vitamin E, by evaluatingthe expression levels of genes involved in vitamin E synthesis, the accumulation of vitamin E, and the antioxidant activity during the different stage of kernel development. Results showed that expression levels of ZmHPT and ZmTC genes increased, whereas ZmTMT gene dramatically decreased during kernel development. The contents of all the types of vitamin E in sweet corn had a significant upward increase during kernel development, and reached the highest level at 30 days after pollination (DAP. Amongst the eight isomers of vitamin E, the content of γ-tocotrienol was the highest, and increased by 14.9 folds, followed by α-tocopherolwith an increase of 22 folds, and thecontents of isomers γ-tocopherol, α-tocotrienol, δ-tocopherol,δ-tocotrienol, and β-tocopherol were also followed during kernel development. The antioxidant activity of sweet corn during kernel development was increased, and was up to 101.8 ± 22.3 μmol of α-tocopherol equivlent/100 g in fresh weight (FW at 30 DAP. There was a positive correlation between vitamin E contents and antioxidant activity in sweet corn during the kernel development, and a negative correlation between the expressions of ZmTMT gene and vitamin E contents. These results revealed the relations amongst the content of vitamin E isomers and the gene expression, vitamin E accumulation, and antioxidant activity. The study can provide a harvesting strategy for vitamin E bio-fortification in sweet corn.

  3. Evaluation of Biosynthesis, Accumulation and Antioxidant Activityof Vitamin E in Sweet Corn (Zea mays L.) during Kernel Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Lihua; Yu, Yongtao; Mao, Jihua; Liu, Haiying; Hu, Jian Guang; Li, Tong; Guo, Xinbo; Liu, Rui Hai

    2017-12-20

    Sweet corn kernels were used in this research to study the dynamics of vitamin E, by evaluatingthe expression levels of genes involved in vitamin E synthesis, the accumulation of vitamin E, and the antioxidant activity during the different stage of kernel development. Results showed that expression levels of Zm HPT and Zm TC genes increased, whereas Zm TMT gene dramatically decreased during kernel development. The contents of all the types of vitamin E in sweet corn had a significant upward increase during kernel development, and reached the highest level at 30 days after pollination (DAP). Amongst the eight isomers of vitamin E, the content of γ-tocotrienol was the highest, and increased by 14.9 folds, followed by α-tocopherolwith an increase of 22 folds, and thecontents of isomers γ-tocopherol, α-tocotrienol, δ-tocopherol,δ-tocotrienol, and β-tocopherol were also followed during kernel development. The antioxidant activity of sweet corn during kernel development was increased, and was up to 101.8 ± 22.3 μmol of α-tocopherol equivlent/100 g in fresh weight (FW) at 30 DAP. There was a positive correlation between vitamin E contents and antioxidant activity in sweet corn during the kernel development, and a negative correlation between the expressions of Zm TMT gene and vitamin E contents. These results revealed the relations amongst the content of vitamin E isomers and the gene expression, vitamin E accumulation, and antioxidant activity. The study can provide a harvesting strategy for vitamin E bio-fortification in sweet corn.

  4. Ensuring microbiological safety and extending the shelf life of shelled sweet corn kernels using hurdle technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, Sanjeev; Gautam, Satyendra

    2015-01-01

    Shelled sweet corn kernels are prone to microbial contaminations due to high moisture and nutrient contents. Post harvest handling further aggravates the condition and makes the product highly perishable and unsafe. In freshly shelled kernels total aerobic plate count, yeast mold count and presumptive coliforms were found to be ∼ 8, 7, and 4 log cfu/g, respectively. IMViC analysis confirmed presence of opportunistic pathogens like Escherichia coli and Enterobacteraerogenes in these samples. Besides, occurrence of mycotoxin such as ochratoxin A (OTA), classified as a possible carcinogenic compound, was found to be high in sweet corn samples spiked with toxigenic strain. To address this issue, a combination process including NaOCl washing (200 ppm for 5 min), hot water blanching (60℃ for 5 min), air drying, LDPE packaging, and finally gamma radiation (5 kGy) treatment was developed. The developed combination process was found to reduce microbial load to below detectable level and quite effectively inactivated Aspergillusochraceus spores as well as pre-formed toxin. These treatments were not found to affect the contents of biochemical constituents such as total and reducing sugars, proteins, phenolics, and flavonoids during storage. Prophylactic properties in terms of antioxidant capacity and potential to suppress chemical induced mutagenesis were not affected in these samples. Physical properties and sensory qualities were also found to be similar to fresh (control). Thus, the developed combination process ensured microbiological safety and extended shelf life of sweet corn kernels up to 30 days at 4℃ . (author)

  5. Reproductive sink of sweet corn in response to plant density and hybrid

    Science.gov (United States)

    Improvements in plant density tolerance have played an essential role in grain corn yield gains for ~80 years; however, plant density effects on sweet corn biomass allocation to the ear (the reproductive ‘sink’) is poorly quantified. Moreover, optimal plant densities for modern white-kernel shrunke...

  6. [Super sweet corn hybrids adaptability for industrial processing. I freezing].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alfonzo, Braunnier; Camacho, Candelario; Ortiz de Bertorelli, Ligia; De Venanzi, Frank

    2002-09-01

    With the purpose of evaluating adaptability to the freezing process of super sweet corn sh2 hybrids Krispy King, Victor and 324, 100 cobs of each type were frozen at -18 degrees C. After 120 days of storage, their chemical, microbiological and sensorial characteristics were compared with a sweet corn su. Industrial quality of the process of freezing and length and number of rows in cobs were also determined. Results revealed yields above 60% in frozen corns. Length and number of rows in cobs were acceptable. Most of the chemical characteristics of super sweet hybrids were not different from the sweet corn assayed at the 5% significance level. Moisture content and soluble solids of hybrid Victor, as well as total sugars of hybrid 324 were statistically different. All sh2 corns had higher pH values. During freezing, soluble solids concentration, sugars and acids decreased whereas pH increased. Frozen cobs exhibited acceptable microbiological rank, with low activities of mesophiles and total coliforms, absence of psychrophiles and fecal coliforms, and an appreciable amount of molds. In conclusion, sh2 hybrids adapted with no problems to the freezing process, they had lower contents of soluble solids and higher contents of total sugars, which almost doubled the amount of su corn; flavor, texture, sweetness and appearance of kernels were also better. Hybrid Victor was preferred by the evaluating panel and had an outstanding performance due to its yield and sensorial characteristics.

  7. A morel improved growth and suppressed Fusarium infection in sweet corn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Dan; Bu, Fangfang; Hou, Jiaojiao; Kang, Yongxiang; Yu, Zhongdong

    2016-12-01

    A post-fire morel collected from Populus simonii stands in Mt. Qingling was identified as Morchella crassipes Mes-20 by using nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer phylogeny. It was inoculated into sweet corn to observe colonized roots in purified culture and in greenhouse experiments. The elongation and maturation zones of sweet corn were remarkably colonized at the cortex intercellular and intracellular cells, vessel cells, and around the Casparian strip, forming ectendomycorrhiza-like structures. Colonization was also observed in the zone of cell division proximal to the root cap. Greenhouse assays with sweet corn showed that this morel stimulated the development of the root system and significantly increased the dry root biomass. M. crassipes also significantly reduced the incidence of Fusarium verticillioides in the kernels of mature ears when inoculated into young ears before Fusarium inoculation and prevented Fusarium infection in corn ears compared with that of the control in the greenhouse. When grown under axenic conditions, M. crassipes produced the phytohormones abscisic acid, indole-3-acetic acid, and salicylic acid. The benefits to plants elicited by M. crassipes may result from these phytohormones which may improve the drought resistance, biomass growth and resistance to Fusarium.

  8. 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.

  9. ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT ANALYSIS OF CANNED SWEET CORN

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    Phairat Usubharatana

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available There has been a notable increase in both consumer knowledge and awareness regarding the ecological benefits of green products and services. Manufacturers now pay more attention to green, environmentally friendly production processes. Two significant tools that can facilitate such a goal are life cycle assessment (LCA and ecological footprint (EF. This study aimed to analyse and determine the damage to the environment, focusing on the canned fruit and vegetable processing. Canned sweet corn (340 g was selected for the case study. All inputs and outputs associated with the product system boundary were collected through field surveys. The acquired inventory was then analysed and evaluated using both LCA and EF methodology. The results were converted into an area of biologically productive land and presented as global hectares (gha. The ecological footprint of one can of sweet corn was calculated as 6.51E-04 gha. The three factors with the highest impact on ecological footprint value were the corn kernels used in the process, the packaging and steam, equivalent to 2.93E-04 gha, 1.19E-04 gha and 1.17E-04 gha respectively. To promote the sustainable development, the company should develop new technology or utilize better management techniques to reduce the ecological footprint of canned food production.

  10. Effect of irradiation on sweet corn preservation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fu Junjie

    2002-01-01

    60 Co γ-ray was used to irradiate newly-harvested sweet corn and the results showed that the effects of irradiation on soluble solids, sucrose, starch and total sugar were not significant. The viscosity of starch decreased with the increasing of irradiation dose. The preservation duration of irradiated sweet corn was 7 days longer than that of CK, and the sweet, smell, taste of sweet corn had no abnormal change

  11. Aflatoxin contamination of developing corn kernels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amer, M A

    2005-01-01

    Preharvest of corn and its contamination with aflatoxin is a serious problem. Some environmental and cultural factors responsible for infection and subsequent aflatoxin production were investigated in this study. Stage of growth and location of kernels on corn ears were found to be one of the important factors in the process of kernel infection with A. flavus & A. parasiticus. The results showed positive correlation between the stage of growth and kernel infection. Treatment of corn with aflatoxin reduced germination, protein and total nitrogen contents. Total and reducing soluble sugar was increase in corn kernels as response to infection. Sucrose and protein content were reduced in case of both pathogens. Shoot system length, seeding fresh weigh and seedling dry weigh was also affected. Both pathogens induced reduction of starch content. Healthy corn seedlings treated with aflatoxin solution were badly affected. Their leaves became yellow then, turned brown with further incubation. Moreover, their total chlorophyll and protein contents showed pronounced decrease. On the other hand, total phenolic compounds were increased. Histopathological studies indicated that A. flavus & A. parasiticus could colonize corn silks and invade developing kernels. Germination of A. flavus spores was occurred and hyphae spread rapidly across the silk, producing extensive growth and lateral branching. Conidiophores and conidia had formed in and on the corn silk. Temperature and relative humidity greatly influenced the growth of A. flavus & A. parasiticus and aflatoxin production.

  12. Sweet corn (Zea mays L.: Fresh ear yield in dependance of genotype and the environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Srdić Jelena

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Sweet corn is used as food in the milky stage of endosperm, when its kernel is tender, succulent and sweet. It is consumed in form of fresh ears, or it is industrially processed. Breeding of sweet corn has several equally important aims that are directed by the market demands and different modes of consumption. The ear yield, in sweet corn is the most important but not the only main goal of breeding. In the two year study (2013, 2014 we observed the effect of the genotype, year and their interactions on the yields of 8 sweet corn hybrids. Two of the hybrids were commercial and six were experimental hybrids. The field experiment was arranged according to the RCBD with four replications. Hybrids were harvested 23 days after pollination, i.e. silking. Average yield in 2013 was significantly higher (12.19 t ha-1 than in 2014 (11.49 t ha- 1. In 2013 it ranged from 10.21 t ha-1 for the experimental hybrid ZP 489/1su, up to 13.52 t ha-1 for the commercial hybrid ZP 355su. In 2014 the lowest yielding hybrid was ZP 485/1su (10.14 t ha-1 while the highest yielding was ZP 486/1su (13.41 t ha-1. On average those two were also the highest (13.19 t ha-1 and the lowest yielding (10.66 t ha-1 hybrids. Statistical analysis showed that the effect of genotype and the year, as well as their interactions had significant impact on the yield performances of sweet corn hybrids.

  13. 7 CFR 457.129 - Fresh market sweet corn crop insurance provisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 6 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Fresh market sweet corn crop insurance provisions. 457... sweet corn crop insurance provisions. The fresh market sweet corn crop insurance provisions for the 2008... Reinsured Policies Fresh Market Sweet Corn Crop Provisions 1. Definitions Allowable cost.—The dollar amount...

  14. The effect of different sowing depths on fresh ear yield and some ear characteristics of sweet corn

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bekir Atar

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The research was conducted with aim to investigate effect on fresh ear yield and some ear characteristics of sweet corn of sowing at different depths during 2015 and 2016 years in Isparta. The experiments were set up according to randomized complete block design with three replicates using BATEM TATLI sweet corn cultivar. Furrows were opened at depths of 10 and 20 cm after the soil preparation, and seeds were sown in the 4-5 cm depth in to these furrows. According to means of years, while furrow sowing increased ear diameter, ear weigh, number of kernels per ear and fresh ear yield compared to control, it was not effect on ear length. In the research, between 10 cm and 20 cm furrow sowing wasn’t significant statistically. Fresh ear yield in control, 10 cm and 20 cm furrow sowing were measured as 1110.9 kg ha-1 , 1228.4 kg ha-1 and 1289.4 kg ha-1 , respectively. According to results of research, 5 cm deep sowing in 10 cm furrows should be advised in sweet corn cultivation.

  15. Effect of Limited Irrigation on Yield and Yield Component of Several Sweet Corn (Zea mays L.var Saccharata Varieties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sh Ghazian Tafrishi

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available A randomized complete block design with four replications and a split plot arrangement was conducted in 2010, in order to study the effect of limited irrigation on yield and yield component of sweet corn. Water levels were (100%, 80%, and 60% replacement of plant water requirement which served as main plots. Subplot was a factorial arrangement of three different sweet corn varieties (Merit, Obsession and KSC403 with two planting methods (raised bed and furrow planting. The evaluated traits were ear length, ear diameter, kernels number per row, seed rows per ear, kernel depth, seed thousands weight, kernel yield, shoot biomass, harvest index and Anthesis- silking interval. Results show that limited irrigation significantly decreased all measured characteristics but harvest index. Effect of varieties was significant on evaluated traits too. Kernel weight and seed depth were significantly affected by interaction between variety and planting method. The highest yield was found for 100% replacement of water requirement irrigation level whit 15.2 tones per hectare kernel weight and the lowest belongs to 60% replacement of water requirement by 8.6 tones per hectare kernel weight. Merit and KSC 403 produces the highest (15.9 ton/ha and lowest (8.8 ton/ha seed yield, respectively. Harvest index of different varieties were not affected by irrigation regime. Results show that, in whole, limited irrigation, decreased seed yield in all varieties by affecting diverse yield component.

  16. THE STRUCTURE AND YIELD LEVEL OF SWEET CORN DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF WINTER CATCH CROPS AND WEED CONTROL METHOD

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    Robert Rosa

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Organic manuring is suggested to be necessary in sweet corn cultivation. It is not always possible to use farmyard manure due to economic, production or technical reasons. Catch crops used as green manures can be an alternative source of organic matter. The experiment was carried out in central-east Poland (52°06’N, 22°55’E, in years 2008–2011. The successive effect of winter catch crops (hairy vetch, white clover, winter rye, Italian ryegrass, winter turnip rape and the type of weed control on the growth and yielding of sweet corn was examined. The catch crops were sown in early September, incorporated in early May. The effect of the winter catch crops on yield was compared to the effect of FYM at a rate of 30 t·ha-1 and the control without organic manuring. The sweet corn was grown directly after organic fertilization. Three methods of weed control was used: Hw – hand weeding, twice during the growing period, GCM – herbicide Guardian CompleteMix 664 SE, immediately after sowing the seed corn, Z+T – a mixture of herbicides Zeagran 340 SE + Titus 25 WG, in the 3–4 leaf stage sweet corn. The highest yields of biomass were found for winter rye (35.5 t·ha-1 FM and 7.3 t·ha-1 DM, the most of macroelements accumulated winter turnip rape (480.2 kg N+P+K+Ca+Mg·ha-1. Generally, leguminous catch crops had similar to the FYM and better than non-leguminous catch crops yield-forming effect. The highest yield of marketable ears of sweet corn was obtained after FYM (14.4 t·ha-1 and after hairy vetch catch crop (14.0 t·ha-1. A similar yield-forming effect also had white clover and Italian ryegrass. The most of ears from 1 ha was achieved after white clover catch crop (59.3 tausend, similar after FYM and hairy vetch catch crop. The highest kernel yields were found after FYM (10.7 t·ha-1. The yields of kernel after hairy vetch and white clover catch crops were significantly higher than after non-leguminous catch crops. Z+T weed control

  17. Effect of Coated Urea Fertilizer on Yield and Yield Components of Sweet Corn (KSC 403 under Deficit Irrigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N Farid

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This study was carried out to assess the effect of coated urea fertilizer on yield and yield components of sweet corn (KSC 403 under different irrigation regimes, in Ramin Agriculture and Natural Sciences University, Iran by using strip split plot in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Three levels of deficit irrigation (100%, 80 and 60% of calculated water requirement of sweet corn were assigned as vertical factor and six sources of urea fertilizer (without urea, un-coated urea, sulfur-coated urea fertilizer, starch-coated urea, agar-coated urea and chitin-coated urea were assigned to horizontal factor. Effects of deficit water and source of fertilizer were statistically significant on plant height, 1000 kernel weight, ear diameter, and number of rows per ear, ear yield, biological yield and harvest index. Maximum of plant height (153.23 cm, 1000 kernel weight (104.51 g, grain yield (9853.3 kg/ha and biological yield (12471.6 kg/ha were obtained in chitin coated urea fertilizer. Maximum of ear diameter (4.67 cm and number of row per ear (13.22 were achieved in agar coated urea fertilizer and that of harvest index (45.79% was indicated by starch-coated urea. Maximum of length of ear, number of kernels per row and grain yield were 23.65cm, 25.83 and 7142 kg/ha, respectively, and were obtained with the using of chitin-coated urea fertilizer and 100% water requirement. Minimum values of these traits were 13.54 cm, 5.56 and 871 kg/ha, respectively, and were obtained by using of control (no urea application and 60% water requirement. Results showed that biopolymer coated urea is potent to improve some morphological characteristics and increase grain yield of sweet corn.

  18. PENGARUH DEKSTRIN DAN GUM ARAB TERHADAP SIFAT KIMIA DAN FISIK BUBUK SARI JAGUNG MANIS (Zeamays saccharata [The Effects of Dextrin and Arabic Gum on Chemical and Physical Properties of Sweet Corn (Zeamays saccharata Milk-like Powder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sutardi*

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this research was to determine the effects of type and amount of binder on the chemical and physical properties of sweet corn milk-like powder. Sweet corn milk-like powder was prepared from sweet corn kernel extracted with water with ratio of water and kernel of 2:1 (v/w, then dehydrated by spray dryer. Dextrin and arabic gum in various amount i.e. 2.5; 5.0; and 7.5% (w/v, respectively were added to the sweet corn milk-like before drying, and control was also made. The reducing sugar and total sugar, protein, fat, and moisture content, and as well as bulk density, colour, and solubility of the powder were then analyzed. The chemical and physical properties of sweet corn milk-like powder with addition of dextrin and arabic gum in the amount of 2.5; 5.0; and 7.5% (w/v were significantly different (p > 0.05. According to all aspects studied, sweet corn milk-like powder with addition of dextrin in the amount of 2.5% was the best product of all, which had reducing sugar of 5.00% (db; total sugar 17.01% (db; protein13.67% (db; fat 5.97% (db; moisture 5.38%; bulk density 0.47 g/cm3; and solubility of 93.70%.

  19. Complementation of sweet corn mutants: a method for grouping ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    for sweet corn are now expanding and the demands are increasing due to ... tropical/tropical regions of India is amongst one of the factors ... Maize endosperm mutant genes that affect quality of sweet corn can ... Thus, the concept of comple-.

  20. A laser optical method for detecting corn kernel defects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gunasekaran, S.; Paulsen, M. R.; Shove, G. C.

    1984-01-01

    An opto-electronic instrument was developed to examine individual corn kernels and detect various kernel defects according to reflectance differences. A low power helium-neon (He-Ne) laser (632.8 nm, red light) was used as the light source in the instrument. Reflectance from good and defective parts of corn kernel surfaces differed by approximately 40%. Broken, chipped, and starch-cracked kernels were detected with nearly 100% accuracy; while surface-split kernels were detected with about 80% accuracy. (author)

  1. SWEET CORN FARMING: THE EFFECT OF PRODUCTION FACTOR, EFFICIENCY AND RETURN TO SCALE

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    Dwijatenaya I.B.M.A.

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to determine the effect of production factors on the sweet corn production, the efficiency of sweet corn farming, and the return to scale of sweet corn production. The sampling technique was taken by proportionate stratified random sampling method with the sample number of 57 people while the analyzer used was the program of Frointer 4.1c. The results show that the production factors of the land farm, seed, and fertilizer have a positive and significant effect on sweet corn production. On the other hand, labor production factors have a positive but not significant effect on sweet corn production. It also found that technical efficiency, price efficiency, and economic efficiency of sweet corn farming in Muara Wis Sub-district of Kutai Kartanegara Regency are not efficient yet. The return to scale of sweet corn yield has an increasing return to scale condition.

  2. PENGARUH PERLAKUAN PENDAHULUAN SEBELUM PENGERINGAN TERHADAP INSTAN JAGUNG MUDA [Effects of Pre-treatments Prior Drying on Young Corn Kernel Instant (YCKI

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    Marleni Limonu1

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research was to study the effects of pre-gelatinization and freezing processes on physico-chemical characteristics of young corn kernel instant. The results showed that pre-gelatinization and slow freezing processes significantly affected bulk density, rehidration capacity, hardness and cooking time of young corn kernel instant. The study of water sorption isothermic showed that the product had a sigmoid curve. Based on this curve, shelf life of the product had been calculated. The YCKI waxy, YCKI Flint, and YCKI Sweet products packed in alufo had shelf life of 7.2, 12.1 and 13.8 months respectively.

  3. Analyzing and Comparing Biomass Feedstock Supply Systems in China: Corn Stover and Sweet Sorghum Case Studies

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    Lantian Ren

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes the rural Chinese biomass supply system and models supply chain operations according to U.S. concepts of logistical unit operations: harvest and collection, storage, transportation, preprocessing, and handling and queuing. In this paper, we quantify the logistics cost of corn stover and sweet sorghum in China under different scenarios. We analyze three scenarios of corn stover logistics from northeast China and three scenarios of sweet sorghum stalks logistics from Inner Mongolia in China. The case study estimates that the logistics cost of corn stover and sweet sorghum stalk to be $52.95/dry metric ton and $52.64/dry metric ton, respectively, for the current labor-based biomass logistics system. However, if the feedstock logistics operation is mechanized, the cost of corn stover and sweet sorghum stalk decreases to $36.01/dry metric ton and $35.76/dry metric ton, respectively. The study also includes a sensitivity analysis to identify the cost factors that cause logistics cost variation. Results of the sensitivity analysis show that labor price has the most influence on the logistics cost of corn stover and sweet sorghum stalk, with a variation of $6 to $12/dry metric ton.

  4. 7 CFR 457.154 - Processing sweet corn crop insurance provisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... policies: Processing Sweet Corn Crop Provisions If a conflict exists among the policy provisions, the order.... Processor. Any business enterprise regularly engaged in canning or freezing processing sweet corn for human... disease control measures or as otherwise limited by the Special Provisions; (5) Wildlife; (6) Earthquake...

  5. Multi-state trials of Bt sweet corn varieties for control of the corn earworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shelton, A M; Olmstead, D L; Burkness, E C; Hutchison, W D; Dively, G; Welty, C; Sparks, A N

    2013-10-01

    Field tests in 2010-2011 were performed in New York, Minnesota, Maryland, Ohio, and Georgia to compare Bt sweet corn lines expressing Cry1A.105 + Cry2Ab2 and Cry1Ab with their non-Bt isolines, with and without the use of foliar insecticides. The primary insect pest in all locations during the trial years was Heliocoverpa zea (Boddie), which is becoming the most serious insect pest of sweet corn in the United States. At harvest, the ears were measured for marketability according to fresh market and processing standards. For fresh market and processing, least squares regression showed significant effects of protein expression, state, and insecticide frequency. There was a significant effect of year for fresh market but not for processing. The model also showed significant effects of H. zea per ear by protein expression. Sweet corn containing two genes (Cry1A.105 + Cry2Ab2) and a single gene (Cry1Ab) provided high marketability, and both Bt varieties significantly outperformed the traditional non-Bt isolines in nearly all cases regardless of insecticide application frequency. For pest suppression of H. zea, plants expressing Bt proteins consistently performed better than non-Bt isoline plants, even those sprayed at conventional insecticide frequencies. Where comparisons in the same state were made between Cry1A.105 + Cry2Ab2 and Cry1Ab plants for fresh market, the product expressing Cry1A.105 + Cry2Ab2 provided better protection and resulted in less variability in control. Overall, these results indicate Cry1A.105 + Cry2Ab2 and Cry1Ab plants are suitable for fresh market and processing corn production across a diversity of growing regions and years. Our results demonstrate that Bt sweet corn has the potential to significantly reduce the use of conventional insecticides against lepidopteran pests and, in turn, reduce occupational and environmental risks that arise from intensive insecticide use.

  6. Field-Evolved Resistance in Corn Earworm to Cry Proteins Expressed by Transgenic Sweet Corn

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dively, Galen P.; Finkenbinder, Chad

    2016-01-01

    Background Transgenic corn engineered with genes expressing insecticidal toxins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) (Bt) are now a major tool in insect pest management. With its widespread use, insect resistance is a major threat to the sustainability of the Bt transgenic technology. For all Bt corn expressing Cry toxins, the high dose requirement for resistance management is not achieved for corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), which is more tolerant to the Bt toxins. Methodology/Major Findings We present field monitoring data using Cry1Ab (1996–2016) and Cry1A.105+Cry2Ab2 (2010–2016) expressing sweet corn hybrids as in-field screens to measure changes in field efficacy and Cry toxin susceptibility to H. zea. Larvae successfully damaged an increasing proportion of ears, consumed more kernel area, and reached later developmental stages (4th - 6th instars) in both types of Bt hybrids (Cry1Ab—event Bt11, and Cry1A.105+Cry2Ab2—event MON89034) since their commercial introduction. Yearly patterns of H. zea population abundance were unrelated to reductions in control efficacy. There was no evidence of field efficacy or tissue toxicity differences among different Cry1Ab hybrids that could contribute to the decline in control efficacy. Supportive data from laboratory bioassays demonstrate significant differences in weight gain and fitness characteristics between the Maryland H. zea strain and a susceptible strain. In bioassays with Cry1Ab expressing green leaf tissue, Maryland H. zea strain gained more weight than the susceptible strain at all concentrations tested. Fitness of the Maryland H. zea strain was significantly lower than that of the susceptible strain as indicated by lower hatch rate, longer time to adult eclosion, lower pupal weight, and reduced survival to adulthood. Conclusions/Significance After ruling out possible contributing factors, the rapid change in field efficacy in recent years and decreased susceptibility of H. zea to Bt

  7. 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

    Full Text Available Introduction Sweet corn is the one of the most important types of corn. There is a high amount of sugar in the endosperm of sweet corn than dent corn. Baby corn is the ear of corn that is being harvested in the silking stage before the end of pollination. This crop has an interesting using methods as salad, conserve production and vegetative consumption. Both two sweet and baby corn is obtained from one plant in different growth stages and could be harvested from one corn hybrid. Best yield and quality of baby corn is obtained from sweet corn hybrids, because of high amounts of sugar in the grains and ears. Sweet corn and baby corn could be harvested at early dough stage (with about 30 % of humidity and early silking stage before the pollination is completed, respectively. Plant density is the most important factor in growing corn, especially in sweet and baby corn. Khuzestan province is one of the main regions of corn production in Iran. In Khuzestan, forage and silage corn have the most production among the summer crops. Corn is planted in two planting date in Khuzestan: early spring and early summer. Spring corn planting produces little grain yield due to Simultaneity of silking stage with hot early summer days. Because of little production and little research about sweet and baby corn, this study was performed and designed. Materials and Methods In order to investigate the effects of plant density and harvesting method on sweet corn and baby corn yield, an experiment was performed during 2012-13, in research farm of Ramin Agriculture and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, located in southwest of Iran. In this experiment, four plant densities (7, 9, 11 and 13 plants.m-2 and two harvesting methods (baby corn and sweet corn were investigated in an RCB statistical design with four replications. The KSC 403 hybrid was used and investigated in the experiment, as a sweet corn hybrid. Statistical analysis was performed using SAS 9.1 through

  8. Extended-Maxima Transform Watershed Segmentation Algorithm for Touching Corn Kernels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yibo Qin

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Touching corn kernels are usually oversegmented by the traditional watershed algorithm. This paper proposes a modified watershed segmentation algorithm based on the extended-maxima transform. Firstly, a distance-transformed image is processed by the extended-maxima transform in the range of the optimized threshold value. Secondly, the binary image obtained by the preceding process is run through the watershed segmentation algorithm, and watershed ridge lines are superimposed on the original image, so that touching corn kernels are separated into segments. Fifty images which all contain 400 corn kernels were tested. Experimental results showed that the effect of segmentation is satisfactory by the improved algorithm, and the accuracy of segmentation is as high as 99.87%.

  9. Effect of plant density and mixing ratio on crop yield in sweet corn/mungbean intercropping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarlak, S; Aghaalikhani, M; Zand, B

    2008-09-01

    In order to evaluate the ear and forage yield of sweet corn (Zea mays L. var. Saccarata) in pure stand and intercropped with mung bean (Vigna radiata L.), a field experiment was conducted at Varamin region on summer 2006. Experiment was carried out in a split plot design based on randomized complete blocks with 4 replications. Plant density with 3 levels [Low (D1), Mean (D2) and High (D3) respecting 6, 8 and 10 m(-2) for sweet corn, cultivar S.C.403 and 10, 20 and 30 m(-2) for mung bean cultivar, Partow] was arranged in main plots and 5 mixing ratios [(P1) = 0/100, (P2) = 25/75, (P3) = 50/50, (P4) = 75/25, (P5) = 100/0% for sweet corn/mung bean, respectively] were arranged in subplots. Quantitative attributes such as plant height, sucker numbers, LER, dry matter distribution in different plant organs were measured in sweet corn economical maturity. Furthermore the yield of cannable ear corn and yield components of sweet corn and mung bean were investigated. Results showed that plant density has not any significant effect on evaluated traits, while the effect of mixing ratio was significant (p ratio of 75/25 (sweet corn/mung bean) could be introduced as the superior mixing ratio; because of it's maximum rate of total sweet corn's biomass, forage yield, yield and yield components of ear corn in intercropping. Regarding to profitability indices of intercropping, the mixing ratio 75/25 (sweet corn/mung bean) in low density (D1P2) which showed the LER = 1.03 and 1.09 for total crop yield before ear harvesting and total forage yield after ear harvest respectively, was better than corn or mung bean monoculture.

  10. Effects of Carriers, Emulsifiers, and Biopesticides for Direct Silk Treatments on Caterpillar Feeding Damage and Ear Development in Sweet Corn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westgate, P J; Schultz, B B; Hazzard, R V

    2017-04-01

    In the northeastern United States, control of Lepidopteran pests of sweet corn, particularly corn earworm [Helicoverpa zea (Boddie)], is difficult using organic methods. The direct application of corn oil and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to corn silk has been shown to reduce ear damage from corn earworm in past studies; these studies sought to optimize this method by evaluating additional carrier and biopesticide mixtures that comply with the United States Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and National Organic Standards. Carriers, which are liquids used to dissolve the biopesticide and deliver it into the tip of the ear, may have phytotoxic or insecticidal properties. Experiments conducted from 2001 to 2005 evaluated caterpillar damage and ear development effects from carriers (vegetable and paraffinic oils and carrageenan), biopesticides (Bt, spinsosad, and neem), and three emulsifiers in various combinations when applied directly to the tips of the ears 5-7 d after silk initiation. There were no effects of emulsifiers on ear quality, except for slight reduction in caterpillar damage in one of the two years. There were no differences among corn, soy, canola, and safflower oils in corn earworm control or tip development. The carrageenan carrier had the least effect upon ear development as measured by the length of nonpollinated kernels at the tip, compared to corn oil or paraffinic oil (JMS Stylet Oil), which caused the greatest tip damage as well as an oily discoloration. The carrier-pesticide combinations with the best ear quality overall were spinosad in carrageenan or corn oil, and Bt in carrageenan. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. Analysis of Traits Related to Weed Competitiveness in Sweet Corn (Zea mays L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia de Leon

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Weed management in sweet corn can be costly; genetic improvements in sweet corn competitiveness may reduce this expense. Competitive ability can exist as weed suppressive ability (WSA, or crop tolerance (CT. Previous studies in corn have found year of hybrid release, maturity, plant height, leaf angle and leafiness may affect WSA, while hybrid era, maturity, and plant height may affect CT. However, many of these studies were limited to very few genotypes. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of phenomorphological traits on sweet corn competitiveness and the inheritance of these traits. An incomplete half-diallel from seven historic sweet corn inbred lines of varying morphologies was evaluated in a split-block randomized complete block design in three environments. Forage sorghum was interplanted in half of the blocks to act as a model weed. Significant differences among hybrids were generally found for both phenomorphological traits and traits measuring WSA and CT, such as sorghum biomass and yield stability, respectively. Crop plant height was most predictive of WSA and CT. In this set of genotypes, competitive ability may be passed with reasonable fidelity from parent to offspring, suggesting that sweet corn could be bred for competitive ability.

  12. Lost P1 allele in sh2 sweet corn: quantitative effects of p1 and a1 genes on concentrations of maysin, apimaysin, methoxymaysin, and chlorogenic acid in maize silk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, B Z; Zhang, Z J; Butrón, A; Widstrom, N W; Snook, M E; Lynch, R E; Plaisted, D

    2004-12-01

    In the United States, insecticide is used extensively in the production of sweet corn due to consumer demand for zero damage to ears and to a sweet corn genetic base with little or no resistance to ear-feeding insects. Growers in the southern United States depend on scheduled pesticide applications to control ear-feeding insects. In a study of quantitative genetic control over silk maysin, AM-maysin (apimaysin and methoxymaysin), and chlorogenic acid contents in an F2 population derived from GE37 (dent corn, P1A1) and 565 (sh2 sweet corn, p1a1), we demonstrate that the P1 allele from field corn, which was selected against in the development of sweet corn, has a strong epistatic interaction with the a1 allele in sh2 sweet corn. We detected that the p1 gene has significant effects (P silk maysin concentrations but also on AM-maysin, and chlorogenic acid concentrations. The a1 gene also has significant (P silk antibiotic chemicals. Successful selection from the fourth and fifth selfed backcrosses for high-maysin individuals of sweet corn homozygous for the recessive a1 allele (tightly linked to sh2) and the dominant P1 allele has been demonstrated. These selected lines have much higher (2 to 3 times) concentrations of silk maysin and other chemicals (AM-maysin and chlorogenic acid) than the donor parent GE37 and could enhance sweet corn resistance to corn earworm and reduce the number of applications of insecticide required to produce sweet corn.

  13. Maize silk antibiotic polyphenol compounds and molecular genetic improvement of resistance to corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea Boddie) in sh2 sweet corn

    OpenAIRE

    Baozhu Guo; Ana Butrón; Brian T. Scully

    2010-01-01

    The flavor of sh2 super-sweet corn is preferred by consumers. Unfortunately, sh2 sweet corn has little genetic variation for insect resistance. In this paper we review the functions of two loci, p1 and a1. The P1 allele has a major role in sh2 sweet corn resistance to corn earworm, an allele that was lost in historical selection because of its pleiotropic effect on undesirable cob color and silk browning. The P1 allele has significant effects on biosyntheses of silk antibiotic compounds, mays...

  14. 77 FR 27658 - Common Crop Insurance Regulations; Processing Sweet Corn Crop Insurance Provisions

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-11

    ... farming operation. For instance, all producers are required to submit an application and acreage report to... price data from third party sources (e.g., Agricultural Marketing Service) for sweet corn grown under..., it was found that the base contract price more accurately reflects the value of processing sweet corn...

  15. Impact of transgenic sweet corn silks to two noctuid pests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eight Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) transgenic sweet corn hybrids were evaluated (with two controls) for their efficacy against two ear-feeding insects; the corn earworm [Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)], and the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuid...

  16. The Effect of Seed Priming and Transplanting on Morphological Characteristics, Yield and Yield Components of SuperSweet Corn

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    matin haghighi khah

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Corn (Zea mays L. is the third most important cereal crop in the world after wheat and rice (Lashkari et al., 2011. Corn production has been extended in to the whole world during the course of the last century due to its compatibility. It has more diversity compare to other cereal. Many corn types are cultivated, including field corn, ornamental corn, popcorn, sweet corn and several different supersweet corns. Sweet corn, considered a vegetable, is a special type of corn with particular characteristics, such as sweet taste, thin pericarp and endosperm with delicate texture, and high nutritional value. It is destined exclusively for human consumption, in fresh form or in processed foods, whereas the straw can be used for silage after harvest (Santos et al., 2014. Sweet corn seeds germinate slowly and exhibit poor seedling vigour. Poor germination in sweet corn has been attributed to low seed vigour and susceptibility to seed and soilborne diseases (Ratin et al., 2006. Seed priming is the one of efficient method to improve germination and emergence. In addition, transplanting provides optimal environmental conditions for seed germination and avoids planting seeds in disease-contaminated soil (Khalid et al., 2012. Materials and methods To investigate the effect of seed priming and transplanting on morphological characteristics, yield and yield components of supersweet corn a series of greenhouse and field experiments were conducted in a factorial based design on a randomized complete block in 2013. This experiment was conducted in the greenhouse to determine the best seed priming treatments. The treatments were hydro priming, Poly ethylene glycol (6000 -0.4 and -0.8 MPa, Sodium Sulphate 0.1 and 0.5%, Zinc Sulphate 1 and 0.5%, Copper Sulphate 0.1 and 0.5% and Control for 36 hours. After that the seeds washed by distillated water and dried back in laboratory conditions. Then treated seeds were sown in trays that contained by cocopeatand

  17. Genetic diversity assessed by microsatellite markers in sweet corn cultivars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Daniela Lopes

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Information on genetic diversity is essential to the characterization and utilization of germplasm. The genetic diversity of twenty-two sweet corn cultivars (seventeen open-pollinated varieties, OPV, and five hybrids, H was investigated by applying simple sequence repeat markers. A total of 257 primers were tested, of which 160 were found to be usable in terms of high reproducibility for all the samples tested; 45 were polymorphic loci, of which 30 were used to assess the genetic diversity of sweet corn cultivars. We detected a total of 86 alleles using 30 microsatellite primers. The mean polymorphism was 82 %. The highest heterozygosity values (Ho = 0.20 were found in the PR030-Doce Flor da Serra and BR427 III OPVs, whereas the lowest values (0.14 were recorded in the MG161-Branco Doce and Doce Cubano OPVs. The polymorphism information content ranged from 0.19 (Umc2319 to 0.71 (Umc2205. The analysis of molecular variance revealed that most of the genetic variability was concentrated within the cultivars of sweet corn (75 %, with less variability between them (25 %. The consensus tree derived from the neighbor-joining (NJ algorithm using 1,000 bootstrapping replicates revealed seven genetically different groups. Nei’s diversity values varied between 0.103 (Doce do Hawai × CNPH-1 cultivars and 0.645 (Amarelo Doce × Lili cultivars, indicating a narrow genetic basis. The Lili hybrid was the most distant cultivar, as revealed by Principal Coordinates Analysis and the NJ tree. This study on genetic diversity will be useful for planning future studies on sweet corn genetic resources and can complement the breeding programs for this crop.

  18. The production of corn kernel miso based on rice-koji fermented by Aspergillus oryzae and Rhizopus oligosporus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diah Ratnaningrum

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The suitability of corn kernel as raw material to produce miso fermented by rice-koji containing Aspergillus oryzae and Rhizopus oligosporus has been investigated. The optimization was conducted on two important factors in miso production namely mold composition in rice-koji and salt concentration. The mold composition was prepared by inoculating the spores of 2% A. oryzae, 2% R. oligosporus, and 2% the mixture of both in a ratio of 1:1, 2:1, and 1:2 (v/v into different rice media. The mold composition was optimized to produce rice-koji with high α-amylase and protease activity. Different NaCl concentrations of 10%, 15%, and 20% were subjected to optimization process and added to each mixture after five days of fermentation. The salt concentration was also optimized to produce corn kernel miso with high glucose and high dissolved protein concentration. The result showed that rice-koji containing A. oryzae and R. oligosporus in the ratio of 1:1 had the highest α-amylase and protease activity of 0.42 U/mL and 0.45 U/mL respectively. In addition, the presence of 10% NaCl in corn kernel miso fermented by A. oryzae and R. oligosporus in the ratio of 1:1 exhibited the highest glucose and dissolved protein concentration of 0.64 mg/mL and 8.80 mg/mL respectively. The optimized corn kernel miso by A. oryzae and R. oligosporus in the ratio of 1:1 with 10% NaCl was subjected to nutrient content analysis and compared to the result before the corn kernel was fermented. The nutrient content analysis showed nutrient enhancement after corn kernel was fermented and transformed into a miso. Glucose, dissolved protein, and fat content increased 6.74, 1.34, 7.63 times respectively. This study concludes corn kernel could be utilized to produce a novel corn kernel miso for dietary diversification and for improving nutritional and health status.

  19. SHIFTING WEED COMPOSITIONS AND BIOMASS PRODUCTION IN SWEET CORN FIELD TREATED WITH ORGANIC COMPOSTS AND CHEMICAL WEED CONTROLS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marulak Simarmata

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The objectives of the research were to study the shift of weed compositions in sweet corn field treated with organic compost and chemical weed controls and to compare the effect of treatment combinations on weed growth, weed biomass and sweet corn biomass. The research was conducted in Bengkulu, Indonesia, from April to July 2014. Results showed that the number of weed species decreased after the trials from 14 to 13. There was a shift in weed compositions because 5 species of weeds did not emerge after the trials, but 4 new species were found. Chemical weed control used a herbiside mixture of atrazine and mesotrione applied during postemergence was the most effective method to control weeds, which was observed on decreased weed emergence and weed biomass down to 22.33 and 25.00 percent of control, respectively. Subsequently, biomass production of sweet corn increased up to 195.64 percent at the same trials. Biomass of weeds and sweet corn were also affected by the organic composts. Weed biomass was inhibited by treatment of composted empty fruith bunches of oil palm, whereas significantly increased of sweet corn biomass were observed in the plots of organic manure.

  20. Change of digestive physiology in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka) induced by corn kernels meal and soybean meal in diets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Haibo; Gao, Qinfeng; Dong, Shuanglin; Hou, Yiran; Wen, Bin

    2016-08-01

    The present study was conducted to determine the change of digestive physiology in sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka) induced by corn kernels meal and soybean meal in diets. Four experimental diets were tested, in which Sargassum thunbergii was proportionally replaced by the mixture of corn kernels meal and soybean meal. The growth performance, body composition and intestinal digestive enzyme activities in A. japonicus fed these 4 diets were examined. Results showed that the sea cucumber exhibited the maximum growth rate when 20% of S. thunbergii in the diet was replaced by corn kernels meal and soybean meal, while 40% of S. thunbergii in the diet can be replaced by the mixture of corn kernels meal and soybean meal without adversely affecting growth performance of A. japonicus. The activities of intestinal trypsin and amylase in A. japonicus can be significantly altered by corn kernels meal and soybean meal in diets. Trypsin activity in the intestine of A. japonicus significantly increased in the treatment groups compared to the control, suggesting that the supplement of corn kernels meal and soybean meal in the diets might increase the intestinal trypsin activity of A. japonicus. However, amylase activity in the intestine of A. japonicus remarkably decreased with the increasing replacement level of S. thunbergii by the mixture of corn kernels meal and soybean meal, suggesting that supplement of corn kernels meal and soybean meal in the diets might decrease the intestinal amylase activity of A. japonicus.

  1. Impact of applying edible oils to silk channels on ear pests of sweet corn

    Science.gov (United States)

    The impact of applying vegetable oils to corn silks on ear-feeding insects in sweet corn production was evaluated in 2006 and 2007. Six vegetable oils used in this experiment were canola, corn, olive, peanut, sesame, and soybean. Water and two commercial insecticidal oils (Neemix' neem oil and Sun...

  2. Genetic Variation and Phenotypic Response of 15 Sweet Corn (Zea mays L. Hybrids to Population Density

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William F. Tracy

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Planting sweet corn at higher densities may increase the canopy cover, reducing light transmission to the understory and suppressing weed growth. High planting densities can also negatively impact the crop, however, by decreasing ear size and overall yield. The objective of this study was to determine the potential for increased density tolerance of 15 sweet corn hybrids by estimating the general combining ability (GCA and specific combining ability (SCA for traits of interest. In 2010 and 2011, a half-diallel of six historic sweet corn inbreds was evaluated in a split-block randomized complete block design in four Wisconsin environments, with four replicates in each environment. Hybrids were planted at a low density of 29,936 plants ha−1, a medium density of 63,615 plants ha−1, and a high density of 97,293 plants ha−1. Significant differences between hybrids were found for phenomorphological traits and ear characteristics. Inbreds C68, C40 and Ia5125 produced the progeny most tolerant of the highest population density. Among these genotypes, tolerance to high density is a heritable trait, indicating the feasibility of breeding sweet corn for density tolerance and potential weed competitiveness.

  3. Utilization of Organic Fertilizer on Sweet Corn (Zea mays saccharata Sturt Crop at Shallow Swamp Land

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Midranisiah

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Shallow lowland swamp area has significant potential for cultivation of sweet corn crop. This lowland swamp has rich natural resources such as organic fertilizers from chicken dunk, cow dunk, oil palm fresh bunches and legume cover crops (LCC that are not maximally utilized yet by farmers. These organic fertilizers can be utilized to increase the growth and production of sweet corn crop. The research objective was to determine organic fertilizer types that capable to increase the growth and production of sweet corn crop at shallow lowland swamp area. This research had been conducted from January to April 2015 in Pulau Semambu Village, North Indralaya Subdistrict, Ogan Ilir District, South Sumatra Province. The design used in this research was non-factorial Randomized Block Design (RBD with four treatments of organic fertilizer types with six replications for each treatment. The treatments were consisted of organic fertilizers from chicken dunk, cow dunk, oil palm fresh bunches and legume cover crops (LCC. The results showed that treatment of organic fertilizers from chicken dunk could increase the growth and production of sweet corn at shallow lowland swamp area with yield level of 4.37 kg.plot −1.

  4. Relationship between processing score and kernel-fraction particle size in whole-plant corn silage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dias Junior, G S; Ferraretto, L F; Salvati, G G S; de Resende, L C; Hoffman, P C; Pereira, M N; Shaver, R D

    2016-04-01

    Kernel processing increases starch digestibility in whole-plant corn silage (WPCS). Corn silage processing score (CSPS), the percentage of starch passing through a 4.75-mm sieve, is widely used to assess degree of kernel breakage in WPCS. However, the geometric mean particle size (GMPS) of the kernel-fraction that passes through the 4.75-mm sieve has not been well described. Therefore, the objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate particle size distribution and digestibility of kernels cut in varied particle sizes; (2) to propose a method to measure GMPS in WPCS kernels; and (3) to evaluate the relationship between CSPS and GMPS of the kernel fraction in WPCS. Composite samples of unfermented, dried kernels from 110 corn hybrids commonly used for silage production were kept whole (WH) or manually cut in 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64 pieces (2P, 4P, 8P, 16P, 32P, and 64P, respectively). Dry sieving to determine GMPS, surface area, and particle size distribution using 9 sieves with nominal square apertures of 9.50, 6.70, 4.75, 3.35, 2.36, 1.70, 1.18, and 0.59 mm and pan, as well as ruminal in situ dry matter (DM) digestibilities were performed for each kernel particle number treatment. Incubation times were 0, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h. The ruminal in situ DM disappearance of unfermented kernels increased with the reduction in particle size of corn kernels. Kernels kept whole had the lowest ruminal DM disappearance for all time points with maximum DM disappearance of 6.9% at 24 h and the greatest disappearance was observed for 64P, followed by 32P and 16P. Samples of WPCS (n=80) from 3 studies representing varied theoretical length of cut settings and processor types and settings were also evaluated. Each WPCS sample was divided in 2 and then dried at 60 °C for 48 h. The CSPS was determined in duplicate on 1 of the split samples, whereas on the other split sample the kernel and stover fractions were separated using a hydrodynamic separation procedure. After separation, the

  5. Simultaneous saccharification and cofermentation of lignocellulosic residues from commercial furfural production and corn kernels using different nutrient media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristhian Carrasco

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background As the supply of starch grain and sugar cane, currently the main feedstocks for bioethanol production, become limited, lignocelluloses will be sought as alternative materials for bioethanol production. Production of cellulosic ethanol is still cost-inefficient because of the low final ethanol concentration and the addition of nutrients. We report the use of simultaneous saccharification and cofermentation (SSCF of lignocellulosic residues from commercial furfural production (furfural residue, FR and corn kernels to compare different nutritional media. The final ethanol concentration, yield, number of live yeast cells, and yeast-cell death ratio were investigated to evaluate the effectiveness of integrating cellulosic and starch ethanol. Results Both the ethanol yield and number of live yeast cells increased with increasing corn-kernel concentration, whereas the yeast-cell death ratio decreased in SSCF of FR and corn kernels. An ethanol concentration of 73.1 g/L at 120 h, which corresponded to a 101.1% ethanol yield based on FR cellulose and corn starch, was obtained in SSCF of 7.5% FR and 14.5% corn kernels with mineral-salt medium. SSCF could simultaneously convert cellulose into ethanol from both corn kernels and FR, and SSCF ethanol yield was similar between the organic and mineral-salt media. Conclusions Starch ethanol promotes cellulosic ethanol by providing important nutrients for fermentative organisms, and in turn cellulosic ethanol promotes starch ethanol by providing cellulosic enzymes that convert the cellulosic polysaccharides in starch materials into additional ethanol. It is feasible to produce ethanol in SSCF of FR and corn kernels with mineral-salt medium. It would be cost-efficient to produce ethanol in SSCF of high concentrations of water-insoluble solids of lignocellulosic materials and corn kernels. Compared with prehydrolysis and fed-batch strategy using lignocellulosic materials, addition of starch

  6. Seed reserve utilization and hydrolytic enzyme activities in germinating seeds of sweet corn

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, X.; Xiong, F.; Wang, C.; He, S.; Zhou, Y.

    2018-01-01

    In this study, two sh2 sweet corn cultivars (i.e., the initial seed dry weight for FT018 and TB010 was 0.16+-0.02 g/grain and 0.09+-0.01 g/grain, respectively) were used to determine the physiological characteristics of seed reserve utilization in germination. The data implied that the weight of mobilized seed reserve (WMSR) and seed reserve utilization efficiency (SRUE) increased with seed germination. FT018 exhibited higher SRUE than TB010 due to its sufficient energy production for growth. Sugar (sucrose and fructose) contents were at different levels in the germinating seed of sh2 sweet corn. The protein content and number of protein species were highest in the early stage of germination. Enzyme activity in the germinating seed indicated that enzymes for starch and sugar hydrolysis were important and that enzyme activities significantly differed at each germination stage and between the cultivars under dark conditions. Succinate dehydrogenase, sucrose synthase, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase accumulated in the late germination stage. Thus, appropriate efforts should be focused on improving the seed reserve utilization in sweet corn by identifying the physiological mechanism of germinating seed. (author)

  7. Quality control of fresh sweet corn in controlled freezing-point storage

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Jane

    2011-10-24

    Oct 24, 2011 ... preservation technology in subzero non-frozen tempera- ture range to ... method for sweet corn which possessed high respiration rate and sugar ..... to extend the shelf life of fresh cod (Gadus morhua) loins. J. Food Sci.

  8. Parasitoids attacking fall armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in sweet corn habitats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fall armyworm larvae, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), were collected from sweet corn plants (Zea mays L.) in fields located in three south Florida counties. Fields were sampled from 2010 – 2015 during the fall and spring seasons. Larvae were brought back to the laboratory to complete developme...

  9. Goss’s wilt incidence in sweet corn is independent of transgenic traits and glyphosate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Recently claims have been made that the use of glyphosate and transgenic crop traits increases the risk of plant diseases. Transgenic traits used widely for years in dent corn are now available in commercial sweet corn cultivars, specifically, the combination of glyphosate resistance (GR) and Lepid...

  10. Determination of active ingredients in corn silk, leaf, and kernel by capillary electrophoresis with electrochemicaI detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Miao; Chu, Qing-Cui; Tian, Xiu-Hui; Ye, Jian-Nong

    2007-01-01

    Corn has been known for its accumulation of flavones and phenolic acids. However, many parts of corn, except kernel, have not drawn much attention. In this work, a method based on capillary zone electrophoresis with electrochemical detection has been used for the separation and determination of epicatechin, rutin, ascorbic acid (Vc), kaempferol, chlorogenic acid, and quercetin in corn silk, leaf, and kernel. The distribution comparison of the ingredients among silk, leaf, and kernel is discussed. Several important factors--including running buffer acidity, separation voltage, and working electrode potential--were evaluated to acquire the optimum analysis conditions. Under the optimum conditions, the analytes could be well separated within 19 min in a 40-mmol/L borate buffer (pH 9.2). The response was linear over three orders of magnitude with detection limits (S/N = 3) ranging from 4.97 x 10(-8) to 9.75 x 10(-8) g/mL. The method has been successfully applied for the analysis of corn silk, leaf, and kernel with satisfactory results.

  11. Inducing salt tolerance in sweet corn by magnetic priming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soheil Karimi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study evaluates seed germination and growth of sweet corn under NaCl stress (0, 50, and 100 mM, after exposing the seeds to weak (15 mT or strong (150 mT magnetic fields (MF for different durations (0, 6, 12, and 24 hours. Salinity reduced seed germination and plant growth. MF treatments enhanced rate and percentage of germination and improved plant growth, regardless of salinity. Higher germination rate was obtained by the stronger MF, however, the seedling were more vigorous after priming with 15 mT MF. Proline accumulation was observed in parallel with the loss of plant water content under 100 mM NaCl stress. MF prevented proline accumulation by improving water absorption. Positive correlation between H2O2 accumulation and membrane thermostability (MTI was found after MF treatments, which revealed that MF primed the plant for salinity by H2O2 signaling. However, over-accumulation of H2O2 after prolonged MF exposure adversely affected MTI under severe salt stress. In conclusion, magnetic priming for 6 hours was suggested for enhancing germination and growth of sweet corn under salt stress.

  12. Efficacy of silk channel injections with insecticides for management of Lepidopteran pests of sweet corn

    Science.gov (United States)

    The primary Lepidopteran pests of sweet corn in Georgia are the corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), and the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith). Control of these pests typically requires multiple insecticide applications from first silking until harvest, with commercial growers fre...

  13. THE INFLUENCE OF WEATHER CONDITIONS OF EASTERN POLAND ON SWEET CORN YIELDS AND LENGTH OF GROWING SEASON

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Rosa

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to determine the effect of weather components (air temperature, precipitation on the growth, yield and the length of the growing season of sweet corn cultivated in eastern Poland. The results come from a field experiment conducted in 2006–2011. Weather conditions in the successive years of the study significantly modified the yield of ears, weight and number of formatted ears, high of plants and the length of the growing season of sweet corn. Good yielding of sweet corn favoured years with moderate air temperatures in July and uniform distribution of precipitation during the growing season. The highest yield of ears was found in 2011, the lowest in the very difficult in terms of weather 2006. The shortest growing season was characterized corn grown in the years 2006 and 2010 with the high air temperatures in July and August, the longest in the years 2009 and 2011, in which the temperatures in the period June-August were the lowest of all the years of research. Irrespective of the year of study, cv ‘Sheba F1’ was formatted eras with higher weight than cv ‘Sweet Nugget F1’.

  14. Crescimento e produtividade de inhame e de milho doce em cultivo associado Growth and productivity of taro and sweet corn under intercropping conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mário Puiatti

    2000-03-01

    corms were planted in 12-cm-deep furrows in a 100 x 30 cm spacing. Sweet corn seeds were sowed in the row between the taro plants 40 days after the main crop planting. Corn plants were distributed in three arrays, as follows: one corn plant 30 cm apart; two corn plants 60 cm apart, and three corn plants 90 cm apart; and two growing systems (with and without removing the corn shoot when the ears were harvested at 110 days after sowing - soft kernel stage, comprising six treatments of intergrown and two control treatments (i.e., single crops. The experiments were organized in four random blocks, in a factorial array design (3 x 2 + 2 (three distribution of plants: one corn plant 30 cm apart; two corn plants 60 cm apart, and three corn plants 90 cm apart by two systems of corn growth: with and without removal of shoot when the ears were harvested + two control: single crop of either taro or sweet corn. Data for plant growth, production and the efficiency for the different planting systems arrays were collected. Both crops were suitable for intergrowing systems. Higher values for crop production and intergrowing efficiency index were obtained in treatment with one corn plant 30 cm apart. Lower intergrowing efficiency index and economical return were observed in the treatment where each three corn plants were 90 cm apart and shoots were removed just after the harvest at the soft kernel stage. The others intercrop systems were both agronomically and economically viable.

  15. Restriction fragment length polymorphism markers associated with silk maysin, antibiosis to corn earworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae, in a dent and sweet corn cross.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, B Z; Zhang, Z J; Li, R G; Widstrom, N W; Snook, M E; Lynch, R E; Plaisted, D

    2001-04-01

    Maysin, a C-glycosylflavone in maize silk, has insecticidal activity against corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), larvae. Sweet corn, Zea mays L., is a vulnerable crop to ear-feeding insects and requires pesticide protection from ear damage. This study was conducted to identify maize chromosome regions associated with silk maysin concentration and eventually to transfer and develop high silk maysin sweet corn lines with marker-assisted selection (MAS). Using an F2 population derived from SC102 (high maysin dent corn) and B31857 (low maysin sh2 sweet corn), we detected two major quantitative trait loci (QTL). It was estimated that 25.6% of the silk maysin variance was associated with segregation in the genomic region of npi286 (flanking to p1) on chromosome 1S. We also demonstrated that a1 on chromosome 3L had major contribution to silk maysin (accounted for 15.7% of the variance). Locus a1 has a recessive gene action for high maysin with the presence of functional p1 allele. Markers umc66a (near c2) and umc105a on chromosome 9S also were detected in this analysis with minor contribution. A multiple-locus model, which included npi286, a1, csu3 (Bin 1.05), umc245 (Bin 7.05), agrr21 (Bin 8.09), umc105a, and the epistatic interactions npi286 x a1, a1 x agrr21, csu3 x umc245, and umc105a x umc245, accounted for 76.3% of the total silk maysin variance. Tester crosses showed that at the a1 locus, SC102 has functional A1 alleles and B31857 has homozygous recessive a1 alleles. Individuals of (SC102 x B31857) x B31857 were examined with MAS and plants with p1 allele from SC102 and homozygous a1 alleles from B31857 had consistent high silk maysin. Marker-assisted selection seems to be a suitable method to transfer silk maysin to sweet corn lines to reduce pesticide application.

  16. An evaluation of cassava, sweet potato and field corn as potential carbohydrate sources for bioethanol production in Alabama and Maryland

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ziska, Lewis H.; Tomecek, Martha; Sicher, Richard [United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Crop Systems and Global Change Lab, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Building 1, Beltsville, MD 20705 (United States); Runion, G. Brett; Prior, Stephen A.; Torbet, H. Allen [United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Soil Dynamics Laboratory, 411 South Donahue Drive, Auburn, AL 36832 (United States)

    2009-11-15

    The recent emphasis on corn production to meet the increasing demand for bioethanol has resulted in trepidation regarding the sustainability of the global food supply. To assess the potential of alternative crops as sources of bioethanol production, we grew sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and cassava (Manihot esculentum) at locations near Auburn, Alabama and Beltsville, Maryland in order to measure root carbohydrate (starch, sucrose, glucose) and root biomass. Averaged for both locations, sweet potato yielded the highest concentration of root carbohydrate (ca 80%), primarily in the form of starch (ca 50%) and sucrose (ca 30%); whereas cassava had root carbohydrate concentrations of (ca 55%), almost entirely as starch. For sweet potato, overall carbohydrate production was 9.4 and 12.7 Mg ha{sup -1} for the Alabama and Maryland sites, respectively. For cassava, carbohydrate production in Maryland was poor, yielding only 2.9 Mg ha{sup -1}. However, in Alabama, carbohydrate production from cassava averaged {proportional_to}10 Mg ha{sup -1}. Relative to carbohydrate production from corn in each location, sweet potato and cassava yielded approximately 1.5 x and 1.6 x as much carbohydrate as corn in Alabama; 2.3 x and 0.5 x for the Maryland site. If economical harvesting and processing techniques could be developed, these data suggest that sweet potato in Maryland, and sweet potato and cassava in Alabama, have greater potential as ethanol sources than existing corn systems, and as such, could be used to replace or offset corn as a source of biofuels. (author)

  17. Effects of sowing date and plant density on morphological triats, yield and yield components of sweet corn (Zea mays L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Rahmani

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available In order to evaluate the effect of sowing date and plant density on the morphological triats, yield and yield components of sweet corn (Zea mays L. var SC. 403 an experiment was conducted at the Khorasan Razavi Agricultural Research and Natural Resources Center, Mashhad, Iran during 2008. This experiment was carried out as split plot based on RCBD with four replications. The sowing date (14th June, 3th July and 24th July and plant densities (66600, 83300 and 111000 plants.ha-1 were arranged in main and sub plots, respectively. The results showed significant differences between different sowing dates for plant height, ear height, and no. of leaves/plant, no. of leaves above ear, stem diameter, dehusked ear yield, can grains yield, no. of grain rows/ear, ear length, ear diameter, kernel depth, no. of ear.plant-1, 1000 kernel weight, ear harvest index and plant harvest index. The highest and the lowest can grains yield with 18.27 and 0.930 ton ha-1 was belonged to 14th June and 24th July sowing date, respectively. Although, delay in sowing date, led to decrease of growth period and also decrease of temperature can lead to improper transfer of photosynthetic materials and cause to grains yield decrease. The plant density had significant effects on husked ear yield, dehusked ear yield and forage yield. The highest can grains yield was harvested from the highest plant density (8.862 t.ha-1 and the lowest can grains yield derived from the lowest plant density (66600 plants.ha-1 with 7.692 t.ha-1. Finally, the interaction of sowing date and plant density was significant only for harvest index. Therefore, the sowing date 14th June and the highest plant density (111000 plants.ha-1, is recommended for summer sowing date of sweet corn in Mashhad with maximum and better can grains production.

  18. Effect of planting methods, seed density and nitrogen phosphorus (NP) fertilizer levels on sweet corn (Zea maYs L.)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amin, M.; Razzaq, A.; Ullah, R.

    2006-01-01

    A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of planting methods, seed density and nitrogen phosphorus (NP) fertilizer levels on emergence m/sup -2/ growth and grain yield of sweet corn. The fertilizer and interaction of fertilizer x seed density had significant negative effect with increasing level while seed density had a positive effect with increased density on emergence per m/sup 2/. Increased seed density significantly reduced plant growth which increased with application of higher fertilizer dose. The grain yield was improves by ridge planting methods, increased seed density and increased fertilizer levels. The highest grain yield (3,553.50 kg ha/sup-1/) of sweet corn plants was recorded in ridge planting method with highest NP fertilizer level of 300:150 kg ha/sup 1/ and 4 seeds hill/sup -1/. The lowest grain yield (3,493.75 kg ha/sup -1/) of sweet corn was observed in flat sowing planting method with 120:75 NP level and 2 seeds hill/sup -1/ seed density. The ridge planting rank first then furrow and flat planting methods on basis of grain yield per hectare. The sweet corn plant yield was high with 4 seeds hill/sup -1/ compared with 2 seeds hill/sup -1/. (author)

  19. Using deficit irrigation with treated wastewater to improve crop water productivity of sweet corn, chickpea, faba bean and quinoa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdelaziz HIRICH

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Several experiments were conducted in the south of Morocco (IAV-CHA, Agadir during two seasons 2010 and 2011 in order to evaluate the effect of deficit irrigation with treated wastewater on several crops (quinoa, sweet corn, faba bean and chickpeas. During the first season (2010 three crops were tested, quinoa, chickpeas and sweet corn applying 6 deficit irrigation treatments during all crop stages alternating 100% of full irrigation as non-stress condition and 50% of full irrigation as water deficit condition applied during vegetative growth, flowering and grain filling stage. For all crops, the highest water productivity and yield were obtained when deficit irrigation was applied during the vegetative growth stage. During the second season (2011 two cultivars of quinoa, faba bean and sweet corn have been cultivated applying 6 deficit irrigation treatments (rainfed, 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of full irrigation only during the vegetative growth stage, while in the rest of crop cycle full irrigation was provided except for rainfed treatment. For quinoa and faba bean, treatment receiving 50% of full irrigation during vegetative growth stage recorded the highest yield and water productivity, while for sweet corn applying 75% of full irrigation was the optimal treatment in terms of yield and water productivity.

  20. QTL analysis of kernel soluble sugar content in supersweet corn | Qi ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    sweet corn population consisting of 208 F2 individuals from the cross Ji557 (sh2) × Ji165 (sh2). Density of the linkage groups varied from 2.2 cM to 65.3 cM, with an average of 13.0 2 cM between two adjacent markers. The map covered 1470.9 cM ...

  1. 7 CFR 810.401 - Definition of corn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Definition of corn. 810.401 Section 810.401... GRAIN United States Standards for Corn Terms Defined § 810.401 Definition of corn. Grain that consists of 50 percent or more of whole kernels of shelled dent corn and/or shelled flint corn (Zea mays L...

  2. Effects of muffin processing on fumonisins from 14C-labeled toxins produced in cultured corn kernels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avantaggiato, Giuseppina; De La Campa, Regina; Miller, J David; Visconti, Angelo

    2003-10-01

    The persistence of fumonisins during cooking is known to be affected by several factors, including thermal degradation and the presence of various ingredients in corn-based food recipes that can react with the toxin. A method for the production of corn kernels containing 14C-fumonisins was developed. The corn kernels were colonized by Fusarium verticillioides MRC 826 and supplemented with 1,2-14C-sodium acetate. The specific activity of 14C-FB1 produced made the study of its fate in cornmeal muffins possible. The double-extraction acetonitrile-water-methanol/immunoaffinity column/o-phthaldialdehyde high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was used to determine FB1 levels in cornmeal muffins. Reductions in FB1 levels in muffins spiked with 14C-labeled and unlabeled FB1 (43 and 48%, respectively) were similar, indicating that the extraction method was efficient and consistent with previous reports. However, with the labeled corn kernel material, recovery levels based on the 14C counts for the eluate from an immunoaffinity column were much higher (90%). This finding indicates that some fumonisin-related compounds other than FB1 that were present in the cornmeal were recognized by the antibodies but not by the HPLC method.

