Interaction complexity matters: disentangling services and disservices of ant communities driving yield in tropical agroecosystems

PubMed Central

Wielgoss, Arno; Tscharntke, Teja; Rumede, Alfianus; Fiala, Brigitte; Seidel, Hannes; Shahabuddin, Saleh; Clough, Yann

2014-01-01

Owing to complex direct and indirect effects, impacts of higher trophic levels on plants is poorly understood. In tropical agroecosystems, ants interact with crop mutualists and antagonists, but little is known about how this integrates into the final ecosystem service, crop yield. We combined ant exclusion and introduction of invasive and native-dominant species in cacao agroecosystems to test whether (i) ant exclusion reduces yield, (ii) dominant species maximize certain intermediate ecosystem services (e.g. control of specific pests) rather than yield, which depends on several, cascading intermediate services and (iii) even, species-rich ant communities result in highest yields. Ants provided services, including reduced leaf herbivory and fruit pest damage and indirect pollination facilitation, but also disservices, such as increased mealybug density, phytopathogen dissemination and indirect pest damage enhancement. Yields were highest with unmanipulated, species-rich, even communities, whereas ant exclusion decreased yield by 27%. Introduction of an invasive-dominant ant decreased species density and evenness and resulted in 34% lower yields, whereas introduction of a non-invasive-dominant species resulted in similar species density and yields as in the unmanipulated control. Species traits and ant community structure affect services and disservices for agriculture in surprisingly complex ways, with species-rich and even communities promoting highest yield. PMID:24307667

Risk factors of poor functional results at 1-year after pseudocontinent perineal colostomy for ultralow rectal adenocarcinoma.

PubMed

Souadka, Amine; Majbar, Mohammed Anass; Bougutab, Abdeslam; El Othmany, Azzedine; Jalil, Abdelouahed; Ahyoud, Fatema Zahra; El Malki, Hadj Omar; Souadka, Abdelilah

2013-10-01

Pseudocontinent perineal colostomy is one of the techniques that helps recover the body image of patients undergoing abdominoperineal resection. This technique is rarely used internationally given its unknown functional results. The study aimed to evaluate 1-year functional outcomes of perineal pseudocontinent colostomy and to determine the risk factors for "poor" functional results. This study is a retrospective interventional case series. This study was conducted at a tertiary care university hospital and oncological center in Morocco. From January 1993 to December 2007, 149 patients underwent pseudocontinent perineal colostomy after abdominoperineal resection for low rectal adenocarcinoma. Pseudocontinent perineal colostomy was performed with the use of the Schmidt technique after abdominoperineal resection. One-year functional results were assessed according to the Kirwan classification system. Functional results were considered "poor" when the Kirwan score was C, D, or E. Univariable and multivariable analyses were used to evaluate the impact of age, sex, type of surgery, irrigation frequency, palpable muscular ring, concomitant chemoradiotherapy, stage, and perineal complications on functional results. One hundred forty-six patients were analyzed. According to the Kirwan system, the scores showed that 100 (68.5%) patients had "good" continence results (stage A-B) and 46 (31.5%) patients had altered functional results (stage C-D-E). With the exception of pelvic recurrences, no conversions from a perineal colostomy to an abdominal colostomy were performed for dissatisfactory functional results. In multivariate analysis, the only independent predictive factors of poor functional results were the occurrence of perineal complications (OR, 3.923; 95% CI, 1.461-10.35; p = 0.007) and extended resection (OR, 3.03; 95% CI, 1.183-7.750; p = 0.021) LIMITATION OF THE STUDY:: This study is an observational retrospective study on selected patients (mainly a young population

Postpartum body condition score and results from the first test day milk as predictors of disease, fertility, yield, and culling in commercial dairy herds.

PubMed

Heuer, C; Schukken, Y H; Dobbelaar, P

1999-02-01

The study used field data from a regular herd health service to investigate the relationships between body condition scores or first test day milk data and disease incidence, milk yield, fertility, and culling. Path model analysis with adjustment for time at risk was applied to delineate the time sequence of events. Milk fever occurred more often in fat cows, and endometritis occurred between calving and 20 d of lactation more often in thin cows. Fat cows were less likely to conceive at first service than were cows in normal condition. Fat body condition postpartum, higher first test day milk yield, and a fat to protein ratio of > 1.5 increased body condition loss. Fat or thin condition or condition loss was not related to other lactation diseases, fertility parameters, milk yield, or culling. First test day milk yield was 1.3 kg higher after milk fever and was 7.1 kg lower after displaced abomasum. Higher first test day milk yield directly increased the risk of ovarian cyst and lameness, increased 100-d milk yield, and reduced the risk of culling and indirectly decreased reproductive performance. Cows with a fat to protein ratio of > 1.5 had higher risks for ketosis, displaced abomasum, ovarian cyst, lameness, and mastitis. Those cows produced more milk but showed poor reproductive performance. Given this type of herd health data, we concluded that the first test day milk yield and the fat to protein ratio were more reliable indicators of disease, fertility, and milk yield than was body condition score or loss of body condition score.

Longitudinal Stability and Predictors of Poor Oral Comprehenders and Poor Decoders

PubMed Central

Elwér, Åsa; Keenan, Janice M.; Olson, Richard K.; Byrne, Brian; Samuelsson, Stefan

2012-01-01

Two groups of 4th grade children were selected from a population sample (N= 926) to either be Poor Oral Comprehenders (poor oral comprehension but normal word decoding), or Poor Decoders (poor decoding but normal oral comprehension). By examining both groups in the same study with varied cognitive and literacy predictors, and examining them both retrospectively and prospectively, we could assess how distinctive and stable the predictors of each deficit are. Predictors were assessed retrospectively at preschool, at the end of kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades. Group effects were significant at all test occasions, including those for preschool vocabulary (worse in poor oral comprehenders) and rapid naming (RAN) (worse in poor decoders). Preschool RAN and Vocabulary prospectively predicted grade 4 group membership (77–79% correct classification) within the selected samples. Reselection in preschool of at-risk poor decoder and poor oral comprehender subgroups based on these variables led to significant but relatively weak prediction of subtype membership at grade 4. Implications of the predictive stability of our results for identification and intervention of these important subgroups are discussed. PMID:23528975

Medical Expenses Matter Most for the Poor: Evidence from a Vietnamese Medical Survey.

PubMed

Vuong, Quan Hoang

2016-12-01

Less developed countries, Vietnam included, face serious challenges of inefficient diagnosis, inaccessibility to healthcare facilities, and high medical expenses. Information on medical costs, technical and professional capabilities of healthcare providers and service deliveries becomes influential when it comes to patients' decision on choices of healthcare providers. The study employs a data set containing 1,459 observations collected from a survey on Vietnamese patients in late 2015. The standard categorical data analysis is performed to provide statistical results, yielding insights from the empirical data. Patients' socioeconomic status (SES) is found to be associated with the degree of significance of key factors (i.e., medical costs, professional capabilities and service deliveries), but medical expenses are the single most important factor that influence a decision by the poor, 2.28 times as critical as the non-poor. In contrary, the non-poor tend to value technical capabilities and services more, with odds ratios being 1.54 and 1.32, respectively. There exists a risk for the poor in decision making based on medical expenses solely. The solution may rest with: a) improved health insurance mechanism; and, b) obtaining additional revenues from value-added services, which can help defray the poor's financial burdens.

THE IMMIGRANT POOR AND THE RESIDUAL POOR.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

SEGALMAN, RALPH

AN ANALYSIS OF THE LIVES OF THE POOR IN AMERICA WILL SHOW DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE IMMIGRANT (AND REFUGEE) POOR AND THE RESIDUAL POOR (NEGROES, PUERTO RICANS, LATIN AMERICANS, INDIANS, AND OTHERS). THE IMMIGRANT POOR WERE ACCULTURATED AND ABSORBED INTO THE MAINSTREAM OF AMERICAN LIFE WITHIN THREE GENERATIONS, WHEREAS THE RESIDUAL POOR HAVE BEEN…

Poor Gait Performance and Prediction of Dementia: Results From a Meta-Analysis.

PubMed

Beauchet, Olivier; Annweiler, Cédric; Callisaya, Michele L; De Cock, Anne-Marie; Helbostad, Jorunn L; Kressig, Reto W; Srikanth, Velandai; Steinmetz, Jean-Paul; Blumen, Helena M; Verghese, Joe; Allali, Gilles

2016-06-01

Poor gait performance predicts risk of developing dementia. No structured critical evaluation has been conducted to study this association yet. The aim of this meta-analysis was to systematically examine the association of poor gait performance with incidence of dementia. An English and French Medline search was conducted in June 2015, with no limit of date, using the medical subject headings terms "Gait" OR "Gait Disorders, Neurologic" OR "Gait Apraxia" OR "Gait Ataxia" AND "Dementia" OR "Frontotemporal Dementia" OR "Dementia, Multi-Infarct" OR "Dementia, Vascular" OR "Alzheimer Disease" OR "Lewy Body Disease" OR "Frontotemporal Dementia With Motor Neuron Disease" (Supplementary Concept). Poor gait performance was defined by standardized tests of walking, and dementia was diagnosed according to international consensus criteria. Four etiologies of dementia were identified: any dementia, Alzheimer disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), and non-AD (ie, pooling VaD, mixed dementias, and other dementias). Fixed effects meta-analyses were performed on the estimates in order to generate summary values. Of the 796 identified abstracts, 12 (1.5%) were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Poor gait performance predicted dementia [pooled hazard ratio (HR) combined with relative risk and odds ratio = 1.53 with P < .001 for any dementia, pooled HR = 1.79 with P < .001 for VaD, HR = 1.89 with P value < .001 for non-AD]. Findings were weaker for predicting AD (HR = 1.03 with P value = .004). This meta-analysis provides evidence that poor gait performance predicts dementia. This association depends on the type of dementia; poor gait performance is a stronger predictor of non-AD dementias than AD. Copyright © 2016 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Brain dead or not? CT angiogram yielding false-negative result on brain death confirmation.

PubMed

Johnston, Robyn; Kaliaperumal, Chandrasekaran; Wyse, Gerald; Kaar, George

2013-01-08

We describe a case of severe traumatic brain injury with multiple facial and skull fractures where CT angiogram (CTA) failed to yield a definite result of brain death as an ancillary test. A 28-year-old man was admitted following a road traffic accident with a Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) of 3/15 and fixed pupils. CT brain revealed uncal herniation and diffuse cerebral oedema with associated multiple facial and skull fractures. 72 h later, his clinical condition remained the same with high intracranial pressure refractory to medical management. Clinical confirmation on brain death was not feasible owing to facial injuries. A CTA, performed to determine brain perfusion, yielded a 'false-negative' result. Skull fractures have possibly led to venous prominence in the cortical and deep venous drainage system. This point needs to be borne in mind while considering CTA as an ancillary test to confirm brain death.

Measurement of fission yields and isomeric yield ratios at IGISOL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pomp, Stephan; Mattera, Andrea; Rakopoulos, Vasileios; Al-Adili, Ali; Lantz, Mattias; Solders, Andreas; Jansson, Kaj; Prokofiev, Alexander V.; Eronen, Tommi; Gorelov, Dimitri; Jokinen, Ari; Kankainen, Anu; Moore, Iain D.; Penttilä, Heikki; Rinta-Antila, Sami

2018-03-01

Data on fission yields and isomeric yield ratios (IYR) are tools to study the fission process, in particular the generation of angular momentum. We use the IGISOL facility with the Penning trap JYFLTRAP in Jyväskylä, Finland, for such measurements on 232Th and natU targets. Previously published fission yield data from IGISOL concern the 232Th(p,f) and 238U(p,f) reactions at 25 and 50 MeV. Recently, a neutron source, using the Be(p,n) reaction, has been developed, installed and tested. We summarize the results for (p,f) focusing on the first measurement of IYR by direct ion counting. We also present first results for IYR and relative yields for Sn and Sb isotopes in the 128-133 mass range from natU(n,f) based on γ-spectrometry. We find a staggering behaviour in the cumulative yields for Sn and a shift in the independent fission yields for Sb as compared to current evaluations. Plans for the future experimental program on fission yields and IYR measurements are discussed.

Brain dead or not? CT angiogram yielding false-negative result on brain death confirmation

PubMed Central

Johnston, Robyn; Kaliaperumal, Chandrasekaran; Wyse, Gerald; Kaar, George

2013-01-01

We describe a case of severe traumatic brain injury with multiple facial and skull fractures where CT angiogram (CTA) failed to yield a definite result of brain death as an ancillary test. A 28-year-old man was admitted following a road traffic accident with a Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) of 3/15 and fixed pupils. CT brain revealed uncal herniation and diffuse cerebral oedema with associated multiple facial and skull fractures. 72 h later, his clinical condition remained the same with high intracranial pressure refractory to medical management. Clinical confirmation on brain death was not feasible owing to facial injuries. A CTA, performed to determine brain perfusion, yielded a ‘false-negative’ result. Skull fractures have possibly led to venous prominence in the cortical and deep venous drainage system. This point needs to be borne in mind while considering CTA as an ancillary test to confirm brain death. PMID:23302550

Waterlogging effects on growth and yield components in late-planted soybean.

PubMed

Linkemer, G; Board, J E; Musgrave, M E

1998-01-01

A major agronomic problem in the southeastern USA is low yield of late-planted soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. This problem is aggravated by the adverse effect of waterlogging on crop growth. Our objectives were to identify soybean growth stages sensitive to waterlogging; identify yield components and physiological parameters explaining yield losses induced by waterlogging; and determine the extent of yield losses induced by waterlogging under natural field conditions. Greenhouse and field studies were conducted during 1993 and 1994 near Baton Rouge, LA, (30 degrees N Lat) on a Commerce silt loam. Waterlogging tolerance was assessed in cultivar Centennial (Maturity Group VI) at three vegetative and five reproductive growth stages by maintaining the water level at the soil surface in a greenhouse study. Using the same cultivar, we evaluated the effect of drainage in the field for late-planted soybean. Rain episodes determined the timing of waterlogging; redox potential and oxygen concentration of the soil were used to quantify the intensity of waterlogging stress. Results of the greenhouse study indicated that the early vegetative period (V2) and the early reproductive stages (R1, R3, and R5) were most sensitive to waterlogging. Three to 5 cm of rain per day falling on poorly drained soil was sufficient to reduce crop growth rate, resulting in a yield decline from 2453 to 1550 kg ha-1. Yield loss in both field and greenhouse studies was induced primarily by decreased pod production resulting from fewer pods per reproductive node. In conclusion, waterlogging was determined to be an important stress for late-planted soybean in high rainfall areas such as the Gulf Coast Region.

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

PubMed

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

2014-05-01

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

Prophylactic central nervous system therapy in childhood acute lymphatic leukemia. Effect of poor-risk patients on the results.

PubMed

Virag, I; Kende, G; Agahai, E; Ramot, B

1976-11-01

The results of treatment in a group of 50 children with acute lymphatic leukemia are summarized. A comparison was made between those who received prophylactic central nervous systen (CNS) therapy on attaining complete remission and those who did not. Although none of the prophylactically treated children developed CNS leukemia, the expected prolongation of median complete remission time was not achieved. It was found that there was a high percentage of poor-risk patients in the CNS-treated group, and these patients relapsed early in the course of the disease. The prevention of CNS leukemia, a late complication of the disease, did not change the natural course of the disease in poor-risk patients. A need exists for new treatment protocols aimed at better control of the disease in these poor-risk cases.

Recent Results from Lohengrin on Fission Yields and Related Decay Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serot, O.; Amouroux, C.; Bidaud, A.; Capellan, N.; Chabod, S.; Ebran, A.; Faust, H.; Kessedjian, G.; Köester, U.; Letourneau, A.; Litaize, O.; Martin, F.; Materna, T.; Mathieu, L.; Panebianco, S.; Regis, J.-M.; Rudigier, M.; Sage, C.; Urban, W.

2014-05-01

The Lohengrin mass spectrometer is one of the 40 instruments built around the reactor of the Institute Laue-Langevin (France) which delivers a very intense thermal neutron flux. Usually, Lohengrin was combined with a high-resolution ionization chamber in order to obtain good nuclear charge discrimination within a mass line, yielding an accurate isotopic yield determination. Unfortunately, this experimental procedure can only be applied for fission products with a nuclear charge less than about 42, i.e. in the light fission fragment region. Since 2008, a large collaboration has started with the aim of studying various fission aspects, mainly in the heavy fragment region. For that, a new experimental setup which allows isotopic identification by γ-ray spectrometry has been developed and validated. This technique was applied on the 239Pu(nth,f) reaction where about 65 fission product yields were measured with an uncertainty that has been reduced on average by a factor of 2 compared with what was that previously available in nuclear data libraries. The same γ-ray spectrometric technique is currently being applied to the study of the 233U(nth,f) reaction. Our aim is to deduce charge and mass distributions of the fission products and to complete the experimental data that exist mainly for light fission fragments. The measurement of 41 mass yields from the 241Am(2nth,f) reaction has been also performed. In addition to these activities on fission yield measurements, various new nanosecond isomers were discovered. Their presence can be revealed from a strong deformed ionic charge distribution compared to a 'normal' Gaussian shape. Finally, a new neutron long-counter detector designed to have a detection efficiency independent of the detected neutron energy has been built. Combining this neutron device with a Germanium detector and a beta-ray detector array allowed us to measure the beta-delayed neutron emission probability Pn of some important fission products for reactor

Whiskey springs long-term coast redwood density management; final growth, sprout, and yield results

Treesearch

Lynn A. Webb; James L. Lindquist; Erik Wahl; Andrew Hubb

2012-01-01

Multi-decadal studies of commercial and precommercial thinning in redwood stands are rare and consequently of value. The Whiskey Springs study at Jackson Demonstration State Forest has a data set spanning 35 years. In addition to growth and yield response to commercial thinning, the results provide important information for evaluating regeneration and...

Follicular synchronization using transdermal estradiol patch and GnRH antagonists in the luteal phase; does it increase oocyte yield in poor responders to gonadotropin stimulation for in vitro fertilization (IVF)? A comparative study with microdose flare-up protocol.

PubMed

Ata, Baris; Zeng, Xing; Son, Weon Y; Holzer, Hananel; Tan, Seang L

2011-11-01

The aim of this retrospective study was to compare the oocyte yield with the luteal estradiol patch (LPA) - GnRH antagonist and microdose (MD) flare-up protocols in anticipated poor responders. Fifty-seven women who underwent IVF treatment following stimulation with LPA or MD protocols at McGill Reproductive Centre were matched for age and markers of ovarian reserve. Numbers of oocytes collected (6 vs 7), mature oocytes collected (5 vs 5), and oocyte maturation rates (72% vs 74%) were similar. The numbers of good quality embryos available (2 vs 1) and embryos transferred (3 vs 3) were likewise similar. Embryo implantation rate of 16.7% and clinical pregnancy rate of 38.9% achieved in the LPA group were almost 50% higher than the corresponding figures at 10.3% and 22.2% in the MD group; however, the differences were not statistically significant (p > 0.05 for all comparisons). Although the results do not suggest an increased oocyte yield or follicular synchronization with the LPA protocol, the observed trend toward higher embryo implantation and clinical pregnancy rates requires further research.

Yield and quality of seed from yellow birch progenies.

Treesearch

Knud E. Clausen

1980-01-01

Seed yield in 8- ad 9-year-old yellow birch varied among families and years but averaged more than 1,500 seeds per tree. Long catkins contained more seed than short ones. Seed quality was poor due to insufficient pollination and to differences among trees in flowering phenology.

Oxygen and iron abundances in two metal-poor dwarfs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spiesman, William J.; Wallerstein, George

1991-11-01

Oxygen abundances from the O I line at 6300 A in two metal-poor K dwarfs, HD 25329 and HD 134440, are derived. The spectra were obtained with the KPNO 4-m echelle spectrograph and long camera, yielding a resolution of 32,000 and an S/N of about 125. Model atmospheres with Te of 4770 were appropriate to both stars, whose metallicities were found to be -1.74 and -1.43 for HD 25329 and HD 134440, respectively. These oxygen abundances are 0.3 and 0.4 for the two stars. From the resolution an S/N a 3(sigma) upper limit of 0.8 is derived for each star, which may be combined into an upper limit of O/Fe of 0.6 for a generic K dwarf with Fe/H of 1.6. These values are more in line with O/Fe as seen in similarly metal-poor red giant than those reported in metal-poor subdwarfs by Abia and Rebolo (1989).

Effects of No-Till on Yields as Influenced by Crop and Environmental Factors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Toliver, Dustin K.; Larson, James A.; Roberts, Roland K.

Th is research evaluated diff erences in yields and associated downside risk from using no-till and tillage practices. Yields from 442 paired tillage experiments across the United States were evaluated with respect to six crops and environmental factors including geographic location, annual precipitation, soil texture, and time since conversion from tillage to no-till. Results indicated that mean yields for sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) with no-till were greater than with tillage. In addition, no-till tended to produce similar or greater mean yields than tillage for crops grown on loamy soils in the Southern Seaboard andmore » Mississippi Portal regions. A warmer and more humid climate and warmer soils in these regions relative to the Heartland, Basin and Range, and Fruitful Rim regions appear to favor no-till on loamy soils. With the exception of corn (Zea mays L.) and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in the Southern Seaboard region, no-till performed poorly on sandy soils. Crops grown in the Southern Seaboard were less likely to have lower no-till yields than tillage yields on loamy soils and thus had lower downside yield risk than other farm resource regions. Consistent with mean yield results, soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and wheat grown on sandy soils in the Southern Seaboard region using no-till had larger downside yield risks than when produced with no-till on loamy soils. Th e key fi ndings of this study support the hypothesis that soil and climate factors impact no-till yields relative to tillage yields and may be an important factor infl uencing risk and expected return and the adoption of the practice by farmers.« less

The economic impact of poor sample quality in clinical chemistry laboratories: results from a global survey.

PubMed

Erdal, Erik P; Mitra, Debanjali; Khangulov, Victor S; Church, Stephen; Plokhoy, Elizabeth

2017-03-01

Background Despite advances in clinical chemistry testing, poor blood sample quality continues to impact laboratory operations and the quality of results. While previous studies have identified the preanalytical causes of lower sample quality, few studies have examined the economic impact of poor sample quality on the laboratory. Specifically, the costs associated with workarounds related to fibrin and gel contaminants remain largely unexplored. Methods A quantitative survey of clinical chemistry laboratory stakeholders across 10 international regions, including countries in North America, Europe and Oceania, was conducted to examine current blood sample testing practices, sample quality issues and practices to remediate poor sample quality. Survey data were used to estimate costs incurred by laboratories to mitigate sample quality issues. Results Responses from 164 participants were included in the analysis, which was focused on three specific issues: fibrin strands, fibrin masses and gel globules. Fibrin strands were the most commonly reported issue, with an overall incidence rate of ∼3%. Further, 65% of respondents indicated that these issues contribute to analyzer probe clogging, and the majority of laboratories had visual inspection and manual remediation practices in place to address fibrin- and gel-related quality problems (55% and 70%, respectively). Probe maintenance/replacement, visual inspection and manual remediation were estimated to carry significant costs for the laboratories surveyed. Annual cost associated with lower sample quality and remediation related to fibrin and/or gel globules for an average US laboratory was estimated to be $100,247. Conclusions Measures to improve blood sample quality present an important step towards improved laboratory operations.

Groundwater subsidies and penalties to corn yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zipper, S. C.; Booth, E.; Loheide, S. P.

2013-12-01

Proper water management is critical to closing yield gaps (observed yield below potential yield) as global populations continue to expand. However, the impacts of shallow groundwater on crop production and surface processes are poorly understood. The presence of groundwater within or just below the root zone has the potential to cause (via oxygen stress in poorly drained soils) or eliminate (via water supply in dry regions) yield gaps. The additional water use by a plant in the presence of shallow groundwater, compared to free drainage conditions, is called the groundwater subsidy; the depth at which the groundwater subsidy is greatest is the optimal depth to groundwater (DTGW). In wet years or under very shallow water table conditions, the groundwater subsidy is likely to be negative due to increased oxygen stress, and can be thought of as a groundwater penalty. Understanding the spatial dynamics of groundwater subsidies/penalties and how they interact with weather is critical to making sustainable agricultural and land-use decisions under a range of potential climates. Here, we examine patterns of groundwater subsidies and penalties in two commercial cornfields in the Yahara River Watershed, an urbanizing agricultural watershed in south-central Wisconsin. Water table levels are generally rising in the region due to a long-term trend of increasing precipitation over the last several decades. Biophysical indicators tracked throughout both the 2012 and 2013 growing seasons show a strong response to variable groundwater levels on a field scale. Sections of the field with optimal DTGW exhibit consistently higher stomatal conductance rates, taller canopies and higher leaf area index, higher ET rates, and higher pollination success rates. Patterns in these biophysical lines of evidence allow us to pinpoint specific periods within the growing season that plants were experiencing either oxygen or water stress. Most importantly, groundwater subsidies and penalties are

The Z {yields} cc-bar {yields} {gamma}{gamma}*, Z {yields} bb-bar {yields} {gamma}{gamma}* triangle diagrams and the Z {yields} {gamma}{psi}, Z {yields} {gamma}Y decays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Achasov, N. N., E-mail: achasov@math.nsc.ru

2011-03-15

The approach to the Z {yields} {gamma}{psi} and Z {yields} {gamma}Y decay study is presented in detail, based on the sum rules for the Z {yields} cc-bar {yields} {gamma}{gamma}* and Z {yields} bb-bar {yields} {gamma}{gamma}* amplitudes and their derivatives. The branching ratios of the Z {yields} {gamma}{psi} and Z {yields} {gamma}Y decays are calculated for different hypotheses on saturation of the sum rules. The lower bounds of {Sigma}{sub {psi}} BR(Z {yields} {gamma}{psi}) = 1.95 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -7} and {Sigma}{sub {upsilon}} BR(Z {yields} {gamma}Y) = 7.23 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -7} are found. Deviations from the lower bounds are discussed, including the possibilitymore » of BR(Z {yields} {gamma}J/{psi}(1S)) {approx} BR(Z {yields} {gamma}Y(1S)) {approx} 10{sup -6}, that could be probably measured in LHC. The angular distributions in the Z {yields} {gamma}{psi} and Z {yields} {gamma}Y decays are also calculated.« less

Building Relationships, Yielding Results: How Superintendents Can Work with School Boards to Create Productive Teams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hackett, Julie L.

2015-01-01

In "Building Relationships, Yielding Results," the seasoned superintendent of an urban school district provides a clear road map for effective collaboration with school boards and the type of relationship-building required to achieve long-term, sustainable reforms. Instead of keeping school board members at arm's length or inundating…

Specific yield: compilation of specific yields for various materials

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, A.I.

1967-01-01

Specific yield is defined as the ratio of (1) the volume of water that a saturated rock or soil will yield by gravity to (2) the total volume of the rock or soft. Specific yield is usually expressed as a percentage. The value is not definitive, because the quantity of water that will drain by gravity depends on variables such as duration of drainage, temperature, mineral composition of the water, and various physical characteristics of the rock or soil under consideration. Values of specific yields nevertheless offer a convenient means by which hydrologists can estimate the water-yielding capacities of earth materials and, as such, are very useful in hydrologic studies. The present report consists mostly of direct or modified quotations from many selected reports that present and evaluate methods for determining specific yield, limitations of those methods, and results of the determinations made on a wide variety of rock and soil materials. Although no particular values are recommended in this report, a table summarizes values of specific yield, and their averages, determined for 10 rock textures. The following is an abstract of the table. [Table

Impacts of drought on grape yields in Western Cape, South Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Araujo, Julio A.; Abiodun, Babatunde J.; Crespo, Olivier

2016-01-01

Droughts remain a threat to grape yields in South Africa. Previous studies on the impacts of climate on grape yield in the country have focussed on the impact of rainfall and temperature separately; meanwhile, grape yields are affected by drought, which is a combination of rainfall and temperature influences. The present study investigates the impacts of drought on grape yields in the Western Cape (South Africa) at district and farm scales. The study used a new drought index that is based on simple water balance (Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index; hereafter, SPEI) to identify drought events and used a correlation analysis to identify the relationship between drought and grape yields. A crop simulation model (Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator, APSIM) was applied at the farm scale to investigate the role of irrigation in mitigating the impacts of drought on grape yield. The model gives a realistic simulation of grape yields. The Western Cape has experienced a series of severe droughts in the past few decades. The severe droughts occurred when a decrease in rainfall occurred simultaneously with an increase in temperature. El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) appears to be an important driver of drought severity in the Western Cape, because most of the severe droughts occurred in El Niño years. At the district scale, the correlation between drought index and grape yield is weak ( r≈-0.5), but at the farm scale, it is strong ( r≈-0.9). This suggests that many farmers are able to mitigate the impacts of drought on grape yields through irrigation management. At the farm scale, where the impact of drought on grape yields is high, poor yield years coincide with moderate or severe drought periods. The APSIM simulation, which gives a realistic simulation of grape yields at the farm scale, suggests that grape yields become more sensitive to spring and summer droughts in the absence of irrigation. Results of this study may guide decision-making on

Estimating the Impact and Spillover Effect of Climate Change on Crop Yield in Northern Ghana.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Botchway, E.

2016-12-01

In tropical regions of the world human-induced climate change is likely to impact negatively on crop yields. To investigate the impact of climate change and its spillover effect on mean and variance of crop yields in northern Ghana, the Just and Pope stochastic production function and the Spatial Durbin model were adopted. Surprisingly, the results suggest that both precipitation and average temperature have positive effects on mean crop yield during the wet season. Wet season average temperature has a significant spillover effect in the region, whereas precipitation during the wet season has only one significant spillover effect on maize yield. Wet season precipitation does not have a strong significant effect on crop yield despite the rainfed nature of agriculture in the region. Thus, even if there are losers and winners as a result of future climate change at the regional level, future crop yield would largely depend on future technological development in agriculture, which may improve yields over time despite the changing climate. We argue, therefore, that technical improvement in farm management such as improved seeds and fertilizers, conservation tillage and better pest control, may have a more significant role in increasing observed crop productivity levels over time. So investigating the relative importance of non-climatic factors on crop yield may shed more light on where appropriate interventions can help in improving crop yields. Climate change, also, needs to be urgently assessed at the level of the household, so that poor and vulnerable people dependent on agriculture can be appropriately targeted in research and development activities whose object is poverty alleviation.

Poor mental health status and aggression are associated with poor driving behavior among male traffic offenders

PubMed Central

Abdoli, Nasrin; Farnia, Vahid; Delavar, Ali; Esmaeili, Alirez; Dortaj, Fariborz; Farrokhi, Noorali; Karami, Majid; Shakeri, Jalal; Holsboer-Trachsler, Edith; Brand, Serge

2015-01-01

Background In Iran, traffic accidents and deaths from traffic accidents are among the highest in the world, and generally driver behavior rather than either technical failures or environmental conditions are responsible for traffic accidents. In the present study, we explored the extent to which aggressive traits, health status, and sociodemographic variables explain driving behavior among Iranian male traffic offenders. Method A total of 443 male driving offenders (mean age: M =31.40 years, standard deviation =9.56) from Kermanshah (Iran) took part in the study. Participants completed a questionnaire booklet covering sociodemographic variables, traits of aggression, health status, and driving behavior. Results Poor health status, such as symptoms of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and social dysfunction, and also higher levels of trait aggression explained poor driving behavior. Multiple regressions indicated that poor health status, but not aggression, independently predicted poor driving behavior. Conclusion Results suggest that health status concerns are associated with poor driving behavior. Prevention and intervention might therefore focus on drivers reporting poor mental health status. PMID:26316753

Bacterial impregnation of mineral fertilizers improves yield and nutrient use efficiency of wheat.

PubMed

Ahmad, Shakeel; Imran, Muhammad; Hussain, Sabir; Mahmood, Sajid; Hussain, Azhar; Hasnain, Muhammad

2017-08-01

The fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) of agricultural crops is generally low, which results in poor crop yields and low economic benefits to farmers. Among the various approaches used to enhance FUE, impregnation of mineral fertilizers with plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) is attracting worldwide attention. The present study was aimed to improve growth, yield and nutrient use efficiency of wheat by bacterially impregnated mineral fertilizers. Results of the pot study revealed that impregnation of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea with PGPB was helpful in enhancing the growth, yield, photosynthetic rate, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) of wheat. However, the plants treated with F8 type DAP and urea, prepared by coating a slurry of PGPB (Bacillus sp. strain KAP6) and compost on DAP and urea granules at the rate of 2.0 g 100 g -1 fertilizer, produced better results than other fertilizer treatments. In this treatment, growth parameters including plant height, root length, straw yield and root biomass significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased from 58.8 to 70.0 cm, 41.2 to 50.0 cm, 19.6 to 24.2 g per pot and 1.8 to 2.2 g per pot, respectively. The same treatment improved grain yield of wheat by 20% compared to unimpregnated DAP and urea (F0). Likewise, the maximum increase in photosynthetic rate, grain NP content, grain NP uptake, NUE and PUE of wheat were also recorded with F8 treatment. The results suggest that the application of bacterially impregnated DAP and urea is highly effective for improving growth, yield and FUE of wheat. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Poor school performance.

PubMed

Karande, Sunil; Kulkarni, Madhuri

2005-11-01

Education is one of the most important aspects of human resource development. Poor school performance not only results in the child having a low self-esteem, but also causes significant stress to the parents. There are many reasons for children to under perform at school, such as, medical problems, below average intelligence, specific learning disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, emotional problems, poor socio-cultural home environment, psychiatric disorders and even environmental causes. The information provided by the parents, classroom teacher and school counselor about the child's academic difficulties guides the pediatrician to form an initial diagnosis. However, a multidisciplinary evaluation by an ophthalmologist, otolaryngologist, counselor, clinical psychologist, special educator, and child psychiatrist is usually necessary before making the final diagnosis. It is important to find the reason(s) for a child's poor school performance and come up with a treatment plan early so that the child can perform up to full potential.

Poor stem cell harvest may not always be related to poor mobilization: lessons gained from a mobilization study in patients with β-thalassemia major.

PubMed

Constantinou, Varnavas C; Bouinta, Asimina; Karponi, Garyfalia; Zervou, Fani; Papayanni, Penelope-Georgia; Stamatoyannopoulos, George; Anagnostopoulos, Achilles; Yannaki, Evangelia

2017-04-01

Hematopoietic stem cell mobilization and leukapheresis in adult patients with β-thalassemia have recently been optimized in the context of clinical trials for obtaining hematopoietic stem cells for thalassemia gene therapy. In some patients, however, the yield of cluster of differentiation 34-positive (CD34+) cells was poor despite successful mobilization, and a modification of apheresis settings was mandatory for harvest rescue. Data were analyzed from 20 adult patients with β-thalassemia who were enrolled in a clinical trial of optimizing mobilization strategies for stem cell gene therapy. The aim of this post-hoc analysis was to assess how certain hematological and/or clinical parameters may correlate with low collection efficiency in the presence of adequate numbers of circulating stem cells after pharmacological mobilization and standard leukapheresis procedures. Among 19 patients who achieved optimal mobilization with Plerixafor, four who underwent splenectomy demonstrated disproportionately poor CD34+ cell harvests, as determined by their circulating CD34+ cell counts after mobilization. All four patients who underwent splenectomy presented at baseline and before first apheresis with lymphocytosis resulting in lymphocyte/neutrophil ratios well above 1 and marked reticulocytosis compared with patients who achieved optimal mobilization/CD34+ cell harvest. Such unexpected expansion of specific cell populations disrupted the normal cell layer separation and necessitated modification of the apheresis settings to rescue the harvests. By close examination of certain hematological and/or clinical parameters before leukapheresis, patients who, despite adequate mobilization, are at risk for poor CD34+ cell harvests may be identified, and harvest failure can be prevented by adjusting the apheresis settings. © 2016 AABB.

Donor management parameters and organ yield: single center results.

PubMed

Marshall, George Ryne; Mangus, Richard S; Powelson, John A; Fridell, Jonathan A; Kubal, Chandrashekhar A; Tector, A Joseph

2014-09-01

Management of organ donors in the intensive care unit is an emerging subject in critical care and transplantation. This study evaluates organ yield outcomes for a large number of patients managed by the Indiana Organ Procurement Organization. This is a retrospective review of intensive care unit records from 2008-2012. Donor demographic information and seven donor management parameters (DMP) were recorded at admission, consent, 12 h after consent, and before procurement. Three study groups were created: donors meeting 0-3, 4, or 5-7 DMP. Active donor Organ Procurement Organization management began at consent; so, data analysis focuses on the 12-h postconsent time point. Outcomes included organs transplanted per donor (OTPD) and transplantation of individual solid organs. Complete records for 499 patients were reviewed. Organ yield was 1415 organs of 3992 possible (35%). At 12 h, donors meeting more DMP had more OTPD: 2.2 (0-3) versus 3.0 (4) versus 3.5 (5-7) (P < 0.01). Aggregate DMP met was significantly associated with transplantation of every organ except intestine. Oxygen tension, vasopressor use, and central venous pressure were the most frequent independent predictors of organ usage. There were significantly more organs transplanted for donors meeting all three of these parameters (4.5 versus 2.7, P < 0.01). Initial DMP met does not appear to be a significant prognostic factor for OTPD. Aggregate DMP is associated with transplantation rates for most organs, with analysis of individual parameters suggesting that appropriate management of oxygenation, volume status, and vasopressor use could lead to more organs procured per donor. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Future Warming Increases Global Maize Yield Variability with Implications for Food Markets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tigchelaar, M.; Battisti, D. S.; Naylor, R. L.; Ray, D. K.

2017-12-01

If current trends in population growth and dietary shifts continue, the world will need to produce about 70% more food by 2050, while earth's climate is rapidly changing. Rising temperatures in particular are projected to negatively impact agricultural production, as the world's staple crops perform poorly in extreme heat. Theoretical models suggest that as temperatures rise above plants' optimal temperature for performance, not only will mean yields decline rapidly, but the variability of yields will increase, even as interannual variations in climate remain unchanged. Here we use global datasets of maize production and climate variability combined with CMIP5 temperature projections to quantify how yield variability will change in major maize producing countries under 2°C and 4°C of global warming. Maize is the world's most produced crop, and is linked to other staple crops through substitution in consumption and production. We find that in warmer climates - absent any breeding gains in heat tolerance - the Coefficient of Variation (CV) of maize yields increases almost everywhere, to values much larger than present-day. This increase in CV is due both to an increase in the standard deviation of yields, and a decrease in mean yields. In locations where crop failures become the norm under high (4°C) warming (mostly in tropical, low-yield environments), the standard deviation of yields ultimately decreases. The probability that in any given year the most productive areas in the top three maize producing countries (United States, China, Brazil) have simultaneous production losses greater than 10% is virtually zero under present-day climate conditions, but increases to 12% under 2°C warming, and 89% under 4°C warming. This has major implications for global food markets and staple crop prices, affecting especially the 2.5 billion people that comprise the world's poor, who already spend the majority of their disposable income on food and are particularly vulnerable

Impact of Stellar Convection Criteria on the Nucleosynthetic Yields of Population III Supernovae.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teffs, Jacob; Young, Tim; Lawlor, Tim

2018-01-01

A grid of 15-80 solar mass Z=0 stellar models are evolved to pre-core collapse using the stellar evolution code BRAHAMA. Each initial zero-age main sequence mass model star is evolved with two different convection criteria, Ledoux and Schwarzchild. The choice of convection produces significant changes in the evolutionary model tracks on the HR diagram, mass loss, and interior core and envelope structures. At onset of core collapse, a SNe explosion is initiated using a one-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics code and followed for 400 days. The explosion energy is varied between 1-10 foes depending on the model as there are no observationally determined energies for population III supernovae. Due to structure differences, the Schwarzchild models resemble Type II-P SNe in their lightcurve while the Ledoux models resemble SN1987a, a Type IIpec. The nucleosynthesis is calculated using TORCH, a 3,208 isotope network, in a post process method using the hydrodynamic history. The Ledoux models have, on average, higher yields for elements above Fe compared to the Schwarzchild. Using a Salpeter IMF and other recently published population III IMF’s, the net integrated yields per solar mass are calculated and compared to published theoretical results and to published observations of extremely metal poor halo stars of [Fe/H] < -3. Preliminary results show the lower mass models of both criteria show similar trends to the extremely metal poor halo stars but more work and analysis is required.

Poor Americans: How the Poor White Live.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pilisuk, Marc; Pilisuk, Phyllis

Contents of this book include the following essays which originally appeared in "Transaction" magazine: (1) "Poor Americans: an introduction," Marc Pilisuk and Phyllis Pilisuk; (2) "How the white poor live," Marc Pilisuk and Phyllis Pilisuk; (3) "The culture of poverty," Oscar Lewis; (4) "Life in Appalachia--the case of Hugh McCaslin," Robert…

Decomposing the Gap in Childhood Undernutrition between Poor and Non–Poor in Urban India, 2005–06

PubMed Central

Kumar, Abhishek; Singh, Aditya

2013-01-01

Background Despite the growing evidence from other developing countries, intra-urban inequality in childhood undernutrition is poorly researched in India. Additionally, the factors contributing to the poor/non-poor gap in childhood undernutrition have not been explored. This study aims to quantify the contribution of factors that explain the poor/non-poor gap in underweight, stunting, and wasting among children aged less than five years in urban India. Methods We used cross-sectional data from the third round of the National Family Health Survey conducted during 2005–06. Descriptive statistics were used to understand the gap in childhood undernutrition between the urban poor and non-poor, and across the selected covariates. Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition technique was used to explain the factors contributing to the average gap in undernutrition between poor and non-poor children in urban India. Result Considerable proportions of urban children were found to be underweight (33%), stunted (40%), and wasted (17%) in 2005–06. The undernutrition gap between the poor and non-poor was stark in urban India. For all the three indicators, the main contributing factors were underutilization of health care services, poor body mass index of the mothers, and lower level of parental education among those living in poverty. Conclusions The findings indicate that children belonging to poor households are undernourished due to limited use of health care services, poor health of mothers, and poor educational status of their parents. Based on the findings the study suggests that improving the public services such as basic health care and the education level of the mothers among urban poor can ameliorate the negative impact of poverty on childhood undernutrition. PMID:23734231

EXTREMELY METAL-POOR STARS AND A HIERARCHICAL CHEMICAL EVOLUTION MODEL

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Komiya, Yutaka

2011-07-20

Early phases of the chemical evolution of the Galaxy and formation history of extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars are investigated using hierarchical galaxy formation models. We build a merger tree of the Galaxy according to the extended Press-Schechter theory. We follow the chemical evolution along the tree and compare the model results to the metallicity distribution function and abundance ratio distribution of the Milky Way halo. We adopt three different initial mass functions (IMFs). In a previous study, we argued that the typical mass, M{sub md}, of EMP stars should be high, M{sub md} {approx} 10 M{sub sun}, based on studiesmore » of binary origin carbon-rich EMP stars. In this study, we show that only the high-mass IMF can explain an observed small number of EMP stars. For relative element abundances, the high-mass IMF and the Salpeter IMF predict similar distributions. We also investigate dependence on nucleosynthetic yields of supernovae (SNe). The theoretical SN yields by Kobayashi et al. and Chieffi and Limongi show reasonable agreement with observations for {alpha}-elements. Our model predicts a significant scatter of element abundances at [Fe/H] < -3. We adopted the stellar yields derived in the work of Francois et al., which produce the best agreement between the observational data and the one-zone chemical evolution model. Their yields well reproduce a trend of the averaged abundances of EMP stars but predict much larger scatter than do the observations. The model with hypernovae predicts Zn abundance, in agreement with the observations, but other models predict lower [Zn/Fe]. Ejecta from the hypernovae with large explosion energy is mixed in large mass and decreases the scatter of the element abundances.« less

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-12-01

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

Do Middle-Class Students Perceive Poor Women and Poor Men Differently?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cozzarelli, Catherine; Tagler, Michael J.; Wilkinson, Anna V.

2002-01-01

Examined college students' attitudes and stereotypes regarding poor women, attributions for their poverty, and whether those thoughts and feelings differed from those about poor men. Attitudes and stereotypes were significantly more positive regarding poor women than poor men. Participants endorsed internal attributions for both women's and men's…

Radiotherapy in poor risk patients with stage I cancer of the endometrium: results of not giving external beam radiotherapy.

PubMed

DeCruze, B; Guthrie, D

1999-01-01

Poor prognosis (poorly differentiated and/or deep myometrial invasion) Stage I endometrial cancer can have a relapse rate as high as 50%. Traditionally, most clinical oncologists treat these patients with external beam radiotherapy after surgery but there is no evidence to show that this improves survival. The retrospective study looks at the results of not giving external beam radiotherapy in 25 consecutive patients and compares the results with a group of 13 consecutive patients who did have such treatment. The two groups were comparable with regard to age, degree of differentiation and degree of invasion. Survival was comparable in the two groups. There is no evidence of any obvious decrease in survival from withholding external beam radiotherapy, but this was not a prospective randomized controlled trial. This study illustrates that it is essential that the Medical Research Council ASTEC trial should be supported because this will determine the true place of external beam radiotherapy in such patients.

Anomalous yield reduction in direct-drive DT implosions due to 3He addition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Herrmann, Hans W; Langenbrunner, James R; Mack, Joseph M

2008-01-01

Glass capsules were imploded in direct drive on the OMEGA laser [T. R. Boehly et aI., Opt. Commun. 133, 495, 1997] to look for anomalous degradation in deuterium/tritium (DT) yield (i.e., beyond what is predicted) and changes in reaction history with {sup 3}He addition. Such anomalies have previously been reported for D/{sup 3}He plasmas, but had not yet been investigated for DT/{sup 3}He. Anomalies such as these provide fertile ground for furthering our physics understanding of ICF implosions and capsule performance. A relatively short laser pulse (600 ps) was used to provide some degree of temporal separation between shock andmore » compression yield components for analysis. Anomalous degradation in the compression component of yield was observed, consistent with the 'factor of two' degradation previously reported by MIT at a 50% {sup 3}He atom fraction in D{sub 2} using plastic capsules [Rygg et aI., Phys. Plasmas 13, 052702 (2006)]. However, clean calculations (i.e., no fuel-shell mixing) predict the shock component of yield quite well, contrary to the result reported by MIT, but consistent with LANL results in D{sub 2}/{sup 3}He [Wilson, et aI., lml Phys: Conf Series 112, 022015 (2008)]. X-ray imaging suggests less-than-predicted compression ofcapsules containing {sup 3}He. Leading candidate explanations are poorly understood Equation-of-State (EOS) for gas mixtures, and unanticipated particle pressure variation with increasing {sup 3}He addition.« less

Diversity of abundance patterns of neutron-capture elements in very metal-poor stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aoki, Misa; Aoki, Wako; Ishimaru, Yuhri; Wanajo, Shinya

2014-05-01

Observations of Very Metal-Poor stars indicate that there are at least two sites to r-process; "weak r-process" and "main r-process". A question is whether these two are well separated or there exists a variation in the r-process. We present the results of abundance analysis of neutron-capture elements in the two Very Metal-Poor stars HD107752 and HD110184 in the Milky Way halo observed with the Subaru Telescope HDS. The abundance patterns show overabundace at light n-capture elements (e.g. Sr, Y), inferring the element yielding of weak r-process, while heavy neutron-capture elements (e.g. Ba, Eu) are deficient; however, the overabundance of light ones is not as significant as that previously found in stars representing the weak r-process (e.g. HD122563; Honda et al. 2006). Our study show diversity in the abundance patterns from light to heavy neutron-capture elements in VMP stars, suggesting a variation in r-process, which may depend on electron fraction of environment.

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

USGS Publications Warehouse

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

2013-01-01

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

Pathways between primary production and fisheries yields of large marine ecosystems.

PubMed

Friedland, Kevin D; Stock, Charles; Drinkwater, Kenneth F; Link, Jason S; Leaf, Robert T; Shank, Burton V; Rose, Julie M; Pilskaln, Cynthia H; Fogarty, Michael J

2012-01-01

The shift in marine resource management from a compartmentalized approach of dealing with resources on a species basis to an approach based on management of spatially defined ecosystems requires an accurate accounting of energy flow. The flow of energy from primary production through the food web will ultimately limit upper trophic-level fishery yields. In this work, we examine the relationship between yield and several metrics including net primary production, chlorophyll concentration, particle-export ratio, and the ratio of secondary to primary production. We also evaluate the relationship between yield and two additional rate measures that describe the export of energy from the pelagic food web, particle export flux and mesozooplankton productivity. We found primary production is a poor predictor of global fishery yields for a sample of 52 large marine ecosystems. However, chlorophyll concentration, particle-export ratio, and the ratio of secondary to primary production were positively associated with yields. The latter two measures provide greater mechanistic insight into factors controlling fishery production than chlorophyll concentration alone. Particle export flux and mesozooplankton productivity were also significantly related to yield on a global basis. Collectively, our analyses suggest that factors related to the export of energy from pelagic food webs are critical to defining patterns of fishery yields. Such trophic patterns are associated with temperature and latitude and hence greater yields are associated with colder, high latitude ecosystems.

Pathways between Primary Production and Fisheries Yields of Large Marine Ecosystems

PubMed Central

Friedland, Kevin D.; Stock, Charles; Drinkwater, Kenneth F.; Link, Jason S.; Leaf, Robert T.; Shank, Burton V.; Rose, Julie M.; Pilskaln, Cynthia H.; Fogarty, Michael J.

2012-01-01

The shift in marine resource management from a compartmentalized approach of dealing with resources on a species basis to an approach based on management of spatially defined ecosystems requires an accurate accounting of energy flow. The flow of energy from primary production through the food web will ultimately limit upper trophic-level fishery yields. In this work, we examine the relationship between yield and several metrics including net primary production, chlorophyll concentration, particle-export ratio, and the ratio of secondary to primary production. We also evaluate the relationship between yield and two additional rate measures that describe the export of energy from the pelagic food web, particle export flux and mesozooplankton productivity. We found primary production is a poor predictor of global fishery yields for a sample of 52 large marine ecosystems. However, chlorophyll concentration, particle-export ratio, and the ratio of secondary to primary production were positively associated with yields. The latter two measures provide greater mechanistic insight into factors controlling fishery production than chlorophyll concentration alone. Particle export flux and mesozooplankton productivity were also significantly related to yield on a global basis. Collectively, our analyses suggest that factors related to the export of energy from pelagic food webs are critical to defining patterns of fishery yields. Such trophic patterns are associated with temperature and latitude and hence greater yields are associated with colder, high latitude ecosystems. PMID:22276100

Functional gastrointestinal disorders among adolescents with poor sleep: a school-based study in Shanghai, China.

PubMed

Zhou, Hui-Qing; Yao, Min; Chen, Guang-Yu; Ding, Xiao-Dong; Chen, Yan-Ping; Li, Ding-Guo

2012-12-01

This study aimed to determine whether functional gastrointestinal disorders are more common among adolescents with self-reported poor sleep. Junior middle school and senior high school students (n = 1,362) were recruited from schools in Shanghai. Students completed two questionnaires: the questionnaire for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in adolescents and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The prevalence of poor sleep was 34.29% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 31.77-36.81] and there was no significant difference between genders (P = 0.991). The tendency towards poor sleep increased with age, with age group yielding a significant effect (P = 0.001). In junior middle school and senior high school students, the propensity towards poor sleep was 30.10% (95% CI = 27.08-33.12%) and 42.11% (95% CI = 37.67-46.55%), respectively. Among students with poor sleep, the prevalence of IBS was 19.70% (95% CI = 16.09-23.31). After adjusting for age, sex, night pain, and psychological factors, IBS was significantly more common in students with poor sleep (odds ratio = 1.92; 95% CI = 1.07-2.58). We conclude that IBS is prevalent in students with poor sleep. Poor sleep was independently associated with IBS among adolescents in Shanghai China.

Prohexadione-calcium improves stand density and yield of alfalfa interseeded into silage corn

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Interseeded alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) could serve as a dual-purpose crop to provide groundcover for silage corn (Zea mays L.) and forage during subsequent years of production, but interspecific competition often leads to poor stands of alfalfa and unsatisfactory yields of corn. Four experiments e...

Anomalous yield reduction in direct-drive deuterium/tritium implosions due to 3He addition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrmann, H. W.; Langenbrunner, J. R.; Mack, J. M.; Cooley, J. H.; Wilson, D. C.; Evans, S. C.; Sedillo, T. J.; Kyrala, G. A.; Caldwell, S. E.; Young, C. S.; Nobile, A.; Wermer, J.; Paglieri, S.; McEvoy, A. M.; Kim, Y.; Batha, S. H.; Horsfield, C. J.; Drew, D.; Garbett, W.; Rubery, M.; Glebov, V. Yu.; Roberts, S.; Frenje, J. A.

2009-05-01

Glass capsules were imploded in direct drive on the OMEGA laser [Boehly et al., Opt. Commun. 133, 495 (1997)] to look for anomalous degradation in deuterium/tritium (DT) yield and changes in reaction history with H3e addition. Such anomalies have previously been reported for D/H3e plasmas but had not yet been investigated for DT/H3e. Anomalies such as these provide fertile ground for furthering our physics understanding of inertial confinement fusion implosions and capsule performance. Anomalous degradation in the compression component of yield was observed, consistent with the "factor of 2" degradation previously reported by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at a 50% H3e atom fraction in D2 using plastic capsules [Rygg, Phys. Plasmas 13, 052702 (2006)]. However, clean calculations (i.e., no fuel-shell mixing) predict the shock component of yield quite well, contrary to the result reported by MIT but consistent with Los Alamos National Laboratory results in D2/H3e [Wilson et al., J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 112, 022015 (2008)]. X-ray imaging suggests less-than-predicted compression of capsules containing H3e. Leading candidate explanations are poorly understood equation of state for gas mixtures and unanticipated particle pressure variation with increasing H3e addition.

Thidiazuron (TDZ) increases fruit set and yield of 'Hosui' and 'Packham's Triumph' pear trees.

PubMed

Pasa, Mateus S; Silva, Carina P DA; Carra, Bruno; Brighenti, Alberto F; Souza, André Luiz K DE; Petri, José Luiz

2017-01-01

The low fruit set is one of the main factors leading to poor yield of pear orchards in Brazil. The exogenous application of thidiazuron (TDZ) and aminoethoxyvinilglycine (AVG) has shown promising results in some pear cultivars and other temperate fruit trees. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of TDZ and AVG on fruit set, yield, and fruit quality of 'Hosui' and 'Packham's Triumph' pears. The study was performed in a commercial orchard located in São Joaquim, SC. Plant material consisted of 'Hosui' and 'Packham's Triumph' pear trees grafted on Pyrus calleryana. Treatments consisted on different rates of TDZ (0 mg L-1, 20 mg L-1, 40 mg L-1 and 60 mg L-1) sprayed at full bloom for both cultivars. An additional treatment of AVG 60 mg L-1 was sprayed one week after full bloom in 'Hosui'. The fruit set, number of fruit per tree, yield, fruit weight, seed number, and fruit quality attributes were assessed. Fruit set and yield of both cultivars are consistently increased by TDZ, within the rates of 20 to 60 mg L-1. Besides, its application increased fruit size of 'Hosui' and did not negatively affect fruit quality attributes of both cultivars.