  3. Effect of Light- and Dark-Germination on the Phenolic Biosynthesis, Phytochemical Profiles, and Antioxidant Activities in Sweet Corn (Zea mays L.) Sprouts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiang, Nan; Guo, Xinbo; Liu, Fengyuan; Li, Quan; Hu, Jianguang; Brennan, Charles Stephen

    2017-06-10

    Sweet corn is one of the most widely planted crops in China. Sprouting of grains is a new processes to increase the nutritional value of grain products. The present study explores the effects of light on the nutritional quality of sweet corn sprouts. Gene expression of phenolic biosynthesis, phytochemical profiles and antioxidant activity were studied. Two treatments (light and dark) were selected and the morphological structure of sweet corn sprouts, as well as their biochemical composition were investigated to determine the effects of light on the regulation of genes responsible for nutritional compounds. Transcription analyses for three key-encoding genes in the biosynthesis of the precursors of phenolic were studied. Results revealed a negative regulation in the expression of Zm PAL with total phenolic content (TPC) in the light group. TPC and total flavonoid content (TFC) increased during germination and this was correlated with an increase in antioxidant activity ( r = 0.95 and 1.0). The findings illustrate that the nutritional value of sweet corn for the consumer can be improved through germination to the euphylla stage.

  4. Impact of Corn Earworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on Field Corn (Poales: Poaceae) Yield and Grain Quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bibb, Jenny L; Cook, Donald; Catchot, Angus; Musser, Fred; Stewart, Scott D; Leonard, Billy Rogers; Buntin, G David; Kerns, David; Allen, Tom W; Gore, Jeffrey

    2018-05-28

    Corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), commonly infests field corn, Zea mays (L.). The combination of corn plant biology, corn earworm behavior in corn ecosystems, and field corn value renders corn earworm management with foliar insecticides noneconomical. Corn technologies containing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Berliner (Bacillales: Bacillaceae) were introduced that exhibit substantial efficacy against corn earworm and may reduce mycotoxin contamination in grain. The first generation Bt traits in field corn demonstrated limited activity on corn earworm feeding on grain. The pyramided corn technologies have greater cumulative protein concentrations and higher expression throughout the plant, so these corn traits should provide effective management of this pest. Additionally, reduced kernel injury may affect physical grain quality. Experiments were conducted during 2011-2012 to investigate corn earworm impact on field corn yield and grain quality. Treatments included field corn hybrids expressing the Herculex, YieldGard, and Genuity VT Triple Pro technologies. Supplemental insecticide treatments were applied every 1-2 d from silk emergence until silk senescence to create a range of injured kernels for each technology. No significant relationship between the number of corn earworm damaged kernels and yield was observed for any technology/hybrid. In these studies, corn earworm larvae did not cause enough damage to impact yield. Additionally, no consistent relationship between corn earworm damage and aflatoxin contamination was observed. Based on these data, the economic value of pyramided Bt corn traits to corn producers, in the southern United States, appears to be from management of other lepidopteran insect pests including European and southwestern corn borer.

  5. Fertilizer residence time affects nitrogen uptake efficiency and growth of sweet corn

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zotarelli, L.; Scholberg, J.M.S.; Dukes, M.D.; Munoz-Carpena, R.

    2008-01-01

    Understanding plant N uptake dynamics is critical for increasing fertilizer N uptake efficiency (FUE) and minimize the risk of N leaching. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of residence time of N fertilizer on N uptake and FUE of sweet corn. Plants were grown in 25 L columns

  6. Assessment of the physiological potential of super sweet corn seeds

    OpenAIRE

    Alvarenga,Renata Oliveira; Marcos-Filho,Julio; Timóteo,Tathiana Silva

    2013-01-01

    The assessment of physiological potential is essential in seed quality control programs. This study compared the sensitivity of different procedures for evaluating super sweet corn seed vigor, focusing on the primary root protrusion test. Six seed lots, each of the SWB 551 and SWB 585 hybrids, were used. Seed physiological potential was evaluated by germination and vigor tests (speed of germination, traditional and saturated salt accelerated aging, cold test, seedling length, seedling emergen...

  7. 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)

  8. Comparative transcriptome analysis of sweet corn seedlings under low-temperature stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jihua Mao

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Stress induced by low temperature, which represents a widespread environmental factor, strongly affects maize growth and yield. However, the physiological characteristics and molecular regulatory mechanisms of maize seedlings in response to cold remain poorly understood. In this study, using RNA-seq, we investigated the transcriptome profiles of two sweet corn inbred lines, “Richao” (RC and C5, under cold stress. A total of 357 and 455 differentially expressed genes (DEGs were identified in the RC and C5 lines, respectively, 94 DEGs were detected as common DEGs related to cold response in both genotypes, and a total of 589 DEGs were detected as cold tolerance-associated genes. By combining protein function clustering analysis and significantly enriched Gene Ontology (GO terms analysis, we suggest that transcription factors may play a dominating role in the cold stress response and tolerance of sweet corn. Furthermore, 74 differentially expressed transcription factors were identified, of those many genes involved in the metabolism and regulation of hormones. These results expand our understanding of the complex mechanisms involved in chilling tolerance in maize, and provide a set of candidate genes for further genetic analyses.

  9. Extending the shelf life of fresh sweet corn by shrink-wrapping, refrigeration, and irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deak, T.

    1987-01-01

    Chemical, physical, sensory, and microbiological changes were monitored during storage of unwrapped and shrink-wrapped fresh sweet corn at 10 degree and 20 degree C. Wrapping essentially eliminated moisture loss and resulted in elevated carbon dioxide and decreased oxygen concentrations within packages. These effects, together with refrigeration markedly reduced the changes associated with senscence and post harvest deterioration, and hence resulted in at least a threefold extension in shelf life. The water-saturated atmosphere, however, enhanced microbial growth on shrink-wrapped corn. The initial microbial population was effectively decreased by treating the wrapped corn with 0.5 or 1.0 kGy (Co 60 ) irradiation

  10. THE EFFECT OF WINTER CATCH CROPS ON WEED INFESTATION IN SWEET CORN DEPENDING ON THE WEED CONTROL METHODS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Rosa

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available An experiment was carried out in east-central Poland (52°06’ N, 22°55’ E over 2008–2011 to study the effect of winter catch crops on the weed infestation, number, and fresh matter of weeds in sweet corn (Zea mays L. var. saccharata. The following winter catch crops were grown: hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth., white clover (Trifolium repens L., winter rye (Secale cereale L., Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L. and winter turnip rape (Brassica rapa var. typica Posp.. The catch crops were sown in early September and incorporated in early May. The effect of the catch crops was compared to the effect of FYM (30 t·ha-1 and control without organic manuring (NOM. Three methods of weed control were used: HW – hand weeding, twice during the growing period, GCM – the herbicide Guardian Complete Mix 664 SE, immediately after sowing of corn seeds, Z+T – a mixture of the herbicides Zeagran 340 SE and Titus 25 WG applied at the 3–4-leaf stage of sweet corn growth. Rye and turnip rape catch crops had least weeds in their fresh matter. Sweet corn following winter catch crops was less infested by weeds than corn following farmyard manure and non-manured corn. Least weeds and their lowest weight were found after SC, BRT and VV. LM and BRT reduced weed species numbers compared with FYM and NOM. The greatest weed species diversity, determined at the corn flowering stage, was determined after SC and FYM. The number and weight of weeds were significantly lower when chemically controlled compared with hand weeding. The best results were observed after a post-emergent application of the mixture Z+T. The weed species diversity on Z+T-treated plots was clearly lower compared with GCM and HW.

  11. Pertumbuhan Vegetatif dan Kadar Gula Biji Jagung Manis (Zea mays saccharata, Sturt di Pekanbaru

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Surtinah Surtinah

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Research conducted an experiment using a completely randomized design environment with four replications, and the design of treatment used is six varieties of sweet corn. Analysis of data using polynomial regression, the parameters measured were plant height, leaf number, leaf length, leaf width, and sugar beans, followed by analyzing the relationship between the growth of plants with a sugar content of sweet corn kernels. The results showed that leaf width gives a weak relationship to the sugar content of sweet corn seed, and leaf length, number of leaves and plant height had a close relationship to the sugar content of sweet corn kernels. Keywords: varieties, sweet corn, correlation, sugar content  

  12. Deposition of insecticides on corn silks applied at high and low spray rates for control of corn earworm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corn earworm is a major pest of sweet corn, especially when grown organically. Aerial application of insecticides is important for both conventionally- and organically-grown sweet corn production as sweet corn is frequently irrigated to assure return on investment given the high production costs. ...

  13. Dynamics of seed germination, seedling growth and physiological responses of sweet corn under peg-induced water stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, W.; Zhang, X.; Li, G.; Suo, H.; Ashraf, U.; Mo, Z.

    2017-01-01

    Stress induced variations in seed germination of various crops has been well reported but germination potential of sweet corn seeds under osmotic stress with relation to time dynamics is still elusive. Present study explored the water absorption, germination potential and physiological indices and of sweet corn seeds exposed to five different levels of PEG-induced water stress i.e., 0, -0.3, -0.6, -0.9 and -1.2 M Pa water potential (Psi /sub w/) with respect to time dynamics. Results showed that enhanced water stress for prolonged time period (96 h) led to substantial reduction in water absorption and seed moisture contents, seed germination and vigor index as well as seedlings growth and fresh and dry biomass. Osmotic stress triggered antioxidant defense system like super-oxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) and accumulation of soluble sugars, proline and protein contents considerably. Initially, activities of SOD and CAT were higher but then reduced as stress persisted, however, POD showed a linear increase with respect to stress exposure time. Water stress also increased MDA contents up to 36 h then declined. Further, alpha-amylase activity and soluble protein showed significant correlations with maize seed germination. Overall, germination potential decreased with increase in osmotic stress in sweet corn seeds. (author)

  14. Mucuna pruriens and its effect on the productivity of sweet corn (Zea mays L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oscar Eduardo Sanclemente Reyes

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available The nitrogen contribution to the soil Typic Haplustalfs through the species Mucuna pruriens as a green manure and cover crop, and its effects on sweet corn yield were evaluated. There was a max fixation in the soil of 201 kg ha-1 which contrasted with the control. The treatment using the green manure and compost 2.5 t ha-1 and chemical fertilizer 125 kg ha-1 obtained the highest yield of dry corn grain 7 t ha-1 which is con­sidered very high for this agro ecological zone. The use of compost and fertilizer synthesis as a cover had no significant effect on the corn yield, possibly due to its dynamic losses.

  15. Feasibility for improving phytonutrient content in vegetable crops using conventional breeding strategies: case study with carotenoids and tocopherols in sweet corn and broccoli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibrahim, Khalid E; Juvik, John A

    2009-06-10

    Among vegetables, sweet corn ( Zea mays L.) and broccoli ( Brassica oleracea L. ssp. italica) are important sources of dietary carotenoids and tocopherols. Because medical evidence suggests that carotenoid and tocopherol health-promoting activity acts in a dose-dependent manner, conventional breeding to develop elite sweet corn and broccoli germplasm with enhanced levels of these phytochemicals will potentially promote health among the consuming public. This investigation includes the quantitative analysis of carotenoid and tocopherol contents of 41 corn and 24 broccoli genotypes grown in multiple environments (years and seasons in one location) to partition the variation into genetic, environment, and genotype by environment interaction (GxE) components and measure the phenotypic stability of genotypes for these phytochemicals. The primary carotenoids and tocopherols in corn were lutein and gamma-tocopherol (65 and 73% of total carotenoid and tocopherol, respectively), whereas beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol were dominant in broccoli (65 and 79% of total carotenoid and tocopherol, respectively). Partitioning of the variance indicated that genetic differences among the genotypes averaged for the primary compounds in corn (lutein, zeaxanthin, and alpha- and gamma-tocopherol) and broccoli (beta-carotene, lutein, and alpha- and gamma-tocopherol) accounted for the largest proportion of the variation (67 and 55% of total phenotypic variation averaged across the phytochemicals in sweet corn and broccoli, respectively). Stability analysis identified several corn (IL451b sh2 and IL2027-8 sh2) and broccoli ('Pirate' and 'Baccus') genotypes with relatively high mean concentrations for the various carotenoids and tocopherols that were comparatively stable across seasons and years. The results of this investigation suggest that sweet corn and broccoli germplasm with enhanced concentrations of carotenoids and tocopherols can be developed using conventional breeding protocols.

  16. Morpho-Productive and Chemical Composition of Local and Foreign Sweet Corn Hybrids Grown in the Conditions of Transylvania Plateau

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luana PĂCURAR

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Sweet corn (Zea mays L. belongs to the Gramineae family, var. rugosa (Bonof convar. Saccharate (Sturt. and can be distinguished from normal corn by presence of one or more mutant genes that affect carbohydrate metabolism in endosperm. Purpose of this research is to compare behavior of sweet corn hybrids created at SCDA Turda, but also foreign hybrids, in terms of quality elements and chemical composition, in conditions of Transylvania plateau, in two localities: Turda and Viişoara. As biological material following domestic sweet corn hybrids were chosen: ‘Prima’, ‘Estival’, ‘Deliciul verii’, ‘Dulcin’, ‘Delicios’, ‘Estival M’ and foreign hybrid ‘Jubilee’. These hybrids were also analyzed in terms of chemical composition. Weight of ‘Estival’ hybrid has the best behavior in both localities; as regards to cobs length, ‘Delicios’ hybrid has registered increases very significant positive, differences between plant height in the two localities confirm significant influence of environment on formation of this important typical qualitative characteristics, highest performances in terms of β-cryptoxanthin and zeaxanthin content, are recorded by ‘Jubilee’ in both localities, ‘Deliciul Verii’ hybrid records significant value for lutein content, also recording an important addition of carbohydrates in Turda, ‘Prima’ and ‘Estival’ hybrids recorded highest values of sucrose in both localities.

  17. Evaluation of the Effect of Seed Priming and Seedbed on Characteristic of Transplant Sweet Corn (Zea Mays L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A Manzari-Tavakkoli

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Corn (Zea mays L. is one of the main cereals in the tropical and temperate regions of the world. Sweet corn obtained from a genetic mutation on chromosome 4 locus SU conventional maize resulting accumulation of sugars and polysaccharides which are soluble in seed endosperm. Unlike other types of corn, sweet corn endosperm contains a lot of sugar to starch, which is called Amylodextrin and it is soluble in water. Producing healthy and uniform plants is one of the requirements of modern agriculture. Considering the unsuitable climatic condition in Iran (arid and semiarid transplantation is one of the requirements for sustainable agriculture particularly in sweet corn production with high water requirement where transplantation is able to save at least 2-3 times of irrigations. Therefore, producing high quality transplants is an important practice for successful seedling establishment. Hence, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of seed priming and substrate types on the characteristics of sweet corn transplants. Materials and Methods This experiment was conducted as factorial based on a completely randomized design with three replications. Treatments were three levels of seeds pretreatment: no priming (p1, hydropriming (p2 and biopriming (p3, and another factor was seedbeds types in seven levels including: vermicompost (b1, perlite (b2, cocopeat(b3, vermicompost+perlite(b4, vermicompost+ cocopeat (b5, perlite+ cocopeat (b6 and vermicompost+ cocopeat +perlite (b7. Biopriming using bioaminopalis biological fertilizer applied on the seeds for 24hours in a solution containing micro-organisms such azotobacter and Pseudomonas. Then the non-primed and the primed seeds were sown in the plastic pots and grown in a greenhouse with average temperature of 22-25° C. Samples were taken three weeks after planting. Results and Discussion Mean emergence time Emergence is shoot elongation and growth leading the shoots out of the

  18. Single corn kernel wide-line NMR oil analysis for breeding purpose

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilmers, M C.C.; Rettori, C; Vargas, H; Barberis, G E [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Brazil). Inst. de Fisica; da Silva, W J [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Brazil). Inst. de Biologia

    1978-12-01

    The Wide-Line NMR technique was used to determine the oil content in single corn seeds. Using distinct radio frequency (RF) power, a systematic work was done in kernels with about 10% of moisture, and also in artificially dried seeds with approximated 5% of moisture. For nondried seeds NMR spectra showed clearly the presence of three resonances with different RF saturation factor. For dried seeds, the oil concentration determined by NMR was highly correlated (r = 0,997) with that determined by a gravimetric method. The highest discrepancy between the two methods was found to be about 1,3%. When relative measurements are required as in the case of single kernel for recurrent selection program, precision in the individual selected kernel will be about 2,5%. Applying this technique, a first cycle of recurrent selection using S/sub 1/ lines for low and high oil content was performed in an open pollinated variety. Gain from selection was 12.0 and 14.1% in the populations for high and low oil contents, respectively.

  19. Recurrent Selection and Participatory Plant Breeding for Improvement of Two Organic Open-Pollinated Sweet Corn (Zea mays L. Populations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adrienne C. Shelton

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Organic growers face unique challenges when raising sweet corn, and benefit from varieties that maintain high eating quality, germinate consistently, deter insect pests, and resist diseases. Genotype by environment rank changes can occur in the performance of cultivars grown on conventional and organic farms, yet few varieties have been bred specifically for organic systems. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the changes made to open-pollinated sweet corn populations using recurrent selection and a participatory plant breeding (PPB methodology. From 2008 to 2011, four cycles of two open-pollinated (OP sweet corn populations were selected on a certified organic farm in Minnesota using a modified ear-to-row recurrent selection scheme. Selections were made in collaboration with an organic farmer, with selection criteria based on traits identified by the farmer. In 2012 and 2013, the population cycles were evaluated in a randomized complete block design in two certified organic locations in Wisconsin, with multiple replications in each environment. Significant linear trends were found among cycles of selection for quantitative and qualitative traits, suggesting the changes were due to recurrent selection and PPB methodology for these populations. However, further improvement is necessary to satisfy the requirements for a useful cultivar for organic growers.

  20. Demarcation of informative chromosomes in tropical sweet corn inbred lines using microsatellite DNA markers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pedram Kashiani

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A study of genetic variation among 10 pairs of chromosomes extracted from 13 tropical sweet corn inbred lines, using 99 microsatellite markers, revealed a wide range of genetic diversity. Allelic richness and the number of effective alleles per chromosome ranged from 2.78 to 4.33 and 1.96 to 3.47, respectively, with respective mean values of 3.62 and 2.73. According to the Shannon's information index (I and Nei's gene diversity coefficient (Nei, Chromosome 10 was the most informative chromosome (I = 1.311 and Nei = 0.703, while Chromosome 2 possessed the least (I = 0.762 and Nei = 0.456. Based on linkage disequilibrium (LD measurements for loci less than 50 cM apart on the same chromosome, all loci on Chromosomes 1, 6 and 7 were in equilibrium. Even so, there was a high proportion of genetic variation in Chromosomes 4, 5, 8, 9 and 10, thereby revealing their appropriateness for use in the genetic diversity investigations among tropical sweet corn lines. Chromosome 4, with the highest number of loci in linkage disequilibrium, was considered the best for marker-phenotype association and QTL mapping, followed by Chromosomes 5, 8, 9 and 10.

  1. The evaluation of IAA-production ability in indigenous Azospirillum isolates and their growth promoting effects on sweet corn

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    mahdi arab

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available It has been years that Azospirillum is known to promote plant growth. Phytohormone (especially Auxin production has the most important role in increasing the yield of inoculated plants. According to this, 60 strains of this genus were isolated, identified, and purified. This ability was evaluated in both qualitative and quantitative assays using colorimetric method and the effects of superior isolate on sweet corn were measured. Results revealed that the abundance and probability of the bacteria isolation is low and 17%. About 31.2% and 100% of Azospirillum strains were capable of producing IAA in qualitative and quantitative methods respectively. In greenhouse experiment, bacteria treatments had significant effects on corn fresh weight, total dry weight, root dry weight and total nitrogen and phosphorus content of the plant. This was considered to be as the result of more lateral root formation which enhances nutrition uptake. In conclusion, the green house results in respect to in vitro achievements show that fortunately it can be claimed that bacteria of the genus Azospirillum can be used widely for not only strategic gramineous plants like: corn, wheat, barely etc. but also for other useful plants. Key words: Azospirillum, Auxin, qualitative and quantitative methods, sweet corn.

  2. Agro-industrial by-products as roughage source for beef cattle: Chemical composition, nutrient digestibility and energy values of ensiled sweet corn cob and husk with different levels of Ipil – Ipil leaves.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sompong Sruamsiri

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available This experiment was carried out to determine the nutritive value of agro-industrial by-products and nutrient digestibility of ensiled sweet corn cob and husk with different levels of Ipil - Ipil leaves (Leucaena leucocephala. Four native cattle were assigned by Latin Square Design to receive all dietary treatments in four experimental periods i.e. ensiled sweet corn cob and husk (ESCH, ensiled sweet corn cob and husk + 10 % Ipil - Ipil leaves (ESCH + 10% IL, ensiled sweet corn cob and husk + 20% Ipil - Ipil leaves (ESCH + 20% IL and ensiled sweet corn cob and husk + 30% Ipil - Ipil leaves (ESCH + 30% IL, respectively. Total collection method was used to determine the digestibility coefficients. Results showed that digestibility coefficients in ESCH were low (P>0.05 in all the nutrients. Supplementation of Ipil - Ipil leaves in ESCH increased digestibility coefficients. Total digestible nutrients (TDN and digestible energy were higher in the silages supplemented with Ipil - Ipil leaves. Average TDN contents of ESCH, ESCH + 10% IL, 20% IL and 30% IL were 62.78 + 6.14, 70.41 + 4.04, 72.73 + 2.78 and 63.07 + 4.06 %DM, respectively.

  3. Yield and fruit quality of four sweet corn hybrids (Zea mays) under conventional and integrated fertilization with vermicompost.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazcano, Cristina; Revilla, Pedro; Malvar, Rosa Ana; Domínguez, Jorge

    2011-05-01

    Vermicompost has been proposed as a valuable fertilizer for sustainable agriculture. The effects of vermicompost on yield and quality of sweet corn were evaluated in this study. In two field trials, sweet corn plants were grown under (i) a conventional fertilization regime with inorganic fertilizer, and integrated fertilization regimes in which 75% of the nutrients were supplied by the inorganic fertilizer and 25% of the nutrients were supplied by either (ii) rabbit manure, or (iii) vermicompost. All three types of fertilization regime were supplied at two doses. Two pairs of nearly isogenic sweet corn hybrids homozygous for sugary1 and shrunken2 mutants were included in the trials to explore fertilizer × genotype interactions. Growth, yield and ear quality of the plants were evaluated in relation to the three fertilization regimes. In general, the integrated regimes yielded the same productivity levels as the conventional treatment. Moreover, both vermicompost and manure produced significant increases in plant growth and marketable yield, and also affected the chemical composition and quality of the marketable ear. Nevertheless, most of the observed effects of the organic fertilizers were genotype-dependent. The results confirm that the use of organic fertilizers such as vermicompost has a positive effect on crop yield and quality. Nevertheless, these effects were not general, indicating the complexity of the organic amendment-plant interactions and the importance of controlling genetic variation when studying the effects of vermicompost on plant growth. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

  4. Impact of applying edible oils to silk channels on ear pests of sweet corn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Xinzhi; Sparks, Alton N; Riley, David G; Li, Xianchun

    2011-06-01

    The impact of applying edible oils to corn silks on ear-feeding insects in sweet corn, Zea mays L., production was evaluated in 2006 and 2007. Six edible oils used in this experiment were canola, corn, olive, peanut, sesame, and soybean. Water and two commercial insecticidal oils (Neemix neem oil and nC21 Sunspray Ultrafine, a horticultural mineral oil) were used as the controls for the experiment. Six parameters evaluated in this experiment were corn earworm [Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)] damage rating, the number of sap beetle [Carpophilus spp. (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)] adults and larvae, the number of corn silk fly (or picture-winged fly) (Diptera: Ulidiidae) larvae, common smut [Ustilago maydis (D.C.) Corda] infection rate, and corn husk coverage. Among the two control treatments, neem oil reduced corn earworm damage at both pre- and postpollination applications in 2006, but not in 2007, whereas the mineral oil applied at postpollination treatments reduced corn earworm damage in both years. The mineral oil also reduced the number of sap beetle adults, whereas the neem oil applied at postpollination attracted the most sap beetle adults in 2007. Among the six edible oil treatments, the corn and sesame oils applied at postpollination reduced corn earworm damage only in 2007. The application of the peanut oil at postpollination attracted more sap beetle adults in 2006, and more sap beetle larvae in 2007. Olive and neem oils significantly reduced husk coverage compared with the water control in both years. The mineral oil application consistently increased smut infection rate in both 2006 and 2007. Ramifications of using oil treatments in ear pest management also are discussed.

  5. EFFECTS OF BIOFERTILIZER “M-STAR” ON LAND PRODUCTIVITY AND GROWTH OF SWEET CORN IN ACID SULPHATE SOIL OF SWAMPLAND

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mukhlis

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to test the effectiveness of biofertilizer “M-Star” in increasing land productivity, growth of sweet corn and the efficiency of inorganic fertilizer used in acid sulphate soil of swampland. Research was conducted from May – July, 2012 in acid sulphate soil of Barambai, Barito Kuala Regency, South Kalimantan. The treatments involved (B1 Biofertilizer 25 kg/ha, (B2 Biofertilizer 15 kg/ha, (P1 NPK (recommendation dose, (P2 NPK (1/2 recommendation dose, (B1P1 Biofertilizer 25 kg/ha + NPK (recommended dose, (B1P2 Biofertilizer 25 kg/ha + NPK (1/2 recommended dose, (B2P1 Biofertilizer 15 kg/ha + NPK (recommended dose, (B2P2 Biofertilizer 15 kg/ha + NPK (1/2 recommended dose, and (K No fertilizer. The treatments were arranged by randomized completely block design with 3 replications. Recommended dose of NPK fertilizer was at 90-60-50 NPK kg/ha. Observations were conducted on soil pH, soil and plant nutrients, growth of sweet corn (plant height and biomass weight, and microbial population. Research results showed that 15 kg/ha biofertilizer “M-Star” combined with inorganic NPK fertilizer could increase soil nutrients and sweet corn growth. This biofertilizer also increased the efficiency of inorganic fertilizer by 50%.

  6. PENDUGAAN UMUR SIMPAN JAGUNG MANIS BERDASARKAN KANDUNGAN TOTAL PADATAN TERLARUT DENGAN MODEL ARRHENIUS (Shelf Life Estimation of Sweet Corn Based on Its Total Soluble Solid by Using Arrhenius Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rita Khatir

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Sweet corn has short shelf life at room temperature storage in the tropical countries (28-33°C. The quality deterioration of sweet corn can be determined by the decrease of its sugar content. The study aimed to estimate the shelf life of sweet corn based on the reduction of its total soluble solid (TSS by using Arrhenius model. The samples were prepared from fresh harvested corn stored for 10 days at 3 different temperatures of 5, 15 and 28 °C. Total soluble solid (TSS were analyzed every day by using abbe refractrometer. Organoleptic analysis was used by using hedonic scales from 1 to 7. The analysis was conducted until respondents had graded the samples at score 5 (dislike slightly, 6 (dislike and approaches can be used to calculate the shelf life of sweet corn. The acceleration factor for the TSS degradation at null approach, it was estimated that if the sweet corn were stored at temperature of 30, 25, 20, 15, 10 and 5°C, the shelf temperatures, the shelf life of sweet corn would be 3.7, 4.5, 5.6, 6.8, 8.4, and 10.3 days. In conclusion, the shelf life predictions of sweet corn were valid well with the experimental results. Keywords: Sweet corn, shelf life, total soluble solid   ABSTRAK Umur simpan jagung manis relatif singkat apalagi kalau disimpan pada suhu ruang di negara-negara tropis (28-32°C. Kerusakan jagung manis dapat diindikasikan dengan penurunan kandungan gulanya. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menduga umur simpan jagung manis berdasarkan reaksi penurunan kandungan total padatan terlarutnya (TPT dengan pendekatan model Arrhenius. Jagung manis segar yang baru siap panen segera disimpan selama 10 hari pada 3 kombinasi suhu yaitu 5, 15 dan 28°C. Setiap hari dilakukan analisis kandungan TPT dengan . Uji organoleptik dilakukan dengan skala hedonik 1-7. Proses pengamatan dihentikan apabila responden telah memberikan nilai 5 (agak tidak suka, 6 (tidak suka dan 7 (sangat tidak suka. Pendekatan model Arrhenius dilakukan dengan dua

  7. Aerial spray deposition on corn silks applied at high and low spray rates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corn earworm is a major pest of sweet corn, especially when grown organically. Aerial application of insecticides is important for both conventionally- and organically-grown sweet corn production as sweet corn is frequently irrigated to assure return on investment given the high production costs. ...

  8. The Growth and Yield of Sweet Corn Fertilized by Dairy Cattle Effluents Without Chemical Fertilizers in Inceptisols

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yudi Sastro

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Several research has proven the role of dairy cattle effluents in improving the growth and yield of some crops. However, its role in supporting the growth and yield of sweet corn, especialy in Inceptisols, has not been reported. The study aims to determine the effect of dairy cattle effluents on growth and yield of sweet corn in Inceptisols. The pot study was conducted in a greenhouse of the Assessment Institute for Agriculture Technology of Jakarta. The treatments were fertilization using dairy cattle effluents (without dilution, dilution with water 1:1 and 1:2, a mixture of Urea, SP-36 and KCl (NPK, and without fertilizer. The experimental design was a completely randomized design with five replications. Compared to a without fertilizer treatment, dairy cattle effluents were significantly increased plant height (114%, leaf number (136%, cob weight (131%, cob length (124%, and cob diameters (128%. Base on cob weight, relative agronomic effectiveness (RAE of dairy cattle effluents reached 38.4% (without dilution, 47.5% (dilution with water 1:1, and 62.1% (dilution with water 1:2.

  9. Effect of Aerated Compost Tea on the Growth Promotion of Lettuce, Soybean, and Sweet Corn in Organic Cultivation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Min Jeong; Shim, Chang Ki; Kim, Yong Ki; Hong, Sung Jun; Park, Jong Ho; Han, Eun Jung; Kim, Jin Ho; Kim, Suk Chul

    2015-09-01

    This study investigated the chemical characteristics and microbial population during incubation of four kinds of aerated compost teas based on oriental medicinal herbs compost, vermicompost, rice straw compost, and mixtures of three composts (MOVR). It aimed to determine the effects of the aerated compost tea (ACT) based on MOVR on the growth promotion of red leaf lettuce, soybean and sweet corn. Findings showed that the pH level and EC of the compost tea slightly increased based on the incubation time except for rice straw compost tea. All compost teas except for oriental medicinal herbs and rice straw compost tea contained more NO(-) 3-N than NH(+) 4-N. Plate counts of bacteria and fungi were significantly higher than the initial compost in ACT. Microbial communities of all ACT were predominantly bacteria. The dominant bacterial genera were analyzed as Bacillus (63.0%), Ochrobactrum (13.0%), Spingomonas (6.0%) and uncultured bacterium (4.0%) by 16S rDNA analysis. The effect of four concentrations, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.8% MOVR on the growth of red leaf lettuce, soybean and sweet corn was also studied in the greenhouse. The red leaf lettuce with 0.4% MOVR had the most effective concentration on growth parameters in foliage part. However, 0.8% MOVR significantly promoted the growth of root and shoot of both soybean and sweet corn. The soybean treated with higher MOVR concentration was more effective in increasing the root nodule formation by 7.25 times than in the lower MOVR concentrations Results indicated that ACT could be used as liquid nutrient fertilizer with active microorganisms for culture of variable crops under organic farming condition.

  10. Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers Application on NPK Uptake and Production of Sweet Corn in Inceptisol Soil of Lowland Swamp Area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marlina Neni

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study objective was to determine the dose of organic and inorganic fertilizers which can increase N, P and K nutrients uptake as well as the growth and yield of sweet corn on inceptisol soil of lowland swamp. Inceptisol soil has low soil fertility and relatively low to moderate levels of organic matter content. Application of organic fertilizer on inceptisol soil of lowland swampis expected capable to increase N, P and K nutrients as well as yield of sweet corn. This research was conducted from April to July 2014 at Experimental Farm Area of Pulau Semambu Village, Indralaya Utara Subdistrict, Ogan Ilir District, South Sumatra Province. The method used in this research was randomized block design consisting treatments as follows: 75% inorganic fertilizer + 5 ton.ha−1organic fertilizer, 50% inorganic fertilizer + 5 ton.ha−1organic fertilizer, 25% inorganic fertilizer + 5 ton.ha−1 organic fertilizer, 0% inorganic fertilizer + 5 ton.ha−1organic fertilizer with six replications. The recommended dose of inorganic fertilizerswas 200 kg.ha−1 urea, 100 kg.ha−1 SP-36 and 100 kg. ha−1 KCl. The results showed that treatment of 75% of inorganic fertilizer + 5 ton.ha−1organic fertilizer had produced N, P and K nutrients uptake with magnitude of 1.850, 0.418 and 2.374 g.plant−1 respectively as well as good growth and yield of sweet corn with magnitude of 356.36 g. plant−1or 15.21 ton ha−1.

  11. Effects of mulch practices on fresh ear yield and yield components of sweet corn

    OpenAIRE

    KARA, Burhan; ATAR, Bekir

    2013-01-01

    The experiment was carried out in the vegetation seasons of 2010 and 2011. The main purpose of the study was to determine the effects of mulch practices (a control-unmulched treatment, a plastic mulch treatment, and a straw mulch treatment) on fresh ear yield and some yield-related traits of sweet corn according to 3 sowing dates: 1 April, 15 April, and 1 May, respectively. The main effects of sowing dates were significant for the harvest period, the emerging rate from soil, the fresh ear yie...

  12. Effect of Aerated Compost Tea on the Growth Promotion of Lettuce, Soybean, and Sweet Corn in Organic Cultivation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Min Jeong Kim

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the chemical characteristics and microbial population during incubation of four kinds of aerated compost teas based on oriental medicinal herbs compost, vermicompost, rice straw compost, and mixtures of three composts (MOVR. It aimed to determine the effects of the aerated compost tea (ACT based on MOVR on the growth promotion of red leaf lettuce, soybean and sweet corn. Findings showed that the pH level and EC of the compost tea slightly increased based on the incubation time except for rice straw compost tea. All compost teas except for oriental medicinal herbs and rice straw compost tea contained more NO⁻₃-N than NH⁺₄-N. Plate counts of bacteria and fungi were significantly higher than the initial compost in ACT. Microbial communities of all ACT were predominantly bacteria. The dominant bacterial genera were analyzed as Bacillus (63.0%, Ochrobactrum (13.0%, Spingomonas (6.0% and uncultured bacterium (4.0% by 16S rDNA analysis. The effect of four concentrations, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.8% MOVR on the growth of red leaf lettuce, soybean and sweet corn was also studied in the greenhouse. The red leaf lettuce with 0.4% MOVR had the most effective concentration on growth parameters in foliage part. However, 0.8% MOVR significantly promoted the growth of root and shoot of both soybean and sweet corn. The soybean treated with higher MOVR concentration was more effective in increasing the root nodule formation by 7.25 times than in the lower MOVR concentrations Results indicated that ACT could be used as liquid nutrient fertilizer with active microorganisms for culture of variable crops under organic farming condition.

  13. Analysis of the genetic diversity of super sweet corn inbred lines using SSR and SSAP markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ko, W R; Sa, K J; Roy, N S; Choi, H-J; Lee, J K

    2016-01-22

    In this study, we compared the efficiency of simple sequence repeat (SSR) and sequence specific amplified polymorphism (SSAP) markers for analyzing genetic diversity, genetic relationships, and population structure of 87 super sweet corn inbred lines from different origins. SSR markers showed higher average gene diversity and Shannon's information index than SSAP markers. To assess genetic relationships and characterize inbred lines using SSR and SSAP markers, genetic similarity (GS) matrices were constructed. The dendrogram using SSR marker data showed a complex pattern with nine clusters and a GS of 53.0%. For SSAP markers, three clusters were observed with a GS of 50.8%. Results of combined marker data showed six clusters with 53.5% GS. To analyze the genetic population structure of SSR and SSAP marker data, the 87 inbred lines were divided into groups I, II, and admixed based on the membership probability threshold of 0.8. Using combined marker data, the population structure was K = 3 and was divided into groups I, II, III, and admixed. This study represents a comparative analysis of SSR and SSAP marker data for the study of genetic diversity and genetic relationships in super sweet corn inbred lines. Our results would be useful for maize-breeding programs in Korea.

  14. Single-Kernel FT-NIR Spectroscopy for Detecting Supersweet Corn (Zea mays L. Saccharata Sturt Seed Viability with Multivariate Data Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guangjun Qiu

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The viability and vigor of crop seeds are crucial indicators for evaluating seed quality, and high-quality seeds can increase agricultural yield. The conventional methods for assessing seed viability are time consuming, destructive, and labor intensive. Therefore, a rapid and nondestructive technique for testing seed viability has great potential benefits for agriculture. In this study, single-kernel Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR spectroscopy with a wavelength range of 1000–2500 nm was used to distinguish viable and nonviable supersweet corn seeds. Various preprocessing algorithms coupled with partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA were implemented to test the performance of classification models. The FT-NIR spectroscopy technique successfully differentiated viable seeds from seeds that were nonviable due to overheating or artificial aging. Correct classification rates for both heat-damaged kernels and artificially aged kernels reached 98.0%. The comprehensive model could also attain an accuracy of 98.7% when combining heat-damaged samples and artificially aged samples into one category. Overall, the FT-NIR technique with multivariate data analysis methods showed great potential capacity in rapidly and nondestructively detecting seed viability in supersweet corn.

  15. Single-Kernel FT-NIR Spectroscopy for Detecting Supersweet Corn (Zea mays L. Saccharata Sturt) Seed Viability with Multivariate Data Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Guangjun; Lü, Enli; Lu, Huazhong; Xu, Sai; Zeng, Fanguo; Shui, Qin

    2018-03-28

    The viability and vigor of crop seeds are crucial indicators for evaluating seed quality, and high-quality seeds can increase agricultural yield. The conventional methods for assessing seed viability are time consuming, destructive, and labor intensive. Therefore, a rapid and nondestructive technique for testing seed viability has great potential benefits for agriculture. In this study, single-kernel Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy with a wavelength range of 1000-2500 nm was used to distinguish viable and nonviable supersweet corn seeds. Various preprocessing algorithms coupled with partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were implemented to test the performance of classification models. The FT-NIR spectroscopy technique successfully differentiated viable seeds from seeds that were nonviable due to overheating or artificial aging. Correct classification rates for both heat-damaged kernels and artificially aged kernels reached 98.0%. The comprehensive model could also attain an accuracy of 98.7% when combining heat-damaged samples and artificially aged samples into one category. Overall, the FT-NIR technique with multivariate data analysis methods showed great potential capacity in rapidly and nondestructively detecting seed viability in supersweet corn.

  16. EFFECTS OF AMELIORANT COMPOSITIONS ON NITROGEN MINERALIZATION AND UPTAKE BY SWEET CORN IN DEGRADED PEATLAND

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eni Maftu’ah

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Peat soil is characterized by poor nitrogen (N availability. Ameliorants are expected to rectify this problem. This research  aimed to study the effect of ameliorant on N availability and N uptake by sweet corn plant in degraded peatland. The experiment was conducted in the greenhouse in May-July 2011 and on peatland of Kalampangan Village, Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan in September-December 2011. Burnt peat soil of Kalampangan was used in the greenhouse experiment and sweet corn was used as an indicator plant. The treatments consisted of two factors, i.e. compositions of ameliorants by weight (A1 = 80% chicken manure + 20% dolomite; A2 = 80% local farm weed + 20% dolomite; A3 = 80% mineral soil + 20% dolomite; A4 = 20% chicken manure + 20% local farm weed + 20% residue of Chinese water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis + 20% mineral soil + 20% dolomite; and A5 = 19% chicken manure + 71.5% mineral soil + 9.5% dolomite and rates of those ameliorants (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 t ha-1. The experiment was arranged in a completely randomized block design with three replications. Data were collected every two weeks for five times. Observations were made on soil pH, available N (NH4+, NO3-, plant height, and N uptake in root and shoot. The results showed that  treatment A1 increased soil pH and availability of NH4+ and NO3-  in peat soils at the maximum vegetative stage. Treatment A1 provided the highest N availability and N uptake by the plant. Field experiment showed that N uptake increased  with the plant yield. Optimum yield of fresh corn cob was obtained from treatment A1 at the rate of 20 t ha-1. This research reconfirms the effectiveness of chicken manure and dolomite as peat soil ameliorant.

  17. Sweet corn water productivity under several deficit irrigation regimes applied during vegetative growth stage using treated wastewater as water irrigation source

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hirich, A.; Rami, A.; Laajaj, K.

    2012-01-01

    Yield and Crop Water Productivity are crucial issues in sustainable agriculture, especially in high-demand resource crops such as sweet corn. This study was conducted to investigate agronomic responses such as plant growth, yield and soil parameters (EC and Nitrate accumulation) to several deficit...

  18. Using Porter’s Five Forces Model for Analysing the Competitive Environment of Thailand’s Sweet Corn Industry

    OpenAIRE

    Tanakorn Rachapila; Dr. Sittha Jansirisak

    2013-01-01

    The competition in Thailand sweet corn industry relatively high: Bargaining power of suppliers: supplier concentration, availability of substitute input, importance of suppliers’ input to buyer and importance of industry to supplier; Intensity of Rivalry of rivalry among existing competitors: number of competitors, augmented capacity in large increments, value of fixed costs and exit barriers; Threat of entrants or potential competitors: economical scale; Determinant of buyer power: product d...

  19. Variation of biometric parameters in corn cobs under the influence of nitrogen fertilization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gigel, Prisecaru; Florin, Sala

    2017-07-01

    Biometric parameters as elements of productivity on corn cobs, along with plant density per unit area (ha) are essential in achieving production. The influence of differentiated fertilization with nitrogen was evaluated at the level of productivity elements on corn cobs, Andreea hybrid. Biometric parameters of the corn cobs (total length - L; usable length - l; uncoated length with corn kernels - lu; diameter at the base - Db, middle - Dm, and top of the corn cobs - Dt; corn cob weight - Cw, grain weight - Gw) were directly influenced by the doses of nitrogen. Regression analysis has facilitated the prediction of grain weight as the main element of productivity under different statistical certainty based on nitrogen doses (R2 = 0.962, p<0.01), on the total length of corn cobs (R2 = 0.985, p<0.01), on the usable length of corn cobs (R2 = 0.996, p<<0.001), on the diameter at the base of corn cobs (R2 = 0.824, p<0.01), on the diameter at the middle of corn cobs (R2 = 0.807, p<0.01), on uncoated length with corn kernels (R2 = 0.624, p<0.01) and on the diameter at the top of the corn cobs (R2 = 0.384, p=0.015).

  20. Climate change, transgenic corn adoption and field-evolved resistance in corn earworm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venugopal, P Dilip; Dively, Galen P

    2017-06-01

    Increased temperature anomaly during the twenty-first century coincides with the proliferation of transgenic crops containing the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) (Bt) to express insecticidal Cry proteins. Increasing temperatures profoundly affect insect life histories and agricultural pest management. However, the implications of climate change on Bt crop-pest interactions and insect resistance to Bt crops remains unexamined. We analysed the relationship of temperature anomaly and Bt adoption with field-evolved resistance to Cry1Ab Bt sweet corn in a major pest, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie). Increased Bt adoption during 1996-2016 suppressed H. zea populations, but increased temperature anomaly buffers population reduction. Temperature anomaly and its interaction with elevated selection pressure from high Bt acreage probably accelerated the Bt-resistance development. Helicoverpa zea damage to corn ears, kernel area consumed, mean instars and proportion of late instars in Bt varieties increased with Bt adoption and temperature anomaly, through additive or interactive effects. Risk of Bt-resistant H. zea spreading is high given extensive Bt adoption, and the expected increase in overwintering and migration. Our study highlights the challenges posed by climate change for Bt biotechnology-based agricultural pest management, and the need to incorporate evolutionary processes affected by climate change into Bt-resistance management programmes.

  1. Effect of Planting Patterns' and Plant Population on Some of Morphological Traits, Harvest Index and Conservable Grain Yield of Sweet Corn

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Nasrolah Alhossini

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Sweet corn is one of the most important crops in Iran and due to its short period of growth, it has been an important position after wheat and barley in khorasane Razavi Province. In this study two methods of planting (one raised bed and furrow planting and 3 plant densities (65000, 75000 and 85000 plant/ha was evaluated on some of Morphological Traits, harvest index and conservable grain yield of sweet Corn(Chase and KSC403su Varieties in Torbat-e-Heidarie in saline (4.060ds/m condition on 2009. The experimental design was factorial based on RCBC with 4 replications. The result of ANOVA showed significant differences between Anthesis silking interval (ASI, tassel length, plant height, ear height, stem diameter, harvest index, and conservable grain yield of sweet corn varieties that effected by planting methods. the highest harvest index was belonged to Chase in 75000 Plant/ha on one raised bed planting method with 31.75% and the lowest mean was belonged to KSC403su in 85000 Plant/ha on furrow planting method with 14.93%. In addition the highest grain yield was belonged to chase variety at 75000 plant/ha and furrow planting method with 11.912 ton/ha, while the lowest grain yield was belonged to KSC403su variety at 85000 plant/ha and raised bed planting (3.610 ton/ha. The Chase variety was better than KSC403su Due to its canopy and photo period is shorter than KSC403su. The superiority of Chase variety can be related to better distribution of leaves, highest harvest index, conservable grain yield and plant arrangement in the row.

  2. Effects of salt stress and mycorrhiza fungi on morpho-physiological characteristics of sweet corn

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    seyed Abdolreza kazemeini

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available In order to investigate the interaction of mycorrhizal fungi and salinity on growth and physiological characteristics of sweet corn, a greenhouse experiment was conducted at College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, in 2014. The experimental design was factorial based on Completely Randomized Design in three replications. Treatments included salinity at four levels (0.4 (control, 4, 7, 10 dS m-1, and the fungi at three levels (no fungi (control, Glomus mosseae, Glomus intraradices. Results indicated that at flowering stage, with increasing salinity levels, leaf chlorophyll a, b and a+b content and carotenoid decreased at a rate of 18.9, 52.4, 33.1, and 34.5 respectively. Application of mycorrhiza under salinity, partially offset the negative impacts and increased tolerance of maize to NaCl by enhancing SOD and CAT activities, chlorophyll contents, carotenoid and K concentrations in leaves, plant height, leaf area, and total dry weight at flowering stage significantly, compared to control. The Na/K ratio at salinity level of 10 dS m-1 in treatments inoculated with GIN and GM fungi decreased by 39.69 and 40.45 percentage, respectively. Increases plant height, leaf area, total dry weight, concentrations of chlorophyll a, b, chlorophyll a+b and carotenoid and K, the activity of antioxidant enzymes compared with the control. Moreover, GIN type fungi had a greater advantage over GM and reduced the negative effects of salinity. Results indicated that application of mycorrhiza alleviated the adverse effect of salinity stress and improve the sweet corn dry weight up to 38 percentage at salinity level of 10 dS m-1.

  3. Formulation, nutritive value and sensory evaluation of a new weaning food based on sweet corn (Nutrimaiz) dehydrated pulp.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deliza, R; Sgarbieri, V C; Rosenthal, A

    1990-12-01

    The objective of the present work was to develop a formulation for complementary infant and child feeding employing linear programing as a mathematical model for optimization. High lysine/high tryptophan sweet corn pulp in the dehydrated form was used as the main ingredient. The restrictions imposed on the model were nutrient requirements, adequate protein/energy ratio and minimum cost. The formula derived by the computer (FC) matched the amino acid requirements, the protein/energy ratio (NDPCal%) and was rated high in laboratory tests in terms of sensory qualities. The cost determined for this formula was competitive in relation to commercial products used for the same purpose. Formula A, which contained 5% more sweet corn pulp and 10% less whole powdered milk, did not differ in nutritional, sensorial and functional properties from the formula FC and was chosen for the field acceptability trial because of its lower cost. Formula A had protein efficiency ratio and Biological Value similar to casein for the rat but protein digestibility and net protein utilization were statistically lower (p less than 0.05) for formula A than for casein. Acceptability tested on children who were 8-18 months of age ranged from 80-90%, average value 87%.

  4. 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.

  5. Preliminary investigation into the pressing process of sweet pearl millet and sweet sorghum biomass for ethanol production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Crepeau, M.; Khelifi, M.; Vanasse, A. [Laval Univ., Quebec City, PQ (Canada). Dept. of Soil Science and Agri-Food Engineering

    2010-07-01

    Corn is the main source for biofuel production in North America. However, both sweet pearl millet and sweet sorghum crops represent an interesting alternative to corn for ethanol production because of their high biomass yield under a wide range of environmental conditions and high concentration of readily fermentable sugars. Coproducts such as pressing residues can be also be utilized so that nothing is lost in the process. However, in order to improve the extraction of juice for ethanol production, the pressing process of this biomass must be optimized. Preliminary experiments were therefore conducted to optimize the juice extraction from sweet pearl millet and sweet sorghum using 2 different presses, notably a screw press and a manually operated hydraulic press. Both types of biomass were either chopped finely or coarsely and were exposed to various pressures with the hydraulic press. The volume of juice extracted from both crops increased linearly with increasing pressure. Sweet sorghum appeared to be a better feedstock for ethanol production because it produced about 0.03 to 0.06 litre of juice per kg of biomass more than sweet pearl millet. Juice extraction was more effective with the screw press, but only a small difference was noted between the 2 chopping modes.

  6. The Effect of Zinc Sulfate Different Amount Soil and Foliar Application on Correlated Grain Characters in Sweet Corn

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Mahmoodi,

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This research was conducted to evaluate the effects different concentrations of zinc sulfate applications at different growth stages on sweet corn at the Research Station of Faculty of Agriculture in Islamic Azad University, Tabriz branch in 2012. The study was conducted in split plot experiment based on Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Treatments were seven levels of zinc sulfate application methods: (control, soil application, foliar application at 6-8 leaf growth stage, tasseling, grain filling stage, foliar application at three stages, soil application with foliar application at three stages as main plot, three levels of foliar and soil application of zinc sulfate: (0.003, 0.005 and 0.007 for foliar application and 15, 25 and 35 kg/ha for soil application as sub plot. Results showed that the highest grain yield correlated characters were obtained in foliar application at three stages and soil application with foliar application at three stages. In these conditions increasing of dry grain yield and ear were more than 50%. The higher values for grain production were obtained in Zn foliar application with 0.005 concentration (25 kg/ha soil application. Zinc sulfate increased Zn content of grains produced more than 100%. Thus, using Zn not only increases sweet corn grain and ear yield but also increased quality of products.

  7. Distribution of aflatoxins in corn fractions visually segregated for defects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piedade Fabiana Segatti

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available The aflatoxin distribution in corn fractions obtained after visual segregation for defects in 30 samples, known to be contaminated, was studied. Each sample was passed through a 5.0 mm round holes sieve, graded for defects and then segregated in sound kernels (regular kernels and non-sound kernels (injured, germinated, fermented, moldy, heated, insect damaged, immature, broken, hollow, fermented up to ¼, discolored, extraneous materials, and injured by other causes, as defined by the Brazilian Official Grading rules for corn. The non-sound kernels showed the highest contamination levels in all samples. The contamination levels of non-sound kernels (20% of total weight ranged from 23 to 1,365 µg/kg of aflatoxins (B1, B2, G1 and G2 and were higher than sound kernels (p<1% ranging from not detected (ND to 126 µg/kg and in 87% of these the aflatoxin contents were lower than 20 µg/kg. Statistically significant correlation indexes were found among the percentage of defective groups like fermented, heated and sprouted kernels or the total injured kernels, and the estimated contamination levels for the sound and non sound fractions. It was concluded that the non-sound kernels fraction, even being small in weight, has contributed with 84% of the estimated contamination of the samples. The segregation of the non-sound kernels would favor a reduction in the contamination of corn lots. The poorer quality corn types (types 3 and Bellow Standart have predominated among samples of the experiment.

  8. Life history attributes of Indian meal moth (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and Angoumois grain moth (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) reared on transgenic corn kernels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sedlacek, J D; Komaravalli, S R; Hanley, A M; Price, B D; Davis, P M

    2001-04-01

    The Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner), and Angoumois grain moth, Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier), are two globally distributed stored-grain pests. Laboratory experiments were conducted to examine the impact that corn (Zea mays L.) kernels (i.e., grain) of some Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) corn hybrids containing CrylAb Bt delta-endotoxin have on life history attributes of Indian meal moth and Angoumois grain moth. Stored grain is at risk to damage from Indian meal moth and Angoumois grain moth; therefore, Bt corn may provide a means of protecting this commodity from damage. Thus, the objective of this research was to quantify the effects of transgenic corn seed containing CrylAb delta-endotoxin on Indian meal moth and Angoumois grain moth survival, fecundity, and duration of development. Experiments with Bt grain, non-Bt isolines, and non-Bt grain were conducted in environmental chambers at 27 +/- 1 degrees C and > or = 60% RH in continuous dark. Fifty eggs were placed in ventilated pint jars containing 170 g of cracked or whole corn for the Indian meal moth and Angoumois grain moth, respectively. Emergence and fecundity were observed for 5 wk. Emergence and fecundity of Indian meal moth and emergence of Angoumois grain moth were significantly lower for individuals reared on P33V08 and N6800Bt, MON 810 and Bt-11 transformed hybrids, respectively, than on their non-Bt transformed isolines. Longer developmental times were observed for Indian meal moth reared on P33V08 and N6800Bt than their non-Bt-transformed isolines. These results indicate that MON 810 and Bt-11 CrylAb delta-endotoxin-containing kernels reduce laboratory populations of Indian meal moth and Angoumois grain moth. Thus, storing Bt-transformed grain is a management tactic that warrants bin scale testing and may effectively reduce Indian meal moth and Angoumois grain moth populations in grain without application of synthetic chemicals or pesticides.

  9. Visual responses of corn silk flies (Diptera: Ulidiidae)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corn silk flies are major pests impacting fresh market sweet corn production in Florida and Georgia. Control depends solely on well-times applications of insecticides to protect corn ear development. Surveillance depends on visual inspection of ears with no effective trapping methods currently ava...

  10. The Effect of Organic Phosphorus and Nitrogen Enriched Manure on Nutritive Value of Sweet Corn Stover

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lukiwati, D. R.; Pujaningsih, R. I.; Murwani, R.

    2018-02-01

    The experiment aimed to evaluate the effect of some manure enriched with phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) organic (‘manure plus’) on crude protein and mineral production of sweet corn (Zea mays saccharata)and quality of fermented stover as livestock feed. A field experiment was conducted on a vertisol soil (low pH, nitrogen and low available Bray II extractable P). Randomized block design with 9 treatments in 3 replicates was used in this experiment. The treatments were T1(TSP), T2 (SA), T3 (TSP+SA), T4 (manure), T5 (manure+PR), T6 (manure+guano), T7 (manure+N-legume), T8 (manure+PR+N-legume), T9 (manure +guano+N-legume). Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the differences between treatment means were examined by Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT). Results of the experiment showed that the treatment significantly affected to the crude protein and calcium production of stover and nutrient concentration of fermented stover, but it is not affected to P production of stover. The result of DMRT showed that the effect of ‘manure plus’ was not significantly different on CP and Ca production of stover, mineral concentration, in vitro DMD and OMD of fermented stover, compared to inorganic fertilization. Conclusion, manure enriched with organic NP, resulted in similar on CP and Ca production of stover and nutrient concentration of fermented stover compared to inorganic fertilizer. Thus, organic-NP enriched manure could be an alternative and viable technology to utilize low grade of phosphate rock, guano and Gliricidea sepium to produce sweet corn in vertisol soil.

  11. Using Porter’s Five Forces Model for Analysing the Competitive Environment of Thailand’s Sweet Corn Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tanakorn Rachapila

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The competition in Thailand sweet corn industry relatively high: Bargaining power of suppliers: supplier concentration, availability of substitute input, importance of suppliers’ input to buyer and importance of industry to supplier; Intensity of Rivalry of rivalry among existing competitors: number of competitors, augmented capacity in large increments, value of fixed costs and exit barriers; Threat of entrants or potential competitors: economical scale; Determinant of buyer power: product differentiation, switching costs to use other products, switching costs to use other products and buyers’ use of multiple sources, threat of substitute products or services relatively low.

  12. Nitrogen fixation by Gliricidia sepium: decomposition of its leaves in soil and effects on sweet-corn yields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zaharah, A.R.; Sharifuddin, H.A.H.; Anular, R.; Bah, A.R.; Mwange, K.Nk.; Kathuli, P.; Juma, P.

    1998-01-01

    Nitrogen fixation by Gliricidia sepium subjected to three pruning regimes (one, two or four cuts per year) was measured using the 15 N-dilution technique with Cassia siamea as the reference species. Over a 4-year period, estimates of the fraction of N derived from fixation, generally 2 fixer. Gliricidia sepium leaves were placed in litter-bags, buried in an ultisol and sampled at intervals over 70 days. The half-life for dry matter was 17 days, and about 60% of the N was lost within 10 days; K and Ca were the most rapidly released nutrients, with half-lives of only 1 and 3 days, respectively. The N contributions from G. sepium leaves and roots to alley-cropped sweet corn were quantified by the 15 N-dilution technique over three growing seasons. The application of leaves with roots resulted in increased N uptake and dry matter yield in corn. Below-ground competition between hedgerow and corn, assessed using 32 P with the third crop, occurred under conditions of low nutrient-availability. The data imply that there is no advantage of the cut-and-carry system over permanent hedgerows, provided that prunings are applied at the time of nutrient demand in the crop. (author)

  13. Fumonisins in corn: correlation with Fusarium sp. count, damaged kernels, protein and lipid content

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elisabete Yurie Sataque Ono

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Natural fungal and fumonisin contamination were evaluated in 109 freshly harvested corn samples from Paraná State and correlated to damaged kernels (%. In addition, healthy and damaged kernels of 24 corn samples were selected in order to compare the mycoflora profile and fumonisin levels. The correlation among protein/lipid content and fumonisin levels was also analyzed in the 15 most frequently cultivated corn hybrids. Total fungal colony count in 109 freshly harvested corn samples ranged from 1.9x10(4 to 3.5x10(6 CFU/g, Fusarium sp. count from 1.0x10³ to 2.2x10(6 CFU/g, and fumonisin levels from 0.13 to 20.38 µg/g. Total fungal colony/Fusarium sp. count and fumonisin levels showed positive correlation (p A contaminação natural por fungos e fumonisinas foi avaliada em 109 amostras de milho recém-colhido do Estado do Paraná e correlacionada com grãos ardidos (%. Além disso, grãos sadios e ardidos de 24 amostras de milho foram selecionados a fim de comparar o perfil da microbiota fúngica e níveis de fumonisinas. A correlação entre os teores de proteínas/lipídios e os níveis de fumonisinas também foi analisada nos 15 híbridos de milho mais freqüentemente cultivados no Estado do Paraná. A contagem total de fungos em 109 amostras de milho recém-colhido variou de 1,9x10(4 a 3,5x10(6 UFC/g, Fusarium sp. de 1,0x10³ a 2,2x10(6 UFC/g e, níveis de fumonisinas de 0,13 a 20,38 µg/g. A contagem total de fungos/Fusarium spp. e níveis de fumonisinas apresentaram correlação positiva (p<0,05. Adicionalmente, houve uma correlação positiva entre grãos ardidos (% e a contagem total de fungos/ Fusarium spp. (p < 0,05. Os níveis de fumonisinas nos grãos sadios variaram de 0,57 a 20,38 µg/g, enquanto que nos grãos ardidos variaram de 68,96 a 336,38 µg/g. Não foi observada correlação significativa entre os níveis de fumonisinas e os teores de proteínas/lipídios. Esses resultados ratificam a importância do monitoramento

  14. Comparison of Chemical and Degradability Characteristics of Green Forage and Silage of Sorghums Varieties with Corn Using In vitro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Hedayatipour

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available The chemical and fermentative parameters of three fresh forages and silages of sorghum including Sweet, Pegah and Speedfeed varieties were compared with corn using in vitro method, also degradability coefficients of forages and silages were determined by in situ method. Forages were planted in the same condition and harvested in soft dough stage, then ensilaged in four replicates for each time of 30, 60 and 90 days of preservation in mini silos. Buffering capacity in green Sweet sorghum was lower than corn and Speedfeed, and acid detergent fiber and water soluble carbohydrates respectively were significantly highest and lowest in fresh forage of Speedfeed sorghum. In time of 60 days, percent of acid detergent lignin of corn silage was lower than Sweet and Speedfeed sorghum silages; similarly, residual water soluble carbohydrate was lowest in corn silage. The lactate Concentration in corn and Pegah sorghums was higher than Sweet and Speedfeed silages. In corn and Sweet sorghum silages, Contents of acetic acid and ammonium nitrogen were highest and lowest, respectively. In nylon bag experiment, Degradation rate of corn and Pegah sorghum forages were significantly higher than Sweet and Speedfeed sorghums that cause to more effective degradability with passage rate of 0.08 in this forages. Also, the slowly degradation coefficient of corn silage was higher than sorghums silages. In conclusion, Speedfeed sorghum forage is not suitable for making silage in comparison others, and corn silage had more potential of degradability.

  15. Sublethal effects of Cry 1F Bt corn and clothianidin on black cutworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larval development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kullik, Sigrun A; Sears, Mark K; Schaafsma, Arthur W

    2011-04-01

    Black cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is an occasional pest of maize (corn), Zea mays L., that may cause severe stand losses and injury to corn seedlings. The efficacy of the neonicotinoid seed treatment clothianidin at two commercially available rates and their interaction with a transgenic corn hybrid (Bt corn), trait expressing the Bacillus thuringiensis variety aizawai insecticidal toxin Cry 1Fa2, against black cutworm larvae was investigated. Clothianidin at a rate of 25 mg kernel(-1) on Bt corn increased larval mortality and reduced larval weight gains additively. In contrast, weights of larvae fed non-Bt corn seedlings treated with clothianidin at a rate of 25 mg kernel(-1) increased significantly, suggesting either compensatory overconsumption, hormesis, or hormoligosis. Both Bt corn alone and clothianidin at a rate of 125 mg kernel(-1) applied to non-Bt corn seedlings caused increased mortality and reduced larval weight gains. In two field trials, plots planted with Bt corn hybrids consistently had the highest plant populations and yields, regardless of whether they were treated with clothianidin at the lower commercial rate of 25 mg kernel(-1) The use of Bt corn alone or in combination with the low rate of clothianidin (25 mg kernel(-1)) seems suitable as a means of suppressing black cutworm in no-tillage cornfields, although rescue treatments may still be necessary under severe infestations. Clothianidin alone at the low rate of 25 mg kernel(-1) is not recommended for black cutworm control until further studies of its effects on larval physiology and field performance have been completed.

  16. Effects of Japanese beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) and silk clipping in field corn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steckel, Sandy; Stewart, S D; Tindall, K V

    2013-10-01

    Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica Newman) is an emerging silk-feeding insect found in fields in the lower Corn Belt and Midsouthern United States. Studies were conducted in 2010 and 2011 to evaluate how silk clipping in corn affects pollination and yield parameters. Manually clipping silks once daily had modest effects on yield parameters. Sustained clipping by either manually clipping silks three times per day or by caging Japanese beetles onto ears affected total kernel weight if it occurred during early silking (R1 growth stage). Manually clipping silks three times per day for the first 5 d of silking affected the number of kernels per ear, total kernel weight, and the weight of individual kernels. Caged beetles fed on silks and, depending on the number of beetles caged per ear, reduced the number of kernels per ear. Caging eight beetles per ear significantly reduced total kernel weight compared with noninfested ears. Drought stress before anthesis appeared to magnify the impact of silk clipping by Japanese beetles. There was evidence of some compensation for reduced pollination by increasing the size of pollinated kernels within the ear. Our results showed that it requires sustained silk clipping during the first week of silking to have substantial impacts on pollination and yield parameters, at least under good growing conditions. Some states recommend treating for Japanese beetle when three Japanese beetles per ear are found, silks are clipped to < 13 mm, and pollination is < 50% complete, and that recommendation appears to be adequate.

  17. Effects of Biofertilizer “M-star” on Land Productivity and Growth of Sweet Corn in Acid Sulphate Soil of Swampland

    OpenAIRE

    Mukhlis, Mukhlis; Lestari, Yuli

    2013-01-01

    This research aims to test the effectiveness of biofertilizer “M-Star” in increasing land productivity, growth of sweet corn and the efficiency of inorganic fertilizer used in acid sulphate soil of swampland. Research was conducted from May – July, 2012 in acid sulphate soil of Barambai, Barito Kuala Regency, South Kalimantan. The treatments involved (B1) Biofertilizer 25 kg/ha, (B2) Biofertilizer 15 kg/ha, (P1) NPK (recommendation dose), (P2) NPK (1/2 recommendation dose), (B1P1) Biofertiliz...

  18. Several Pesticides Influence the Nutritional Content of Sweet Corn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cutulle, Matthew A; Armel, Gregory R; Kopsell, Dean A; Wilson, Henry P; Brosnan, James T; Vargas, Jose J; Hines, Thomas E; Koepke-Hill, Rebecca M

    2018-03-28

    Herbicides are pesticides used to eradicate unwanted plants in both crop and non-crop environments. These chemistries are toxic to weeds due to inhibition of key enzymes or disruption of essential biochemical processes required for weedy plants to survive. Crops can survive systemic herbicidal applications through various forms of detoxification, including metabolism that can be enhanced by safeners. Field studies were conducted near Louisville, Tennessee and Painter, Virginia to determine how the herbicides mesotrione, topramezone, nicosulfuron, and atrazine applied with or without the safener isoxadifen-ethyl would impact the nutritional quality of "Incredible" sweet corn ( Zea mays L. var. rugosa). Several herbicide treatments increased the uptake of the mineral elements phosphorus, magnesium, and manganese by 8-75%. All herbicide treatments increased protein content by 4-12%. Applied alone, nicosulfuron produced similar levels of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids when compared to the nontreated check, but when applied with isoxadifen-ethyl, fatty acids increased 8 to 44% relative to the check or control. Nicosulfuron plus isoxadifen-ethyl or topramezone or the combination of all three actives increased the concentrations of fructose and glucose (40-68%), whereas reducing levels of maltose or sucrose when compared to the nontreated check (-15 to -21%). Disruptions in biochemical pathways in plants due to the application of herbicides, safeners, or other pesticides have the potential to alter the nutrient quality, taste, and overall plant health associated with edible crops.

  19. Effects of Drought Stress on Vegetative and Reproductive Stages of Forage and Kernel Corn Hybrids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Hajibabaei

    2016-10-01

    plot, ρb is soil bulk density, F.C is the moisture level at field capacity, m is plot moisture mass desired at irrigation time, D is the root development depth, V is the volume of irrigation water in the plot, and A is the plot area. From each plot 10 plants were randomly selected to determine traits such as dry forage yield per hectare. In this experiment kernel yield per hectare, Dry forage yield per ha, Number of days until to pollination, number of days until silk emergence cords and period of pollination until silk emergence, ear length, ear diameter, number of ear in corn, number of kernels per row and number of rows per ear measured and calculated. Results and Discussion The results showed that hybrid differences in terms of number of days until the pollination, number of days until silk emergence cords, period of pollination until silk emergence and ear length was significant at 1% probability level. No significance differences were observed between hybrids for kernel yield, total number of kernels per ear, number of ear in corn and ear diameter. Hybrid and irrigation regimes interactions were not significant for any of the traits except for ear length that represent the same reaction of hybrids to the irrigation regimes. Evaluation of dry forage showed significant difference between years (P

  20. 75 FR 56911 - Request for Public Comment on the United States Standards for Corn

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-17

    ... Public Comment on the United States Standards for Corn AGENCY: Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards... Standards and grading procedures for corn under the United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA). Since the standards were last revised, the use of corn for ethanol and the number of different varieties of corn has...