Yield: it's now an entitlement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

George, Bill

1994-09-01

Only a few years ago, the primary method of cost reduction and productivity improvement in the semiconductor industry was increasing manufacturing yields throughout the process. Many of the remarkable reliability improvements realized over the past decade have come about as a result of actions that were originally taken primarily to improve device yields. Obviously, the practice of productivity improvement through yield enhancement is limited to the attainment of 100% yield, at which point some other mechanism must be employed. Traditionally, new products have been introduced to manufacturing at a point of relative immaturity, and semiconductor producers have relied on the traditional `learning curve' method of yield improvement to attain profitable levels of manufacturing yield. Recently, results of a survey of several fabs by a group of University of California at Berkeley researchers in the Competitive Semiconductor Manufacturing Program indicate that most factories learn at about the same rate after startup, in terms of both line yield and defectivity. If this is indeed generally true, then the most competitive factor is the one that starts with the highest yield, and it is difficult to displace a leader once his lead has been established. The two observations made above carry enormous implications for the semiconductor development or manufacturing professional. First, one must achieve very high yields in order to even play the game. Second, the achievement of competitive yields over time in the life of a factory is determined even before the factory is opened, in the planning and development phase. Third, and perhaps most uncomfortable for those of us who have relied on yield improvement as a cost driver, the winners of the nineties will find new levers to drive costs down, having already gotten the benefit of very high yield. This paper looks at the question of how the winners will achieve the critical measures of success, high initial yield and utilization

Combined effects of agrochemicals and ecosystem services on crop yield across Europe.

PubMed

Gagic, Vesna; Kleijn, David; Báldi, András; Boros, Gergely; Jørgensen, Helene Bracht; Elek, Zoltán; Garratt, Michael P D; de Groot, G Arjen; Hedlund, Katarina; Kovács-Hostyánszki, Anikó; Marini, Lorenzo; Martin, Emily; Pevere, Ines; Potts, Simon G; Redlich, Sarah; Senapathi, Deepa; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf; Świtek, Stanislaw; Smith, Henrik G; Takács, Viktória; Tryjanowski, Piotr; van der Putten, Wim H; van Gils, Stijn; Bommarco, Riccardo

2017-11-01

Simultaneously enhancing ecosystem services provided by biodiversity below and above ground is recommended to reduce dependence on chemical pesticides and mineral fertilisers in agriculture. However, consequences for crop yield have been poorly evaluated. Above ground, increased landscape complexity is assumed to enhance biological pest control, whereas below ground, soil organic carbon is a proxy for several yield-supporting services. In a field experiment replicated in 114 fields across Europe, we found that fertilisation had the strongest positive effect on yield, but hindered simultaneous harnessing of below- and above-ground ecosystem services. We furthermore show that enhancing natural enemies and pest control through increasing landscape complexity can prove disappointing in fields with low soil services or in intensively cropped regions. Thus, understanding ecological interdependences between land use, ecosystem services and yield is necessary to promote more environmentally friendly farming by identifying situations where ecosystem services are maximised and agrochemical inputs can be reduced. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

Genomic analyses in cotton identify signatures of selection and loci associated with fiber quality and yield traits.

PubMed

Fang, Lei; Wang, Qiong; Hu, Yan; Jia, Yinhua; Chen, Jiedan; Liu, Bingliang; Zhang, Zhiyuan; Guan, Xueying; Chen, Shuqi; Zhou, Baoliang; Mei, Gaofu; Sun, Junling; Pan, Zhaoe; He, Shoupu; Xiao, Songhua; Shi, Weijun; Gong, Wenfang; Liu, Jianguang; Ma, Jun; Cai, Caiping; Zhu, Xiefei; Guo, Wangzhen; Du, Xiongming; Zhang, Tianzhen

2017-07-01

Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is the most important natural fiber crop in the world. The overall genetic diversity among cultivated species of cotton and the genetic changes that occurred during their improvement are poorly understood. Here we report a comprehensive genomic assessment of modern improved upland cotton based on the genome-wide resequencing of 318 landraces and modern improved cultivars or lines. We detected more associated loci for lint yield than for fiber quality, which suggests that lint yield has stronger selection signatures than other traits. We found that two ethylene-pathway-related genes were associated with increased lint yield in improved cultivars. We evaluated the population frequency of each elite allele in historically released cultivar groups and found that 54.8% of the elite genome-wide association study (GWAS) alleles detected were transferred from three founder landraces: Deltapine 15, Stoneville 2B and Uganda Mian. Our results provide a genomic basis for improving cotton cultivars and for further evolutionary analysis of polyploid crops.

Brazilian Soybean Yields and Yield Gaps Vary with Farm Size

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-12-01

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

Results of the Abbott RealTime HIV-1 assay for specimens yielding "target not detected" results by the Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan HIV-1 Test.

PubMed

Babady, N Esther; Germer, Jeffrey J; Yao, Joseph D C

2010-03-01

No significantly discordant results were observed between the Abbott RealTime HIV-1 assay and the COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HIV-1 Test (CTM) among 1,190 unique clinical plasma specimens obtained from laboratories located in 40 states representing all nine U.S. geographic regions and previously yielding "target not detected" results by CTM.

Identifying seedling root architectural traits associated with yield and yield components in wheat.

PubMed

Xie, Quan; Fernando, Kurukulasuriya M C; Mayes, Sean; Sparkes, Debbie L

2017-05-01

Plant roots growing underground are critical for soil resource acquisition, anchorage and plant-environment interactions. In wheat ( Triticum aestivum ), however, the target root traits to improve yield potential still remain largely unknown. This study aimed to identify traits of seedling root system architecture (RSA) associated with yield and yield components in 226 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between the bread wheat Triticum aestivum 'Forno' (small, wide root system) and spelt Triticum spelta 'Oberkulmer' (large, narrow root system). A 'pouch and wick' high-throughput phenotyping pipeline was used to determine the RSA traits of 13-day-old RIL seedlings. Two field experiments and one glasshouse experiment were carried out to investigate the yield, yield components and phenology, followed by identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs). There was substantial variation in RSA traits between genotypes. Seminal root number and total root length were both positively associated with grains m -2 , grains per spike, above-ground biomass m -2 and grain yield. More seminal roots and longer total root length were also associated with delayed maturity and extended grain filling, likely to be a consequence of more grains being defined before anthesis. Additionally, the maximum width of the root system displayed positive relationships with spikes m -2 , grains m -2 and grain yield. Ten RILs selected for the longest total roots exhibited the same effects on yield and phenology as described above, compared with the ten lines with the shortest total roots. Genetic analysis revealed 38 QTLs for the RSA, and QTL coincidence between the root and yield traits was frequently observed, indicating tightly linked genes or pleiotropy, which concurs with the results of phenotypic correlation analysis. Based on the results from the Forno × Oberkulmer population, it is proposed that vigorous early root growth, particularly more seminal roots and longer total

Low-energy Population III supernovae and the origin of extremely metal-poor stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ke-Jung; Heger, Alexander; Whalen, Daniel J.; Moriya, Takashi J.; Bromm, Volker; Woosley, S. E.

2017-06-01

Some ancient, dim, metal-poor stars may have formed in the ashes of the first supernovae (SNe). If their chemical abundances can be reconciled with the elemental yields of specific Population III (Pop III) explosions, they could reveal the properties of primordial stars. But multidimensional simulations of such explosions are required to predict their yields because dynamical instabilities can dredge material up from deep in the ejecta that would otherwise be predicted to fall back on to the central remnant and be lost in one-dimensional (1D) models. We have performed two-dimensional (2D) numerical simulations of two low-energy Pop III SNe, a 12.4 M⊙ explosion and a 60 M⊙ explosion, and find that they produce elemental yields that are a good fit to those measured in the most iron-poor star discovered to date, SMSS J031300.36-670839.3 (J031300). Fallback on to the compact remnant in these weak explosions accounts for the lack of measurable iron in J031300 and its low iron-group abundances in general. Our 2D explosions produce higher abundances of heavy elements (atomic number Z > 20) than their 1D counterparts due to dredge-up by fluid instabilities. Since almost no 56Ni is ejected by these weak SNe, their low luminosities will prevent their detection in the near-infrared with the James Webb Space Telescope and future 30-m telescopes on the ground. The only evidence that they ever occurred will be in the fossil abundance record.

Yield and economic performance of organic and conventional cotton-based farming systems--results from a field trial in India.

PubMed

Forster, Dionys; Andres, Christian; Verma, Rajeev; Zundel, Christine; Messmer, Monika M; Mäder, Paul

2013-01-01

The debate on the relative benefits of conventional and organic farming systems has in recent time gained significant interest. So far, global agricultural development has focused on increased productivity rather than on a holistic natural resource management for food security. Thus, developing more sustainable farming practices on a large scale is of utmost importance. However, information concerning the performance of farming systems under organic and conventional management in tropical and subtropical regions is scarce. This study presents agronomic and economic data from the conversion phase (2007-2010) of a farming systems comparison trial on a Vertisol soil in Madhya Pradesh, central India. A cotton-soybean-wheat crop rotation under biodynamic, organic and conventional (with and without Bt cotton) management was investigated. We observed a significant yield gap between organic and conventional farming systems in the 1(st) crop cycle (cycle 1: 2007-2008) for cotton (-29%) and wheat (-27%), whereas in the 2(nd) crop cycle (cycle 2: 2009-2010) cotton and wheat yields were similar in all farming systems due to lower yields in the conventional systems. In contrast, organic soybean (a nitrogen fixing leguminous plant) yields were marginally lower than conventional yields (-1% in cycle 1, -11% in cycle 2). Averaged across all crops, conventional farming systems achieved significantly higher gross margins in cycle 1 (+29%), whereas in cycle 2 gross margins in organic farming systems were significantly higher (+25%) due to lower variable production costs but similar yields. Soybean gross margin was significantly higher in the organic system (+11%) across the four harvest years compared to the conventional systems. Our results suggest that organic soybean production is a viable option for smallholder farmers under the prevailing semi-arid conditions in India. Future research needs to elucidate the long-term productivity and profitability, particularly of cotton and

The Initial Mass Function of the First Stars Inferred from Extremely Metal-poor Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishigaki, Miho N.; Tominaga, Nozomu; Kobayashi, Chiaki; Nomoto, Ken’ichi

2018-04-01

We compare the elemental abundance patterns of ∼200 extremely metal-poor (EMP; [Fe/H] < ‑3) stars to the supernova yields of metal-free stars, in order to obtain insights into the characteristic masses of the first (Population III or Pop III) stars in the universe. The supernova yields are prepared with nucleosynthesis calculations of metal-free stars with various initial masses (M = 13, 15, 25, 40 and 100 M ⊙) and explosion energies (E 51 = E/1051[erg] = 0.5–60), to include low-energy, normal-energy, and high-energy explosions. We adopt the mixing-fallback model, to take into account possible asymmetry in the supernova explosions, and the yields that best fit the observed abundance patterns of the EMP stars are searched by varying the model parameters. We find that the abundance patterns of the EMP stars are predominantly best-fitted by the supernova yields with initial masses M < 40 M ⊙, and that more than than half of the stars are best-fitted by the M = 25 M ⊙ hypernova (E 51 = 10) models. The results also indicate that the majority of the primordial supernovae have ejected 10‑2–10‑1 M ⊙ of 56Ni, leaving behind a compact remnant (either a neutron star or a black hole), with a mass in the range of ∼1.5–5 M ⊙. These results suggest that the masses of the first stars responsible for the first metal enrichment are predominantly <40 M ⊙. This implies that the higher-mass first stars were either less abundant, directly collapsed into a black hole without ejecting heavy elements, or a supernova explosion of a higher-mass first star inhibits the formation of the next generation of low-mass stars at [Fe/H] < ‑3.

Individual and community factors associated with geographic clusters of poor HIV care retention and poor viral suppression

PubMed Central

Eberhart, Michael G.; Yehia, Baligh R.; Hillier, Amy; Voytek, Chelsea D.; Fiore, Danielle J.; Blank, Michael; Frank, Ian; Metzger, David S.; Brady, Kathleen A.

2015-01-01

Background Previous analyses identified specific geographic areas in Philadelphia (hotspots) associated with negative outcomes along the HIV care continuum. We examined individual and community factors associated with residing in these hotspots. Methods Retrospective cohort of 1,404 persons newly diagnosed with HIV in 2008–2009 followed for 24 months after linkage to care. Multivariable regression examined associations between individual (age, sex, race/ethnicity, HIV transmission risk, and insurance status) and community (economic deprivation, distance to care, access to public transit, and access to pharmacy services) factors and the outcomes: residence in a hotspot associated with poor retention in care and residence in a hotspot associated with poor viral suppression. Results 24.4% and 13.7% of persons resided in hotspots associated with poor retention and poor viral suppression, respectively. For persons residing in poor retention hotspots, 28.3% were retained in care compared to 40.4% of those residing outside hotspots (p<0.05). Similarly, for persons residing in poor viral suppression hotspots, 51.4% achieved viral suppression compared to 75.3% of those outside hotspots (p<.0.05). Factors significantly associated with residence in a poor retention hotspots included: female sex, lower economic deprivation, greater access to public transit, shorter distance to medical care, and longer distance to pharmacies. Factors significantly associated with residence in a poor viral suppression hotspots included; female sex, higher economic deprivation, and shorter distance to pharmacies. Conclusions Individual and community-level associations with geographic hotspots may inform both content and delivery strategies for interventions designed to improve retention in care and viral suppression. PMID:25867777

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2016-12-01

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

Impact of derived global weather data on simulated crop yields

PubMed Central

van Wart, Justin; Grassini, Patricio; Cassman, Kenneth G

2013-01-01

Crop simulation models can be used to estimate impact of current and future climates on crop yields and food security, but require long-term historical daily weather data to obtain robust simulations. In many regions where crops are grown, daily weather data are not available. Alternatively, gridded weather databases (GWD) with complete terrestrial coverage are available, typically derived from: (i) global circulation computer models; (ii) interpolated weather station data; or (iii) remotely sensed surface data from satellites. The present study's objective is to evaluate capacity of GWDs to simulate crop yield potential (Yp) or water-limited yield potential (Yw), which can serve as benchmarks to assess impact of climate change scenarios on crop productivity and land use change. Three GWDs (CRU, NCEP/DOE, and NASA POWER data) were evaluated for their ability to simulate Yp and Yw of rice in China, USA maize, and wheat in Germany. Simulations of Yp and Yw based on recorded daily data from well-maintained weather stations were taken as the control weather data (CWD). Agreement between simulations of Yp or Yw based on CWD and those based on GWD was poor with the latter having strong bias and large root mean square errors (RMSEs) that were 26–72% of absolute mean yield across locations and years. In contrast, simulated Yp or Yw using observed daily weather data from stations in the NOAA database combined with solar radiation from the NASA-POWER database were in much better agreement with Yp and Yw simulated with CWD (i.e. little bias and an RMSE of 12–19% of the absolute mean). We conclude that results from studies that rely on GWD to simulate agricultural productivity in current and future climates are highly uncertain. An alternative approach would impose a climate scenario on location-specific observed daily weather databases combined with an appropriate upscaling method. PMID:23801639

Climate Effects on Corn Yield in Missouri(.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Qi; Buyanovsky, Gregory

2003-11-01

Understanding climate effects on crop yield has been a continuous endeavor aiming at improving farming technology and management strategy, minimizing negative climate effects, and maximizing positive climate effects on yield. Many studies have examined climate effects on corn yield in different regions of the United States. However, most of those studies used yield and climate records that were shorter than 10 years and were for different years and localities. Although results of those studies showed various influences of climate on corn yield, they could be time specific and have been difficult to use for deriving a comprehensive understanding of climate effects on corn yield. In this study, climate effects on corn yield in central Missouri are examined using unique long-term (1895 1998) datasets of both corn yield and climate. Major results show that the climate effects on corn yield can only be explained by within-season variations in rainfall and temperature and cannot be distinguished by average growing-season conditions. Moreover, the growing-season distributions of rainfall and temperature for high-yield years are characterized by less rainfall and warmer temperature in the planting period, a rapid increase in rainfall, and more rainfall and warmer temperatures during germination and emergence. More rainfall and cooler-than-average temperatures are key features in the anthesis and kernel-filling periods from June through August, followed by less rainfall and warmer temperatures during the September and early October ripening time. Opposite variations in rainfall and temperature in the growing season correspond to low yield. Potential applications of these results in understanding how climate change may affect corn yield in the region also are discussed.

Prospecting for Precious Metals in Ultra-Metal-Poor Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

French, R. S.

2000-05-01

The chemical compositions of the most metal-poor halo stars are living records of the very early nucleosynthetic history of the Galaxy. Only a few prior generations, if not a single one, of element-donating supernovae could have been responsible for the heavy elements observed in ultra-metal-poor (UMP; [Fe/H] < --2.5) stars. Abundances of the heavy neutron-capture elements (Z > 30) can yield direct information about the supernova progenitors to UMP stars, and abundances of unstable thorium and uranium (Z = 90, 92) can potentially provide age estimates for the Galactic halo. Already, many studies have demonstrated that abundances of rare-earth elements (56 <= Z <= 72) in UMP stars are completely consistent with their production in rapid neutron-capture synthesis (r-process) events, usually believed to occur during supernovae explosions. Therefore, mapping the entire abundance pattern of UMP stars is of significant interest. In particular, abundances of the most massive stable elements (Os -> Pb or 76 <= Z <= 82) could provide crucial information about the so-called ``third r-process peak,'' and are critical to the radioactive-dating technique that uses unstable thorium as a chronometer. Until recently, abundance determinations for these elements have been virtually non-existent, as the strongest relevant transitions lay in the vacuum UV, inaccessible to ground-based observation. The availability of high-resolution space-based spectrometers has opened up new regions of spectral coverage, including precisely the range in wavelength needed to make these sensitive measurements. We have undertaken a study of about 10 metal-poor halo giants to determine the abundances of several of the heaviest neutron-capture elements including platinum, osmium, lead, and gold. Preliminary results indicate that the abundance pattern of heavy neutron-capture elements (56 <= Z <= 82) in UMP stars does mimic a scaled solar system r-process. Thus, the ability to estimate the initial

The potential of biochar in improving drainage, aeration and maize yields in heavy clay soils

PubMed Central

Mulder, Jan; Hale, Sarah Elizabeth; Nurida, Neneng Laela; Cornelissen, Gerard

2018-01-01

Heavy clay soils are globally widespread but their poor drainage and poor aeration limit their use for agriculture. This study was designed to test the effect of the amendment of biochar (BC) from woody shrubs on drainage/saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), soil aeration/air capacity, available water capacity and biomass and grain yields of maize. In a field experiment, BC from Gliricidia sepium was applied in planting basins or rip lines at 2.5% and 5% w/w in addition to a control without BC. The maize biomass and grain yields were higher in BC treated plots compared to control (p<0.05) during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. There was no significant difference in the yields between 2.5% and 5% BC treatments (e.g. grain yield were 6.6 and 8.1 t ha-1 in 2012 and 9.3 and 10.3 t ha-1 in 2013 compared to control with 4.2 and 6.7 t ha-1 in 2012 and 2013, respectively). Soil from the same field site was also mixed with a similar woody shrub BC from Eupatorium adenophorum in the laboratory at rates of 2.5%, 5% and 10% BC w/w and a control without BC. The mixtures were then incubated and subjected to two wet-dry cycles for two weeks. Core samples were taken from the incubated soil and tested for bulk density, Ksat and pF measurements. Total porosity and moisture at field capacity and wilting point were 72.3%, 43.7% and 23.7%, respectively, and not affected by BC amendment (p>0.05). In contrast, bulk density decreased linearly by 0.011±0.002 g cm-3 per percent BC added (p<0.001). Ksat and air capacity of the soil were 288 cm day-1 and 30.9%, respectively falling within the generally accepted optimal range. Both Ksat and air capacity followed a significant quadratic relation (p<0.05) upon BC addition, decreasing at low BC doses, reaching a minimum at 3–5% BC and increasing at higher doses. Results allowed a partial attribution of the yield increases to changes in soil physical properties such as changes in bulk density and not clearly to Ksat and air capacity. PMID

The potential of biochar in improving drainage, aeration and maize yields in heavy clay soils.

PubMed

Obia, Alfred; Mulder, Jan; Hale, Sarah Elizabeth; Nurida, Neneng Laela; Cornelissen, Gerard

2018-01-01

Heavy clay soils are globally widespread but their poor drainage and poor aeration limit their use for agriculture. This study was designed to test the effect of the amendment of biochar (BC) from woody shrubs on drainage/saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), soil aeration/air capacity, available water capacity and biomass and grain yields of maize. In a field experiment, BC from Gliricidia sepium was applied in planting basins or rip lines at 2.5% and 5% w/w in addition to a control without BC. The maize biomass and grain yields were higher in BC treated plots compared to control (p<0.05) during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. There was no significant difference in the yields between 2.5% and 5% BC treatments (e.g. grain yield were 6.6 and 8.1 t ha-1 in 2012 and 9.3 and 10.3 t ha-1 in 2013 compared to control with 4.2 and 6.7 t ha-1 in 2012 and 2013, respectively). Soil from the same field site was also mixed with a similar woody shrub BC from Eupatorium adenophorum in the laboratory at rates of 2.5%, 5% and 10% BC w/w and a control without BC. The mixtures were then incubated and subjected to two wet-dry cycles for two weeks. Core samples were taken from the incubated soil and tested for bulk density, Ksat and pF measurements. Total porosity and moisture at field capacity and wilting point were 72.3%, 43.7% and 23.7%, respectively, and not affected by BC amendment (p>0.05). In contrast, bulk density decreased linearly by 0.011±0.002 g cm-3 per percent BC added (p<0.001). Ksat and air capacity of the soil were 288 cm day-1 and 30.9%, respectively falling within the generally accepted optimal range. Both Ksat and air capacity followed a significant quadratic relation (p<0.05) upon BC addition, decreasing at low BC doses, reaching a minimum at 3-5% BC and increasing at higher doses. Results allowed a partial attribution of the yield increases to changes in soil physical properties such as changes in bulk density and not clearly to Ksat and air capacity.

THE ORIGIN OF LOW [α/Fe] RATIOS IN EXTREMELY METAL-POOR STARS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kobayashi, Chiaki; Ishigaki, Miho N.; Tominaga, Nozomu

2014-04-10

We show that the low ratios of α elements (Mg, Si, and Ca) to Fe recently found for a small fraction of extremely metal-poor stars can be naturally explained with the nucleosynthesis yields of core-collapse supernovae, i.e., 13-25 M {sub ☉} supernovae, or hypernovae. For the case without carbon enhancement, the ejected iron mass is normal, consistent with observed light curves and spectra of nearby supernovae. On the other hand, the carbon enhancement requires much smaller iron production, and the low [α/Fe] of carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars can also be reproduced with 13-25 M {sub ☉} faint supernovae or faint hypernovae.more » Iron-peak element abundances, in particular Zn abundances, are important to put further constraints on the enrichment sources from galactic archaeology surveys.« less

Phonological Coding in Good and Poor Readers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Briggs, Pamela; Underwood, Geoffrey

1982-01-01

A set of four experiments investigates the relationship between phonological coding and reading ability, using a picture-word interference task and a decoding task. Results with regard to both adults and children suggest that while poor readers possess weak decoding skills, good and poor readers show equivalent evidence of direct semantic and…

Prevalence and Nature of Late-Emerging Poor Readers.

PubMed

Catts, Hugh W; Compton, Donald; Tomblin, J Bruce; Bridges, Mindy Sittner

2012-02-01

Some children demonstrate adequate or better reading achievement in early school grades, but fall significantly behind their peers in later grades. These children are often referred to as late-emerging poor readers. In this study, we investigated the prevalence and heterogeneity of these poor readers. We also examined the early language and nonverbal cognitive abilities of late-emerging poor readers. Participants were 493 children who were a subsample from an epidemiological study of language impairments in school-age children. In kindergarten, children were administered a battery of language, early literacy, and nonverbal cognitive measures. Word reading and reading comprehension achievement was assessed in second, fourth, eighth, and tenth grades. Latent transition analysis was used to model changes in reading classification (good vs. poor reader) across grades. Population estimates revealed that 13.4% percent of children could be classified as late-emerging poor readers. These children could be divided into those with problems in comprehension alone (52%), word reading alone (36%), or both (12%). Further results indicated that late-emerging poor readers often had a history of language and/or nonverbal cognitive impairments in kindergarten. Subtypes of poor readers also differed significantly in their profiles of language, early literacy, and nonverbal cognitive abilities in kindergarten. Results are discussed in terms of causal factors and implications for early identification.

Yield gaps and yield relationships in US soybean production systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The magnitude of yield gaps (YG) (potential yield – farmer yield) provides some indication of the prospects for increasing crop yield to meet the food demands of future populations. Quantile regression analysis was applied to county soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] yields (1971 – 2011) from Kentuc...

Stellar Yields of Rotating First Stars. II. Pair-instability Supernovae and Comparison with Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, Koh; Yoshida, Takashi; Umeda, Hideyuki

2018-04-01

Recent theory predicts that first stars are born with a massive initial mass of ≳100 M ⊙. Pair-instability supernova (PISN) is a common fate for such massive stars. Our final goal is to prove the existence of PISNe and thus the high-mass nature of the initial mass function in the early universe by conducting abundance profiling, in which properties of a hypothetical first star is constrained by metal-poor star abundances. In order to determine reliable and useful abundances, we investigate the PISN nucleosynthesis taking both rotating and nonrotating progenitors for the first time. We show that the initial and CO core mass ranges for PISNe depend on the envelope structures: nonmagnetic rotating models developing inflated envelopes have a lower shifted CO mass range of ∼70–125 M ⊙, while nonrotating and magnetic rotating models with deflated envelopes have a range of ∼80–135 M ⊙. However, we find no significant difference in explosive yields from rotating and nonrotating progenitors, except for large nitrogen production in nonmagnetic rotating models. Furthermore, we conduct the first systematic comparison between theoretical yields and a large sample of metal-poor star abundances. We find that the predicted low [Na/Mg] ∼ ‑1.5 and high [Ca/Mg] ∼0.5–1.3 abundance ratios are the most important to discriminate PISN signatures from normal metal-poor star abundances, and confirm that no currently observed metal-poor star matches with the PISN abundance. An extensive discussion on the nondetection is presented.

Sensitivity of commercial pumpkin yield to potential decline among different groups of pollinating bees.

PubMed

Pfister, Sonja C; Eckerter, Philipp W; Schirmel, Jens; Cresswell, James E; Entling, Martin H

2017-05-01

The yield of animal-pollinated crops is threatened by bee declines, but its precise sensitivity is poorly known. We therefore determined the yield dependence of Hokkaido pumpkin in Germany on insect pollination by quantifying: (i) the relationship between pollen receipt and fruit set and (ii) the cumulative pollen deposition of each pollinator group. We found that approximately 2500 pollen grains per flower were needed to maximize fruit set. At the measured rates of flower visitation, we estimated that bumblebees (21 visits/flower lifetime, 864 grains/visit) or honeybees (123 visits, 260 grains) could individually achieve maximum crop yield, whereas halictid bees are ineffective (11 visits, 16 grains). The pollinator fauna was capable of delivering 20 times the necessary amount of pollen. We therefore estimate that pumpkin yield was not pollination-limited in our study region and that it is currently fairly resilient to single declines of honeybees or wild bumblebees.

Sterilizing the Poor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rothman, Sheila M.

1977-01-01

Suggests that freedom for the middle classes may mean vulnerability for the poor. The enthusiasm for sterilization may be so intense as to deprive the poor of their right not to be sterilized. (Author/AM)

The Power of Poor Communications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schaub, Alfred R.

1975-01-01

Most breakdowns in communications are the result of the quest for power on behalf of organization members, not the result of poor communications training. Organizational power may be accrued by withholding information, sabotaging communications, refusing to communicate bad news to superiors, and avoiding confrontations by not communicating at all.…

Interaction Between Phosphorus and Zinc on the Biomass Yield and Yield Attributes of the Medicinal Plant Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana)

PubMed Central

Das, Kuntal; Dang, Raman; Shivananda, T. N.; Sur, Pintu

2005-01-01

A greenhouse experiment was conducted at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore to study the interaction effect between phosphorus (P) and zinc (Zn) on the yield and yield attributes of the medicinal plant stevia. The results show that the yield and yield attributes have been found to be significantly affected by different treatments. The total yield in terms of biomass production has been increased significantly with the application of Zn and P in different combinations and methods, being highest (23.34 g fresh biomass) in the treatment where Zn was applied as both soil (10 kg ZnSO4/ha) and foliar spray (0.2% ZnSO4). The results also envisaged that the different yield attributes viz. height, total number of branches, and number of leaves per plant have been found to be varied with treatments, being highest in the treatment where Zn was applied as both soil and foliar spray without the application of P. The results further indicated that the yield and yield attributes of stevia have been found to be decreased in the treatment where Zn was applied as both soil and foliar spray along with P suggesting an antagonistic effect between Zn and P. PMID:15915292

Near-unity photoluminescence quantum yield in MoS.sub.2

DOEpatents

Amani, Matin; Lien, Der-Hsien; Kiriya, Daisuke; Bullock, James; Javey, Ali

2017-12-26

Two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal dichalcogenides have emerged as a promising material system for optoelectronic applications, but their primary figure-of-merit, the room-temperature photoluminescence quantum yield (QY) is extremely poor. The prototypical 2D material, MoS.sub.2 is reported to have a maximum QY of 0.6% which indicates a considerable defect density. We report on an air-stable solution-based chemical treatment by an organic superacid which uniformly enhances the photoluminescence and minority carrier lifetime of MoS.sub.2 monolayers by over two orders of magnitude. The treatment eliminates defect-mediated non-radiative recombination, thus resulting in a final QY of over 95% with a longest observed lifetime of 10.8.+-.0.6 nanoseconds. Obtaining perfect optoelectronic monolayers opens the door for highly efficient light emitting diodes, lasers, and solar cells based on 2D materials.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2015-06-01

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

Changing forest water yields in response to climate warming: results from long-term experimental watershed sites across North America.

PubMed

Creed, Irena F; Spargo, Adam T; Jones, Julia A; Buttle, Jim M; Adams, Mary B; Beall, Fred D; Booth, Eric G; Campbell, John L; Clow, Dave; Elder, Kelly; Green, Mark B; Grimm, Nancy B; Miniat, Chelcy; Ramlal, Patricia; Saha, Amartya; Sebestyen, Stephen; Spittlehouse, Dave; Sterling, Shannon; Williams, Mark W; Winkler, Rita; Yao, Huaxia

2014-10-01

Climate warming is projected to affect forest water yields but the effects are expected to vary. We investigated how forest type and age affect water yield resilience to climate warming. To answer this question, we examined the variability in historical water yields at long-term experimental catchments across Canada and the United States over 5-year cool and warm periods. Using the theoretical framework of the Budyko curve, we calculated the effects of climate warming on the annual partitioning of precipitation (P) into evapotranspiration (ET) and water yield. Deviation (d) was defined as a catchment's change in actual ET divided by P [AET/P; evaporative index (EI)] coincident with a shift from a cool to a warm period - a positive d indicates an upward shift in EI and smaller than expected water yields, and a negative d indicates a downward shift in EI and larger than expected water yields. Elasticity was defined as the ratio of interannual variation in potential ET divided by P (PET/P; dryness index) to interannual variation in the EI - high elasticity indicates low d despite large range in drying index (i.e., resilient water yields), low elasticity indicates high d despite small range in drying index (i.e., nonresilient water yields). Although the data needed to fully evaluate ecosystems based on these metrics are limited, we were able to identify some characteristics of response among forest types. Alpine sites showed the greatest sensitivity to climate warming with any warming leading to increased water yields. Conifer forests included catchments with lowest elasticity and stable to larger water yields. Deciduous forests included catchments with intermediate elasticity and stable to smaller water yields. Mixed coniferous/deciduous forests included catchments with highest elasticity and stable water yields. Forest type appeared to influence the resilience of catchment water yields to climate warming, with conifer and deciduous catchments more susceptible to

Changing forest water yields in response to climate warming: results from long-term experimental watershed sites across North America

PubMed Central

Creed, Irena F; Spargo, Adam T; Jones, Julia A; Buttle, Jim M; Adams, Mary B; Beall, Fred D; Booth, Eric G; Campbell, John L; Clow, Dave; Elder, Kelly; Green, Mark B; Grimm, Nancy B; Miniat, Chelcy; Ramlal, Patricia; Saha, Amartya; Sebestyen, Stephen; Spittlehouse, Dave; Sterling, Shannon; Williams, Mark W; Winkler, Rita; Yao, Huaxia

2014-01-01

Climate warming is projected to affect forest water yields but the effects are expected to vary. We investigated how forest type and age affect water yield resilience to climate warming. To answer this question, we examined the variability in historical water yields at long-term experimental catchments across Canada and the United States over 5-year cool and warm periods. Using the theoretical framework of the Budyko curve, we calculated the effects of climate warming on the annual partitioning of precipitation (P) into evapotranspiration (ET) and water yield. Deviation (d) was defined as a catchment's change in actual ET divided by P [AET/P; evaporative index (EI)] coincident with a shift from a cool to a warm period – a positive d indicates an upward shift in EI and smaller than expected water yields, and a negative d indicates a downward shift in EI and larger than expected water yields. Elasticity was defined as the ratio of interannual variation in potential ET divided by P (PET/P; dryness index) to interannual variation in the EI – high elasticity indicates low d despite large range in drying index (i.e., resilient water yields), low elasticity indicates high d despite small range in drying index (i.e., nonresilient water yields). Although the data needed to fully evaluate ecosystems based on these metrics are limited, we were able to identify some characteristics of response among forest types. Alpine sites showed the greatest sensitivity to climate warming with any warming leading to increased water yields. Conifer forests included catchments with lowest elasticity and stable to larger water yields. Deciduous forests included catchments with intermediate elasticity and stable to smaller water yields. Mixed coniferous/deciduous forests included catchments with highest elasticity and stable water yields. Forest type appeared to influence the resilience of catchment water yields to climate warming, with conifer and deciduous catchments more susceptible to

Closing oil palm yield gaps among Indonesian smallholders through industry schemes, pruning, weeding and improved seeds

PubMed Central

Soliman, T.; Lim, F. K. S.; Lee, J. S. H.

2016-01-01

Oil palm production has led to large losses of valuable habitats for tropical biodiversity. Sparing of land for nature could in theory be attained if oil palm yields increased. The efficiency of oil palm smallholders is below its potential capacity, but the factors determining efficiency are poorly understood. We employed a two-stage data envelopment analysis approach to assess the influence of agronomic, supply chain and management factors on oil palm production efficiency in 190 smallholders in six villages in Indonesia. The results show that, on average, yield increases of 65% were possible and that fertilizer and herbicide use was excessive and inefficient. Adopting industry-supported scheme management practices, use of high-quality seeds and higher pruning and weeding rates were found to improve efficiency. Smallholder oil palm production intensification in Indonesia has the capacity to increase production by 26%, an equivalent of 1.75 million hectares of land. PMID:27853605

Closing oil palm yield gaps among Indonesian smallholders through industry schemes, pruning, weeding and improved seeds.

PubMed

Soliman, T; Lim, F K S; Lee, J S H; Carrasco, L R

2016-08-01

Oil palm production has led to large losses of valuable habitats for tropical biodiversity. Sparing of land for nature could in theory be attained if oil palm yields increased. The efficiency of oil palm smallholders is below its potential capacity, but the factors determining efficiency are poorly understood. We employed a two-stage data envelopment analysis approach to assess the influence of agronomic, supply chain and management factors on oil palm production efficiency in 190 smallholders in six villages in Indonesia. The results show that, on average, yield increases of 65% were possible and that fertilizer and herbicide use was excessive and inefficient. Adopting industry-supported scheme management practices, use of high-quality seeds and higher pruning and weeding rates were found to improve efficiency. Smallholder oil palm production intensification in Indonesia has the capacity to increase production by 26%, an equivalent of 1.75 million hectares of land.

Advertising and the Poor. Journalism Monographs Number Seventy-Five.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowen, Lawrence

This monograph examines the impact of media advertising on the poor. The first half of the report discusses research on the conceptual styles of the poor, mass communication among the poor, and advertising and the low-income consumer. The second half describes the methodology and results of a study of the advertising evaluation capacity and…

Explaining the Role of Proximate Determinants on Fertility Decline among Poor and Non-Poor in Asian Countries

PubMed Central

Majumder, Nabanita; Ram, Faujdar

2015-01-01

Objectives We examined the overall contributions of the poor and non-poor in fertility decline across the Asian countries. Further, we analyzed the direct and indirect factors that determine the reproductive behaviour of two distinct population sub-groups. Design Data from several new rounds of DHS surveys are available over the past few years. The DHS provides cross-nationally comparable and useful data on fertility, family planning, maternal and child health along with the other information. Six selected Asian countries namely: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, and Vietnam are considered for the purpose of the study. Three rounds of DHS surveys for each country (except Vietnam) are considered in the present study. Methods Economic status is measured by computing a “wealth index”, i.e. a composite indicator constructed by aggregating data on asset ownership and housing characteristics using principal components analysis (PCA). Computed household wealth index has been broken into three equal parts (33.3 percent each) and the lowest and the highest 33.3 percent is considered as poor and non-poor respectively. The Bongaarts model was employed to quantify the contribution of each of the proximate determinants of fertility among poor and non-poor women. Results Fertility reduction across all population subgroups is now an established fact despite the diversity in the level of socio-economic development in Asian countries. It is clear from the analysis that fertility has declined irrespective of economic status at varying degrees within and across the countries which can be attributed to the increasing level of contraceptive use especially among poor women. Over the period of time changing marriage pattern and induced abortion are playing an important role in reducing fertility among poor women. Conclusions Fertility decline among majority of the poor women across the Asian countries is accompanied by high prevalence of contraceptive use followed by

Differences in Nutrient Adequacy among Poor and Non-Poor Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cook, John T.; Martin, Katie S.

This study compared the proportion of 1- to 5-year-olds in poor and non-poor households whose intakes of key nutrients were inadequate. Data were obtained from the 1986 United States Department of Agriculture Nationwide Food Consumption Survey and Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals. An intake below 70 percent of the Recommended Daily…

Yield surface evolution for columnar ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Zhiwei; Ma, Wei; Zhang, Shujuan; Mu, Yanhu; Zhao, Shunpin; Li, Guoyu

A series of triaxial compression tests, which has capable of measuring the volumetric strain of the sample, were conducted on columnar ice. A new testing approach of probing the experimental yield surface was performed from a single sample in order to investigate yield and hardening behaviors of the columnar ice under complex stress states. Based on the characteristic of the volumetric strain, a new method of defined the multiaxial yield strengths of the columnar ice is proposed. The experimental yield surface remains elliptical shape in the stress space of effective stress versus mean stress. The effect of temperature, loading rate and loading path in the initial yield surface and deformation properties of the columnar ice were also studied. Subsequent yield surfaces of the columnar ice have been explored by using uniaxial and hydrostatic paths. The evolution of the subsequent yield surface exhibits significant path-dependent characteristics. The multiaxial hardening law of the columnar ice was established experimentally. A phenomenological yield criterion was presented for multiaxial yield and hardening behaviors of the columnar ice. The comparisons between the theoretical and measured results indicate that this current model is capable of giving a reasonable prediction for the multiaxial yield and post-yield properties of the columnar ice subjected to different temperature, loading rate and path conditions.

Sensitivity of commercial pumpkin yield to potential decline among different groups of pollinating bees

PubMed Central

Eckerter, Philipp W.; Schirmel, Jens; Cresswell, James E.; Entling, Martin H.

2017-01-01

The yield of animal-pollinated crops is threatened by bee declines, but its precise sensitivity is poorly known. We therefore determined the yield dependence of Hokkaido pumpkin in Germany on insect pollination by quantifying: (i) the relationship between pollen receipt and fruit set and (ii) the cumulative pollen deposition of each pollinator group. We found that approximately 2500 pollen grains per flower were needed to maximize fruit set. At the measured rates of flower visitation, we estimated that bumblebees (21 visits/flower lifetime, 864 grains/visit) or honeybees (123 visits, 260 grains) could individually achieve maximum crop yield, whereas halictid bees are ineffective (11 visits, 16 grains). The pollinator fauna was capable of delivering 20 times the necessary amount of pollen. We therefore estimate that pumpkin yield was not pollination-limited in our study region and that it is currently fairly resilient to single declines of honeybees or wild bumblebees. PMID:28573019

Simulating crop yield losses in Switzerland for historical and present Tambora climate scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flückiger, Simon; Brönnimann, Stefan; Holzkämper, Annelie; Fuhrer, Jürg; Krämer, Daniel; Pfister, Christian; Rohr, Christian

2017-07-01

Severe climatic anomalies in summer 1816, partly due to the eruption of Tambora in April 1815, contributed to delayed growth and poor harvests of important crops in Central Europe. Coinciding with adverse socio-economic conditions, this event triggered the last subsistence crisis in the western World. Here, we model reductions in potential crop yields for 1816 and 1817 and address the question, what impact a similar climatic anomaly would have today. We reconstructed daily weather for Switzerland for 1816/17 on a 2 km grid using historical observations and an analogue resampling method. These data were used to simulate potential crop yields for potato, grain maize, and winter barley using the CropSyst model calibrated for current crop cultivars. We also simulated yields for the same weather anomalies, but referenced to a present-day baseline temperature. Results show that reduced temperature delayed growth and harvest considerably, and in combination with reduced solar irradiance led to a substantial reduction (20%-50%) in the potential yield of potato in 1816. Effects on winter barley were smaller. Significant reductions were also modelled for 1817 and were mainly due to a cold late spring. Relative reductions for the present-day scenario for the two crops were almost indistinguishable from the historical ones. An even stronger response was found for maize, which was not yet common in 1816/17. Waterlogging, which we assessed using a stress-day approach, likely added to the simulated reductions. The documented, strong east-west gradient in malnutrition across Switzerland in 1817/18 could not be explained by biophysical yield limitations (though excess-water limitation might have contributed), but rather by economic, political and social factors. This highlights the importance of these factors for a societies’ ability to cope with extreme climate events. While the adaptive capacity of today’s society in Switzerland is much greater than in the early 19th century

Sample-averaged biexciton quantum yield measured by solution-phase photon correlation.

PubMed

Beyler, Andrew P; Bischof, Thomas S; Cui, Jian; Coropceanu, Igor; Harris, Daniel K; Bawendi, Moungi G

2014-12-10

The brightness of nanoscale optical materials such as semiconductor nanocrystals is currently limited in high excitation flux applications by inefficient multiexciton fluorescence. We have devised a solution-phase photon correlation measurement that can conveniently and reliably measure the average biexciton-to-exciton quantum yield ratio of an entire sample without user selection bias. This technique can be used to investigate the multiexciton recombination dynamics of a broad scope of synthetically underdeveloped materials, including those with low exciton quantum yields and poor fluorescence stability. Here, we have applied this method to measure weak biexciton fluorescence in samples of visible-emitting InP/ZnS and InAs/ZnS core/shell nanocrystals, and to demonstrate that a rapid CdS shell growth procedure can markedly increase the biexciton fluorescence of CdSe nanocrystals.

Sample-Averaged Biexciton Quantum Yield Measured by Solution-Phase Photon Correlation

PubMed Central

Beyler, Andrew P.; Bischof, Thomas S.; Cui, Jian; Coropceanu, Igor; Harris, Daniel K.; Bawendi, Moungi G.

2015-01-01

The brightness of nanoscale optical materials such as semiconductor nanocrystals is currently limited in high excitation flux applications by inefficient multiexciton fluorescence. We have devised a solution-phase photon correlation measurement that can conveniently and reliably measure the average biexciton-to-exciton quantum yield ratio of an entire sample without user selection bias. This technique can be used to investigate the multiexciton recombination dynamics of a broad scope of synthetically underdeveloped materials, including those with low exciton quantum yields and poor fluorescence stability. Here, we have applied this method to measure weak biexciton fluorescence in samples of visible-emitting InP/ZnS and InAs/ZnS core/shell nanocrystals, and to demonstrate that a rapid CdS shell growth procedure can markedly increase the biexciton fluorescence of CdSe nanocrystals. PMID:25409496

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2011-12-01

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

Quantifying potential yield and water-limited yield of summer maize in the North China Plain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Mingnuo; Liu, Chaoshun; Chen, Maosi

2017-09-01

The North China Plain is a major food producing region in China, and climate change could pose a threat to food production in the region. Based on China Meteorological Forcing Dataset, simulating the growth of summer maize in North China Plain from 1979 to 2015 with the regional implementation of crop growth model WOFOST. The results showed that the model can reflect the potential yield and water-limited yield of Summer Maize in North China Plain through the calibration and validation of WOFOST model. After the regional implementation of model, combined with the reanalysis data, the model can better reproduce the regional history of summer maize yield in the North China Plain. The yield gap in Southeastern Beijing, southern Tianjin, southern Hebei province, Northwestern Shandong province is significant, these means the water condition is the main factor to summer maize yield in these regions.

Maximum sustainable yield and species extinction in a prey-predator system: some new results.

PubMed

Ghosh, Bapan; Kar, T K

2013-06-01

Though the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) approach has been legally adopted for the management of world fisheries, it does not provide any guarantee against from species extinction in multispecies communities. In the present article, we describe the appropriateness of the MSY policy in a Holling-Tanner prey-predator system with different types of functional responses. It is observed that for both type I and type II functional responses, harvesting of either prey or predator species at the MSY level is a sustainable fishing policy. In the case of combined harvesting, both the species coexist at the maximum sustainable total yield (MSTY) level if the biotic potential of the prey species is greater than a threshold value. Further, increase of the biotic potential beyond the threshold value affects the persistence of the system.

Poor Smokers, Poor Quitters, and Cigarette Tax Regressivity

PubMed Central

Remler, Dahlia K.

2004-01-01

The traditional view that excise taxes are regressive has been challenged. I document the history of the term regressive tax, show that traditional definitions have always found cigarette taxes to be regressive, and illustrate the implications of the greater price responsiveness observed among the poor. I explain the different definitions of tax burden: accounting, welfare-based willingness to pay, and welfare-based time inconsistent. Progressivity (equity across income groups) is sensitive to the way in which tax burden is assessed. Analysis of horizontal equity (fairness within a given income group) shows that cigarette taxes heavily burden poor smokers who do not quit, no matter how tax burden is assessed. PMID:14759931

K45A mutation of RIPK1 results in poor necroptosis and cytokine signaling in macrophages, which impacts inflammatory responses in vivo.

PubMed

Shutinoski, B; Alturki, N A; Rijal, D; Bertin, J; Gough, P J; Schlossmacher, M G; Sad, S

2016-10-01

Receptor interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) participates in several cell signaling complexes that promote cell activation and cell death. Stimulation of RIPK1 in the absence of caspase signaling induces regulated necrosis (necroptosis), which promotes an inflammatory response. Understanding of the mechanisms through which RIPK1 promotes inflammation has been unclear. Herein we have evaluated the impact of a K45A mutation of RIPK1 on necroptosis of macrophages and the activation of inflammatory response. We show that K45A mutation of RIPK1 results in attenuated necroptosis of macrophages in response to stimulation with LPS, TNFα and IFNβ in the absence of caspase signaling. Impairment in necroptosis correlated with poor phosphorylation of RIPK1, RIPK3 and reduced trimerization of MLKL. Furthermore, K45A mutation of RIPK1 resulted in poor STAT1 phosphorylation (at S727) and expression of RANTES and MIP-1α following TNF-R engagement in the absence of caspase activation. Our results further indicate that in the absence of stimulation by pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), cellular inhibitors of apoptotic proteins (cIAPs) prevent the K45-dependent auto-phosphorylation of RIPK1, leading to resistance against necroptosis. Finally, RIPK1(K45A) mice displayed attenuated inflammatory response in vivo as they were significantly resistant against endotoxin shock, but highly susceptible against a challenge with Salmonella typhimurium. This correlated with reduced expression of IL-1β and ROS, and poor processing of caspase 8 by RIPK1(K45A) macrophages. Overall, these results indicate that K45 mediated kinase activity of RIPK1 is not only important for necroptosis but it also has a key role in promoting cytokine signaling and host response to inflammatory stimuli.

Long-Term Monitoring of Rainfed Wheat Yield and Soil Water at the Loess Plateau Reveals Low Water Use Efficiency

PubMed Central

Qin, Wei; Chi, Baoliang; Oenema, Oene

2013-01-01

Increasing crop yield and water use efficiency (WUE) in dryland farming requires a quantitative understanding of relationships between crop yield and the water balance over many years. Here, we report on a long-term dryland monitoring site at the Loess Plateau, Shanxi, China, where winter wheat was grown for 30 consecutive years and soil water content (0–200 cm) was measured every 10 days. The monitoring data were used to calibrate the AquaCrop model and then to analyse the components of the water balance. There was a strong positive relationship between total available water and mean cereal yield. However, only one-third of the available water was actually used by the winter wheat for crop transpiration. The remaining two-thirds were lost by soil evaporation, of which 40 and 60% was lost during the growing and fallow seasons, respectively. Wheat yields ranged from 0.6 to 3.9 ton/ha and WUE from 0.3 to 0.9 kg/m3. Results of model experiments suggest that minimizing soil evaporation via straw mulch or plastic film covers could potentially double wheat yields and WUE. We conclude that the relatively low wheat yields and low WUE were mainly related to (i) limited rainfall, (ii) low soil water storage during fallow season due to large soil evaporation, and (iii) poor synchronisation of the wheat growing season to the rain season. The model experiments suggest significant potential for increased yields and WUE. PMID:24302987

Yield and yield gaps in central U.S. corn production systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The magnitude of yield gaps (YG) (potential yield – farmer yield) provides some indication of the prospects for increasing crop yield. Quantile regression analysis was applied to county maize (Zea mays L.) yields (1972 – 2011) from Kentucky, Iowa and Nebraska (irrigated) (total of 115 counties) to e...

Neck blast disease influences grain yield and quality traits of aromatic rice.

PubMed

Khan, Mohammad Ashik Iqbal; Bhuiyan, Md Rejwan; Hossain, Md Shahadat; Sen, Partha Pratim; Ara, Anjuman; Siddique, Md Abubakar; Ali, Md Ansar

2014-11-01

A critical investigation was conducted to find out the effect of neck blast disease on yield-contributing characters, and seed quality traits of aromatic rice in Bangladesh. Both healthy and neck-blast-infected panicles of three aromatic rice cultivars (high-yielding and local) were collected and investigated at Plant Pathology Division, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), Gazipur, Bangladesh. All of the tested varieties were highly susceptible to neck blast disease under natural conditions, though no leaf blast symptoms appear on leaves. Neck blast disease increased grain sterility percentages, reduced grain size, yield and quality traits of seeds. The degrees of yield and seed quality reduction depended on disease severity and variety's genetic make-up. Unfilled grains were the main source of seed-borne pathogen, especially for blast in the seed lot. Transmission of blast pathogen from neck (panicle base) to seed was very poor. These findings are important, especially concerning the seed certification programme in which seed lots are certified on the basis of field inspection. Finally, controlled experiments are needed to draw more critical conclusions. Copyright © 2014 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Decomposing the gap in childhood undernutrition between poor and non-poor in urban India, 2005-06.

PubMed

Kumar, Abhishek; Singh, Aditya

2013-01-01

Despite the growing evidence from other developing countries, intra-urban inequality in childhood undernutrition is poorly researched in India. Additionally, the factors contributing to the poor/non-poor gap in childhood undernutrition have not been explored. This study aims to quantify the contribution of factors that explain the poor/non-poor gap in underweight, stunting, and wasting among children aged less than five years in urban India. We used cross-sectional data from the third round of the National Family Health Survey conducted during 2005-06. Descriptive statistics were used to understand the gap in childhood undernutrition between the urban poor and non-poor, and across the selected covariates. Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique was used to explain the factors contributing to the average gap in undernutrition between poor and non-poor children in urban India. Considerable proportions of urban children were found to be underweight (33%), stunted (40%), and wasted (17%) in 2005-06. The undernutrition gap between the poor and non-poor was stark in urban India. For all the three indicators, the main contributing factors were underutilization of health care services, poor body mass index of the mothers, and lower level of parental education among those living in poverty. The findings indicate that children belonging to poor households are undernourished due to limited use of health care services, poor health of mothers, and poor educational status of their parents. Based on the findings the study suggests that improving the public services such as basic health care and the education level of the mothers among urban poor can ameliorate the negative impact of poverty on childhood undernutrition.

Yield and Economic Performance of Organic and Conventional Cotton-Based Farming Systems – Results from a Field Trial in India

PubMed Central

Forster, Dionys; Andres, Christian; Verma, Rajeev; Zundel, Christine; Messmer, Monika M.; Mäder, Paul

2013-01-01

The debate on the relative benefits of conventional and organic farming systems has in recent time gained significant interest. So far, global agricultural development has focused on increased productivity rather than on a holistic natural resource management for food security. Thus, developing more sustainable farming practices on a large scale is of utmost importance. However, information concerning the performance of farming systems under organic and conventional management in tropical and subtropical regions is scarce. This study presents agronomic and economic data from the conversion phase (2007–2010) of a farming systems comparison trial on a Vertisol soil in Madhya Pradesh, central India. A cotton-soybean-wheat crop rotation under biodynamic, organic and conventional (with and without Bt cotton) management was investigated. We observed a significant yield gap between organic and conventional farming systems in the 1st crop cycle (cycle 1: 2007–2008) for cotton (−29%) and wheat (−27%), whereas in the 2nd crop cycle (cycle 2: 2009–2010) cotton and wheat yields were similar in all farming systems due to lower yields in the conventional systems. In contrast, organic soybean (a nitrogen fixing leguminous plant) yields were marginally lower than conventional yields (−1% in cycle 1, −11% in cycle 2). Averaged across all crops, conventional farming systems achieved significantly higher gross margins in cycle 1 (+29%), whereas in cycle 2 gross margins in organic farming systems were significantly higher (+25%) due to lower variable production costs but similar yields. Soybean gross margin was significantly higher in the organic system (+11%) across the four harvest years compared to the conventional systems. Our results suggest that organic soybean production is a viable option for smallholder farmers under the prevailing semi-arid conditions in India. Future research needs to elucidate the long-term productivity and profitability, particularly of

Perfectionism and Polysomnography-Determined Markers of Poor Sleep

PubMed Central

Johann, Anna F.; Hertenstein, Elisabeth; Kyle, Simon D.; Baglioni, Chiara; Feige, Bernd; Nissen, Christoph; Riemann, Dieter; Spiegelhalder, Kai

2017-01-01

Study Objectives: Perfectionism has been suggested to represent a predisposing factor for poor sleep. However, previous studies have relied on self-reported measures. The association between perfectionism and poor sleep measured by polysomnography (PSG) warrants further investigation. Methods: The current retrospective exploratory study used the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale and PSG in an unselected sample of 334 consecutive sleep laboratory patients (140 males, 194 females, 44.6 ± 15.9 years). Data were analyzed using linear regression analyses. Results: High levels of perfectionism were associated with PSG-determined markers of poor sleep in the first sleep laboratory night. The total Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale score was significantly associated with the number of nocturnal awakenings in the first sleep laboratory night. The subscales “concern over mistakes” and “personal standards” of perfectionism were significantly associated with markers of poor sleep. In contrast, there were only a few associations between perfectionism and PSG variables of the second sleep laboratory night. Conclusions: This pattern of results suggests that high levels of perfectionism may predispose individuals to sleep disturbances in the context of acute stressors. Thus, the influence of perfectionism on poor sleep should be further investigated to improve treatment. Citation: Johann AF, Hertenstein E, Kyle SD, Baglioni C, Feige B, Nissen C, Riemann D, Spiegelhalder K. Perfectionism and polysomnography-determined markers of poor sleep. J Clin Sleep Med. 2017;13(11):1319–1326. PMID:28992830

Orthographic Processing and Visual Sequential Memory in Unexpectedly Poor Spellers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmes, Virginia M.; Malone, Aisling M.; Redenbach, Holly

2008-01-01

Does unexpectedly poor spelling in adults result from inferior visual sequential memory? In one experiment, unexpectedly poor spellers performed significantly worse than better spellers in the immediate reproduction of sequences of visual symbols, but in a second experiment, the effect was not replicated. Poor spellers were also no worse at the…

Sample-Averaged Biexciton Quantum Yield Measured by Solution-Phase Photon Correlation

DOE PAGES

Beyler, Andrew P.; Bischof, Thomas S.; Cui, Jian; ...