  1. Seed of sweet sorghum: studies on fermentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Amaro, F A; Onetto, E; Angeloro, H; Victorio Gugliucci, S

    1961-01-01

    Both the percentage of starch transformed by saccharification with malt and the alcohol fermentation efficiency for four varieties of sweet sorghum is determined, and it is compared with those of a corn sample. Seeds of the varieties with low peel content yield values comparable to those of corn. Seeds of the varieties with high peel content give values lower than those of the low peel content, but, if they are previously peeled, the yield of both, in terms of transformed starch and alcohol produced, is improved, the values approaching those obtained with corn.

  2. Growth, 14C-sucrose uptake, and metabolites of starch synthesis in apical and basal kernels of corn (Zea mays L.)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Greenberg, J.M.

    1985-01-01

    Developing field-grown kernels of corn (Zea mays L. cv. Cornell 175) from the base and apex of the ear were sampled from seven to 70 days after pollination (DAP) an compared with respect to dry weight, ability to take up 14 C-sucrose from solution in vitro, and content of sucrose, glucose, starch, glucose-1-P (G1P), glucose-6-P (G6P), fructose-6-P (F6P), ADP-glucose (ADPG), and UDP-glucose (UDPG). ADPG and UDPG were analyzed by HPLC. All other metabolites were analyzed enzymatically. Simultaneous hand-pollination of all ovaries in an ear did not reduce the difference between apical and basal kernels in dry weight, indicating that the latter fertilization of apical kernels was not responsible for their lesser mature dry weight. Detached kernels took up 14 C-sucrose (0.3-400 mM) and glucose (5-100 mM) at rates linearly proportional to the sugar concentration. Glucose, fructose, and sorbitol did not inhibit uptake of 14 C-sucrose. Uptake was not stimulated by 5 mM CaCl 2 or the addition of buffers (pH 4.5-6.7) to the medium. Sulfhydryl reagents (PCMBS, NEM) and metabolic inhibitors (TNBS, DNP, NaF) did not reduce uptake. These observations suggest that sucrose is taken up by a non-saturable, non-energy-requiring mechanism. Sucrose uptake increased throughout development, especially at the stage when basal kernels began to accumulate more dry weight than apical kernels (10-20 DAP in freely pollinated ears; 25 DAP in synchronously pollinated ears). Hydrolysis of incorporated sucrose increased from 87% at 14 DAP to 99% by 57 DAP

  3. PROTECTION OF SWEET CORN FROM OSTRINIA NUBILALIS HBN. AND HELICOVERPA ARMIGERA HBN.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vuković, S; Indić, D; Grahovac, M; Franeta, F

    2015-01-01

    O. nubilalis and H. armigera regularly occur and cause significant damages in corn crops in Serbia, particularly under global warming conditions. Several measures are applied against these pests (crop rotation, tolerant and resistant hybrids, monitoring, forecast, chemical measures). Larvae damage stem, panicle and ear, which favour development of saprophytes and secondary infections by mycotoxin producing, pathogenic fungi. The aim of the paper was to test the efficacy of the insecticides azadirachtin and indoxacarb in sweet corn protection against the mentioned pests. The trials were conducted in 2014 at two localities (Becej B. and PoIjanice P.) on sweet corn, hybrid Enterprise according to standard OEPP methods (PP1/13; 1/152; 1/135). Products on the basis of azadirachtin (10 g a.i./I of product) at a rate of 0.4 and 0.5% and indoxacarb (150 g a.i./I of product) at a rate of 0.25 I/ha, were applied. Treatments were conducted on the 5th of August with tractor sprayers (high clearance). The plot size was 5000 m². Three assessments were made. The first one prior to treatment, on 25 randomly selected plants per replicate, and the number of O. nubilalis and H. armigera egg masses and larvae on silk was registered. In the second assessment (18th of August), on 20 randomly selected plants per replicate, the number of damaged plants and the number of vital larvae was registered. In the third assessment, immediately before harvest (28th of August, i.e. 12th of September) on 20 randomly selected plants per replicate, the number of plants broken below ear (fallen on the ground), damaged ears and vital larvae, was determined. Results are presented as means, efficacy (E%) according to Abbott and significance of differences by LSD test (5%). At B locality egg masses of O. nubilalis were registered on ear silk on 13-19% of plants and larvae on 3-7%, and larvae of H. armigera on 2-4%. At P locality egg masses of O. nubilalis were present on 34-40.8% of plants. After 13 days

  4. Feeding behavior of crossbred steers fed diets containing babassu mesocarp meal and corn in kernels or ground

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aline Evangelista Machado Santana

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the use of babassu mesocarp meal (BMM and corn in different physical forms on the feeding behavior of crossbred young bulls of a dairy breed. Twenty-four crossbred (Nellore vs. Holstein steers (307.35 kg were fed four experimental diets containing two levels of inclusion of the babassu mesocarp meal (0 and 412.4 g/kg and corn in two physical forms (kernels or ground for 98 days. Data was collected on three days during the finishing phase, with observations every five minutes, for 24 hours. When the activities performed by the animals were evaluated as a function of the period of the day, the physical form of the corn showed interaction with the BMM inclusion level on the time spent feeding and on other activities. When the activities were evaluated over the day, the defecation frequency was affected and decreased as BMM was included. The feeding time was longer at the moments that followed feed supply, whereas the time used for other activities increased during the morning period, regardless of the diet utilized. Rumination and idle times were affected by the period of the day and remained high during the night and morning periods. There was increase in feeding time and dry matter rumination efficiencies and neutral detergent fiber as BMM was added to the diet. The number of rumination chews per bolus, however, decreased as BMB was included. Inclusion of babassu mesocarp meal increases the animal feeding time but the physical form of corn does not change its feeding behavior.

  5. PENAMBAHAN SUSU BUBUK FULL CREAM PADA PEMBUATAN PRODUK MINUMAN FERMENTASI DARI BAHAN BAKU EKSTRAK JAGUNG MANIS [Addition of Full Cream Milk Powder in the Production of Fermented Drink Made from Sweet Corn Extract

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hartati Chairunnisa*

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The aims of this study were to determine the effect of full cream milk powder addition to the quality of fermented drink from sweet corn extract. The quality examined were total bacteria, total solid, lactic acid content, and acceptability including colour, texture, flavor, and overall acceptance. The experiment was set up in a Completly Randomized Design with five levels of full cream milk powder (8, 10, 12, 14, 16% and four replications. The results showed that addition 12% of full cream milk powder in sweet corn extract resulted in acceptable fermented drink containing of 11.2 x 109 cfu/g lactic acid bacteria, 17.8% total solid, and 0.95% lactic acid. This formula had yellow color, desired texture & flavor and recieived the highest score of overall acceptance.

  6. Spatial Patterns of Aflatoxin Levels in Relation to Ear-Feeding Insect Damage in Pre-Harvest Corn

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alisa Huffaker

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Key impediments to increased corn yield and quality in the southeastern US coastal plain region are damage by ear-feeding insects and aflatoxin contamination caused by infection of Aspergillus flavus. Key ear-feeding insects are corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea, fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais, and brown stink bug, Euschistus servus. In 2006 and 2007, aflatoxin contamination and insect damage were sampled before harvest in three 0.4-hectare corn fields using a grid sampling method. The feeding damage by each of ear/kernel-feeding insects (i.e., corn earworm/fall armyworm damage on the silk/cob, and discoloration of corn kernels by stink bugs, and maize weevil population were assessed at each grid point with five ears. The spatial distribution pattern of aflatoxin contamination was also assessed using the corn samples collected at each sampling point. Aflatoxin level was correlated to the number of maize weevils and stink bug-discolored kernels, but not closely correlated to either husk coverage or corn earworm damage. Contour maps of the maize weevil populations, stink bug-damaged kernels, and aflatoxin levels exhibited an aggregated distribution pattern with a strong edge effect on all three parameters. The separation of silk- and cob-feeding insects from kernel-feeding insects, as well as chewing (i.e., the corn earworm and maize weevil and piercing-sucking insects (i.e., the stink bugs and their damage in relation to aflatoxin accumulation is economically important. Both theoretic and applied ramifications of this study were discussed by proposing a hypothesis on the underlying mechanisms of the aggregated distribution patterns and strong edge effect of insect damage and aflatoxin contamination, and by discussing possible management tactics for aflatoxin reduction by proper management of kernel-feeding insects. Future directions on basic and applied research related to aflatoxin contamination are also

  7. Spatial patterns of aflatoxin levels in relation to ear-feeding insect damage in pre-harvest corn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Xinzhi; Wilson, Jeffrey P; Buntin, G David; Guo, Baozhu; Krakowsky, Matthew D; Lee, R Dewey; Cottrell, Ted E; Scully, Brian T; Huffaker, Alisa; Schmelz, Eric A

    2011-07-01

    Key impediments to increased corn yield and quality in the southeastern US coastal plain region are damage by ear-feeding insects and aflatoxin contamination caused by infection of Aspergillus flavus. Key ear-feeding insects are corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea, fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais, and brown stink bug, Euschistus servus. In 2006 and 2007, aflatoxin contamination and insect damage were sampled before harvest in three 0.4-hectare corn fields using a grid sampling method. The feeding damage by each of ear/kernel-feeding insects (i.e., corn earworm/fall armyworm damage on the silk/cob, and discoloration of corn kernels by stink bugs), and maize weevil population were assessed at each grid point with five ears. The spatial distribution pattern of aflatoxin contamination was also assessed using the corn samples collected at each sampling point. Aflatoxin level was correlated to the number of maize weevils and stink bug-discolored kernels, but not closely correlated to either husk coverage or corn earworm damage. Contour maps of the maize weevil populations, stink bug-damaged kernels, and aflatoxin levels exhibited an aggregated distribution pattern with a strong edge effect on all three parameters. The separation of silk- and cob-feeding insects from kernel-feeding insects, as well as chewing (i.e., the corn earworm and maize weevil) and piercing-sucking insects (i.e., the stink bugs) and their damage in relation to aflatoxin accumulation is economically important. Both theoretic and applied ramifications of this study were discussed by proposing a hypothesis on the underlying mechanisms of the aggregated distribution patterns and strong edge effect of insect damage and aflatoxin contamination, and by discussing possible management tactics for aflatoxin reduction by proper management of kernel-feeding insects. Future directions on basic and applied research related to aflatoxin contamination are also discussed.

  8. Spatial Patterns of Aflatoxin Levels in Relation to Ear-Feeding Insect Damage in Pre-Harvest Corn

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Xinzhi; Wilson, Jeffrey P.; Buntin, G. David; Guo, Baozhu; Krakowsky, Matthew D.; Lee, R. Dewey; Cottrell, Ted E.; Scully, Brian T.; Huffaker, Alisa; Schmelz, Eric A.

    2011-01-01

    Key impediments to increased corn yield and quality in the southeastern US coastal plain region are damage by ear-feeding insects and aflatoxin contamination caused by infection of Aspergillus flavus. Key ear-feeding insects are corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea, fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais, and brown stink bug, Euschistus servus. In 2006 and 2007, aflatoxin contamination and insect damage were sampled before harvest in three 0.4-hectare corn fields using a grid sampling method. The feeding damage by each of ear/kernel-feeding insects (i.e., corn earworm/fall armyworm damage on the silk/cob, and discoloration of corn kernels by stink bugs), and maize weevil population were assessed at each grid point with five ears. The spatial distribution pattern of aflatoxin contamination was also assessed using the corn samples collected at each sampling point. Aflatoxin level was correlated to the number of maize weevils and stink bug-discolored kernels, but not closely correlated to either husk coverage or corn earworm damage. Contour maps of the maize weevil populations, stink bug-damaged kernels, and aflatoxin levels exhibited an aggregated distribution pattern with a strong edge effect on all three parameters. The separation of silk- and cob-feeding insects from kernel-feeding insects, as well as chewing (i.e., the corn earworm and maize weevil) and piercing-sucking insects (i.e., the stink bugs) and their damage in relation to aflatoxin accumulation is economically important. Both theoretic and applied ramifications of this study were discussed by proposing a hypothesis on the underlying mechanisms of the aggregated distribution patterns and strong edge effect of insect damage and aflatoxin contamination, and by discussing possible management tactics for aflatoxin reduction by proper management of kernel-feeding insects. Future directions on basic and applied research related to aflatoxin contamination are also discussed. PMID

  9. Intraear Compensation of Field Corn, Zea mays, from Simulated and Naturally Occurring Injury by Ear-Feeding Larvae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steckel, S; Stewart, S D

    2015-06-01

    Ear-feeding larvae, such as corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea Boddie (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), can be important insect pests of field corn, Zea mays L., by feeding on kernels. Recently introduced, stacked Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) traits provide improved protection from ear-feeding larvae. Thus, our objective was to evaluate how injury to kernels in the ear tip might affect yield when this injury was inflicted at the blister and milk stages. In 2010, simulated corn earworm injury reduced total kernel weight (i.e., yield) at both the blister and milk stage. In 2011, injury to ear tips at the milk stage affected total kernel weight. No differences in total kernel weight were found in 2013, regardless of when or how much injury was inflicted. Our data suggested that kernels within the same ear could compensate for injury to ear tips by increasing in size, but this increase was not always statistically significant or sufficient to overcome high levels of kernel injury. For naturally occurring injury observed on multiple corn hybrids during 2011 and 2012, our analyses showed either no or a minimal relationship between number of kernels injured by ear-feeding larvae and the total number of kernels per ear, total kernel weight, or the size of individual kernels. The results indicate that intraear compensation for kernel injury to ear tips can occur under at least some conditions. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  10. A new genus and species of Eucoilinae (Hymenoptera, Cynipoidea, Figitidae parasitoid of Euxesta eluta Loew (Diptera, Otitidae attacked Bt sweet corn in Argentina

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabiana E. Gallardo

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Euxestophaga Gallardo, a new genus of Eucoilinae (Hymenoptera, Cynipoidea, Figitidae and Euxestophaga argentinensis Gallardo, sp. n. from Argentina, are described and illustrated. This new genus belongs to the Ganaspini and morphologically resembles Epicoela Borgmeier and Striatovertex Schick, Forshage and Nordlander. A key to differentiate these genera is given. Specimens were reared from pupae of Euxesta eluta Loew (Diptera: Otitidae, attacked Bt sweet corn in Santa Fe province and other in Tucumán province (Argentina.

  11. Efficacy of Silk Channel Injections with Insecticides for Management of Lepidoptera Pests of Sweet Corn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sparks, A N; Gadal, L; Ni, X

    2015-08-01

    The primary Lepidoptera pests of sweet corn (Zea mays L. convar. saccharata) in Georgia are the corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), and the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith). Management of these pests typically requires multiple insecticide applications from first silking until harvest, with commercial growers frequently spraying daily. This level of insecticide use presents problems for small growers, particularly for "pick-your-own" operations. Injection of oil into the corn ear silk channel 5-8 days after silking initiation has been used to suppress damage by these insects. Initial work with this technique in Georgia provided poor results. Subsequently, a series of experiments was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of silk channel injections as an application methodology for insecticides. A single application of synthetic insecticide, at greatly reduced per acre rates compared with common foliar applications, provided excellent control of Lepidoptera insects attacking the ear tip and suppressed damage by sap beetles (Nitidulidae). While this methodology is labor-intensive, it requires a single application of insecticide at reduced rates applied ∼2 wk prior to harvest, compared with potential daily applications at full rates up to the day of harvest with foliar insecticide applications. This methodology is not likely to eliminate the need for foliar applications because of other insect pests which do not enter through the silk channel or are not affected by the specific selective insecticide used in the silk channel injection, but would greatly reduce the number of applications required. This methodology may prove particularly useful for small acreage growers. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. Economic feasibility of producing sweet sorghum as an ethanol feedstock in the southeastern United States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Linton, Joseph A.; Miller, J. Corey; Little, Randall D.; Petrolia, Daniel R.; Coble, Keith H.

    2011-01-01

    This study examines the feasibility of producing sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) as an ethanol feedstock in the southeastern United States through representative counties in Mississippi. We construct enterprise budgets along with estimates of transportation costs to estimate sweet sorghum producers' breakeven costs for producing and delivering sweet sorghum biomass. This breakeven cost for the sweet sorghum producer is used to estimate breakeven costs for the ethanol producer based on wholesale ethanol price, production costs, and transportation and marketing costs. Stochastic models are developed to estimate profits for sweet sorghum and competing crops in two representative counties in Mississippi, with sweet sorghum consistently yielding losses in both counties. -- Highlights: → We examine the economic feasibility of sweet sorghum as an ethanol feedstock. → We construct enterprise budgets along with estimates of transportation costs. → We estimate breakeven costs for producing and delivering sweet sorghum biomass. → Stochastic models determine profits for sweet sorghum in two Mississippi counties.

  13. On-Plant Larval Movement and Feeding Behavior of Fall Armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on Reproductive Corn Stages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pannuti, L E R; Baldin, E L L; Hunt, T E; Paula-Moraes, S V

    2016-02-01

    Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith (fall armyworm) is considered one of the most destructive pests of corn throughout the Americas. Although this pest has been extensively studied, little is known about its larval movement and feeding behavior on reproductive compared to vegetative corn stages. Thus, we conducted studies with two corn stages (R1 and R3) and four corn plant zones (tassel, above ear, ear zone, and below ear) in the field at Concord, NE (USA), and in the field and greenhouse at Botucatu, SP (Brazil), to investigate on-plant larval movement. The effects of different corn tissues (opened tassel, closed tassel, silk, kernel, and leaf), two feeding sequence scenarios (closed tassel-leaf-silk-kernel and leaf-silk-kernel), and artificial diet (positive control) on larval survival and development were also evaluated in the laboratory. Ear zone has a strong effect on feeding choice and survival of fall armyworm larvae regardless of reproductive corn stage. Feeding site choice is made by first-instar. Corn leaves of reproductive plants were not suitable for early instar development, but silk and kernel tissues had a positive effect on survival and development of fall armyworm larvae on reproductive stage corn. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. Effect of the corn breaking method on oil distribution between stillage phases of dry-grind corn ethanol production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, H; Wang, T; Johnson, L A; Pometto, A L

    2008-11-12

    The majority of fuel ethanol in the United States is produced by using the dry-grind corn ethanol process. The corn oil that is contained in the coproduct, distillers' dried grains with solubles (DDGS), can be recovered for use as a biodiesel feedstock. Oil removal will also improve the feed quality of DDGS. The most economical way to remove oil is considered to be at the centrifugation step for separating thin stillage (liquid) from coarse solids after distilling the ethanol. The more oil there is in the liquid, the more it can be recovered by centrifugation. Therefore, we studied the effects of corn preparation and grinding methods on oil distribution between liquid and solid phases. Grinding the corn to three different particle sizes, flaking, flaking and grinding, and flaking and extruding were used to break up the corn kernel before fermentation, and their effects on oil distribution between the liquid and solid phases were examined by simulating an industrial decanter centrifuge. Total oil contents were measured in the liquid and solids after centrifugation. Dry matter yield and oil partitioning in the thin stillage were highly positively correlated. Flaking slightly reduced bound fat. The flaked and then extruded corn meal released the highest amount of free oil, about 25% compared to 7% for the average of the other treatments. The freed oil from flaking, however, became nonextractable after the flaked corn was ground. Fine grinding alone had little effect on oil partitioning.

  15. Corn silage from corn treated with foliar fungicide and performance of Holstein cows.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haerr, K J; Lopes, N M; Pereira, M N; Fellows, G M; Cardoso, F C

    2015-12-01

    Foliar fungicide application to corn plants is used in corn aimed for corn silage in the dairy industry, but questions regarding frequency of application and its effect on corn silage quality and feed conversion when fed to dairy cows remain prevalent. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of various foliar fungicide applications to corn on dry matter intake (DMI), milk production, and milk composition when fed to dairy cows. Sixty-four Holstein cows with parity 2.5±1.5, 653±80kg of body weight, and 161±51d in milk were blocked and randomly assigned to 1 of 4 corn silage treatments (total mixed ration with 35% of the dry matter as corn silage). Treatments were as follows: control (CON), corn silage with no applications of foliar fungicide; treatment 1 (1X), corn silage from corn that received 1 application of pyraclostrobin (PYR) foliar fungicide (Headline; BASF Corp.) at corn vegetative stage 5; treatment 2 (2X), corn silage from corn that received the same application as 1X plus another application of a mixture of PYR and metconazole (Headline AMP; BASF Corp.) at corn reproductive stage 1 ("silking"); and treatment 3 (3X), corn silage from corn that received the same applications as 2X as well as a third application of PYR and metconazole at reproductive stage 3 ("milky kernel"). Corn was harvested at about 32% dry matter and 3/4 milk line stage of kernel development and ensiled for 200d. Treatments were fed to cows for 5wk, with the last week being used for statistical inferences. Week -1 was used as a covariate in the statistical analysis. Dry matter intake tended to be lower for cows fed corn silage treated with fungicide than CON (23.8, 23.0, 19.5, and 21.3kg for CON, 1X, 2X, and 3X, respectively). A linear treatment effect for DMI was observed, with DMI decreasing as foliar fungicide applications increased. Treatments CON, 1X, 2X, and 3X did not differ for milk yield (34.5, 34.5, 34.2, and 34.4kg/d, respectively); however, a trend for

  16. CAROTENOID RETENTION IN MINIMALLY PROCESSED BIOFORTIFIED GREEN CORN STORED UNDER RETAIL MARKETING CONDITIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natália Alves Barbosa

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Storing processed food products can cause alterations in their chemical compositions. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate carotenoid retention in the kernels of minimally processed normal and vitamin A precursor (proVA-biofortified green corn ears that were packaged in polystyrene trays covered with commercial film or in multilayered polynylon packaging material and were stored. Throughout the storage period, the carotenoids were extracted from the corn kernels using organic solvents and were quantified using HPLC. A completely factorial design including three factors (cultivar, packaging and storage period was applied for analysis. The green kernels of maize cultivars BRS1030 and BRS4104 exhibited similar carotenoid profiles, with zeaxanthin being the main carotenoid. Higher concentrations of the carotenoids lutein, β-cryptoxanthin, and β-carotene, the total carotenoids and the total vitamin A precursor carotenoids were detected in the green kernels of the biofortified BRS4104 maize. The packaging method did not affect carotenoid retention in the kernels of minimally processed green corn ears during the storage period.

  17. [Effects of simulated acid rain on seed germination and seedling growth of different type corn Zea mays].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hai-Yan

    2013-06-01

    Taking normal corn, waxy corn, pop corn, and sweet corn as test materials, this paper studied their seed germination and seedling growth under effects of simulated acid rain (pH 6.0, 5.0, 4.0, 3.0, 2.0, and 1.0). Simulated acid rain at pH 2.0-5.0 had no significant effects on the seed germination and seedling growth, but at pH 1.0, the germination rate of normal corn, waxy corn, pop corn, and sweet corn was 91.3%, 68.7%, 27.5%, and 11.7%, respectively. As compared with those at pH 6.0 (CK), the germination rate, germination index, vigor index, germination velocity, shoot height, root length, shoot and root dry mass, and the transformation rate of stored substances at pH 1.0 had significant decrease, and the average germination time extended apparently. At pH 1.0, the effects of acid rain were greater at seedling growth stage than at germination stage, and greater on underground part than on aboveground part. Due to the differences in gene type, normal corn and waxy corn had the strongest capability against acid rain, followed by pop corn, and sweet corn. It was suggested that corn could be categorized as an acid rain-tolerant crop, the injury threshold value of acid rain was likely between pH 1.0 and pH 2.0, and normal corn and waxy corn would be prioritized for planting in acid rain-stricken area.

  18. Low-airflow drying of fungicide-treated shelled corn

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peterson, W.H.; Benson, P.W.

    1993-02-01

    Approved fungicides inhibit mold growth in shelled corn and allow for longer, natural-air drying. The longer drying periods permit lower than-normal airflows and smaller power units, thus reducing electrical demands on utilities in corn-producing states. Researchers placed approximately 67 m 3 (1900 bu) of one variety of shelled corn at approximately 24% moisture in each of five equally sized storage bins. They partitioned each bin vertically and filled one half of each bin with fungicide-treated corn and one half with untreated corn. Each of four bins used a different airflow. A fifth bin used the lowest of the four airflows but was equipped to capture and use solar energy. All corn dried rapidly with resulting good quality. The percentage of damaged kernels was significantly higher for untreated than for treated corn. The energy required for the lowest airflow system was approximately one half of that required for the higher, more traditional airflows. Because of lower-than-normal airflows, the electrical demand on the utility is approximately one fourth as great as that imposed when the higher, more traditional natural-air systems are used. The 1991 corn growing and drying seasons were unusual in central Illinois, the site of the study. Both harvest and drying occurred several weeks ahead of schedule. Additional work is needed to verify that findings hold true during more-normal Midwest corn growing and drying seasons; the investigators predict that they will. It should be noted that the fungicide used in this study has not yet been approved for widespread use in drying corn

  19. 7 CFR 319.56-43 - Baby corn and baby carrots from Zambia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... § 319.56-43 Baby corn and baby carrots from Zambia. (a) Immature, dehusked “baby” sweet corn (Zea mays L... consignments only. (b) Immature “baby” carrots (Daucus carota L. ssp. sativus) for consumption measuring 10 to...

  20. [Corn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iowa History for Young People, 1993

    1993-01-01

    This theme issue focuses on corn. Iowa is the number one corn producing state in the United States. The featured articles in the issue concern, among other topics, Iowa children who live on farms, facts and statistics about corn, the Mesquakie Indians and corn shelling, corn hybrids, a short story, and the corn palaces of Sioux City. Activities,…

  1. Effect of Different Levels of Nitrogen Fertilizer and Vermi-Compost on Yield and Quality of Sweet Corn (Zea mays Hybrid Chase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Habibi

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available In order to investigate the effect of source and rate of nitrogen fertilizer on yield and quality of sweet corn, a field study was conducted in 2011 cropping season in Agriculture Experiment Station of College of Agriculture, University of Guilan. A randomized complete block design with three replications was used. Treatment consisted of four levels of nitrogen fertilizer (0, 46, 92 and 138 kg N ha-1 and integrated N of chemical and biological (23 kg N ha-1 + 1 ton ha-1 Vermi-compost, 46 kg N ha-1 + 2 ton ha-1 Vermi-compost, and 69 kg N ha-1 +3 ton ha-1 Vermi-compost and organic sources (2, 4 and 6 ton ha-1. Effect of source and rate of nitrogen fertilizer on fresh ear yield, grain yield canned, grain protein amount and dry matter digestibility percent had significant. With increscent nitrogen at treatments nitrogen fertilizer, organic ant integrated farming yield fresh ear, grain yield, grain protein amount and dry matter digestibility percent increased. Maximum yield fresh ear was obtained with 69 kg N ha-1 + 3 ton ha-1 Vermi-compost with an average 14595.9 kg ha-1. Maximum forage yield and dry forage yield obtained with an average 18619.5 and 3593 kg ha-1 at treatment with 69 kg N ha-1 + 3 ton ha-1 Vermi-compost. Results of this research showed that the best grain yield and quality, and forage yield and quality of sweet corn were obtained in integrated farming and organic methods in Rasht region conditions and same climatology conditions.

  2. Yield and quality of sweet corn at different plant populationsProdutividade e qualidade do milho doce em diferentes populações de plantas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renan Soares de Souza

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate the plant population density effect upon yield components and the chemical composition of grains in two sweet corn hybrids in “Winter-Spring” cultivation. The experimental design used was the complete randomized blocks with four replications. The treatments were based on the combination between two sweet corn hybrids (Tropical Plus e RB-6324 and five plant populations (40,000, 55.000, 70,000, 85,000 and 100,000 plants ha-1, in a factorial scheme 2 x 5, evaluated in two “winter-spring” growing seasons (2009 and 2010. The increment in the population of 40,000 to 100,000 plants ha-1 resulted in higher husked commercial corn ear productivity in both hybrids, Tropical Plus and RB-6324. The increase of plant population reduced the length and diameter of corn ears in Tropical Plus and RB-6324. The mass of the corn ears from Tropical Plus also reduced; however, it did not affect the commercial standard and industrial use. In larger plant populations the hybrid RB-6324 produced corn ears with grains that were sweeter and with lower starch content. The hybrid Tropical Plus presented higher mass, length, productivity, sugar content and lower diameter of corn ears when compared to RB-6324.O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar o efeito da população de plantas sobre os componentes de produção e a composição química de grãos de dois híbridos de milho doce no cultivo de “Inverno – Primavera”. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos completos casualizados com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos constituíram-se da combinação entre híbridos de milho doce (Tropical Plus e RB-6324 e populações de plantas (40.000, 55.000, 70.000, 85.000 e 100.000 plantas ha-1, no esquema fatorial 2 x 5, avaliados em dois anos agrícolas (2009 e 2010, em cultivo de Inverno-Primavera. O incremento na população de plantas de 40.000 até 100.000 plantas ha-1 resultou em maiores produtividades de

  3. Comparisons of Herbicide Treated and Cultivated Herbicide-Resistant Corn

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Arnold Bruns

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Four glyphosate resistant corn (Zea mays L. hybrids, a glufosinate-ammonium resistant hybrid, and a conventional atrazine resistant hybrid gown at Stoneville, MS in 2005, 2006, and 2007 with furrow irrigation were treated with their respective herbicides and their growth, yield, and mycotoxin incidence were compared with untreated cultivated plots. Leaf area index (LAI and dry matter accumulation (DMA were collected on a weekly basis beginning at growth stage V3 and terminating at anthesis. Crop growth rates (CRGs and relative growth rates (RGRs were calculated. Plots were later harvested, yield and yield component data collected, and kernel samples analyzed for aflatoxin and fumonisin. Leaf area index, DMA, CRG, and RGR were not different among the herbicide treated plots and from those that were cultivated. Curves for LAI and DMA were similar to those previously reported. Aflatoxin and fumonisin were relatively low in all plots. Herbicide application or the lack thereof had no negative impact on the incidence of kernel contamination by these two mycotoxins. Herbicides, especially glyphosate on resistant hybrids, have no negative effects on corn yields or kernel quality in corn produced in a humid subtropical environment.

  4. Uptake of three isotopes of plutonium from soil by sweet corn grown in a growth chamber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hersloff, L.W.; Corey, J.C.

    1978-01-01

    The use of 237 Pu as a tracer for 238 Pu and 239 Pu was studied in a plant--soil system. Sandy clay--loam soil was spiked with approx. 240 pCi/g of 237 Pu, 14.3 pCi/g of 238 Pu, and 33 pCi/g of 239 Pu in the form of Pu(NO 3 ) 4 . The uptake of these three isotopes of plutonium was measured in the standing vegetation of sweet corn (Zea mays L. var. Silver Queen) after 30 and 50 days of growth. The mean concentrations in the standing crop and the concentration ratios of each isotope decreased from 30 to 50 days. There was an apparent differential availability of the three isotopes: 237 Pu was more available than 238 Pu, which was more available than 239 Pu. The quantity of 237 Pu in the standing crop, on a mass basis, closely approximated that of 238 Pu for both sampling times. Factors influencing these results are discussed

  5. Fully-Automated High-Throughput NMR System for Screening of Haploid Kernels of Maize (Corn by Measurement of Oil Content.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongzhi Wang

    Full Text Available One of the modern crop breeding techniques uses doubled haploid plants that contain an identical pair of chromosomes in order to accelerate the breeding process. Rapid haploid identification method is critical for large-scale selections of double haploids. The conventional methods based on the color of the endosperm and embryo seeds are slow, manual and prone to error. On the other hand, there exists a significant difference between diploid and haploid seeds generated by high oil inducer, which makes it possible to use oil content to identify the haploid. This paper describes a fully-automated high-throughput NMR screening system for maize haploid kernel identification. The system is comprised of a sampler unit to select a single kernel to feed for measurement of NMR and weight, and a kernel sorter to distribute the kernel according to the measurement result. Tests of the system show a consistent accuracy of 94% with an average screening time of 4 seconds per kernel. Field test result is described and the directions for future improvement are discussed.

  6. Fully-Automated High-Throughput NMR System for Screening of Haploid Kernels of Maize (Corn) by Measurement of Oil Content

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Xiaoping; Huang, Qingming; Chen, Shanshan; Yang, Peiqiang; Chen, Shaojiang; Song, Yiqiao

    2016-01-01

    One of the modern crop breeding techniques uses doubled haploid plants that contain an identical pair of chromosomes in order to accelerate the breeding process. Rapid haploid identification method is critical for large-scale selections of double haploids. The conventional methods based on the color of the endosperm and embryo seeds are slow, manual and prone to error. On the other hand, there exists a significant difference between diploid and haploid seeds generated by high oil inducer, which makes it possible to use oil content to identify the haploid. This paper describes a fully-automated high-throughput NMR screening system for maize haploid kernel identification. The system is comprised of a sampler unit to select a single kernel to feed for measurement of NMR and weight, and a kernel sorter to distribute the kernel according to the measurement result. Tests of the system show a consistent accuracy of 94% with an average screening time of 4 seconds per kernel. Field test result is described and the directions for future improvement are discussed. PMID:27454427

  7. Physicochemical, Thermal, and Sensory Properties of Blue Corn (Zea Mays L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mutlu, Ceren; Arslan-Tontul, Sultan; Candal, Cihadiye; Kilic, Ozlem; Erbas, Mustafa

    2018-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate some physicochemical and sensory properties of blue corn cultivated in Turkey. The length and width of the cob with kernels, hectoliter, and 1000-kernel weight of blue corn were measured as 7.66, 2.02 mm, 84.40 kg/100 L, and 44.27 g, respectively. The gelatinization onset, peak, and end temperatures were measured as 61.12 °C, 64.35 °C, and 75.65 °C, respectively. The water activity, moisture content, total protein, lipid, and crude fiber contents of the blue corn sample were detected as 0.44, 9.39%, 13.13%, 4.30%, and 2.68%, respectively. Total starch and resistant starch contents of blue corn were determined as 63.94% and 8.89%, respectively. Also, total monomeric anthocyanin content and antioxidant capacity of blue corn were detected as 915.43 mg CGE/kg and 7.99 μmol TE/g, respectively. Additionally, the major fatty acids detected in blue corn samples were palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic acids. Blue corn can be utilized in the production of enjoyable and healthier snacks, such as popcorn and chips, because of its color and high phenolic, anthocyanin, and fiber contents. © 2017 Institute of Food Technologists®.

  8. Technical Note: Characteristics and Sorting of White Food Corn Contaminated with Mycotoxins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samples of white corn grown in southern Texas were collected for characterization and sorting of kernels containing mycotoxins. Kernels were grouped into one of six symptom categories depending on the degree of visible discoloration and bright green-yellow fluorescence (BGYF) or bright orange fluor...

  9. Thermal Properties of Starch From New Corn Lines as Impacted by Environment and During Line Development

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lenihan, Elizabeth M [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)

    2003-01-01

    The objectives of this research were to further characterize exotic by adapted corn inbreds by studying the impact of environment on their starch thermal properties, and investigating the development of starch thermal properties during kernel maturation by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). A method to expedite identification of unusual starch thermal traits was investigated by examining five corn kernels at a time, instead of one kernel, which the previous screening methods used. Corn lines with known thermal functions were blended with background starch (control) in ratios of unique starch to control starch, and analyzed by using DSC. Control starch was representative of typical corn starch. The values for each ratio within a mutant type were unique (α < 0.01) for most DSC measurements. These results supported the five-kernel method for rapidly screening large amounts of corn germplasm to identify unusual starch traits. The effects of 5 growing locations on starch thermal properties from exotic by adapted corn and Corn Belt lines were studied using DSC. The warmest location, Missouri, generally produced starch with greater gelatinization onset temperature (ToG), narrower range of gelatinization (RG), and greater enthalpy of gelatinization (ΔHG). The coolest location, Illinois, generally resulted in starch with lower ToG, wider RG, and lower ΔHG. Starch from the Ames 1 farm had thermal properties similar to those of Illinois, whereas starch from the Ames 2 farm had thermal properties similar to those of Missouri. The temperature at Ames 2 may have been warmer since it was located near a river; however, soil type and quality also were different. Final corn starch structure and function change during development and maturity. Thus, the changes in starch thermal properties during 5 stages of endosperm development from exotic by adapted corn and Corn Belt lines at two locations were

  10. Compositional variability of nutrients and phytochemicals in corn after processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prasanthi, P S; Naveena, N; Vishnuvardhana Rao, M; Bhaskarachary, K

    2017-04-01

    The result of various process strategies on the nutrient and phytochemical composition of corn samples were studied. Fresh and cooked baby corn, sweet corn, dent corn and industrially processed and cooked popcorn, corn grits, corn flour and corn flakes were analysed for the determination of proximate, minerals, xanthophylls and phenolic acids content. This study revealed that the proximate composition of popcorn is high compared to the other corn products analyzed while the mineral composition of these maize products showed higher concentration of magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and low concentration of calcium, manganese, zinc, iron, copper, and sodium. Popcorn was high in iron, zinc, copper, manganese, sodium, magnesium and phosphorus. The xanthophylls lutein and zeaxanthin were predominant in the dent corn and the total polyphenolic content was highest in dent corn while the phenolic acids distribution was variable in different corn products. This study showed preparation and processing brought significant reduction of xanthophylls and polyphenols.

  11. Polyphasic Approach Including MALDI-TOF MS/MS Analysis for Identification and Characterisation of Fusarium verticillioides in Brazilian Corn Kernels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susane Chang

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Fusarium verticillioides is considered one of the most important global sources of fumonisins contamination in food and feed. Corn is one of the main commodities produced in the Northeastern Region of Brazil. The present study investigated potential mycotoxigenic fungal strains belonging to the F. verticillioides species isolated from corn kernels in 3 different Regions of the Brazilian State of Pernambuco. A polyphasic approach including classical taxonomy, molecular biology, MALDI-TOF MS and MALDI-TOF MS/MS for the identification and characterisation of the F. verticillioides strains was used. Sixty F. verticillioides strains were isolated and successfully identified by classical morphology, proteomic profiles of MALDI-TOF MS, and by molecular biology using the species-specific primers VERT-1 and VERT-2. FUM1 gene was further detected for all the 60 F. verticillioides by using the primers VERTF-1 and VERTF-2 and through the amplification profiles of the ISSR regions using the primers (GTG5 and (GACA4. Results obtained from molecular analysis shown a low genetic variability among these isolates from the different geographical regions. All of the 60 F. verticillioides isolates assessed by MALDI-TOF MS/MS presented ion peaks with the molecular mass of the fumonisin B1 (721.83 g/mol and B2 (705.83 g/mol.

  12. 40 CFR 180.275 - Chlorothalonil; tolerances for residues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ....5 Cherry, tart 0.5 Cocoa bean, dried bean 0.05 Coffee, bean, green 0.20 Corn, sweet, kernel plus cob... Pea, edible podded 5 Peach 0.5 Peanut 0.3 Pistachio 0.2 Plum 0.2 Plum, prune 0.2 Potato 0.1 Rhubarb 4...

  13. Corn rootworm area-wide management across the United States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chandler, Laurence D.; Coppedge, James R.; Richard Edwards, C.; Tollefson, Jon J.; Wilde, Gerald E.

    2000-01-01

    The western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, northern corn rootworm, D. barberi Smith and Lawrence, and Mexican corn rootworm, D. virgifera zeae Krysan and Smith are among the most economically and environmentally important pests of United States maize (Zea mays L.) production systems (Metcalf 1986). Annually, 8 to 10 million hectares of maize are treated with soil applied insecticides to protect the crop from larval feeding damage. Crop rotation, however, is also widely used to minimise the need for soil insecticide applications. Insecticides for adult rootworm management are also frequently used. Numerous problems are currently associated with corn rootworm management approaches. Soil insecticides are normally used to protect maize roots from larval feeding damage. However, they are ineffective in controlling the management of corn rootworm populations (Gray et al. 1992, Sutter et al. 1991). It is not uncommon for large numbers of rootworms to develop within treated fields. Thus, when maize is grown in the same field year after year (continuous cropping), soil insecticide applications must be used to protect the plant. These applications are generally made without knowledge (prophylactic) of the rootworm population levels within the field due to the difficulty of sampling for immature life stages. Western corn rootworm resistance to chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides has been extensively documented (Ball and Weekman 1962). Recently, two distinct populations of western corn rootworms in Nebraska were found to be resistant to carbaryl and methyl parathion which are commonly used for adult control (Meinke et al. 1998). Although the occurrence of resistance has not spread outside of these areas, the potential for increased tolerance of western corn rootworm populations to carbamate and organophosphate insecticides across the region does exist. In response to many of the management problems discussed above, scientists with the USDA Agricultural

  14. Corn Production and Marketing. An Instructional Unit for Teachers of Adult Vocational Education in Agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grace, Clyde, Jr.; Iverson, Maynard J.

    The instructional unit designed to develop the effective ability of farmers to produce, harvest, store, and market corn profitably is structured in 11 lessons. The unit was developed as a guide for use by teachers in planning and conducting young farmer or adult farmer classes. The specific topic areas include varieties of corn, principles of…

  15. Effect of salt stress on some sweet corn (Zea mays L. var. saccharata genotypes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shtereva Lydia A.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available An experiment was carried out hydroponically under laboratory conditions to investigate the effect of salt stress on several physiological and biochemical parameters of three sweet corn (Zea mays L. var. saccharata genotypes: lines 6-13, C-6 (pollen source and their heterotic F1 hybrid “Zaharina”. The degree of salinity tolerance among these genotypes was evaluated at three different sodium chloride (NaCl concentrations: 0 mM, 100 mM, 125 mM and 150 mM. Seed germination, plant growth and biochemical stress determining parameters such as malondialdehyde (MDA, proline content and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 levels were compared between seedlings of lines and hybrid. The obtained results indicated that both lines and hybrid have similar responses at different salinity levels for all examined traits. All the seedlings’ growth parameters, such as germination percentage, root length, shoot length, root and shoot fresh and dry weight, decreased with increasing salinity level. MDA, proline and H2O2 increased at different saline conditions in comparison to the control. Based on the results, of the three genotypes examined, the hybrid Zaharina, followed by line C-6, was more salt-sensitive than line 6-13 in salt stress condition.

  16. 21 CFR 155.130 - Canned corn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... sweet corn packed with a suitable liquid packing medium which may include water and the creamy component... as specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section. (ii) The words “vacuum pack” or “vacuum packed... found, less the weight of the sieve, as the drained weight. Dry and weigh the empty container and...

  17. Enzymatic hydrolysis of corn bran arabinoxylan

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agger, Jane

    as a model substrate because it represents a readily available agroindustrial side product with upgrading potentials. Corn bran originates from the wet-milling process in corn starch processing, is the outmost layers of the corn kernel and is particularly rich in pentose monosaccharides comprising the major...... in a complex and ridig cell wall structure. This thesis contains a thorough examination of the monosaccharide and structural composition of corn bran, which is used to assess and apply the relevant mono component enzyme preparations. In this way, the aim is to obtain the most effective minimal enzymatic......, especially with respect to xylose and glucose release, but vast amounts of the valuable monosaccharides are lost during this pretreatment and this is especially evident for arabinose. From a scientific point of view acid catalysed pretreatment renders the substrate in a state of disruption where assessment...

  18. Insulina e glicose como moduladores do desenvolvimento de plântulas de milho doce (Su1 Insulin and glucose as modulators of the development of sweet corn seedling (Su1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Fernando Ganassali Oliveira Júnior

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Durante a germinação e o desenvolvimento pós-germinativo de milho, o fluxo metabólico é intenso, ocorrendo síntese e degradação de açúcares (glicose, frutose e sacarose e hidrólise de amido, além da redução da concentração do ácido abscísico (ABA. Acredita-se que altas concentrações de glicose exógena, promovam acúmulo de ABA, proporcionando atraso na germinação e desenvolvimento de plântulas. Concentrações menores, por outro lado, podem ocasionar estímulo na germinação e desenvolvimento. Neste trabalho, foi observado que a glicose (800 µM estimulou a germinação e o desenvolvimento inicial de genótipo de milho comum e retardou, severa ou brandamente, genótipos de milho doce (su1, provavelmente devido às diferentes concentrações endógenas de glicose de cada genótipo. Foi visto, também, que a concentração de 1,2 ηM de insulina foi capaz de estimular o maior desenvolvimento de genótipos de milho comum (UENF 506-8 e doce H43IN e nula para o genótipo doce HDC. Quando adicionada insulina e glicose ao meio, foi obtido efeito aditivo para o desenvolvimento. Esses resultados sugerem que a insulina e glicose apresentam forte influência na germinação e no desenvolvimento de sementes de milho.During germination and development of corn seeds the metabolic flow is intense, the synthesis and degradation of sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose and hydrolysis of starch, besides to the decrease in abscisic acid (ABA concentration are some of the major events. High concentrations of exogenous glucose are believed to promote accumulation of ABA, causing delay in the germination and development of seedlings, while lower concentrations stimulated the germination and development. In our studies it was verified that 800 µM glucose stimulated the germination and initial development of the common corn genotype and delayed severely or softly for sweet corn (su1 genotypes, probably due to different glucose endogenous

  19. Activity of Soil Microorganisms During the Second Growing Season of Sweet Corn (Zea Mays Saccharata Sturt Applied with Organonitrophos and Biochar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dermiyati

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Efforts to increase the production of sweet corn can be done, among others, by the application of fertilizers, either inorganic, organic or its combination. In addition, the application of soil amendments such as biochar is expected to improve soil fertility that will further increase the production of sweet corn. Organonitrophos fertilizer is an organic fertilizer developed by lecturers of Faculty of Agriculture, University of Lampung. The research was aimed to study the effect of the combination of organonitrophos and inorganic fertilizers, biochar and the interaction between fertilizer combination and biochar on soil respiration and soil microbial biomass.The research was conducted at the Agriculture Experimental Field of University of Lampung using a Randomized Block Design with 6×2 factorials and 3 replications. The first factor was six levels of combination of organonitrophos and inorganic fertilizers (P0, P1, P2, P3, P4, and P5. The second factor was two levels of biochar dosage (B0 and B1. The data were analyzed using Analysis of Variance and further tested using the Least Significant Difference (LSD Test at 5% significance level. The variables measured were soil respiration and soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC. The results showed that the highest soil respiration was observed in the plots with P3B1 treatment (300 kg Urea ha-1, 125 kg SP-36 ha-1, 100 kg KCl ha-1 + 2500 kg organonitrophos ha-1 at 60 days after planting (DAP. Among other treatments, the highest SMBC was observed in the plots with P5 treatment (5,000 kg Organonitrophos ha-1 at 60 and 90 DAP. Soil respiration and SMBC were higher in the plots with B1 treatment (5,000 kg biochar ha-1 compared to that in the plots with B0 treatment (0 kg biochar ha-1. There was an interaction effect between combination of organonitrophos and inorganic fertilizers, and biochar on soil respiration at 90 DAP. However, there was no interaction effect between fertilizer combination and biochar

  20. Corn Production. A Unit for Teachers of Vocational Agriculture. Production Agriculture Curriculum Materials Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grace, Clyde, Jr.

    Designed to provide instructional materials for use by vocational agriculture teachers, this unit contains nine lessons based upon competencies needed to maximize profits in corn production. The lessons cover opportunities for growing corn; seed selection; seedbed preparation; planting methods and practices; fertilizer rates and application;…

  1. Resistance to Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Euxesta stigmatias (Diptera: Ulidiidae) in sweet corn derived from exogenous and endogenous genetic systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nuessly, G S; Scully, B T; Hentz, M G; Beiriger, R; Snook, M E; Widstrom, N W

    2007-12-01

    Field trials using Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Euxesta stigmatias Loew (Diptera: Ulidiidae) were conducted to evaluate resistance and potential damage interactions between these two primary corn, Zea mays L., pests against Lepidoptera-resistant corn varieties derived from both endogenous and exogenous sources. The endogenous source of resistance was maysin, a C-glycosyl flavone produced in high concentrations in varieties 'Zapalote Chico 2451' and 'Zapalote Chico sh2'. The exogenous resistance source was the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)11 gene that expresses Cry1A(b) insecticidal protein found in 'Attribute GSS-0966'. Damage by the two pests was compared among these resistant varieties and the susceptible 'Primetime'. Single-species tests determined that the Zapalote Chico varieties and GSS-0966 effectively reduced S. frugiperda larval damage compared with Primetime. E. stigmatias larval damage was less in the Zapalote Chico varieties than the other varieties in single-species tests. E. stigmatias damage was greater on S. frugiperda-infested versus S. frugiperda-excluded ears. Ears with S. frugiperda damage to husk, silk and kernels had greater E. stigmatias damage than ears with less S. frugiperda damage. Reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography analysis of nonpollinated corn silk collected from field plots determined that isoorientin, maysin, and apimaysin plus 3'-methoxymaysin concentrations followed the order Zapalote Chico sh2 > Zapalote Chico 2451 > Attribute GSS-0966 = Primetime. Chlorogenic acid concentrations were greatest in Zapalote Chico 2451. The two high maysin Zapalote Chico varieties did as well against fall armyworm as the Bt-enhanced GSS-0966, and they outperformed GSS-0966 against E. stigmatias.

  2. Uptake and distribution of cadmium in corn

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peel, J.W.; Vetter, R.J.; Christian, J.E.; Kessler, W.V.; McFee, W.W.

    1978-01-01

    The uptake and distribution of cadmium in corn (Zea mays) treated at various time intervals after planting and sampled at various times after treatment were measured. Cadmium was found to accumulate in all parts sampled. As shown in field studies, stems and leaves generally concentrated more cadmium than did husks, cobs, kernels, silks, or tassels. Samples of stems and leaves from corn treated 23 days after planting and sampled 5 days later exhibited higher concentrations of cadmium than samples taken 25, 45, 65, or 85 days after treatment. Concentrations generally decreased with time. Greenhouse studies showed that corn exposed to cadmium for the longest period of time accumulated the greatest total cadmium. The highest cadmium concentrations were found in the base or lowest leaves sampled 45 days after planting; this suggests a useful technique for quick screening corn crops for cadmium pollution

  3. The Effects of Different Nitrogen Sources on Yield and Yield Components of Sweet Corn (Zea mays L. saccharata

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ali mojab ghasroddashti

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Sweet corn (Zea mays L. saccharata is one of the tropical cereals of graminae which is cultivated in order to use for ear. Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients and key factors to achieve desirable yield. Fertilizers play a major role in crop productivity. However, nowadays, excessive use of fertilizers have been found to have a negative impact on yield and environment. Introducing new management methods based on nitrogen and water use efficiency showed some improvements in the quality and quantity of crop production in association with the health of the community. In fact, soil organic matter content should be maintained in the appropriate level to improve fertility. Using municipal solid waste compost and poultry manure are appropriate solutions. They can increase soil organic matter, modify physicochemical properties and improve crop production. Moreover, they are able to solve problems caused by the accumulation of municipal solid waste compost and poultry manure. Material and Methods In order to investigate the impact of different sources of nitrogen on yield and yield components of sweet corn, a field experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with three replications in Marvdasht in 2013. Treatments included different resources of fertilizer: 200 kg.ha-1 net nitrogen (T1, 300 kg.ha-1 net nitrogen (T2, 8 ton.ha-1 poultry manure (T3, 24 ton.ha-1 municipal solid waste compost (T4, 150 kg net nitrogen + 2 ton municipal solid waste compost (T5, 100 kg net nitrogen + 4 ton poultry manure (T6, 150 kg net nitrogen + 6 ton municipal solid waste compost (T7, 100 kg.ha-1 net nitrogen + 12 ton municipal solid waste compost (T8 and fertilizer free (control (T9. At the time of crop maturity, two square meters from middle of each plot were harvested to measure yield and yield components. Statistical analysis was performed using the SAS statistical software. Least significant difference (LSD test at the five

  4. Influence of s-Triazines on Some Enzymes of Carbohydrates and Nitrogen Metabolism in Leaves of Pea (Pisum sativum L.) and Sweet Corn (Zea mays L.)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, M. T.; Singh, B.; Salunkhe, D. K.

    1971-01-01

    Foliar applications of 2 milligrams per liter of 2-chloro-4,6-bis (ethylamino)-s-triazine, 2-methylmercapto-4-ethylamino-6-isobutylamino-s-triazine, and 2-methoxy-4-isopropylamino-6-butylamino-s-triazine caused increases in the activities of starch phosphorylase, pyruvate kinase, cytochrome oxidase, and glutamate dehydrogenase 5, 10, and 15 days after treatment in the leaves of 3-week-old seedlings of pea (Pisum sativum L.) and sweet corn (Zea mays L.). The results indicate that sublethal concentrations of s-triazine compounds affect the physiological and biochemical events in plants which favor more utilization of carbohydrates for nitrate reduction and synthesis of amino acids and proteins. PMID:16657830

  5. Mycoflora and fumonisin contamination in Brazilian corn from sowing to harvest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almeida, Adriana P; Fonseca, Homero; Fancelli, Antônio Luiz; Direito, Glória Maria; Ortega, Edwin M; Corrêa, Benedito

    2002-06-19

    The present study aimed to analyze the mycoflora and potential mycotoxin contamination of soil and corn samples collected at different plant maturity stages in Capão Bonito and Ribeirão Preto, two regions of the State of São Paulo, Brazil. In addition, the data obtained were correlated with the occurrence of wind-dispersed fungi and the predominant climatic conditions of the two regions studied. Corn mycoflora profiles showed that Fusarium verticillioides prevailed in 35% of the samples from Capão Bonito and in 49% of the samples from Ribeirão Preto. Examination of wind-dispersed fungi also revealed a high incidence of F. verticillioides. Soil mycoflora analyses showed that Penicilliumwas the most prevalent genus, although F. verticillioides was present in 55.5% of Capão Bonito's samples and in 26.7% of Ribeirão Preto's samples. With respect to water activity, the corn kernels most contaminated with F. verticillioides had water activity levels of 0.70-0.80. HPLC analysis of fumonisins revealed that 88.5% of Capão Bonito's kernels were contaminated with fumonisin B(1) (FB(1)) (0.09-10.87 microg/g) and 53.8% with fumonisin B(2) (FB(2)) (0.05-0.52 microg/g); Ribeirão Preto's kernels presented contamination levels of 93.5% for FB(1) (0.11-17.69 microg/g) and 61.3% for FB(2) (0.05-5.24 microg/g). No aflatoxins were detected by thin-layer chromatography in corn grains of either region. The concomitant occurrence of F. verticillioides and fumonisins in most of the field corn assayed demonstrates the importance of an effective control of cultivation throughout the plant maturity stages.

  6. 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

  7. Influence of variety and harvest maturity on phytochemical content in corn silk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarepoua, Eakrin; Tangwongchai, Ratchada; Suriharn, Bhalang; Lertrat, Kamol

    2015-02-15

    Corn silk has been used as a traditional herb in Asia. The objective of this study was to evaluate variability in phytochemicals in corn varieties at three maturity stages of corn silk. Ten vegetable corn varieties were evaluated in a completely randomized design with three replications. Data were recorded for total phenolic (TPC), total flavonoids (TFC), total anthocyanin (TAC) and antioxidant activity (AA) by DPPH free-radical-scavenging assays. Differences among corn varieties were observed for all parameters at all maturity stages, and the interactions between maturity stage and corn variety were significant. TPC and TAC were highest at the milky stage, whereas TFC and AA were highest at the silking stage. TPC, TFC and AA were highest in super sweet corn and white corn at the silking stage. PWC5 variety of purple waxy corn at the milky stage had the highest values for all parameters, and it is useful for further development of functional food products. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. 40 CFR 180.626 - Prothioconazole; tolerances for residues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ...]-1H-1,2,4-triazole-1-ethanol, calculated as parent in or on the commodity. Commodity Parts per million Beet, sugar, roots 0.25 Corn, sweet, kernel plus cob with husks removed 0.04 Grain, aspirated grain...-ethanol, and conjugates that can be converted to these two compounds by acid hydrolysis, calculated as...

  9. Development, survival and fitness performance of Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in MON810 Bt field corn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horner, T A; Dively, G P; Herbert, D A

    2003-06-01

    Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) development, survival, and feeding injury in MON810 transgenic ears of field corn (Zea mays L.) expressing Bacillus thuringiensis variety kurstaki (Bt) Cry1Ab endotoxins were compared with non-Bt ears at four geographic locations over two growing seasons. Expression of Cry1Ab endotoxin resulted in overall reductions in the percentage of damaged ears by 33% and in the amount of kernels consumed by 60%. Bt-induced effects varied significantly among locations, partly because of the overall level and timing of H. zea infestations, condition of silk tissue at the time of egg hatch, and the possible effects of plant stress. Larvae feeding on Bt ears produced scattered, discontinuous patches of partially consumed kernels, which were arranged more linearly than the compact feeding patterns in non-Bt ears. The feeding patterns suggest that larvae in Bt ears are moving about sampling kernels more frequently than larvae in non-Bt ears. Because not all kernels express the same level of endotoxin, the spatial heterogeneity of toxin distribution within Bt ears may provide an opportunity for development of behavioral responses in H. zea to avoid toxin. MON810 corn suppressed the establishment and development of H. zea to late instars by at least 75%. This level of control is considered a moderate dose, which may increase the risk of resistance development in areas where MON810 corn is widely adopted and H. zea overwinters successfully. Sublethal effects of MON810 corn resulted in prolonged larval and prepupal development, smaller pupae, and reduced fecundity of H. zea. The moderate dose effects and the spatial heterogeneity of toxin distribution among kernels could increase the additive genetic variance for both physiological and behavioral resistance in H. zea populations. Implications of localized population suppression are discussed.

  10. Development of narrow-band fluorescence index for the detection of aflatoxin contaminated corn

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Haibo; Hruska, Zuzana; Kincaid, Russell; Ononye, Ambrose; Brown, Robert L.; Bhatnagar, Deepak; Cleveland, Thomas E.

    2011-06-01

    Aflatoxin is produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus when the fungus invades developing corn kernels. Because of its potent toxicity, the levels of aflatoxin are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US, allowing 20 ppb (parts per billion) limits in food, and feed intended for interstate commerce. Currently, aflatoxin detection and quantification methods are based on analytical tests. These tests require the destruction of samples, can be costly and time consuming, and often rely on less than desirable sampling techniques. Thus, the ability to detect aflatoxin in a rapid, non-invasive way is crucial to the corn industry in particular. This paper described how narrow-band fluorescence indices were developed for aflatoxin contamination detection based on single corn kernel samples. The indices were based on two bands extracted from full wavelength fluorescence hyperspectral imagery. The two band results were later applied to two large sample experiments with 25 g and 1 kg of corn per sample. The detection accuracies were 85% and 95% when 100 ppb threshold was used. Since the data acquisition period is significantly lower for several image bands than for full wavelength hyperspectral data, this study would be helpful in the development of real-time detection instrumentation for the corn industry.

  11. Evaluation of Sowing Date, Plant Density and Harvest Method on Growth, Yield and Yield Components of Baby Corn (Zea mays L. var. SC403su

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Rahmani

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Considering importance of baby corn, the study was consisted of sowing date (14th June, 3th July and 24th July as main Plots and plant densities (6.5, 8.5 and 10.5. plant m-2 as sub Plots and two harvest methods (baby corn, as first harvest sweet corn and next ear as baby corn on Growth parameter and yield of baby corn (Zea mays L. Var SC403su in agricultural Research Center and Natural Resources of Khorasan Razavi Province, Mashhad on 2009. The experiment was carried out in a factorial split plot design based on randomized completely block design with 4 replications. The results showed the highest plant height on sowing date 3thJuly with average 168.6 cm. Also the highest standard ear percentage that one of the important factors for food manufactory had on sowing date 24th July with plant density 10.5 plants plant m-2, by harvesting method baby corn with 63.9 percentages. Also The results showed the highest substandard ear percentage of baby corn was belonged to sowing date 24th July with 8.5 plant m-2, by harvesting method (baby corn sweet corn with 74.6%. The highest harvest ear index was belonged to sowing date14thJune, by harvesting method (baby corn sweet corn with 35.29 percentages. Therefore, sowing date 3thJuly for forage production with average 4 kg m-2 by harvesting method baby corn are recommended for lateral produce production. Considering to Mashhad weather conditions, producing the highest and best standard ear percentage, density, 10.5 plants per square meter and 24th July planting is recommended.

  12. Sugar Profile, Mineral Content, and Rheological and Thermal Properties of an Isomerized Sweet Potato Starch Syrup

    OpenAIRE

    Dominque, Brunson; Gichuhi, Peter N.; Rangari, Vijay; Bovell-Benjamin, Adelia C.

    2013-01-01

    Currently, corn is used to produce more than 85% of the world's high fructose syrup (HFS). There is a search for alternative HFS substrates because of increased food demand and shrinking economies, especially in the developing world. The sweet potato is a feasible, alternative raw material. This study isomerized a high glucose sweet potato starch syrup (SPSS) and determined its sugar profile, mineral content, and rheological and thermal properties. Rheological and thermal properties were meas...

  13. Field screening of experimental corn hybrids and inbred lines for multiple ear-feeding insect resistance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Xinzhi; Xu, Wenwei; Krakowsky, Matthew D; Buntin, G David; Brown, Steve L; Lee, R Dewey; Coy, Anton E

    2007-10-01

    Identifying and using native insect resistance genes is the core of integrated pest management. In this study, 10 experimental corn, Zea mays L., hybrids and 10 inbred lines were screened for resistance to major ear-feeding insects in the southeastern Coastal Plain region of the United States during 2004 and 2005. Ear-feeding insect damage was assessed at harvest by visual damage rating for the corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), and by the percentage of kernels damaged by the maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky, and stink bugs [combination of Euschistus servus (Say) and southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.)]. Among the eight inbred lines and two control populations examined, C3S1B73-5b was resistant to corn earworm, maize weevil, and stink bugs. In contrast, C3S1B73-4 was resistant to corn earworm and stink bugs, but not to maize weevil. In a similar manner, the corn hybrid S1W*CML343 was resistant to all three ear-feeding insects, whereas hybrid C3S1B73-3*Tx205 was resistant to corn earworm and maize weevil in both growing seasons, but susceptible to stink bugs in 2005. The silk-feeding bioassay showed that corn earworm developed better on corn silk than did fall armyworm. Among all phenotypic traits examined (i.e., corn ear size, husk extension, and husk tightness), only corn ear size was negatively correlated to corn earworm damage in the inbred lines examined, whereas only husk extension (i.e., coverage) was negatively correlated to both corn earworm and maize weevil damage on the experimental hybrids examined. Such information could be used to establish a baseline for developing agronomically elite corn germplasm that confers multiple ear-feeding insect resistance.

  14. Fortification of Corn Masa Flour With Folic Acid in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oinuma, Motoko

    2011-01-01

    Food fortification is an effective public health tool for addressing micronutrient deficiencies. The mandatory fortification of enriched cereal grains (e.g., wheat flour) with folic acid, which began in the United States in 1998, is an example of a successful intervention that significantly reduced the rate of neural tube defects (NTDs). However, despite the drop in NTD rates across all racial/ethnic groups after fortification, Hispanics continue to have the highest rates of this condition. One possible way to reduce this disparity is to fortify corn masa flour to increase the overall intake of folic acid in Hispanic women. We present the available evidence in favor of this approach, address possible safety issues, and outline next steps in the fortification of corn masa flour with folic acid in the United States. PMID:21680940

  15. Exact Heat Kernel on a Hypersphere and Its Applications in Kernel SVM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chenchao Zhao

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Many contemporary statistical learning methods assume a Euclidean feature space. This paper presents a method for defining similarity based on hyperspherical geometry and shows that it often improves the performance of support vector machine compared to other competing similarity measures. Specifically, the idea of using heat diffusion on a hypersphere to measure similarity has been previously proposed and tested by Lafferty and Lebanon [1], demonstrating promising results based on a heuristic heat kernel obtained from the zeroth order parametrix expansion; however, how well this heuristic kernel agrees with the exact hyperspherical heat kernel remains unknown. This paper presents a higher order parametrix expansion of the heat kernel on a unit hypersphere and discusses several problems associated with this expansion method. We then compare the heuristic kernel with an exact form of the heat kernel expressed in terms of a uniformly and absolutely convergent series in high-dimensional angular momentum eigenmodes. Being a natural measure of similarity between sample points dwelling on a hypersphere, the exact kernel often shows superior performance in kernel SVM classifications applied to text mining, tumor somatic mutation imputation, and stock market analysis.

  16. 7 CFR 51.1403 - Kernel color classification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Kernel color classification. 51.1403 Section 51.1403... STANDARDS) United States Standards for Grades of Pecans in the Shell 1 Kernel Color Classification § 51.1403 Kernel color classification. (a) The skin color of pecan kernels may be described in terms of the color...

  17. Energy analysis of ethanol production from sweet sorghum

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Worley, J.W. (Georgia Univ., Athens, GA (United States). Dept. of Agricultural Engineering); Vaughan, D.H.; Cundiff, J.S. (Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA (United States). Dept. of Agricultural Engineering)

    1992-01-01

    The Piedmont System is a collection of equipment for efficiently removing the juice from sweet sorghum stalks for the production of ethanol. The concept is to separate the whole stalks into pith and rind-leaf fractions, pass only the pith fraction through a screw press, and thus achieve an improvement in juice-expression efficiency and press capacity. An energy analysis was done for two options of this proposed harvesting/processing system: (Option 1) The juice is evaporated to syrup and used throughout the year to produce ethanol, and the by-products are used as cattle feed. (Option 2) The juice is fermented as it is harvested, and the by-products (along with other cellulosic materials) are used as feedstock for the remainder of the year. Energy ratios (energy output/energy input) of 0.9, 1.1 and 0.8 were found for sweet sorghum Option 1, sweet sorghum Option 2, and corn, respectively, as feedstocks for ethanol. If only liquid fuels are considered, the ratios are increased to 3.5, 7.9 and 4.5. (author).

  18. Bioethanol production from dried sweet sorghum stalk

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Almodares, A.; Etemadifar, Z.; Ghoreishi, F.; Yosefi, F. [Biology Dept. Univ. of Isfahan, Isfahan (Iran, Islamic Republic of)], e-mail: aalmodares@yahoo.com

    2012-11-01

    Bioethanol as a renewable transportation fuel has a great potential for energy and clean environment. Among crops sweet sorghum is one of the best feedstock for ethanol production under hot and dry climatic conditions. Because it has higher tolerance to salt and drought comparing to sugarcane and corn that are currently used for bio-fuel production in the world. Generally mills are used to extract the juice from sweet sorghum stalks. Three roller mills extract around nearly 50 percent of the juice and more mills is needed to extract higher percentage of the juice. More over under cold weather the stalks become dry and juice is not extracted from the stalk, therefore reduce harvesting period. In this study stalks were harvested, leaves were stripped from the stalks and the stalks were chopped to nearly 4 mm length and sun dried. The dry stalks were grounded to 60 mesh powder by a mill. Fermentation medium consists of 15-35% (w/w) sweet sorghum powder, micronutrients and active yeast inoculum from 0.5-1% (w/w) by submerge fermentation method. The fermentation time and temperature were 48-72 hours and 30 deg, respectively. The results showed the highest amount of ethanol (14.5 % w/w sorghum) was produced with 10% sweet sorghum powder and 1% of yeast inoculum, three day fermentation at 30 deg.