2014-11-19

The brightness of nanoscale optical materials such as semiconductor nanocrystals is currently limited in high excitation flux applications by inefficient multiexciton fluorescence. We have devised a solution-phase photon correlation measurement that can conveniently and reliably measure the average biexciton-to-exciton quantum yield ratio of an entire sample without user selection bias. This technique can be used to investigate the multiexciton recombination dynamics of a broad scope of synthetically underdeveloped materials, including those with low exciton quantum yields and poor fluorescence stability. Here in this study, we have applied this method to measure weak biexciton fluorescence in samples of visible-emitting InP/ZnS andmore » InAs/ZnS core/shell nanocrystals, and to demonstrate that a rapid CdS shell growth procedure can markedly increase the biexciton fluorescence of CdSe nanocrystals.« less

Impact of derived global weather data on simulated crop yields.

PubMed

van Wart, Justin; Grassini, Patricio; Cassman, Kenneth G

2013-12-01

Crop simulation models can be used to estimate impact of current and future climates on crop yields and food security, but require long-term historical daily weather data to obtain robust simulations. In many regions where crops are grown, daily weather data are not available. Alternatively, gridded weather databases (GWD) with complete terrestrial coverage are available, typically derived from: (i) global circulation computer models; (ii) interpolated weather station data; or (iii) remotely sensed surface data from satellites. The present study's objective is to evaluate capacity of GWDs to simulate crop yield potential (Yp) or water-limited yield potential (Yw), which can serve as benchmarks to assess impact of climate change scenarios on crop productivity and land use change. Three GWDs (CRU, NCEP/DOE, and NASA POWER data) were evaluated for their ability to simulate Yp and Yw of rice in China, USA maize, and wheat in Germany. Simulations of Yp and Yw based on recorded daily data from well-maintained weather stations were taken as the control weather data (CWD). Agreement between simulations of Yp or Yw based on CWD and those based on GWD was poor with the latter having strong bias and large root mean square errors (RMSEs) that were 26-72% of absolute mean yield across locations and years. In contrast, simulated Yp or Yw using observed daily weather data from stations in the NOAA database combined with solar radiation from the NASA-POWER database were in much better agreement with Yp and Yw simulated with CWD (i.e. little bias and an RMSE of 12-19% of the absolute mean). We conclude that results from studies that rely on GWD to simulate agricultural productivity in current and future climates are highly uncertain. An alternative approach would impose a climate scenario on location-specific observed daily weather databases combined with an appropriate upscaling method. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Changing forest water yields in response to climate warming: results from long-term experimental watershed sites across North America

Treesearch

Irena F. Creed; Adam T. Spargo; Julia A. Jones; Jim M. Buttle; Mary B. Adams; Fred D. Beall; Eric G. Booth; John L. Campbell; Dave Clow; Kelly Elder; Mark B. Green; Nancy B. Grimm; Chelcy Miniat; Patricia Ramlal; Amartya Saha; Stephen Sebestyen; Dave Spittlehouse; Shannon Sterling; Mark W. Williams; Rita Winkler; Huaxia Yao

2014-01-01

Climate warming is projected to affect forest water yields but the effects are expected to vary.We investigated how forest type and age affect water yield resilience to climate warming. To answer this question, we examined the variability in historical water yields at long-term experimental catchments across Canada and the United States over 5-year cool and warm...

Climatic and technological ceilings for Chinese rice stagnation based on yield gaps and yield trend pattern analysis.

PubMed

Zhang, Tianyi; Yang, Xiaoguang; Wang, Hesong; Li, Yong; Ye, Qing

2014-04-01

Climatic or technological ceilings could cause yield stagnation. Thus, identifying the principal reasons for yield stagnation within the context of the local climate and socio-economic conditions are essential for informing regional agricultural policies. In this study, we identified the climatic and technological ceilings for seven rice-production regions in China based on yield gaps and on a yield trend pattern analysis for the period 1980-2010. The results indicate that 54.9% of the counties sampled experienced yield stagnation since the 1980. The potential yield ceilings in northern and eastern China decreased to a greater extent than in other regions due to the accompanying climate effects of increases in temperature and decreases in radiation. This may be associated with yield stagnation and halt occurring in approximately 49.8-57.0% of the sampled counties in these areas. South-western China exhibited a promising scope for yield improvement, showing the greatest yield gap (30.6%), whereas the yields were stagnant in 58.4% of the sampled counties. This finding suggests that efforts to overcome the technological ceiling must be given priority so that the available exploitable yield gap can be achieved. North-eastern China, however, represents a noteworthy exception. In the north-central area of this region, climate change has increased the yield potential ceiling, and this increase has been accompanied by the most rapid increase in actual yield: 1.02 ton ha(-1) per decade. Therefore, north-eastern China shows a great potential for rice production, which is favoured by the current climate conditions and available technology level. Additional environmentally friendly economic incentives might be considered in this region. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Delayed Carcass Deboning Results in Significantly Reduced Cook Yields of Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Boneless skinless chicken thighs are a new deboned poultry product in the retail market. Three trials were conducted to investigate the effect of postmortem carcass deboning time on the cook yields of boneless skinless chicken thighs as well as boneless skinless chicken breasts. Broiler carcasses ...

Poor Schools, Poor Students, Successful Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gehrke, Rebecca Swanson

2005-01-01

Today, one out of four American children attends school in an urban district; one out of every six American children lives in poverty; and, in urban schools where most of the students are poor, two-thirds or more of the children fail to reach even the "basic" level of achievement on national tests. Urban schools are where most states face the…

Chiral imidate-ferrocenylphosphanes: synthesis and application as P,N-ligands in iridium(I)-catalyzed hydrogenation of unfunctionalized and poorly functionalized olefins.

PubMed

Bert, Katrien; Noël, Timothy; Kimpe, Wim; Goeman, Jan L; Van der Eycken, Johan

2012-11-14

A small library of chiral imidate-ferrocenylphosphane ligands was efficiently synthesized (8 examples) and evaluated in the iridium(I)-catalyzed hydrogenation of unfunctionalized and poorly functionalized olefins. These catalysts perform very well in a range of examples (yields and ee's up to 100%).

Fission yield measurements at IGISOL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lantz, M.; Al-Adili, A.; Gorelov, D.; Jokinen, A.; Kolhinen, V. S.; Mattera, A.; Moore, I.; Penttilä, H.; Pomp, S.; Prokofiev, A. V.; Rakopoulos, V.; Rinta-Antila, S.; Simutkin, V.; Solders, A.

2016-06-01

The fission product yields are an important characteristic of the fission process. In fundamental physics, knowledge of the yield distributions is needed to better understand the fission process. For nuclear energy applications good knowledge of neutroninduced fission-product yields is important for the safe and efficient operation of nuclear power plants. With the Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line (IGISOL) technique, products of nuclear reactions are stopped in a buffer gas and then extracted and separated by mass. Thanks to the high resolving power of the JYFLTRAP Penning trap, at University of Jyväskylä, fission products can be isobarically separated, making it possible to measure relative independent fission yields. In some cases it is even possible to resolve isomeric states from the ground state, permitting measurements of isomeric yield ratios. So far the reactions U(p,f) and Th(p,f) have been studied using the IGISOL-JYFLTRAP facility. Recently, a neutron converter target has been developed utilizing the Be(p,xn) reaction. We here present the IGISOL-technique for fission yield measurements and some of the results from the measurements on proton induced fission. We also present the development of the neutron converter target, the characterization of the neutron field and the first tests with neutron-induced fission.

Rapid measurement of the yield stress of anaerobically-digested solid waste using slump tests.

PubMed

Garcia-Bernet, D; Loisel, D; Guizard, G; Buffière, P; Steyer, J P; Escudié, R

2011-04-01

The anaerobic digestion of solid waste is usually performed using dry or semi-dry technology. Incoming waste and fermenting digestate are pasty media and thus, at the industrial scale, their suitability for pumping and mixing is a prerequisite at the industrial scale. However, their rheology has been poorly characterised in the literature because there is no suitable experimental system for analysing heterogeneous media composed of coarse particles. We have developed a practical rheometrical test, a "slump test", for the analysis of actual digested solid waste. It makes it possible to estimate yield stress from the final slump height. From the slump behavior, we conclude that digestates behave as visco-elastic materials. The yield stress of different digested waste was measured between 200 and 800Pa. We show that the media containing smaller particles or with higher moisture content are characterised by smaller yield stresses. This study thus demonstrates the impact of the origin of the digestate on the yield stress. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DETECTION OF PHOSPHORUS, SULPHUR, AND ZINC IN THE CARBON-ENHANCED METAL-POOR STAR BD+44 493

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roederer, Ian U.; Placco, Vinicius M.; Beers, Timothy C., E-mail: iur@umich.edu

2016-06-20

The carbon-enhanced metal-poor star BD+44°493 ([Fe/H] = −3.9) has been proposed as a candidate second-generation star enriched by metals from a single Pop III star. We report the first detections of P and S and the second detection of Zn in any extremely metal-poor carbon-enhanced star, using new spectra of BD+44°493 collected by the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope . We derive [P/Fe] = −0.34 ± 0.21, [S/Fe] = +0.07 ± 0.41, and [Zn/Fe] = −0.10 ± 0.24. We increase by 10-fold the number of Si i lines detected in BD+44°493, yielding [Si/Fe] = +0.15 ± 0.22.more » The [S/Fe] and [Zn/Fe] ratios exclude the hypothesis that the abundance pattern in BD+44°493 results from depletion of refractory elements onto dust grains. Comparison with zero-metallicity supernova (SN) models suggests that the stellar progenitor that enriched BD+44°493 was massive and ejected much less than 0.07 M {sub ⊙} of {sup 56}Ni, characteristic of a faint SN.« less

Gender equity and health sector reform in Colombia: mixed state-market model yields mixed results.

PubMed

Ewig, Christina; Bello, Amparo Hernández

2009-03-01

In 1993, Colombia carried out a sweeping health reform that sought to dramatically increase health insurance coverage and reduce state involvement in health provision by creating a unitary state-supervised health system in which private entities are the main insurers and health service providers. Using a quantitative comparison of household survey data and an analysis of the content of the reforms, we evaluate the effects of Colombia's health reforms on gender equity. We find that several aspects of these reforms hold promise for greater gender equity, such as the resulting increase in women's health insurance coverage. However, the reforms have not achieved gender equity due to the persistence of fees which discriminate against women and the introduction of a two-tier health system in which women heads of household and the poor are concentrated in a lower quality health system.

Monitoring interannual variation in global crop yield using long-term AVHRR and MODIS observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiaoyang; Zhang, Qingyuan

2016-04-01

Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data have been extensively applied for crop yield prediction because of their daily temporal resolution and a global coverage. This study investigated global crop yield using daily two band Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI2) derived from AVHRR (1981-1999) and MODIS (2000-2013) observations at a spatial resolution of 0.05° (∼5 km). Specifically, EVI2 temporal trajectory of crop growth was simulated using a hybrid piecewise logistic model (HPLM) for individual pixels, which was used to detect crop phenological metrics. The derived crop phenology was then applied to calculate crop greenness defined as EVI2 amplitude and EVI2 integration during annual crop growing seasons, which was further aggregated for croplands in each country, respectively. The interannual variations in EVI2 amplitude and EVI2 integration were combined to correlate to the variation in cereal yield from 1982-2012 for individual countries using a stepwise regression model, respectively. The results show that the confidence level of the established regression models was higher than 90% (P value < 0.1) in most countries in the northern hemisphere although it was relatively poor in the southern hemisphere (mainly in Africa). The error in the yield predication was relatively smaller in America, Europe and East Asia than that in Africa. In the 10 countries with largest cereal production across the world, the prediction error was less than 9% during past three decades. This suggests that crop phenology-controlled greenness from coarse resolution satellite data has the capability of predicting national crop yield across the world, which could provide timely and reliable crop information for global agricultural trade and policymakers.

Land-surface initialisation improves seasonal climate prediction skill for maize yield forecast.

PubMed

Ceglar, Andrej; Toreti, Andrea; Prodhomme, Chloe; Zampieri, Matteo; Turco, Marco; Doblas-Reyes, Francisco J

2018-01-22

Seasonal crop yield forecasting represents an important source of information to maintain market stability, minimise socio-economic impacts of crop losses and guarantee humanitarian food assistance, while it fosters the use of climate information favouring adaptation strategies. As climate variability and extremes have significant influence on agricultural production, the early prediction of severe weather events and unfavourable conditions can contribute to the mitigation of adverse effects. Seasonal climate forecasts provide additional value for agricultural applications in several regions of the world. However, they currently play a very limited role in supporting agricultural decisions in Europe, mainly due to the poor skill of relevant surface variables. Here we show how a combined stress index (CSI), considering both drought and heat stress in summer, can predict maize yield in Europe and how land-surface initialised seasonal climate forecasts can be used to predict it. The CSI explains on average nearly 53% of the inter-annual maize yield variability under observed climate conditions and shows how concurrent heat stress and drought events have influenced recent yield anomalies. Seasonal climate forecast initialised with realistic land-surface achieves better (and marginally useful) skill in predicting the CSI than with climatological land-surface initialisation in south-eastern Europe, part of central Europe, France and Italy.

Active sensing: An innovative tool for evaluating grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency of multiple wheat genotypes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naser, Mohammed Abdulridha

yield and NDVI and between NDVI and NUE later in the season, after anthesis and during mid-grain filling stage under dryland and a poor association in wheat grown in irrigated conditions. The results suggest that below saturation of NDVI values (about 0.9), (i.e. prior to full canopy closure and after the beginning of senescence or most of the season under dryland conditions) NDVI could assess grain yield and NUE. The results also indicate that nitrogen uptake efficiency was the main source of variation of NUE among genotypes grown in site-years with lower yield. Overall, results from this study demonstrate that NDVI readings successfully classified wheat genotypes into grain yield classes across dryland and irrigated conditions and characterized variability in NUE across wheat genotypes.

Simulating the yield impacts of organ-level quantitative trait loci associated with drought response in maize: a "gene-to-phenotype" modeling approach.

PubMed

Chenu, Karine; Chapman, Scott C; Tardieu, François; McLean, Greg; Welcker, Claude; Hammer, Graeme L

2009-12-01

Under drought, substantial genotype-environment (G x E) interactions impede breeding progress for yield. Identifying genetic controls associated with yield response is confounded by poor genetic correlations across testing environments. Part of this problem is related to our inability to account for the interplay of genetic controls, physiological traits, and environmental conditions throughout the crop cycle. We propose a modeling approach to bridge this "gene-to-phenotype" gap. For maize under drought, we simulated the impact of quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling two key processes (leaf and silk elongation) that influence crop growth, water use, and grain yield. Substantial G x E interaction for yield was simulated for hypothetical recombinant inbred lines (RILs) across different seasonal patterns of drought. QTL that accelerated leaf elongation caused an increase in crop leaf area and yield in well-watered or preflowering water deficit conditions, but a reduction in yield under terminal stresses (as such "leafy" genotypes prematurely exhausted the water supply). The QTL impact on yield was substantially enhanced by including pleiotropic effects of these QTL on silk elongation and on consequent grain set. The simulations obtained illustrated the difficulty of interpreting the genetic control of yield for genotypes influenced only by the additive effects of QTL associated with leaf and silk growth. The results highlight the potential of integrative simulation modeling for gene-to-phenotype prediction and for exploiting G x E interactions for complex traits such as drought tolerance.

A Method to Predict the Thickness of Poorly-Bonded Material Along Spray and Spray-Layer Boundaries in Cold Spray Deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yangfan; Hamada, Yukitaka; Otobe, Katsunori; Ando, Teiichi

2017-02-01

Multi-traverse CS provides a unique means for the production of thick coatings and bulk materials from powders. However, the material along spray and spray-layer boundaries is often poorly bonded as it is laid by the leading and trailing peripheries of the spray that carry powder particles with insufficient kinetic energy. For the same reason, the splats in the very first layer deposited on the substrate may not be bonded well either. A mathematical spray model was developed based on an axisymmetric Gaussian mass flow rate distribution and a stepped deposition yield to predict the thickness of such poorly-bonded layers in multi-traverse CS deposition. The predicted thickness of poorly-bonded layers in a multi-traverse Cu coating falls in the range of experimental values. The model also predicts that the material that contains poorly bonded splats could exceed 20% of the total volume of the coating.

Aggressiveness of Fusarium species and impact of root infection on growth and yield of soybeans.

PubMed

Arias, María M Díaz; Leandro, Leonor F; Munkvold, Gary P

2013-08-01

Fusarium spp. are commonly isolated from soybean roots but the pathogenic activity of most species is poorly documented. Aggressiveness and yield impact of nine species of Fusarium were determined on soybean in greenhouse (50 isolates) and field microplot (19 isolates) experiments. Root rot severity and shoot and root dry weights were compared at growth stages V3 or R1. Root systems were scanned and digital image analysis was conducted; yield was measured in microplots. Disease severity and root morphology impacts varied among and within species. Fusarium graminearum was highly aggressive (root rot severity >90%), followed by F. proliferatum and F. virguliforme. Significant variation in damping-off (20 to 75%) and root rot severity (<20 to >60%) was observed among F. oxysporum isolates. In artificially-infested microplots, root rot severity was low (<25%) and mean yield was not significantly reduced. However, there were significant linear relationships between yield and root symptoms for some isolates. Root morphological characteristics were more consistent indicators of yield loss than root rot severity. This study provides the first characterization of aggressiveness and yield impact of Fusarium root rot species on soybean at different plant stages and introduces root image analysis to assess the impact of root pathogens on soybean.

Automated processing of leucocyte-poor platelet concentrates.

PubMed

Tandy, N P; Seghatchian, M J; Bessos, H

1992-10-01

In view of transfusion reactions and alloimmunization associated with leucocyte contamination of platelet concentrates (PC), there is a general move towards the production of leuco-poor PC. This goal is currently pursued by the production of various PC using buffy coat and apheresis techniques. Although there is no overall consensus on the meaning of 'leuco-poor', by assuming that this refers to a level of 5-50 x 10(7) leucocytes per PC, we were able to make comparisons with available systems used in Europe. In addition to platelet and white cell counts, other markers of PC quality were assessed in some cases. These included traditional markers (such as hypotonic stress response, pH, and lactate and beta-thromboglobulin levels) and newer markers (such as glycocalicin and plasma von Willebrand factor levels). Our preliminary results showed appreciable differences in platelet and white cell content of PC prepared by various types of apheresis equipment. Appreciable differences in the quality of stored PC were also observed between routine PC (non-leuco-poor and buffy coat and apheresed PC (leuco-poor).

Low self-concept in poor readers: prevalence, heterogeneity, and risk.

PubMed

McArthur, Genevieve; Castles, Anne; Kohnen, Saskia; Banales, Erin

2016-01-01

There is evidence that poor readers are at increased risk for various types of low self-concept-particularly academic self-concept. However, this evidence ignores the heterogeneous nature of poor readers, and hence the likelihood that not all poor readers have low self-concept. The aim of this study was to better understand which types of poor readers have low self-concept. We tested 77 children with poor reading for their age for four types of self-concept, four types of reading, three types of spoken language, and two types of attention. We found that poor readers with poor attention had low academic self-concept, while poor readers with poor spoken language had low general self-concept in addition to low academic self-concept. In contrast, poor readers with typical spoken language and attention did not have low self-concept of any type. We also discovered that academic self-concept was reliably associated with reading and receptive spoken vocabulary, and that general self-concept was reliably associated with spoken vocabulary. These outcomes suggest that poor readers with multiple impairments in reading, language, and attention are at higher risk for low academic and general self-concept, and hence need to be assessed for self-concept in clinical practice. Our results also highlight the need for further investigation into the heterogeneous nature of self-concept in poor readers.

Low self-concept in poor readers: prevalence, heterogeneity, and risk

PubMed Central

Castles, Anne; Kohnen, Saskia; Banales, Erin

2016-01-01

There is evidence that poor readers are at increased risk for various types of low self-concept—particularly academic self-concept. However, this evidence ignores the heterogeneous nature of poor readers, and hence the likelihood that not all poor readers have low self-concept. The aim of this study was to better understand which types of poor readers have low self-concept. We tested 77 children with poor reading for their age for four types of self-concept, four types of reading, three types of spoken language, and two types of attention. We found that poor readers with poor attention had low academic self-concept, while poor readers with poor spoken language had low general self-concept in addition to low academic self-concept. In contrast, poor readers with typical spoken language and attention did not have low self-concept of any type. We also discovered that academic self-concept was reliably associated with reading and receptive spoken vocabulary, and that general self-concept was reliably associated with spoken vocabulary. These outcomes suggest that poor readers with multiple impairments in reading, language, and attention are at higher risk for low academic and general self-concept, and hence need to be assessed for self-concept in clinical practice. Our results also highlight the need for further investigation into the heterogeneous nature of self-concept in poor readers. PMID:27867764

Achieving food security for one million sub-Saharan African poor through push-pull innovation by 2020.

PubMed

Khan, Zeyaur R; Midega, Charles A O; Pittchar, Jimmy O; Murage, Alice W; Birkett, Michael A; Bruce, Toby J A; Pickett, John A

2014-04-05

Food insecurity is a chronic problem in Africa and is likely to worsen with climate change and population growth. It is largely due to poor yields of the cereal crops caused by factors including stemborer pests, striga weeds and degraded soils. A platform technology, 'push-pull', based on locally available companion plants, effectively addresses these constraints resulting in substantial grain yield increases. It involves intercropping cereal crops with a forage legume, desmodium, and planting Napier grass as a border crop. Desmodium repels stemborer moths (push), and attracts their natural enemies, while Napier grass attracts them (pull). Desmodium is very effective in suppressing striga weed while improving soil fertility through nitrogen fixation and improved organic matter content. Both companion plants provide high-value animal fodder, facilitating milk production and diversifying farmers' income sources. To extend these benefits to drier areas and ensure long-term sustainability of the technology in view of climate change, drought-tolerant trap and intercrop plants are being identified. Studies show that the locally commercial brachiaria cv mulato (trap crop) and greenleaf desmodium (intercrop) can tolerate long droughts. New on-farm field trials show that using these two companion crops in adapted push-pull technology provides effective control of stemborers and striga weeds, resulting in significant grain yield increases. Effective multi-level partnerships have been established with national agricultural research and extension systems, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders to enhance dissemination of the technology with a goal of reaching one million farm households in the region by 2020. These will be supported by an efficient desmodium seed production and distribution system in eastern Africa, relevant policies and stakeholder training and capacity development.

Economic stress in childhood and adulthood, and poor psychological health: three life course hypotheses.

PubMed

Lindström, Martin; Fridh, Maria; Rosvall, Maria

2014-02-28

Investigations of mental health in a life course perspective are scarce. The aim is to investigate associations between economic stress in childhood and adulthood, and poor psychological health in adulthood with reference to the accumulation, critical period and social mobility hypotheses in life course epidemiology. The 2008 public health survey in Skåne is a cross-sectional postal questionnaire study. A random sample was invited which yielded 28,198 respondents aged 18-80 (55% participation). Psychological health was assessed with the GHQ12 instrument. Logistic regression models were used to investigate the associations adjusting for age, country of birth, socioeconomic status, emotional support, instrumental support and trust, and stratifying by sex. The accumulation hypothesis was confirmed because combined childhood and adulthood exposures to economic stress were associated with poor psychological health in a graded manner. The social mobility hypothesis was also confirmed. The critical period hypothesis was not confirmed because both childhood and adulthood economic stress remained significantly associated with poor psychological health in adulthood. Economic stress in childhood is associated with mental health in adulthood. © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Effect of warming temperatures on US wheat yields.

PubMed

Tack, Jesse; Barkley, Andrew; Nalley, Lawton Lanier

2015-06-02

Climate change is expected to increase future temperatures, potentially resulting in reduced crop production in many key production regions. Research quantifying the complex relationship between weather variables and wheat yields is rapidly growing, and recent advances have used a variety of model specifications that differ in how temperature data are included in the statistical yield equation. A unique data set that combines Kansas wheat variety field trial outcomes for 1985-2013 with location-specific weather data is used to analyze the effect of weather on wheat yield using regression analysis. Our results indicate that the effect of temperature exposure varies across the September-May growing season. The largest drivers of yield loss are freezing temperatures in the Fall and extreme heat events in the Spring. We also find that the overall effect of warming on yields is negative, even after accounting for the benefits of reduced exposure to freezing temperatures. Our analysis indicates that there exists a tradeoff between average (mean) yield and ability to resist extreme heat across varieties. More-recently released varieties are less able to resist heat than older lines. Our results also indicate that warming effects would be partially offset by increased rainfall in the Spring. Finally, we find that the method used to construct measures of temperature exposure matters for both the predictive performance of the regression model and the forecasted warming impacts on yields.

Defining Primary Care Shortage Areas: Do GIS-based Measures Yield Different Results?

PubMed

Daly, Michael R; Mellor, Jennifer M; Millones, Marco

2018-02-12

To examine whether geographic information systems (GIS)-based physician-to-population ratios (PPRs) yield determinations of geographic primary care shortage areas that differ from those based on bounded-area PPRs like those used in the Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designation process. We used geocoded data on primary care physician (PCP) locations and census block population counts from 1 US state to construct 2 shortage area indicators. The first is a bounded-area shortage indicator defined without GIS methods; the second is a GIS-based measure that measures the populations' spatial proximity to PCP locations. We examined agreement and disagreement between bounded shortage areas and GIS-based shortage areas. Bounded shortage area indicators and GIS-based shortage area indicators agree for the census blocks where the vast majority of our study populations reside. Specifically, 95% and 98% of the populations in our full and urban samples, respectively, reside in census blocks where the 2 indicators agree. Although agreement is generally high in rural areas (ie, 87% of the rural population reside in census blocks where the 2 indicators agree), agreement is significantly lower compared to urban areas. One source of disagreement suggests that bounded-area measures may "overlook" some shortages in rural areas; however, other aspects of the HPSA designation process likely mitigate this concern. Another source of disagreement arises from the border-crossing problem, and it is more prevalent. The GIS-based PPRs we employed would yield shortage area determinations that are similar to those based on bounded-area PPRs defined for Primary Care Service Areas. Disagreement rates were lower than previous studies have found. © 2018 National Rural Health Association.