  19. Corn Residue Use by Livestock in the United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marty R. Schmer

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Corn ( L. residue grazing or harvest provides a simple and economical practice to integrate crops and livestock, but limited information is available on how widespread corn residue utilization is practiced by US producers. In 2010, the USDA Economic Research Service surveyed producers from 19 states on corn grain and residue management practices. Total corn residue grazed or harvested was 4.87 million ha. Approximately 4.06 million ha was grazed by 11.7 million livestock (primarily cattle in 2010. The majority of grazed corn residue occurred in Nebraska (1.91 million ha, Iowa (385,000 ha, South Dakota (361,000 ha, and Kansas (344,000 ha. Average grazing days ranged from 10 to 73 d (mean = 40 d. Corn residue harvests predominantly occurred in the central and northern Corn Belt, with an estimated 2.9 Tg of corn residue harvested across the 19 states. This survey highlights the importance of corn residue for US livestock, particularly in the western Corn Belt.

  20. Evaluation of Spring Sweet Corn (Zea mays var saccharata Production in Different Planting Date under Plastic Cover in Gachsaran Province

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Naraki,

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available In order to evaluate the performance of spring sweet corn (Zea mays var saccharata at different planting dates under plastic cover, a split plot experiment based on RCBD with three replications was conducted in Gachsaran, in southwest of Iran, during 2009-2010 growing season. Four sweet corn hybrids (Merit, Challenger, Chase and Basin were used as main factor and five sowing date (15th and 25th Jan, 4th, 14th and 24th Feb as sub factor. The results showed that hybrid effect was significant on the days to tassel and ear emergence, days to harvest, ear harvest index, ear length, number of row per each ear, wet biological yield and 1000 grains weight, at 1%, and ear wet yield and grain yield harvest index at 5% probability levels. Also the effect of sowing date was significant on the days to tassel and ear emergence, days to harvest, ear wet yield, ear harvest index, ear diameter, ear length, biological yield, and 1000 grains weight at the 1% probability level. 'Basin' and 'Chase' hybrids were determined to have highest and lowest ear wet yield (17.09 and 15.13 t.ha-1 respectively. The highest and the lowest wet ear yield (16.81 and 15.06 t.ha-1 belonged to 15th Jan. and 24th Feb. respectively. 'Basin' hybrid and 'Challenger' with 8.39 and 7.59 t.ha-1 grain yield were found to be highest and lowest yields. The highest and the lowest grain yield (8.41 t.ha-1 7.45 t.ha-1 were recorded for 15th Jan. and 24th Feb. respectively.' Merit' and 'Chase' hybrids were determined to have longest and shortest days to ear harvest (94.3 and 86.2 days. Longest and shortest days to ear harvest (101.5 and 82 days were recorded in 4th Jan. and 24th Feb. Sowing date and hybrids interaction effects showed that the longest and shortest days to ear harvest (104.7 and 78.3 days were calculated in 4th Jan. of Merit and in 24th Feb. for Chase. Based on these results, it can be concluded that 'Basin' hybrid Feb. 24 is the most suitable cultivar to be produced in Gachsaran.

  1. Pengaruh Jenis Dan Waktu Pemberian Bokashi Terhadap Pertumbuhan Dan Hasil Tanaman Jagung Manis (Zea Mays L. Saccharata Sturt) Varietas Super Sweet

    OpenAIRE

    Setiani, Wike

    2014-01-01

    Effect of Type and Bokashi Application Time on the Growth and Yield of Sweet Corn (Zea mays L. saccharata Sturt), Super Sweet variety. Objectives of the research were to know the effect of Bokashi types and application time as well as their interactions on the growth and yield of sweet maize. The research lasted for about four months, started from February 2013 to May 2013, carried out in Dempar Village, Nyuatan Sub-District of West Kutai District, East Kalimantan Province. The research em...

  2. Multiple insect resistance in 59 commmerical corn hybrids - 2017

    Science.gov (United States)

    Commercial corn hybrids were screened for ear- and kernel-feeding insect resistance under field conditions at Tifton, GA. Nine hybrids were rated Very Good (VG), the highest rating for multiple insect resistance in 2017 (see following table). Thirteen were Good (G), 19 were Fair (F), and 13 were Poo...

  3. Inclusion levels of sweet potato root meal in the diet of broilers I. Effect on performance, organ weights, and carcass quality

    OpenAIRE

    Beckford, R. C.; Bartlett, J. R.

    2015-01-01

    The amount of corn available for animal and poultry feed has been unpredictable in recent years due to the increased use of corn for ethanol production. As a consequence, there has been an increase in the price of feed, chicken, and chicken products. Researchers are exploring alternative feed sources to substitute for corn in poultry ration. This study evaluated the performance and carcass quality of broilers fed diets containing sweet potato root meal (SPRM). After a complete nutrient analys...

  4. Effect of Harvesting Stage on Sweet Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Genotypes in Western Kenya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moses Owuor Oyier

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Harvesting stage of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench cane is an important aspect in the content of sugar for production of industrial alcohol. Four sweet sorghum genotypes were evaluated for harvesting stage in a randomized complete block design. In order to determine sorghum harvest growth stage for bioethanol production, sorghum canes were harvested at intervals of seven days after anthesis. The genotypes were evaluated at different stages of development for maximum production of bioethanol from flowering to physiological maturity. The canes were crushed and juice fermented to produce ethanol. Measurements of chlorophyll were taken at various stages as well as panicles from the harvested canes. Dried kernels at 14% moisture content were also weighed at various stages. Chlorophyll, grain weight, absolute ethanol volume, juice volume, cane yield, and brix showed significant (p=0.05 differences for genotypes as well as the stages of harvesting. Results from this study showed that harvesting sweet sorghum at stages IV and V (104 to 117 days after planting would be appropriate for production of kernels and ethanol. EUSS10 has the highest ethanol potential (1062.78 l ha−1 due to excellent juice volume (22976.9 l ha−1 and EUSS11 (985.26 l ha−1 due to its high brix (16.21.

  5. Investigating Seed Germination Indices and Absorption Rate of Sodium, Chloride, Calcium, and Potassium in Different Parts of Seedlings of Sweet Corn KSC 403 (Zea Mays L var. Saccharata Under Salinity Stress and Seed Priming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Nasrolah alhossini,

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available To investigate the effects of different levels of seed priming on germination indices and nutrient absorption at early growth stages of sweet corn (Golden Kernel Hybrid a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design was conducted with three replications in 2011. The experiment consists of 6 levels of primings (seeds without priming, priming with tap water, priming with distilled water, priming with sodium chloride, potassium chloride, and hydrous calcium chloride and five levels of salinity (zero, 4, 8, 12 and 16 ds/m sodium chloride. The characteristics studied were germination percentage, germination rate, root and shoot length, fresh weight and dry weight of seedling, root to shoot ratio and determination of sodium, chloride, calcium, and potassium concentration in different parts of seedlings (stems, roots and seed. The results indicated that increasing salinity stress levels decreased all parameters measured. Priming seeds with hydrated calcium chloride responded to significantly to salinity stress better than other treatments. Results also showed that increasing concentration of sodium chloride salt, increased absorption rate of sodium but concentration of calcium and potassium were reduced. Because application of hydrous calcium chloride stimulates cell in using calcium under salinity conditions it leads to improved seedling growth parameters. To achieve a more accurate results slicing interaction effect of seed priming×salinity levels was performed. Hydrous calcium chloride treatments improved all traits under study except sodium and potassium concentration. This represents a better performance of seeds germination under salinity stress when seeds primed with hydrous calcium chloride.

  6. Radionuclide concentrations in pinto beans, sweet corn, and zucchini squash grown in Los Alamos Canyon at Los Alamos National Laboratory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fresquez, P.R.; Mullen, M.A.; Naranjo, L. Jr.; Armstrong, D.R.

    1997-05-01

    Pinto beans, sweet corn, and zucchini squash (Cucurbita pepo var. black beauty) were grown in a randomized complete-block field/pot experiment at a site that contained the highest observed levels of surface gross gamma radioactivity within Los Alamos Canyon (LAC) at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Soils as well as washed edible and nonedible crop tissues were analyzed for various radionuclides and heavy metals . Most radionuclides, with the exception of 3 H and tot U, in soil from LAC were detected in significantly higher concentrations (p -1 . This dose was below the International Commission on Radiological Protection permissible dose limit (PDL) of 100 mrem y -1 from all pathways; however, the addition of other internal and external exposure route factors may increase the overall dose over the PDL. Also, the risk of an excess cancer fatality, based on 74 mrem y -1 , was 3.7 x 10 -5 (37 in a million), which is above the Environmental Protection Agency's (acceptable) guideline of one in a million. 31 refs., 15 tabs

  7. Our Mother Corn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathers, Sherry; And Others

    Developed to provide an understanding of the magnitude of the role of corn, referred to as Mother Corn in the cultures of the Seneca, Pawnee, and Hopi tribes, the student text provides information on the tribes' basic lifestyles and the way they grew and used corn in three different parts of the United States. The section on the origin of corn…

  8. pH catalyzed pretreatment of corn bran for enhanced enzymatic arabinoxylan degradation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agger, Jane; Johansen, Katja Salomon; Meyer, Anne S.

    2011-01-01

    Corn bran is mainly made up of the pericarp of corn kernels and is a byproduct stream resulting from the wet milling step in corn starch processing. Through statistic modeling this study examined the optimization of pretreatment of corn bran for enzymatic hydrolysis. A low pH pretreatment (pH 2......, 150°C, 65min) boosted the enzymatic release of xylose and glucose and maximized biomass solubilization. With more acidic pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis the total xylose release was maximized (at pH 1.3) reaching ∼50% by weight of the original amount present in destarched corn bran......, but the enzyme catalyzed xylose release was maximal after pretreatment at approx. pH 2. The total glucose release peaked after pretreatment of approx. pH 1.5 with an enzymatic release of approx. 68% by weight of the original amounts present in destarched corn bran. For arabinose the enzymatic release...

  9. Evaluation of spatial and temporal patterns of insect damage and aflatoxin level in the pre-harvest corn fields to improve management tactics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Xinzhi; Wilson, Jeffrey P; Toews, Michael D; Buntin, G David; Lee, R Dewey; Li, Xin; Lei, Zhongren; He, Kanglai; Xu, Wenwei; Li, Xianchun; Huffaker, Alisa; Schmelz, Eric A

    2014-10-01

    Spatial and temporal patterns of insect damage in relation to aflatoxin contamination in a corn field with plants of uniform genetic background are not well understood. After previous examination of spatial patterns of insect damage and aflatoxin in pre-harvest corn fields, we further examined both spatial and temporal patterns of cob- and kernel-feeding insect damage, and aflatoxin level with two samplings at pre-harvest in 2008 and 2009. The feeding damage by each of the ear/kernel-feeding insects (i.e., corn earworm/fall armyworm damage on the silk/cob, and discoloration of corn kernels by stink bugs) and maize weevil population were assessed at each grid point with five ears. Sampling data showed a field edge effect in both insect damage and aflatoxin contamination in both years. Maize weevils tended toward an aggregated distribution more frequently than either corn earworm or stink bug damage in both years. The frequency of detecting aggregated distribution for aflatoxin level was less than any of the insect damage assessments. Stink bug damage and maize weevil number were more closely associated with aflatoxin level than was corn earworm damage. In addition, the indices of spatial-temporal association (χ) demonstrated that the number of maize weevils was associated between the first (4 weeks pre-harvest) and second (1 week pre-harvest) samplings in both years on all fields. In contrast, corn earworm damage between the first and second samplings from the field on the Belflower Farm, and aflatoxin level and corn earworm damage from the field on the Lang Farm were dissociated in 2009. Published 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  10. Examination of the pest status of corn-infesting Ulidiidae (Diptera).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goyal, Gaurav; Nuessly, Gregg S; Seal, Dakshina R; Steck, Gary J; Capinera, John L; Meagher, Robert L

    2012-10-01

    Larvae of 11 species of picture-winged flies (Diptera: Ulididae) are known to feed on corn plants (Zea mays L.) in the western hemisphere. Larvae emerge from eggs deposited in leaf axils and corn silk to feed mostly within ears, but the primary versus secondary nature (i.e., pest status) of their infestation is not known for all of these species. Choice and no-choice tests by using a split-plot design were conducted in greenhouse and field trials to determine the pest status on sweet corn of three of these species found in Florida: Chaetopsis massyla (Walker), Euxesta eluta Loew, and E. stigmatias Loew. The main treatments (uninfested ears and ears experimentally infested with either Spodoptera frugiperda [Lepidoptera: Noctuidae] or E. eluta larvae) were applied at first silk. The subtreatments (C. massyla, E. eluta, or E. stigmatias adults caged on ears) were applied 7 d later and maintained for 10 d. All three fly species were reared from uninfested and experimentally infested ears in both choice and no-choice tests in greenhouse and field trials confirming both primary and secondary modes of ear infestation. More flies of all three species emerged from ears that were preinfested with S. frugiperda compared with uninfested ears suggesting either preference for or greater survival within ears previously infested by S. frugiperda. Fewer E. eluta and E. stigmatias emerged from ears preinfested with E. eluta in no-choice field tests, suggesting that previous infestation by this fly may negatively affect oviposition or that older fly larvae affect survival of neonate larvae. All three species studied here should be considered primary pests that can render unprotected sweet corn ears unmarketable.

  11. 7 CFR 457.152 - Hybrid seed corn crop insurance provisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... that chart is used to determine the approved yield and the claim for indemnity. Certified seed test. A warm germination test performed on clean seed according to specifications of the “Rules for Testing... germination rate of at least 80 percent as determined by a certified seed test. Shelled corn. Kernels that...

  12. A new mutant gene su-1 in corn obtained by irradiation with low doses of gamma rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diaconu, P.

    1993-01-01

    This paper provides a description of a sugar corn mutant obtained by irradiation of wetted kernels of Romanesc de Studina variety with low doses of gamma rays (300 R). This mutant influences the structure of the endosperm similarly to the su-1 genes developed spontaneously which resulted in the corn variety Zea mays saccharata thousands of years ago. Although the mutant is a multiple allele of the su-1 locus in chromosome IV it differs widely from the spontaneous mutant. The length of the ears is much reduced, varying between 4 and 6 cm, with numbers of kernels per ear varying between 45 and 72. Attempts to improve the cob size and the number of kernels by breeding and propagation in an insulated area led to no result. Crossing the mutants with the sugar hybrid Delicious resulted in sugar type progeny which confirms the common position of the mutant gene induced by irradiation and the spontaneous su-1 gene. The progenies of sugar mutant x Delicious are 38-43 % lower in cob vigor and 36-46% lower in kernel number. (author). 2 figs, 2 tab., 16 refs

  13. Updates to the Corn Ethanol Pathway and Development of an Integrated Corn and Corn Stover Ethanol Pathway in the GREET™ Model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Zhichao [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Energy Systems Division; Dunn, Jennifer B. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Energy Systems Division; Wang, Michael Q. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Energy Systems Division

    2014-09-01

    Corn ethanol, a first-generation biofuel, is the predominant biofuel in the United States. In 2013, the total U.S. ethanol fuel production was 13.3 billion gallons, over 95% of which was produced from corn (RFA, 2014). The 2013 total renewable fuel mandate was 16.6 billion gallons according to the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) (U.S. Congress, 2007). Furthermore, until 2020, corn ethanol will make up a large portion of the renewable fuel volume mandated by Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2). For the GREET1_2014 release, the corn ethanol pathway was subject to updates reflecting changes in corn agriculture and at corn ethanol plants. In the latter case, we especially focused on the incorporation of corn oil as a corn ethanol plant co-product. Section 2 covers these updates. In addition, GREET now includes options to integrate corn grain and corn stover ethanol production on the field and at the biorefinery. These changes are the focus of Section 3.

  14. Robust Kernel (Cross-) Covariance Operators in Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space toward Kernel Methods

    OpenAIRE

    Alam, Md. Ashad; Fukumizu, Kenji; Wang, Yu-Ping

    2016-01-01

    To the best of our knowledge, there are no general well-founded robust methods for statistical unsupervised learning. Most of the unsupervised methods explicitly or implicitly depend on the kernel covariance operator (kernel CO) or kernel cross-covariance operator (kernel CCO). They are sensitive to contaminated data, even when using bounded positive definite kernels. First, we propose robust kernel covariance operator (robust kernel CO) and robust kernel crosscovariance operator (robust kern...

  15. Utilizing protein-lean coproducts from corn containing recombinant pharmaceutical proteins for ethanol production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paraman, Ilankovan; Moeller, Lorena; Scott, M Paul; Wang, Kan; Glatz, Charles E; Johnson, Lawrence A

    2010-10-13

    Protein-lean fractions of corn (maize) containing recombinant (r) pharmaceutical proteins were evaluated as a potential feedstock to produce fuel ethanol. The levels of residual r-proteins in the coproduct, distillers dry grains with solubles (DDGS), were determined. Transgenic corn lines containing recombinant green fluorescence protein (r-GFP) and a recombinant subunit vaccine of Escherichia coli enterotoxin (r-LTB), primarily expressed in endosperm, and another two corn lines containing recombinant human collagen (r-CIα1) and r-GFP, primarily expressed in germ, were used as model systems. The kernels were either ground and used for fermentation or dry fractionated to recover germ-rich fractions prior to grinding for fermentation. The finished beers of whole ground kernels and r-protein-spent endosperm solids contained 127-139 and 138-155 g/L ethanol concentrations, respectively. The ethanol levels did not differ among transgenic and normal corn feedstocks, indicating the residual r-proteins did not negatively affect ethanol production. r-Protein extraction and germ removal also did not negatively affect fermentation of the remaining mass. Most r-proteins were inactivated during the mashing process used to prepare corn for fermentation. No functionally active r-GFP or r-LTB proteins were found after fermentation of the r-protein-spent solids; however, a small quantity of residual r-CIα1 was detected in DDGS, indicating that the safety of DDGS produced from transgenic grain for r-protein production needs to be evaluated for each event. Protease treatment during fermentation completely hydrolyzed the residual r-CIα1, and no residual r-proteins were detectable in DDGS.

  16. Testing Infrastructure for Operating System Kernel Development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Walter, Maxwell; Karlsson, Sven

    2014-01-01

    Testing is an important part of system development, and to test effectively we require knowledge of the internal state of the system under test. Testing an operating system kernel is a challenge as it is the operating system that typically provides access to this internal state information. Multi......-core kernels pose an even greater challenge due to concurrency and their shared kernel state. In this paper, we present a testing framework that addresses these challenges by running the operating system in a virtual machine, and using virtual machine introspection to both communicate with the kernel...... and obtain information about the system. We have also developed an in-kernel testing API that we can use to develop a suite of unit tests in the kernel. We are using our framework for for the development of our own multi-core research kernel....

  17. Effects of different mechanized soil fertilization methods on corn nutrient accumulation and yield

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Qingwen; Bai, Chunming; Wang, Huixin; Wu, Di; Song, Qiaobo; Dong, Zengqi; Gao, Depeng; Dong, Qiping; Cheng, Xin; Zhang, Yahao; Mu, Jiahui; Chen, Qinghong; Liao, Wenqing; Qu, Tianru; Zhang, Chunling; Zhang, Xinyu; Liu, Yifei; Han, Xiaori

    2017-05-01

    Aim: Experiments for mechanized corn soil fertilization were conducted in Faku demonstration zone. On this basis, we studied effects on corn nutrient accumulation and yield traits at brown soil regions due to different mechanized soil fertilization measures. We also evaluated and optimized the regulation effects of mechanized soil fertilization for the purpose of crop yield increase and production efficiency improvement. Method: Based on the survey of soil background value in the demonstration zone, we collected plant samples during different corn growth periods to determine and make statistical analysis. Conclusions: Decomposed cow dung, when under mechanical broadcasting, was able to remarkably increase nitrogen and potassium accumulation content of corns at their ripe stage. Crushed stalk returning combined with deep tillage would remarkably increase phosphorus accumulation content of corn plants. When compared with top application, crushed stalk returning combined with deep tillage would remarkably increase corn thousand kernel weight (TKW). Mechanized broadcasting of granular organic fertilizer and crushed stalk returning combined with deep tillage, when compared with surface application, were able to boost corn yield in the in the demonstration zone.

  18. Assaying total carotenoids in flours of corn and sweet potato flours by laser photoacoustic spectroscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luterotti, S.; Bicanic, D.D.; Kijak, K.; Grbesa, D.; Martinez, E.; Spruijt, R.B.

    2011-01-01

    This study describes the application of the laser photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) for quantification of total carotenoids (TC) in corn flours and sweetpotato flours. Overall, thirty-three different corn flours and nine sweetpotato flours were investigated. All PAS measurements were performed at

  19. Adjacent habitat influence on stink bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) densities and the associated damage at field corn and soybean edges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venugopal, P Dilip; Coffey, Peter L; Dively, Galen P; Lamp, William O

    2014-01-01

    The local dispersal of polyphagous, mobile insects within agricultural systems impacts pest management. In the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, stink bugs, especially the invasive Halyomorpha halys (Stål 1855), contribute to economic losses across a range of cropping systems. Here, we characterized the density of stink bugs along the field edges of field corn and soybean at different study sites. Specifically, we examined the influence of adjacent managed and natural habitats on the density of stink bugs in corn and soybean fields at different distances along transects from the field edge. We also quantified damage to corn grain, and to soybean pods and seeds, and measured yield in relation to the observed stink bug densities at different distances from field edge. Highest density of stink bugs was limited to the edge of both corn and soybean fields. Fields adjacent to wooded, crop and building habitats harbored higher densities of stink bugs than those adjacent to open habitats. Damage to corn kernels and to soybean pods and seeds increased with stink bug density in plots and was highest at the field edges. Stink bug density was also negatively associated with yield per plant in soybean. The spatial pattern of stink bugs in both corn and soybeans, with significant edge effects, suggests the use of pest management strategies for crop placement in the landscape, as well as spatially targeted pest suppression within fields.

  20. Adjacent habitat influence on stink bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae densities and the associated damage at field corn and soybean edges.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P Dilip Venugopal

    Full Text Available The local dispersal of polyphagous, mobile insects within agricultural systems impacts pest management. In the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, stink bugs, especially the invasive Halyomorpha halys (Stål 1855, contribute to economic losses across a range of cropping systems. Here, we characterized the density of stink bugs along the field edges of field corn and soybean at different study sites. Specifically, we examined the influence of adjacent managed and natural habitats on the density of stink bugs in corn and soybean fields at different distances along transects from the field edge. We also quantified damage to corn grain, and to soybean pods and seeds, and measured yield in relation to the observed stink bug densities at different distances from field edge. Highest density of stink bugs was limited to the edge of both corn and soybean fields. Fields adjacent to wooded, crop and building habitats harbored higher densities of stink bugs than those adjacent to open habitats. Damage to corn kernels and to soybean pods and seeds increased with stink bug density in plots and was highest at the field edges. Stink bug density was also negatively associated with yield per plant in soybean. The spatial pattern of stink bugs in both corn and soybeans, with significant edge effects, suggests the use of pest management strategies for crop placement in the landscape, as well as spatially targeted pest suppression within fields.

  1. Attraction, oviposition preferences, and olfactory responses of corn-infesting Ulidiidae (Diptera) to various host-based substrates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fresh market sweet corn produced in Florida is threatened by larval damage by Euxesta stigmatias Loew, E. eluta Loew, and Chaetopsis massyla Walker (Diptera: Ulidiidae) that renders ears unmarketable. No standard lure exists for monitoring these pests. Oviposition and attraction bioassays were desig...

  2. Deep Restricted Kernel Machines Using Conjugate Feature Duality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suykens, Johan A K

    2017-08-01

    The aim of this letter is to propose a theory of deep restricted kernel machines offering new foundations for deep learning with kernel machines. From the viewpoint of deep learning, it is partially related to restricted Boltzmann machines, which are characterized by visible and hidden units in a bipartite graph without hidden-to-hidden connections and deep learning extensions as deep belief networks and deep Boltzmann machines. From the viewpoint of kernel machines, it includes least squares support vector machines for classification and regression, kernel principal component analysis (PCA), matrix singular value decomposition, and Parzen-type models. A key element is to first characterize these kernel machines in terms of so-called conjugate feature duality, yielding a representation with visible and hidden units. It is shown how this is related to the energy form in restricted Boltzmann machines, with continuous variables in a nonprobabilistic setting. In this new framework of so-called restricted kernel machine (RKM) representations, the dual variables correspond to hidden features. Deep RKM are obtained by coupling the RKMs. The method is illustrated for deep RKM, consisting of three levels with a least squares support vector machine regression level and two kernel PCA levels. In its primal form also deep feedforward neural networks can be trained within this framework.

  3. Corn in consortium with forages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cássia Maria de Paula Garcia

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The basic premises for sustainable agricultural development with focus on rural producers are reducing the costs of production and aggregation of values through the use crop-livestock system (CLS throughout the year. The CLS is based on the consortium of grain crops, especially corn with tropical forages, mainly of the genus Panicum and Urochloa. The study aimed to evaluate the grain yield of irrigated corn crop intercropped with forage of the genus Panicum and Urochloa. The experiment was conducted at the Fazenda de Ensino, Pesquisa e Extensão – FEPE  of the Faculdade de Engenharia - UNESP, Ilha Solteira in an Oxisol in savannah conditions and in the autumn winter of 2009. The experimental area was irrigated by a center pivot and had a history of no-tillage system for 8 years. The corn hybrid used was simple DKB 390 YG at distances of 0.90 m. The seeds of grasses were sown in 0.34 m spacing in the amount of 5 kg ha-1, they were mixed with fertilizer minutes before sowing  and placed in a compartment fertilizer seeder and fertilizers were mechanically deposited in the soil at a depth of 0.03 m. The experimental design used was a randomized block with four replications and five treatments: Panicum maximum cv. Tanzania sown during the nitrogen fertilization (CTD of the corn; Panicum maximum cv. Mombaça sown during the nitrogen fertilization (CMD of the corn; Urochloa brizantha cv. Xaraés sown during the occasion of nitrogen fertilization (CBD of the corn; Urochloa ruziziensis cv. Comumsown during the nitrogen fertilization (CRD of the corn and single corn (control. The production components of corn: plant population per hectare (PlPo, number of ears per hectare (NE ha-1, number of rows per ear (NRE, number of kernels per row on the cob (NKR, number of grain in the ear (NGE and mass of 100 grains (M100G were not influenced by consortium with forage. Comparing grain yield (GY single corn and maize intercropped with forage of the genus Panicum

  4. Effect of Filter Cake on Morphophysiological and Yield of Sweet Corn Under Late Season Drought Stress Condition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. A. Siadat

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In order to investigate the effect of Filter Cake application on some morpho-physiological characteristics and yield of sweet corn (Zea mays var saccharata under different irrigation regimes, an experiment was conducted in Ramin Agriculture and Natural Resources University, Khuzestan, in 2012. The experiment was arranged in split-plot design in RCBD (Completely Randomized Block Design with three replications. Treatments were drought stress (irrigation after 25, 50 and 75% depletion of available water content in main plots and Filter Cake (0, 10, 20 and 30 tonha-1 arranged in sub-plots. Results showed that drought stress increased electrolyte leakage (EL and proline content (PC while height of plant, relative water content (RWC, chlorophyll stability index and ear and grain yield were decreased. The intensive drought stress had the greatest effect on EL and PC (54% increase, and decreased ear and grain yield by21 and 37% compared to control, respectively. Application of filter cake on non-stress condition increased height of plant and economic yield. But Filter Cake in intensive stress reduced RWC and yield and increased EL compared to control. Also, the application of 30 tonha-1 of Filter Cake in intensive stress condition decreased ear and grain yield by 14.5 and 10.7% respectively. Thus, positive effect of Filter Cake application was clear on non-stress condition, but on drought stress condition it decreased the economic yield.

  5. Dielectric properties of Zea mays kernels - studies for microwave power processing applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Surducan, Emanoil; Neamtu, Camelia; Surducan, Vasile, E-mail: emanoil.surducan@itim-cj.r [National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 65-103 Donath, 400293 Cluj-Napoca (Romania)

    2009-08-01

    Microwaves absorption in biological samples can be predicted by their specific dielectrical properties. In this paper, the dielectric properties ({epsilon}' and {epsilon}'') of corn (Zea mays) kernels in the 500 MHz - 20 GHz frequencies range are presented. A short analysis of the microwaves absorption process is also presented, in correlation with the specific thermal properties of the samples, measured by simultaneous TGA-DSC method.

  6. Especies de Fusarium en granos de maíz recién cosechado y desgranado en el campo en la región de Ciudad Serdán, Puebla Fusarium species from corn kernels recently harvested and shelled in the fields in the Ciudad Serdán Region, Puebla

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Genoveva García-Aguirre

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Se analizaron 16 muestras de maíz, 10 de maíz blanco nacional y 6 de maíz criollo blanco para determinar las especies de Fusarium presentes en los granos, en especial aquellas registradas como inductoras de pudriciones de mazorca y grano, principalmente las que producen micotoxinas. Las especies identificadas en orden del número de aislamientos obtenidos fueron: Fusarium oxysporum, F. subglutinans, F. moniliforme, F. graminearum, F. anthophilum, F. poae, F. tricinctum, F. sporotrichioides y F. proliferatum. Con excepción de F. oxysporum, F. tricinctum y F. anthophilum, las demás han sido registradas como inductoras de pudriciones de mazorca, grano y de tallo, y la mayoría son productoras de diversas micotoxinas, algunas de las cuales pueden ocasionar problemas a la salud humana y animal.Sixteen corn samples, 10 of national white corn and 6 of "criollo" white were analyzed to determine the Fusaria species present on the kernels, especially those reported as ear and kernel rot inducers, mainly those mycotoxin producers. The identified species, ordered in relation to the number of obtained isolates were F. oxysporum, F. subglutinans, F. moniliforme, F. graminearum, F. anthophilum, F. poae, F. tricinctum, F. sporotrichioides, and F. proliferatum. The species F. oxysporum, F. tricinctum, and F. anthophilum have not been reported causing ear or kernel rots. All of the others have been reported as ear and kernel rots inducers, as well as stalk rots. Besides, most of these species produce various mycotoxins, many of which are capable of causing health problems to humans and animals.

  7. SVM-based feature extraction and classification of aflatoxin contaminated corn using fluorescence hyperspectral data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Support Vector Machine (SVM) was used in the Genetic Algorithms (GA) process to select and classify a subset of hyperspectral image bands. The method was applied to fluorescence hyperspectral data for the detection of aflatoxin contamination in Aspergillus flavus infected single corn kernels. In the...

  8. Molecular mapping of QTLs for resistance to Gibberella ear rot, in corn, caused by Fusarium graminearum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, M Liakat; Taylor, Jeff H; Jie, Liu; Sun, Genlou; William, Manilal; Kasha, Ken J; Reid, Lana M; Pauls, K Peter

    2005-06-01

    Gibberella ear rot, caused by the fungus Fusarium graminearum Schwabe, is a serious disease of corn (Zea mays) grown in northern climates. Infected corn is lower yielding and contains toxins that are dangerous to livestock and humans. Resistance to ear rot in corn is quantitative, specific to the mode of fungal entry (silk channels or kernel wounds), and highly influenced by the environment. Evaluations of ear rot resistance are complex and subjective; and they need to be repeated over several years. All of these factors have hampered attempts to develop F. graminearum resistant corn varieties. The aim of this study was to identify molecular markers linked to the genes for resistance to Gibberella ear rot. A recombinant inbred (RI) population, produced from a cross between a Gibberella ear rot resistant line (CO387) and a susceptible line (CG62), was field-inoculated and scored for Gibberella ear rot symptoms in the F4, F6, and F7 generations. The distributions of disease scores were continuous, indicating that resistance is probably conditioned by multiple loci. A molecular linkage map, based on segregation in the F5 RI population, contained 162 markers distributed over 10 linkage groups and had a total length of 2237 cM with an average distance between markers of 13.8 cM. Composite interval mapping identified 11 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for Gibberella ear rot resistance following silk inoculation and 18 QTLs following kernel inoculation in 4 environments that accounted for 6.7%-35% of the total phenotypic variation. Only 2 QTLs (on linkage group 7) were detected in more than 1 test for silk resistance, and only 1 QTL (on linkage group 5) was detected in more than 1 test for kernel resistance, confirming the strong influence of the environment on these traits. The majority of the favorable alleles were derived from the resistant parent (CO387). The germplasm and markers for QTLs with significant phenotypic effects may be useful for marker-assisted selection

  9. Recent changes in county-level corn yield variability in the United States from observations and crop models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leng, Guoyong

    2017-12-01

    The United States is responsible for 35% and 60% of global corn supply and exports. Enhanced supply stability through a reduction in the year-to-year variability of US corn yield would greatly benefit global food security. Important in this regard is to understand how corn yield variability has evolved geographically in the history and how it relates to climatic and non-climatic factors. Results showed that year-to-year variation of US corn yield has decreased significantly during 1980-2010, mainly in Midwest Corn Belt, Nebraska and western arid regions. Despite the country-scale decreasing variability, corn yield variability exhibited an increasing trend in South Dakota, Texas and Southeast growing regions, indicating the importance of considering spatial scales in estimating yield variability. The observed pattern is partly reproduced by process-based crop models, simulating larger areas experiencing increasing variability and underestimating the magnitude of decreasing variability. And 3 out of 11 models even produced a differing sign of change from observations. Hence, statistical model which produces closer agreement with observations is used to explore the contribution of climatic and non-climatic factors to the changes in yield variability. It is found that climate variability dominate the change trends of corn yield variability in the Midwest Corn Belt, while the ability of climate variability in controlling yield variability is low in southeastern and western arid regions. Irrigation has largely reduced the corn yield variability in regions (e.g. Nebraska) where separate estimates of irrigated and rain-fed corn yield exist, demonstrating the importance of non-climatic factors in governing the changes in corn yield variability. The results highlight the distinct spatial patterns of corn yield variability change as well as its influencing factors at the county scale. I also caution the use of process-based crop models, which have substantially underestimated

  10. OPTIMASI LAHAN DENGAN SISTEM TUMPANG SARI JAGUNG MANIS (Zea mays saccharata, Sturt DAN KANGKUNG SUTRA (Ipomea reptans DI PEKANBARU

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Surtinah Surtinah

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Research conducted experiments using a completely randomized design environment with three replications, and design of treatment that is the time of planting silk kale as secondary crops to the cultivation of sweet corn (K consisting of: k1 = planting at the same time; k2 = time of planting silk kale 1 week after planting sweet corn; k3 = time of planting silk kale 2 weeks after planting sweet corn; k4 = time of planting silk kale 3 weeks after planting sweet corn; K5 = single planting sweet corn planting time = k1; k6 = single silk kale planting time = k1. The results showed that silk kale can be planted together with sweet corn planting time, up to three weeks after planting sweet corn. Results of sweet corn is not influenced by the timing of planting different silk kale. Land values in the cropping system Equality sweet corn with silk kale is 1.83. Competition index between sweet corn and silk kale is 1.73.

  11. Effect of Integrated Weed Management Methods on Yield and Yield Components of Corn (Zea mays L. in Kermanshah Province, Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Amini

    2017-08-01

    +cultivator 40 days after emergence4- mechanical control (cultivator 25 and 40 days after emergence 5- cultural control (intercropping of corn with chickpea (Cicer arietinum L. at density of 200000 plants.ha-1 6- cultural control followed by other cultural control (planting hairy vetch in the fall +intercropping of corn with chickpea 7- chemical control followed by cultural control (application of glyphosate at a dose of 2050 g.a.i.ha-1 before planting+intercropping of corn with chickpea 8- cultural control (straw mulch application in the fall in amount of 2625 kg.ha-1 9- cultural control (straw mulch application in the spring in amount of 2625 kg.ha-1 10- hand weeding during whole season. Also the weed infested treatment was used as control. Sixty days after corn emergence, the weed sampling was done with 1×0.5 (0.5 m2 quadrate in each plot and weed density was recorded. The samples were dried in 75 ºC oven for 48 hours thenweed dry matter was measured. The plant height and leaf number per plant were measured in all plots. Corn was harvested at economic maturity and grain yield and yield components of corn and weed biomass were measured. The analysis of variance of data was performed using SPSS v.16 and Duncan's multiple range procedure was employed at probability level of 5%. Results and discussion: Results indicated that different weed management treatments had significant effect on weed density and dry matter, corn plant height, leaf number per plant, number of kernel rows per ear, number of kernels per row, number of kernels per ear and corn grain yield (p≤ 0.01. The lowest weed dry matter were obtained in 2, 4-D + MCPA+ cultivator treatment (72 g.m-2 and the highest one observed in intercropping with chickpea (440 g.m-2 and mulch application in the fall (441 g.m-2. The highest value of plant height, number of kernel rows per ear, number of kernels per row and number of kernels per ear were observed in 2,4-D + MCPA+ cultivator, nicosulfuron + cultivator and hairy

  12. Leaf transpiration efficiency of sweet corn varieties from three eras of breeding

    Science.gov (United States)

    When measured under midday field conditions, modern varieties of corn often have sub-stomatal concentrations of carbon dioxide in excess of those required to saturate photosynthesis. This results in lower leaf transpiration efficiency, the ratio of photosynthesis to transpiration, than potentially ...

  13. Effect of processing on residues of chlorpyrifos in stored corn and rice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tejada, A.W.; Calumpang, S.M.F.; Gambalan, N.B.

    1990-01-01

    The effect of processing on residues of chlorpyrifos in rice and corn was determined. Chlorpyrifos solution (0.1%) sprayed on jute sacks containing corn resulted in absorption of residues in kernel and cob up to six months. A similar trend was observed in rice. Radiotracer studies revealed very low levels of bound residues (0.2 - 0.8 mg/kg) present in rice only. The usual practice of washing rice and corn before cooking reduced chlorpyrifos residues as much as 57% to 100%. Residues in wash water declined with each washing. Cooking further reduced the residues of chlorpyrifos only when volatilization was possible. Chlorpyrifos appeared to be persistent. Cooking rice in plot with the lid on did not produce any substantial reduction in the chlorpyrifos content. The practice of storing rice and corn in the Philippines does not give rice to chlorpyrifos residues which may exceed the recommended daily intake of 0.01 mg/kg-bw. (Auth.) 13 refs., 12 tabs., 3 figs

  14. Unified heat kernel regression for diffusion, kernel smoothing and wavelets on manifolds and its application to mandible growth modeling in CT images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Moo K; Qiu, Anqi; Seo, Seongho; Vorperian, Houri K

    2015-05-01

    We present a novel kernel regression framework for smoothing scalar surface data using the Laplace-Beltrami eigenfunctions. Starting with the heat kernel constructed from the eigenfunctions, we formulate a new bivariate kernel regression framework as a weighted eigenfunction expansion with the heat kernel as the weights. The new kernel method is mathematically equivalent to isotropic heat diffusion, kernel smoothing and recently popular diffusion wavelets. The numerical implementation is validated on a unit sphere using spherical harmonics. As an illustration, the method is applied to characterize the localized growth pattern of mandible surfaces obtained in CT images between ages 0 and 20 by regressing the length of displacement vectors with respect to a surface template. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Nutritional value of high fiber co-products from the copra, palm kernel, and rice industries in diets fed to pigs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, Hans Henrik; Casas, Gloria Amparo; Abelilla, Jerubella Jerusalem; Liu, Yanhong; Sulabo, Rommel Casilda

    2015-01-01

    High fiber co-products from the copra and palm kernel industries are by-products of the production of coconut oil and palm kernel oil. The co-products include copra meal, copra expellers, palm kernel meal, and palm kernel expellers. All 4 ingredients are very high in fiber and the energy value is relatively low when fed to pigs. The protein concentration is between 14 and 22 % and the protein has a low biological value and a very high Arg:Lys ratio. Digestibility of most amino acids is less than in soybean meal but close to that in corn. However, the digestibility of Lys is sometimes low due to Maillard reactions that are initiated due to overheating during drying. Copra and palm kernel ingredients contain 0.5 to 0.6 % P. Most of the P in palm kernel meal and palm kernel expellers is bound to phytate, but in copra products less than one third of the P is bound to phytate. The digestibility of P is, therefore, greater in copra meal and copra expellers than in palm kernel ingredients. Inclusion of copra meal should be less than 15 % in diets fed to weanling pigs and less than 25 % in diets for growing-finishing pigs. Palm kernel meal may be included by 15 % in diets for weanling pigs and 25 % in diets for growing and finishing pigs. Rice bran contains the pericarp and aleurone layers of brown rice that is removed before polished rice is produced. Rice bran contains approximately 25 % neutral detergent fiber and 25 to 30 % starch. Rice bran has a greater concentration of P than most other plant ingredients, but 75 to 90 % of the P is bound in phytate. Inclusion of microbial phytase in the diets is, therefore, necessary if rice bran is used. Rice bran may contain 15 to 24 % fat, but it may also have been defatted in which case the fat concentration is less than 5 %. Concentrations of digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) are slightly less in full fat rice bran than in corn, but defatted rice bran contains less than 75 % of the DE and ME in

  16. Geographic information systems in corn rootworm management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corn rootworms (Diabrotica spp. Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are serious pests of corn (Zea mays) in the United States and Europe. Control measures for corn rootworms (CRW) were historically based upon chemical pesticides and crop rotation. Pesticide use created environmental and economic concerns. In...

  17. Is Sweet Taste Perception Associated with Sweet Food Liking and Intake?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jayasinghe, Shakeela N; Kruger, Rozanne; Walsh, Daniel C I; Cao, Guojiao; Rivers, Stacey; Richter, Marilize; Breier, Bernhard H

    2017-07-14

    A range of psychophysical taste measurements are used to characterize an individual's sweet taste perception and to assess links between taste perception and dietary intake. The aims of this study were to investigate the relationship between four different psychophysical measurements of sweet taste perception, and to explore which measures of sweet taste perception relate to sweet food intake. Forty-four women aged 20-40 years were recruited for the study. Four measures of sweet taste perception (detection and recognition thresholds, and sweet taste intensity and hedonic liking of suprathreshold concentrations) were assessed using glucose as the tastant. Dietary measurements included a four-day weighed food record, a sweet food-food frequency questionnaire and a sweet beverage liking questionnaire. Glucose detection and recognition thresholds showed no correlation with suprathreshold taste measurements or any dietary intake measurement. Importantly, sweet taste intensity correlated negatively with total energy and carbohydrate (starch, total sugar, fructose, glucose) intakes, frequency of sweet food intake and sweet beverage liking. Furthermore, sweet hedonic liking correlated positively with total energy and carbohydrate (total sugar, fructose, glucose) intakes. The present study shows a clear link between sweet taste intensity and hedonic liking with sweet food liking, and total energy, carbohydrate and sugar intake.

  18. 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.

  19. Co-inoculation of aflatoxigenic and non-aflatoxigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus to study fungal invasion, colonization, and competition in maize kernels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zuzana eHruska

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available A currently utilized pre-harvest biocontrol method involves field inoculations with non-aflatoxigenic Aspergillus flavus strains, a tactic shown to strategically suppress native aflatoxin-producing strains and effectively decrease aflatoxin contamination in corn. The present in situ study focuses on tracking the invasion and colonization of an aflatoxigenic A. flavus strain (AF70, labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP, in the presence of a non-aflatoxigenic A. flavus biocontrol strain (AF36 to better understand the competitive interaction between these two strains in seed tissue of corn (Zea mays. Corn kernels that had been co-inoculated with GFP-labeled AF70 and wild-type AF36 were cross-sectioned and observed under UV and blue light to determine the outcome of competition between these strains. After imaging, all kernels were analyzed for aflatoxin levels. There appeared to be a population difference between the co-inoculated AF70-GFP+AF36 and the individual AF70-GFP tests, both visually and with pixel count analysis. The GFP allowed us to observe that AF70-GFP inside the kernels was suppressed up to 82% when co-inoculated with AF36 indicating that AF36 inhibited progression of AF70-GFP. This was in agreement with images taken of whole kernels where AF36 exhibited a more robust external growth compared to AF70-GFP. The suppressed growth of AF70-GFP was reflected in a corresponding (up to 73% suppression in aflatoxin levels. Our results indicate that the decrease in aflatoxin production correlated with population depression of the aflatoxigenic fungus by the biocontrol strain supporting the theory of competitive exclusion through robust propagation and fast colonization by the non-aflatoxigenic fungus.

  20. Influence of Agricultural Management on Phytochemicals of Colored Corn Genotypes ( Zea mays L.). Part 2: Sowing Time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giordano, Debora; Beta, Trust; Gagliardi, Federica; Blandino, Massimo

    2018-05-02

    Among the agronomic practices carried out in corn cultivation, the early sowing time is increasingly used by farmers of temperate regions to improve yield and reduce mycotoxin contamination of corn grains. The present study determined the influence of sowing time on the phytochemical content of grains of 10 colored genotypes of corn. There was a significant improvement of both grain yield (+26%), thousand kernel weight (+3%), and test weight (+2%) in plots sown early. The early sowing also significantly influenced the chemical composition of corn grains, with an increase in the concentration of cell-wall-bound phenolic acids (+5%) and β-cryptoxanthin (+23%) and a decrease in the concentration of lutein (-18%) and total anthocyanins (-21%). Environmental conditions that occurred during grain development significantly influenced the phytochemical content of corn grain, and early spring sowing could impart advantages in terms of both productivity and content of some antioxidants of whole-meal corn flour.

  1. 7 CFR 810.404 - Grades and grade requirements for corn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 7 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Grades and grade requirements for corn. 810.404... OFFICIAL UNITED STATES STANDARDS FOR GRAIN United States Standards for Corn Principles Governing the Application of Standards § 810.404 Grades and grade requirements for corn. Grade Minimum test weight per...

  2. Characteristics, Control and Treatment of Leachate at Military Installations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1981-02-01

    Lindane Perchloric acid (to 72%) Gelatinized nitro- Methyl bromide Phoosgene (carbonyl cellulose (PNC) Methyl chloride chloride) Glycol dinitrate Methyl...example, research conducted a- Rutgers University has shown that sweet corn , peach trees, rye cover crop, sweet potatoes, and mature black oak trees have...deep) 2.09 unit to 14.63 unit 1. Portland Cement 2.09 unit 2. Silicate Base (15%) 2.42 unit 3. Lignin Base 3.45 unit 4. Silicate Base (30%) 4.uc unit 5

  3. "King Corn": Teaching the Food Crisis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swinehart, Tim

    2012-01-01

    "King Corn" is in so many ways the story of how government food policy has entirely remade the food landscape in the United States over the last 40 years. From the massive expansion of the number of acres of corn grown across the country, to the ever-increasing ways that corn is incorporated into the food production process, to the…

  4. Baby corn, green corn, and dry corn yield of corn cultivars

    OpenAIRE

    Castro,Renato S; Silva,Paulo Sérgio L; Cardoso,Milton J

    2013-01-01

    In corn, when the first female inflorescence is removed, the plant often produces new female inflorescences. This allows the first ear to be harvested as baby corn (BC) and the second as green corn (GC) or dry corn (DC), that is, mature corn. The flexibility provided by a variety of harvested products allows the grower to compete with better conditions in the markets. We evaluated BC, GC, and DC yields in corn cultivars AG 1051, AG 2060, and BRS 2020, after the first ear was harvested as BC. ...

  5. Caracterização sensorial de amêndoas de castanha-de-caju fritas e salgadas Sensory characterization of cashew nut kernels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janice R. LIMA

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available Amêndoas de castanha-de-caju fritas e salgadas foram acondicionadas em três embalagens flexíveis (PP/PE=polipropileno/polietileno; PETmet/PE= polietileno tereftalato metalizado/polietileno; PET/Al/PEBD= polietileno tereftalato/alumínio/polietileno de baixa densidade com diferentes propriedades de barreira ao vapor de água e ao oxigênio. As amêndoas foram armazenadas durante 1 ano, a 30° C e 80% de umidade relativa. No final do período de 1 ano de armazenamento, realizou-se análise sensorial descritiva quantitativa (ADQ. Os termos descritivos levantados para caracterização sensorial das amêndoas foram, para aparência: cor torrada, uniformidade de cor e rugosidade; para aroma: castanha torrada, doce, ranço e velho; para sabor: castanha torrada, doce, ranço, velho, sal e amargo; para textura: crocância. Observou-se que os fatores mais diretamente responsáveis pela perda de qualidade sensorial das amêndoas de castanha-de-caju foram desenvolvimento de aroma e sabor de velho e de ranço, perda de sabor e aroma de castanha torrada e perda de crocância. Após o período de armazenamento, estes fatores foram observados com maior intensidade nas amêndoas embaladas em PP/PE.Shelled, roasted and salted cashew nut kernels were packaged in three different flexible materials (PP/PE= polypropylene / polyethylene; PETmet/PE= metallized polyethylene terephthalate / polyethylene; PET/Al/LDPE= polyethylene terephthalate / aluminum foil / low density polyethylene , with different barrier properties. Kernels were stored for one year at 30° C and 80% relative humidity. Quantitative descriptive sensory analysis (QDA were performed at the end of storage time. Descriptive terms obtained for kernels characterization were brown color, color uniformity and rugosity for appearance; toasted kernel, sweet, old and rancidity for odor; toasted kernel, sweet, old rancidity, salt and bitter for taste, crispness for texture. QDA showed that factors responsible

  6. Sweet sorghum bagasse and corn stover serving as substrates for producing sophorolipids

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Samad, Abdul; Zhang, Ji; Chen, Da; Chen, Xiaowen; Tucker, Melvin; Liang, Yanna

    2016-12-28

    To make the process of producing sophorolipids by Candida bombicola truly sustainable, we investigated production of these biosurfactants on biomass hydrolysates. This study revealed: (1) yield of sophorolipds on bagasse hydrolysate decreased from 0.56 to 0.54 and to 0.37 g/g carbon source when yellow grease was dosed at 10, 40 and 60 g/L, respectively. In the same order, concentration of sophorolipids was 35.9, 41.9, and 39.3 g/L; (2) under similar conditions, sophorolipid yield was 0.12, 0.05 and 0.04 g/g carbon source when corn stover hydrolysate was mixed with soybean oil at 10, 20 and 40 g/L. Sophorolipid concentration was 11.6, 4.9, and 3.9 g/L for the three oil doses from low to high; and (3) when corn stover hydrolysate and yellow grease served as the substrates for cultivating the yeast in a fermentor, sophorolipid concentration reached 52.1 g/L. Upon further optimization, sophorolipids production from ligocellulose will be indeed sustainable.

  7. Agronomic traits and chemical composition of single hybrids of sweet corn Caracteres agronômicos e composição química de híbridos simples de milho doce

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angela Kwiatkowski

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available In Brazil, the greengrocery market of sweet corn has been expanding along the country. In contrast, there have been few agri-industries canning sweet corn (Zea mays because of the lack of cultivars with agronomic characteristics proper to industrial purposes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the general combining ability (GCA of seven inbred lines of sweet corn, and the specific combining ability (SCA of their hybrid combinations based on their agronomic traits, and the chemical composition of the grain. In the growing season 2006/2007, twenty-one single hybrids were evaluated in the Iguatemi Research Station, Maringá County, Northwestern Paraná, in Brazil using a complete randomized block design with four replications. Data were subjected to the analysis of variance and the genotypes were clustered by the Scott-Knott test. We estimated the GCA and SCA effects using the Griffing's method IV with the fixed model for plant height (PH, height of ear (EH, dehusked ears yield (DEY, reducing (RS and total sugars (TS, starch (ST, proteins (PTN, ether extract (EE and fibers (FB. The inbred line L4, which was originated from the 'Doce de Cuba', had the best GCA for crop yield and grain quality and therefore should be used in the next hybrid combinations. The hybrids L4xL5 and L3xL7 were the most promising with regard to crop yield and grain quality.No Brasil, poucas indústrias envazam o milho doce (Zea mays por causa da falta de cultivares para o processamento industrial. Em compensação, o mercado de milho verde doce aumentou. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a capacidade geral de combinação (CGC de sete linhagens de milho doce e da capacidade específica de combinação (CEC das combinações híbridas, com base em características agronômicas e composição química dos grãos. Os vinte e um híbridos simples foram avaliados em blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições, durante o ano agrícola 2006/2007, no distrito de Iguatemi

  8. Manufacturing of 380/220 V 63 A power supply panel on UO2 kernel coating unit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Triyono; Mudjiman, Supardjono; Hidayat, Nur

    2013-01-01

    The panel 380/220 Volts voltage source current 63 Amperes relay AC output on UO 2 kernel coating unit has been manufactured. The activities include: installation and function panel test. The electrical installation of load includes : 220 Volts temperature monitor/controller, 220 Volts scraber pump, 220 Volts vacuum pump, 220 Volts solenoid valve gas and 380 Volts induction furnace. The component of installation includes: 380 Volts earth leakage circuit breaker, 380 Volts relay AC, 220 Volts magnetic circuit breaker, 100/5 Amperes current transformator ratio, voltmeter, ampermeter and push button normally open-close and temperature monitor/control in the box size 70x50x20 cm. The testing of voltage source has been unload and full load to determine the performance of the tool. The result of manufacture and function test voltage source 380/220 Volts at the UO 2 kernel coating unit showed that: the voltage source can work without load and full load safely. The load includes: voltage 380-382 Volts current 4-4,1 Amperes of induction furnace, voltage 223 Volts current 0,5 Amperes of vacuum pump, voltage 223 Volts current 4 Amperes of scraber pump, voltage 223 Volts current 0,3 Amperes of solenoid valve gas and 222 Volts current 0,03 Amperes temperature monitor/control. (author)

  9. Incorporation of 15N-inorganic nitrogen into free-amino acids in germinating corn

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samukawa, Kisaburo; Yamaguchi, Masuro

    1979-01-01

    Incorporation of 15 N-labeled compounds, (K 15 NO 3 ) and ( 15 NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , into free-amino acids was measured in germinating corn. Sterilized seeds of sweet corn (Choko No. 865) were sown on the filter papers soaked in 10 ml of the solution containing one of the labeled compounds (40 ppm N, 99 atom % excess) in petri dishes and germinated at 30 deg C. After 48 hours and 72 hours, 15 N-incorporation was measured in 5 seedlings selected owing to uniform growth. A GC-MS was used for measuring the ratio of 15 N isotopes present in free-amino acids. 15 N incorporation into free-amino acids hardly occurred when corn was germinated in the solution containing K 15 NO 3 , which suggested that endogenous nitrogen was used during the early germination stage of corn when nitrate is present. Incorporation into amino acids was greater when corn was germinated in the medium containing ( 15 NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , than the case of the solution containing K 15 NO 3 . When corn was germinated in the solution containing ( 15 NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , assimilation of 15 N into asparagine or aspartic acid was comparatively higher than that into the other amino acids, though the incorporation rate was low. Thus, in intact germinating corn, the hydrolyzed product of protein was utilized for germination with priority, and dependence on exogenous nitrogen was low. (Kaihara, S.)

  10. THE EFFECT OF FORMULATION HUMIC SUBSTANCE AND Trichoderma sp TO INCREASE PRODUCTION AND GROWTH OF CORN (Zea Mays,L

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruly Eko Kusuma Kurniawan

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Research to determine of formulation humic subtance and Trichoderma sp to increase the production and growth of corn (zea mays,L. This research was conducted by extracting humic substance with fractionation organic matter method from cattle manure organic material. Trichoderma sp grow on corn medium and harvested after reaching a density of 1015 cfu. Created this compound formulation with mixing humic substance and Trichoderma sp. Indicator plant with F1 sweet corn Jago varieties. Aplication used humic substance in range 8%, 16%, and 32% on the recommended use NPK fertilizer for corn, as well as control without humic substance. The result showed application use 8% humic substance most good for plant growth and harvest. Additionally, nutrient uptake NPK fertilizer efficiency is increased and more effective than control and use of the formulation 16% and 32% humic substance.

  11. The bamboo-eating giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) has a sweet tooth: behavioral and molecular responses to compounds that taste sweet to humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Peihua; Josue-Almqvist, Jesusa; Jin, Xuelin; Li, Xia; Brand, Joseph G; Margolskee, Robert F; Reed, Danielle R; Beauchamp, Gary K

    2014-01-01

    A growing body of behavioral and genetic information indicates that taste perception and food sources are highly coordinated across many animal species. For example, sweet taste perception is thought to serve to detect and motivate consumption of simple sugars in plants that provide calories. Supporting this is the observation that most plant-eating mammals examined exhibit functional sweet perception, whereas many obligate carnivores have independently lost function of their sweet taste receptors and exhibit no avidity for simple sugars that humans describe as tasting sweet. As part of a larger effort to compare taste structure/function among species, we examined both the behavioral and the molecular nature of sweet taste in a plant-eating animal that does not consume plants with abundant simple sugars, the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). We evaluated two competing hypotheses: as plant-eating mammals, they should have a well-developed sweet taste system; however, as animals that do not normally consume plants with simple sugars, they may have lost sweet taste function, as has occurred in strict carnivores. In behavioral tests, giant pandas avidly consumed most natural sugars and some but not all artificial sweeteners. Cell-based assays revealed similar patterns of sweet receptor responses toward many of the sweeteners. Using mixed pairs of human and giant panda sweet taste receptor units (hT1R2+gpT1R3 and gpT1R2+hT1R3) we identified regions of the sweet receptor that may account for behavioral differences in giant pandas versus humans toward various sugars and artificial sweeteners. Thus, despite the fact that the giant panda's main food, bamboo, is very low in simple sugars, the species has a marked preference for several compounds that taste sweet to humans. We consider possible explanations for retained sweet perception in this species, including the potential extra-oral functions of sweet taste receptors that may be required for animals that consume

  12. The bamboo-eating giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca has a sweet tooth: behavioral and molecular responses to compounds that taste sweet to humans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peihua Jiang

    Full Text Available A growing body of behavioral and genetic information indicates that taste perception and food sources are highly coordinated across many animal species. For example, sweet taste perception is thought to serve to detect and motivate consumption of simple sugars in plants that provide calories. Supporting this is the observation that most plant-eating mammals examined exhibit functional sweet perception, whereas many obligate carnivores have independently lost function of their sweet taste receptors and exhibit no avidity for simple sugars that humans describe as tasting sweet. As part of a larger effort to compare taste structure/function among species, we examined both the behavioral and the molecular nature of sweet taste in a plant-eating animal that does not consume plants with abundant simple sugars, the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca. We evaluated two competing hypotheses: as plant-eating mammals, they should have a well-developed sweet taste system; however, as animals that do not normally consume plants with simple sugars, they may have lost sweet taste function, as has occurred in strict carnivores. In behavioral tests, giant pandas avidly consumed most natural sugars and some but not all artificial sweeteners. Cell-based assays revealed similar patterns of sweet receptor responses toward many of the sweeteners. Using mixed pairs of human and giant panda sweet taste receptor units (hT1R2+gpT1R3 and gpT1R2+hT1R3 we identified regions of the sweet receptor that may account for behavioral differences in giant pandas versus humans toward various sugars and artificial sweeteners. Thus, despite the fact that the giant panda's main food, bamboo, is very low in simple sugars, the species has a marked preference for several compounds that taste sweet to humans. We consider possible explanations for retained sweet perception in this species, including the potential extra-oral functions of sweet taste receptors that may be required for animals

  13. Anthocyanin, phenolics and antioxidant activity changes in purple waxy corn as affected by traditional cooking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harakotr, Bhornchai; Suriharn, Bhalang; Tangwongchai, Ratchada; Scott, Marvin Paul; Lertrat, Kamol

    2014-12-01

    Antioxidant components, including anthocyanins and phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, and their changes during traditional cooking of fresh purple waxy corn were investigated. As compared to the raw corn, thermal treatment caused significant (p⩽0.05) decreases in each antioxidant compound and antioxidant activity. Steam cooking preserved more antioxidant compounds than boiling. Boiling caused a significant loss of anthocyanin and phenolic compounds into the cooking water. This cooking water is a valuable co-product because it is a good source of purple pigment. By comparing levels of antioxidant compounds in raw and cooked corn, we determined that degradation results in greater loss than leaching or diffusion into cooking water. Additionally, separation of kernels from the cob prior to cooking caused increased loss of antioxidant compounds. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Locally linear approximation for Kernel methods : the Railway Kernel

    OpenAIRE

    Muñoz, Alberto; González, Javier

    2008-01-01

    In this paper we present a new kernel, the Railway Kernel, that works properly for general (nonlinear) classification problems, with the interesting property that acts locally as a linear kernel. In this way, we avoid potential problems due to the use of a general purpose kernel, like the RBF kernel, as the high dimension of the induced feature space. As a consequence, following our methodology the number of support vectors is much lower and, therefore, the generalization capab...

  15. Densification characteristics of corn cobs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaliyan, Nalladurai; Morey, R. Vance [Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, 1390 Eckles Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108 (United States)

    2010-05-15

    Corn cobs are potential feedstocks for producing heat, power, fuels, and chemicals. Densification of corn cobs into briquettes/pellets would improve their bulk handling, transportation, and storage properties. In this study, densification characteristics of corn cobs were studied using a uniaxial piston-cylinder densification apparatus. With a maximum compression pressure of 150 MPa, effects of particle size (0.85 and 2.81 mm), moisture content (10 and 20% w.b.), and preheating temperature (25 and 85 C) on the density and durability of the corn cob briquettes (with diameter of about 19.0 mm) were studied. It was found that the durability (measured using ASABE tumbling can method) of corn cob briquettes made at 25 C was 0%. At both particle sizes, preheating of corn cob grinds with about 10% (w.b.) moisture content to 85 C produced briquettes with a unit density of > 1100 kg m{sup -3} and durability of about 90%. (author)

  16. An enzyme complex increases in vitro dry matter digestibility of corn and wheat in pigs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Kyu Ree; Park, Chan Sol; Kim, Beob Gyun

    2016-01-01

    Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of enzyme complex on in vitro dry matter (DM) digestibility for feed ingredients. The objective of experiment 1 was to screen feed ingredients that can be effective substrates for an enzyme complex, mainly consisted of β-pentosanase, β-glucanase and α-amylase, using in vitro digestibility methods. In experiment 1, the test ingredients were three grain sources (barley, corn and wheat) and six protein supplements (canola meal, copra expellers, cottonseed meal, distillers dried grains with solubles, palm kernel expellers and soybean meal). In vitro ileal and total tract digestibility (IVID and IVTTD, respectively) of DM for test ingredients were determined. In vitro digestibility methods consisted of two- or three-step procedure simulating in vivo digestion in the pig gastrointestinal tracts with or without enzyme complex. As the enzyme complex added, the IVID of DM for corn and wheat increased (p digestibility, corn grains were selected to determine the in vitro digestibility of the fractions (starch, germ, hull and gluten) that maximally respond to the enzyme complex in experiment 2. The IVID of DM for corn starch, germ and hull increased (p digestibility of corn and wheat, and the digestibility increments of corn are mainly attributed to the increased digestibility of corn starch.

  17. Dissipation rate of acetamiprid in sweet cherries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanja Lazić

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Degradation of acetamiprid in sweet cherry samples was evaluated at several intervals from the product application until the end of the pre-harvest interval. An orchard of sweet cherries located at Stepanovićevo village near Novi Sad was used in this study. Acetamiprid was applied according to the manufacturer’s recommendation for protecting sweet cherries from their most important pests. Sweet cherry fruit samples were collected at eight intervals: immediately after acetamiprid application and 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 days after application. The extraction of acetamiprid from sweet cherry samples was performed using a QuEChERS-based method. Determination was carried out using an HPLC-UV diode array detection system (Agilent 1100, United States with an Agilent Zorbax Eclipse C18 column (50 mm × 4.6 mm internal diameter, 1.8 μm particle size. The method was subjected to a thorough validation procedure. The recovery data were obtained by spiking blank sweet cherry samples at three concentration levels (0.1-0.3 mg/ kg, yielding 85.4% average recovery. Precision values expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD were below 1.61% for the intraday precision. Acetamiprid showed linear calibrations from 0.05 to 2.5 μg/ml with correlation coefficient (R2 of 0.995%. The limit of detection and limit of quantification were found to be 5 μg/kg and 14 μg/kg, respectively. The validated method was applied in the analysis of acetamiprid in sweet cherry samples. During the study period, the concentration of acetamiprid decreased from 0.529 mg/kg to 0.111 mg/kg. The content of acetamiprid in sweet cherry samples at the end of the pre-harvest interval was below the maximum permissible level specified by the Serbian and EU MRLs.

  18. Fluorescence imaging spectroscopy (FIS) for comparing spectra from corn ears naturally and artificially infected with aflatoxin producing fungus

    Science.gov (United States)

    In an effort to address the aflatoxin problem in grain, the current study assessed the spectral differences of aflatoxin production in kernels from a cornfield inoculated with spores from two different strains of toxigenic Aspergillus flavus. Aflatoxin production in corn from the same field due to n...

  19. An Extreme Learning Machine Based on the Mixed Kernel Function of Triangular Kernel and Generalized Hermite Dirichlet Kernel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Senyue Zhang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available According to the characteristics that the kernel function of extreme learning machine (ELM and its performance have a strong correlation, a novel extreme learning machine based on a generalized triangle Hermitian kernel function was proposed in this paper. First, the generalized triangle Hermitian kernel function was constructed by using the product of triangular kernel and generalized Hermite Dirichlet kernel, and the proposed kernel function was proved as a valid kernel function of extreme learning machine. Then, the learning methodology of the extreme learning machine based on the proposed kernel function was presented. The biggest advantage of the proposed kernel is its kernel parameter values only chosen in the natural numbers, which thus can greatly shorten the computational time of parameter optimization and retain more of its sample data structure information. Experiments were performed on a number of binary classification, multiclassification, and regression datasets from the UCI benchmark repository. The experiment results demonstrated that the robustness and generalization performance of the proposed method are outperformed compared to other extreme learning machines with different kernels. Furthermore, the learning speed of proposed method is faster than support vector machine (SVM methods.

  20. RTOS kernel in portable electrocardiograph

    Science.gov (United States)

    Centeno, C. A.; Voos, J. A.; Riva, G. G.; Zerbini, C.; Gonzalez, E. A.

    2011-12-01

    This paper presents the use of a Real Time Operating System (RTOS) on a portable electrocardiograph based on a microcontroller platform. All medical device digital functions are performed by the microcontroller. The electrocardiograph CPU is based on the 18F4550 microcontroller, in which an uCOS-II RTOS can be embedded. The decision associated with the kernel use is based on its benefits, the license for educational use and its intrinsic time control and peripherals management. The feasibility of its use on the electrocardiograph is evaluated based on the minimum memory requirements due to the kernel structure. The kernel's own tools were used for time estimation and evaluation of resources used by each process. After this feasibility analysis, the migration from cyclic code to a structure based on separate processes or tasks able to synchronize events is used; resulting in an electrocardiograph running on one Central Processing Unit (CPU) based on RTOS.