Genotypic Variation in Yield, Yield Components, Root Morphology and Architecture, in Soybean in Relation to Water and Phosphorus Supply

PubMed Central

He, Jin; Jin, Yi; Du, Yan-Lei; Wang, Tao; Turner, Neil C.; Yang, Ru-Ping; Siddique, Kadambot H. M.; Li, Feng-Min

2017-01-01

Water shortage and low phosphorus (P) availability limit yields in soybean. Roots play important roles in water-limited and P-deficient environment, but the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. In this study we determined the responses of four soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] genotypes [Huandsedadou (HD), Bailudou (BLD), Jindou 21 (J21), and Zhonghuang 30 (ZH)] to three P levels [applied 0 (P0), 60 (P60), and 120 (P120) mg P kg-1 dry soil to the upper 0.4 m of the soil profile] and two water treatment [well-watered (WW) and water-stressed (WS)] with special reference to root morphology and architecture, we compared yield and its components, root morphology and root architecture to find out which variety and/or what kind of root architecture had high grain yield under P and drought stress. The results showed that water stress and low P, respectively, significantly reduced grain yield by 60 and 40%, daily water use by 66 and 31%, P accumulation by 40 and 80%, and N accumulation by 39 and 65%. The cultivar ZH with the lowest daily water use had the highest grain yield at P60 and P120 under drought. Increased root length was positively associated with N and P accumulation in both the WW and WS treatments, but not with grain yield under water and P deficits. However, in the WS treatment, high adventitious and lateral root densities were associated with high N and P uptake per unit root length which in turn was significantly and positively associated with grain yield. Our results suggest that (1) genetic variation of grain yield, daily water use, P and N accumulation, and root morphology and architecture were observed among the soybean cultivars and ZH had the best yield performance under P and water limited conditions; (2) water has a major influence on nutrient uptake and grain yield, while additional P supply can modestly increase yields under drought in some soybean genotypes; (3) while conserved water use plays an important role in grain yield under drought

Genotypic Variation in Yield, Yield Components, Root Morphology and Architecture, in Soybean in Relation to Water and Phosphorus Supply.

PubMed

He, Jin; Jin, Yi; Du, Yan-Lei; Wang, Tao; Turner, Neil C; Yang, Ru-Ping; Siddique, Kadambot H M; Li, Feng-Min

2017-01-01

Water shortage and low phosphorus (P) availability limit yields in soybean. Roots play important roles in water-limited and P-deficient environment, but the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. In this study we determined the responses of four soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merr.] genotypes [Huandsedadou (HD), Bailudou (BLD), Jindou 21 (J21), and Zhonghuang 30 (ZH)] to three P levels [applied 0 (P0), 60 (P60), and 120 (P120) mg P kg -1 dry soil to the upper 0.4 m of the soil profile] and two water treatment [well-watered (WW) and water-stressed (WS)] with special reference to root morphology and architecture, we compared yield and its components, root morphology and root architecture to find out which variety and/or what kind of root architecture had high grain yield under P and drought stress. The results showed that water stress and low P, respectively, significantly reduced grain yield by 60 and 40%, daily water use by 66 and 31%, P accumulation by 40 and 80%, and N accumulation by 39 and 65%. The cultivar ZH with the lowest daily water use had the highest grain yield at P60 and P120 under drought. Increased root length was positively associated with N and P accumulation in both the WW and WS treatments, but not with grain yield under water and P deficits. However, in the WS treatment, high adventitious and lateral root densities were associated with high N and P uptake per unit root length which in turn was significantly and positively associated with grain yield. Our results suggest that (1) genetic variation of grain yield, daily water use, P and N accumulation, and root morphology and architecture were observed among the soybean cultivars and ZH had the best yield performance under P and water limited conditions; (2) water has a major influence on nutrient uptake and grain yield, while additional P supply can modestly increase yields under drought in some soybean genotypes; (3) while conserved water use plays an important role in grain yield under drought

Process gg{yields}h{sub 0}{yields}{gamma}{gamma} in the Lee-Wick standard model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krauss, F.; Underwood, T. E. J.; Zwicky, R.

2008-01-01

The process gg{yields}h{sub 0}{yields}{gamma}{gamma} is studied in the Lee-Wick extension of the standard model (LWSM) proposed by Grinstein, O'Connell, and Wise. In this model, negative norm partners for each SM field are introduced with the aim to cancel quadratic divergences in the Higgs mass. All sectors of the model relevant to gg{yields}h{sub 0}{yields}{gamma}{gamma} are diagonalized and results are commented on from the perspective of both the Lee-Wick and higher-derivative formalisms. Deviations from the SM rate for gg{yields}h{sub 0} are found to be of the order of 15%-5% for Lee-Wick masses in the range 500-1000 GeV. Effects on the rate formore » h{sub 0}{yields}{gamma}{gamma} are smaller, of the order of 5%-1% for Lee-Wick masses in the same range. These comparatively small changes may well provide a means of distinguishing the LWSM from other models such as universal extra dimensions where same-spin partners to standard model fields also appear. Corrections to determinations of Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) elements |V{sub t(b,s,d)}| are also considered and are shown to be positive, allowing the possibility of measuring a CKM element larger than unity, a characteristic signature of the ghostlike nature of the Lee-Wick fields.« less

Atmospheric Fluorescence Yield

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, James H., Jr.; Christl, M. J.; Fountain, W. F.; Gregory, J. C.; Martens, K.; Sokolsky, P.; Whitaker, Ann F. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Several existing and planned experiments estimate the energies of ultra-high energy cosmic rays from air showers using the atmospheric fluorescence from these showers. Accurate knowledge of the conversion from atmospheric fluorescence to energy loss by ionizing particles in the atmosphere is key to this technique. In this paper we discuss a small balloon-borne instrument to make the first in situ measurements versus altitude of the atmospheric fluorescence yield. The instrument can also be used in the lab to investigate the dependence of the fluorescence yield in air on temperature, pressure and the concentrations of other gases that present in the atmosphere. The results can be used to explore environmental effects on and improve the accuracy of cosmic ray energy measurements for existing ground-based experiments and future space-based experiments.

a UV Spectral Library of Metal-Poor Massive Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robert, Carmelle

1994-01-01

We propose to use the FOS to build a snapshot library of UV spectra of a sample of about 50 metal-poor massive stars located in the Magellanic Clouds. The majority of libraries already existing contains spectra of hot stars with chemical abundances close to solar. The high spectral resolution achieves with the FOS will be a major factor for the uniqueness of this new library. UV spectral libraries represent fundamental tools for the study of the massive star populations of young star-forming regions. Massive stars, which are impossible to identify directly in the optical-IR part of a composite spectrum, display on the other hand key signatures in the UV region. These signatures are mainly broad, metallicity dependent spectral features formed in the hot star winds. They require a high spectral resolution (of the order of 200-300 km/s) for an adequate study. A spectral library of metal-poor massive stars represents also a unique source of data for a stellar atmosphere analysis. Within less then 10 min we will obtain a high signal-to-noise ratio of at least 30. Finally, since short exposure times are possible, this proposal makes extremely good use of the capabilities of HST. We designed an observing strategy which yields a maximum scientific return at a minimum cost of spacecraft time.

Electron-induced electron yields of uncharged insulating materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffmann, Ryan Carl

Presented here are electron-induced electron yield measurements from high-resistivity, high-yield materials to support a model for the yield of uncharged insulators. These measurements are made using a low-fluence, pulsed electron beam and charge neutralization to minimize charge accumulation. They show charging induced changes in the total yield, as much as 75%, even for incident electron fluences of <3 fC/mm2, when compared to an uncharged yield. The evolution of the yield as charge accumulates in the material is described in terms of electron recapture, based on the extended Chung and Everhart model of the electron emission spectrum and the dual dynamic layer model for internal charge distribution. This model is used to explain charge-induced total yield modification measured in high-yield ceramics, and to provide a method for determining electron yield of uncharged, highly insulating, high-yield materials. A sequence of materials with progressively greater charge susceptibility is presented. This series starts with low-yield Kapton derivative called CP1, then considers a moderate-yield material, Kapton HN, and ends with a high-yield ceramic, polycrystalline aluminum oxide. Applicability of conductivity (both radiation induced conductivity (RIC) and dark current conductivity) to the yield is addressed. Relevance of these results to spacecraft charging is also discussed.

Consequences of Growing Up Poor.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duncan, Greg J., Ed.; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne, Ed.

The consequences and correlates of growing up poor as well as the mechanisms through which poverty influences children are explored. This book is organized with a primary focus on research findings and a secondary concern with policy implications. The chapters are: (1) "Poor Families, Poor Outcomes: The Well-Being of Children and Youth" (Jeanne…

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Poor Sleep Quality among Chinese Elderly in an Urban Community: Results from the Shanghai Aging Study

PubMed Central

Zhao, Qianhua; Guo, Qihao; Meng, Haijiao; Hong, Zhen; Ding, Ding

2013-01-01

Background Sleep disorders causes a significant negative effect on mental and physical health, particularly among the elderly. The disease burden and risk factors of poor sleep quality of the elderly need to be verified using a validated form of measurement in urban mainland China. Methods This study included 1086 community residents aged ≥60 years who completed the Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (CPSQI). Poor sleeper was defined by a CPSQI global score of >5. Subjects also accepted the neurological and neuropsychological assessments, including the Mini-Mental State Examination, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (ZSAS). A history of chronic diseases was confirmed by the medical records of each participant. Results The prevalence of poor sleep quality in this population was 41.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 38.6–44.5%), with a higher rate observed in elderly females (45.8% [95% CI = 41.9–49.7%]) than that in elderly males (35.8% [95% CI = 31.4–40.1%]). The prevalence rate increased with age, from 32.1% (95% CI = 27.8–36.4%) in those aged 60–69 years to 52.5% (95% CI = 45.9–59.1%) in those aged ≥80 years (p value for trend<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that age (OR = 1.03[95% CI = 1.01–1.05], p<0.001), less education duration (OR = 1.04 [95% CI = 1.01–1.08, p = 0.014), living alone (OR = 1.62 [95% CI = 1.02–2.58], p = 0.04), anxiety (ZSAS score: OR = 1.09 [95% CI = 1.05–1.12], p<0.001), number of chronic disease (OR = 1.18 [95% CI = 1.07–1.30], p = 0.14) and arthritis (OR = 1.45[95% CI = 1.05–2.01], p = 0.025) were risk factors of poor sleep quality. Conclusions Poor sleep quality is highly prevalent among elderly Chinese residents in urban Shanghai. Growing attention and comprehensive countermeasures involving psycho-social and personal activities

A 'Scottish Poor Law of Lunacy'? Poor Law, Lunacy Law and Scotland's parochial asylums.

PubMed

Farquharson, Lauren

2017-03-01

Scotland's parochial asylums are unfamiliar institutional spaces. Representing the concrete manifestation of the collision between two spheres of legislation, the Poor Law and the Lunacy Law, six such asylums were constructed in the latter half of the nineteenth century. These sites expressed the enduring mandate of the Scottish Poor Law 1845 over the domain of 'madness'. They were institutions whose very existence was fashioned at the directive of the local arm of the Poor Law, the parochial board, and they constituted a continuing 'Scottish Poor Law of Lunacy'. Their origins and operation significantly subverted the intentions and objectives of the Lunacy Act 1857, the aim of which had been to institute a public district asylum network with nationwide coverage.

Satellite-based assessment of grassland yields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2015-04-01

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

The Plumbing of Land Surface Models: Is Poor Performance a Result of Methodology or Data Quality?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haughton, Ned; Abramowitz, Gab; Pitman, Andy J.; Or, Dani; Best, Martin J.; Johnson, Helen R.; Balsamo, Gianpaolo; Boone, Aaron; Cuntz, Matthais; Decharme, Bertrand;

Simulating the Yield Impacts of Organ-Level Quantitative Trait Loci Associated With Drought Response in Maize: A “Gene-to-Phenotype” Modeling Approach

PubMed Central

Chenu, Karine; Chapman, Scott C.; Tardieu, François; McLean, Greg; Welcker, Claude; Hammer, Graeme L.

2009-01-01

Under drought, substantial genotype–environment (G × E) interactions impede breeding progress for yield. Identifying genetic controls associated with yield response is confounded by poor genetic correlations across testing environments. Part of this problem is related to our inability to account for the interplay of genetic controls, physiological traits, and environmental conditions throughout the crop cycle. We propose a modeling approach to bridge this “gene-to-phenotype” gap. For maize under drought, we simulated the impact of quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling two key processes (leaf and silk elongation) that influence crop growth, water use, and grain yield. Substantial G × E interaction for yield was simulated for hypothetical recombinant inbred lines (RILs) across different seasonal patterns of drought. QTL that accelerated leaf elongation caused an increase in crop leaf area and yield in well-watered or preflowering water deficit conditions, but a reduction in yield under terminal stresses (as such “leafy” genotypes prematurely exhausted the water supply). The QTL impact on yield was substantially enhanced by including pleiotropic effects of these QTL on silk elongation and on consequent grain set. The simulations obtained illustrated the difficulty of interpreting the genetic control of yield for genotypes influenced only by the additive effects of QTL associated with leaf and silk growth. The results highlight the potential of integrative simulation modeling for gene-to-phenotype prediction and for exploiting G × E interactions for complex traits such as drought tolerance. PMID:19786622

Care initiation area yields dramatic results.

PubMed

2009-03-01

The ED at Gaston Memorial Hospital in Gastonia, NC, has achieved dramatic results in key department metrics with a Care Initiation Area (CIA) and a physician in triage. Here's how the ED arrived at this winning solution: Leadership was trained in and implemented the Kaizen method, which eliminates redundant or inefficient process steps. Simulation software helped determine additional space needed by analyzing arrival patterns and other key data. After only two days of meetings, new ideas were implemented and tested.

Simulation of saltwater intrusion in a poorly karstified coastal aquifer in Lebanon (Eastern Mediterranean)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khadra, Wisam M.; Stuyfzand, Pieter J.

2018-03-01

To date, there has been no agreement on the best way to simulate saltwater intrusion (SWI) in karst aquifers. An equivalent porous medium (EPM) is usually assumed without justification of its applicability. In this paper, SWI in a poorly karstified aquifer in Lebanon is simulated in various ways and compared to measurements. Time series analysis of rainfall and aquifer response is recommended to decide whether quickflow through conduits can be safely ignored. This aids in justifying the selection of the exemplified EPM model. To examine the improvement of SWI representation when discrete features (DFs) are embedded in the model domain, the results of a coupled discrete-continuum (CDC) approach (a hybrid EPM-DF approach) are compared to the EPM model. The two approaches yielded reasonable patterns of hydraulic head and groundwater salinity, which seem trustworthy enough for management purposes. The CDC model also reproduced some local anomalous chloride patterns, being more adaptable with respect to the measurements. It improved the overall accuracy of salinity predictions at wells and better represented the fresh-brackish water interface. Therefore, the CDC approach can be beneficial in modeling SWI in poorly karstified aquifers, and should be compared with the results of the EPM method to decide whether the differences in the outcome at local scale warrant its (more complicated) application. The simulation utilized the SEAWAT code since it is density dependent and public domain, and it enjoys widespread application. Including DFs necessitated manual handling because the selected code has no built-in option for such features.

Educational attainment in poor comprehenders

PubMed Central

Ricketts, Jessie; Sperring, Rachael; Nation, Kate

2014-01-01

To date, only one study has investigated educational attainment in poor (reading) comprehenders, providing evidence of poor performance on national UK school tests at age 11 years relative to peers (Cain and Oakhill, 2006). In the present study, we adopted a longitudinal approach, tracking attainment on such tests from 11 years to the end of compulsory schooling in the UK (age 16 years). We aimed to investigate the proposal that educational weaknesses (defined as poor performance on national assessments) might become more pronounced over time, as the curriculum places increasing demands on reading comprehension. Participants comprised 15 poor comprehenders and 15 controls; groups were matched for chronological age, nonverbal reasoning ability and decoding skill. Children were identified at age 9 years using standardized measures of nonverbal reasoning, decoding and reading comprehension. These measures, along with a measure of oral vocabulary knowledge, were repeated at age 11 years. Data on educational attainment were collected from all participants (n = 30) at age 11 and from a subgroup (n = 21) at 16 years. Compared to controls, educational attainment in poor comprehenders was lower at ages 11 and 16 years, an effect that was significant at 11 years. When poor comprehenders were compared to national performance levels, they showed significantly lower performance at both time points. Low educational attainment was not evident for all poor comprehenders. Nonetheless, our findings point to a link between reading comprehension difficulties in mid to late childhood and poor educational outcomes at ages 11 and 16 years. At these ages, pupils in the UK are making key transitions: they move from primary to secondary schools at 11, and out of compulsory schooling at 16. PMID:24904464

Field Measurements of Black Carbon Yields from Gas Flaring.

PubMed

Conrad, Bradley M; Johnson, Matthew R

2017-02-07

Black carbon (BC) emissions from gas flaring in the oil and gas industry are postulated to have critical impacts on climate and public health, but actual emission rates remain poorly characterized. This paper presents in situ field measurements of BC emission rates and flare gas volume-specific BC yields for a diverse range of flares. Measurements were performed during a series of field campaigns in Mexico and Ecuador using the sky-LOSA optical measurement technique, in concert with comprehensive Monte Carlo-based uncertainty analyses. Parallel on-site measurements of flare gas flow rate and composition were successfully performed at a subset of locations enabling direct measurements of fuel-specific BC yields from flares under field conditions. Quantified BC emission rates from individual flares spanned more than 4 orders of magnitude (up to 53.7 g/s). In addition, emissions during one notable ∼24-h flaring event (during which the plume transmissivity dropped to zero) would have been even larger than this maximum rate, which was measured as this event was ending. This highlights the likely importance of superemitters to global emission inventories. Flare gas volume-specific BC yields were shown to be strongly correlated with flare gas heating value. A newly derived correlation fitting current field data and previous lab data suggests that, in the context of recent studies investigating transport of flare-generated BC in the Arctic and globally, impacts of flaring in the energy industry may in fact be underestimated.

The Development of Infants’ use of Property-poor Sounds to Individuate Objects

PubMed Central

Wilcox, Teresa; Smith, Tracy R.

2010-01-01

There is evidence that infants as young as 4.5 months use property-rich but not property-poor sounds as the basis for individuating objects (Wilcox et al., 2006). The current research sought to identify the age at which infants demonstrate the capacity to use property-poor sounds. Using the task of Wilcox et al., infants aged 7 and 9 months were tested. The results revealed that 9- but not 7-month-olds demonstrated sensitivity to property-poor sounds (electronic tones) in an object individuation task. Additional results confirmed that the younger infants were sensitive to property-rich sounds (rattle sounds). These are the first positive results obtained with property-poor sounds in infants and lay the foundation for future research to identify the underlying basis for the developmental hierarchy favoring property-rich over property-poor sounds and possible mechanisms for change. PMID:20701977

Unfavorable polysomnographic sleep patterns predict poor sleep and poor psychological functioning 3 years later in patients with restless legs syndrome.

PubMed

Brand, Serge; Beck, Johannes; Hatzinger, Martin; Savic, Mirjana; Holsboer-Trachsler, Edith

2011-01-01

Amongst the variety of disorders affecting sleep, restless legs syndrome (RLS) merits particular attention. Little is known about long-term outcomes for sleep or psychological functioning following a diagnosis of RLS. The aim of the present study was thus to evaluate sleep and psychological functioning at a 3-year follow-up and based on polysomnographic measurements. Thirty-eight patients (18 female and 20 male patients; mean age: 56.06, SD = 12.07) with RLS and sleep electroencephalographic recordings were followed-up 33 months later. Participants completed a series of self-rating questionnaires related to sleep and psychological functioning. Additionally, they completed a sleep log for 7 consecutive days. Age, male gender, increased light sleep (S1, S2) and sleep onset latency, along with low sleep efficiency, predicted psychological functioning and sleep 33 months later. Specifically, sleep fragmentation predicted poor psychological functioning, and both sleep fragmentation and light sleep predicted poor sleep. In patients with RLS, irrespective of medication or duration of treatment, poor objective sleep patterns at diagnosis predicted both poor psychological functioning and poor sleep about 3 years after diagnosis. The pattern of results suggests the need for more thorough medical and psychotherapeutic treatment and monitoring of patients with RLS. © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The yield and post-yield behavior of high-density polyethylene

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Semeliss, M. A.; Wong, R.; Tuttle, M. E.

1990-01-01

An experimental and analytical evaluation was made of the yield and post-yield behavior of high-density polyethylene, a semi-crystalline thermoplastic. Polyethylene was selected for study because it is very inexpensive and readily available in the form of thin-walled tubes. Thin-walled tubular specimens were subjected to axial loads and internal pressures, such that the specimens were subjected to a known biaxial loading. A constant octahederal shear stress rate was imposed during all tests. The measured yield and post-yield behavior was compared with predictions based on both isotropic and anisotropic models. Of particular interest was whether inelastic behavior was sensitive to the hydrostatic stress level. The major achievements and conclusions reached are discussed.

An Intestinal "Transformers"-like Nanocarrier System for Enhancing the Oral Bioavailability of Poorly Water-Soluble Drugs.

PubMed

Chuang, Er-Yuan; Lin, Kun-Ju; Huang, Tring-Yo; Chen, Hsin-Lung; Miao, Yang-Bao; Lin, Po-Yen; Chen, Chiung-Tong; Juang, Jyuhn-Huarng; Sung, Hsing-Wen

2018-06-06

Increasing the intestinal dissolution of orally administered poorly water-soluble drugs that have poor oral bioavailability to a therapeutically effective level has long been an elusive goal. In this work, an approach that can greatly enhance the oral bioavailability of a poorly water-soluble drug such as curcumin (CUR) is developed, using a "Transformers"-like nanocarrier system (TLNS) that can self-emulsify the drug molecules in the intestinal lumen to form nanoemulsions. Owing to its known anti-inflammation activity, the use of CUR in treating pancreatitis is evaluated herein. Structural changes of the TLNS in the intestinal environment to form the CUR-laden nanoemulsions are confirmed in vitro. The therapeutic efficacy of this TLNS is evaluated in rats with experimentally induced acute pancreatitis (AP). Notably, the CUR-laden nanoemulsions that are obtained using the proposed TLNS can passively target intestinal M cells, in which they are transcytosed and then transported into the pancreatic tissues via the intestinal lymphatic system. The pancreases in rats that are treated with the TLNS yield approximately 12 times stronger CUR signals than their counterparts receiving free CUR, potentially improving the recovery of AP. These findings demonstrate that the proposed TLNS can markedly increase the intestinal drug dissolution, making oral delivery a favorable noninvasive means of administering poorly water-soluble drugs.

An adapted yield criterion for the evolution of subsequent yield surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Küsters, N.; Brosius, A.

2017-09-01

In numerical analysis of sheet metal forming processes, the anisotropic material behaviour is often modelled with isotropic work hardening and an average Lankford coefficient. In contrast, experimental observations show an evolution of the Lankford coefficients, which can be associated with a yield surface change due to kinematic and distortional hardening. Commonly, extensive efforts are carried out to describe these phenomena. In this paper an isotropic material model based on the Yld2000-2d criterion is adapted with an evolving yield exponent in order to change the yield surface shape. The yield exponent is linked to the accumulative plastic strain. This change has the effect of a rotating yield surface normal. As the normal is directly related to the Lankford coefficient, the change can be used to model the evolution of the Lankford coefficient during yielding. The paper will focus on the numerical implementation of the adapted material model for the FE-code LS-Dyna, mpi-version R7.1.2-d. A recently introduced identification scheme [1] is used to obtain the parameters for the evolving yield surface and will be briefly described for the proposed model. The suitability for numerical analysis will be discussed for deep drawing processes in general. Efforts for material characterization and modelling will be compared to other common yield surface descriptions. Besides experimental efforts and achieved accuracy, the potential of flexibility in material models and the risk of ambiguity during identification are of major interest in this paper.

Action spectra of photosystems II and I and quantum yield of photosynthesis in leaves in State 1.

PubMed

Laisk, Agu; Oja, Vello; Eichelmann, Hillar; Dall'Osto, Luca

2014-02-01

The spectral global quantum yield (YII, electrons/photons absorbed) of photosystem II (PSII) was measured in sunflower leaves in State 1 using monochromatic light. The global quantum yield of PSI (YI) was measured using low-intensity monochromatic light flashes and the associated transmittance change at 810nm. The 810-nm signal change was calibrated based on the number of electrons generated by PSII during the flash (4·O2 evolution) which arrived at the PSI donor side after a delay of 2ms. The intrinsic quantum yield of PSI (yI, electrons per photon absorbed by PSI) was measured at 712nm, where photon absorption by PSII was small. The results were used to resolve the individual spectra of the excitation partitioning coefficients between PSI (aI) and PSII (aII) in leaves. For comparison, pigment-protein complexes for PSII and PSI were isolated, separated by sucrose density ultracentrifugation, and their optical density was measured. A good correlation was obtained for the spectral excitation partitioning coefficients measured by these different methods. The intrinsic yield of PSI was high (yI=0.88), but it absorbed only about 1/3 of quanta; consequently, about 2/3 of quanta were absorbed by PSII, but processed with the low intrinsic yield yII=0.63. In PSII, the quantum yield of charge separation was 0.89 as detected by variable fluorescence Fv/Fm, but 29% of separated charges recombined (Laisk A, Eichelmann H and Oja V, Photosynth. Res. 113, 145-155). At wavelengths less than 580nm about 30% of excitation is absorbed by pigments poorly connected to either photosystem, most likely carotenoids bound in pigment-protein complexes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Economic effects of poor IAQ

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Haymore, C.; Odom, R.

Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) takes its toll in a variety of ways. It damages health and possessions; it lowers productivity at work; and it diverts resources to diagnosing and solving problems that result from it. Although the economic costs of some of these damages are fairly tangible and easy to quantify, a large portion are hidden. The cumulative impact can easily reach into the billions of dollars. The cost to diagnose, mitigate, and litigate IAQ problems is evidenced by the burgeoning number of businesses providing these services. A recent EPA survey indicated that over 1,500 firms specialize in IAQmore » services, a 25-percent increase from 1988. The median price for evaluating and balancing ventilation systems ranges from $250 to $1,500. The median for duct-cleaning service is about $500 and for asbestos abatement and construction/renovation, about $5,000. Costs can be as high as $50,000 for some of these services. The economic costs of poor IAQ also include the actual damages to property caused by contaminants. Indoor air pollutants can damage metals, paints, textiles, paper, and magnetic storage media and can cause increased soiling, deterioration of appearance, and reduced service life for furniture draperies, interiors, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. Injury to people represent an even larger cost of poor IAQ. EPA ranks IAQ problems as one of the largest remaining health risks in the US. Health effects range from the mildly irritating, such as headaches and allergies, to the life threatening, such as cancer and heart disease. One study indicated that for every 100 white collar workers, poor IAQ would cause an extra 24 doctor visits per year. This amounts to another $288 million.« less

Rich Donors, Poor Countries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, M. A.

2012-01-01

The shifting ideological winds of foreign aid donors have driven their policy towards governments in poor countries. Donors supported state-led development policies in poor countries from the 1940s to the 1970s; market and private-sector driven reforms during the 1980s and 1990s; and returned their attention to the state with an emphasis on…

Study of the strong {sigma}{sub c}{yields}{lambda}{sub c}{pi},{sigma}{sub c}*{yields}{lambda}{sub c}{pi} and {xi}{sub c}*{yields}{xi}{sub c}{pi} decays in a nonrelativistic quark model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Albertus, C.; Nieves, J.; Hernandez, E.

We present results for the strong widths corresponding to the {sigma}{sub c}{yields}{lambda}{sub c}{pi}, {sigma}{sub c}*{yields}{lambda}{sub c}{pi} and {xi}{sub c}*{yields}{xi}{sub c}{pi} decays. The calculations have been done in a nonrelativistic constituent quark model with wave functions that take advantage of the constraints imposed by heavy quark symmetry. Partial conservation of axial current hypothesis allows us to determine the strong vertices from an analysis of the axial current matrix elements. Our results {gamma}({sigma}{sub c}{sup ++}{yields}{lambda}{sub c}{sup +}{pi}{sup +})=2.41{+-}0.07{+-}0.02 MeV, {gamma}({sigma}{sub c}{sup +}{yields}{lambda}{sub c}{sup +}{pi}{sup 0})=2.79{+-}0.08{+-}0.02 MeV, {gamma}({sigma}{sub c}{sup 0}{yields}{lambda}{sub c}{sup +}{pi}{sup -})=2.37{+-}0.07{+-}0.02 MeV, {gamma}({sigma}{sub c}*{sup ++}{yields}{lambda}{sub c}{sup +}{pi}{sup +})=17.52{+-}0.74{+-}0.12 MeV, {gamma}({sigma}{sub c}*{supmore » +}{yields}{lambda}{sub c}{sup +}{pi}{sup 0})=17.31{+-}0.73{+-}0.12 MeV, {gamma}({sigma}{sub c}*{sup 0}{yields}{lambda}{sub c}{sup +}{pi}{sup -})=16.90{+-}0.71{+-}0.12 MeV, {gamma}({xi}{sub c}*{sup +}{yields}{xi}{sub c}{sup 0}{pi}{sup +}+{xi}{sub c}{sup +}{pi}{sup 0})=3.18{+-}0.10{+-}0.01 MeV, and {gamma}({xi}{sub c}*{sup 0}{yields}{xi}{sub c}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}+{xi}{sub c}{sup 0}{pi}{sup 0})=3.03{+-}0.10{+-}0.01 MeV are in good agreement with experimental determinations.« less

Quantifying yield gaps in wheat production in Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schierhorn, Florian; Faramarzi, Monireh; Prishchepov, Alexander V.; Koch, Friedrich J.; Müller, Daniel

2014-08-01

Crop yields must increase substantially to meet the increasing demands for agricultural products. Crop yield increases are particularly important for Russia because low crop yields prevail across Russia’s widespread and fertile land resources. However, reliable data are lacking regarding the spatial distribution of potential yields in Russia, which can be used to determine yield gaps. We used a crop growth model to determine the yield potentials and yield gaps of winter and spring wheat at the provincial level across European Russia. We modeled the annual yield potentials from 1995 to 2006 with optimal nitrogen supplies for both rainfed and irrigated conditions. Overall, the results suggest yield gaps of 1.51-2.10 t ha-1, or 44-52% of the yield potential under rainfed conditions. Under irrigated conditions, yield gaps of 3.14-3.30 t ha-1, or 62-63% of the yield potential, were observed. However, recurring droughts cause large fluctuations in yield potentials under rainfed conditions, even when the nitrogen supply is optimal, particularly in the highly fertile black soil areas of southern European Russia. The highest yield gaps (up to 4 t ha-1) under irrigated conditions were detected in the steppe areas in southeastern European Russia along the border of Kazakhstan. Improving the nutrient and water supply and using crop breeds that are adapted to the frequent drought conditions are important for reducing yield gaps in European Russia. Our regional assessment helps inform policy and agricultural investors and prioritize research that aims to increase crop production in this important region for global agricultural markets.

Benefits of seasonal forecasts of crop yields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakurai, G.; Okada, M.; Nishimori, M.; Yokozawa, M.

2017-12-01

Major factors behind recent fluctuations in food prices include increased biofuel production and oil price fluctuations. In addition, several extreme climate events that reduced worldwide food production coincided with upward spikes in food prices. The stabilization of crop yields is one of the most important tasks to stabilize food prices and thereby enhance food security. Recent development of technologies related to crop modeling and seasonal weather forecasting has made it possible to forecast future crop yields for maize and soybean. However, the effective use of these technologies remains limited. Here we present the potential benefits of seasonal crop-yield forecasts on a global scale for choice of planting day. For this purpose, we used a model (PRYSBI-2) that can well replicate past crop yields both for maize and soybean. This model system uses a Bayesian statistical approach to estimate the parameters of a basic process-based model of crop growth. The spatial variability of model parameters was considered by estimating the posterior distribution of the parameters from historical yield data by using the Markov-chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method with a resolution of 1.125° × 1.125°. The posterior distributions of model parameters were estimated for each spatial grid with 30 000 MCMC steps of 10 chains each. By using this model and the estimated parameter distributions, we were able to estimate not only crop yield but also levels of associated uncertainty. We found that the global average crop yield increased about 30% as the result of the optimal selection of planting day and that the seasonal forecast of crop yield had a large benefit in and near the eastern part of Brazil and India for maize and the northern area of China for soybean. In these countries, the effects of El Niño and Indian Ocean dipole are large. The results highlight the importance of developing a system to forecast global crop yields.

[Poor insight and psychosis].

PubMed

Giotakos, O

2017-01-01

A variety of phenomena might be considered as reflecting impaired insight in psychosis, like failure to recognize signs, symptoms or disease, failure to derive appropriate cognitive representations, despite recognition of the disease, and misattribution of the source or cause of the disease. The unawareness of tardive dyskinesia symptoms in schizophrenic patients points that self-awareness deficits in schizophrenia may be domain specific. Poor insight is an independent phenomenological and a prevalent feature in psychotic disorders in general, and in schizophrenia in particular, but we don't know yet if delusions in schizophrenia are the result of an entirely normal attempt to account for abnormal perceptual experiences or a product of abnormal experience but of normal reasoning. The theoretical approaches regarding impaired insight include the disturbed perceptual input, the impaired linkage between thought and emotion and the breakdown of the process of self-monitoring and error checking. The inability to distinguish between internally and externally generated mental events has been described by the metarepresentation theory. This theory includes the awareness of ones' goals, which leads to disorders of willed action, the awareness of intention, which leads to movement disorders, and the awareness of intentions of others, which leads to paranoid delusions. The theory of metarepresentation implies mainly output mechanisms, like the frontal cortex, while the input mechanism implies posterior brain systems, including the parietal lobe. There are many similarities between the disturbances of awareness seen in schizophrenia and those seen as a result of known neurological impairment. Neuropsychological models of impaired insight typically attribute the disturbance to any of a variety of core deficits in the processing of information. In this respect, lack of insight is on conceptual par with alogia, apraxia or aphasia in reflecting disturbed cognitive processing. In

From approach to inhibition: the influence of power on responses to poor performers.

PubMed

Ferguson, Amanda J; Ormiston, Margaret E; Moon, Henry

2010-03-01

This article examines how relative differences in power affect responses to poor performers in organizations. We predicted that higher power individuals would engage in approach-related behaviors, whereas lower power individuals would be inhibited when responding to poor performers. Results from a scenario study and a field study generally supported this prediction, indicating that power was positively related to training or confronting a poor performer and negatively related to compensating for or rejecting a poor performer. A second scenario study investigated the effect of the interaction of power and emotion on individual responses to poor performers. Results showed that the type of emotion expressed moderated the effect of power on inhibition-related responses. We discuss implications for managing poor performers with relative power differences. 2010 APA, all rights reserved

Using the community pharmacy to identify patients at risk of poor asthma control and factors which contribute to this poor control.

PubMed

Armour, Carol L; Lemay, Kate; Saini, Bandana; Reddel, Helen K; Bosnic-Anticevich, Sinthia Z; Smith, Lorraine D; Burton, Deborah; Song, Yun Ju Christine; Alles, Marie Chehani; Stewart, Kay; Emmerton, Lynne; Krass, Ines

2011-11-01

Although asthma can be well controlled by appropriate medication delivered in an appropriate way at an appropriate time, there is evidence that management is often suboptimal. This results in poor asthma control, poor quality of life, and significant morbidity. The objective of this study was to describe a population recruited in community pharmacy identified by trained community pharmacists as being at risk for poor asthma outcomes and to identify factors associated with poor asthma control. It used a cross-sectional design in 96 pharmacies in metropolitan and regional New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and Australian Capital Territory in Australia. Community pharmacists with specialized asthma training enrolled 570 patients aged ≥18 years with doctor-diagnosed asthma who were considered at risk of poor asthma outcomes and then conducted a comprehensive asthma assessment. In this assessment, asthma control was classified using a symptom and activity tool based on self-reported frequency of symptoms during the previous month and categorized as poor, fair, or good. Asthma history was discussed, and lung function and inhaler technique were also assessed by the pharmacist. Medication use/adherence was recorded from both pharmacy records and the Brief Medication Questionnaire (BMQ). The symptom and activity tool identified that 437 (77%) recruited patients had poor asthma control. Of the 570 patients, 117 (21%) smoked, 108 (19%) had an action plan, 372 (69%) used combination of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/long-acting β(2)-agonist (LABA) medications, and only 17-28% (depending on device) used their inhaler device correctly. In terms of adherence, 90% had their ICS or ICS/LABA dispensed <6 times in the previous 6 months, which is inconsistent with regular use; this low adherence was confirmed from the BMQ scores. A logistic regression model showed that patients who smoked had incorrect inhaler technique or low adherence (assessed by either dispensing history or

Hidden Nickel Deficiency? Nickel Fertilization via Soil Improves Nitrogen Metabolism and Grain Yield in Soybean Genotypes.

PubMed

Siqueira Freitas, Douglas; Wurr Rodak, Bruna; Rodrigues Dos Reis, André; de Barros Reis, Fabio; Soares de Carvalho, Teotonio; Schulze, Joachim; Carbone Carneiro, Marco A; Guimarães Guilherme, Luiz R

2018-01-01

Nickel (Ni)-a component of urease and hydrogenase-was the latest nutrient to be recognized as an essential element for plants. However, to date there are no records of Ni deficiency for annual species cultivated under field conditions, possibly because of the non-appearance of obvious and distinctive symptoms, i.e., a hidden (or latent) deficiency. Soybean, a crop cultivated on soils poor in extractable Ni, has a high dependence on biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), in which Ni plays a key role. Thus, we hypothesized that Ni fertilization in soybean genotypes results in a better nitrogen physiological function and in higher grain production due to the hidden deficiency of this micronutrient. To verify this hypothesis, two simultaneous experiments were carried out, under greenhouse and field conditions, with Ni supply of 0.0 or 0.5 mg of Ni kg -1 of soil. For this, we used 15 soybean genotypes and two soybean isogenic lines (urease positive, Eu3 ; urease activity-null, eu3-a , formerly eu3-e1 ). Plants were evaluated for yield, Ni and N concentration, photosynthesis, and N metabolism. Nickel fertilization resulted in greater grain yield in some genotypes, indicating the hidden deficiency of Ni in both conditions. Yield gains of up to 2.9 g per plant in greenhouse and up to 1,502 kg ha -1 in field conditions were associated with a promoted N metabolism, namely, leaf N concentration, ammonia, ureides, urea, and urease activity, which separated the genotypes into groups of Ni responsiveness. Nickel supply also positively affected photosynthesis in the genotypes, never causing detrimental effects, except for the eu3-a mutant, which due to the absence of ureolytic activity accumulated excess urea in leaves and had reduced yield. In summary, the effect of Ni on the plants was positive and the extent of this effect was controlled by genotype-environment interaction. The application of 0.5 mg kg -1 of Ni resulted in safe levels of this element in grains for human health

Screening soybean germplasm and commerical varieties for resistance to Phomopsis seed decay: results from 2012 trials

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soybean Phomopsis seed decay (PSD) causes poor seed quality and suppresses yield in most soybean production areas of the United States. In 2009, PSD caused a yield loss of over 12 million bushels in 16 southern states. The disease is primarily caused by Phomopsis longicolla along with other Phomopsi...

Evaluation of the CEAS trend and monthly weather data models for soybean yields in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

French, V. (Principal Investigator)

1982-01-01

The CEAS models evaluated use historic trend and meteorological and agroclimatic variables to forecast soybean yields in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana. Indicators of yield reliability and current measures of modeled yield reliability were obtained from bootstrap tests on the end of season models. Indicators of yield reliability show that the state models are consistently better than the crop reporting district (CRD) models. One CRD model is especially poor. At the state level, the bias of each model is less than one half quintal/hectare. The standard deviation is between one and two quintals/hectare. The models are adequate in terms of coverage and are to a certain extent consistent with scientific knowledge. Timely yield estimates can be made during the growing season using truncated models. The models are easy to understand and use and are not costly to operate. Other than the specification of values used to determine evapotranspiration, the models are objective. Because the method of variable selection used in the model development is adequately documented, no evaluation can be made of the objectivity and cost of redevelopment of the model.

Impact of scabies in resource-poor communities.

PubMed

Heukelbach, Jorg; Mazigo, Humphrey D; Ugbomoiko, Uade S

2013-04-01

Features of endemic scabies are specific in resource-poor and underprivileged communities, with implications for control measures on the community level. In this review, these special aspects are addressed. Scabies is endemic in many resource-poor communities, with a prevalence of 20% and higher. Transmission is influenced by social attitudes, migration, access to healthcare services, housing conditions, hygiene conditions, and crowding. Endemic scabies occurs with severe infestations, complications, and sequels, mainly in children. Sleep loss as a result of scabies-related itching is common. Complications include secondary infections by group A streptococci and acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis. Shame, restriction of leisure activities, and stigmatization are common. Treatment of scabies includes a variety of topical compounds, but control on the community level is not an easy task. As ivermectin kills a variety of other parasites, this oral drug is increasingly used for mass treatment. Intervention should address socioemotional aspects using an integrated approach with professionals from different areas, and the community. Scabies is a neglected disease and needs to be perceived as an important public health problem causing morbidity in many resource-poor communities. Future work on epidemiology, clinical aspects, transmission dynamics, socioeconomic aspects, and sustainable control in resource-poor communities is needed.

Random Forests for Global and Regional Crop Yield Predictions.

PubMed

Jeong, Jig Han; Resop, Jonathan P; Mueller, Nathaniel D; Fleisher, David H; Yun, Kyungdahm; Butler, Ethan E; Timlin, Dennis J; Shim, Kyo-Moon; Gerber, James S; Reddy, Vangimalla R; Kim, Soo-Hyung

2016-01-01

Accurate predictions of crop yield are critical for developing effective agricultural and food policies at the regional and global scales. We evaluated a machine-learning method, Random Forests (RF), for its ability to predict crop yield responses to climate and biophysical variables at global and regional scales in wheat, maize, and potato in comparison with multiple linear regressions (MLR) serving as a benchmark. We used crop yield data from various sources and regions for model training and testing: 1) gridded global wheat grain yield, 2) maize grain yield from US counties over thirty years, and 3) potato tuber and maize silage yield from the northeastern seaboard region. RF was found highly capable of predicting crop yields and outperformed MLR benchmarks in all performance statistics that were compared. For example, the root mean square errors (RMSE) ranged between 6 and 14% of the average observed yield with RF models in all test cases whereas these values ranged from 14% to 49% for MLR models. Our results show that RF is an effective and versatile machine-learning method for crop yield predictions at regional and global scales for its high accuracy and precision, ease of use, and utility in data analysis. RF may result in a loss of accuracy when predicting the extreme ends or responses beyond the boundaries of the training data.

Yield Advances in Peanut

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Average yields of peanut in the U.S. set an all time record of 4,695 kg ha-1 in 2012. This far exceeded the previous record yield of 3,837 kg ha-1 in 2008. Favorable weather conditions undoubtedly contributed to the record yields in 2012; however, these record yields would not have been achievable...

Effects of capillarity and microtopography on wetland specific yield

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sumner, D.M.

2007-01-01

Hydrologic models aid in describing water flows and levels in wetlands. Frequently, these models use a specific yield conceptualization to relate water flows to water level changes. Traditionally, a simple conceptualization of specific yield is used, composed of two constant values for above- and below-surface water levels and neglecting the effects of soil capillarity and land surface microtopography. The effects of capiltarity and microtopography on specific yield were evaluated at three wetland sites in the Florida Everglades. The effect of capillarity on specific yield was incorporated based on the fillable pore space within a soil moisture profile at hydrostatic equilibrium with the water table. The effect of microtopography was based on areal averaging of topographically varying values of specific yield. The results indicate that a more physically-based conceptualization of specific yield incorporating capillary and microtopographic considerations can be substantially different from the traditional two-part conceptualization, and from simpler conceptualizations incorporating only capillarity or only microtopography. For the sites considered, traditional estimates of specific yield could under- or overestimate the more physically based estimates by a factor of two or more. The results suggest that consideration of both capillarity and microtopography is important to the formulation of specific yield in physically based hydrologic models of wetlands. ?? 2007, The Society of Wetland Scientists.

Parenting Efficacy and the Early School Adjustment of Poor and Near-Poor Black Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Aurora P.; Choi, Jeong-Kyun; Bentler, Peter M.

2009-01-01

This short-term longitudinal study investigates whether maternal educational attainment, maternal employment status, and family income affect African American children's behavioral and cognitive functioning over time through their impacts on mothers' psychological functioning and parenting efficacy in a sample of 100 poor and near-poor single…

The Impact of Location and Growing Medium on Harvest Yield and Flavor of Basil and Squash Microgreens

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leal, J.; Ventura, C. J.

2016-12-01

The purpose of this experiment is to discover the most efficient, feasible way to produce a high yield of flavorful microgreens within the best growing medium and building location at the Stanford Educational Farm. In recent years, microgreens, young, small edible greens utilized as flavor garnishes for fine dining, have evolved into an immensely profitable market that will continue to expand and prosper. To capitalize on such opportunities, the primary metrics focused upon are harvest yield and flavor of basil and squash microgreens, as they develop in different concentrations of quick root and compost while located in either a greenhouse or lath house. It was hypothesized that if basil and squash microgreens were grown in a mixture of 50% compost and 50% quick root in the greenhouse, then they would produce the greatest harvest yield and maximum amount of flavor. The general experimental protocol includes monitoring the growth of the microgreens, then harvesting directly after the first true leaves begin to emerge. Upon harvest, each set of microgreens are separated into different clear glass jars to place on a small scale for weighing to determine the yield and tasting the leaves to analyze the flavor content. The highest yield of basil (63 grams) developed in a tray of 100% quick root in the lath house, while the greatest yield of squash (51 grams) succeeded in 100% quick root in the greenhouse. Overall however, the basil grew fastest in the greenhouse but tasted stronger in the lath house. Additionally, because the harvest yield and flavor results were so poor in all other locations and growing mediums for squash during the first trial, it cannot be considered a viable microgreen. In the future, more trials should be conducted for greater numbers of trays of microgreens to collect more data. The nutritional value of microgreens should also be explored further to obtain a holistic approach to the value of these plants from seed to harvest to consumption.

Water yield and hydrology

Treesearch

Pamela J. Edwards; Charles A. Troendle

2012-01-01

Investigations of hydrologic responses resulting from reducing vegetation density are fairly common throughout the Eastern United States. Although most studies have focused on the potential for increasing water yields or documenting effects from intensive practices that far exceed what would be done for fuel-reduction objectives, data from some less-intensive...

CORY: A Computer Program for Determining Dimension Stock Yields

Treesearch

Charles C Brunner; Marshall S. White; Fred M. Lamb; James G. Schroeder

1989-01-01

CORY is a computer program that calculates random-width, fixed-length cutting yields and best sawing sequences for either rip- or crosscut-first operations. It differs from other yield calculating programs by evaluating competing cuttings through conflict resolution models. Comparisons with Program YIELD resulted in a 9 percent greater cutting volume and a 98 percent...

Electron Stimulated Desorption Yields at the Mercury's Surface Based On Hybrid Simulation Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Travnicek, P. M.; Schriver, D.; Orlando, T. M.; Hellinger, P.

2016-12-01

In terms of previous research concerning the solar wind sputtering process, most of the focus has been on ion sputtering by precipitating solar wind protons, however, precipitating electrons can also result in the desorption of neutrals and ions from Mercury's surface and represents a potentially significant source of exospheric and heavy ion components. Electron stimulated desorption (ESD) is not bound by optical selection rules and electron impact energies can vary over a much wider range, including core-level excitations that easily lead to multi-electron shake up events that can cascade into localized multiple charged states that Coulomb explode with extreme kinetic energy release (up to 8 eV = 186,000 K). While considered for the lunar exosphere, ESD has not been adequately studied or quantified as a producer of neutrals and ions. ESD is a well known process which involves the excitation (often ionization) of a surface target followed by charge ejection, bond breaking and ion expulsion due to the resultant Coulomb repulsion. Though the role of ESD processes has not been discussed much with respect to Mercury, the impinging energetic electrons that are transported through the magnetosphere and precipitate can induce significant material removal. Given the energetics and the wide band-gap nature of the minerals, the departing material may also be primarily ionic. The possible role of 5 eV - 1 keV electron stimulated desorption and dissociation in "weathering" the regolith can be significant. ESD yields will be calculated based on the ion and electron precipitation profiles for the already carried out hybrid and electron simulations. Neutral and ion cloud profiles around Mercury will be calculated and combined with those profiles expected from PSD and MIV.

Towards ab initio extremely metal-poor stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ritter, Jeremy S.; Safranek-Shrader, Chalence; Milosavljević, Miloš; Bromm, Volker

2016-12-01

Extremely metal-poor stars have been the focus of much recent attention owing to the expectation that their chemical abundances can shed light on the metal and dust yields of the earliest supernovae. We present our most realistic simulation to date of the astrophysical pathway to the first metal-enriched stars. We simulate the radiative and supernova hydrodynamic feedback of a 60 M⊙ Population III star starting from cosmological initial conditions realizing Gaussian density fluctuations. We follow the gravitational hydrodynamics of the supernova remnant at high spatial resolution through its freely expanding, adiabatic, and radiative phases, until gas, now metal-enriched, has resumed runaway gravitational collapse. Our findings are surprising: while the Population III progenitor exploded with a low energy of 1051 erg and injected an ample metal mass of 6 M⊙, the first cloud to collapse after the supernova explosion is a dense surviving primordial cloud on which the supernova blast wave deposited metals only superficially, in a thin, unresolved layer. The first metal-enriched stars can form at a very low metallicity, of only 2-5 × 10-4 Z⊙, and can inherit the parent cloud's highly elliptical, radially extended orbit in the dark matter gravitational potential.

Neonatal stroke causes poor midline motor behaviors and poor fine and gross motor skills during early infancy.

PubMed

Chen, Chao-Ying; Lo, Warren D; Heathcock, Jill C

2013-03-01

Upper extremity movements, midline behaviors, fine, and gross motor skills are frequently impaired in hemiparesis and cerebral palsy. We investigated midline toy exploration and fine and gross motor skills in infants at risk for hemiplegic cerebral palsy. Eight infants with neonatal stroke (NS) and thirteen infants with typical development (TD) were assessed from 2 to 7 months of age. The following variables were analyzed: percentage of time in midline and fine and gross motor scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID-III). Infants with neonatal stroke demonstrated poor performance in midline behaviors and fine and gross motor scores on the BSID-III. These results suggest that infants with NS have poor midline behaviors and motor skill development early in infancy. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factors associated with poor knowledge among adults on tuberculosis in Bangladesh: results from a nationwide survey.

PubMed

Hossain, Shahed; Zaman, Khalequ; Quaiyum, Abdul; Banu, Sayera; Husain, Ashaque; Islam, Akramul; Borgdorff, Martien; van Leth, Frank

2015-05-01

In 2012, Bangladesh continues to be one of the 22 high tuberculosis (TB) burden countries in the world. Although free diagnosis and management for TB is available throughout the country, case notification rate/100,000 population for new smear positive (NSP) cases under the national TB control programme (NTP) remained at around 70/100,000 population and have not changed much since 2006. Knowledge on TB disease, treatment and its management could be an important predictor for utilization of TB services and influence case detection under the NTP. Our objective is to describe knowledge of TB among newly diagnosed TB cases and community controls to assess factors associated with poor knowledge in order to identify programmatic implications for control measures. Embedded in TB prevalence survey 2007-2009, we included 240 TB cases from the TB registers and 240 persons ≥ 15 years of age randomly selected from the households where the survey was implemented. All participants were interviewed using a structured, pre-tested questionnaire to evaluate their TB knowledge. Regression analyses were done to assess associations with poor knowledge of TB. Our survey documented that overall there was fair knowledge in all domains investigated. However, based on the number of correct answers to the questionnaires, community controls showed significantly poorer knowledge than the TB cases in the domains of TB transmission (80% vs. 88%), mode of transmission (67% vs. 82%), knowing ≥ 1 suggestive symptoms including cough (78% vs. 89%), curability of TB (90% vs. 98%) and availability of free treatment (75% vs. 95%). Community controls were more likely to have poor knowledge of TB issues compared to the TB cases even after controlling for other factors such as education and occupation in a multivariate model (OR 3.46, 95% CI: 2.00-6.09). Knowledge on various aspects of TB and TB services varies significantly between TB cases and community controls in Bangladesh. The overall

Yielding and flow of colloidal glasses.

PubMed

Petekidis, Georgios; Vlassopoulos, Dimitris; Pusey, Peter N

2003-01-01

We investigate the yielding and flow of hard-sphere colloidal glasses by combining rheological measurements with the technique of light scattering echo. The polymethylmethacrylate particles used are sufficiently polydisperse that crystallization is suppressed. Creep and recovery measurements show that the glasses can tolerate surprisingly large strains, up to at least 15%, before yielding irreversibly. We attribute this behaviour to 'cage elasticity', the ability of a particle and its cage of neighbours to retain their identity under quite large distortion. Results from light scattering echo, which measures the extent of irreversible particle rearrangement under oscillatory shear, support the notion of cage elasticity. In the lower concentration glasses we find that particle trajectories are partly reversible under strains which significantly exceed the yield strain.

Closing the poor-rich gap in contraceptive use in urban Kenya: are family planning programs increasingly reaching the urban poor?

PubMed

Fotso, Jean Christophe; Speizer, Ilene S; Mukiira, Carol; Kizito, Paul; Lumumba, Vane

2013-08-27

Kenya is characterized by high unmet need for family planning (FP) and high unplanned pregnancy, in a context of urban population explosion and increased urban poverty. It witnessed an improvement of its FP and reproductive health (RH) indicators in the recent past, after a period of stalled progress. The objectives of the paper are to: a) describe inequities in modern contraceptive use, types of methods used, and the main sources of contraceptives in urban Kenya; b) examine the extent to which differences in contraceptive use between the poor and the rich widened or shrank over time; and c) attempt to relate these findings to the FP programming context, with a focus on whether the services are increasingly reaching the urban poor. We use data from the 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2008/09 Kenya demographic and health survey. Bivariate analyses describe the patterns of modern contraceptive use and the types and sources of methods used, while multivariate logistic regression models assess how the gap between the poor and the rich varied over time. The quantitative analysis is complemented by a review on the major FP/RH programs carried out in Kenya. There was a dramatic change in contraceptive use between 2003 and 2008/09 that resulted in virtually no gap between the poor and the rich in 2008/09, by contrast to the period 1993-1998 during which the improvement in contraceptive use did not significantly benefit the urban poor. Indeed, the late 1990s marked the realization by the Government of Kenya and its development partners, of the need to deliberately target the poor with family planning services. Most urban women use short-term and less effective methods, with the proportion of long-acting method users dropping by half during the review period. The proportion of private sector users also declined between 2003 and 2008/09. The narrowing gap in the recent past between the urban poor and the urban rich in the use of modern contraception is undoubtedly good news, which

Soviet test yields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vergino, Eileen S.

Soviet seismologists have published descriptions of 96 nuclear explosions conducted from 1961 through 1972 at the Semipalatinsk test site, in Kazakhstan, central Asia [Bocharov et al., 1989]. With the exception of releasing news about some of their peaceful nuclear explosions (PNEs) the Soviets have never before published such a body of information.To estimate the seismic yield of a nuclear explosion it is necessary to obtain a calibrated magnitude-yield relationship based on events with known yields and with a consistent set of seismic magnitudes. U.S. estimation of Soviet test yields has been done through application of relationships to the Soviet sites based on the U.S. experience at the Nevada Test Site (NTS), making some correction for differences due to attenuation and near-source coupling of seismic waves.