  1. RTOS kernel in portable electrocardiograph

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Centeno, C A; Voos, J A; Riva, G G; Zerbini, C; Gonzalez, E A

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents the use of a Real Time Operating System (RTOS) on a portable electrocardiograph based on a microcontroller platform. All medical device digital functions are performed by the microcontroller. The electrocardiograph CPU is based on the 18F4550 microcontroller, in which an uCOS-II RTOS can be embedded. The decision associated with the kernel use is based on its benefits, the license for educational use and its intrinsic time control and peripherals management. The feasibility of its use on the electrocardiograph is evaluated based on the minimum memory requirements due to the kernel structure. The kernel's own tools were used for time estimation and evaluation of resources used by each process. After this feasibility analysis, the migration from cyclic code to a structure based on separate processes or tasks able to synchronize events is used; resulting in an electrocardiograph running on one Central Processing Unit (CPU) based on RTOS.

  2. Stochastic Corn Yield Response Functions to Nitrogen for Corn after Corn, Corn after Cotton, and Corn after Soybeans

    OpenAIRE

    Boyer, Christopher N.; Larson, James A.; Roberts, Roland K.; McClure, Angela T.; Tyler, Donald D.; Zhou, Vivian

    2013-01-01

    Deterministic and stochastic yield response plateau functions were estimated to determine the expected profit-maximizing nitrogen rates, yields, and net returns for corn grown after corn, cotton, and soybeans. The stochastic response functions were more appropriate than their deterministic counterparts, and the linear response stochastic plateau described the data the best. The profit-maximizing nitrogen rates were similar for corn after corn, cotton, and soybeans, but relative to corn after ...

  3. Kernel Machine SNP-set Testing under Multiple Candidate Kernels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Michael C.; Maity, Arnab; Lee, Seunggeun; Simmons, Elizabeth M.; Harmon, Quaker E.; Lin, Xinyi; Engel, Stephanie M.; Molldrem, Jeffrey J.; Armistead, Paul M.

    2013-01-01

    Joint testing for the cumulative effect of multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms grouped on the basis of prior biological knowledge has become a popular and powerful strategy for the analysis of large scale genetic association studies. The kernel machine (KM) testing framework is a useful approach that has been proposed for testing associations between multiple genetic variants and many different types of complex traits by comparing pairwise similarity in phenotype between subjects to pairwise similarity in genotype, with similarity in genotype defined via a kernel function. An advantage of the KM framework is its flexibility: choosing different kernel functions allows for different assumptions concerning the underlying model and can allow for improved power. In practice, it is difficult to know which kernel to use a priori since this depends on the unknown underlying trait architecture and selecting the kernel which gives the lowest p-value can lead to inflated type I error. Therefore, we propose practical strategies for KM testing when multiple candidate kernels are present based on constructing composite kernels and based on efficient perturbation procedures. We demonstrate through simulations and real data applications that the procedures protect the type I error rate and can lead to substantially improved power over poor choices of kernels and only modest differences in power versus using the best candidate kernel. PMID:23471868

  4. Analysis of fractionation in corn-to-ethanol plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, Camille

    As the dry grind ethanol industry has grown, the research and technology surrounding ethanol production and co-product value has increased. Including use of back-end oil extraction and front-end fractionation. Front-end fractionation is pre-fermentation separation of the corn kernel into 3 fractions: endosperm, bran, and germ. The endosperm fraction enters the existing ethanol plant, and a high protein DDGS product remains after fermentation. High value oil is extracted out of the germ fraction. This leaves corn germ meal and bran as co-products from the other two streams. These 3 co-products have a very different composition than traditional corn DDGS. Installing this technology allows ethanol plants to increase profitability by tapping into more diverse markets, and ultimately could allow for an increase in profitability. An ethanol plant model was developed to evaluate both back-end oil extraction and front-end fractionation technology and predict the change in co-products based on technology installed. The model runs in Microsoft Excel and requires inputs of whole corn composition (proximate analysis), amino acid content, and weight to predict the co-product quantity and quality. User inputs include saccharification and fermentation efficiencies, plant capacity, and plant process specifications including front-end fractionation and backend oil extraction, if applicable. This model provides plants a way to assess and monitor variability in co-product composition due to the variation in whole corn composition. Additionally the co-products predicted in this model are entered into the US Pork Center of Excellence, National Swine Nutrition Guide feed formulation software. This allows the plant user and animal nutritionists to evaluate the value of new co-products in existing animal diets.

  5. SUBSTITUSI TEPUNG TEMPE JAGUNG PADA PEMBUATAN MIE BASAH [Substitution of Corn Tempe Flour on Wet Noodle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sri Setyani

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to find the best formulation of corn tempe flour and wheat flour to produce chemically, physicochemically and organoleptically acceptable sweet noodle. The formulation consisted of 4 levels ratio of 100% corn tempe flour and wheat flour L1 (10:90, L2 (20:80, L3 (30:70, L4 (40:60 w/w with 6 replications. The experiment was arranged in Complete Randomized Block Design (CRBD. Data were analyzed by using analysis of variance, further were tested by using the Least Significant Difference (LSD test in 5% level of significance. The result showed that the best formula was L3 treatment (30% corn tempe flour  and 70% wheat flour. The characteristic  of this noodle were 23.31% moisture content, 1.55% ash, 8.50% fat,   9.11% protein, 57,2% carbohydrate, 9.85% cooking loss, and 13.50 %water absorption. The wet noodle score sensory of texture was 2,88 (rather chewy, taste’s and aroma score was 3.05 (typical corn, and the overall of acceptance was  2.93 (like.Keywords: chemical-physicochemical and organoleptic characteristics, corn tempe flour,  wet noodle,wheat.

  6. Characteristics and functional properties of purple corn (Zea mays L. var. subnigroviolaceo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jhoseline Guillén-Sánchez

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Zea Mays L. variety purple (purple corn is a plant native of America, which has the episperm seeds (grains and the cobs (cob in purple, which gives special characteristics to the pigments that have (between 1.5% and 6.0%, called anthocyanins, which belong to the group of flavonoids. Due to its high content of anthocyanins (cianin C3G-3-glucose as its main color and phenolic compounds act as powerful natural antioxidant and anticancer, Further having functional properties due to these bioactive compounds. The purple corn also provides significant amounts of starch, about 80% (complex carbohydrate, 10% of sugars provide sweetness, up to 11% protein, up to 2% minerals and B vitamins and ascorbic acid, concentrated in endosperm (grain free envelope. Also the nutritional value, the purple corn has a rich composition of phytochemicals, which have beneficial effects on our body, such as neutralize free radicals and act as antimutagenic. His review paper aimed to collect information on the studies undertaken to purple corn as an alternative to artificial food dyes and health benefits when included in the diet. Benefits such as cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, lowering cholesterol, fighting diabetes, being the most remarkable antioxidant action (wrinkle.

  7. Climate forecasts for corn producer decision making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corn is the most widely grown crop in the Americas, with annual production in the United States of approximately 332 million metric tons. Improved climate forecasts, together with climate-related decision tools for corn producers based on these improved forecasts, could substantially reduce uncertai...

  8. 75 FR 33190 - Trifloxystrobin; Pesticide Tolerances

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-11

    ..., fat and meat byproduct of cattle, goats, horses, and sheep tolerances to 0.1 ppm. The reasons for... byproducts; corn, field, forage; corn, sweet, forage; corn, sweet, stover; goat, fat; goat, meat; goat, meat..., forage 7.0 * * * * * Corn, sweet, stover 4.0 * * * * * Goat, fat 0.1 Goat, meat 0.1 Goat, meat byproducts...

  9. Detection of sweet potato virus C, sweet potato virus 2 and sweet potato feathery mottle virus in Portugal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varanda, Carla M R; Santos, Susana J; Oliveira, Mônica D M; Clara, Maria Ivone E; Félix, Maria Rosário F

    2015-06-01

    Field sweet potato plants showing virus-like symptoms, as stunting, leaf distortion, mosaic and chlorosis, were collected in southwest Portugal and tested for the presence of four potyviruses, sweet potato virus C (SPVC), sweet potato virus 2 (SPV2), sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV), sweet potato virus G (SPVG), and the crinivirus sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus (SPCSV). DsRNA fractions were extracted from symptomatic leaves and used as templates in single and multiplex RT-PCR assays using previously described specific primers for each analyzed virus. The amplified reaction products for SPVC, SPV2 and SPFMV were of expected size, and direct sequencing of PCR products revealed that they correspond to the coat protein gene (CP) and showed 98%, 99% and 99% identity, respectively, to those viruses. Comparison of the CP genomic and amino acid sequences of the Portuguese viral isolates recovered here with those of ten other sequences of isolates obtained in different countries retrieved from the GenBank showed very few differences. The application of the RT-PCR assays revealed for the first time the presence of SPVC and SPFMV in the sweet potato crop in Portugal, the absence of SPVG and SPCSV in tested plants, as well as the occurrence of triple virus infections under field conditions.

  10. Testes de vigor utilizados na avaliação da qualidade fisiológica de lotes de sementes de milho-doce (sh2 Vigor tests for selection of sweet corn (sh2 seeds lot

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rogério de Andrade Coimbra

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Dentro de um programa de controle de qualidade, a avaliação do vigor de sementes é fundamental e necessária para o sucesso da produção. Com o objetivo de avaliar a eficiência de diferentes testes de vigor na avaliação da qualidade fisiológica de sementes de milho-doce na tentativa de diferenciação de lotes quanto ao nível de vigor e previsão de emergência de plântulas em campo e ao potencial de armazenamento, 10 lotes do híbrido DO-04 shrunken-2 (sh-2 foram submetidos a teste de germinação, primeira contagem, precocidade de emissão de raiz primária (32, 48, 56 e 72h, teste de frio, condutividade elétrica (50 sementes 75mL-1 de água; 25°C/4, 6, 8 e 24h, envelhecimento acelerado (42°C em água destilada (100%UR, solução saturada de cloreto de potássio (87%UR e solução saturada de cloreto de sódio (76% UR, avaliando-se quatro períodos de exposição (24, 48, 72 e 96h, teor de água, emergência de plântulas em campo e germinação após armazenamento das sementes (10°C e 40%UR, avaliada quadrimestralmente por 16 meses. A condutividade elétrica (por 6, 8 e 24h foi o único teste eficiente na diferenciação do vigor de lotes de sementes de milho-doce (sh2; no entanto, não apresentou correlação com a emergência de plântulas em campo ou armazenamento.In a program of seed quality assurance, the evaluation of seed vigor is fundamental and necessary to the global production process outcome. The objective of this experiment was to verify the efficiency of different vigor tests for evaluation of sweet corn seeds quality towards lots differentiation and prevision of seedling emergence and storage capacity of those. Ten lots of DO-04 shrunken-2 (sh2 hybrid sweet corn seeds were submitted to the following evaluations: germination, first counting of germination test, earliness of primary root emission (32, 48, 56 and 72 hours, cold test, electrical conductivity test (50 seeds into 75ml of water, at 25°C for 4, 6, 8 and

  11. CORN (Zea mays L. ADAPTATION STUDIES UNDER IRRIGATED CONDITIONS OF SOUTHEASTERN ANATOLIA REGION OF TURKEY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Öktem

    2000-12-01

    Full Text Available Southeastern Anatolia region of Turkey has a great agricultural potential. When the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP is complete, 1.7 million hectare area will be irrigated. Corn has a great importance due to have high-yield and being a secondary crop at GAP region which has suitable soil and climate conditions for corn production. The main goal of this study was to determine the suitable corn varieties for GAP region. This research was conducted with 14 hybrid dent corn varieties at Agriculture Faculty in Şanlıurfa province during the growth season of 1997-1998. At this study grain yield, tassel flowering date, plant height, ear length, kernel number of ear, grain weight of ear, 1000 seeds weight and grain moisture at harvest were investigated. Variance analysis results showed that there were significant differences (P<0.01 in grain yield and yield characteristics among tested varieties. According to the average of two years, grain yield varied between 8.83 (Alimax and 13.92 (Rx.770 t /ha and grain moisture at harvest varied from 15.81% (Antbey to 25.92% (P.3394. Antbey had the highest tassel flowering date value (62.3 day and the lowest value was obtained from C.6127 (55.5 day genotype. Plant height varied between 190.5 cm (C.6127 and 243.4 cm (Antbey. Ear length ranged from 18.9 cm (Alimax to 21.8 cm (Tambre. Kernel number of ear varied from 439.0 number/ear (Antbey to 670.9 number/ear (P.3279. The highest grain weight of ear value was obtained from Rx.770 genotype (239.5 g and also the lowest value was 162.1 g (Antbey. 1000 seed weight ranged from 328.9 g (P.3279 to 383.0 g (Tambre. All tested varieties gave over 10 t /ha yield except Alimax, Sele and Antbey varieties.

  12. The productive potentials of sweet sorghum ethanol in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Caixia; Xie, Gaodi; Li, Shimei; Ge, Liqiang; He, Tingting

    2010-01-01

    As one of the important non-grain energy crops, sweet sorghum has attracted the attention of scientific community and decision makers of the world since decades. But insufficient study has been done about the spatial suitability distribution and ethanol potential of sweet sorghum in China. This paper attempts to probe into the spatial distribution and ethanol potential of sweet sorghum in China by ArcGIS methods. Data used for the analysis include the spatial data of climate, soil, topography and land use, and literatures relevant for sweet sorghum studies. The results show that although sweet sorghum can be planted in the majority of lands in China, the suitable unused lands for large-scale planting (unit area not less than 100 hm 2 ) are only as much as 78.6 x 10 4 hm 2 ; and the productive potentials of ethanol from these lands are 157.1 x 10 4 -294.6 x 10 4 t/year, which can only meet 24.8-46.4% of current demand for E10 (gasoline mixed with 10% ethanol) in China (assumption of the energy efficiency of E10 is equivalent to that of pure petroleum). If all the common grain sorghum at present were replaced by sweet sorghum, the average ethanol yield of 244.0 x 10 4 t/year can be added, and thus the productive potentials of sweet sorghum ethanol can satisfy 63.2-84.9% of current demand for E10 of China. In general, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Inner Mongolia and Liaoning rank the highest in productive potentials of sweet sorghum ethanol, followed by Hebei, Shanxi, Sichuan, and some other provinces. It is suggested that these regions should be regarded as the priority development zones for sweet sorghum ethanol in China.

  13. Plant Density Effect in Different Planting Dates on Growth Indices, Yield and

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F Azizi

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available In order to determine the appropriate plant density in different planting dates for sweet corn cultivar KSC403su, an experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design in split plot lay out with three replications at Seed and Plant Improvement Institute in Karaj in 2006. Three planting dates (22 May, 5 June and 22 June were assigned as main plots and three plant densities (65000, 75000 and 85000 plants per hectare were considered as sub plots. Effect of planting date on row/ear, 1000 kernels weight, biological yield and harvest index was significant at 1% probability level and it was significant at 5% probability level for kernels/ear row and grain yield. All traits decreased with postponement of planting date to 5 June except for row/ear, kernels/row and grain yield. More delay in planting from 22 May to 22 June caused that grain yield was decreased significantly about 32.5% (from 14.45 to 9.78 ton/ha. Effect of plant density was significant at 1% probability level for all the traits. All of the traits decreased significantly with increasing plant density except for biological yield. The highest grain yield was resulted from 65000 plants per hectare density (14.20 ton/ha. Interaction effect of planting date and plant density was significant at 5% probability level for biological yield and harvest index but it wasn’t significant for the other traits. Growth indices decreased with delay in planting date and increasing plant density. Only leaf area index increased in more plant densities. From the results of this experiment it might be resulted that appropriate planting date to produce the highest grain yield is 22 May to 5 June for sweet corn cultivar KSC403su and also the highest grain yield can obtain from 65000 plants per hectare density.

  14. Lightweight concrete masonry units based on processed granulate of corn cob as aggregate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Faustino, J.

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available A research work was performed in order to assess the potential application of processed granulate of corn cob (PCC as an alternative lightweight aggregate for the manufacturing process of lightweight concrete masonry units (CMU. Therefore, CMU-PCC were prepared in a factory using a typical lightweight concrete mixture for non-structural purposes. Additionally, lightweight concrete masonry units based on a currently applied lightweight aggregate such as expanded clay (CMU-EC were also manufactured. An experimental work allowed achieving a set of results that suggest that the proposed building product presents interesting material properties within the masonry wall context. Therefore, this unit is promising for both interior and exterior applications. This conclusion is even more relevant considering that corn cob is an agricultural waste product.En este trabajo de investigación se evaluó la posible aplicación de granulado procesado de la mazorca de maiz como un árido ligero alternativo en el proceso de fabricación de unidades de mampostería de hormigón ligero. Con esta finalidad, se prepararon en una fábrica diversas unidades de mampostería no estructural con granulado procesado de la mazorca de maiz. Además, se fabricaran unidades de mampostería estándar de peso ligero basado en agregados de arcilla expandida. Este trabajo experimental permitió lograr un conjunto de resultados que sugieren que el producto de construcción propuesto presenta interesantes propiedades materiales en el contexto de la pared de mampostería. Por lo tanto, esta solución es prometedora tanto para aplicaciones interiores y exteriores. Esta conclusión es aún más relevante teniendo en cuenta que la mazorca de maíz es un producto de desecho agrícola.

  15. Sugar Profile, Mineral Content, and Rheological and Thermal Properties of an Isomerized Sweet Potato Starch Syrup.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dominque, Brunson; Gichuhi, Peter N; Rangari, Vijay; Bovell-Benjamin, Adelia C

    2013-01-01

    Currently, corn is used to produce more than 85% of the world's high fructose syrup (HFS). There is a search for alternative HFS substrates because of increased food demand and shrinking economies, especially in the developing world. The sweet potato is a feasible, alternative raw material. This study isomerized a high glucose sweet potato starch syrup (SPSS) and determined its sugar profile, mineral content, and rheological and thermal properties. Rheological and thermal properties were measured using a rheometer and DSC, respectively. Sweet potato starch was hydrolyzed to syrup with a mean fructose content of 7.6 ± 0.4%. The SPSS had significantly higher (P syrups. During 70 days of storage, the SPSS acted as a non-Newtonian, shear-thinning liquid in which the viscosity decreased as shear stress increased. Water loss temperature of the SPSS continually decreased during storage, while pancake and ginger syrups' peak water loss temperature decreased initially and then increased. Further and more detailed studies should be designed to further enhance the fructose content of the syrup and observe its stability beyond 70 days. The SPSS has the potential to be used in human food systems in space and on Earth.

  16. Data-variant kernel analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Motai, Yuichi

    2015-01-01

    Describes and discusses the variants of kernel analysis methods for data types that have been intensely studied in recent years This book covers kernel analysis topics ranging from the fundamental theory of kernel functions to its applications. The book surveys the current status, popular trends, and developments in kernel analysis studies. The author discusses multiple kernel learning algorithms and how to choose the appropriate kernels during the learning phase. Data-Variant Kernel Analysis is a new pattern analysis framework for different types of data configurations. The chapters include

  17. Preliminary evaluation of fumonisins by the Nordic countries and occurrence of fumonisins (FB1 and FB2) in corn-based foods on the Danish market

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Annette; Thorup, Inger

    2001-01-01

    Experts from the Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland) have carried out an evaluation of fumonisins. The working group members concluded that, at that time point, it was not possible to carry out a complete risk assessment. However, it was recommended that the human daily...... intake of fumonisins should be less than 1 mug/kg bw/day. Subsequently, the presence of the Fusarium mycotoxins fumonisin B-1 and B-2 (FB1 and FB2) in corn-based food on the Danish retail market has been determined. A total of 70 samples were analysed and 37% contained FB1 and 21% contained FB2....... No fumonisins were found in sweet corn (canned or frozen), corn-on-the-cob, corn starch or gruel powder for babies. FB1 was found in about half of the corn flakes, corn snack and popcorn (not popped) samples, whereas FB2 was seen to a lesser extent. Both FB1 and FB2 were found in 75% or more of the corn flour...

  18. Efficacy of pyramided Bt proteins Cry1F, Cry1A.105, and cry2Ab2 expressed in Smartstax corn hybrids against lepidopteran insect pests in the northern United States.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rule, D.M.; Nolting, S.P.; Prasfika, P.L.; Storer, N.P.; Hopkins, B.W.; Scherder, E.J.A.; Siebert, M.W.; Hendrix, W.H.

    2014-01-01

    Commercial field corn (Zea mays L.) hybrids transformed to express some or all of the lepidopteran insect-resistant traits present in SmartStax corn hybrids were evaluated for insecticidal efficacy against a wide range of lepidopteran corn pests common to the northern United States, during 2008 to

  19. Effect of Filter Cake on Physiological Traits and Ear Yield of Sweet Corn under Late Drought Stress Condition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    aziz karmollachaab

    2017-10-01

    different levels of Filter Cake significantly reduced the plant’s height. Although Mild stress did not have a significant effect on membrane stability index, severe drought stress reduced it about 17.5% compared with non-stress treatments. The osmotic potential in normal conditions was the highest, however, it was decreased with increasing stress. Therefore, in severe stress conditions and treatment without Filter Cake, osmotic potential was -1.71 MPa. Mild and severe drought stress significantly reduced soluble proteins of the leaf by 12.5% and 17.1%, respectively compared with the control. Application of 10 tons per hectare of Filter Cake had no significant effect on sodium ion concentration, but using 20 and 30 tons per hectare of Filter Cake increased the concentration by 39% and 44%, respectivelycompared with the control. The use of 10 tons of Filter Cake in non-stress conditions had no significant effect on Na, but using 20 and 30 tons per hectare of Filter Cake increased the amount of Na by 10% and 13.7%,, respectively compared with the control. In severe stress conditions, the use of 20 and 30 tons per hectare of Filter Cake decreased fresh weight yield by 9% and 14.5%,, respectively. Under non-stress conditions, the use of Filter Cake led to increased dry matter production. In severe stress conditions the use of 10 tons per hectare of Filter Cake did not have significant effects on biological yield, but application of 20 and 30 tons per hectare of Filter Cake decreased biological yield by19% and 23%, respectively compared with treatment without Filter Cake. Conclusion The results showed that: (1 Drought stress reduces the growth and yield of sweet corn and economic benefit in spring planting in Khuzestan province. (2 The use of Filter Cake through physical modification of the soil, causes uniformity of germination and early growth acceleration of product, and in non-stress conditions increases economic performance. (3 In drought stress conditions, the use of

  20. Quasi-Dual-Packed-Kerneled Au49 (2,4-DMBT)27 Nanoclusters and the Influence of Kernel Packing on the Electrochemical Gap.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Lingwen; Zhuang, Shengli; Wang, Pu; Xu, Yanan; Yan, Nan; Dong, Hongwei; Wang, Chengming; Zhao, Yan; Xia, Nan; Li, Jin; Deng, Haiteng; Pei, Yong; Tian, Shi-Kai; Wu, Zhikun

    2017-10-02

    Although face-centered cubic (fcc), body-centered cubic (bcc), hexagonal close-packed (hcp), and other structured gold nanoclusters have been reported, it was unclear whether gold nanoclusters with mix-packed (fcc and non-fcc) kernels exist, and the correlation between kernel packing and the properties of gold nanoclusters is unknown. A Au 49 (2,4-DMBT) 27 nanocluster with a shell electron count of 22 has now been been synthesized and structurally resolved by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, which revealed that Au 49 (2,4-DMBT) 27 contains a unique Au 34 kernel consisting of one quasi-fcc-structured Au 21 and one non-fcc-structured Au 13 unit (where 2,4-DMBTH=2,4-dimethylbenzenethiol). Further experiments revealed that the kernel packing greatly influences the electrochemical gap (EG) and the fcc structure has a larger EG than the investigated non-fcc structure. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  1. FORTIFIKASI JAGUNG MANIS DAN KACANG HIJAU TERHADAP SIFAT FISIK, KIMIA DAN ORGANOLEPTIK SUSU JAGUNG MANIS KACANG HIJAU

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sri Setyani

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Sweet corn-mung bean milk can be used to helping increasing the nutrition status of the society . This research was aimed to find the formulation of sweet corn and mung bean that produce sweet corn-mung bean milk with the best physical, chemical and sensory characteristics and is accepted by consument. The experiment was arranged in a completely block randomized design (CBRD withy one factor and three replications. The treatments were five  formulations of sweet corn and  mung bean , they were 3:1 (F1, 2:1 (F2, 1:1 (F3, 1:2 (F4, and 1:3 (F5 (w/w. The data were analysed using analysis of variance, and then continued with 1 % and 5 % Least Significant Different Test. The determinination of the water addition that produced mung bean-sweet corn milk that is compliance with the total solid in SNI (11.5 % was done in the preliminary research. The preliminary research result showed that mung bean sweet corn milk has total solid of 15-19% for all of formulations, while the best favorable milk was  milk with the formulation: water that is at 1:10. The result of the main research showed that the stabilityobjectively, protein content, and organoleptic characteristic were not significanly different among sweet corn and mung bean formulations, but the stability visually, the viscosity, soluble total solid and fat content were significanltly different among sweet corn and mung bean formulation. According to the SNI (soluble total solid, protein and fat contents are the formulation that have met the soy milk quality standard, but the best formulation was found in  F2, with the protein content of 3,183% , fat content of 3,667%, and the most favourable formulation was  F2 formulation with 1, 893 score. The result of amino acid analysis on the best mung bean-sweet corn milk showed that five types of essential amino acid (threonine, valine, isoleucine, leucine and lysine have not met the amino acid standard yet by FAO (1973. In conclusion, the combination of

  2. Sweet almond (Prunus amygdalus “dulcis” seeds as a potential feedstock for Nigerian Biodiesel Automotive Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Solomon Giwa

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This work presents sweet almond (Prunus amygdalus “dulcis” seed oil (SASO as a non-conventional feedstock for the preparation of biodiesel in Nigeria, rather than the traditional oils of palm, groundnut and palm kernel. SASO was extracted via the solvent method, pretreated to reduce the acid value, and transesterified using methanol (solvent and sodium hydroxide (catalyst. The oil content and acid value of SASO were 51.45 ± 3.92% and 1.07 mg KOH/g, respectively. The fatty acid composition of SASO reveals the predominance of oleic acid (69.7%, linoleic acid (18.2% and palmitic acid (9.3%. Specific fuel properties of sweet almond oil methyl esters (SAOME were determined using standard test methods and were found to satisfy both EN 14214 and ASTM D6751 biodiesel standards; the cold flow properties were particularly outstanding (cloud point; -3ºC and pour point; -9ºC. SASO appears to offer great promise as a potential feedstock for biodiesel production in Nigeria.

  3. Sweet eating: a definition and the development of the Dutch Sweet Eating Questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van den Heuvel, Margot; Hörchner, Rogier; Wijtsma, Anneke; Bourhim, Noufissa; Willemsen, Dascha; Mathus-Vliegen, Elisabeth M H

    2011-06-01

    Previous studies have suggested that patients who are defined as so-called sweet eaters have more difficulties to lose weight and to maintain weight loss after both conservative treatment and restrictive bariatric surgery, such as gastric banding. There is, however, no agreement on the definition of sweet eating. Also, a questionnaire to measure sweet eating is not available. Therefore, the aim of our study was to agree on a definition of sweet eating and to construct a valid and reliable questionnaire that might be of help to assess the influence of sweet eating on weight loss after bariatric surgery. A Delphi Study design was chosen to define sweet eating. Based on the Delphi rounds, a questionnaire with self-reported sweets intake was constructed and validated. Nine experts with different scientific backgrounds participated in the Delphi Study which consisted of four rounds. They finally agreed on the definition that sweet eating can be defined as an eating behavior in which at least 50% of daily consumed carbohydrates consist of simple carbohydrates and which can be triggered by emotional factors (i.e., stress). They did not include the intake of artificial sweeteners in the definition. The Dutch Sweet Eating Questionnaire built on the four Delphi rounds was tested in 138 female patients and appeared to be both valid and reliable. A shortcoming of this study is that the results may not be applicable to males and to non-Western populations. The definition and the questionnaire may be useful in future research regarding sweet eating and bariatric surgery outcomes in morbidly obese patients.

  4. Land usage attributed to corn ethanol production in the United States: sensitivity to technological advances in corn grain yield, ethanol conversion, and co-product utilization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mumm, Rita H; Goldsmith, Peter D; Rausch, Kent D; Stein, Hans H

    2014-01-01

    Although the system for producing yellow corn grain is well established in the US, its role among other biofeedstock alternatives to petroleum-based energy sources has to be balanced with its predominant purpose for food and feed as well as economics, land use, and environmental stewardship. We model land usage attributed to corn ethanol production in the US to evaluate the effects of anticipated technological change in corn grain production, ethanol processing, and livestock feeding through a multi-disciplinary approach. Seven scenarios are evaluated: four considering the impact of technological advances on corn grain production, two focused on improved efficiencies in ethanol processing, and one reflecting greater use of ethanol co-products (that is, distillers dried grains with solubles) in diets for dairy cattle, pigs, and poultry. For each scenario, land area attributed to corn ethanol production is estimated for three time horizons: 2011 (current), the time period at which the 15 billion gallon cap for corn ethanol as per the Renewable Fuel Standard is achieved, and 2026 (15 years out). Although 40.5% of corn grain was channeled to ethanol processing in 2011, only 25% of US corn acreage was attributable to ethanol when accounting for feed co-product utilization. By 2026, land area attributed to corn ethanol production is reduced to 11% to 19% depending on the corn grain yield level associated with the four corn production scenarios, considering oil replacement associated with the soybean meal substituted in livestock diets with distillers dried grains with solubles. Efficiencies in ethanol processing, although producing more ethanol per bushel of processed corn, result in less co-products and therefore less offset of corn acreage. Shifting the use of distillers dried grains with solubles in feed to dairy cattle, pigs, and poultry substantially reduces land area attributed to corn ethanol production. However, because distillers dried grains with solubles

  5. The role of Tre6P and SnRK1 in maize early kernel development and events leading to stress-induced kernel abortion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bledsoe, Samuel W; Henry, Clémence; Griffiths, Cara A; Paul, Matthew J; Feil, Regina; Lunn, John E; Stitt, Mark; Lagrimini, L Mark

    2017-04-12

    Drought stress during flowering is a major contributor to yield loss in maize. Genetic and biotechnological improvement in yield sustainability requires an understanding of the mechanisms underpinning yield loss. Sucrose starvation has been proposed as the cause for kernel abortion; however, potential targets for genetic improvement have not been identified. Field and greenhouse drought studies with maize are expensive and it can be difficult to reproduce results; therefore, an in vitro kernel culture method is presented as a proxy for drought stress occurring at the time of flowering in maize (3 days after pollination). This method is used to focus on the effects of drought on kernel metabolism, and the role of trehalose 6-phosphate (Tre6P) and the sucrose non-fermenting-1-related kinase (SnRK1) as potential regulators of this response. A precipitous drop in Tre6P is observed during the first two hours after removing the kernels from the plant, and the resulting changes in transcript abundance are indicative of an activation of SnRK1, and an immediate shift from anabolism to catabolism. Once Tre6P levels are depleted to below 1 nmol∙g -1 FW in the kernel, SnRK1 remained active throughout the 96 h experiment, regardless of the presence or absence of sucrose in the medium. Recovery on sucrose enriched medium results in the restoration of sucrose synthesis and glycolysis. Biosynthetic processes including the citric acid cycle and protein and starch synthesis are inhibited by excision, and do not recover even after the re-addition of sucrose. It is also observed that excision induces the transcription of the sugar transporters SUT1 and SWEET1, the sucrose hydrolyzing enzymes CELL WALL INVERTASE 2 (INCW2) and SUCROSE SYNTHASE 1 (SUSY1), the class II TREHALOSE PHOSPHATE SYNTHASES (TPS), TREHALASE (TRE), and TREHALOSE PHOSPHATE PHOSPHATASE (ZmTPPA.3), previously shown to enhance drought tolerance (Nuccio et al., Nat Biotechnol (October 2014):1-13, 2015). The impact

  6. Optimasi Lahan dengan Sistem Tumpangsari Jagung Manis (Zea mays saccharata, Strurt dan Kangkung Sutera (Ipomea reptans di Pekanbaru

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Surtinah Surtinah

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Penelitian dilaksanakan secara eksperimen dengan menggunakan rancangan lingkungan acak lengkap dengan 3 kali ulangan, dan rancangan perlakuan yaitu waktu tanam kangkung sebagai tanaman tumpangsari pada budidaya jagung manis ( K yang terdiri dari : k1 =  waktu tanam bersamaan; k2 = waktu tanam kangkung 1 minggu setelah tanam jagung manis; k3 = waktu tanam kangkung 2 minggu setelah tanam jagung manis; k4 = waktu tanam kangkung 3 minggu setelah tanam jagung manis; k5= penanaman jagung manis tunggal dengan waktu tanam = k1; k6 = penanaman kangkung tunggal dengan waktu tanam = k1.      Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa kangkung sutera dapat ditanam bersamaan dengan waktu tanam jagungmanis, sampai dengan tiga minggu setelah tanam jagung manis.  Hasil jagung manis tidak dipengaruhi oleh waktu tanam kangkung sutera yang berbeda. Nilai Kesetaraan Lahan pada sistem tumpangsari jagung manis dengan kangkung sutera adalah 1,83. Indeks Persaingan antara jagung manis dan kangkung sutera adalah 1,73. Kata kunci : Jagung manis, Kangkung sutera, Tumpangsari, NKL, Indeks Persaingan. Research conducted experiments using a completely randomized design environment with three replications, and design of treatment that is the time of planting silk kale as secondary crops to the cultivation of sweet corn (K consisting of: k1 = planting at the same time; k2 = time of planting silk kale 1 week after planting sweet corn; k3 = time of planting silk kale 2 weeks after planting sweet corn; k4 = time of planting silk kale 3 weeks after planting sweet corn; K5 = single planting sweet corn planting time = k1; k6 = single silk kale planting time = k1. The results showed that silk kale can be planted together with sweet corn planting time, up to three weeks after planting sweet corn. Results of sweet corn is not influenced by the timing of planting different silk kale. Land values in the cropping system Equality sweet corn with silk kale is 1.83. Competition index between

  7. Electrochemical Immunosensor for the Detection of Aflatoxin B₁ in Palm Kernel Cake and Feed Samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azri, Farah Asilah; Selamat, Jinap; Sukor, Rashidah

    2017-11-30

    Palm kernel cake (PKC) is the solid residue following oil extraction of palm kernels and useful to fatten animals either as a single feed with only minerals and vitamins supplementation, or mixed with other feedstuffs such as corn kernels or soy beans. The occurrence of mycotoxins (aflatoxins, ochratoxins, zearalenone, and fumonisins) in feed samples affects the animal's health and also serves as a secondary contamination to humans via consumption of eggs, milk and meats. Of these, aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁) is the most toxically potent and a confirmed carcinogen to both humans and animals. Methods such as High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) are common in the determination of mycotoxins. However, these methods usually require sample pre-treatment, extensive cleanup and skilled operator. Therefore, in the present work, a rapid method of electrochemical immunosensor for the detection of AFB₁ was developed based on an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and chitosan (CS) were used as the electrode modifier for signal enhancement. N -ethyl- N '-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide (EDC) and N -hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) activated the carboxyl groups at the surface of nanocomposite for the attachment of AFB₁-BSA antigen by covalent bonding. An indirect competitive reaction occurred between AFB₁-BSA and free AFB₁ for the binding site of a fixed amount of anti-AFB₁ antibody. A catalytic signal based on horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) mediator was observed as a result of attachment of the secondary antibody to the immunoassay system. As a result, the reduction peak of TMB (Ox) was measured by using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) analysis. Based on the results, the electrochemical surface area was increased from 0.396 cm² to 1.298 cm² due to the

  8. Approximate kernel competitive learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Jian-Sheng; Zheng, Wei-Shi; Lai, Jian-Huang

    2015-03-01

    Kernel competitive learning has been successfully used to achieve robust clustering. However, kernel competitive learning (KCL) is not scalable for large scale data processing, because (1) it has to calculate and store the full kernel matrix that is too large to be calculated and kept in the memory and (2) it cannot be computed in parallel. In this paper we develop a framework of approximate kernel competitive learning for processing large scale dataset. The proposed framework consists of two parts. First, it derives an approximate kernel competitive learning (AKCL), which learns kernel competitive learning in a subspace via sampling. We provide solid theoretical analysis on why the proposed approximation modelling would work for kernel competitive learning, and furthermore, we show that the computational complexity of AKCL is largely reduced. Second, we propose a pseudo-parallelled approximate kernel competitive learning (PAKCL) based on a set-based kernel competitive learning strategy, which overcomes the obstacle of using parallel programming in kernel competitive learning and significantly accelerates the approximate kernel competitive learning for large scale clustering. The empirical evaluation on publicly available datasets shows that the proposed AKCL and PAKCL can perform comparably as KCL, with a large reduction on computational cost. Also, the proposed methods achieve more effective clustering performance in terms of clustering precision against related approximate clustering approaches. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Cover Crop-Based, Organic Rotational No-Till Corn and Soybean Production Systems in the Mid-Atlantic United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John M. Wallace

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Cover crop-based, organic rotational no-till (CCORNT corn and soybean production is becoming a viable strategy for reducing tillage in organic annual grain systems in the mid-Atlantic, United States. This strategy relies on mechanical termination of cover crops with a roller-crimper and no-till planting corn and soybean into cover crop mulches. Here, we report on recent research that focuses on integrated approaches for crop, nutrient and pest management in CCORNT systems that consider system and regional constraints for adoption in the mid-Atlantic. Our research suggests that no-till planting soybean into roller-crimped cereal rye can produce consistent yields. However, constraints to fertility management have produced less consistent no-till corn yields. Our research shows that grass-legume mixtures can improve N-release synchrony with corn demand and also improve weed suppression. Integration of high-residue inter-row cultivation improves weed control consistency and may reduce reliance on optimizing cover crop biomass accumulation for weed suppression. System-specific strategies are needed to address volunteer cover crops in later rotational phases, which result from incomplete cover crop termination with the roller crimper. The paucity of adequate machinery for optimizing establishment of cash crops into thick residue mulch remains a major constraint on CCORNT adoption. Similarly, breeding efforts are needed to improve cover crop germplasm and develop regionally-adapted varieties.

  10. On weights which admit the reproducing kernel of Bergman type

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zbigniew Pasternak-Winiarski

    1992-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we consider (1 the weights of integration for which the reproducing kernel of the Bergman type can be defined, i.e., the admissible weights, and (2 the kernels defined by such weights. It is verified that the weighted Bergman kernel has the analogous properties as the classical one. We prove several sufficient conditions and necessary and sufficient conditions for a weight to be an admissible weight. We give also an example of a weight which is not of this class. As a positive example we consider the weight μ(z=(Imz2 defined on the unit disk in ℂ.

  11. Cofermentation of sweet sorghum juice and grain for production of fuel ethanol and distillers' wet grain

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gibbons, W.R.; Westby, C.A.

    1989-01-01

    In an attempt to reduce the costs associated with fuel ethanol production from grain, sweet sorghum juice was used as a partial or complete replacement for tap-water in mash preparation and fermentation. This juice, which was an unutilized by-product of sweet sorghum silage preservation by the Ag-Bag method, contained 6.5-7.6% (wt/wt) reducing sugar and produced up to 3.51% (v/v) ethanol beers after fermentation. Varying amounts of this juice were mixed with water and corn or wheat, either before or after liquefaction (front-end or back-end loading, respectively). When over 60% juice replacement was used in front-end loading trials, salt buildup, due to required pH adjustments during cooking, inhibited yeast metabolism and thereby reduced yields. This inhibition was not observed during back-end loading trials since acid and base usage during cooking were reduced. (author).

  12. Classification With Truncated Distance Kernel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Xiaolin; Suykens, Johan A K; Wang, Shuning; Hornegger, Joachim; Maier, Andreas

    2018-05-01

    This brief proposes a truncated distance (TL1) kernel, which results in a classifier that is nonlinear in the global region but is linear in each subregion. With this kernel, the subregion structure can be trained using all the training data and local linear classifiers can be established simultaneously. The TL1 kernel has good adaptiveness to nonlinearity and is suitable for problems which require different nonlinearities in different areas. Though the TL1 kernel is not positive semidefinite, some classical kernel learning methods are still applicable which means that the TL1 kernel can be directly used in standard toolboxes by replacing the kernel evaluation. In numerical experiments, the TL1 kernel with a pregiven parameter achieves similar or better performance than the radial basis function kernel with the parameter tuned by cross validation, implying the TL1 kernel a promising nonlinear kernel for classification tasks.

  13. Phenology and biomass production of adapted and non-adapted tropical corn populations in Central Iowa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biofuel production in the Midwestern United States has largely focused on corn (Zea mays L.) grain for ethanol production and more recently, corn stover for lignocellulosic ethanol. As an alternative to conventional corn, tropical corn populations have been evaluated. Tropical corn is the term used ...

  14. Sweet Play

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, Shuk-kwan S.; Lo, Jane-Jane

    2010-01-01

    This article features Sweet play math, a "math by the month" activity that involves decorating and making sugar cubes. Teachers may want to substitute straws, paper squares, alphabet blocks, or such commercially made manipulatives as Unifix[R] cubes for the real sweets. Given no allergy concerns, teachers and students alike would enjoy some sweet…

  15. Midwest agriculture and ENSO: A comparison of AVHRR NDVI3g data and crop yields in the United States Corn Belt from 1982 to 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glennie, Erin; Anyamba, Assaf

    2018-06-01

    A time series of Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data were compared to National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) corn yield data in the United States Corn Belt from 1982 to 2014. The main objectives of the comparison were to assess 1) the consistency of regional Corn Belt responses to El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) teleconnection signals, and 2) the reliability of using NDVI as an indicator of crop yield. Regional NDVI values were used to model a seasonal curve and to define the growing season - May to October. Seasonal conditions in each county were represented by NDVI and land surface temperature (LST) composites, and corn yield was represented by average annual bushels produced per acre. Correlation analysis between the NDVI, LST, corn yield, and equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature anomalies revealed patterns in land surface dynamics and corn yield, as well as typical impacts of ENSO episodes. It was observed from the study that growing seasons coincident with La Niña events were consistently warmer, but El Niño events did not consistently impact NDVI, temperature, or corn yield data. Moreover, the El Niño and La Niña composite images suggest that impacts vary spatially across the Corn Belt. While corn is the dominant crop in the region, some inconsistencies between corn yield and NDVI may be attributed to soy crops and other background interference. The overall correlation between the total growing season NDVI anomaly and detrended corn yield was 0.61(p = 0.00013), though the strength of the relationship varies across the Corn Belt.

  16. Composition of forage and grain from second-generation insect-protected corn MON 89034 is equivalent to that of conventional corn (Zea mays L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drury, Suzanne M; Reynolds, Tracey L; Ridley, William P; Bogdanova, Natalia; Riordan, Susan; Nemeth, Margaret A; Sorbet, Roy; Trujillo, William A; Breeze, Matthew L

    2008-06-25

    Insect-protected corn hybrids containing Cry insecticidal proteins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis have protection from target pests and provide effective management of insect resistance. MON 89034 hybrids have been developed that produce both the Cry1A.105 and Cry2Ab2 proteins, which provide two independent modes of insecticidal action against the European corn borer ( Ostrinia nubilalis ) and other lepidopteran insect pests of corn. The composition of MON 89034 corn was compared to conventional corn by measuring proximates, fiber, and minerals in forage and by measuring proximates, fiber, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, antinutrients, and secondary metabolites in grain collected from 10 replicated field sites across the United States and Argentina during the 2004-2005 growing seasons. Analyses established that the forage and grain from MON 89034 are compositionally comparable to the control corn hybrid and conventional corn reference hybrids. These findings support the conclusion that MON 89034 is compositionally equivalent to conventional corn hybrids.

  17. Sweet Conclusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shirley, Britt M.; Wooldridge, Barbara Ross; Camp, Kerri M.

    2012-01-01

    Jen Harrington is the owner and pastry chef of Sweet Conclusion, a bakery in Tampa, Florida. Most of Harrington's business comes from baking wedding cakes, but she has been attempting to attract customers to her retail bakery, where she sells cupcakes, pies, ice cream, and coffee. Nearly four years she opened Sweet Conclusion, the retail part of…

  18. Sugar Profile, Mineral Content, and Rheological and Thermal Properties of an Isomerized Sweet Potato Starch Syrup

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brunson Dominque

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Currently, corn is used to produce more than 85% of the world’s high fructose syrup (HFS. There is a search for alternative HFS substrates because of increased food demand and shrinking economies, especially in the developing world. The sweet potato is a feasible, alternative raw material. This study isomerized a high glucose sweet potato starch syrup (SPSS and determined its sugar profile, mineral content, and rheological and thermal properties. Rheological and thermal properties were measured using a rheometer and DSC, respectively. Sweet potato starch was hydrolyzed to syrup with a mean fructose content of 7.6±0.4%. The SPSS had significantly higher (P<0.05 mineral content when compared to commercial ginger and pancake syrups. During 70 days of storage, the SPSS acted as a non-Newtonian, shear-thinning liquid in which the viscosity decreased as shear stress increased. Water loss temperature of the SPSS continually decreased during storage, while pancake and ginger syrups’ peak water loss temperature decreased initially and then increased. Further and more detailed studies should be designed to further enhance the fructose content of the syrup and observe its stability beyond 70 days. The SPSS has the potential to be used in human food systems in space and on Earth.

  19. Microscopic Analysis of Corn Fiber Using Corn Starch- and Cellulose-Specific Molecular Probes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Porter, S. E.; Donohoe, B. S.; Beery, K. E.; Xu, Q.; Ding, S.-Y.; Vinzant, T. B.; Abbas, C. A.; Himmel, M. E.

    2007-09-01

    Ethanol is the primary liquid transportation fuel produced from renewable feedstocks in the United States today. The majority of corn grain, the primary feedstock for ethanol production, has been historically processed in wet mills yielding products such as gluten feed, gluten meal, starch, and germ. Starch extracted from the grain is used to produce ethanol in saccharification and fermentation steps; however the extraction of starch is not 100% efficient. To better understand starch extraction during the wet milling process, we have developed fluorescent probes that can be used to visually localize starch and cellulose in samples using confocal microscopy. These probes are based on the binding specificities of two types of carbohydrate binding modules (CBMs), which are small substrate-specific protein domains derived from carbohydrate degrading enzymes. CBMs were fused, using molecular cloning techniques, to a green fluorescent protein (GFP) or to the red fluorescent protein DsRed (RFP). Using these engineered probes, we found that the binding of the starch-specific probe correlates with starch content in corn fiber samples. We also demonstrate that there is starch internally localized in the endosperm that may contribute to the high starch content in corn fiber. We also surprisingly found that the cellulose-specific probe did not bind to most corn fiber samples, but only to corn fiber that had been hydrolyzed using a thermochemical process that removes the residual starch and much of the hemicellulose. Our findings should be of interest to those working to increase the efficiency of the corn grain to ethanol process.

  20. Inclusion levels of sweet potato root meal in the diet of broilers I. Effect on performance, organ weights, and carcass quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beckford, R C; Bartlett, J R

    2015-06-01

    The amount of corn available for animal and poultry feed has been unpredictable in recent years due to the increased use of corn for ethanol production. As a consequence, there has been an increase in the price of feed, chicken, and chicken products. Researchers are exploring alternative feed sources to substitute for corn in poultry ration. This study evaluated the performance and carcass quality of broilers fed diets containing sweet potato root meal (SPRM). After a complete nutrient analysis of the SPRM, diets were formulated where 0, 10, 20, and 30% of corn was substituted with SPRM. The study utilized 360 1-d-old Cornish X Rock male broiler chickens randomly assigned to one of 4 treatments; 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% SPRM. Body weights and feed intake (FI) were monitored weekly for 7 wk. Birds were slaughtered on d 50 and FI, BW gain, ADG, ADFI, abdominal fat, dressing percentage, and organ weights measured. White (breast) and dark (leg and thigh) meat were evaluated for nutrient content (protein, moisture, fat, and ash). Results showed birds fed 20% SPRM had lower (Pdressing percentage among treatments. Abdominal fat was highest (PPoultry Science Association.

  1. Evidence for a weakening strength of temperature-corn yield relation in the United States during 1980–2010

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leng, Guoyong

    2017-12-01

    Temperature is known to be correlated with crop yields, causing reduction of crop yield with climate warming without adaptations or CO2 fertilization effects. The historical temperature-crop yield relation has often been used for informing future changes. This relationship, however, may change over time following alternations in other environmental factors. Results show that the strength of the relationship between the interannual variability of growing season temperature and corn yield (RGST_CY) has declined in the United States between 1980 and 2010 with a loss in the statistical significance. The regression slope which represents the anomalies in corn yield that occur in association with 1 degree temperature anomaly has decreased significantly from -6.9%/K of the first half period to -2.4%/K~-3.5%/K of the second half period. This implies that projected corn yield reduction will be overestimated by a fact of 2 in a given warming scenario, if the corn-temperature relation is derived from the earlier historical period. Changes in RGST_CY are mainly observed in Midwest Corn Belt and central High Plains, and are well reproduced by 11 process-based crop models. In Midwest rain-fed systems, the decrease of negative temperature effects coincides with an increase in water availability by precipitation. In irrigated areas where water stress is minimized, the decline of beneficial temperature effects is significantly related to the increase in extreme hot days. The results indicate that an extrapolation of historical yield response to temperature may bias the assessment of agriculture vulnerability to climate change. Efforts to reduce climate impacts on agriculture should pay attention not only to climate change, but also to changes in climate-crop yield relations. There are some caveats that should be acknowledged as the analysis is restricted to the changes in the linear relation between growing season mean temperature and corn yield for the specific study period.

  2. The Potential Research of Catch Crop in Decrease Soil Nitrate Under Greenhouse Vegetable Production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    YIN Xing

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In order to clarify the impact of catch crops on greenhouse vegetable soil nitrate, explore the mechanism of barrier and controll soil nitrogen leaching losses in greenhouse, and provide a theoretical basis for control nitrogen leaching and prevention of groundwater pollution, this study selected the traditional greenhouse vegetable rotation system in North China plain as research subjects, using field situ remediation technologies on deep-root planting catch crops in the vegetable fallow period by sweet corn, Achyranthes bidentata and white Chrysanthemum. The results showed that: nitrogen content and nitrogen uptake of sweet corn and sweet corn with Achyranthes bidentata intercropping were the highest, respectively 20.11 t·hm-2, 19.62 t·hm-2 and 240.34 kg·hm-2, 287.56 kg·hm-2, significantly higher than white Chrysanthemum. The density of root length and root dry weight decreased with soil depth in the profiles, root length density was demonstrated in order as: intercropping sweet corn> sweet corn> white Chrysanthemum> intercropping Achyranthes bidentata blume. The reduction of NO3--N of sweet corn reached 907.87 kg·hm-2 in soil profile 0~200 cm, significantly higher than sweet corn and hyssop intercropping and white Chrysanthemums. In the interim period of vegetable crop rotation, planting catch crops could effectively reduce nitrate accumulation in the soil, control the soil profile nitrate leaching down.

  3. Subsampling Realised Kernels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Barndorff-Nielsen, Ole Eiler; Hansen, Peter Reinhard; Lunde, Asger

    2011-01-01

    In a recent paper we have introduced the class of realised kernel estimators of the increments of quadratic variation in the presence of noise. We showed that this estimator is consistent and derived its limit distribution under various assumptions on the kernel weights. In this paper we extend our...... that subsampling is impotent, in the sense that subsampling has no effect on the asymptotic distribution. Perhaps surprisingly, for the efficient smooth kernels, such as the Parzen kernel, we show that subsampling is harmful as it increases the asymptotic variance. We also study the performance of subsampled...

  4. Effects of irradiation on fungi and fumonisin B(1) in corn, and of microwave-popping on fumonisins in popcorn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Ovidio, K L; Trucksess, M W; Devries, J W; Bean, G

    2007-07-01

    Fumonisins are metabolites produced in corn primarily by the fungus Fusarium verticillioides (F. moniliforme) and are toxic to humans and animals. Fumonisin B(1) (FB(1)) is the primary fumonisin produced and is found frequently in corn kernels, some of which may be used as food or food ingredients. A three-part study was conducted to determine the effects of gamma- and electron beam irradiation on the levels of fumonisins in naturally contaminated field corn, and the effects of microwave-popping on fumonisins in selected, naturally contaminated popcorn. To date, no effective means have been found to reduce consistently mycotoxin levels once foods are contaminated. Aqueous solutions of FB(1) at various concentrations, samples of whole corn, and samples of ground corn containing known levels of FB(1) were irradiated with various levels of cobalt and electron beam irradiation. Popcorn samples, taken from the reject streams of popcorn processing, were popped using normal microwave-popping conditions. FB(1) in aqueous solutions was reduced by 99.7% using a minimal level of irradiation (0.5 kGray). Gamma- and electron beam irradiation did not significantly reduce levels of FB(1) in whole and ground corn. Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp. and Fusarium sp. fungi were totally eliminated at 30 kGray in ground corn and at 100 kGray in whole corn. The normal commercial cleaning processes for microwave popcorn before packaging reduced fumonisins to fumonisins resulted in significant reduction of the mould toxin.

  5. Value-added probiotic development by high-solid fermentation of sweet potato with Saccharomyces boulardii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Carmen; Nanjundaswamy, Ananda K; Njiti, Victor; Xia, Qun; Chukwuma, Franklin

    2017-05-01

    Controlled fermentation of Sweet potato ( Ipomoea batatas ) var. Beauregard by yeast, Saccharomyces boulardii (MAY 796) to enhance the nutritional value of sweet potato was investigated. An average 8.00 × 10 10 Colony Forming Units (CFU)/g of viable cells were obtained over 5-day high-solid fermentation. Yeast cell viability did not change significantly over time at 4°C whereas the number of viable yeast cells reduced significantly at room temperature (25°C), which was approximately 40% in 12 months. Overall, the controlled fermentation of sweet potato by MAY 796 enhanced protein, crude fiber, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, amino acid, and fatty acid levels. Development of value-added sweet potato has a great potential in animal feed and human nutrition. S. boulardii - fermented sweet potato has great potential as probiotic-enriched animal feed and/or functional food for human nutrition.

  6. Kernel abortion in maize. II. Distribution of 14C among kernel carboydrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanft, J.M.; Jones, R.J.

    1986-01-01

    This study was designed to compare the uptake and distribution of 14 C among fructose, glucose, sucrose, and starch in the cob, pedicel, and endosperm tissues of maize (Zea mays L.) kernels induced to abort by high temperature with those that develop normally. Kernels cultured in vitro at 309 and 35 0 C were transferred to [ 14 C]sucrose media 10 days after pollination. Kernels cultured at 35 0 C aborted prior to the onset of linear dry matter accumulation. Significant uptake into the cob, pedicel, and endosperm of radioactivity associated with the soluble and starch fractions of the tissues was detected after 24 hours in culture on atlageled media. After 8 days in culture on [ 14 C]sucrose media, 48 and 40% of the radioactivity associated with the cob carbohydrates was found in the reducing sugars at 30 and 35 0 C, respectively. Of the total carbohydrates, a higher percentage of label was associated with sucrose and lower percentage with fructose and glucose in pedicel tissue of kernels cultured at 35 0 C compared to kernels cultured at 30 0 C. These results indicate that sucrose was not cleaved to fructose and glucose as rapidly during the unloading process in the pedicel of kernels induced to abort by high temperature. Kernels cultured at 35 0 C had a much lower proportion of label associated with endosperm starch (29%) than did kernels cultured at 30 0 C (89%). Kernels cultured at 35 0 C had a correspondingly higher proportion of 14 C in endosperm fructose, glucose, and sucrose

  7. GPU-accelerated Kernel Regression Reconstruction for Freehand 3D Ultrasound Imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Tiexiang; Li, Ling; Zhu, Qingsong; Qin, Wenjian; Gu, Jia; Yang, Feng; Xie, Yaoqin

    2017-07-01

    Volume reconstruction method plays an important role in improving reconstructed volumetric image quality for freehand three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound imaging. By utilizing the capability of programmable graphics processing unit (GPU), we can achieve a real-time incremental volume reconstruction at a speed of 25-50 frames per second (fps). After incremental reconstruction and visualization, hole-filling is performed on GPU to fill remaining empty voxels. However, traditional pixel nearest neighbor-based hole-filling fails to reconstruct volume with high image quality. On the contrary, the kernel regression provides an accurate volume reconstruction method for 3D ultrasound imaging but with the cost of heavy computational complexity. In this paper, a GPU-based fast kernel regression method is proposed for high-quality volume after the incremental reconstruction of freehand ultrasound. The experimental results show that improved image quality for speckle reduction and details preservation can be obtained with the parameter setting of kernel window size of [Formula: see text] and kernel bandwidth of 1.0. The computational performance of the proposed GPU-based method can be over 200 times faster than that on central processing unit (CPU), and the volume with size of 50 million voxels in our experiment can be reconstructed within 10 seconds.

  8. Optimized Kernel Entropy Components.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izquierdo-Verdiguier, Emma; Laparra, Valero; Jenssen, Robert; Gomez-Chova, Luis; Camps-Valls, Gustau

    2017-06-01

    This brief addresses two main issues of the standard kernel entropy component analysis (KECA) algorithm: the optimization of the kernel decomposition and the optimization of the Gaussian kernel parameter. KECA roughly reduces to a sorting of the importance of kernel eigenvectors by entropy instead of variance, as in the kernel principal components analysis. In this brief, we propose an extension of the KECA method, named optimized KECA (OKECA), that directly extracts the optimal features retaining most of the data entropy by means of compacting the information in very few features (often in just one or two). The proposed method produces features which have higher expressive power. In particular, it is based on the independent component analysis framework, and introduces an extra rotation to the eigen decomposition, which is optimized via gradient-ascent search. This maximum entropy preservation suggests that OKECA features are more efficient than KECA features for density estimation. In addition, a critical issue in both the methods is the selection of the kernel parameter, since it critically affects the resulting performance. Here, we analyze the most common kernel length-scale selection criteria. The results of both the methods are illustrated in different synthetic and real problems. Results show that OKECA returns projections with more expressive power than KECA, the most successful rule for estimating the kernel parameter is based on maximum likelihood, and OKECA is more robust to the selection of the length-scale parameter in kernel density estimation.

  9. Genetics of sweet taste preferences†

    OpenAIRE

    Bachmanov, Alexander A; Bosak, Natalia P; Floriano, Wely B; Inoue, Masashi; Li, Xia; Lin, Cailu; Murovets, Vladimir O; Reed, Danielle R; Zolotarev, Vasily A; Beauchamp, Gary K

    2011-01-01

    Sweet taste is a powerful factor influencing food acceptance. There is considerable variation in sweet taste perception and preferences within and among species. Although learning and homeostatic mechanisms contribute to this variation in sweet taste, much of it is genetically determined. Recent studies have shown that variation in the T1R genes contributes to within- and between-species differences in sweet taste. In addition, our ongoing studies using the mouse model demonstrate that a sign...

  10. Quantificação de açúcares solúveis totais, açúcares redutores e amido nos grãos verdes de cultivares de milho na colheita Quantification of total soluble sugars, reducing sugars and starch in immature kernels of corn cultivars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernanda Fátima Caniato

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho foi quantificar os teores de açúcares solúveis totais (AST, açúcares redutores (AR e amido em nove cultivares de milho colhidos no estádio verde, uma vez que estes influenciam diretamente o sabor, o aroma e a aceitação do consumidor. O experimento foi conduzido em Ponte Nova, MG, no ano agrícola 2002/2003. Para a determinação das características, foi retirada uma amostra de três espigas de cada unidade experimental. O ponto de colheita foi identificado por método empírico, quando o estilo-estigma se desprendia da espiga com facilidade. As cultivares apresentaram umidades diferentes no momento da colheita, variando de 56 a 64%. Não foi detectada diferença entre as cultivares quanto aos teores de AR, porém, P3232 e AG4051 apresentaram boa relação entre AR e AST, destacando-se para esta finalidade.Total soluble sugars (TSS, reducing sugars (RS, moisture and starch directly influence flavor and consumption. In this work, TSS, RS and starch were determined at harvest in young kernels of nine corn cultivars. The experiment was carried out in Ponte Nova, MG, Brazil. To determine chemical characters of young kernels a sample was obtained of three cobs from each experimental plot. Corn ears were harvested using an empirical method, when the silk was loose from the ear. Moisture varied among samples of different cultivars at harvest. Moisture content ranged from 56 to 64%. There were no differences among cultivars regarding RS. However, cultivars P3232 and AG4051 showed good RS to TSS ratio, being adequate for fresh consumption.

  11. Evaluation of three cultivars of sweet sorghum as feedstocks for ethanol production in the Southeast United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel E. Ekefre

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Sweet sorghum has become a promising alternative feedstock for biofuel production because it can be grown under reduced inputs, responds to stress more efficiently than traditional crops, and has large biomass production potential. A three-year field study was conducted to evaluate three cultivars of sweet sorghum as bioenergy crops in the Southeast United States (Fort Valley, Georgia: Dale, M81 E and Theis. Parameters evaluated were: plant density, stalk height, and diameter, number of nodes, biomass yield, juice yield, °Bx, sugar production, and theoretical ethanol yields. Yields were measured at 85, 99, and 113 days after planting. Plant fresh weight was the highest for Theis (1096 g and the lowest for Dale (896 g. M81 E reported the highest stalk dry weight (27 Mg ha−1 and Theis reported the lowest (21 Mg ha−1. Theis ranked the highest °Bx (14.9, whereas M81 E was the lowest (13.2. Juice yield was the greatest for M81 E (10915 L ha−1 and the lowest for Dale (6724 L ha−1. Theoretical conservative sugar yield was the greatest for Theis (13 Mg ha−1 and the lowest for Dale (9 Mg ha−1. Theoretical ethanol yield was the greatest for Theis (7619 L ha−1 and the lowest for Dale (5077 L ha−1.

  12. Potential economic losses to the US corn industry from aflatoxin contamination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Nicole J; Bowers, Erin; Hurburgh, Charles; Wu, Felicia

    2016-01-01

    Mycotoxins, toxins produced by fungi that colonise food crops, can pose a heavy economic burden to the US corn industry. In terms of economic burden, aflatoxins are the most problematic mycotoxins in US agriculture. Estimates of their market impacts are important in determining the benefits of implementing mitigation strategies within the US corn industry, and the value of strategies to mitigate mycotoxin problems. Additionally, climate change may cause increases in aflatoxin contamination in corn, greatly affecting the economy of the US Midwest and all sectors in the United States and worldwide that rely upon its corn production. We propose two separate models for estimating the potential market loss to the corn industry from aflatoxin contamination, in the case of potential near-future climate scenarios (based on aflatoxin levels in Midwest corn in warm summers in the last decade). One model uses the probability of acceptance based on operating characteristic (OC) curves for aflatoxin sampling and testing, while the other employs partial equilibrium economic analysis, assuming no Type 1 or Type 2 errors, to estimate losses due to proportions of lots above the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) aflatoxin action levels. We estimate that aflatoxin contamination could cause losses to the corn industry ranging from US$52.1 million to US$1.68 billion annually in the United States, if climate change causes more regular aflatoxin contamination in the Corn Belt as was experienced in years such as 2012. The wide range represents the natural variability in aflatoxin contamination from year to year in US corn, with higher losses representative of warmer years.

  13. Potential economic losses to the USA corn industry from aflatoxin contamination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, N.J.; Bowers, E.; Hurburgh, C.; Wu, F.

    2016-01-01

    Mycotoxins, toxins produced by fungi that colonize food crops, can pose a heavy economic burden to the United States corn industry. In terms of economic burden, aflatoxins are the most problematic mycotoxins in US agriculture. Estimates of their market impacts are important in determining the benefits of implementing mitigation strategies within the US corn industry, and the value of strategies to mitigate mycotoxin problems. Additionally, climate change may cause increases in aflatoxin contamination in corn, greatly affecting the economy of the US Midwest and all sectors in the US and worldwide that rely upon its corn production. We propose two separate models for estimating the potential market loss to the corn industry from aflatoxin contamination, in the case of potential near-future climate scenarios (based on aflatoxin levels in Midwest corn in warm summers in the last decade). One model uses probability of acceptance based on operating characteristic (OC) curves for aflatoxin sampling and testing, while the other employs partial equilibrium economic analysis, assuming no Type 1 or Type 2 errors, to estimate losses due to proportions of lots above the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) aflatoxin action levels. We estimate that aflatoxin contamination could cause losses to the corn industry ranging from $52.1 million to $1.68 billion annually in the United States, if climate change causes more regular aflatoxin contamination in the Corn Belt as was experienced in years such as 2012. The wide range represents the natural variability in aflatoxin contamination from year to year in US corn, with higher losses representative of warmer years. PMID:26807606

  14. Health Impacts from Corn Production Pre-and Post-NAFTA Trade Agreement (1986-2013).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendoza-Cano, Oliver; Sánchez-Piña, Ramón Alberto; González-Ibarra, Álvaro Jesús; Murillo-Zamora, Efrén; Nava-Garibaldi, Cynthia Monique

    2016-07-13

    Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a powerful methodology for the study of health impacts and public policies. We performed this study to quantitatively explain the potential health impacts on disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of corn produced in Mexico and imported from the United States of America (U.S.) from 1984 until 2014. The processes are hybrid and organic corn production. The functional unit was defined as 1 ton of corn production. Results indicate a total value of 178,431, 244,175, and 283,426 DALYs of three decades: 1984-1993, 1994-2003, and 2004-2013, of Mexican production; the U.S. production and transport were also calculated, showing values of 29,815, 65,837, and 107,729 for the same three decades. Additionally, DALYs were obtained for the category of human health and climate change by functional unit: 802.31 (1984-1993), 802.67 (1994-2003), and 803.92 (2004-2013), and for imported corn transported to Mexico from the U.S., 859.12 (1984-2013). DALYs on human toxicity were obtained: 99.05 (1984-1993), 99.05 (1994-2003), and 99.04 (2004-2013), and for the corn imported and transported to Mexico from the U.S., 116.25 (1984-2013). Environmental and health impacts in terms of DALYs are higher when corn is imported versus the corn produced in Mexico. Environmental health and nominal corn cultivation and transport impacts have increased as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Mexico needs to redefine its public policies to suffer less of an environmental burden from corn to ensure global environmental health and food security.

  15. Effect of Substitution of Sugar by High Fructose Corn Syrup on the Physicochemical Properties of Bakery and Dairy Products: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azizollaah Zargaraan

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available High fructose corn syrup (HFCS is commonly found in soft drinks and juice beverages, as well as in many pre-packaged foods such as breakfast cereals, baked goods and dairy desserts. Historically, sucrose (table sugar was primarily added to processed foods and beverages as the sweetening agent. In recent years, the use of HFCS has significantly increased in popularity due to its sweetness, ability to enhance flavor and shelf life, and its low cost. HFCF made by enzymatic isomerization of glucose to fructose was introduced as HFCS-42 (42% fructose and HFCS-55 (55% fructose and opened a new frontier for the sweetener and soft drink industries. Using a glucose isomerase, the starch in corn can be efficiently converted into glucose and then to various amounts of fructose. Hydrolysis of sucrose produces a 50:50 molar mixture of fructose and glucose. The primary difference is that these monosaccharides exist free in solution in HFCS, but in sucrose bonded together. The disaccharide sucrose is easily cleaved in the small intestine, so free fructose and glucose are absorbed from both sucrose and HFCS. The advantage to food manufacturers is that the free monosaccharide in HFCS provides better flavor enhancement, stability, freshness, texture, color, pourability, and consistency in foods in comparison to sucrose. The development of these inexpensive, sweet corn-based syrups made it profitable to replace sucrose (sugar and simple sugars with HFCS in our diet. In the present study, the replacement of sucrose with HFCS and its effect on the functionality and organoleptic properties of different food products were reviewed.

  16. Effect of heat treatment to sweet potato flour on dough properties and characteristics of sweet potato-wheat bread.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez, Isela Carballo; Mu, Tai-Hua; Zhang, Miao; Ji, Lei-Lei

    2017-12-01

    The effect of heat treatment at 90, 100, 110 and 120 ℃ for 20 min to sweet potato flour on dough properties and characteristics of sweet potato-wheat bread was investigated. The lightness (L*) and a* of sweet potato flour samples after heat treatment were increased, while the b* were decreased significantly, as well as the particle size, volume and area mean diameter ( p sweet potato flour was observed, where the number of irregular granules increased as the temperature increased from 90 to 120 ℃. Compared with sweet potato flour samples without heat treatment and with heat treatment at 90, 100 and 120 ℃, the gelatinization temperature and enthalpy change of sweet potato flour at 110 ℃ were the lowest, which were 77.94 ℃ and 3.67 J/g, respectively ( p sweet potato flour increased significantly from 1199 ml without heat treatment to 1214 ml at 90 ℃ ( p sweet potato-wheat bread with sweet potato flour after heat treatment increased significantly, which was the largest at 90 ℃ (2.53 cm 3 /g) ( p sweet potato flour could be potentially used in wheat bread production.

  17. Molecular characterization of two isolates of sweet potato leaf curl ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Jane

    2011-08-17

    Aug 17, 2011 ... related to that of sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV) from United States with nucleotide sequence identity of ... species including Ipomoea indica, are grown orna- mentally all .... and AC4 were closely related to that of SPLCV-.

  18. A novel adaptive kernel method with kernel centers determined by a support vector regression approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sun, L.G.; De Visser, C.C.; Chu, Q.P.; Mulder, J.A.

    2012-01-01

    The optimality of the kernel number and kernel centers plays a significant role in determining the approximation power of nearly all kernel methods. However, the process of choosing optimal kernels is always formulated as a global optimization task, which is hard to accomplish. Recently, an

  19. Napping-Ultra Flash Profile as a Tool for Category Identification and Subsequent Model System Formulation of Caramel Corn Products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayhew, Emily; Schmidt, Shelly; Lee, Soo-Yeun

    2016-07-01

    In a novel approach to formulation, the flash descriptive profiling technique Napping-Ultra Flash Profile (Napping-UFP) was used to characterize a wide range of commercial caramel corn products. The objectives were to identify product categories, develop model systems based on product categories, and correlate analytical parameters with sensory terms generated through the Napping-UFP exercise. In one 2 h session, 12 panelists participated in 4 Napping-UFP exercises, describing and grouping, on a 43×56 cm paper sheet, 12 commercial caramel corn samples by degree of similarity, globally and in terms of aroma-by-mouth, texture, and taste. The coordinates of each sample's placement on the paper sheet and descriptive terms generated by the panelists were used to conduct Multiple Factor Analysis (MFA) and hierarchical clustering of the samples. Strong trends in the clustering of samples across the 4 Napping-UFP exercises resulted in the determination of 3 overarching types of commercial caramel corn: "small-scale dark" (typified by burnt, rich caramel corn), "large-scale light" (typified by light and buttery caramel corn), and "large-scale dark" (typified by sweet and molasses-like caramel corn). Representative samples that best exemplified the properties of each category were used as guides in the formulation of 3 model systems that represent the spread of commercial caramel corn products. Analytical testing of the commercial products, including aw measurement, moisture content determination, and thermal characterization via differential scanning calorimetry, were conducted and results related to sensory descriptors using Spearman's correlation. © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®

  20. Protein Subcellular Localization with Gaussian Kernel Discriminant Analysis and Its Kernel Parameter Selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shunfang; Nie, Bing; Yue, Kun; Fei, Yu; Li, Wenjia; Xu, Dongshu

    2017-12-15

    Kernel discriminant analysis (KDA) is a dimension reduction and classification algorithm based on nonlinear kernel trick, which can be novelly used to treat high-dimensional and complex biological data before undergoing classification processes such as protein subcellular localization. Kernel parameters make a great impact on the performance of the KDA model. Specifically, for KDA with the popular Gaussian kernel, to select the scale parameter is still a challenging problem. Thus, this paper introduces the KDA method and proposes a new method for Gaussian kernel parameter selection depending on the fact that the differences between reconstruction errors of edge normal samples and those of interior normal samples should be maximized for certain suitable kernel parameters. Experiments with various standard data sets of protein subcellular localization show that the overall accuracy of protein classification prediction with KDA is much higher than that without KDA. Meanwhile, the kernel parameter of KDA has a great impact on the efficiency, and the proposed method can produce an optimum parameter, which makes the new algorithm not only perform as effectively as the traditional ones, but also reduce the computational time and thus improve efficiency.

  1. Drug versus sweet reward: greater attraction to and preference for sweet versus drug cues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madsen, Heather B; Ahmed, Serge H

    2015-05-01

    Despite the unique ability of addictive drugs to directly activate brain reward circuits, recent evidence suggests that drugs induce reinforcing and incentive effects that are comparable to, or even lower than some nondrug rewards. In particular, when rats have a choice between pressing a lever associated with intravenous cocaine or heroin delivery and another lever associated with sweet water delivery, most respond on the latter. This outcome suggests that sweet water is more reinforcing and attractive than either drug. However, this outcome may also be due to the differential ability of sweet versus drug levers to elicit Pavlovian feeding-like conditioned responses that can cause involuntary lever pressing, such as pawing and biting the lever. To test this hypothesis, rats first underwent Pavlovian conditioning to associate one lever with sweet water (0.2% saccharin) and a different lever with intravenous cocaine (0.25 mg) or heroin (0.01 mg). Choice between these two levers was then assessed under two operant choice procedures: one that permitted the expression of Pavlovian-conditioned lever press responses during choice, the other not. During conditioning, Pavlovian-conditioned lever press responses were considerably higher on the sweet lever than on either drug lever, and slightly greater on the heroin lever than on the cocaine lever. Importantly, though these differences in Pavlovian-conditioned behavior predicted subsequent preference for sweet water during choice, they were not required for its expression. Overall, this study confirms that rats prefer the sweet lever because sweet water is more reinforcing and attractive than cocaine or heroin. © 2014 Society for the Study of Addiction.

  2. 7 CFR 981.7 - Edible kernel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Edible kernel. 981.7 Section 981.7 Agriculture... Regulating Handling Definitions § 981.7 Edible kernel. Edible kernel means a kernel, piece, or particle of almond kernel that is not inedible. [41 FR 26852, June 30, 1976] ...

  3. Structural changes of corn stover lignin during acid pretreatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moxley, Geoffrey; Gaspar, Armindo Ribeiro; Higgins, Don; Xu, Hui

    2012-09-01

    In this study, raw corn stover was subjected to dilute acid pretreatments over a range of severities under conditions similar to those identified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in their techno-economic analysis of biochemical conversion of corn stover to ethanol. The pretreated corn stover then underwent enzymatic hydrolysis with yields above 70 % at moderate enzyme loading conditions. The enzyme exhausted lignin residues were characterized by ³¹P NMR spectroscopy and functional moieties quantified and correlated to enzymatic hydrolysis yields. Results from this study indicated that both xylan solubilization and lignin degradation are important for improving the enzyme accessibility and digestibility of dilute acid pretreated corn stover. At lower pretreatment temperatures, there is a good correlation between xylan solubilization and cellulose accessibility. At higher pretreatment temperatures, lignin degradation correlated better with cellulose accessibility, represented by the increase in phenolic groups. During acid pretreatment, the ratio of syringyl/guaiacyl functional groups also gradually changed from less than 1 to greater than 1 with the increase in pretreatment temperature. This implies that more syringyl units are released from lignin depolymerization of aryl ether linkages than guaiacyl units. The condensed phenolic units are also correlated with the increase in pretreatment temperature up to 180 °C, beyond which point condensation reactions may overtake the hydrolysis of aryl ether linkages as the dominant reactions of lignin, thus leading to decreased cellulose accessibility.

  4. Kernel versions of some orthogonal transformations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg

    Kernel versions of orthogonal transformations such as principal components are based on a dual formulation also termed Q-mode analysis in which the data enter into the analysis via inner products in the Gram matrix only. In the kernel version the inner products of the original data are replaced...... by inner products between nonlinear mappings into higher dimensional feature space. Via kernel substitution also known as the kernel trick these inner products between the mappings are in turn replaced by a kernel function and all quantities needed in the analysis are expressed in terms of this kernel...... function. This means that we need not know the nonlinear mappings explicitly. Kernel principal component analysis (PCA) and kernel minimum noise fraction (MNF) analyses handle nonlinearities by implicitly transforming data into high (even infinite) dimensional feature space via the kernel function...

  5. Model Selection in Kernel Ridge Regression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Exterkate, Peter

    Kernel ridge regression is gaining popularity as a data-rich nonlinear forecasting tool, which is applicable in many different contexts. This paper investigates the influence of the choice of kernel and the setting of tuning parameters on forecast accuracy. We review several popular kernels......, including polynomial kernels, the Gaussian kernel, and the Sinc kernel. We interpret the latter two kernels in terms of their smoothing properties, and we relate the tuning parameters associated to all these kernels to smoothness measures of the prediction function and to the signal-to-noise ratio. Based...... on these interpretations, we provide guidelines for selecting the tuning parameters from small grids using cross-validation. A Monte Carlo study confirms the practical usefulness of these rules of thumb. Finally, the flexible and smooth functional forms provided by the Gaussian and Sinc kernels makes them widely...

  6. Combined multi-kernel head computed tomography images optimized for depicting both brain parenchyma and bone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takagi, Satoshi; Nagase, Hiroyuki; Hayashi, Tatsuya; Kita, Tamotsu; Hayashi, Katsumi; Sanada, Shigeru; Koike, Masayuki

    2014-01-01

    The hybrid convolution kernel technique for computed tomography (CT) is known to enable the depiction of an image set using different window settings. Our purpose was to decrease the number of artifacts in the hybrid convolution kernel technique for head CT and to determine whether our improved combined multi-kernel head CT images enabled diagnosis as a substitute for both brain (low-pass kernel-reconstructed) and bone (high-pass kernel-reconstructed) images. Forty-four patients with nondisplaced skull fractures were included. Our improved multi-kernel images were generated so that pixels of >100 Hounsfield unit in both brain and bone images were composed of CT values of bone images and other pixels were composed of CT values of brain images. Three radiologists compared the improved multi-kernel images with bone images. The improved multi-kernel images and brain images were identically displayed on the brain window settings. All three radiologists agreed that the improved multi-kernel images on the bone window settings were sufficient for diagnosing skull fractures in all patients. This improved multi-kernel technique has a simple algorithm and is practical for clinical use. Thus, simplified head CT examinations and fewer images that need to be stored can be expected.

  7. Penetuan Bilangan Iodin pada Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil (HPKO) dan Refined Bleached Deodorized Palm Kernel Oil (RBDPKO)

    OpenAIRE

    Sitompul, Monica Angelina

    2015-01-01

    Have been conducted Determination of Iodin Value by method titration to some Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil (HPKO) and Refined Bleached Deodorized Palm Kernel Oil (RBDPKO). The result of analysis obtained the Iodin Value in Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil (A) = 0,16 gr I2/100gr, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil (B) = 0,20 gr I2/100gr, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil (C) = 0,24 gr I2/100gr. And in Refined Bleached Deodorized Palm Kernel Oil (A) = 17,51 gr I2/100gr, Refined Bleached Deodorized Palm Kernel ...

  8. Effects of corn gluten feed inclusion at graded levels in a corn-soybean diet on the ileal and fecal digestibility of growing pigs

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background This study aimed to determine the effect of the inclusion of corn gluten feed (CGF) on the apparent and standardized ileal digestibility of protein and amino acids and the apparent ileal and total tract digestibility of energy in growing pigs. The study was performed using 16 barrows (weight, 45.3 ± 4.5 kg) that were fitted with a T cannula at the terminal ileum. There were four treatments: a corn-soybean diet without CGF and three corn-soybean diets containing increasing levels of CGF (65, 130, and 195 g/kg). Data were analyzed according to a randomized complete block design, four blocks with four pigs each (one pig per treatment). The trend of the response (linear or quadratic) was determined using orthogonal contrasts, and when a linear effect was determined, a linear equation was obtained. Results The results showed that the inclusion up to 195 g/kg of CGF in the corn-soybean diet did not diminish the ileal digestibility (apparent and standardized) of protein and amino acids (P > 0.05), except that of phenylalanine, cystine, and proline. A linear decrease (P digestibility of phenylalanine (0.011 and 0.015 percentage units, respectively), cystine (0.048 and 0.043 percentage units, respectively), and proline (0.045 and 0.047 percentage units, respectively) was noted. Similarly, ileal digestibility of dry matter and energy were adversely affected (reduced by 0.028 and 0.025 percentage units, respectively, per gram of CGF increment in the diet). A significant (P digestibility with increase in CGF amount in the diet was observed for energy (0.027 percentage units), dry matter (0.027 percentage units), crude protein (0.020 percentage units), and neutral detergent fiber (0.041 percentage units) per gram of CGF added to the diet. Conclusion CGF did not affect the ileal digestibility of protein and most amino acids but reduced the ileal and total tract digestibility of energy. PMID:25279142

  9. The U2U Corn Growing Degree Day tool: Tracking corn growth across the US Corn Belt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James R. Angel

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The Corn Growing Degree Day (Corn GDD tool is a web-based product that can provide decision support on a variety of issues throughout the entire growing season by integrating current conditions, historical climate data, and projections of Corn GDD through the end of the growing season based on both National Weather Service computer model forecasts and climatology. The Corn GDD tool can help agricultural producers make a variety of important decisions before and during the growing season. This support can include: assessing the risk of early and late frosts and freezes that can cause crop damage; comparing corn hybrid maturity requirements and Corn GDD projections to select seed varieties and plan activities such as spraying; guiding marketing decisions based on historical and projected Corn GDDs when considering forward crop pricing (i.e., futures market. The Corn GDD tool provides decision support for corn producers in the central U.S. corn-producing states. Survey results, web statistics, and user feedback indicate that this tool is being actively used by decision makers.

  10. 7 CFR 981.8 - Inedible kernel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Inedible kernel. 981.8 Section 981.8 Agriculture... Regulating Handling Definitions § 981.8 Inedible kernel. Inedible kernel means a kernel, piece, or particle of almond kernel with any defect scored as serious damage, or damage due to mold, gum, shrivel, or...

  11. Electrochemical Immunosensor for the Detection of Aflatoxin B1 in Palm Kernel Cake and Feed Samples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farah Asilah Azri

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Palm kernel cake (PKC is the solid residue following oil extraction of palm kernels and useful to fatten animals either as a single feed with only minerals and vitamins supplementation, or mixed with other feedstuffs such as corn kernels or soy beans. The occurrence of mycotoxins (aflatoxins, ochratoxins, zearalenone, and fumonisins in feed samples affects the animal’s health and also serves as a secondary contamination to humans via consumption of eggs, milk and meats. Of these, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1 is the most toxically potent and a confirmed carcinogen to both humans and animals. Methods such as High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC and Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS are common in the determination of mycotoxins. However, these methods usually require sample pre-treatment, extensive cleanup and skilled operator. Therefore, in the present work, a rapid method of electrochemical immunosensor for the detection of AFB1 was developed based on an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT and chitosan (CS were used as the electrode modifier for signal enhancement. N-ethyl-N′-(3-dimethylaminopropyl-carbodiimide (EDC and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS activated the carboxyl groups at the surface of nanocomposite for the attachment of AFB1-BSA antigen by covalent bonding. An indirect competitive reaction occurred between AFB1-BSA and free AFB1 for the binding site of a fixed amount of anti-AFB1 antibody. A catalytic signal based on horseradish peroxidase (HRP in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2 and 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB mediator was observed as a result of attachment of the secondary antibody to the immunoassay system. As a result, the reduction peak of TMB(Ox was measured by using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV analysis. Based on the results, the electrochemical surface area was increased from 0.396 cm2 to 1.298 cm2 due to the electrode

  12. 7 CFR 981.408 - Inedible kernel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Inedible kernel. 981.408 Section 981.408 Agriculture... Administrative Rules and Regulations § 981.408 Inedible kernel. Pursuant to § 981.8, the definition of inedible kernel is modified to mean a kernel, piece, or particle of almond kernel with any defect scored as...

  13. Effect of Soybean and Wheat as Cover Crops on Corn Yield and Weed Control using Different Fertilizer Sources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Dadashi

    2016-02-01

    . The dominant weed species were velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medic., johnson grass (Sorghum halepense (L. Pers., wild melon (Cucumis melo var. agrestis and giant foxtail (Setaria glauca L. in the field. In order to determine the dry weight and density of weeds, three-stage sampling was performed from the middle rows of corn. Corn yield was also measured by mechanical harvesting in middle rows and adjusting to 14% moisture. A week before the final harvest, ten plants of corn were selected randomly from the three middle rows of each plot and yield components including the number of rows in corn, number of kernels per row, weight of 1000 grains was measured. Results and Discussion: The results showed that soybean cover crop reduced weed density compared to control in weed infestated plots, but wheat was not successful in suppressing weeds and reducing their density due to poor biomass and dying at the end of growing season . So, the lowest dry matter of velvetleaf, wild melon and other weeds were related to planted corn with soybean and compost and the maximum was related to monoculture of corn with weed infestation. Results of analysis of variance indicated treatments had significant effect on grain yield. The lowest yield of corn (2733.3 Kg ha-1 was in weed-infestation control while the highest one (12124.0 and 8351.3 Kg ha-1 respectively was in weed-free control and soybean’ cover crop plus compost. For both cover crops between fertilizer treatments, compost and chemical fertilizer had more corn biological yield than no fertilizer and differences between this two fertilizer treatments wasn’t significant. Reduction of yield under no fertilizer treatments was due to competition for nutrients, light between weed and corn. The maximum and minimum number of rows in corn and number of kernels per row respectively was obtained with monoculture of corn in weed free and weed infestation, while the maximum weight of 1000 grains was observed in soybean with applying

  14. Model selection in kernel ridge regression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Exterkate, Peter

    2013-01-01

    Kernel ridge regression is a technique to perform ridge regression with a potentially infinite number of nonlinear transformations of the independent variables as regressors. This method is gaining popularity as a data-rich nonlinear forecasting tool, which is applicable in many different contexts....... The influence of the choice of kernel and the setting of tuning parameters on forecast accuracy is investigated. Several popular kernels are reviewed, including polynomial kernels, the Gaussian kernel, and the Sinc kernel. The latter two kernels are interpreted in terms of their smoothing properties......, and the tuning parameters associated to all these kernels are related to smoothness measures of the prediction function and to the signal-to-noise ratio. Based on these interpretations, guidelines are provided for selecting the tuning parameters from small grids using cross-validation. A Monte Carlo study...

  15. LZW-Kernel: fast kernel utilizing variable length code blocks from LZW compressors for protein sequence classification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filatov, Gleb; Bauwens, Bruno; Kertész-Farkas, Attila

    2018-05-07

    Bioinformatics studies often rely on similarity measures between sequence pairs, which often pose a bottleneck in large-scale sequence analysis. Here, we present a new convolutional kernel function for protein sequences called the LZW-Kernel. It is based on code words identified with the Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) universal text compressor. The LZW-Kernel is an alignment-free method, it is always symmetric, is positive, always provides 1.0 for self-similarity and it can directly be used with Support Vector Machines (SVMs) in classification problems, contrary to normalized compression distance (NCD), which often violates the distance metric properties in practice and requires further techniques to be used with SVMs. The LZW-Kernel is a one-pass algorithm, which makes it particularly plausible for big data applications. Our experimental studies on remote protein homology detection and protein classification tasks reveal that the LZW-Kernel closely approaches the performance of the Local Alignment Kernel (LAK) and the SVM-pairwise method combined with Smith-Waterman (SW) scoring at a fraction of the time. Moreover, the LZW-Kernel outperforms the SVM-pairwise method when combined with BLAST scores, which indicates that the LZW code words might be a better basis for similarity measures than local alignment approximations found with BLAST. In addition, the LZW-Kernel outperforms n-gram based mismatch kernels, hidden Markov model based SAM and Fisher kernel, and protein family based PSI-BLAST, among others. Further advantages include the LZW-Kernel's reliance on a simple idea, its ease of implementation, and its high speed, three times faster than BLAST and several magnitudes faster than SW or LAK in our tests. LZW-Kernel is implemented as a standalone C code and is a free open-source program distributed under GPLv3 license and can be downloaded from https://github.com/kfattila/LZW-Kernel. akerteszfarkas@hse.ru. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics Online.

  16. DNA extraction methods for detecting genetically modified foods: A comparative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elsanhoty, Rafaat M; Ramadan, Mohamed Fawzy; Jany, Klaus Dieter

    2011-06-15

    The work presented in this manuscript was achieved to compare six different methods for extracting DNA from raw maize and its derived products. The methods that gave higher yield and quality of DNA were chosen to detect the genetic modification in the samples collected from the Egyptian market. The different methods used were evaluated for extracting DNA from maize kernels (without treatment), maize flour (mechanical treatment), canned maize (sweet corn), frozen maize (sweet corn), maize starch, extruded maize, popcorn, corn flacks, maize snacks, and bread made from corn flour (mechanical and thermal treatments). The quality and quantity of the DNA extracted from the standards, containing known percentages of GMO material and from the different food products were evaluated. For qualitative detection of the GMO varieties in foods, the GMOScreen 35S/NOS test kit was used, to screen the genetic modification in the samples. The positive samples for the 35S promoter and/or the NOS terminator were identified by the standard methods adopted by EU. All of the used methods extracted yielded good DNA quality. However, we noted that the purest DNA extract were obtained using the DNA extraction kit (Roche) and this generally was the best method for extracting DNA from most of the maize-derived foods. We have noted that the yield of DNA extracted from maize-derived foods was generally lower in the processed products. The results indicated that 17 samples were positive for the presence of 35S promoter, while 34% from the samples were positive for the genetically modified maize line Bt-176. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Viscosity kernel of molecular fluids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Puscasu, Ruslan; Todd, Billy; Daivis, Peter

    2010-01-01

    , temperature, and chain length dependencies of the reciprocal and real-space viscosity kernels are presented. We find that the density has a major effect on the shape of the kernel. The temperature range and chain lengths considered here have by contrast less impact on the overall normalized shape. Functional...... forms that fit the wave-vector-dependent kernel data over a large density and wave-vector range have also been tested. Finally, a structural normalization of the kernels in physical space is considered. Overall, the real-space viscosity kernel has a width of roughly 3–6 atomic diameters, which means...

  18. Oviposition Behaviors in Relation to Rotation Resistance in the Western Corn Rootworm

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Knolhoff, L.M.; Glas, J.J.; Spencer, J.L.; Berenbaum, M.R.

    2010-01-01

    Across a large area of the midwestern United States Corn Belt, the western corn rootworm beetle (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) exhibits behavioral resistance to annual crop rotation. Resistant females exhibit increased locomotor activity and frequently lay eggs

  19. BitterSweetForest: A random forest based binary classifier to predict bitterness and sweetness of chemical compounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banerjee, Priyanka; Preissner, Robert

    2018-04-01

    Taste of a chemical compounds present in food stimulates us to take in nutrients and avoid poisons. However, the perception of taste greatly depends on the genetic as well as evolutionary perspectives. The aim of this work was the development and validation of a machine learning model based on molecular fingerprints to discriminate between sweet and bitter taste of molecules. BitterSweetForest is the first open access model based on KNIME workflow that provides platform for prediction of bitter and sweet taste of chemical compounds using molecular fingerprints and Random Forest based classifier. The constructed model yielded an accuracy of 95% and an AUC of 0.98 in cross-validation. In independent test set, BitterSweetForest achieved an accuracy of 96 % and an AUC of 0.98 for bitter and sweet taste prediction. The constructed model was further applied to predict the bitter and sweet taste of natural compounds, approved drugs as well as on an acute toxicity compound data set. BitterSweetForest suggests 70% of the natural product space, as bitter and 10 % of the natural product space as sweet with confidence score of 0.60 and above. 77 % of the approved drug set was predicted as bitter and 2% as sweet with a confidence scores of 0.75 and above. Similarly, 75% of the total compounds from acute oral toxicity class were predicted only as bitter with a minimum confidence score of 0.75, revealing toxic compounds are mostly bitter. Furthermore, we applied a Bayesian based feature analysis method to discriminate the most occurring chemical features between sweet and bitter compounds from the feature space of a circular fingerprint.

  20. Kernel learning algorithms for face recognition

    CERN Document Server

    Li, Jun-Bao; Pan, Jeng-Shyang

    2013-01-01

    Kernel Learning Algorithms for Face Recognition covers the framework of kernel based face recognition. This book discusses the advanced kernel learning algorithms and its application on face recognition. This book also focuses on the theoretical deviation, the system framework and experiments involving kernel based face recognition. Included within are algorithms of kernel based face recognition, and also the feasibility of the kernel based face recognition method. This book provides researchers in pattern recognition and machine learning area with advanced face recognition methods and its new

  1. Influence of corn oil recovery on life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of corn ethanol and corn oil biodiesel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhichao; Dunn, Jennifer B; Han, Jeongwoo; Wang, Michael Q

    2015-01-01

    Corn oil recovery and conversion to biodiesel has been widely adopted at corn ethanol plants recently. The US EPA has projected 2.6 billion liters of biodiesel will be produced from corn oil in 2022. Corn oil biodiesel may qualify for federal renewable identification number (RIN) credits under the Renewable Fuel Standard, as well as for low greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity credits under California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Because multiple products [ethanol, biodiesel, and distiller's grain with solubles (DGS)] are produced from one feedstock (corn), however, a careful co-product treatment approach is required to accurately estimate GHG intensities of both ethanol and corn oil biodiesel and to avoid double counting of benefits associated with corn oil biodiesel production. This study develops four co-product treatment methods: (1) displacement, (2) marginal, (3) hybrid allocation, and (4) process-level energy allocation. Life-cycle GHG emissions for corn oil biodiesel were more sensitive to the choice of co-product allocation method because significantly less corn oil biodiesel is produced than corn ethanol at a dry mill. Corn ethanol life-cycle GHG emissions with the displacement, marginal, and hybrid allocation approaches are similar (61, 62, and 59 g CO2e/MJ, respectively). Although corn ethanol and DGS share upstream farming and conversion burdens in both the hybrid and process-level energy allocation methods, DGS bears a higher burden in the latter because it has lower energy content per selling price as compared to corn ethanol. As a result, with the process-level allocation approach, ethanol's life-cycle GHG emissions are lower at 46 g CO2e/MJ. Corn oil biodiesel life-cycle GHG emissions from the marginal, hybrid allocation, and process-level energy allocation methods were 14, 59, and 45 g CO2e/MJ, respectively. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to investigate the influence corn oil yield, soy biodiesel, and defatted DGS displacement credits

  2. Cover crop management in the weed control and productive performance in cornManejo de plantas de cobertura no controle de plantas daninhas e desempenho produtivo da cultura do milho

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pedro Valério Dutra de Moraes

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Objetivou-se avaliar espécies vegetais com potencial alelopático, associados às práticas de manejo e ao uso de herbicida nicosulfuron, no controle de plantas daninhas e nos componentes de produtividade da cultura do milho. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi em blocos ao acaso, com quatro repetições. O experimento foi composto por três fatores: espécies de cobertura, manejo das coberturas e aplicação ou não de herbicida nicosulfuron em pós-emergência. As variáveis avaliadas foram: número de plantas daninhas, número de fileiras de grãos, número de grãos por fileira, número de grãos por espiga e produtividade de grãos de milho. A cobertura de azevém, em geral, reduz o número de plantas daninhas emergidas e favorece o desempenho produtivo do milho. O manejo das plantas de cobertura com roçada e retirada da palha reduz a produtividade do milho. A maior produtividade do milho, foi observada com a aplicação de nicosulfuron em pós-emergência, independente da cultura de cobertura ou do manejo adotado. The objective of the study was evaluate the allelopathy of cover species, associated to management practices and use of nicosulfuron herbicide on the productive performance of corn. The experimental design consisted of complete randomized block with four replications. The treatments were: cover species, cover management and application or not of post-emergence herbicide. The variables evaluated were: number of weeds, number of rows kernels, number of kernels rows, number of kernels ear and grain yield of corn. Lolium multiflorum, reduced the number of emerged weeds and provides the best results in productive performance. The management simulated grazing, does not favor the yield of corn. The application of nicosulfuron in post-emergence, along with the allelopathic activity increases the productive performance of corn, regardless of cover crop or soil management.

  3. Optimizing The Performance of Streaming Numerical Kernels On The IBM Blue Gene/P PowerPC 450

    KAUST Repository

    Malas, Tareq

    2011-07-01

    Several emerging petascale architectures use energy-efficient processors with vectorized computational units and in-order thread processing. On these architectures the sustained performance of streaming numerical kernels, ubiquitous in the solution of partial differential equations, represents a formidable challenge despite the regularity of memory access. Sophisticated optimization techniques beyond the capabilities of modern compilers are required to fully utilize the Central Processing Unit (CPU). The aim of the work presented here is to improve the performance of streaming numerical kernels on high performance architectures by developing efficient algorithms to utilize the vectorized floating point units. The importance of the development time demands the creation of tools to enable simple yet direct development in assembly to utilize the power-efficient cores featuring in-order execution and multiple-issue units. We implement several stencil kernels for a variety of cached memory scenarios using our Python instruction simulation and generation tool. Our technique simplifies the development of efficient assembly code for the IBM Blue Gene/P supercomputer\\'s PowerPC 450. This enables us to perform high-level design, construction, verification, and simulation on a subset of the CPU\\'s instruction set. Our framework has the capability to implement streaming numerical kernels on current and future high performance architectures. Finally, we present several automatically generated implementations, including a 27-point stencil achieving a 1.7x speedup over the best previously published results.

  4. A Field Experiment on Enhancement of Crop Yield by Rice Straw and Corn Stalk-Derived Biochar in Northern China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Yang

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Biochar, a green way to deal with burning and burying biomass, has attracted more attention in recent years. To fill the gap of the effects of different biochar on crop yield in Northern China, the first field experiment was conducted in farmland located in Hebei Province. Biochars derived from two kinds of feedstocks (rice straw and corn stalk were added into an Inceptisols area with different dosages (1 ton/ha, 2 ton/ha or 4 ton/ha in April 2014. The crop yields were collected for corn, peanut, and sweet potato during one crop season from spring to autumn 2014, and the wheat from winter 2014 to summer 2015, respectively. The results showed biochar amendment could enhance yields, and biochar from rice straw showed a more positive effect on the yield of corn, peanut, and winter wheat than corn stalk biochar. The dosage of biochar of 2 ton/ha or 1 ton/ha could enhance the yield by 5%–15% and biochar of 4 ton/ha could increase the yield by about 20%. The properties of N/P/K, CEC, and pH of soils amended with biochar were not changed, while biochar effects could be related to improvement of soil water content.

  5. The effect of extrusion and drying on roller techniques concerning the rheological characteristics of rice-, corn-, sweet potato-, bean- and cassava root- and leaf- based composite flour

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Johanna Aristizábal Galvis

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Promoting food security in Latin-America and the Caribbean is directly related to agricultural products. The region faces a food crisis which has reduced large population groups’ access to food. This work contributes to the study of obtaining precooked composite flour made from biofortified crops using protein, vitamin A and/or minerals. This study evaluated the effect of precooked flour’s composition and precooking on its solubility in water, water absorption capacity, consistency and viscosity; such flour was obtained by extrusion and drying on rollers. The composite flours were obtained from cassava roots, sweet potato tubers, corn, rice and bean grains and cassava leaves. Four composite flours were formulated taking four- to six-year-old children’s daily nutrient requirements (protein, iron, zinc and beta-carotenes as a basis. The extruder was operated at 90ºC, 300 rpm screw rotation speed, 17.64 g/min feed flow, with 30% moisture mixture. The dryer rollers were operated at 4 rpm roller rotation speed, 90ºC surface temperature and 1 mm separation between rollers. It was determined that flour dried on rollers led to more complete cooking and modified starch granule structure than precooking by extrusion, thereby producing flour having greater solubility in water, less water absorption, higher consistency and smaller viscosity, comparable to that of pattern flour.

  6. Partial Deconvolution with Inaccurate Blur Kernel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Dongwei; Zuo, Wangmeng; Zhang, David; Xu, Jun; Zhang, Lei

    2017-10-17

    Most non-blind deconvolution methods are developed under the error-free kernel assumption, and are not robust to inaccurate blur kernel. Unfortunately, despite the great progress in blind deconvolution, estimation error remains inevitable during blur kernel estimation. Consequently, severe artifacts such as ringing effects and distortions are likely to be introduced in the non-blind deconvolution stage. In this paper, we tackle this issue by suggesting: (i) a partial map in the Fourier domain for modeling kernel estimation error, and (ii) a partial deconvolution model for robust deblurring with inaccurate blur kernel. The partial map is constructed by detecting the reliable Fourier entries of estimated blur kernel. And partial deconvolution is applied to wavelet-based and learning-based models to suppress the adverse effect of kernel estimation error. Furthermore, an E-M algorithm is developed for estimating the partial map and recovering the latent sharp image alternatively. Experimental results show that our partial deconvolution model is effective in relieving artifacts caused by inaccurate blur kernel, and can achieve favorable deblurring quality on synthetic and real blurry images.Most non-blind deconvolution methods are developed under the error-free kernel assumption, and are not robust to inaccurate blur kernel. Unfortunately, despite the great progress in blind deconvolution, estimation error remains inevitable during blur kernel estimation. Consequently, severe artifacts such as ringing effects and distortions are likely to be introduced in the non-blind deconvolution stage. In this paper, we tackle this issue by suggesting: (i) a partial map in the Fourier domain for modeling kernel estimation error, and (ii) a partial deconvolution model for robust deblurring with inaccurate blur kernel. The partial map is constructed by detecting the reliable Fourier entries of estimated blur kernel. And partial deconvolution is applied to wavelet-based and learning

  7. Kernel methods for deep learning

    OpenAIRE

    Cho, Youngmin

    2012-01-01

    We introduce a new family of positive-definite kernels that mimic the computation in large neural networks. We derive the different members of this family by considering neural networks with different activation functions. Using these kernels as building blocks, we also show how to construct other positive-definite kernels by operations such as composition, multiplication, and averaging. We explore the use of these kernels in standard models of supervised learning, such as support vector mach...

  8. Development of extruded Ready-To-Eat (RTE) snacks using corn, black gram, roots and tuber flour blends

    OpenAIRE

    Reddy, M. Kavya; Kuna, Aparna; Devi, N. Lakshmi; Krishnaiah, N.; Kaur, Charanjit; Nagamalleswari, Y.

    2014-01-01

    Extruded RTE snacks were prepared from flour blends made with corn flour, Bengal gram flour, roots and tuber flours in a proportion of 60–80: 20: 20 respectively and moisture was adjusted to 17–20 %. The roots and tubers flours were developed from potato (Solanum tuberosum), yam (Dioscorea spp.), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.), taro (Colocassia esculenta) and beet root (Beta vulgaris). Different formulations were extruded at 80 ± 5 °C (heater I) and 95–105 °C (heater II) temperature, 300–3...

  9. Maleic acid treatment of biologically detoxified corn stover liquor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Daehwan; Ximenes, Eduardo A; Nichols, Nancy N; Cao, Guangli; Frazer, Sarah E; Ladisch, Michael R

    2016-09-01

    Elimination of microbial and enzyme inhibitors from pretreated lignocellulose is critical for effective cellulose conversion and yeast fermentation of liquid hot water (LHW) pretreated corn stover. In this study, xylan oligomers were hydrolyzed using either maleic acid or hemicellulases, and other soluble inhibitors were eliminated by biological detoxification. Corn stover at 20% (w/v) solids was LHW pretreated LHW (severity factor: 4.3). The 20% solids (w/v) pretreated corn stover derived liquor was recovered and biologically detoxified using the fungus Coniochaeta ligniaria NRRL30616. After maleic acid treatment, and using 5 filter paper units of cellulase/g glucan (8.3mg protein/g glucan), 73% higher cellulose conversion from corn stover was obtained for biodetoxified samples compared to undetoxified samples. This corresponded to 87% cellulose to glucose conversion. Ethanol production by yeast of pretreated corn stover solids hydrolysate was 1.4 times higher than undetoxified samples, with a reduction of 3h in the fermentation lag phase. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Health Impacts from Corn Production Pre-and Post-NAFTA Trade Agreement (1986–2013)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendoza-Cano, Oliver; Sánchez-Piña, Ramón Alberto; González-Ibarra, Álvaro Jesús; Murillo-Zamora, Efrén; Nava-Garibaldi, Cynthia Monique

    2016-01-01

    Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a powerful methodology for the study of health impacts and public policies. We performed this study to quantitatively explain the potential health impacts on disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of corn produced in Mexico and imported from the United States of America (U.S.) from 1984 until 2014. The processes are hybrid and organic corn production. The functional unit was defined as 1 ton of corn production. Results indicate a total value of 178,431, 244,175, and 283,426 DALYs of three decades: 1984–1993, 1994–2003, and 2004–2013, of Mexican production; the U.S. production and transport were also calculated, showing values of 29,815, 65,837, and 107,729 for the same three decades. Additionally, DALYs were obtained for the category of human health and climate change by functional unit: 802.31 (1984–1993), 802.67 (1994–2003), and 803.92 (2004–2013), and for imported corn transported to Mexico from the U.S., 859.12 (1984–2013). DALYs on human toxicity were obtained: 99.05 (1984–1993), 99.05 (1994–2003), and 99.04 (2004–2013), and for the corn imported and transported to Mexico from the U.S., 116.25 (1984–2013). Conclusions: Environmental and health impacts in terms of DALYs are higher when corn is imported versus the corn produced in Mexico. Environmental health and nominal corn cultivation and transport impacts have increased as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Mexico needs to redefine its public policies to suffer less of an environmental burden from corn to ensure global environmental health and food security. PMID:27420088

  11. Non-separable pairing interaction kernels applied to superconducting cuprates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haley, Stephen B.; Fink, Herman J.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Non-separable interaction kernels with weak interactions produces HTS. • A probabilistic approach is used in filling the electronic states in the unit cell. • A set of coupled equations is derived which describes the energy gap. • SC properties of separable with non-separable interactions are compared. • There is agreement with measured properties of the SC and normal states. - Abstract: A pairing Hamiltonian H(Γ) with a non-separable interaction kernel Γ produces HTS for relatively weak interactions. The doping and temperature dependence of Γ(x,T) and the chemical potential μ(x) is determined by a probabilistic filling of the electronic states in the cuprate unit cell. A diverse set of HTS and normal state properties is examined, including the SC phase transition boundary T C (x), SC gap Δ(x,T), entropy S(x,T), specific heat C(x,T), and spin susceptibility χ s (x,T). Detailed x,T agreement with cuprate experiment is obtained for all properties

  12. Yellow sweet potato flour: use in sweet bread processing to increase β-carotene content and improve quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nogueira, Amanda C; Sehn, Georgia A R; Rebellato, Ana Paula; Coutinho, Janclei P; Godoy, Helena T; Chang, Yoon K; Steel, Caroline J; Clerici, Maria Teresa P S

    2018-01-01

    Yellow sweet potato is mostly produced by small farmers, and may be a source of energy and carotenoids in the human diet, but it is a highly perishable crop. To increase its industrial application, yellow sweet potato flour has been produced for use in bakery products. This study aimed to evaluate the technological quality and the carotenoids content in sweet breads produced with the replacement of wheat flour by 0, 3, 6, and 9% yellow sweet potato flour. Breads were characterized by technological parameters and β-carotene levels during nine days of storage. Tukey's test (p<0.05) was used for comparison between means. The increase in yellow sweet potato flour concentrations in bread led to a decrease of specific volume and firmness, and an increase in water activity, moisture, orange coloring, and carotenoids. During storage, the most significant changes were observed after the fifth day, with a decrease in intensity of the orange color. The β-carotene content was 0.1656 to 0.4715 µg/g in breads with yellow sweet potato flour. This work showed a novel use of yellow sweet potato in breads, which brings benefits to consumers' health and for the agricultural business.

  13. 7 CFR 981.9 - Kernel weight.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Kernel weight. 981.9 Section 981.9 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements... Regulating Handling Definitions § 981.9 Kernel weight. Kernel weight means the weight of kernels, including...

  14. Identification of the major yeasts isolated from high moisture corn and corn silages in the United States using genetic and biochemical methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, M C; Golt, C; Joerger, R D; Mechor, G D; Mourão, Gerson B; Kung, L

    2017-02-01

    The objective of this study was to identify species of yeasts in samples of high moisture corn (HMC) and corn silage (CS) collected from farms throughout the United States. Samples were plated and colonies were isolated for identification using DNA analysis. Randomly selected colonies were also identified by fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and by physiological substrate profiling (ID 32C). For CS, Candida ethanolica, Saccharomyces bulderi, Pichia anomala, Kazachstania unispora, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were the predominant yeasts. Pichia anomala, Issatchenkia orientalis, S. cerevisiae, and Pichia fermentans were the prevalent species in HMC. The 3 identification methods were in agreement at the species level for 16.6% of the isolates and showed no agreement for 25.7%. Agreement in species identification between ID 32C and DNA analysis, FAME and ID 32C, and FAME and DNA analysis was 41.1, 14.4, and 2.2%, respectively. Pichia anomala and I. orientalis were able to grow on lactic acid, whereas S. cerevisiae metabolized sugars (galactose, sucrose, and glucose) but failed to use lactic acid. The yeast diversity in CS and HMC varied due to type of feed and location. Differences in species assignments were seen among methods, but identification using substrate profiling generally corresponded with that based on DNA analysis. These findings provide information about the species that may be expected in silages, and this knowledge may lead to interventions that control unwanted yeasts. Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Veto-Consensus Multiple Kernel Learning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zhou, Y.; Hu, N.; Spanos, C.J.

    2016-01-01

    We propose Veto-Consensus Multiple Kernel Learning (VCMKL), a novel way of combining multiple kernels such that one class of samples is described by the logical intersection (consensus) of base kernelized decision rules, whereas the other classes by the union (veto) of their complements. The

  16. 7 CFR 51.2295 - Half kernel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Half kernel. 51.2295 Section 51.2295 Agriculture... Standards for Shelled English Walnuts (Juglans Regia) Definitions § 51.2295 Half kernel. Half kernel means the separated half of a kernel with not more than one-eighth broken off. ...

  17. An Approximate Approach to Automatic Kernel Selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Lizhong; Liao, Shizhong

    2016-02-02

    Kernel selection is a fundamental problem of kernel-based learning algorithms. In this paper, we propose an approximate approach to automatic kernel selection for regression from the perspective of kernel matrix approximation. We first introduce multilevel circulant matrices into automatic kernel selection, and develop two approximate kernel selection algorithms by exploiting the computational virtues of multilevel circulant matrices. The complexity of the proposed algorithms is quasi-linear in the number of data points. Then, we prove an approximation error bound to measure the effect of the approximation in kernel matrices by multilevel circulant matrices on the hypothesis and further show that the approximate hypothesis produced with multilevel circulant matrices converges to the accurate hypothesis produced with kernel matrices. Experimental evaluations on benchmark datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of approximate kernel selection.

  18. Iterative software kernels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duff, I.

    1994-12-31

    This workshop focuses on kernels for iterative software packages. Specifically, the three speakers discuss various aspects of sparse BLAS kernels. Their topics are: `Current status of user lever sparse BLAS`; Current status of the sparse BLAS toolkit`; and `Adding matrix-matrix and matrix-matrix-matrix multiply to the sparse BLAS toolkit`.

  19. Viscozyme L pretreatment on palm kernels improved the aroma of palm kernel oil after kernel roasting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wencan; Leong, Siew Mun; Zhao, Feifei; Zhao, Fangju; Yang, Tiankui; Liu, Shaoquan

    2018-05-01

    With an interest to enhance the aroma of palm kernel oil (PKO), Viscozyme L, an enzyme complex containing a wide range of carbohydrases, was applied to alter the carbohydrates in palm kernels (PK) to modulate the formation of volatiles upon kernel roasting. After Viscozyme treatment, the content of simple sugars and free amino acids in PK increased by 4.4-fold and 4.5-fold, respectively. After kernel roasting and oil extraction, significantly more 2,5-dimethylfuran, 2-[(methylthio)methyl]-furan, 1-(2-furanyl)-ethanone, 1-(2-furyl)-2-propanone, 5-methyl-2-furancarboxaldehyde and 2-acetyl-5-methylfuran but less 2-furanmethanol and 2-furanmethanol acetate were found in treated PKO; the correlation between their formation and simple sugar profile was estimated by using partial least square regression (PLS1). Obvious differences in pyrroles and Strecker aldehydes were also found between the control and treated PKOs. Principal component analysis (PCA) clearly discriminated the treated PKOs from that of control PKOs on the basis of all volatile compounds. Such changes in volatiles translated into distinct sensory attributes, whereby treated PKO was more caramelic and burnt after aqueous extraction and more nutty, roasty, caramelic and smoky after solvent extraction. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. A kernel version of spatial factor analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg

    2009-01-01

    . Schölkopf et al. introduce kernel PCA. Shawe-Taylor and Cristianini is an excellent reference for kernel methods in general. Bishop and Press et al. describe kernel methods among many other subjects. Nielsen and Canty use kernel PCA to detect change in univariate airborne digital camera images. The kernel...... version of PCA handles nonlinearities by implicitly transforming data into high (even infinite) dimensional feature space via the kernel function and then performing a linear analysis in that space. In this paper we shall apply kernel versions of PCA, maximum autocorrelation factor (MAF) analysis...

  1. Control of sweet potato virus diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loebenstein, Gad

    2015-01-01

    Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is ranked seventh in global food crop production and is the third most important root crop after potato and cassava. Sweet potatoes are vegetative propagated from vines, root slips (sprouts), or tubers. Therefore, virus diseases can be a major constrain, reducing yields markedly, often more than 50%. The main viruses worldwide are Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) and Sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus (SPCSV). Effects on yields by SPFMV or SPCSV alone are minor, or but in complex infection by the two or other viruses yield losses of 50%. The orthodox way of controlling viruses in vegetative propagated crops is by supplying the growers with virus-tested planting material. High-yielding plants are tested for freedom of viruses by PCR, serology, and grafting to sweet potato virus indicator plants. After this, meristem tips are taken from those plants that reacted negative. The meristems were grown into plants which were kept under insect-proof conditions and away from other sweet potato material for distribution to farmers after another cycle of reproduction. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. 7 CFR 51.1441 - Half-kernel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Half-kernel. 51.1441 Section 51.1441 Agriculture... Standards for Grades of Shelled Pecans Definitions § 51.1441 Half-kernel. Half-kernel means one of the separated halves of an entire pecan kernel with not more than one-eighth of its original volume missing...

  3. Yellow sweet potato flour: use in sweet bread processing to increase β-carotene content and improve quality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    AMANDA C. NOGUEIRA

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Yellow sweet potato is mostly produced by small farmers, and may be a source of energy and carotenoids in the human diet, but it is a highly perishable crop. To increase its industrial application, yellow sweet potato flour has been produced for use in bakery products. This study aimed to evaluate the technological quality and the carotenoids content in sweet breads produced with the replacement of wheat flour by 0, 3, 6, and 9% yellow sweet potato flour. Breads were characterized by technological parameters and β-carotene levels during nine days of storage. Tukey’s test (p<0.05 was used for comparison between means. The increase in yellow sweet potato flour concentrations in bread led to a decrease of specific volume and firmness, and an increase in water activity, moisture, orange coloring, and carotenoids. During storage, the most significant changes were observed after the fifth day, with a decrease in intensity of the orange color. The β-carotene content was 0.1656 to 0.4715 µg/g in breads with yellow sweet potato flour. This work showed a novel use of yellow sweet potato in breads, which brings benefits to consumers’ health and for the agricultural business.

  4. Straight-chain halocarbon forming fluids for TRISO fuel kernel production – Tests with yttria-stabilized zirconia microspheres

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baker, M.P. [Nuclear Science and Engineering Program, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois St., Golden, CO 80401 (United States); King, J.C., E-mail: kingjc@mines.edu [Nuclear Science and Engineering Program, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois St., Golden, CO 80401 (United States); Gorman, B.P. [Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department, Colorado Center for Advanced Ceramics, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois St., Golden, CO 80401 (United States); Braley, J.C. [Nuclear Science and Engineering Program, Chemistry and Geochemistry Department, Colorado School of Mines, 1500 Illinois St., Golden, CO 80401 (United States)

    2015-03-15

    Highlights: • YSZ TRISO kernels formed in three alternative, non-hazardous forming fluids. • Kernels characterized for size, shape, pore/grain size, density, and composition. • Bromotetradecane is suitable for further investigation with uranium-based precursor. - Abstract: Current methods of TRISO fuel kernel production in the United States use a sol–gel process with trichloroethylene (TCE) as the forming fluid. After contact with radioactive materials, the spent TCE becomes a mixed hazardous waste, and high costs are associated with its recycling or disposal. Reducing or eliminating this mixed waste stream would not only benefit the environment, but would also enhance the economics of kernel production. Previous research yielded three candidates for testing as alternatives to TCE: 1-bromotetradecane, 1-chlorooctadecane, and 1-iodododecane. This study considers the production of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) kernels in silicone oil and the three chosen alternative formation fluids, with subsequent characterization of the produced kernels and used forming fluid. Kernels formed in silicone oil and bromotetradecane were comparable to those produced by previous kernel production efforts, while those produced in chlorooctadecane and iodododecane experienced gelation issues leading to poor kernel formation and geometry.

  5. Digestibility of solvent-treated Jatropha curcas kernel by broiler chickens in Senegal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nesseim, Thierry Daniel Tamsir; Dieng, Abdoulaye; Mergeai, Guy; Ndiaye, Saliou; Hornick, Jean-Luc

    2015-12-01

    Jatropha curcas is a drought-resistant shrub belonging to the Euphorbiaceae family. The kernel contains approximately 60 % lipid in dry matter, and the meal obtained after oil extraction could be an exceptional source of protein for family poultry farming, in the absence of curcin and, especially, some diterpene derivatives phorbol esters that are partially lipophilic. The nutrient digestibility of J. curcas kernel meal (JKM), obtained after partial physicochemical deoiling was thus evaluated in broiler chickens. Twenty broiler chickens, 6 weeks old, were maintained in individual metabolic cages and divided into four groups of five animals, according to a 4 × 4 Latin square design where deoiled JKM was incorporated into grinded corn at 0, 4, 8, and 12 % levels (diets 0, 4, 8, and 12 J), allowing measurement of nutrient digestibility by the differential method. The dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) digestibility of diets was affected to a low extent by JKM (85 and 86 % in 0 J and 81 % in 12 J, respectively) in such a way that DM and OM digestibility of JKM was estimated to be close to 50 %. The ether extract (EE) digestibility of JKM remained high, at about 90 %, while crude protein (CP) and crude fiber (CF) digestibility were largely impacted by JKM, with values closed to 40 % at the highest levels of incorporation. J. curcas kernel presents various nutrient digestibilities but has adverse effects on CP and CF digestibility of the diet. The effects of an additional heat or biological treatment on JKM remain to be assessed.

  6. Trends in pesticide use on soybean, corn and cotton since the introduction of major genetically modified crops in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coupe, Richard H.; Capel, Paul D.

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUNDGenetically modified (GM) varieties of soybean, corn and cotton have largely replaced conventional varieties in the United States. The most widely used applications of GM technology have been the development of crops that are resistant to a specific broad-spectrum herbicide (primarily glyphosate) or that produce insecticidal compounds within the plant itself. With the widespread adoption of GM crops, a decline in the use of conventional pesticides was expected.RESULTSThere has been a reduction in the annual herbicide application rate to corn since the advent of GM crops, but the herbicide application rate is mostly unchanged for cotton. Herbicide use on soybean has increased. There has been a substantial reduction in the amount of insecticides used on both corn and cotton since the introduction of GM crops.CONCLUSIONSThe observed changes in pesticide use are likely to be the result of many factors, including the introduction of GM crops, regulatory restrictions on some conventional pesticides, introduction of new pesticide technologies and changes in farming practices. In order to help protect human and environmental health and to help agriculture plan for the future, more detailed and complete documentation on pesticide use is needed on a frequent and ongoing basis.

  7. Current and potential sustainable corn stover feedstock for biofuel production in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Zhengxi; Liu, Shu-Guang; Tieszen, Larry L.; Bliss, Norman

    2012-01-01

    Increased demand for corn (Zea mays L.) stover as a feedstock for cellulosic ethanol raises concerns about agricultural sustainability. Excessive corn stover harvesting could have long-term impacts on soil quality. We estimated current and future stover production and evaluated the potential harvestable stover amount (HSA) that could be used for biofuel feedstock in the United States by defining the minimum stover requirement (MSR) associated with the current soil organic carbon (SOC) content, tillage practices, and crop rotation systems. Here we show that the magnitude of the current HSA is limited (31 Tg y−1, dry matter) due to the high MSR for maintaining the current SOC content levels of soils that have a high carbon content. An alternative definition of MSR for soils with a moderate level of SOC content could significantly elevate the annual HSA to 68.7 Tg, or even to 132.2 Tg if the amount of currently applied manure is counted to partially offset the MSR. In the future, a greater potential for stover feedstock could come from an increase in stover yield, areal harvest index, and/or the total planted area. These results suggest that further field experiments on MSR should be designed to identify differences in MSR magnitude between maintaining SOC content and preventing soil erosion, and to understand the role of current SOC content level in determining MSR from soils with a wide range of carbon contents and climatic conditions.

  8. Storage performance of Taiwanese sweet potato cultivars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Che-Lun; Liao, Wayne C; Chan, Chin-Feng; Lai, Yung-Chang

    2014-12-01

    Three sweet potato cultivars (TNG57, TNG66, and TNG73), provided by the Taiwanese Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), were stored at either 15 °C or under ambient conditions (23.8 ~ 28.4 °C and 77.1 ~ 81.0 % of relative humidity). Sweet potato roots were randomly chosen from each replicate and evaluated for measurement of weight loss, sugar content analysis, and sprouting after 0, 14, 24, 48, 56, 70, 84, and 98 days of storage. Fresh sweet potato roots were baked at 200 °C for 60 min then samples were taken for sugar analysis. After 14 days of ambient condition storage, the sprouting percentages for TNG57, TNG66, and TNG73 were 100, 85, and 95 % respectively. When sweet potatoes were stored at 15 °C, the weight loss became less and no sweet potato root sprouted after 14 days of storage. Because manufacturers can store sweet potatoes at 15 °C for almost 2 month without other treatments, the supply capacity shortage in July and September can be reduced. The total sugar content slowly increased along with increasing the storage time. After baking, the total sugar content of sweet potatoes significantly increased due to the formation of maltose. Maltose became the major sugar of baked sweet potatoes. Raw sweet potatoes stored at 15 °C had higher total sugar contents after baking than those stored under ambient conditions. Raw sweet potatoes were recommended to be stored at 15 °C before baking.

  9. Local Observed-Score Kernel Equating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiberg, Marie; van der Linden, Wim J.; von Davier, Alina A.

    2014-01-01

    Three local observed-score kernel equating methods that integrate methods from the local equating and kernel equating frameworks are proposed. The new methods were compared with their earlier counterparts with respect to such measures as bias--as defined by Lord's criterion of equity--and percent relative error. The local kernel item response…

  10. Sweet Marjoram

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bina, Fatemeh; Rahimi, Roja

    2016-01-01

    Origanum majorana L. commonly known as sweet marjoram has been used for variety of diseases in traditional and folklore medicines, including gastrointestinal, ocular, nasopharyngeal, respiratory, cardiac, rheumatologic, and neurological disorders. Essential oil containing monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpenes as well as phenolic compounds are chemical constituents isolated and detected in O majorana. Wide range of pharmacological activities including antioxidant, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, anti-platelet, gastroprotective, antibacterial and antifungal, antiprotozoal, antiatherosclerosis, anti-inflammatory, antimetastatic, antitumor, antiulcer, and anticholinesterase inhibitory activities have been reported from this plant in modern medicine. This article summarizes comprehensive information concerning traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacological activities of sweet marjoram. PMID:27231340

  11. Perlakuan Panas Kering dan Bakterisida untuk Menekan Infeksi Pantoea stewartii subsp. stewartii pada Benih Jagung Manis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suswi Nalis

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Stewart’s Wilt is an important bacterial disease of sweet corn caused by Pantoea stewartii subsp. stewartii (synonim Erwinia stewartii. This bacteria is a seed transmitted pathogen therefore seed treatment is one method to control stewart’s wilt. The aim of this research was to study the effectiveness of dry heat, bactericide treatment, and their combinations to eliminate P. stewartii subsp. stewartii infection on sweet corn seed without damaging seed quality. The research was conducted in 3 experiments. Experiment I was conducted to determine the treatment window of dry heat and bactericide treatment. The treatment was carried out on sweet corn seed using the P. stewartii subsp. stewartii in vitro. Experiment II was conducted to study dry heat and bactericide treatment on sweet corn seed infested by P. stewartii subsp. stewartii. Experiment III was conducted to study combination of dry heat and bactericide treatment on sweet corn seed infested by P. stewartii subsp. stewartii. The results showed that dry heat treatment at 50 °C for 24 hours was able to eliminate pathogen populations in vitro but was unable to eliminate the 128 pathogen on infected seed (in vivo. Germination tests indicated that seed treatments with dry heat up to 55 °C did not decrease the germination level. The use of bactericide treatment in 100 ppm could reduce the population of bacteria on sweet corn seeds. Bactericide concentration of 150 and 200 ppm could decrease the population of bacteria on sweet corn seeds, however it could cause phytotoxic effect. The combination of bactericide (100 ppm, w/v with dry heat treatment (55 °C for 24 hours was able to eliminate bacteria on infected seed with seed germination above 85%.

  12. Alcoholic fermentation of stored sweet potatoes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yutaka, Y; One, H

    1958-01-01

    Sweet potatoes were ground and stored in a ground hold. The stored sweet potatoes gave about 90% fermentation efficiency by the koji process. A lower fermentation efficiency by the amylo process was improved by adding 20 to 30 mg/100 ml of organic N. Inorganic N has no effect in improving the fermentation efficiency of the stored sweet potatoes by the amylo process.

  13. Credit scoring analysis using kernel discriminant

    Science.gov (United States)

    Widiharih, T.; Mukid, M. A.; Mustafid

    2018-05-01

    Credit scoring model is an important tool for reducing the risk of wrong decisions when granting credit facilities to applicants. This paper investigate the performance of kernel discriminant model in assessing customer credit risk. Kernel discriminant analysis is a non- parametric method which means that it does not require any assumptions about the probability distribution of the input. The main ingredient is a kernel that allows an efficient computation of Fisher discriminant. We use several kernel such as normal, epanechnikov, biweight, and triweight. The models accuracy was compared each other using data from a financial institution in Indonesia. The results show that kernel discriminant can be an alternative method that can be used to determine who is eligible for a credit loan. In the data we use, it shows that a normal kernel is relevant to be selected for credit scoring using kernel discriminant model. Sensitivity and specificity reach to 0.5556 and 0.5488 respectively.

  14. Considerations on absorbed dose estimates based on different β-dose point kernels in internal dosimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uchida, Isao; Yamada, Yasuhiko; Yamashita, Takashi; Okigaki, Shigeyasu; Oyamada, Hiyoshimaru; Ito, Akira.

    1995-01-01

    In radiotherapy with radiopharmaceuticals, more accurate estimates of the three-dimensional (3-D) distribution of absorbed dose is important in specifying the activity to be administered to patients to deliver a prescribed absorbed dose to target volumes without exceeding the toxicity limit of normal tissues in the body. A calculation algorithm for the purpose has already been developed by the authors. An accurate 3-D distribution of absorbed dose based on the algorithm is given by convolution of the 3-D dose matrix for a unit cubic voxel containing unit cumulated activity, which is obtained by transforming a dose point kernel into a 3-D cubic dose matrix, with the 3-D cumulated activity distribution given by the same voxel size. However, beta-dose point kernels affecting accurate estimates of the 3-D absorbed dose distribution have been different among the investigators. The purpose of this study is to elucidate how different beta-dose point kernels in water influence on the estimates of the absorbed dose distribution due to the dose point kernel convolution method by the authors. Computer simulations were performed using the MIRD thyroid and lung phantoms under assumption of uniform activity distribution of 32 P. Using beta-dose point kernels derived from Monte Carlo simulations (EGS-4 or ACCEPT computer code), the differences among their point kernels gave little differences for the mean and maximum absorbed dose estimates for the MIRD phantoms used. In the estimates of mean and maximum absorbed doses calculated using different cubic voxel sizes (4x4x4 mm and 8x8x8 mm) for the MIRD thyroid phantom, the maximum absorbed doses for the 4x4x4 mm-voxel were estimated approximately 7% greater than the cases of the 8x8x8 mm-voxel. They were found in every beta-dose point kernel used in this study. On the other hand, the percentage difference of the mean absorbed doses in the both voxel sizes for each beta-dose point kernel was less than approximately 0.6%. (author)

  15. dbSWEET: An Integrated Resource for SWEET Superfamily to Understand, Analyze and Predict the Function of Sugar Transporters in Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Ankita; Sankararamakrishnan, Ramasubbu

    2018-04-14

    SWEET (Sweet Will Eventually be Exported Transporter) proteins have been recently discovered and form one of the three major families of sugar transporters. Homologs of SWEET are found in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Bacterial SWEET homologs have three transmembrane segments forming a triple-helical bundle (THB) and the functional form is dimers. Eukaryotic SWEETs have seven transmembrane helical segments forming two THBs with a linker helix. Members of SWEET homologs have been shown to be involved in several important physiological processes in plants. However, not much is known regarding the biological significance of SWEET homologs in prokaryotes and in mammals. We have collected more than 2000 SWEET homologs from both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. For each homolog, we have modeled three different conformational states representing outward open, inward open and occluded states. We have provided details regarding substrate-interacting residues and residues forming the selectivity filter for each SWEET homolog. Several search and analysis options are available. The users can generate a phylogenetic tree and structure-based sequence alignment for selected set of sequences. With no metazoan SWEETs functionally characterized, the features observed in the selectivity filter residues can be used to predict the potential substrates that are likely to be transported across the metazoan SWEETs. We believe that this database will help the researchers to design mutational experiments and simulation studies that will aid to advance our understanding of the physiological role of SWEET homologs. This database is freely available to the scientific community at http://bioinfo.iitk.ac.in/bioinfo/dbSWEET/Home. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  16. Kernel parameter dependence in spatial factor analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg

    2010-01-01

    kernel PCA. Shawe-Taylor and Cristianini [4] is an excellent reference for kernel methods in general. Bishop [5] and Press et al. [6] describe kernel methods among many other subjects. The kernel version of PCA handles nonlinearities by implicitly transforming data into high (even infinite) dimensional...... feature space via the kernel function and then performing a linear analysis in that space. In this paper we shall apply a kernel version of maximum autocorrelation factor (MAF) [7, 8] analysis to irregularly sampled stream sediment geochemistry data from South Greenland and illustrate the dependence...... of the kernel width. The 2,097 samples each covering on average 5 km2 are analyzed chemically for the content of 41 elements....

  17. Corn

    OpenAIRE

    Sherwood, Brianne; Hawks, Amanda

    2011-01-01

    We have so much corn right now it's coming out of our ears (great pun, right?). And it's SO incredibly cheap! This is probably because the US produces 42% of the world's corn! Most of it is used for animal feed, but other uses include exporting to other countries, human food, seed, and industrial uses such as ethanol production. Because there is so much corn available here in the U.S. You can find it in a lot more foods than you think. It's in peanut butter, snack foods, soft drinks, multivit...

  18. Bitter and sweet tasting molecules: It's complicated.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Pizio, Antonella; Ben Shoshan-Galeczki, Yaron; Hayes, John E; Niv, Masha Y

    2018-04-19

    "Bitter" and "sweet" are frequently framed in opposition, both functionally and metaphorically, in regard to affective responses, emotion, and nutrition. This oppositional relationship is complicated by the fact that some molecules are simultaneously bitter and sweet. In some cases, a small chemical modification, or a chirality switch, flips the taste from sweet to bitter. Molecules humans describe as bitter are recognized by a 25-member subfamily of class A G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) known as TAS2Rs. Molecules humans describe as sweet are recognized by a TAS1R2/TAS1R3 heterodimer of class C GPCRs. Here we characterize the chemical space of bitter and sweet molecules: the majority of bitter compounds show higher hydrophobicity compared to sweet compounds, while sweet molecules have a wider range of sizes. Importantly, recent evidence indicates that TAS1Rs and TAS2Rs are not limited to the oral cavity; moreover, some bitterants are pharmacologically promiscuous, with the hERG potassium channel, cytochrome P450 enzymes, and carbonic anhydrases as common off-targets. Further focus on polypharmacology may unravel new physiological roles for tastant molecules. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. A Weighted Spatial-Spectral Kernel RX Algorithm and Efficient Implementation on GPUs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chunhui Zhao

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The kernel RX (KRX detector proposed by Kwon and Nasrabadi exploits a kernel function to obtain a better detection performance. However, it still has two limits that can be improved. On the one hand, reasonable integration of spatial-spectral information can be used to further improve its detection accuracy. On the other hand, parallel computing can be used to reduce the processing time in available KRX detectors. Accordingly, this paper presents a novel weighted spatial-spectral kernel RX (WSSKRX detector and its parallel implementation on graphics processing units (GPUs. The WSSKRX utilizes the spatial neighborhood resources to reconstruct the testing pixels by introducing a spectral factor and a spatial window, thereby effectively reducing the interference of background noise. Then, the kernel function is redesigned as a mapping trick in a KRX detector to implement the anomaly detection. In addition, a powerful architecture based on the GPU technique is designed to accelerate WSSKRX. To substantiate the performance of the proposed algorithm, both synthetic and real data are conducted for experiments.

  20. Molecular characterization of two isolates of sweet potato leaf curl ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Comparison analysis showed that DNA-A sequence of JS1 isolate was closely related to that of sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV) from United States with nucleotide sequence identity of 97.0% and DNA-A of Y338 showed highest sequence identity at 97.8% with an isolate of SPLCV from China. Phylogenetic analysis ...

  1. Fast Foods, Sweets and Beverage Consumption and Risk of Colorectal Cancer: A Case-Control Study in Jordan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tayyem, Reema F; Bawadi, Hiba A; Shehadah, Ihab; Bani-Hani, Kamal E; Takruri, Hamed; Al-Jaberi, Tareq; Heath, Dennis D

    2018-01-27

    Background: The effects of consuming fast foods, sweets and beverages on the development of colorectal cancer (CRC) are unclear. The aim of this case-control study was to assess possible associations between the consumption of different fast foods, sweets and beverages and CRC risk in a Jordanian population. Methods: Two hundred and twenty diagnosed CRC cases and 281 controls were enrolled. Diet history was obtained using a validated quantitative questionnaire. Results: Consumption of some types of fast food, and particularly falafel, was associated with an increased risk of developing CRC. Elevated risk was found for potato and corn chips with an AOR of 4.36 (95%CI: 1.24-15.28) for daily consumption and 3.33 (95%CI: 1.00-11.11) for ≥5 servings/week. Consuming 1-2 or >5 servings per week of fried potatoes or 2-3 servings per week of chicken in sandwiches also increased the risk while exposure to fresh tomato juice and hot pepper sauce on a monthly basis appeared to exert a protective effect. Conclusions: Consumption of fried fast food items was significantly linked with an increased risk of developing CRC in Jordan. Creative Commons Attribution License

  2. Multiple Kernel Learning with Data Augmentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-11-22

    JMLR: Workshop and Conference Proceedings 63:49–64, 2016 ACML 2016 Multiple Kernel Learning with Data Augmentation Khanh Nguyen nkhanh@deakin.edu.au...University, Australia Editors: Robert J. Durrant and Kee-Eung Kim Abstract The motivations of multiple kernel learning (MKL) approach are to increase... kernel expres- siveness capacity and to avoid the expensive grid search over a wide spectrum of kernels . A large amount of work has been proposed to

  3. OS X and iOS Kernel Programming

    CERN Document Server

    Halvorsen, Ole Henry

    2011-01-01

    OS X and iOS Kernel Programming combines essential operating system and kernel architecture knowledge with a highly practical approach that will help you write effective kernel-level code. You'll learn fundamental concepts such as memory management and thread synchronization, as well as the I/O Kit framework. You'll also learn how to write your own kernel-level extensions, such as device drivers for USB and Thunderbolt devices, including networking, storage and audio drivers. OS X and iOS Kernel Programming provides an incisive and complete introduction to the XNU kernel, which runs iPhones, i

  4. Model selection for Gaussian kernel PCA denoising

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Kasper Winther; Hansen, Lars Kai

    2012-01-01

    We propose kernel Parallel Analysis (kPA) for automatic kernel scale and model order selection in Gaussian kernel PCA. Parallel Analysis [1] is based on a permutation test for covariance and has previously been applied for model order selection in linear PCA, we here augment the procedure to also...... tune the Gaussian kernel scale of radial basis function based kernel PCA.We evaluate kPA for denoising of simulated data and the US Postal data set of handwritten digits. We find that kPA outperforms other heuristics to choose the model order and kernel scale in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR...

  5. Pulsed electromagnetic field: an organic compatible method to promote plant growth and yield in two corn types.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilalis, Dimitrios J; Katsenios, Nikolaos; Efthimiadou, Aspasia; Karkanis, Anestis

    2012-12-01

    Pre-sowing treatment of pulsed electromagnetic fields was used in corn seeds, in both indoor and outdoor conditions, in order to investigate the effect on plant growth and yield. The results of this research showed that pulsed electromagnetic fields can enhance plant characteristics, both under controlled environmental conditions and uncontrolled field conditions. The two varieties responded differently in the duration of magnetic field. Seeds were treated for 0, 15, 30, and 45 min with pulsed electromagnetic field (MF-0, MF-15, MF-30, and MF-45). Common corn variety performed better results in MF-30 treatment, while sweet corn variety performed better in MF-45 treatment. Magnetic field improved germination percentage, vigor, chlorophyll content, leaf area, plant fresh and dry weight, and finally yields. In the very interesting measurement of yield, seeds that have been exposed to magnetic field for 30 and 45 min have been found to perform the best results with no statistical differences among them. Another interesting finding was in root dry weight measurements, where magnetic field has a negative impact in MF-30 treatment in both hybrids, however without affecting other measurements. Enhancements on plant characteristics with economic impact on producer's income could be the future of a modern, organic, and sustainable agriculture.

  6. Paramecium: An Extensible Object-Based Kernel

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Doorn, L.; Homburg, P.; Tanenbaum, A.S.

    1995-01-01

    In this paper we describe the design of an extensible kernel, called Paramecium. This kernel uses an object-based software architecture which together with instance naming, late binding and explicit overrides enables easy reconfiguration. Determining which components reside in the kernel protection

  7. Larval and pupal stage of Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae in sweet and field corn genotypes Fases larval e pupal de Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae em genótipos de milho doce e comum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. M. Santos

    2003-11-01

    Full Text Available Spodoptera frugiperda, the fall armyworm, is a very significant polyphagous pest due to the damages it causes, and control difficulties. Lack of information about its impact on sweet corn motivated a comparison of its biology, with respect to the larval and pupal stages, among the genotypes ELISA, BR 400 (sweet corns, and BR PAMPA (field corn. In laboratory conditions (25 ± 1ºC; 70 ± 10% RH; photophase 12 hours, 35 caterpillars were individualized and fed daily with 3.14 cm² sections of corn leaves from the referred-to genotypes, cultivated in plots in the experimental area of the Departament of Fitossanidade, UFRGS, Porto Alegre, RS from October to November 2000. The caterpillars were weighed daily; after each molt, the cephalic capsules were collected and measured (in width, to establish growth rate; pupae were weighed and sexed when 24 hours old. The duration of the larval instars, the pupal sex ratio, and the mortality of larvae and pupae were evaluated. In the first three instars there were no differences registered in capsule width. In the fourth and fifth instars, capsules of caterpillars kept in BR 400 were smaller. The weight of caterpillars and pupae, instar duration and sex ratio did not differ among the genotypes. Pupal phase duration was less in females kept in BR 400. Mortality was greater in the larval phase in ELISA and in the pupal phase in BR PAMPA.Spodoptera frugiperda, a lagarta-do-cartucho-do-milho, é uma praga polífaga de grande importância agrícola pelos danos e dificuldade de controle. A ausência de informações sobre seu impacto em milho doce motivou a comparação de sua biologia, no que tange as fases larval e pupal, entre os genótipos de milho ELISA, BR 400 (milhos doces e BR PAMPA (milho comum. Em condições de laboratório (25 ± 1ºC; 70 ± 10% UR; fotofase 12 horas, 35 lagartas foram individualizadas e alimentadas, diariamente, com seções de folhas de 3,14 cm² dos referidos genótipos, provenientes

  8. Bio-oil and bio-char production from corn cobs and stover by fast pyrolysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mullen, Charles A.; Boateng, Akwasi A.; Goldberg, Neil M.; Lima, Isabel M.; Laird, David A.; Hicks, Kevin B.

    2010-01-01

    Bio-oil and bio-char were produced from corn cobs and corn stover (stalks, leaves and husks) by fast pyrolysis using a pilot scale fluidized bed reactor. Yields of 60% (mass/mass) bio-oil (high heating values are ∼20 MJ kg -1 , and densities >1.0 Mg m -3 ) were realized from both corn cobs and from corn stover. The high energy density of bio-oil, ∼20-32 times on a per unit volume basis over the raw corn residues, offers potentially significant savings in transportation costs particularly for a distributed 'farm scale' bio-refinery system. Bio-char yield was 18.9% and 17.0% (mass/mass) from corn cobs and corn stover, respectively. Deploying the bio-char co-product, which contains most of the nutrient minerals from the corn residues, as well as a significant amount of carbon, to the land can enhance soil quality, sequester carbon, and alleviate environmental problems associated with removal of crop residues from fields.

  9. Theory of reproducing kernels and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Saitoh, Saburou

    2016-01-01

    This book provides a large extension of the general theory of reproducing kernels published by N. Aronszajn in 1950, with many concrete applications. In Chapter 1, many concrete reproducing kernels are first introduced with detailed information. Chapter 2 presents a general and global theory of reproducing kernels with basic applications in a self-contained way. Many fundamental operations among reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces are dealt with. Chapter 2 is the heart of this book. Chapter 3 is devoted to the Tikhonov regularization using the theory of reproducing kernels with applications to numerical and practical solutions of bounded linear operator equations. In Chapter 4, the numerical real inversion formulas of the Laplace transform are presented by applying the Tikhonov regularization, where the reproducing kernels play a key role in the results. Chapter 5 deals with ordinary differential equations; Chapter 6 includes many concrete results for various fundamental partial differential equations. In Chapt...

  10. Genetic monitoring of western corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) populations on a microgeographic scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ivkosic, S A; Gorman, J; Lemic, D; Mikac, K M

    2014-06-01

    Microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA genetic monitoring of the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, was undertaken in Croatia and Serbia from 1996 to 2011 and in the United States in 2011. The seven U.S. populations displayed the greatest allelic diversity. In Europe, the highest number of alleles was found in Rugvica, Croatia, and Surčin, Serbia, the two sites closest to international airports. The highest number of mitochondrial (mt) DNA haplotypes was recorded from Croatia in 1996. From 2009 to 2011, haplotype diversity declined, and Croatia and Serbia had a single fixed haplotype. U.S. continuous maize locations had one haplotype, while three haplotypes were found at crop-rotated locations. Minimal temporal genetic differentiation was found within and between populations in Europe and the United States. Bayesian cluster analysis identified two genetic clusters that grouped western corn rootworm from Croatia and Serbia separately from U.S. populations; however, these clusters were not neat, and numerous U.S. individuals had both European and U.S. ancestry, suggesting bidirectional gene flow. Bottlenecks were identified within most Croatian populations sampled in 1996, only two populations in 2009, and in all populations in 2011. Bottlenecks were not identified from Serbia from 1996 to 2011 or from the United States in 2011. As suspected Serbia was identified as the geographic source of western corn rootworm in Croatia. The temporal genetic monitoring undertaken allowed a deeper understanding of the population genetics of western corn rootworm in Croatia, neighboring Serbia, and its geographic source in the United States. The data obtained can be used to inform western corn rootworm pest management strategies in Croatia and Europe.

  11. Kernels for structured data

    CERN Document Server

    Gärtner, Thomas

    2009-01-01

    This book provides a unique treatment of an important area of machine learning and answers the question of how kernel methods can be applied to structured data. Kernel methods are a class of state-of-the-art learning algorithms that exhibit excellent learning results in several application domains. Originally, kernel methods were developed with data in mind that can easily be embedded in a Euclidean vector space. Much real-world data does not have this property but is inherently structured. An example of such data, often consulted in the book, is the (2D) graph structure of molecules formed by

  12. 7 CFR 981.401 - Adjusted kernel weight.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Adjusted kernel weight. 981.401 Section 981.401... Administrative Rules and Regulations § 981.401 Adjusted kernel weight. (a) Definition. Adjusted kernel weight... kernels in excess of five percent; less shells, if applicable; less processing loss of one percent for...

  13. Soil nutrient budgets following projected corn stover harvest for biofuel production in the conterminous United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Zhengxi; Liu, Shuguang

    2015-01-01

    Increasing demand for food and biofuel feedstocks may substantially affect soil nutrient budgets, especially in the United States where there is great potential for corn (Zea mays L) stover as a biofuel feedstock. This study was designed to evaluate impacts of projected stover harvest scenarios on budgets of soil nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) currently and in the future across the conterminous United States. The required and removed N, P, and K amounts under each scenario were estimated on the basis of both their average contents in grain and stover and from an empirical model. Our analyses indicate a small depletion of soil N (−4 ± 35 kg ha−1) and K (−6 ± 36 kg ha−1) and a moderate surplus of P (37 ± 21 kg ha−1) currently on the national average, but with a noticeable variation from state to state. After harvesting both grain and projected stover, the deficits of soil N, P, and K were estimated at 114–127, 26–27, and 36–53 kg ha−1 yr−1, respectively, in 2006–2010; 131–173, 29–32, and 41–96 kg ha−1 yr−1, respectively, in 2020; and 161–207, 35–39, and 51–111 kg ha−1 yr−1, respectively, in 2050. This study indicates that the harvestable stover amount derived from the minimum stover requirement for maintaining soil organic carbon level scenarios under current fertilization rates can be sustainable for soil nutrient supply and corn production at present, but the deficit of P and K at the national scale would become larger in the future.

  14. Sensitive quantification of aflatoxin B1 in animal feeds, corn feed grain, and yellow corn meal using immunomagnetic bead-based recovery and real-time immunoquantitative-PCR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babu, Dinesh; Muriana, Peter M

    2014-12-02

    Aflatoxins are considered unavoidable natural mycotoxins encountered in foods, animal feeds, and feed grains. In this study, we demonstrate the application of our recently developed real-time immunoquantitative PCR (RT iq-PCR) assay for sensitive detection and quantification of aflatoxins in poultry feed, two types of dairy feed (1 and 2), horse feed, whole kernel corn feed grains, and retail yellow ground corn meal. Upon testing methanol/water (60:40) extractions of the above samples using competitive direct enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, the aflatoxin content was found to be effect in samples containing aflatoxin levels higher than the quantification limits (0.1-10 μg/kg), addressed by comparing the quantification results of undiluted and diluted extracts. In testing the reliability of the immuno-PCR assay, samples were spiked with 200 μg/kg of aflatoxin B1, but the recovery of spiked aflatoxin was found to be poor. Considering the significance of determining trace levels of aflatoxins and their serious implications for animal and human health, the RT iq-PCR method described in this study can be useful for quantifying low natural aflatoxin levels in complex matrices of food or animal feed samples without the requirement of extra sample cleanup.

  15. The definition of kernel Oz

    OpenAIRE

    Smolka, Gert

    1994-01-01

    Oz is a concurrent language providing for functional, object-oriented, and constraint programming. This paper defines Kernel Oz, a semantically complete sublanguage of Oz. It was an important design requirement that Oz be definable by reduction to a lean kernel language. The definition of Kernel Oz introduces three essential abstractions: the Oz universe, the Oz calculus, and the actor model. The Oz universe is a first-order structure defining the values and constraints Oz computes with. The ...

  16. Fabrication of Uranium Oxycarbide Kernels for HTR Fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barnes, Charles; Richardson, Clay; Nagley, Scott; Hunn, John; Shaber, Eric

    2010-01-01

    Babcock and Wilcox (B and W) has been producing high quality uranium oxycarbide (UCO) kernels for Advanced Gas Reactor (AGR) fuel tests at the Idaho National Laboratory. In 2005, 350-(micro)m, 19.7% 235U-enriched UCO kernels were produced for the AGR-1 test fuel. Following coating of these kernels and forming the coated-particles into compacts, this fuel was irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) from December 2006 until November 2009. B and W produced 425-(micro)m, 14% enriched UCO kernels in 2008, and these kernels were used to produce fuel for the AGR-2 experiment that was inserted in ATR in 2010. B and W also produced 500-(micro)m, 9.6% enriched UO2 kernels for the AGR-2 experiments. Kernels of the same size and enrichment as AGR-1 were also produced for the AGR-3/4 experiment. In addition to fabricating enriched UCO and UO2 kernels, B and W has produced more than 100 kg of natural uranium UCO kernels which are being used in coating development tests. Successive lots of kernels have demonstrated consistent high quality and also allowed for fabrication process improvements. Improvements in kernel forming were made subsequent to AGR-1 kernel production. Following fabrication of AGR-2 kernels, incremental increases in sintering furnace charge size have been demonstrated. Recently small scale sintering tests using a small development furnace equipped with a residual gas analyzer (RGA) has increased understanding of how kernel sintering parameters affect sintered kernel properties. The steps taken to increase throughput and process knowledge have reduced kernel production costs. Studies have been performed of additional modifications toward the goal of increasing capacity of the current fabrication line to use for production of first core fuel for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) and providing a basis for the design of a full scale fuel fabrication facility.

  17. Economic feasibility of intercropping of chili with sweet gourd

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J Hossain

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available A field experiment was conducted at Regional Agricultural Research Station, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI, Ishurdi, Pabna during two consecutive years of 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 to find out the suitable combination of intercropping of chili with sweet gourd for increasing the productivity and economic return. The treatments were T1=100% sweet gourd (2m x 2m + 40% chili (50cm x 100cm + 100% recommended fertilizer (RF of chili, T2=100% sweet gourd (2m x 2m + 40% chili (50cm x 100cm + 75% RF of chili, T3=100% sweet gourd (2m x 2m + 40% chili (50cm x 100cm + 50% RF of chili, T4=100% sweet gourd (2m x 2m + 50% chili (50cm x 80cm + 100% RF of chili, T5=100% sweet gourd (2m x 2m + 50% chili (50cm x 80cm + 75% RF of chili, T6=100% sweet gourd (2m x 2m + 50% chili (50cm x 80cm + 50% RF of chili, T7=Sole sweet gourd, T8= Sole chili. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Fruit yield was calculated for sweet gourd and chili in ton per hectare considering the whole plot as harvested area. Results revealed that the yield of both sweet gourd and chili significantly affected by plant population and fertilizer dose in the intercropping systems. The highest equivalent yield of sweet gourd (21.21 t ha-1, land equivalent ratio (1.59, gross return (Tk. 318150.00 ha-1, gross margin (Tk. 237935.00 ha-1 and benefit cost ratio (3.97 were obtained from 100% sweet gourd (2m x 2m + 50% chili (50cm x 80cm + 100% RF of chili (T4. Sole crop of chili (T8 gave the lowest equivalent yield of sweet gourd (7.38 t ha-1, gross return (Tk. 110700.00 ha-1, gross margin (Tk. 37455.00 ha-1 and benefit cost ratio (1.51. Therefore, sweet gourd (100% and chili (50% with recommended fertilizer (100% of chili might be economically profitable for chili with sweet gourd intercropping system.

  18. Evaluating fuel ethanol feedstocks from energy policy perspectives: A comparative energy assessment of corn and corn stover

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lavigne, Amanda; Powers, Susan E.

    2007-01-01

    Concerns surrounding the continued, un-checked use of petroleum-based fuels in the transportation sector, the search for more sustainable, renewable alternatives, and the constraints of the existing supply infrastructure in the United States have placed a spotlight on biomass-derived fuels. The central question of the ethanol debate has changed from 'Should we make ethanol?' to 'From what should we make ethanol?' emphasizing the importance of understanding the differences between specific biomass supply systems for fuel ethanol. When presented with numerous options, the priorities of an individual decision maker will define which feedstock alternative is the most appropriate choice for development from their perspective. This paper demonstrates how energy data can be successfully used to quantify assessment metrics beyond a standard net energy value calculation, thus quantifying the relative 'value' of ethanol supply systems. This value is defined based on decision-maker priorities that were adopted from national energy policy priorities: increased national energy security and increased conservation of energy resources. Nine energy assessment metrics that quantify detailed system energy data are calculated and a straightforward comparative assessment is performed between corn and corn stover feedstocks produced under the same farm scenario. Corn stover is shown to be more compatible with the national energy policy priorities and it is recommended that additional research be performed on utilizing this feedstock from the corn farm

  19. Anisotropic hydrodynamics with a scalar collisional kernel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almaalol, Dekrayat; Strickland, Michael

    2018-04-01

    Prior studies of nonequilibrium dynamics using anisotropic hydrodynamics have used the relativistic Anderson-Witting scattering kernel or some variant thereof. In this paper, we make the first study of the impact of using a more realistic scattering kernel. For this purpose, we consider a conformal system undergoing transversally homogenous and boost-invariant Bjorken expansion and take the collisional kernel to be given by the leading order 2 ↔2 scattering kernel in scalar λ ϕ4 . We consider both classical and quantum statistics to assess the impact of Bose enhancement on the dynamics. We also determine the anisotropic nonequilibrium attractor of a system subject to this collisional kernel. We find that, when the near-equilibrium relaxation-times in the Anderson-Witting and scalar collisional kernels are matched, the scalar kernel results in a higher degree of momentum-space anisotropy during the system's evolution, given the same initial conditions. Additionally, we find that taking into account Bose enhancement further increases the dynamically generated momentum-space anisotropy.

  20. The current incidence of viral disease in korean sweet potatoes and development of multiplex rt-PCR assays for simultaneous detection of eight sweet potato viruses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwak, Hae-Ryun; Kim, Mi-Kyeong; Shin, Jun-Chul; Lee, Ye-Ji; Seo, Jang-Kyun; Lee, Hyeong-Un; Jung, Mi-Nam; Kim, Sun-Hyung; Choi, Hong-Soo

    2014-12-01

    Sweet potato is grown extensively from tropical to temperate regions and is an important food crop worldwide. In this study, we established detection methods for 17 major sweet potato viruses using single and multiplex RT-PCR assays. To investigate the current incidence of viral diseases, we collected 154 samples of various sweet potato cultivars showing virus-like symptoms from 40 fields in 10 Korean regions, and analyzed them by RT-PCR using specific primers for each of the 17 viruses. Of the 17 possible viruses, we detected eight in our samples. Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) and sweet potato virus C (SPVC) were most commonly detected, infecting approximately 87% and 85% of samples, respectively. Furthermore, Sweet potato symptomless virus 1 (SPSMV-1), Sweet potato virus G (SPVG), Sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV), Sweet potato virus 2 ( SPV2), Sweet potato chlorotic fleck virus (SPCFV), and Sweet potato latent virus (SPLV) were detected in 67%, 58%, 47%, 41%, 31%, and 20% of samples, respectively. This study presents the first documented occurrence of four viruses (SPVC, SPV2, SPCFV, and SPSMV-1) in Korea. Based on the results of our survey, we developed multiplex RT-PCR assays for simple and simultaneous detection of the eight sweet potato viruses we recorded.

  1. The Current Incidence of Viral Disease in Korean Sweet Potatoes and Development of Multiplex RT-PCR Assays for Simultaneous Detection of Eight Sweet Potato Viruses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hae-Ryun Kwak

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Sweet potato is grown extensively from tropical to temperate regions and is an important food crop worldwide. In this study, we established detection methods for 17 major sweet potato viruses using single and multiplex RT-PCR assays. To investigate the current incidence of viral diseases, we collected 154 samples of various sweet potato cultivars showing virus-like symptoms from 40 fields in 10 Korean regions, and analyzed them by RT-PCR using specific primers for each of the 17 viruses. Of the 17 possible viruses, we detected eight in our samples. Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV and sweet potato virus C (SPVC were most commonly detected, infecting approximately 87% and 85% of samples, respectively. Furthermore, Sweet potato symptomless virus 1 (SPSMV-1, Sweet potato virus G (SPVG, Sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV, Sweet potato virus 2 ( SPV2, Sweet potato chlorotic fleck virus (SPCFV, and Sweet potato latent virus (SPLV were detected in 67%, 58%, 47%, 41%, 31%, and 20% of samples, respectively. This study presents the first documented occurrence of four viruses (SPVC, SPV2, SPCFV, and SPSMV-1 in Korea. Based on the results of our survey, we developed multiplex RT-PCR assays for simple and simultaneous detection of the eight sweet potato viruses we recorded.

  2. Object classification and detection with context kernel descriptors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pan, Hong; Olsen, Søren Ingvor; Zhu, Yaping

    2014-01-01

    Context information is important in object representation. By embedding context cue of image attributes into kernel descriptors, we propose a set of novel kernel descriptors called Context Kernel Descriptors (CKD) for object classification and detection. The motivation of CKD is to use spatial...... consistency of image attributes or features defined within a neighboring region to improve the robustness of descriptor matching in kernel space. For feature selection, Kernel Entropy Component Analysis (KECA) is exploited to learn a subset of discriminative CKD. Different from Kernel Principal Component...

  3. Genome-wide identification of the SWEET gene family in wheat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Yue; Wang, Zi Yuan; Kumar, Vikranth; Xu, Xiao Feng; Yuan, De Peng; Zhu, Xiao Feng; Li, Tian Ya; Jia, Baolei; Xuan, Yuan Hu

    2018-02-05

    The SWEET (sugars will eventually be exported transporter) family is a newly characterized group of sugar transporters. In plants, the key roles of SWEETs in phloem transport, nectar secretion, pollen nutrition, stress tolerance, and plant-pathogen interactions have been identified. SWEET family genes have been characterized in many plant species, but a comprehensive analysis of SWEET members has not yet been performed in wheat. Here, 59 wheat SWEETs (hereafter TaSWEETs) were identified through homology searches. Analyses of phylogenetic relationships, numbers of transmembrane helices (TMHs), gene structures, and motifs showed that TaSWEETs carrying 3-7 TMHs could be classified into four clades with 10 different types of motifs. Examination of the expression patterns of 18 SWEET genes revealed that a few are tissue-specific while most are ubiquitously expressed. In addition, the stem rust-mediated expression patterns of SWEET genes were monitored using a stem rust-susceptible cultivar, 'Little Club' (LC). The resulting data showed that the expression of five out of the 18 SWEETs tested was induced following inoculation. In conclusion, we provide the first comprehensive analysis of the wheat SWEET gene family. Information regarding the phylogenetic relationships, gene structures, and expression profiles of SWEET genes in different tissues and following stem rust disease inoculation will be useful in identifying the potential roles of SWEETs in specific developmental and pathogenic processes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Ranking Support Vector Machine with Kernel Approximation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Kai; Li, Rongchun; Dou, Yong; Liang, Zhengfa; Lv, Qi

    2017-01-01

    Learning to rank algorithm has become important in recent years due to its successful application in information retrieval, recommender system, and computational biology, and so forth. Ranking support vector machine (RankSVM) is one of the state-of-art ranking models and has been favorably used. Nonlinear RankSVM (RankSVM with nonlinear kernels) can give higher accuracy than linear RankSVM (RankSVM with a linear kernel) for complex nonlinear ranking problem. However, the learning methods for nonlinear RankSVM are still time-consuming because of the calculation of kernel matrix. In this paper, we propose a fast ranking algorithm based on kernel approximation to avoid computing the kernel matrix. We explore two types of kernel approximation methods, namely, the Nyström method and random Fourier features. Primal truncated Newton method is used to optimize the pairwise L2-loss (squared Hinge-loss) objective function of the ranking model after the nonlinear kernel approximation. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed method gets a much faster training speed than kernel RankSVM and achieves comparable or better performance over state-of-the-art ranking algorithms.

  5. Ranking Support Vector Machine with Kernel Approximation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kai Chen

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Learning to rank algorithm has become important in recent years due to its successful application in information retrieval, recommender system, and computational biology, and so forth. Ranking support vector machine (RankSVM is one of the state-of-art ranking models and has been favorably used. Nonlinear RankSVM (RankSVM with nonlinear kernels can give higher accuracy than linear RankSVM (RankSVM with a linear kernel for complex nonlinear ranking problem. However, the learning methods for nonlinear RankSVM are still time-consuming because of the calculation of kernel matrix. In this paper, we propose a fast ranking algorithm based on kernel approximation to avoid computing the kernel matrix. We explore two types of kernel approximation methods, namely, the Nyström method and random Fourier features. Primal truncated Newton method is used to optimize the pairwise L2-loss (squared Hinge-loss objective function of the ranking model after the nonlinear kernel approximation. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed method gets a much faster training speed than kernel RankSVM and achieves comparable or better performance over state-of-the-art ranking algorithms.

  6. Dose point kernels for beta-emitting radioisotopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prestwich, W.V.; Chan, L.B.; Kwok, C.S.; Wilson, B.

    1986-01-01

    Knowledge of the dose point kernel corresponding to a specific radionuclide is required to calculate the spatial dose distribution produced in a homogeneous medium by a distributed source. Dose point kernels for commonly used radionuclides have been calculated previously using as a basis monoenergetic dose point kernels derived by numerical integration of a model transport equation. The treatment neglects fluctuations in energy deposition, an effect which has been later incorporated in dose point kernels calculated using Monte Carlo methods. This work describes new calculations of dose point kernels using the Monte Carlo results as a basis. An analytic representation of the monoenergetic dose point kernels has been developed. This provides a convenient method both for calculating the dose point kernel associated with a given beta spectrum and for incorporating the effect of internal conversion. An algebraic expression for allowed beta spectra has been accomplished through an extension of the Bethe-Bacher approximation, and tested against the exact expression. Simplified expression for first-forbidden shape factors have also been developed. A comparison of the calculated dose point kernel for 32 P with experimental data indicates good agreement with a significant improvement over the earlier results in this respect. An analytic representation of the dose point kernel associated with the spectrum of a single beta group has been formulated. 9 references, 16 figures, 3 tables

  7. Rare variant testing across methods and thresholds using the multi-kernel sequence kernel association test (MK-SKAT).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urrutia, Eugene; Lee, Seunggeun; Maity, Arnab; Zhao, Ni; Shen, Judong; Li, Yun; Wu, Michael C

    Analysis of rare genetic variants has focused on region-based analysis wherein a subset of the variants within a genomic region is tested for association with a complex trait. Two important practical challenges have emerged. First, it is difficult to choose which test to use. Second, it is unclear which group of variants within a region should be tested. Both depend on the unknown true state of nature. Therefore, we develop the Multi-Kernel SKAT (MK-SKAT) which tests across a range of rare variant tests and groupings. Specifically, we demonstrate that several popular rare variant tests are special cases of the sequence kernel association test which compares pair-wise similarity in trait value to similarity in the rare variant genotypes between subjects as measured through a kernel function. Choosing a particular test is equivalent to choosing a kernel. Similarly, choosing which group of variants to test also reduces to choosing a kernel. Thus, MK-SKAT uses perturbation to test across a range of kernels. Simulations and real data analyses show that our framework controls type I error while maintaining high power across settings: MK-SKAT loses power when compared to the kernel for a particular scenario but has much greater power than poor choices.

  8. Fault Localization for Synchrophasor Data using Kernel Principal Component Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CHEN, R.

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, based on Kernel Principal Component Analysis (KPCA of Phasor Measurement Units (PMU data, a nonlinear method is proposed for fault location in complex power systems. Resorting to the scaling factor, the derivative for a polynomial kernel is obtained. Then, the contribution of each variable to the T2 statistic is derived to determine whether a bus is the fault component. Compared to the previous Principal Component Analysis (PCA based methods, the novel version can combat the characteristic of strong nonlinearity, and provide the precise identification of fault location. Computer simulations are conducted to demonstrate the improved performance in recognizing the fault component and evaluating its propagation across the system based on the proposed method.

  9. Bio-oil and bio-char production from corn cobs and stover by fast pyrolysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mullen, Charles A.; Boateng, Akwasi A.; Goldberg, Neil M.; Hicks, Kevin B. [Eastern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 600 E. Mermaid Lane, Wyndmoor, PA 19038 (United States); Lima, Isabel M. [Southern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1100 Robert E. Lee Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70124 (United States); Laird, David A. [National Soil Tilth Laboratory, U.S. Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2110 University Blvd., Ames, IA 50011 (United States)

    2010-01-15

    Bio-oil and bio-char were produced from corn cobs and corn stover (stalks, leaves and husks) by fast pyrolysis using a pilot scale fluidized bed reactor. Yields of 60% (mass/mass) bio-oil (high heating values are {proportional_to}20 MJ kg{sup -1}, and densities >1.0 Mg m{sup -3}) were realized from both corn cobs and from corn stover. The high energy density of bio-oil, {proportional_to}20-32 times on a per unit volume basis over the raw corn residues, offers potentially significant savings in transportation costs particularly for a distributed ''farm scale'' bio-refinery system. Bio-char yield was 18.9% and 17.0% (mass/mass) from corn cobs and corn stover, respectively. Deploying the bio-char co-product, which contains most of the nutrient minerals from the corn residues, as well as a significant amount of carbon, to the land can enhance soil quality, sequester carbon, and alleviate environmental problems associated with removal of crop residues from fields. (author)

  10. Wigner functions defined with Laplace transform kernels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Se Baek; Petruccelli, Jonathan C; Tian, Lei; Barbastathis, George

    2011-10-24

    We propose a new Wigner-type phase-space function using Laplace transform kernels--Laplace kernel Wigner function. Whereas momentum variables are real in the traditional Wigner function, the Laplace kernel Wigner function may have complex momentum variables. Due to the property of the Laplace transform, a broader range of signals can be represented in complex phase-space. We show that the Laplace kernel Wigner function exhibits similar properties in the marginals as the traditional Wigner function. As an example, we use the Laplace kernel Wigner function to analyze evanescent waves supported by surface plasmon polariton. © 2011 Optical Society of America

  11. Medieval emergence of sweet melons, Cucumis melo (Cucurbitaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paris, Harry S; Amar, Zohar; Lev, Efraim

    2012-07-01

    Sweet melons, Cucumis melo, are a widely grown and highly prized crop. While melons were familiar in antiquity, they were grown mostly for use of the young fruits, which are similar in appearance and taste to cucumbers, C. sativus. The time and place of emergence of sweet melons is obscure, but they are generally thought to have reached Europe from the east near the end of the 15th century. The objective of the present work was to determine where and when truly sweet melons were first developed. Given their large size and sweetness, melons are often confounded with watermelons, Citrullus lanatus, so a list was prepared of the characteristics distinguishing between them. An extensive search of literature from the Roman and medieval periods was conducted and the findings were considered in their context against this list and particularly in regard to the use of the word 'melon' and of adjectives for sweetness and colour. Medieval lexicographies and an illustrated Arabic translation of Dioscorides' herbal suggest that sweet melons were present in Central Asia in the mid-9th century. A travelogue description indicates the presence of sweet melons in Khorasan and Persia by the mid-10th century. Agricultural literature from Andalusia documents the growing of sweet melons, evidently casabas (Inodorous Group), there by the second half of the 11th century, which probably arrived from Central Asia as a consequence of Islamic conquest, trade and agricultural development. Climate and geopolitical boundaries were the likely causes of the delay in the spread of sweet melons into the rest of Europe.

  12. Molecular mechanisms for sweet-suppressing effect of gymnemic acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanematsu, Keisuke; Kusakabe, Yuko; Shigemura, Noriatsu; Hirokawa, Takatsugu; Nakamura, Seiji; Imoto, Toshiaki; Ninomiya, Yuzo

    2014-09-12

    Gymnemic acids are triterpene glycosides that selectively suppress taste responses to various sweet substances in humans but not in mice. This sweet-suppressing effect of gymnemic acids is diminished by rinsing the tongue with γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD). However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying the sweet-suppressing effect of gymnemic acids and the interaction between gymnemic acids versus sweet taste receptor and/or γ-CD. To investigate whether gymnemic acids directly interact with human (h) sweet receptor hT1R2 + hT1R3, we used the sweet receptor T1R2 + T1R3 assay in transiently transfected HEK293 cells. Similar to previous studies in humans and mice, gymnemic acids (100 μg/ml) inhibited the [Ca(2+)]i responses to sweet compounds in HEK293 cells heterologously expressing hT1R2 + hT1R3 but not in those expressing the mouse (m) sweet receptor mT1R2 + mT1R3. The effect of gymnemic acids rapidly disappeared after rinsing the HEK293 cells with γ-CD. Using mixed species pairings of human and mouse sweet receptor subunits and chimeras, we determined that the transmembrane domain of hT1R3 was mainly required for the sweet-suppressing effect of gymnemic acids. Directed mutagenesis in the transmembrane domain of hT1R3 revealed that the interaction site for gymnemic acids shared the amino acid residues that determined the sensitivity to another sweet antagonist, lactisole. Glucuronic acid, which is the common structure of gymnemic acids, also reduced sensitivity to sweet compounds. In our models, gymnemic acids were predicted to dock to a binding pocket within the transmembrane domain of hT1R3. © 2014 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  13. Metabolic network prediction through pairwise rational kernels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roche-Lima, Abiel; Domaratzki, Michael; Fristensky, Brian

    2014-09-26

    Metabolic networks are represented by the set of metabolic pathways. Metabolic pathways are a series of biochemical reactions, in which the product (output) from one reaction serves as the substrate (input) to another reaction. Many pathways remain incompletely characterized. One of the major challenges of computational biology is to obtain better models of metabolic pathways. Existing models are dependent on the annotation of the genes. This propagates error accumulation when the pathways are predicted by incorrectly annotated genes. Pairwise classification methods are supervised learning methods used to classify new pair of entities. Some of these classification methods, e.g., Pairwise Support Vector Machines (SVMs), use pairwise kernels. Pairwise kernels describe similarity measures between two pairs of entities. Using pairwise kernels to handle sequence data requires long processing times and large storage. Rational kernels are kernels based on weighted finite-state transducers that represent similarity measures between sequences or automata. They have been effectively used in problems that handle large amount of sequence information such as protein essentiality, natural language processing and machine translations. We create a new family of pairwise kernels using weighted finite-state transducers (called Pairwise Rational Kernel (PRK)) to predict metabolic pathways from a variety of biological data. PRKs take advantage of the simpler representations and faster algorithms of transducers. Because raw sequence data can be used, the predictor model avoids the errors introduced by incorrect gene annotations. We then developed several experiments with PRKs and Pairwise SVM to validate our methods using the metabolic network of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. As a result, when PRKs are used, our method executes faster in comparison with other pairwise kernels. Also, when we use PRKs combined with other simple kernels that include evolutionary information, the accuracy

  14. Influence Function and Robust Variant of Kernel Canonical Correlation Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Alam, Md. Ashad; Fukumizu, Kenji; Wang, Yu-Ping

    2017-01-01

    Many unsupervised kernel methods rely on the estimation of the kernel covariance operator (kernel CO) or kernel cross-covariance operator (kernel CCO). Both kernel CO and kernel CCO are sensitive to contaminated data, even when bounded positive definite kernels are used. To the best of our knowledge, there are few well-founded robust kernel methods for statistical unsupervised learning. In addition, while the influence function (IF) of an estimator can characterize its robustness, asymptotic ...

  15. Spatial Modeling Of Infant Mortality Rate In South Central Timor Regency Using GWLR Method With Adaptive Bisquare Kernel And Gaussian Kernel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teguh Prawono Sabat

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Geographically Weighted Logistic Regression (GWLR was regression model consider the spatial factor, which could be used to analyze the IMR. The number of Infant Mortality as big as 100 cases in 2015 or 12 per 1000 live birth in South Central Timor Regency. The aim of this study was to determine the best modeling of GWLR with fixed weighting function and Adaptive Gaussian Kernel in the case of infant mortality in South Central Timor District in 2015. The response variable (Y in this study was a case of infant mortality, while variable predictor was the percentage of neonatal first visit (KN1 (X1, the percentage of neonatal visit 3 times (Complete KN (X2, the percentage of pregnant get Fe tablet (X3, percentage of poor families pre prosperous (X4. This was a non-reactive study, which is a measurement which individuals surveyed did not realize that they are part of a study, with analysis unit in 32 sub-districts of South Central Timor Districts. Data analysis used open source program that was Excel, R program, Quantum GIS and GWR4. The best GWLR spatial modeling with Adaptive Gaussian Kernel weighting function, a global model parameters GWLR Adaptive Gaussian Kernel weighting function obtained by g (x = 0.941086 - 0,892506X4, GWLR local models with adaptive Kernel bisquare weighting function in the 13 Districts were obtained g(x = 0 − 0X4, factors that affect the cases of infant mortality in 13 sub-districts of South Central Timor Regency in 2015 was the percentage of poor families pre prosperous.

  16. Cut Back on Your Kid's Sweet Treats: 10 Tips to Decrease Added Sugars

    Science.gov (United States)

    United States Department of Agriculture 10 tips Nutrition Education Series MyPlate MyWins Based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Cut back on your kid’s sweet treats Set your kids on a path for lifelong healthy eating by limiting the amount of added sugars they ...

  17. Association of Sweet's Syndrome and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. L. Barton

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Sweet's syndrome is an acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis which usually presents as an idiopathic disorder but can also be drug induced, associated with hematopoetic malignancies and myelodysplastic disorders, and more, infrequently, observed in autoimmune disorders. Sweet's syndrome has been reported in three cases of neonatal lupus, three cases of hydralazine-induced lupus in adults, and in nine pediatric and adult systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE patients. We describe three additional adult cases of Sweet's associated with SLE and provide a focused review on nondrug-induced, nonneonatal SLE and Sweet's. In two of three new cases, as in the majority of prior cases, the skin rash of Sweet's paralleled underlying SLE disease activity. The pathogenesis of Sweet's remains elusive, but evidence suggests that cytokine dysregulation may be central to the clinical and pathological changes in this condition, as well as in SLE. Further research is needed to define the exact relationship between the two conditions.

  18. The Linux kernel as flexible product-line architecture

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M. de Jonge (Merijn)

    2002-01-01

    textabstractThe Linux kernel source tree is huge ($>$ 125 MB) and inflexible (because it is difficult to add new kernel components). We propose to make this architecture more flexible by assembling kernel source trees dynamically from individual kernel components. Users then, can select what

  19. Thermophysical properties of conjugated soybean oil/corn stover biocomposites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pfister, Daniel P; Larock, Richard C

    2010-08-01

    Novel "green composites" have been prepared using a conjugated soybean oil-based resin and corn stover as a natural fiber. Corn stover is the residue remaining after grain harvest and it is estimated that approximately 75 million tons are available annually in the United States. The effect of the amount of filler, the length of the fiber, and the amount of the crosslinker on the structure and thermal and mechanical properties of the composites has been determined using Soxhlet extraction analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, and tensile testing. Increasing the amount of corn stover and decreasing the length of the fiber results in significant improvements in the mechanical properties of the composites. The Young's moduli and tensile strengths of the composites prepared range from 291 to 1398 MPa and 2.7 to 7.4 MPa, respectively. Water uptake data indicate that increasing the amount and fiber length of the corn stover results in significant increases in the absorption of water by the composites. The composites, containing 20 to 80 wt.% corn stover and a resin composed of 50 wt.% natural oil, contain 60 to 90 wt.% renewable materials and should find applications in the construction, automotive, and furniture industries. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Exploiting graph kernels for high performance biomedical relation extraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panyam, Nagesh C; Verspoor, Karin; Cohn, Trevor; Ramamohanarao, Kotagiri

    2018-01-30

    Relation extraction from biomedical publications is an important task in the area of semantic mining of text. Kernel methods for supervised relation extraction are often preferred over manual feature engineering methods, when classifying highly ordered structures such as trees and graphs obtained from syntactic parsing of a sentence. Tree kernels such as the Subset Tree Kernel and Partial Tree Kernel have been shown to be effective for classifying constituency parse trees and basic dependency parse graphs of a sentence. Graph kernels such as the All Path Graph kernel (APG) and Approximate Subgraph Matching (ASM) kernel have been shown to be suitable for classifying general graphs with cycles, such as the enhanced dependency parse graph of a sentence. In this work, we present a high performance Chemical-Induced Disease (CID) relation extraction system. We present a comparative study of kernel methods for the CID task and also extend our study to the Protein-Protein Interaction (PPI) extraction task, an important biomedical relation extraction task. We discuss novel modifications to the ASM kernel to boost its performance and a method to apply graph kernels for extracting relations expressed in multiple sentences. Our system for CID relation extraction attains an F-score of 60%, without using external knowledge sources or task specific heuristic or rules. In comparison, the state of the art Chemical-Disease Relation Extraction system achieves an F-score of 56% using an ensemble of multiple machine learning methods, which is then boosted to 61% with a rule based system employing task specific post processing rules. For the CID task, graph kernels outperform tree kernels substantially, and the best performance is obtained with APG kernel that attains an F-score of 60%, followed by the ASM kernel at 57%. The performance difference between the ASM and APG kernels for CID sentence level relation extraction is not significant. In our evaluation of ASM for the PPI task, ASM

  1. Journal of Genetics | Indian Academy of Sciences

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    pp 3-12 Research Commentary ... pp 13-19 Research Article .... Similar to other MIKC-type gene, BoPI contained the Cterminal sequence but its function was ... Further evidence for the genetic basis of qualitative traits and their linkage .... Complementation of sweet corn mutants: a method for grouping sweet corn genotypes.

  2. 7 CFR 956.5 - Walla Walla Sweet Onions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Walla Walla Sweet Onions. 956.5 Section 956.5... Agreements and Orders; Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SWEET ONIONS GROWN IN THE WALLA WALLA VALLEY OF SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON AND NORTHEAST OREGON Definitions § 956.5 Walla Walla Sweet Onions...

  3. Attraction, Oviposition Preferences, and Olfactory Responses of Corn-Infesting Ulidiidae (Diptera) to Various Host-Based Substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owens, D; Nuessly, G S; Kendra, P E; Colquhoun, T A; Seal, D R

    2017-08-01

    Fresh market sweet corn (Zea mays L., convar. saccharata var. rugosa, Poales: Poaceae) ears produced in Florida are damaged by the larvae of Euxesta stigmatias Loew, Euxesta eluta Loew, and Chaetopsis massyla Walker (Diptera: Ulidiidae) that renders ears unmarketable. No standard lure exists for monitoring these pests. Oviposition substrate and attractant bioassays were designed to identify attractive substrates for further semiochemical investigation. Frass from the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), was more attractive than other ovipositional substrates tested for E. eluta and C. massyla, and resulted in greater ovipositional output. Tassel-derived armyworm frass was more attractive than leaf-derived frass for oviposition. Frass also resulted in greater oviposition output by two species. In attraction bioassays, frass was generally preferred over the corresponding corn tissue, and only C. massyla demonstrated a preference for silk-frass over tassel-frass. The most promising substrates were then evaluated by electroantennography (EAG) to quantify olfactory responses. Frass volatiles also elicited greater antennal responses than corn volatiles. With tassel-frass, greater amplitude EAG responses were recorded from immature E. eluta female antennae, while mature female E. stigmatias exhibited greater responses. Equivalent antennal response to silk-frass was observed from E. eluta. Overall, silk-frass elicited the greatest EAG responses among all three fly species. Our results indicate that armyworm frass is an important resource in the chemical ecology of corn-infesting silk flies, and this substrate warrants further investigation for potential attractants that may facilitate development of novel management tools for these pests. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. Histiocytoid Sweet Syndrome in a Child without Underlying Systemic Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeom, Seung Dohn; Ko, Hye Soo; Moon, Jong Hyuk; Kang, Min Ji; Byun, Ji Won; Choi, Gwang Seong; Shin, Jeonghyun

    2017-10-01

    Sweet syndrome (acute, febrile, neutrophilic dermatosis) is characterized by the acute onset of an eruption of painful nodules or erythematous or violaceous plaques on the limbs, face and neck. These symptoms are accompanied by fever. The diagnostic features include histopathological findings of dermal neutrophilic infiltration without leukocytoclastic vasculitis or peripheral blood leukocytosis. Sweet syndrome is associated with infection, malignancies, autoimmune disease, pregnancy, and drugs. Patients with Sweet syndrome demonstrate a complete and rapid response to systemic steroid administration. Recently, a distinct variant of Sweet syndrome was reported, termed "histiocytoid Sweet syndrome", in which the infiltration of myeloperoxidase-positive histiocytoid mononuclear cells are observed (in contrast to the infiltration of neutrophils). The other clinical features are similar to those of classic Sweet syndrome. Pediatric Sweet syndrome is uncommon, and the histiocytoid type is even rarer. To date, four cases of histiocytoid Sweet syndrome have been reported in children. Herein, we describe a case of histiocytoid Sweet syndrome in an otherwise healthy 10-year-old boy with no underlying systemic disease in whom non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug treatment was successful.

  5. Towards spatial isolation design in a multi-core real-time kernel targeting safety-critical applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Gang; Top, Søren

    2013-01-01

    . Partitioning can prevent fault propagation among mixed-criticality applications, if spatial and temporal isolation are adequately ensured. This paper focuses on the solution of spatial isolation in the HARTEX kernel on a multi-core platform in terms of memory, communication between applications and I/O sharing....... According to formulated isolation requirements, a simple partitioning multi-core hardware architecture is proposed using SoC and memory protection units, and the kernel is extended to support spatial isolation between the kernel and applications as well as between applications. Combined design of hardware...... and software can easily achieve this isolation. At last, the spatial isolation is evaluated using a statistical sampling method and its performance is tested in terms of task switch, system call and footprint....

  6. GRIM : Leveraging GPUs for Kernel integrity monitoring

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koromilas, Lazaros; Vasiliadis, Giorgos; Athanasopoulos, Ilias; Ioannidis, Sotiris

    2016-01-01

    Kernel rootkits can exploit an operating system and enable future accessibility and control, despite all recent advances in software protection. A promising defense mechanism against rootkits is Kernel Integrity Monitor (KIM) systems, which inspect the kernel text and data to discover any malicious

  7. Effect of levulose containing sweets on blood and salivary glucose levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subramaniam, Priya; K L, Girish Babu; Gona, Harsha

    2015-06-01

    It is common that many diabetic patients crave for sweets which are normally prohibited. To satisfy their desire to have sweets, alternative sweeteners have been introduced to provide sweetness to some items of their diabetic diet. To (1) assess the effect of sweets containing levulose on glucose levels in blood and saliva, and (2) compare it with effect of sweets containing sucrose on blood and saliva levels of glucose. The study consisted of 20 healthy participants, aged 17-20 years. Two sweet preparations of 36 g each were selected for the study. One preparation was sweetened with levulose (diabetic sweet; Group I) and the other with sucrose (regular sweet; Group II). Blood sugar and salivary glucose levels were estimated before and after the consumption of diabetic and regular sweets. The mean increase in salivary glucose level was lower in Group I than in Group II. Similarly, increase in blood glucose levels in Group I was lower and highly significant. In comparison with regular sweets, consumption of levulose containing sweet resulted in significantly lower blood and salivary glucose levels.

  8. Is the begomovirus, sweet potato leaf curl virus, really seed transmitted in sweetpotato?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sweetpotato is one of the major root crops in the world and is also widely grown in the southern United States. Sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV) is a begomovirus posing a serious threat to sweetpotato production worldwide and is primarily transmitted by whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) or through veget...

  9. Clinicopathologic, Immunohistochemical, and Molecular Features of Histiocytoid Sweet Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alegría-Landa, Victoria; Rodríguez-Pinilla, Socorro María; Santos-Briz, Angel; Rodríguez-Peralto, José Luis; Alegre, Victor; Cerroni, Lorenzo; Kutzner, Heinz; Requena, Luis

    2017-07-01

    Histiocytoid Sweet syndrome is a rare histopathologic variant of Sweet syndrome. The nature of the histiocytoid infiltrate has generated considerable controversy in the literature. The main goal of this study was to conduct a comprehensive overview of the immunohistochemical phenotype of the infiltrate in histiocytoid Sweet syndrome. We also analyze whether this variant of Sweet syndrome is more frequently associated with hematologic malignancies than classic Sweet syndrome. This is a retrospective case series study of the clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular features of 33 patients with a clinicopathologic diagnosis of histiocytoid Sweet syndrome was conducted in the dermatology departments of 5 university hospitals and a private laboratory of dermatopathology. The clinical, histopathological, immunohistochemical, and follow-up features of 33 patients with histiocytoid Sweet syndrome were analyzed. In some cases, cytogenetic studies of the dermal infiltrate were also performed. We compare our findings with those of the literature. The dermal infiltrate from the 33 study patients (20 female; median age, 49 years; age range, 5-93 years; and 13 male; median age, 42 years; age range, 4-76 years) was mainly composed of myeloperoxidase-positive immature myelomonocytic cells with histiocytoid morphology. No cytogenetic anomalies were found in the infiltrate except in 1 case in which neoplastic cells of chronic myelogenous leukemia were intermingled with the cells of histiocytoid Sweet syndrome. Authentic histiocytes were also found in most cases, with a mature immunoprofile, but they appeared to be a minor component of the infiltrate. Histiocytoid Sweet syndrome was not more frequently related with hematologic malignancies than classic neutrophilic Sweet syndrome. The dermal infiltrate of cutaneous lesions of histiocytoid Sweet syndrome is composed mostly of immature cells of myeloid lineage. This infiltrate should not be interpreted as leukemia cutis.

  10. 7 CFR 51.2296 - Three-fourths half kernel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Three-fourths half kernel. 51.2296 Section 51.2296 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards...-fourths half kernel. Three-fourths half kernel means a portion of a half of a kernel which has more than...

  11. Immobilization of Candida rugosa lipase by adsorption-crosslinking onto corn husk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nuraliyah, A.; Wijanarko, A.; Hermansyah, H.

    2018-04-01

    Corn husk is one of the agricutural waste that has not been used optimally. corn husk waste allows to be used as immobilized support for biocatalyst because it is easy to obtain, available abundant, renewable and easy to decompose. This research was conducted in two phases, namely the adsorption of enzyme immobilization on the support, followed by cross- linking between the enzyme and support through the addition of glutaraldehyde. The optimum conditions for cross-linked adsorption immobilization using support of corn husk were achieved at concentrations of 0,75 mg / ml at 4 hour reaction time. The biggest unit activity value is obtained at 2,37 U / g support through 0.5% glutaraldehyde addition.

  12. PEMANFAATAN PANGAN LOKAL DI PROVINSI NUSA TENGGARA TIMUR: Pengolahan Pangan Lokal Menjadi Tepung, Analisis Usaha dan Implikasi Kebijakannya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusuf

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT province identically with the dry land that had the potential of local food diversity both of tubers, cereal and fruits groups. Food processing based on local food, especially the tubers are still very limited in NTT. The objectives of this studi are (1 to determine the physico chemical characteristics of modified cassava flour (mocaf, sweet potato flour and corn flour, (2 to determine the financial feasibility of mocaf, sweet potato flour and corn flour in Timor Tengah Selatan regency, NTT. Introduction approach of processing through the understanding and skills of processing of mocaf, sweet potato flour and corn flour in two women farmers groups (KWT, namely KWT Suka Maju Ajaobaki Village Mollo Utara District and KWT Hetven Kesetnana village Mollo Selatan District, Timor Tengah Selatan regency. Introductions of processing technology has been done after optimization of the processing in the Laboratory of BPTP NTT. The results showed that the local food such as cassava, sweet potato and corn can be processed into flour so can increase the added value and increase the competitiveness of local food. Local food flour can be used as a wheat flour substitute in food processing. Flouring effort of mocaf, sweet potatoes and corn had been managed efficiently indicated by revenue cost ratio (RCR value is more than 1.00.

  13. Proximate analysis of Sweet Potato Toasted Granules | Meludu ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Sweet potato is an important root crop in the food system of many African countries. The yield, nutrition and economic potential of sweet potato have been identified as very high. In this study, sweet potato was processed and toasted into granules. The proximate analysis performed on the toasted granules showed protein, ...

  14. Sweet and bitter taste perception of women during pregnancy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nanou, Evangelia; Brandt, Sarah Østergaard; Weenen, Hugo

    2016-01-01

    and bitterness, respectively. Pregnant women completed also a self-administered questionnaire on changes in sweet and bitter taste perception due to pregnancy. Results: Perceived intensity of sweetness and bitterness was not different between pregnant and nonpregnant women for any of the products. However......Introduction: Changes in sweet and bitter taste perception during pregnancy have been reported in a limited number of studies leading, however, to inconclusive results. The current study aimed to investigate possible differences in perceived intensity and liking of sweetness and bitterness between......, the liking of the least sweet apple + berry juice was significantly higher, and the optimal preferred sugar content was significantly lower in pregnant compared to nonpregnant women. With regards to self-report, pregnant women who reported higher sensitivity in sweet or bitter taste did not have...

  15. Síndrome de Sweet asociado a neoplasias Sweet's syndrome associated with neoplasms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Franco

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available El síndrome de Sweet fue descrito en el año 1964 por Robert Douglas Sweet, como una entidad a la cual denominó dermatosis neutrofílica febril y aguda. Se caracteriza por cinco rasgos principales: 1 aparición brusca de placas eritemato-dolorosas en cara, cuello y extremidades; 2 fiebre; 3 leucocitosis polimorfonuclear; 4 denso infiltrado dérmico a predominio neutrofilico; 5 rápida respuesta al tratamiento esteroideo. Se puede clasificar en cinco grupos: idiopático, parainflamatorio, paraneoplásico, secundario a drogas y asociado a embarazo. En el 20% de los casos se asocia a enfermedades malignas, representando las hematológicas el 85% y los tumores sólidos el 15% restante. Se presenta una serie de siete casos de síndrome de Sweet asociado a neoplasias, diagnosticados durante el período 2002-2006, de los cuales seis correspondieron a enfermedades oncohematológicas y el restante a tumores sólidos. Como comentario de dicha casuística, se hace hincapié en la importancia del diagnóstico de este síndrome, debido a que puede anunciar la recaída del tumor o la progresión de la enfermedad de base. De esta manera, mediante el uso de métodos de diagnóstico y tratamiento oportunos, se lograría mejorar la calida de vida de estos pacientes. También debe tenerse en cuenta, que los pacientes oncológicos reciben múltiples medicaciones (factor estimulante de colonias, que pueden estar implicadas en la aparición de esta entidad, debiendo ser las mismas descartadas como posibles causas.Sweet's syndrome was described in 1964 by Robert Douglas Sweet, as an entity he named acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis. It is characterized by five main features: 1 sudden appearance of erythematous and tender plaques on the face, neck and extremities; 2 fever; 3 polymorphonuclear leukocytes; 4 predominantly neutrophilic dense infiltrate in the dermis, and 5 rapid response to steroid therapy. Sweet's syndrome can be classified into five groups

  16. Examining Potential Boundary Bias Effects in Kernel Smoothing on Equating: An Introduction for the Adaptive and Epanechnikov Kernels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cid, Jaime A; von Davier, Alina A

    2015-05-01

    Test equating is a method of making the test scores from different test forms of the same assessment comparable. In the equating process, an important step involves continuizing the discrete score distributions. In traditional observed-score equating, this step is achieved using linear interpolation (or an unscaled uniform kernel). In the kernel equating (KE) process, this continuization process involves Gaussian kernel smoothing. It has been suggested that the choice of bandwidth in kernel smoothing controls the trade-off between variance and bias. In the literature on estimating density functions using kernels, it has also been suggested that the weight of the kernel depends on the sample size, and therefore, the resulting continuous distribution exhibits bias at the endpoints, where the samples are usually smaller. The purpose of this article is (a) to explore the potential effects of atypical scores (spikes) at the extreme ends (high and low) on the KE method in distributions with different degrees of asymmetry using the randomly equivalent groups equating design (Study I), and (b) to introduce the Epanechnikov and adaptive kernels as potential alternative approaches to reducing boundary bias in smoothing (Study II). The beta-binomial model is used to simulate observed scores reflecting a range of different skewed shapes.

  17. Adaptive Kernel in Meshsize Boosting Algorithm in KDE ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper proposes the use of adaptive kernel in a meshsize boosting algorithm in kernel density estimation. The algorithm is a bias reduction scheme like other existing schemes but uses adaptive kernel instead of the regular fixed kernels. An empirical study for this scheme is conducted and the findings are comparatively ...

  18. A kernel version of multivariate alteration detection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg; Vestergaard, Jacob Schack

    2013-01-01

    Based on the established methods kernel canonical correlation analysis and multivariate alteration detection we introduce a kernel version of multivariate alteration detection. A case study with SPOT HRV data shows that the kMAD variates focus on extreme change observations.......Based on the established methods kernel canonical correlation analysis and multivariate alteration detection we introduce a kernel version of multivariate alteration detection. A case study with SPOT HRV data shows that the kMAD variates focus on extreme change observations....

  19. Implementing Kernel Methods Incrementally by Incremental Nonlinear Projection Trick.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwak, Nojun

    2016-05-20

    Recently, the nonlinear projection trick (NPT) was introduced enabling direct computation of coordinates of samples in a reproducing kernel Hilbert space. With NPT, any machine learning algorithm can be extended to a kernel version without relying on the so called kernel trick. However, NPT is inherently difficult to be implemented incrementally because an ever increasing kernel matrix should be treated as additional training samples are introduced. In this paper, an incremental version of the NPT (INPT) is proposed based on the observation that the centerization step in NPT is unnecessary. Because the proposed INPT does not change the coordinates of the old data, the coordinates obtained by INPT can directly be used in any incremental methods to implement a kernel version of the incremental methods. The effectiveness of the INPT is shown by applying it to implement incremental versions of kernel methods such as, kernel singular value decomposition, kernel principal component analysis, and kernel discriminant analysis which are utilized for problems of kernel matrix reconstruction, letter classification, and face image retrieval, respectively.

  20. Leptin Suppresses Mouse Taste Cell Responses to Sweet Compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshida, Ryusuke; Noguchi, Kenshi; Shigemura, Noriatsu; Jyotaki, Masafumi; Takahashi, Ichiro; Margolskee, Robert F; Ninomiya, Yuzo

    2015-11-01

    Leptin is known to selectively suppress neural and behavioral responses to sweet-tasting compounds. However, the molecular basis for the effect of leptin on sweet taste is not known. Here, we report that leptin suppresses sweet taste via leptin receptors (Ob-Rb) and KATP channels expressed selectively in sweet-sensitive taste cells. Ob-Rb was more often expressed in taste cells that expressed T1R3 (a sweet receptor component) than in those that expressed glutamate-aspartate transporter (a marker for Type I taste cells) or GAD67 (a marker for Type III taste cells). Systemically administered leptin suppressed taste cell responses to sweet but not to bitter or sour compounds. This effect was blocked by a leptin antagonist and was absent in leptin receptor-deficient db/db mice and mice with diet-induced obesity. Blocking the KATP channel subunit sulfonylurea receptor 1, which was frequently coexpressed with Ob-Rb in T1R3-expressing taste cells, eliminated the effect of leptin on sweet taste. In contrast, activating the KATP channel with diazoxide mimicked the sweet-suppressing effect of leptin. These results indicate that leptin acts via Ob-Rb and KATP channels that are present in T1R3-expressing taste cells to selectively suppress their responses to sweet compounds. © 2015 by the American Diabetes Association. Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered.

  1. Evolution and Stress Responses of Gossypium hirsutum SWEET Genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Wei; Ren, Zhongying; Wang, Zhenyu; Sun, Kuan; Pei, Xiaoyu; Liu, Yangai; He, Kunlun; Zhang, Fei; Song, Chengxiang; Zhou, Xiaojian; Zhang, Wensheng; Ma, Xiongfeng; Yang, Daigang

    2018-03-08

    The SWEET (sugars will eventually be exported transporters) proteins are sugar efflux transporters containing the MtN3_saliva domain, which affects plant development as well as responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. These proteins have not been functionally characterized in the tetraploid cotton, Gossypium hirsutum , which is a widely cultivated cotton species. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the cotton SWEET gene family. A total of 55 putative G. hirsutum SWEET genes were identified. The GhSWEET genes were classified into four clades based on a phylogenetic analysis and on the examination of gene structural features. Moreover, chromosomal localization and an analysis of homologous genes in Gossypium arboreum , Gossypium raimondii , and G. hirsutum suggested that a whole-genome duplication, several tandem duplications, and a polyploidy event contributed to the expansion of the cotton SWEET gene family, especially in Clade III and IV. Analyses of cis -acting regulatory elements in the promoter regions, expression profiles, and artificial selection revealed that the GhSWEET genes were likely involved in cotton developmental processes and responses to diverse stresses. These findings may clarify the evolution of G. hirsutum SWEET gene family and may provide a foundation for future functional studies of SWEET proteins regarding cotton development and responses to abiotic stresses.

  2. Comparison of the forage and grain composition from insect-protected and glyphosate-tolerant MON 88017 corn to conventional corn (Zea mays L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCann, Melinda C; Trujillo, William A; Riordan, Susan G; Sorbet, Roy; Bogdanova, Natalia N; Sidhu, Ravinder S

    2007-05-16

    The next generation of biotechnology-derived products with the combined benefit of herbicide tolerance and insect protection (MON 88017) was developed to withstand feeding damage caused by the coleopteran pest corn rootworm and over-the-top applications of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicides. As a part of a larger safety and characterization assessment, MON 88017 was grown under field conditions at geographically diverse locations within the United States and Argentina during the 2002 and 2003-2004 field seasons, respectively, along with a near-isogenic control and other conventional corn hybrids for compositional assessment. Field trials were conducted using a randomized complete block design with three replication blocks at each site. Corn forage samples were harvested at the late dough/early dent stage, ground, and analyzed for the concentration of proximate constituents, fibers, and minerals. Samples of mature grain were harvested, ground, and analyzed for the concentration of proximate constituents, fiber, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, antinutrients, and secondary metabolites. The results showed that the forage and grain from MON 88017 are compositionally equivalent to forage and grain from control and conventional corn hybrids.

  3. Uranium kernel formation via internal gelation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hunt, R.D.; Collins, J.L.

    2004-01-01

    In the 1970s and 1980s, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) conducted numerous studies on the fabrication of nuclear fuel particles using the internal gelation process. These amorphous kernels were prone to flaking or breaking when gases tried to escape from the kernels during calcination and sintering. These earlier kernels would not meet today's proposed specifications for reactor fuel. In the interim, the internal gelation process has been used to create hydrous metal oxide microspheres for the treatment of nuclear waste. With the renewed interest in advanced nuclear fuel by the DOE, the lessons learned from the nuclear waste studies were recently applied to the fabrication of uranium kernels, which will become tri-isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles. These process improvements included equipment modifications, small changes to the feed formulations, and a new temperature profile for the calcination and sintering. The modifications to the laboratory-scale equipment and its operation as well as small changes to the feed composition increased the product yield from 60% to 80%-99%. The new kernels were substantially less glassy, and no evidence of flaking was found. Finally, key process parameters were identified, and their effects on the uranium microspheres and kernels are discussed. (orig.)

  4. Sweet potato in gluten-free pancakes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gluten-free pancakes were prepared using rice flour, and rice flour replaced with various amounts, at 10, 20, and 40% of sweet potato flour. At 40% sweet potato, the apparent viscosity became comparable to that of the traditional wheat pancake batter. Texture properties of the cooked pancakes, such...

  5. Sensitive Quantification of Aflatoxin B1 in Animal Feeds, Corn Feed Grain, and Yellow Corn Meal Using Immunomagnetic Bead-Based Recovery and Real-Time Immunoquantitative-PCR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dinesh Babu

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Aflatoxins are considered unavoidable natural mycotoxins encountered in foods, animal feeds, and feed grains. In this study, we demonstrate the application of our recently developed real-time immunoquantitative PCR (RT iq-PCR assay for sensitive detection and quantification of aflatoxins in poultry feed, two types of dairy feed (1 and 2, horse feed, whole kernel corn feed grains, and retail yellow ground corn meal. Upon testing methanol/water (60:40 extractions of the above samples using competitive direct enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, the aflatoxin content was found to be <20 μg/kg. The RT iq-PCR assay exhibited high antigen hook effect in samples containing aflatoxin levels higher than the quantification limits (0.1–10 μg/kg, addressed by comparing the quantification results of undiluted and diluted extracts. In testing the reliability of the immuno-PCR assay, samples were spiked with 200 μg/kg of aflatoxin B1, but the recovery of spiked aflatoxin was found to be poor. Considering the significance of determining trace levels of aflatoxins and their serious implications for animal and human health, the RT iq-PCR method described in this study can be useful for quantifying low natural aflatoxin levels in complex matrices of food or animal feed samples without the requirement of extra sample cleanup.

  6. Development of a pilot system for converting sweet potato starch into glucose syrup

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silayo, Valerian C K.; Lu, John Y.; Aglan, Heshmat A.; Bovell-Benjamin, A. C. (Principal Investigator)

    2003-01-01

    Sweet potato has been chosen as one of NASA's crops to support human beings in future space missions. One of the possible uses is to make syrup that can be used as a general sweetener. In this work a simple engineering system for converting sweet potato starch into glucose syrup was studied on a laboratory scale. The system comprises the following main units: a blender, continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR), centrifugal and vacuum filters, deionization column and vacuum evaporator. The system was tested by carrying out conversion processes from fresh sweet potato roots. The roots were pealed, sliced, homogenized, heated and hydrolyzed by diastase of malt and Dextrozyme C (Novo Nordisk BioChem, North America, Inc.) enzymes in the CSTR. After hydrolysis the slurry was filtered, de-ionized and concentrated to get glucose syrup. The performance of the system was evaluated based on the quality of the conversion. The main factor was the level of reducing sugars except for the deionization where ash content and color were the main factors. Through careful control of the system units, good heating performance in the CSTR was obtained and the hydrolysis process attained sufficient conversion. The filtration process that incorporated the centrifuge was faster than when it was by-passed to the vacuum filter but losses in sugars were higher. Deionization removed more than 90% of the ash and reduced pigmentation, with probable insignificant losses in sugars during the deionization process. Recovery levels when the centrifuge was used and when it was by-passed could reach about 65% and 78%, respectively. These correspond to reducing sugar concentration of 259 and 310 mg/ml in 150-ml syrups from 300 g of sweet potatoes in each process. However, from concentration trials, syrups with volumes of 100 and 70 ml with the respective dextrose equivalence of 281 and 213 mg/ml were obtained. The syrups obtained were brownish in color and the process that employed centrifugal filtration

  7. Kernel learning at the first level of inference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cawley, Gavin C; Talbot, Nicola L C

    2014-05-01

    Kernel learning methods, whether Bayesian or frequentist, typically involve multiple levels of inference, with the coefficients of the kernel expansion being determined at the first level and the kernel and regularisation parameters carefully tuned at the second level, a process known as model selection. Model selection for kernel machines is commonly performed via optimisation of a suitable model selection criterion, often based on cross-validation or theoretical performance bounds. However, if there are a large number of kernel parameters, as for instance in the case of automatic relevance determination (ARD), there is a substantial risk of over-fitting the model selection criterion, resulting in poor generalisation performance. In this paper we investigate the possibility of learning the kernel, for the Least-Squares Support Vector Machine (LS-SVM) classifier, at the first level of inference, i.e. parameter optimisation. The kernel parameters and the coefficients of the kernel expansion are jointly optimised at the first level of inference, minimising a training criterion with an additional regularisation term acting on the kernel parameters. The key advantage of this approach is that the values of only two regularisation parameters need be determined in model selection, substantially alleviating the problem of over-fitting the model selection criterion. The benefits of this approach are demonstrated using a suite of synthetic and real-world binary classification benchmark problems, where kernel learning at the first level of inference is shown to be statistically superior to the conventional approach, improves on our previous work (Cawley and Talbot, 2007) and is competitive with Multiple Kernel Learning approaches, but with reduced computational expense. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Global Polynomial Kernel Hazard Estimation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hiabu, Munir; Miranda, Maria Dolores Martínez; Nielsen, Jens Perch

    2015-01-01

    This paper introduces a new bias reducing method for kernel hazard estimation. The method is called global polynomial adjustment (GPA). It is a global correction which is applicable to any kernel hazard estimator. The estimator works well from a theoretical point of view as it asymptotically redu...

  9. Analisis Swot pada Industri Jagung Manis di Kota Payakumbuh (Studi Kasus : Jagung Manis F1aina)

    OpenAIRE

    Ningsih, Dea Gita; Sari, Lapeti; Setiawan, Deny

    2017-01-01

    The success of Industrial and trading sector have given big contribution in creating national economic structure. One of food industries in Payakumbuh city that have vase growth is F1 Aina corn industry. This study aims to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the development of Sweet Corn Industry F1Aina. Knowing the industry development strategy F1Aina Sweet Corn. The analytical method used is the SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, opportunites, Threats). This...

  10. Sweet taste exposure and the subsequent acceptance and preference for sweet taste in the diet: systematic review of the published literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appleton, K M; Tuorila, H; Bertenshaw, E J; de Graaf, C; Mela, D J

    2018-03-01

    There are consistent, evidence-based global public health recommendations to reduce intakes of free sugars. However, the corresponding evidence for recommending reduced exposure to sweetness is less clear. Our aim was to identify and review the published evidence investigating the impact of dietary exposure to sweet-tasting foods or beverages on the subsequent generalized acceptance, preference, or choice of sweet foods and beverages in the diet. Systematic searches were conducted to identify all studies testing relations of variation in exposure to sweetness through foods and beverages with subsequent variation in the generalized acceptance, preference, or choice of sweetened foods or beverages, in humans aged >6 mo. Twenty-one studies met our inclusion criteria, comprising 7 population cohort studies involving 2320 children and 14 controlled trials involving 1113 individuals. These studies were heterogeneous in study design, population, exposure, and outcomes measured, and few were explicitly designed to address our research question. The findings from these were inconsistent. We found equivocal evidence from population cohort studies. The evidence from controlled studies suggests that a higher sweet taste exposure tends to lead to reduced preferences for sweetness in the shorter term, but very limited effects were found in the longer term. A small and heterogeneous body of research currently has considered the impact of varying exposure to sweet taste on subsequent generalized sweet taste preferences, and this evidence is equivocal regarding the presence and possible direction of a relation. Future work should focus on adequately powered studies with well-characterized exposures of sufficient duration. This review was registered with PROSPERO as CRD42016051840, 24 November 2016.

  11. Sweet Potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Guo-qing; Yamaguchi, Ken-ichi

    2006-01-01

    Among the available transformation methods reported on sweet potato, Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation is more successful and desirable. Stem explants have shown to be ideal for the transformation of sweet potato because of their ready availability as explants, the simple transformation process, and high-frequency-regeneration via somatic embryogenesis. Under the two-step kanamycin-hygromycin selection method and using the appropriate explants type (stem explants), the efficiency of transformation can be considerably improved in cv. Beniazuma. The high efficiency in the transformation of stem explants suggests that the transformation protocol described in this chapter warrants testing for routine stable transformation of diverse varieties of sweet potato.

  12. Quantum tomography, phase-space observables and generalized Markov kernels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pellonpaeae, Juha-Pekka

    2009-01-01

    We construct a generalized Markov kernel which transforms the observable associated with the homodyne tomography into a covariant phase-space observable with a regular kernel state. Illustrative examples are given in the cases of a 'Schroedinger cat' kernel state and the Cahill-Glauber s-parametrized distributions. Also we consider an example of a kernel state when the generalized Markov kernel cannot be constructed.

  13. Meta-analysis of yield response of hybrid field corn to foliar fungicides in the U.S. Corn Belt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, P A; Madden, L V; Bradley, C A; Robertson, A E; Munkvold, G P; Shaner, G; Wise, K A; Malvick, D K; Allen, T W; Grybauskas, A; Vincelli, P; Esker, P

    2011-09-01

    The use of foliar fungicides on field corn has increased greatly over the past 5 years in the United States in an attempt to increase yields, despite limited evidence that use of the fungicides is consistently profitable. To assess the value of using fungicides in grain corn production, random-effects meta-analyses were performed on results from foliar fungicide experiments conducted during 2002 to 2009 in 14 states across the United States to determine the mean yield response to the fungicides azoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin, propiconazole + trifloxystrobin, and propiconazole + azoxystrobin. For all fungicides, the yield difference between treated and nontreated plots was highly variable among studies. All four fungicides resulted in a significant mean yield increase relative to the nontreated plots (P pyraclostrobin (256 kg/ha), and lowest for azoxystrobin (230 kg/ha). Baseline yield (mean yield in the nontreated plots) had a significant effect on yield for propiconazole + azoxystrobin (P pyraclostrobin, propiconazole + trifloxystrobin, and propiconazole + azoxystrobin but not to azoxystrobin. Mean yield difference was generally higher in the lowest yield and higher disease severity categories than in the highest yield and lower disease categories. The probability of failing to recover the fungicide application cost (p(loss)) also was estimated for a range of grain corn prices and application costs. At the 10-year average corn grain price of $0.12/kg ($2.97/bushel) and application costs of $40 to 95/ha, p(loss) for disease severity pyraclostrobin, 0.62 to 0.93 for propiconazole + trifloxystrobin, 0.58 to 0.89 for propiconazole + azoxystrobin, and 0.91 to 0.99 for azoxystrobin. When disease severity was >5%, the corresponding probabilities were 0.36 to 95, 0.25 to 0.69, 0.25 to 0.64, and 0.37 to 0.98 for the four fungicides. In conclusion, the high p(loss) values found in most scenarios suggest that the use of these foliar fungicides is unlikely to be profitable when

  14. Determination of the mineral compositions of some selected oil-bearing seeds and kernels using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Musa Özcan, M.

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper was to establish the mineral contents of oil-bearing seeds and kernels such as peanut, turpentine, walnut, hazelnut, sesame, corn, poppy, almond, sunflower etc., using Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES. Significant differences in mineral composition were observed among crops. All seeds and kernels contained high amounts of Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Na, P and Zn. B, Cr, Cu, Li, Ni, Sr, Ti while V contents of the crops were found to be very low. The levels of K and P of all crops in this study were found to be higher than those of other seeds and kernels. The results obtained from analyses of the crops showed that the mean levels of potassiumcontent ranged from 1701.08 mg/kg (corn to 20895.8 mg/kg (soybean, the average content of phosphorus ranged from 3076.9 mg/kg (turpentine to 12006,5 mg/kg to 2617.4 mg/kg (cotton seed, and Ca from 68.4 mg/kg (corn to 13195.7 mg/kg (poppy seed. The results show that these values may  be useful for the evaluation of dietary information. Particularly the obtained results provide evidence that soybean, pinestone and poppy seed are a good source of K, P and Ca, respectively. Whereas pinestone is a good source of zinc.La finalidad del trabajo es establecer el contenido en elementos minerales de semillas oleaginosas tales como cacahuetes, trementina, avellana, sesamo, maiz, almendras, girasol, utilizando ICP-AES. Se han observado diferencias significativas en la composición de minerales entre cosechas. Todas las semillas contienen cantidades elevadas de Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Na, P y Zn. Los contenidos de B, Cr, Cu, Li, Ni, Sr, Ti y V, sin embargo, fueron bajos. Los contenidos de K y P en todas las semillas estudiadas fueron superiores a las de otras semillas. El contenido medio de K osciló entre 1.701,1 mg/kg (maiz a 20.895,8 mg/kg (soja, el P entre 3.076.9 mg/kg (trementina a 12.006.5 mg/kg o 2.617,4 mg/kg (semilla de algodón, y Ca de 68,4 mg/kg (maiz a 13.195,7 mg

  15. Effects of Sweet Bee Venom on the Central Nervous System in Rats -using the Functional Observational Battery-

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joong Chul An

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: This study was performed to analyse the effects of Sweet Bee Venom(Sweet BV-pure melittin, the major component of honey bee venom on the central nervous system in rats. Methods: All experiments were conducted at Biotoxtech Company, a non-clinical studies authorized institution, under the regulations of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP. Male rats of 5 weeks old were chosen for this study and after confirming condition of rats was stable, Sweet BV was administered in thigh muscle of rats. And checked the effects of Sweet BV on the central nervous system using the functional observational battery (FOB, which is a neuro-toxicity screening assay composed of 30 descriptive, scalar, binary, and continuous endpoints. And home cage observations, home cage removal and handling, open field activity, sensorimotor reflex test/physiological measurements were conducted. Results: 1. In the home cage observation, there was not observed any abnormal signs in rats. 2. In the observation of open field activity, the reduction of number of unit areas crossed and rearing count was observed caused by Sweet BV treatment. 3. In the observation of handling reactivity, there was not observed any abnormal signs in rats. 4. In the observation of sensorimotor reflex tests/physiological measurements, there was not observed any neurotoxic signs in rats. 5. In the measurement of rectal temperature, treatment of Sweet BV did not showed great influences in the body temperature of rats. Conclusions: Above findings suggest that Sweet BV is relatively safe treatment in the central nervous system. But in the using of over dose, Sweet BV may the cause of local pain and disturbance of movement. Further studies on the subject should be conducted to yield more concrete evidences.

  16. 21 CFR 163.153 - Sweet chocolate and vegetable fat coating.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Sweet chocolate and vegetable fat coating. 163.153... § 163.153 Sweet chocolate and vegetable fat coating. (a) Description. Sweet chocolate and vegetable fat... requirements for label declaration of ingredients for sweet chocolate in § 163.123, except that one or more...

  17. Nasal Foreign Bodies: A Sweet Experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leopard, D C; Williams, R G

    2015-10-01

    It is generally accepted that paediatric intranasal foreign bodies should be removed in the emergency setting. In the case of a difficult to access dissolvable foreign body in an uncooperative child, the question must be raised regarding whether or not a watch and wait strategy is more appropriate. We ask: How long does it take for popular sweets (candy) to dissolve in the human nose? Five popular UK sweets were placed in the right nasal cavity of a 29-year-old male (the author) with no sino-nasal disease. Time taken to dissolve was recorded. All five sweets were completely dissolved in under one hour. A watch and wait strategy in favour of examination under anaesthetic may be a viable option in some cases. Limitations of the study include the age of the participant and size of the sweets. It is also important in practice that the clinician is able to elicit an accurate history regarding the exact nature of the foreign body. It remains prudent to perform an examination under anaesthetic of an uncooperative child with a solid or unknown nasal foreign body. However, if the clinician can be certain the foreign body is a small sugar or chocolate based sweet only, a watch and wait strategy may be a reasonable choice. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. Single pass kernel k-means clustering method

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    paper proposes a simple and faster version of the kernel k-means clustering ... It has been considered as an important tool ... On the other hand, kernel-based clustering methods, like kernel k-means clus- ..... able at the UCI machine learning repository (Murphy 1994). ... All the data sets have only numeric valued features.

  19. Straight talk about high-fructose corn syrup: what it is and what it ain't.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, John S

    2008-12-01

    High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a fructose-glucose liquid sweetener alternative to sucrose (common table sugar) first introduced to the food and beverage industry in the 1970s. It is not meaningfully different in composition or metabolism from other fructose-glucose sweeteners like sucrose, honey, and fruit juice concentrates. HFCS was widely embraced by food formulators, and its use grew between the mid-1970s and mid-1990s, principally as a replacement for sucrose. This was primarily because of its sweetness comparable with that of sucrose, improved stability and functionality, and ease of use. Although HFCS use today is nearly equivalent to sucrose use in the United States, we live in a decidedly sucrose-sweetened world: >90% of the nutritive sweetener used worldwide is sucrose. Here I review the history, composition, availability, and characteristics of HFCS in a factual manner to clarify common misunderstandings that have been a source of confusion to health professionals and the general public alike. In particular, I evaluate the strength of the popular hypothesis that HFCS is uniquely responsible for obesity. Although examples of pure fructose causing metabolic upset at high concentrations abound, especially when fed as the sole carbohydrate source, there is no evidence that the common fructose-glucose sweeteners do the same. Thus, studies using extreme carbohydrate diets may be useful for probing biochemical pathways, but they have no relevance to the human diet or to current consumption. I conclude that the HFCS-obesity hypothesis is supported neither in the United States nor worldwide.

  20. Children's understandings and motivations surrounding novelty sweets: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Kate F; Fairchild, Ruth M; Jones, Rhiannon J; Hunter, Lindsay; Harris, Carole; Morgan, Maria Z

    2013-11-01

    Novelty sweets resemble or can be used as toys, are brightly coloured, with striking imagery, and sold at pocket money prices. They encourage regular consumption as packaging can be resealed, leading to prolonged exposure of these high-sugar and low pH products to the oral tissues, risk factors for dental caries and erosion, respectively. To determine how children conceptualise novelty sweets and their motivations for buying and consuming them. Focus groups conducted using a brief schedule of open-ended questions, supported by novelty sweets used as prompts in the latter stages. Participants were school children (aged 9-10) from purposively selected state primary schools in Cardiff, UK. Key findings related to the routine nature of sweet eating; familiarity with and availability of novelty sweets; parental awareness and control; lack of awareness of health consequences; and the overall appeal of novelty sweets. Parents reported vagueness regarding consumption habits and permissiveness about any limits they set may have diluted the concept of treats. Flexible permissiveness to sweet buying applied to sweets of all kinds. Parents' reported lack of familiarity with novelty sweets combined with their low cost, easy availability, high sugar content, and acidity give cause for concern. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, BSPD and IAPD.

  1. Relationship between attenuation coefficients and dose-spread kernels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boyer, A.L.

    1988-01-01

    Dose-spread kernels can be used to calculate the dose distribution in a photon beam by convolving the kernel with the primary fluence distribution. The theoretical relationships between various types and components of dose-spread kernels relative to photon attenuation coefficients are explored. These relations can be valuable as checks on the conservation of energy by dose-spread kernels calculated by analytic or Monte Carlo methods

  2. Mixture Density Mercer Kernels: A Method to Learn Kernels

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This paper presents a method of generating Mercer Kernels from an ensemble of probabilistic mixture models, where each mixture model is generated from a Bayesian...

  3. Integral equations with contrasting kernels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Theodore Burton

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we study integral equations of the form $x(t=a(t-\\int^t_0 C(t,sx(sds$ with sharply contrasting kernels typified by $C^*(t,s=\\ln (e+(t-s$ and $D^*(t,s=[1+(t-s]^{-1}$. The kernel assigns a weight to $x(s$ and these kernels have exactly opposite effects of weighting. Each type is well represented in the literature. Our first project is to show that for $a\\in L^2[0,\\infty$, then solutions are largely indistinguishable regardless of which kernel is used. This is a surprise and it leads us to study the essential differences. In fact, those differences become large as the magnitude of $a(t$ increases. The form of the kernel alone projects necessary conditions concerning the magnitude of $a(t$ which could result in bounded solutions. Thus, the next project is to determine how close we can come to proving that the necessary conditions are also sufficient. The third project is to show that solutions will be bounded for given conditions on $C$ regardless of whether $a$ is chosen large or small; this is important in real-world problems since we would like to have $a(t$ as the sum of a bounded, but badly behaved function, and a large well behaved function.

  4. Kernel methods in orthogonalization of multi- and hypervariate data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg

    2009-01-01

    A kernel version of maximum autocorrelation factor (MAF) analysis is described very briefly and applied to change detection in remotely sensed hyperspectral image (HyMap) data. The kernel version is based on a dual formulation also termed Q-mode analysis in which the data enter into the analysis...... via inner products in the Gram matrix only. In the kernel version the inner products are replaced by inner products between nonlinear mappings into higher dimensional feature space of the original data. Via kernel substitution also known as the kernel trick these inner products between the mappings...... are in turn replaced by a kernel function and all quantities needed in the analysis are expressed in terms of this kernel function. This means that we need not know the nonlinear mappings explicitly. Kernel PCA and MAF analysis handle nonlinearities by implicitly transforming data into high (even infinite...

  5. Energy and economic analysis of sweet cherry production in Turkey: A case study from Isparta province

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Demircan, Vecdi; Ekinci, Kamil; Keener, Harold M.; Akbolat, Davut; Ekinci, Caglar

    2006-01-01

    A survey was conducted using a face to face questionnaire with 92 sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) producers from 10 villages in five districts of the Isparta province where there is intensive sweet cherry production. The data collected was analyzed for the energy and economics of sweet cherry production. The results showed that the most energy consuming input for the different operations investigated was chemical fertilisers (45.35%), especially nitrogen (38.05%). The energy consumption for Diesel fuel was 21.53% of the total energy input. Although chemicals for plant protection had a small portion (1.45%) of the total energy input, the use of pesticide in sweet cherry production per hectare in the Isparta province was 5.36 times higher than that of Turkey's average, increasing the environmental risk problem. The energy use efficiency, defined as energy produced per unit of energy used, was 1.23. The specific energy of sweet cherry production was determined to be 3163.43 MJ tonnes -1 . It was found that the direct and indirect energy inputs were 34.48% and 54.91% of the total energy input, respectively. Among the inputs, renewable energy sources constituted 16.34% of the total energy input, which was lower than that of the non-renewable resources (chemical fertilisers and Diesel fuel). The results showed that the net return from sweet cherry production in the surveyed farms was satisfactory, as demonstrated by the benefit-cost ratio of 2.53 calculated by dividing the gross value of production by the total cost of production per hectare

  6. Characterization of Digestion Resistance Sweet Potato Starch ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Purpose: To analyze the physicochemical properties and in vitro digestibility of sweet potato starchphosphodiester prepared using sodium trimetaphosphate. Methods: The physicochemical properties of sweet potato starch phosphodiester were analyzed by using infrared spectrometry (IR), differential scanning calorimetry ...

  7. Kernel based subspace projection of near infrared hyperspectral images of maize kernels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Rasmus; Arngren, Morten; Hansen, Per Waaben

    2009-01-01

    In this paper we present an exploratory analysis of hyper- spectral 900-1700 nm images of maize kernels. The imaging device is a line scanning hyper spectral camera using a broadband NIR illumi- nation. In order to explore the hyperspectral data we compare a series of subspace projection methods ......- tor transform outperform the linear methods as well as kernel principal components in producing interesting projections of the data.......In this paper we present an exploratory analysis of hyper- spectral 900-1700 nm images of maize kernels. The imaging device is a line scanning hyper spectral camera using a broadband NIR illumi- nation. In order to explore the hyperspectral data we compare a series of subspace projection methods...... including principal component analysis and maximum autocorrelation factor analysis. The latter utilizes the fact that interesting phenomena in images exhibit spatial autocorrelation. However, linear projections often fail to grasp the underlying variability on the data. Therefore we propose to use so...

  8. Sparse Event Modeling with Hierarchical Bayesian Kernel Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-05

    SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: The research objective of this proposal was to develop a predictive Bayesian kernel approach to model count data based on...several predictive variables. Such an approach, which we refer to as the Poisson Bayesian kernel model, is able to model the rate of occurrence of... kernel methods made use of: (i) the Bayesian property of improving predictive accuracy as data are dynamically obtained, and (ii) the kernel function

  9. The Classification of Diabetes Mellitus Using Kernel k-means

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alamsyah, M.; Nafisah, Z.; Prayitno, E.; Afida, A. M.; Imah, E. M.

    2018-01-01

    Diabetes Mellitus is a metabolic disorder which is characterized by chronicle hypertensive glucose. Automatics detection of diabetes mellitus is still challenging. This study detected diabetes mellitus by using kernel k-Means algorithm. Kernel k-means is an algorithm which was developed from k-means algorithm. Kernel k-means used kernel learning that is able to handle non linear separable data; where it differs with a common k-means. The performance of kernel k-means in detecting diabetes mellitus is also compared with SOM algorithms. The experiment result shows that kernel k-means has good performance and a way much better than SOM.

  10. Evaluating the Application of Tissue-Specific Dose Kernels Instead of Water Dose Kernels in Internal Dosimetry : A Monte Carlo Study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moghadam, Maryam Khazaee; Asl, Alireza Kamali; Geramifar, Parham; Zaidi, Habib

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The aim of this work is to evaluate the application of tissue-specific dose kernels instead of water dose kernels to improve the accuracy of patient-specific dosimetry by taking tissue heterogeneities into consideration. Materials and Methods: Tissue-specific dose point kernels (DPKs) and

  11. Functional and evolution characterization of SWEET sugar transporters in Ananas comosus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Chengying; Li, Huayang; Xia, Xinyao; Liu, Xiuyuan; Yang, Long

    2018-02-05

    Sugars will eventually be exported transporters (SWEETs) are a group of recently identified sugar transporters in plants that play important roles in diverse physiological processes. However, currently, limited information about this gene family is available in pineapple (Ananas comosus). The availability of the recently released pineapple genome sequence provides the opportunity to identify SWEET genes in a Bromeliaceae family member at the genome level. In this study, 39 pineapple SWEET genes were identified in two pineapple cultivars (18 AnfSWEET and 21 AnmSWEET) and further phylogenetically classified into five clades. A phylogenetic analysis revealed distinct evolutionary paths for the SWEET genes of the two pineapple cultivars. The MD2 cultivar might have experienced a different expansion than the F153 cultivar because two additional duplications exist, which separately gave rise to clades III and IV. A gene exon/intron structure analysis showed that the pineapple SWEET genes contained highly conserved exon/intron numbers. An analysis of public RNA-seq data and expression profiling showed that SWEET genes may be involved in fruit development and ripening processes. AnmSWEET5 and AnmSWEET11 were highly expressed in the early stages of pineapple fruit development and then decreased. The study increases the understanding of the roles of SWEET genes in pineapple. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Parsimonious Wavelet Kernel Extreme Learning Machine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Qin

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available In this study, a parsimonious scheme for wavelet kernel extreme learning machine (named PWKELM was introduced by combining wavelet theory and a parsimonious algorithm into kernel extreme learning machine (KELM. In the wavelet analysis, bases that were localized in time and frequency to represent various signals effectively were used. Wavelet kernel extreme learning machine (WELM maximized its capability to capture the essential features in “frequency-rich” signals. The proposed parsimonious algorithm also incorporated significant wavelet kernel functions via iteration in virtue of Householder matrix, thus producing a sparse solution that eased the computational burden and improved numerical stability. The experimental results achieved from the synthetic dataset and a gas furnace instance demonstrated that the proposed PWKELM is efficient and feasible in terms of improving generalization accuracy and real time performance.

  13. Improving the sweet aftertaste of green tea infusion with tannase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ying-Na; Yin, Jun-Feng; Chen, Jian-Xin; Wang, Fang; Du, Qi-Zhen; Jiang, Yong-Wen; Xu, Yong-Quan

    2016-02-01

    The present study aims to improve the sweet aftertaste and overall acceptability of green tea infusion by hydrolyzing (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECG) with tannase. The results showed that the intensity of the sweet aftertaste and the score of overall acceptability of the green tea infusion significantly increased with the extension of the hydrolyzing treatment. (-)-Epigallocatechin (EGC) and (-)-epicatechin (EC) were found to be the main contributors for the sweet aftertaste, based on a trial compatibility with EGCG, ECG, EGC, and EC monomers, and a synergistic action between EGC and EC to sweet aftertaste was observed. A 2.5:1 (EGC/EC) ratio with a total concentration of 3.5 mmol/L gave the most satisfying sweet aftertaste, and the astringency significantly inhibited the development of the sweet aftertaste. These results can help us to produce a tea beverage with excellent sweet aftertaste by hydrolyzing the green tea infusion with tannase. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. The Dent Stage of Maize Kernels Is the Most Conducive for Fumonisin Biosynthesis under Field Conditions ▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Picot, Adeline; Barreau, Christian; Pinson-Gadais, Laëtitia; Piraux, François; Caron, Daniel; Lannou, Christian; Richard-Forget, Florence

    2011-01-01

    The fungal pathogen Fusarium verticillioides infects maize ears and produces fumonisins, known for their adverse effects on human and animal health. Basic questions remain unanswered regarding the kernel stage(s) associated with fumonisin biosynthesis and the kernel components involved in fumonisin regulation during F. verticillioides-maize interaction under field conditions. In this 2-year field study, the time course of F. verticillioides growth and fumonisin accumulation in developing maize kernels, along with the variations in kernel pH and amylopectin content, were monitored using relevant and accurate analytical tools. In all experiments, the most significant increase in fumonisin accumulation or in fumonisin productivity (i.e., fumonisin production per unit of fungus) was shown to occur within a very short period of time, between 22/32 and 42 days after inoculation and corresponding to the dent stage. This stage was also characterized by acidification in the kernel pH and a maximum level of amylopectin content. Our data clearly support published results based on in vitro experiments suggesting that the physiological stages of the maize kernel play a major role in regulating fumonisin production. Here we have validated this result for in planta and field conditions, and we demonstrate that under such conditions the dent stage is the most conducive for fumonisin accumulation. PMID:21984235

  15. Mycoflora and aflatoxin/fumonisin production by fungal isolates from freshly harvested corn hybrids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Almeida Adriana P.

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available The mycoflora of 3 hybrids of freshly harvested corn grains collected from three regions of the state of São Paulo, Brazil (Assis, Capão Bonito and Ribeirão Preto was investigated. A total of 66 samples were analyzed focusing on the influence of abiotic factors (moisture content, water activity, temperature and rainfall on both the prevalence of Aspergillus flavus and Fusarium moniliforme, and the ability of these genera isolates to produce aflatoxins and fumonisins, respectively. In the three surveyed regions, the fungal population comprised mainly Fusarium spp., Penicillium spp., Aspergillus spp. and 2 others filamentous fungal genera, which were isolated from corn kernels showing water activity of 0.30 to 0.99 and moisture content of 5.0% to 20.2%. Among the genera Fusarium and Aspergillus, the most frequent species were F. moniliforme and A. flavus, respectively. Concerning the toxigenic potential of F. moniliforme, all isolated strains (40 produced fumonisins at 20 mug/g to 2168 mug/g (FB1 and/or 10 mug/g to 380 mug/g (FB2. From the 10 A. flavus isolates, 6 strains (60.0% produced aflatoxins at 615 mug/kg to 30.750 mug/kg (AFB1 and/or 11 mug/kg to 22 mug/kg (AFB2.

  16. Difference between standard and quasi-conformal BFKL kernels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fadin, V.S.; Fiore, R.; Papa, A.

    2012-01-01

    As it was recently shown, the colour singlet BFKL kernel, taken in Möbius representation in the space of impact parameters, can be written in quasi-conformal shape, which is unbelievably simple compared with the conventional form of the BFKL kernel in momentum space. It was also proved that the total kernel is completely defined by its Möbius representation. In this paper we calculated the difference between standard and quasi-conformal BFKL kernels in momentum space and discovered that it is rather simple. Therefore we come to the conclusion that the simplicity of the quasi-conformal kernel is caused mainly by using the impact parameter space.

  17. Development of pitanga nectar with different sweeteners by sensory analysis: ideal pulp dilution, ideal sweetness, and sweetness equivalence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mírian Luisa Faria Freitas

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to develop pitanga nectar formulations in which sucrose was replaced with different sweeteners. Consumer tests were conducted with 50 fruit juice consumers, and a just-about-right scale was used to determine the ideal pulp dilution and ideal sweetness with sucrose. Furthermore, the adequate concentrations of six sweeteners were determined to obtain the equivalent sweetness of sucrose using relative to these concentrations the magnitude estimation model with 19 selected assessors. The ideal dilution test resulted in 25% pulp, and the ideal sweetness test, 10% sucrose. Sweetener concentrations to replace sucrose were 0.0160%, 0.0541%, 0.1000%, 0.0999%, 0.0017%, and 0.0360%, respectively, for sucralose, aspartame, stevia 40% rebaudioside A, stevia 95% rebaudioside A, neotame, and a 2:1 cyclamate/saccharin blend. These results can be used to prepare pitanga nectar with different sweeteners and obtain the same sweetness intensity in less caloric products than that of nectar prepared with sucrose.

  18. Corn stover fractions as a function of hybrid, maturity, site and year

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lizotte, P.L. [Laval Univ., Quebec City, PQ (Canada). Dept. des sols et de genie agroalimentaire; Savoie, P. [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Quebec City, PQ (Canada); Lefsrud, M. [McGill Univ., Macdonald College, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, PQ (Canada). Dept. of Biosystems Engineering

    2010-07-01

    Corn stover is usually left on the ground following corn harvest so that it can be incorporated into the soil as organic matter and to protect against erosion. Part of the corn stover is oxidized in the atmosphere. Corn stover represents between 40 and 50 per cent of the dry matter (DM) contained in the aerial biomass of corn plants. Recent studies have shown that half of the corn stover could be harvested sustainably on low-sloping land under no-till practice. In Quebec, where 400,000 ha of corn are planted each year, corn stover could provide one million t DM of currently neglected biomass. Various hybrids of corn were monitored from early September to late November at 4 different sites during 2007, 2008 and 2009. Whole plants cut at 100 mm above the ground were collected weekly and separated into 7 fractions, notably the grain, the cob, the husk, the stalk below the ear, the stalk above the ear, the leaves below the ear and the leaves above the ear. In 2007, corn ears on average, were at 0.96 m above the ground at a site with low crop heat units (CHU). Hybrids grown in a warmer site were taller and their ears were 1.21 m above the ground. The DM partitioned in 7 components was 54 per cent grain, 14 per cent bottom stalk, 6 per cent top stalk, 5 per cent bottom leaves, 7 per cent top leaves, 5 per cent husk and 9 per cent cob. The total mass of fibre during harvest decreased from 8.9 to 6.6 t DM/ha for a low CHU hybrid and from 9.3 to 8.3 t DM/ha for a high CHU hybrid. Grain yield increased in 2008 from 3.8 to 7.6 t DM/ha over a 12-week period.

  19. Agricultural subsidies in the United States and their effect on two annual Chilean crops: corn and wheat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Díaz Osorio

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available The development strategies for Chile have been oriented toward a greater commercial openness. Chile and the United States signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA that has triggered controversies between producers directed to the internal market due to the production and export subsidies that this country carries out. This study analyzed the effect of subsidies granted by the United States to wheat (Tritricum aestivum and corn (Zea mays growers (Farm Bill 2002. For the study, Technical Standard sheet were drawn up, from which were determined the direct production costs and the gross margins. The variables used (market prices, subsidies, freight costs and tariffs and determining the average variable costs allowed us to do a sensitivity analysis, thus establishing the minimum level of production that national farmers must achieve in order to maintain competitiveness while a free trade is in force. The signing of a trade agreement could provoke the eventual withdrawal of many Chilean producers from the business arena while at the same time, favoring consumers with lower prices for the goods derived from these grains.

  20. Kernel maximum autocorrelation factor and minimum noise fraction transformations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg

    2010-01-01

    in hyperspectral HyMap scanner data covering a small agricultural area, and 3) maize kernel inspection. In the cases shown, the kernel MAF/MNF transformation performs better than its linear counterpart as well as linear and kernel PCA. The leading kernel MAF/MNF variates seem to possess the ability to adapt...

  1. Delimiting areas of endemism through kernel interpolation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Ubirajara; Brescovit, Antonio D; Santos, Adalberto J

    2015-01-01

    We propose a new approach for identification of areas of endemism, the Geographical Interpolation of Endemism (GIE), based on kernel spatial interpolation. This method differs from others in being independent of grid cells. This new approach is based on estimating the overlap between the distribution of species through a kernel interpolation of centroids of species distribution and areas of influence defined from the distance between the centroid and the farthest point of occurrence of each species. We used this method to delimit areas of endemism of spiders from Brazil. To assess the effectiveness of GIE, we analyzed the same data using Parsimony Analysis of Endemism and NDM and compared the areas identified through each method. The analyses using GIE identified 101 areas of endemism of spiders in Brazil GIE demonstrated to be effective in identifying areas of endemism in multiple scales, with fuzzy edges and supported by more synendemic species than in the other methods. The areas of endemism identified with GIE were generally congruent with those identified for other taxonomic groups, suggesting that common processes can be responsible for the origin and maintenance of these biogeographic units.

  2. Delimiting areas of endemism through kernel interpolation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ubirajara Oliveira

    Full Text Available We propose a new approach for identification of areas of endemism, the Geographical Interpolation of Endemism (GIE, based on kernel spatial interpolation. This method differs from others in being independent of grid cells. This new approach is based on estimating the overlap between the distribution of species through a kernel interpolation of centroids of species distribution and areas of influence defined from the distance between the centroid and the farthest point of occurrence of each species. We used this method to delimit areas of endemism of spiders from Brazil. To assess the effectiveness of GIE, we analyzed the same data using Parsimony Analysis of Endemism and NDM and compared the areas identified through each method. The analyses using GIE identified 101 areas of endemism of spiders in Brazil GIE demonstrated to be effective in identifying areas of endemism in multiple scales, with fuzzy edges and supported by more synendemic species than in the other methods. The areas of endemism identified with GIE were generally congruent with those identified for other taxonomic groups, suggesting that common processes can be responsible for the origin and maintenance of these biogeographic units.

  3. 7 CFR 318.13-25 - Sweet potatoes from Hawaii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Sweet potatoes from Hawaii. 318.13-25 Section 318.13... INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE STATE OF HAWAII AND TERRITORIES QUARANTINE NOTICES Regulated Articles From Hawaii and the Territories § 318.13-25 Sweet potatoes from Hawaii. (a) Sweet potatoes may be...

  4. Identification of Fusarium damaged wheat kernels using image analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ondřej Jirsa

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Visual evaluation of kernels damaged by Fusarium spp. pathogens is labour intensive and due to a subjective approach, it can lead to inconsistencies. Digital imaging technology combined with appropriate statistical methods can provide much faster and more accurate evaluation of the visually scabby kernels proportion. The aim of the present study was to develop a discrimination model to identify wheat kernels infected by Fusarium spp. using digital image analysis and statistical methods. Winter wheat kernels from field experiments were evaluated visually as healthy or damaged. Deoxynivalenol (DON content was determined in individual kernels using an ELISA method. Images of individual kernels were produced using a digital camera on dark background. Colour and shape descriptors were obtained by image analysis from the area representing the kernel. Healthy and damaged kernels differed significantly in DON content and kernel weight. Various combinations of individual shape and colour descriptors were examined during the development of the model using linear discriminant analysis. In addition to basic descriptors of the RGB colour model (red, green, blue, very good classification was also obtained using hue from the HSL colour model (hue, saturation, luminance. The accuracy of classification using the developed discrimination model based on RGBH descriptors was 85 %. The shape descriptors themselves were not specific enough to distinguish individual kernels.

  5. Digital signal processing with kernel methods

    CERN Document Server

    Rojo-Alvarez, José Luis; Muñoz-Marí, Jordi; Camps-Valls, Gustavo

    2018-01-01

    A realistic and comprehensive review of joint approaches to machine learning and signal processing algorithms, with application to communications, multimedia, and biomedical engineering systems Digital Signal Processing with Kernel Methods reviews the milestones in the mixing of classical digital signal processing models and advanced kernel machines statistical learning tools. It explains the fundamental concepts from both fields of machine learning and signal processing so that readers can quickly get up to speed in order to begin developing the concepts and application software in their own research. Digital Signal Processing with Kernel Methods provides a comprehensive overview of kernel methods in signal processing, without restriction to any application field. It also offers example applications and detailed benchmarking experiments with real and synthetic datasets throughout. Readers can find further worked examples with Matlab source code on a website developed by the authors. * Presents the necess...

  6. Obtaining alternative fuel from sweet sorghum in the conditions of the Republic of Tatarstan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kashapov, N. F.; Nafikov, M. M.; Gilmanshin, I. R.; Nigmatzyanov, A. R.

    2017-09-01

    In the agro-industrial complex of the Russian Federation the main types of energy resources is the FCM (fuel-lubricating materials), electricity, coal and gas. Priority energy is determined depending on the orientation of the activity of the agricultural enterprise. In the cost of getting products one of the key factors is its energy intensity. Under the energy intensity means the amount of energy expended per unit of finished product. Domestic manufacturers lag behind on this indicator from their foreign colleagues. Greatly influenced by the climatic conditions of production, which affects the amount of energy expended annually becoming more expensive. In the article, the authors address a topical issue of renewable(alternative) fuels from sweet sorghum in the stems of which contains from 14 to 21 % sugar. In the Republic of Tatarstan tested and introduced varieties of sweet sorghum. On the basis of literary data and carried out their own research given a set of equipment and presents non-waste production chain of biodiesel and fuel pellets from stems of sweet sorghum.

  7. Higher-Order Hybrid Gaussian Kernel in Meshsize Boosting Algorithm

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In this paper, we shall use higher-order hybrid Gaussian kernel in a meshsize boosting algorithm in kernel density estimation. Bias reduction is guaranteed in this scheme like other existing schemes but uses the higher-order hybrid Gaussian kernel instead of the regular fixed kernels. A numerical verification of this scheme ...

  8. Adaptive Kernel In The Bootstrap Boosting Algorithm In KDE ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper proposes the use of adaptive kernel in a bootstrap boosting algorithm in kernel density estimation. The algorithm is a bias reduction scheme like other existing schemes but uses adaptive kernel instead of the regular fixed kernels. An empirical study for this scheme is conducted and the findings are comparatively ...

  9. Windows Vista Kernel-Mode: Functions, Security Enhancements and Flaws

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed D. ABDULMALIK

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Microsoft has made substantial enhancements to the kernel of the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. Kernel improvements are significant because the kernel provides low-level operating system functions, including thread scheduling, interrupt and exception dispatching, multiprocessor synchronization, and a set of routines and basic objects.This paper describes some of the kernel security enhancements for 64-bit edition of Windows Vista. We also point out some weakness areas (flaws that can be attacked by malicious leading to compromising the kernel.

  10. BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF BANDED LEAF AND SHEATH BLIGHT DISEASE (Rhizoctonia solani KUHN IN CORN WITH FORMULATED Bacillus subtilis BR23

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amran Muis

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn. causing banded leaf and sheath blight diseases is one of the important fungi of corn world wide. The fungus is commonly controlled by using fungicide because no resistant variety available. The objective of the study was to develop a seed treatment formulation of the selected Bacillus subtilis to control R. solani in corn. The study was conducted in the Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines Los Bañòs, College, Laguna from May 2004 to August 2005, using sweet corn var. IPB Supersweet as test plant. Corn seeds were surface sterilized for 10 minutes in 1% sodium hypochlorite solution and 5% ethanol, washed thrice with sterile distilled water and air-dried. The seeds were coated with formulated B. subtilis BR23 and used for several experiments, such as evaluation for their germination and growth in the laboratory, effectively on R. solani in the baked and nonbaked field soil under greenhouse condition, and in the microplots artificially infested with R. solani. The treatment was compared with other standard seed treatment of synthetic fungicides such as captan (10 g per kg seeds and metalaxyl (10 g per kg seeds. The experiments were designed in a completely random design with three replications. Parameters observed were seed germination, plant height, disease scores, and plant yield. Laboratory formulated B. subtilis BR23 used as seed treatment had no detrimental effects on seed germination and seedling vigor. In microplots artificially infested with a selected highly virulent R. solani, seed treatment with the same formulation increased grain yield by 27% compared to that of the control captan seed treatment with 14.4%. The studies showed the potential of B. subtilis BR23 for commercialization as a seed treatment for the control of banded leaf and sheath blight disease (R. solani in corn.

  11. Legumes and forage species sole or intercropped with corn in soybean-corn succession in midwestern Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gessí Ceccon

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available The feasibility of no-tillage in the Cerrado (Savanna-like vegetation of Brazil depends on the production of sufficient above-ground crop residue, which can be increased by corn-forage intercropping. This study evaluated how above-ground crop residue production and yields of soybean and late-season corn in a soybean-corn rotation were influenced by the following crops in the year before soybean: corn (Zea mays L. intercropped with Brachiaria (Urochloa brizantha cv. Marandu, B. decumbens cv. Basilisk, B. ruziziensis, cv. comum., Panicummaximum cv. Tanzânia, sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L., pigeon pea [Cajanus cajan (L. Millsp]; sole corn, forage sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L. Moench (cv. Santa Elisa], and ruzi grass. In March 2005, corn and forage species were planted in alternate rows spaced 0.90 m apart, and sole forage species were planted in rows spaced 0.45 m apart. In October 2005, the forages were killed with glyphosate and soybean was planted. After the soybean harvest in March 2006, sole late-season corn was planted in the entire experimental area. Corn grain and stover yields were unaffected by intercropping. Above-ground crop residue was greater when corn was intercropped with Tanzania grass (10.7 Mg ha-1, Marandu (10.1 Mg ha-1, and Ruzi Grass (9.8 Mg ha-1 than when corn was not intercropped (4.0 Mg ha-1. The intercropped treatments increased the percentage of soil surface covered with crop residue. Soybean and corn grain yields were higher after sole ruzi grass and intercropped ruzi grass than after other crops. The intercropping corn with Brachiaria spp. and corn with Panicum spp. increases above-ground crop residue production and maintains nutrients in the soil without reducing late-season corn yield and the viability of no-till in the midwestern region of Brazil.

  12. The availability of novelty sweets within high school localities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aljawad, A; Morgan, M Z; Rees, J S; Fairchild, R

    2016-06-10

    Background Reducing sugar consumption is a primary focus of current global public health policy. Achieving 5% of total energy from free sugars will be difficult acknowledging the concentration of free sugars in sugar sweetened beverages, confectionery and as hidden sugars in many savoury items. The expansion of the novelty sweet market in the UK has significant implications for children and young adults as they contribute to dental caries, dental erosion and obesity.Objective To identify the most available types of novelty sweets within the high school fringe in Cardiff, UK and to assess their price range and where and how they were displayed in shops.Subjects and methods Shops within a ten minute walking distance around five purposively selected high schools in the Cardiff aea representing different levels of deprivation were visited. Shops in Cardiff city centre and three supermarkets were also visited to identify the most commonly available novelty sweets.Results The ten most popular novelty sweets identified in these scoping visits were (in descending order): Brain Licker, Push Pop, Juicy Drop, Lickedy Lips, Big Baby Pop, Vimto candy spray, Toxic Waste, Tango candy spray, Brain Blasterz Bitz and Mega Mouth candy spray. Novelty sweets were located on low shelves which were accessible to all age-groups in 73% (14 out of 19) of the shops. Novelty sweets were displayed in the checkout area in 37% (seven out of 19) shops. The price of the top ten novelty sweets ranged from 39p to £1.Conclusion A wide range of acidic and sugary novelty sweets were easily accessible and priced within pocket money range. Those personnel involved in delivering dental and wider health education or health promotion need to be aware of recent developments in children's confectionery. The potential effects of these novelty sweets on both general and dental health require further investigation.

  13. Generalization Performance of Regularized Ranking With Multiscale Kernels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Yicong; Chen, Hong; Lan, Rushi; Pan, Zhibin

    2016-05-01

    The regularized kernel method for the ranking problem has attracted increasing attentions in machine learning. The previous regularized ranking algorithms are usually based on reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces with a single kernel. In this paper, we go beyond this framework by investigating the generalization performance of the regularized ranking with multiscale kernels. A novel ranking algorithm with multiscale kernels is proposed and its representer theorem is proved. We establish the upper bound of the generalization error in terms of the complexity of hypothesis spaces. It shows that the multiscale ranking algorithm can achieve satisfactory learning rates under mild conditions. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for drug discovery and recommendation tasks.

  14. Evaluation of the Single-precision Floatingpoint Vector Add Kernel Using the Intel FPGA SDK for OpenCL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jin, Zheming [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Yoshii, Kazutomo [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Finkel, Hal [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Cappello, Franck [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

    2017-04-20

    Open Computing Language (OpenCL) is a high-level language that enables software programmers to explore Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) for application acceleration. The Intel FPGA software development kit (SDK) for OpenCL allows a user to specify applications at a high level and explore the performance of low-level hardware acceleration. In this report, we present the FPGA performance and power consumption results of the single-precision floating-point vector add OpenCL kernel using the Intel FPGA SDK for OpenCL on the Nallatech 385A FPGA board. The board features an Arria 10 FPGA. We evaluate the FPGA implementations using the compute unit duplication and kernel vectorization optimization techniques. On the Nallatech 385A FPGA board, the maximum compute kernel bandwidth we achieve is 25.8 GB/s, approximately 76% of the peak memory bandwidth. The power consumption of the FPGA device when running the kernels ranges from 29W to 42W.

  15. Multineuron spike train analysis with R-convolution linear combination kernel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tezuka, Taro

    2018-06-01

    A spike train kernel provides an effective way of decoding information represented by a spike train. Some spike train kernels have been extended to multineuron spike trains, which are simultaneously recorded spike trains obtained from multiple neurons. However, most of these multineuron extensions were carried out in a kernel-specific manner. In this paper, a general framework is proposed for extending any single-neuron spike train kernel to multineuron spike trains, based on the R-convolution kernel. Special subclasses of the proposed R-convolution linear combination kernel are explored. These subclasses have a smaller number of parameters and make optimization tractable when the size of data is limited. The proposed kernel was evaluated using Gaussian process regression for multineuron spike trains recorded from an animal brain. It was compared with the sum kernel and the population Spikernel, which are existing ways of decoding multineuron spike trains using kernels. The results showed that the proposed approach performs better than these kernels and also other commonly used neural decoding methods. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. An analysis of 1-D smoothed particle hydrodynamics kernels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fulk, D.A.; Quinn, D.W.

    1996-01-01

    In this paper, the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) kernel is analyzed, resulting in measures of merit for one-dimensional SPH. Various methods of obtaining an objective measure of the quality and accuracy of the SPH kernel are addressed. Since the kernel is the key element in the SPH methodology, this should be of primary concern to any user of SPH. The results of this work are two measures of merit, one for smooth data and one near shocks. The measure of merit for smooth data is shown to be quite accurate and a useful delineator of better and poorer kernels. The measure of merit for non-smooth data is not quite as accurate, but results indicate the kernel is much less important for these types of problems. In addition to the theory, 20 kernels are analyzed using the measure of merit demonstrating the general usefulness of the measure of merit and the individual kernels. In general, it was decided that bell-shaped kernels perform better than other shapes. 12 refs., 16 figs., 7 tabs

  17. Putting Priors in Mixture Density Mercer Kernels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Ashok N.; Schumann, Johann; Fischer, Bernd

    2004-01-01

    This paper presents a new methodology for automatic knowledge driven data mining based on the theory of Mercer Kernels, which are highly nonlinear symmetric positive definite mappings from the original image space to a very high, possibly infinite dimensional feature space. We describe a new method called Mixture Density Mercer Kernels to learn kernel function directly from data, rather than using predefined kernels. These data adaptive kernels can en- code prior knowledge in the kernel using a Bayesian formulation, thus allowing for physical information to be encoded in the model. We compare the results with existing algorithms on data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The code for these experiments has been generated with the AUTOBAYES tool, which automatically generates efficient and documented C/C++ code from abstract statistical model specifications. The core of the system is a schema library which contains template for learning and knowledge discovery algorithms like different versions of EM, or numeric optimization methods like conjugate gradient methods. The template instantiation is supported by symbolic- algebraic computations, which allows AUTOBAYES to find closed-form solutions and, where possible, to integrate them into the code. The results show that the Mixture Density Mercer-Kernel described here outperforms tree-based classification in distinguishing high-redshift galaxies from low- redshift galaxies by approximately 16% on test data, bagged trees by approximately 7%, and bagged trees built on a much larger sample of data by approximately 2%.

  18. SuperSweet--a resource on natural and artificial sweetening agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Jessica; Preissner, Saskia; Dunkel, Mathias; Worth, Catherine L; Eckert, Andreas; Preissner, Robert

    2011-01-01

    A vast number of sweet tasting molecules are known, encompassing small compounds, carbohydrates, d-amino acids and large proteins. Carbohydrates play a particularly big role in human diet. The replacement of sugars in food with artificial sweeteners is common and is a general approach to prevent cavities, obesity and associated diseases such as diabetes and hyperlipidemia. Knowledge about the molecular basis of taste may reveal new strategies to overcome diet-induced diseases. In this context, the design of safe, low-calorie sweeteners is particularly important. Here, we provide a comprehensive collection of carbohydrates, artificial sweeteners and other sweet tasting agents like proteins and peptides. Additionally, structural information and properties such as number of calories, therapeutic annotations and a sweetness-index are stored in SuperSweet. Currently, the database consists of more than 8000 sweet molecules. Moreover, the database provides a modeled 3D structure of the sweet taste receptor and binding poses of the small sweet molecules. These binding poses provide hints for the design of new sweeteners. A user-friendly graphical interface allows similarity searching, visualization of docked sweeteners into the receptor etc. A sweetener classification tree and browsing features allow quick requests to be made to the database. The database is freely available at: http://bioinformatics.charite.de/sweet/.

  19. Interference of soybean and corn with Chloris distichophylla

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alana Cristina Dorneles Wandscheer

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available In nature, plants interact with each other and establish positive, negative, and neutral interference relationships. In agricultural ecosystems, crops are usually affected by competition with weeds, and the effects of this process are influenced by the plant population density and proportional abundance and by the species involved. The present study evaluates the competitive interactions of soybean and corn with Chloris distichophylla. Two experiments were conducted in a greenhouse belonging to the University of Passo Fundo during the 2011/12 crop season: one experiment involving corn and C. distichophylla and another involving soybean and C. distichophylla. The experimental units were plastic pots, and the treatments were based on a replacement series, with a constant total density of eight plants per pot. The treatments included five combinations of soybean or corn plants with the weed species (8:0, 6:2, 4:4, 2:6 and 0:8, corresponding to relative abundances of 100, 75, 50, 25 and 0% of the crop species (and the reverse for the weed species. Competitiveness was analyzed using replacement-series experiment diagrams and competitive indices. Total dry matter and plant height were the two variables analyzed. The competitive indices indicated that corn and soybean crops were more competitive than the weed. The plant height was not affected by competition between both the species.

  20. NLO corrections to the Kernel of the BKP-equations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bartels, J. [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). 2. Inst. fuer Theoretische Physik; Fadin, V.S. [Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Novosibirskij Gosudarstvennyj Univ., Novosibirsk (Russian Federation); Lipatov, L.N. [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). 2. Inst. fuer Theoretische Physik; Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, Gatchina, St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Vacca, G.P. [INFN, Sezione di Bologna (Italy)

    2012-10-02

    We present results for the NLO kernel of the BKP equations for composite states of three reggeized gluons in the Odderon channel, both in QCD and in N=4 SYM. The NLO kernel consists of the NLO BFKL kernel in the color octet representation and the connected 3{yields}3 kernel, computed in the tree approximation.

  1. An analysis of cropland mask choice and ancillary data for annual corn yield forecasting using MODIS data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shao, Yang; Campbell, James B.; Taff, Gregory N.; Zheng, Baojuan

    2015-06-01

    The Midwestern United States is one of the world's most important corn-producing regions. Monitoring and forecasting of corn yields in this intensive agricultural region are important activities to support food security, commodity markets, bioenergy industries, and formation of national policies. This study aims to develop forecasting models that have the capability to provide mid-season prediction of county-level corn yields for the entire Midwestern United States. We used multi-temporal MODIS NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) 16-day composite data as the primary input, with digital elevation model (DEM) and parameter-elevation relationships on independent slopes model (PRISM) climate data as additional inputs. The DEM and PRISM data, along with three types of cropland masks were tested and compared to evaluate their impacts on model predictive accuracy. Our results suggested that the use of general cropland masks (e.g., summer crop or cultivated crops) generated similar results compared with use of an annual corn-specific mask. Leave-one-year-out cross-validation resulted in an average R2 of 0.75 and RMSE value of 1.10 t/ha. Using a DEM as an additional model input slightly improved performance, while inclusion of PRISM climate data appeared not to be important for our regional corn-yield model. Furthermore, our model has potential for real-time/early prediction. Our corn yield esitmates are available as early as late July, which is an improvement upon previous corn-yield prediction models. In addition to annual corn yield forecasting, we examined model uncertainties through spatial and temporal analysis of the model's predictive error distribution. The magnitude of predictive error (by county) appears to be associated with the spatial patterns of corn fields in the study area.

  2. A Fast and Simple Graph Kernel for RDF

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Vries, G.K.D.; de Rooij, S.

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we study a graph kernel for RDF based on constructing a tree for each instance and counting the number of paths in that tree. In our experiments this kernel shows comparable classification performance to the previously introduced intersection subtree kernel, but is significantly faster

  3. An SVM model with hybrid kernels for hydrological time series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, C.; Wang, H.; Zhao, X.; Xie, Q.

    2017-12-01

    Support Vector Machine (SVM) models have been widely applied to the forecast of climate/weather and its impact on other environmental variables such as hydrologic response to climate/weather. When using SVM, the choice of the kernel function plays the key role. Conventional SVM models mostly use one single type of kernel function, e.g., radial basis kernel function. Provided that there are several featured kernel functions available, each having its own advantages and drawbacks, a combination of these kernel functions may give more flexibility and robustness to SVM approach, making it suitable for a wide range of application scenarios. This paper presents such a linear combination of radial basis kernel and polynomial kernel for the forecast of monthly flowrate in two gaging stations using SVM approach. The results indicate significant improvement in the accuracy of predicted series compared to the approach with either individual kernel function, thus demonstrating the feasibility and advantages of such hybrid kernel approach for SVM applications.

  4. Kernel based eigenvalue-decomposition methods for analysing ham

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Asger Nyman; Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg; Møller, Flemming

    2010-01-01

    methods, such as PCA, MAF or MNF. We therefore investigated the applicability of kernel based versions of these transformation. This meant implementing the kernel based methods and developing new theory, since kernel based MAF and MNF is not described in the literature yet. The traditional methods only...... have two factors that are useful for segmentation and none of them can be used to segment the two types of meat. The kernel based methods have a lot of useful factors and they are able to capture the subtle differences in the images. This is illustrated in Figure 1. You can see a comparison of the most...... useful factor of PCA and kernel based PCA respectively in Figure 2. The factor of the kernel based PCA turned out to be able to segment the two types of meat and in general that factor is much more distinct, compared to the traditional factor. After the orthogonal transformation a simple thresholding...

  5. Reduced multiple empirical kernel learning machine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhe; Lu, MingZhe; Gao, Daqi

    2015-02-01

    Multiple kernel learning (MKL) is demonstrated to be flexible and effective in depicting heterogeneous data sources since MKL can introduce multiple kernels rather than a single fixed kernel into applications. However, MKL would get a high time and space complexity in contrast to single kernel learning, which is not expected in real-world applications. Meanwhile, it is known that the kernel mapping ways of MKL generally have two forms including implicit kernel mapping and empirical kernel mapping (EKM), where the latter is less attracted. In this paper, we focus on the MKL with the EKM, and propose a reduced multiple empirical kernel learning machine named RMEKLM for short. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first to reduce both time and space complexity of the MKL with EKM. Different from the existing MKL, the proposed RMEKLM adopts the Gauss Elimination technique to extract a set of feature vectors, which is validated that doing so does not lose much information of the original feature space. Then RMEKLM adopts the extracted feature vectors to span a reduced orthonormal subspace of the feature space, which is visualized in terms of the geometry structure. It can be demonstrated that the spanned subspace is isomorphic to the original feature space, which means that the dot product of two vectors in the original feature space is equal to that of the two corresponding vectors in the generated orthonormal subspace. More importantly, the proposed RMEKLM brings a simpler computation and meanwhile needs a less storage space, especially in the processing of testing. Finally, the experimental results show that RMEKLM owns a much efficient and effective performance in terms of both complexity and classification. The contributions of this paper can be given as follows: (1) by mapping the input space into an orthonormal subspace, the geometry of the generated subspace is visualized; (2) this paper first reduces both the time and space complexity of the EKM-based MKL; (3

  6. Kernel principal component analysis for change detection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg; Morton, J.C.

    2008-01-01

    region acquired at two different time points. If change over time does not dominate the scene, the projection of the original two bands onto the second eigenvector will show change over time. In this paper a kernel version of PCA is used to carry out the analysis. Unlike ordinary PCA, kernel PCA...... with a Gaussian kernel successfully finds the change observations in a case where nonlinearities are introduced artificially....

  7. A new coupling kernel for the three-dimensional simulation of a boiling water reactor core by the nodal coupling method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gupta, N.K.

    1981-01-01

    A new coupling kernel is developed for the three-dimensional (3-D) simulation of Boiling Water Reactors (BWR's) by the nodal coupling method. The new kernel depends not only on the properties of the node under consideration but also on the properties of its neighbouring nodes. This makes the kernel more useful in particular for fuel bundles lying in a surrounding of different nuclear characteristics, e.g. for a controlled bundle in the surrounding of uncontrolled bundles or vice-versa. The main parameter in the new kernel is a space-dependent factor obtained from the ratio of thermal-to-fast flux. The average value of the above ratio for each node is evaluated analytically. The kernel is incorporated in a 3-D BWR core simulation program MOGS. As an experimental verification of the model, the cycle-6 operations of the two units of the Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS) are simulated and the result of the simulation are compared with Travelling Incore Probe (TIP) data. (orig.)

  8. 21 CFR 184.1321 - Corn gluten.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 3 2010-04-01 2009-04-01 true Corn gluten. 184.1321 Section 184.1321 Food and... Substances Affirmed as GRAS § 184.1321 Corn gluten. (a) Corn gluten (CAS Reg. No. 66071-96-3), also known as corn gluten meal, is the principal protein component of corn endosperm. It consists mainly of zein and...

  9. Agronomic performance of locally adapted sweet potato (Ipomoea ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SERVER

    ELISA established that field plants had a higher virus titre compared to the tissue culture regenerated plants. Key words: Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), tissue culture, ..... Commercial Vegetable Production Guides (CVPG) (2003). Sweet.

  10. Seleção de genótipos de milho mais promissores para o consumo in natura Selection of corn on the cob genotypes more appropriate to the in natura consumption

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Fernando Ganassali Oliveira Jr.

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available Seis genótipos pertencentes ao programa de melhoramento de milho da UENF: H43IN, P43, C43, 43IN, HDC e Uenf506-8 foram avaliados, objetivando-se identificar aqueles com melhores características agronômicas e preferidos para o consumo de milho verde. O trabalho foi desenvolvido entre setembro de 2003 e janeiro de 2004, seguindo delineamento experimental de blocos inteiramente casualizados e plantio em dois locais distintos. Estudaram-se as seguintes características agronômicas: produtividade com palha (PrCP, produtividade sem palha (PrSP, porcentagem de espigas comerciais (EC comprimento de espigas sem palha (CESP, diâmetro de espigas sem palha (DE e rendimento de espiga (R, além de ter sido avaliada a preferência do consumidor para os produtos em relação ao sabor, doçura e maciez. Considerando apenas os resultados agronômicos, o milho mais indicado para ser consumido na forma de milho verde foi o híbrido comum Uenf506-8. Porém, observando os resultados do teste de preferência realizado com consumidores do produto, verificou-se que o referido milho não alcançou adequada aceitação pelos participantes, em função da maciez e da doçura inadequadas, sendo mais indicado o H43IN e HDC.Six genotypes belonging to the UENF sweet corn improvement program: H43IN, P43, C43, 43IN, HDC and Uenf506-8 were evaluated aiming at identifying those with better agronomic characteristics and preferred for the consumption of corn on the cob. This investigation was conducted from September 2003 to January 2004, following a randomized complete block design, with four replications and two locations. The following agronomic traits were evaluated: yield with straw (PrCP, productivity without straw (PrSP, percentage of commercial ears (EC, length of ears without straw (CESP, diameter of ears without straw (OF and ears yielding (R. Besides, the consumer preference for the products in relation to the flavor, sweetness, and softness was investigated. The

  11. Enhanced gluten properties in soft kernel durum wheat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soft kernel durum wheat is a relatively recent development (Morris et al. 2011 Crop Sci. 51:114). The soft kernel trait exerts profound effects on kernel texture, flour milling including break flour yield, milling energy, and starch damage, and dough water absorption (DWA). With the caveat of reduce...

  12. 7 CFR 981.61 - Redetermination of kernel weight.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Redetermination of kernel weight. 981.61 Section 981... GROWN IN CALIFORNIA Order Regulating Handling Volume Regulation § 981.61 Redetermination of kernel weight. The Board, on the basis of reports by handlers, shall redetermine the kernel weight of almonds...

  13. Sweet syndrome revealing systemic lupus erythematosus.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Quinn, N

    2015-02-01

    Sweet Syndrome is an acute inflammatory skin eruption which is rare in children. We report a case of childhood Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) that presented with Sweet syndrome. This case is a unique presentation of a common disorder which provides a new facet for the differential diagnosis of SLE in children. It is also the first paediatric case to be reported in a Caucasian child.

  14. Adaptive metric kernel regression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Goutte, Cyril; Larsen, Jan

    2000-01-01

    Kernel smoothing is a widely used non-parametric pattern recognition technique. By nature, it suffers from the curse of dimensionality and is usually difficult to apply to high input dimensions. In this contribution, we propose an algorithm that adapts the input metric used in multivariate...... regression by minimising a cross-validation estimate of the generalisation error. This allows to automatically adjust the importance of different dimensions. The improvement in terms of modelling performance is illustrated on a variable selection task where the adaptive metric kernel clearly outperforms...

  15. Consistent Estimation of Pricing Kernels from Noisy Price Data

    OpenAIRE

    Vladislav Kargin

    2003-01-01

    If pricing kernels are assumed non-negative then the inverse problem of finding the pricing kernel is well-posed. The constrained least squares method provides a consistent estimate of the pricing kernel. When the data are limited, a new method is suggested: relaxed maximization of the relative entropy. This estimator is also consistent. Keywords: $\\epsilon$-entropy, non-parametric estimation, pricing kernel, inverse problems.

  16. Optimizing the performance of streaming numerical kernels on the IBM Blue Gene/P PowerPC 450 processor

    KAUST Repository

    Malas, Tareq Majed Yasin; Ahmadia, Aron; Brown, Jed; Gunnels, John A.; Keyes, David E.

    2012-01-01

    Several emerging petascale architectures use energy-efficient processors with vectorized computational units and in-order thread processing. On these architectures the sustained performance of streaming numerical kernels, ubiquitous in the solution

  17. Stable Kernel Representations as Nonlinear Left Coprime Factorizations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Paice, A.D.B.; Schaft, A.J. van der

    1994-01-01

    A representation of nonlinear systems based on the idea of representing the input-output pairs of the system as elements of the kernel of a stable operator has been recently introduced. This has been denoted the kernel representation of the system. In this paper it is demonstrated that the kernel

  18. 7 CFR 981.60 - Determination of kernel weight.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Determination of kernel weight. 981.60 Section 981.60... Regulating Handling Volume Regulation § 981.60 Determination of kernel weight. (a) Almonds for which settlement is made on kernel weight. All lots of almonds, whether shelled or unshelled, for which settlement...

  19. End-use quality of soft kernel durum wheat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kernel texture is a major determinant of end-use quality of wheat. Durum wheat has very hard kernels. We developed soft kernel durum wheat via Ph1b-mediated homoeologous recombination. The Hardness locus was transferred from Chinese Spring to Svevo durum wheat via back-crossing. ‘Soft Svevo’ had SKC...

  20. Per-Sample Multiple Kernel Approach for Visual Concept Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ling-Yu Duan

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Learning visual concepts from images is an important yet challenging problem in computer vision and multimedia research areas. Multiple kernel learning (MKL methods have shown great advantages in visual concept learning. As a visual concept often exhibits great appearance variance, a canonical MKL approach may not generate satisfactory results when a uniform kernel combination is applied over the input space. In this paper, we propose a per-sample multiple kernel learning (PS-MKL approach to take into account intraclass diversity for improving discrimination. PS-MKL determines sample-wise kernel weights according to kernel functions and training samples. Kernel weights as well as kernel-based classifiers are jointly learned. For efficient learning, PS-MKL employs a sample selection strategy. Extensive experiments are carried out over three benchmarking datasets of different characteristics including Caltech101, WikipediaMM, and Pascal VOC'07. PS-MKL has achieved encouraging performance, comparable to the state of the art, which has outperformed a canonical MKL.