Measuring cognitive load: mixed results from a handover simulation for medical students.

PubMed

Young, John Q; Irby, David M; Barilla-LaBarca, Maria-Louise; Ten Cate, Olle; O'Sullivan, Patricia S

2016-02-01

The application of cognitive load theory to workplace-based activities such as patient handovers is hindered by the absence of a measure of the different load types. This exploratory study tests a method for measuring cognitive load during handovers. The authors developed the Cognitive Load Inventory for Handoffs (CLI4H) with items for intrinsic, extraneous, and germane load. Medical students completed the measure after participating in a simulated handover. Exploratory factor and correlation analyses were performed to collect evidence for validity. Results yielded a two-factor solution for intrinsic and germane load that explained 50 % of the variance. The extraneous load items performed poorly and were removed from the model. The score for intrinsic load correlated with the Paas Cognitive Load scale (r = 0.31, p = 0.004) and was lower for students with more prior handover training (p = 0.036). Intrinsic load did not, however, correlate with performance. Germane load did not correlate with the Paas Cognitive Load scale but did correlate as expected with performance (r = 0.30, p = 0.005) and was lower for those students with more prior handover training (p = 0.03). The CLI4H yielded mixed results with some evidence for validity of the score from the intrinsic load items. The extraneous load items performed poorly and the use of only a single item for germane load limits conclusions. The instrument requires further development and testing. Study results and limitations provide guidance to future efforts to measure cognitive load during workplace-based activities, such as handovers.

Growth and Yield Responses of Cowpea to Inoculation and Phosphorus Fertilization in Different Environments

PubMed Central

Kyei-Boahen, Stephen; Savala, Canon E. N.; Chikoye, David; Abaidoo, Robert

2017-01-01

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) is a major source of dietary protein and essential component of the cropping systems in semi-arid regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. However, yields are very low due to lack of improved cultivars, poor management practices, and limited inputs use. The objectives of this study were to assess the effects of rhizobia inoculant and P on nodulation, N accumulation and yield of two cowpea cultivars in Mozambique. Field study was conducted in three contrasting environments during the 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 seasons using randomized complete block design with four replications and four treatments. Treatments consisted of seed inoculation, application of 40 kg P2O5 ha-1, inoculation + P, and a non-inoculated control. The most probable number (MPN) technique was used to estimate the indigenous bradyrhizobia populations at the experimental sites. The rhizobia numbers at the sites varied from 5.27 × 102 to 1.07 × 103 cells g-1 soil. Inoculation increased nodule number by 34–76% and doubled nodule dry weight (78 to 160 mg plant-1). P application improved nodulation and interacted positively with the inoculant. Inoculation, P, and inoculant + P increased shoot dry weight, and shoot and grain N content across locations but increases in number of pods plant-1, seeds pod-1, and 100-seed weight were not consistent among treatments across locations. Shoot N content was consistently high for the inoculated plants and also for the inoculated + P fertilized plants, whereas the non-inoculated control plants had the lowest tissue N content. P uptake in shoot ranged from 1.72 to 3.77 g kg-1 and was higher for plants that received P fertilizer alone. Inoculation and P either alone or in combination consistently increased cowpea grain yield across locations with yields ranging from 1097 kg ha-1 for the non-inoculated control to 1674 kg ha-1 for the inoculant + P treatment. Grain protein concentration followed a similar trend as grain yield and ranged from 223 to

Mapping quantitative trait loci with additive effects and additive x additive epistatic interactions for biomass yield, grain yield, and straw yield using a doubled haploid population of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

PubMed

Li, Z K; Jiang, X L; Peng, T; Shi, C L; Han, S X; Tian, B; Zhu, Z L; Tian, J C

2014-02-28

Biomass yield is one of the most important traits for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-breeding programs. Increasing the yield of the aerial parts of wheat varieties will be an integral component of future wheat improvement; however, little is known regarding the genetic control of aerial part yield. A doubled haploid population, comprising 168 lines derived from a cross between two winter wheat cultivars, 'Huapei 3' (HP3) and 'Yumai 57' (YM57), was investigated. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) for total biomass yield, grain yield, and straw yield were determined for additive effects and additive x additive epistatic interactions using the QTLNetwork 2.0 software based on the mixed-linear model. Thirteen QTL were determined to have significant additive effects for the three yield traits, of which six also exhibited epistatic effects. Eleven significant additive x additive interactions were detected, of which seven occurred between QTL showing epistatic effects only, two occurred between QTL showing epistatic effects and additive effects, and two occurred between QTL with additive effects. These QTL explained 1.20 to 10.87% of the total phenotypic variation. The QTL with an allele originating from YM57 on chromosome 4B and another QTL contributed by HP3 alleles on chromosome 4D were simultaneously detected on the same or adjacent chromosome intervals for the three traits in two environments. Most of the repeatedly detected QTL across environments were not significant (P > 0.05). These results have implications for selection strategies in wheat biomass yield and for increasing the yield of the aerial part of wheat.

Searching for intermediate-mass black holes in extremely-metal poor galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mezcua, Mar

2016-09-01

Extremely metal-poor dwarf galaxies (XMPs) are star-forming, low-mass galaxies with metallicites highly sub-solar. Their regions of star formation could be triggered by the accretion of pristine gas from the cosmic web and harbour Population III stars. XMPs are thus ideal laboratories for searching for the seed black holes or intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) that populated the early Universe. The combination of X-ray, radio and optical observations offer the best tool for detecting such IMBHs in the local Universe. We propose Chandra observations of a sample of XMPs whose optical spectra indicate the possible presence of an active black hole of 1e4 - 1e6 Msun. The Chandra data could confirm this and yield the first detection of an IMBH in these type of galaxies.

Transapical aortic valve replacement is a safe option in patients with poor left ventricular ejection fraction: results from the Italian Transcatheter Balloon-Expandable Registry (ITER).

PubMed

D'Onofrio, Augusto; Salizzoni, Stefano; Filippini, Claudia; Agrifoglio, Marco; Alfieri, Ottavio; Chieffo, Alaide; Tarantini, Giuseppe; Gabbieri, Davide; Savini, Carlo; Immè, Sebastiano; Ribichini, Flavio; Cugola, Diego; Raviola, Eliana; Loi, Bruno; Pompei, Esmeralda; Cappai, Antioco; Cassese, Mauro; Luzi, Giampaolo; Aiello, Marco; Santini, Francesco; Rinaldi, Mauro; Gerosa, Gino

2017-11-01

The most commonly used accesses for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) are the transfemoral (TF-TAVI) and the transapical (TA-TAVI) ones. There are concerns about TA-TAVI use in patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). The aim of this retrospective multicentre study was to compare the outcomes of TA-TAVI and TF-TAVI in patients with poor LVEF. Patients with LVEF ≤35% were included in the analysis. Data were obtained from the Italian Transcatheter Balloon-Expandable Registry (ITER), which enrolled patients undergoing TAVI with the Sapien bioprosthesis in 33 national centres. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the access: TA or TF. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed in order to evaluate whether the type of approach (TA and TF) has an impact on outcomes. Between 2007 and 2012, 1882 patients were enrolled in the Registry. LVEF ≤35% was found in 208 (11.1%) patients. TA-TAVI and TF-TAVI were performed in 69 (33.2%) and 139 (66.8%) patients, respectively. Overall 30-day mortality was 11.6% and 7.9% in TA and TF patients, respectively (P = 0.45). Overall Kaplan-Meier survival was significantly higher in the TF-TAVI group (log rank: P = 0.003). Age [odds ratio (OR) 1.066, P = 0.016], creatinine (OR: 2.301, P < 0.001), preoperative permanent pacemaker (OR: 4.662, P = 0.035) and TA approach (OR: 2.577, P = 0.006) were identified as independent predictors of overall mortality at follow-up. However, the TA approach resulted an independent variable of mortality only 3 years after TAVI. TAVI yields good results in patients with depressed LVEF. Age, preoperative creatinine and preoperative pacemaker are independently associated with mortality. The TA access is associated with mortality only after 3 years of follow-up, thus probably reflecting a worse general clinical status of these patients. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European

Impact of heterozygosity and heterogeneity on cotton lint yield stability: II. Lint yield components

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In order to determine which yield components may contribute to yield stability, an 18-environment field study was undertaken to observe the mean, standard deviation (SD), and coefficient of variation (CV) for cotton lint yield components in population types that differed for lint yield stability. Th...

Evaluation of exotically-derived soybean breeding lines for seed yield, germination, damage, and composition under dryland production in the midsouthern USA

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Although the Early Soybean Production System (ESPS) in the Midsouthern USA increased seed yield under irrigated and non-irrigated conditions, heat stress and drought still lead to poor seed quality in heat sensitive soybean cultivars. Our goal was to identify breeding lines that possess high germin...

Absolute quantum yield measurement of powder samples.

PubMed

Moreno, Luis A

2012-05-12

Measurement of fluorescence quantum yield has become an important tool in the search for new solutions in the development, evaluation, quality control and research of illumination, AV equipment, organic EL material, films, filters and fluorescent probes for bio-industry. Quantum yield is calculated as the ratio of the number of photons absorbed, to the number of photons emitted by a material. The higher the quantum yield, the better the efficiency of the fluorescent material. For the measurements featured in this video, we will use the Hitachi F-7000 fluorescence spectrophotometer equipped with the Quantum Yield measuring accessory and Report Generator program. All the information provided applies to this system. Measurement of quantum yield in powder samples is performed following these steps: 1. Generation of instrument correction factors for the excitation and emission monochromators. This is an important requirement for the correct measurement of quantum yield. It has been performed in advance for the full measurement range of the instrument and will not be shown in this video due to time limitations. 2. Measurement of integrating sphere correction factors. The purpose of this step is to take into consideration reflectivity characteristics of the integrating sphere used for the measurements. 3. Reference and Sample measurement using direct excitation and indirect excitation. 4. Quantum Yield calculation using Direct and Indirect excitation. Direct excitation is when the sample is facing directly the excitation beam, which would be the normal measurement setup. However, because we use an integrating sphere, a portion of the emitted photons resulting from the sample fluorescence are reflected by the integrating sphere and will re-excite the sample, so we need to take into consideration indirect excitation. This is accomplished by measuring the sample placed in the port facing the emission monochromator, calculating indirect quantum yield and correcting the direct

Scalar resonances in a unitary {pi}{pi} S-wave model for D{sup +}{yields}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup +}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boito, D. R.; Instituto de Fisica, Universidade de Sao Paulo, C.P. 66318, 05315-970, Sao Paulo, SP; Dedonder, J.-P.

We propose a model for D{sup +}{yields}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup +} decays following experimental results which indicate that the two-pion interaction in the S wave is dominated by the scalar resonances f{sub 0}(600)/{sigma} and f{sub 0}(980). The weak decay amplitude for D{sup +}{yields}R{pi}{sup +}, where R is a resonance that subsequently decays into {pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}, is constructed in a factorization approach. In the S wave, we implement the strong decay R{yields}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -} by means of a scalar form factor. This provides a unitary description of the pion-pion interaction in the entire kinematically allowed mass range m{sub {pi}}{sub {pi}}{sup 2}more » from threshold to about 3 GeV{sup 2}. In order to reproduce the experimental Dalitz plot for D{sup +}{yields}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup +}, we include contributions beyond the S wave. For the P wave, dominated by the {rho}(770){sup 0}, we use a Breit-Wigner description. Higher waves are accounted for by using the usual isobar prescription for the f{sub 2}(1270) and {rho}(1450){sup 0}. The major achievement is a good reproduction of the experimental m{sub {pi}}{sub {pi}}{sup 2} distribution, and of the partial as well as the total D{sup +}{yields}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}{pi}{sup +} branching ratios. Our values are generally smaller than the experimental ones. We discuss this shortcoming and, as a by-product, we predict a value for the poorly known D{yields}{sigma} transition form factor at q{sup 2}=m{sub {pi}}{sup 2}.« less

Infrared colours and inferred masses of metal-poor giant stars in the Keplerfield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casey, A. R.; Kennedy, G. M.; Hartle, T. R.; Schlaufman, Kevin C.

2018-05-01

Intrinsically luminous giant stars in the Milky Way are the only potential volume-complete tracers of the distant disk, bulge, and halo. The chemical abundances of metal-poor giants also reflect the compositions of the earliest star-forming regions, providing the initial conditions for the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. However, the intrinsic rarity of metal-poor giants combined with the difficulty of efficiently identifying them with broad-band optical photometry has made it difficult to exploit them for studies of the Milky Way. One long-standing problem is that photometric selections for giant and/or metal-poor stars frequently include a large fraction of metal-rich dwarf contaminants. We re-derive a giant star photometric selection using existing public g-band and narrow-band DDO51photometry obtained in the Keplerfield. Our selection is simple and yields a contamination rate of main-sequence stars of ≲1% and a completeness of about 80 % for giant stars with Teff ≲ 5250 K - subject to the selection function of the spectroscopic surveys used to estimate these rates, and the magnitude range considered (11 ≲ g ≲ 15). While the DDO51filter is known to be sensitive to stellar surface gravity, we further show that the mid-infrared colours of DDO51-selected giants are strongly correlated with spectroscopic metallicity. This extends the infrared metal-poor selection developed by Schlaufman & Casey, demonstrating that the principal contaminants in their selection can be efficiently removed by the photometric separation of dwarfs and giants. This implies that any similarly efficient dwarf/giant discriminant (e.g., Gaiaparallaxes) can be used in conjunction with WISEcolours to select samples of giant stars with high completeness and low contamination. We employ our photometric selection to identify three metal-poor giant candidates in the Keplerfield with global asteroseismic parameters and find that masses inferred for these three stars using standard

A comparison of the language skills of ELLs and monolinguals who are poor decoders, poor comprehenders, or normal readers.

PubMed

Geva, Esther; Massey-Garrison, Angela

2013-01-01

The overall objective of this article is to examine how oral language abilities relate to reading profiles in English language learners (ELLs) and English as a first language (EL1) learners, and the extent of similarities and differences between ELLs and EL1s in three reading subgroups: normal readers, poor decoders, and poor comprehenders. The study included 100 ELLs and 50 EL1s in Grade 5. The effect of language group (ELL/EL1) and reading group on cognitive and linguistic skills was examined. Except for vocabulary, there was no language group effect on any measure. However, within ELL and EL1 alike, significant differences were found between reading groups: Normal readers outperformed the two other groups on all the oral language measures. Distinct cognitive and linguistic profiles were associated with poor decoders and poor comprehenders, regardless of language group. The ELL and EL1 poor decoders outperformed the poor comprehenders on listening comprehension and inferencing. The poor decoders displayed phonological-based weaknesses, whereas the poor comprehenders displayed a more generalized language processing weakness that is nonphonological in nature. Regardless of language status, students with poor decoding or comprehension problems display difficulties with various aspects of language.

Poor Results for High Achievers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bui, Sa; Imberman, Scott; Craig, Steven

2012-01-01

Three million students in the United States are classified as gifted, yet little is known about the effectiveness of traditional gifted and talented (G&T) programs. In theory, G&T programs might help high-achieving students because they group them with other high achievers and typically offer specially trained teachers and a more advanced…

Raising yield potential in wheat: increasing photosynthesis capacity and efficiency

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Increasing wheat yields to help to ensure food security is a major challenge. Meeting this challenge requires a quantum improvement in the yield potential of wheat. Past increases in yield potential have largely resulted from improvements in harvest index not through increased biomass. Further large...

Constraints on the yields of the first supernovae in the Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cayrel, Roger

The study of the chemical composition of the most primitive stars of the galactic halo has been made possible with the help of large surveys aimed at finding such stars, and by powerful new instruments, as the Keck telescopes, the Subaru telescope, and the ESO Very Large Telescope. The atmospheres of these primitive stars possess, per hydrogen atom, from 1/1000th to 1/10000th less supernovae-made elements than the Sun, and reflect the yields of the first supernovae. It was once expected that these yields would show a larger scatter than those in the more metal-rich Population II stars, which have been enriched by many more supernovae explosions than the earlier generations. If we leave aside one class of objects, the Carbon-Enhanced Metal-Poor (CEMP) stars, which is the topic of another talk at this conference, a rather well-defined set of abundance ratios emerge for C to Zn amongst the most primitive population, with a scatter that is surprisingly small. The quality of the high-resolution spectroscopic data is such that the observed level of scatter in the measured elemental abundances for these species is no longer limited by accuracy of the observations, nor by other errors inherent to the analysis of the data. By way of contrast, amongst the neutron-capture elements produced by the r-process, at a given metallicity a spread reaching a factor of over 1000 exists for elements such as Ba. The stable portion of the r-process pattern observed in such stars is the second peak (Z = 56 to 72), in which the relative abundances of these elements in very metal-poor stars are almost indistinguishable from their inferred proportions in solar-system material. Recent observations have permitted the determination of the abundances of uranium, tho- rium, and lead produced by the r-process in extremely metal-poor stars, and indicate that lead is mainly produced by radioactive decay of the actinides (as opposed to other direct channels). In addition, the observed U/Th ratio has

Individual and community factors associated with geographic clusters of poor HIV care retention and poor viral suppression.

PubMed

Eberhart, Michael G; Yehia, Baligh R; Hillier, Amy; Voytek, Chelsea D; Fiore, Danielle J; Blank, Michael; Frank, Ian; Metzger, David S; Brady, Kathleen A

2015-05-01

Previous analyses identified specific geographic areas in Philadelphia (hotspots) associated with negative outcomes along the HIV care continuum. We examined individual and community factors associated with residing in these hotspots. Retrospective cohort of 1404 persons newly diagnosed with HIV in 2008-2009 followed for 24 months after linkage to care. Multivariable regression examined associations between individual (age, sex, race/ethnicity, HIV transmission risk, and insurance status) and community (economic deprivation, distance to care, access to public transit, and access to pharmacy services) factors and the outcomes: residence in a hotspot associated with poor retention-in-care and residence in a hotspot associated with poor viral suppression. In total, 24.4% and 13.7% of persons resided in hotspots associated with poor retention and poor viral suppression, respectively. For persons residing in poor retention hotspots, 28.3% were retained in care compared with 40.4% of those residing outside hotspots (P < 0.05). Similarly, for persons residing in poor viral suppression hotspots, 51.4% achieved viral suppression compared with 75.3% of those outside hotspots (P < 0.0.05). Factors significantly associated with residence in poor retention hotspots included female sex, lower economic deprivation, greater access to public transit, shorter distance to medical care, and longer distance to pharmacies. Factors significantly associated with residence in poor viral suppression hotspots included female sex, higher economic deprivation, and shorter distance to pharmacies. Individual and community-level associations with geographic hotspots may inform both content and delivery strategies for interventions designed to improve retention-in-care and viral suppression.

[Do poor-responder patients benefit from increasing the daily gonadotropin dose from 300 to 450 IU during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation for IVF?].

PubMed

Haas, Jigal; Zilberberg, Eran; Kedem, Alon; Dar, Shir; Orvieto, Raoul

2015-02-01

We aim to evaluate the IVF-ET outcome in patients receiving a high daily dose (300 IU) of gonadotropins during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) for IVF and to assess the role of increasing the daily dose to 450 IU on improving outcome. All consecutive women admitted to our IVF unit during an 11 year period who underwent COH consisting of daily gonadotropin dose of 300 IU were included in the study. The ovarian stimulation characteristics, number of oocytes retrieved, number of embryo transferred and pregnancy rate were assessed. We also evaluated the subsequent cycle, using daily gonadotropin doses of 450 IU, among those patients who did not conceive using the 300 IU daily gonadotropin dose. Nine hundred and forty-nine consecutive IVF cycles were evaluated. Patients who conceived using the daily gonadotropin dose of 300 IU (n = 133, 14% pregnancy rate) had significantly longer stimulation, yielded higher numbers of oocytes retrieved, fertilization rate and number of embryos transferred, compared to those who did not conceive. Moreover, while comparing IVF cycles using daily gonadotropin doses of 300 IU to 450 IU (n = 117), no in-between group differences were observed, except for significantly higher yields of oocytes retrieved. Moreover, cycles using daily gonadotropin doses of 450 IU resulted in a 7.7 live-birth rate. In poor responders undergoing COH with a daily gonadotropin dose of 300 IU, increasing the dose to 450 IU resulted in significantly higher oocyte yields and a reasonable live birth rate.

Enhancing biomass energy yield from pilot-scale high rate algal ponds with recycling.

PubMed

Park, J B K; Craggs, R J; Shilton, A N

2013-09-01

This paper investigates the effect of recycling on biomass energy yield in High Rate Algal Ponds (HRAPs). Two 8 m(3) pilot-scale HRAPs treating primary settled sewage were operated in parallel and monitored over a 2-year period. Volatile suspended solids were measured from both HRAPs and their gravity settlers to determine biomass productivity and harvest efficiency. The energy content of the biomass was also measured. Multiplying biomass productivity and harvest efficiency gives the 'harvestable biomass productivity' and multiplying this by the energy content defines the actual 'biomass energy yield'. In Year 1, algal recycling was implemented in one of the ponds (HRAPr) and improved harvestable biomass productivity by 58% compared with the control (HRAPc) without recycling (HRAPr: 9.2 g/m(2)/d; HRAPc: 5.8 g/m(2)/d). The energy content of the biomass grown in HRAPr, which was dominated by Pediastrun boryanum, was 25% higher than the control HRAPc which contained a mixed culture of 4-5 different algae (HRAPr: 21.5 kJ/g; HRAPc: 18.6 kJ/g). In Year 2, HRAPc was then seeded with the biomass harvested from the P. boryanum dominated HRAPr. This had the effect of shifting algal dominance from 89% Dictyosphaerium sp. (which is poorly-settleable) to over 90% P. boryanum in 5 months. Operation of this pond was then switched to recycling its own harvested biomass, which maintained P. boryanum dominance for the rest of Year 2. This result confirms, for the first time in the literature, that species control is possible for similarly sized co-occurring algal colonies in outdoor HRAP by algal recycling. With regard to the overall improvement in biomass energy yield, which is a critical parameter in the context of algal cultivation for biofuels, the combined improvements that recycling triggered in biomass productivity, harvest efficiency and energy content enhanced the harvested biomass energy yield by 66% (HRAPr: 195 kJ/m(2)/day; HRAPc: 118 kJ/m(2)/day). Copyright © 2013

THE SYNTHETIC-OVERSAMPLING METHOD: USING PHOTOMETRIC COLORS TO DISCOVER EXTREMELY METAL-POOR STARS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miller, A. A., E-mail: amiller@astro.caltech.edu

2015-09-20

Extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars ([Fe/H] ≤ −3.0 dex) provide a unique window into understanding the first generation of stars and early chemical enrichment of the universe. EMP stars are exceptionally rare, however, and the relatively small number of confirmed discoveries limits our ability to exploit these near-field probes of the first ∼500 Myr after the Big Bang. Here, a new method to photometrically estimate [Fe/H] from only broadband photometric colors is presented. I show that the method, which utilizes machine-learning algorithms and a training set of ∼170,000 stars with spectroscopically measured [Fe/H], produces a typical scatter of ∼0.29 dex. Thismore » performance is similar to what is achievable via low-resolution spectroscopy, and outperforms other photometric techniques, while also being more general. I further show that a slight alteration to the model, wherein synthetic EMP stars are added to the training set, yields the robust identification of EMP candidates. In particular, this synthetic-oversampling method recovers ∼20% of the EMP stars in the training set, at a precision of ∼0.05. Furthermore, ∼65% of the false positives from the model are very metal-poor stars ([Fe/H] ≤ −2.0 dex). The synthetic-oversampling method is biased toward the discovery of warm (∼F-type) stars, a consequence of the targeting bias from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey/Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding survey. This EMP selection method represents a significant improvement over alternative broadband optical selection techniques. The models are applied to >12 million stars, with an expected yield of ∼600 new EMP stars, which promises to open new avenues for exploring the early universe.« less

Modelling crop yield in Iberia under drought conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-04-01

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

Using normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to estimate sugarcane yield and yield components

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) yield and yield components are important traits for growers and scientists to evaluate and select cultivars. Collection of these yield data would be labor intensive and time consuming in the early selection stages of sugarcane breeding cultivar development programs with a ...

Drought Effects on Agricultural Yield: Comparison Across Regions and Crop Types

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daryanto, S.; Wang, L.; Jacinthe, P. A.

2014-12-01

Global agricultural production is dominated by rainfed agriculture, and is therefore prone to disruption from climate extreme weathers. These uncertainties become more problematic when considering the projection of increased drought frequency suggested by several climate models for various world regions. Curiously, few regional analyses of drought impact of food production have been attempted. We collated and analyzed data from the last 25 years to disentangle the effects of drought (i.e. timing, intensity and duration) on agricultural production in different eco-regions and with varying crop types. Our preliminary results suggested greater yield reduction in annual (-21.5%) than perennial plants (-16%), in C4 (-21%) compared to C3 crops (-17%), and when drought occurred during generative (i.e. flowering until maturity; -16.5%) than vegetative stage (-15.5%). Although drought caused similar amounts of yield reduction in both tropical and subtropical regions (i.e. -17%), it carries a greater food security risk in the tropics due to inherently low productivity (i.e. less than half than in the subtropical regions). Consequently, cultivating drought-resistant C3 perennial plants (e.g. sweet potato and cassava) in the tropics could prove a viable adaptive strategy to mitigate the effects of climate variability. In addition, these crops have limited input requirements, are well adapted to nutrient-poor Oxisols and Ultisols of the tropics, and generally outyield cereal crops in the region. Our analysis is ongoing and needs to take into account agronomic traits (e.g. water requirement), as well as the energy and nutritional values (e.g. protein, minerals) of alternative crops. Our results could inform the selection and development of new cultivars for the drought-prone regions of the world.

Association of diarrhoea, poor hygiene and poor social conditions in childhood with blood pressure in adulthood.

PubMed

Kauhanen, L; Lynch, J W; Lakka, H-M; Kauhanen, J; Smith, G D

2010-05-01

Previous research has suggested that dehydration in infancy may lead to high blood pressure in later life because of sodium retention. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of poor hygiene of the child, poor social and poor housing conditions at home and diarrhoea in childhood as proxies for dehydration on high blood pressure in later life. Data were from a subset of participants in the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study, a population-based cohort study in eastern Finland. Information on childhood factors was collected from school health records (n=952), from the 1930s to the 1950s. Adult data were obtained from baseline examinations of the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study cohort (n=2682) in 1984-1989. Men who had poor hygiene in childhood had on average 4.07 mm Hg (95% CI 0.53 to 7.61) higher systolic blood pressure than men who had good or satisfactory hygiene in childhood in the age-adjusted analysis. Reports of diarrhoea were not associated with adult blood pressure. The authors' findings suggest that poor hygiene and living in poor social conditions in childhood are associated with higher systolic blood pressure in adulthood. Reported childhood diarrhoea did not explain the link between hygiene and high blood pressure in adulthood.

Evolution Projects Yield Results

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sparks, Sarah D.

2010-01-01

When a federal court in 2005 rejected an attempt by the Dover, Pennsylvania, school board to introduce intelligent design as an alternative to evolution to explain the development of life on Earth, it sparked a renaissance in involvement among scientists in K-12 science instruction. Now, some of those teaching programs, studies, and research…

How Big Was It? Getting at Yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasyanos, M.; Walter, W. R.; Ford, S. R.

2013-12-01

One of the most coveted pieces of information in the wake of a nuclear test is the explosive yield. Determining the yield from remote observations, however, is not necessarily a trivial thing. For instance, recorded observations of seismic amplitudes, used to estimate the yield, are significantly modified by the intervening media, which varies widely, and needs to be properly accounted for. Even after correcting for propagation effects such as geometrical spreading, attenuation, and station site terms, getting from the resulting source term to a yield depends on the specifics of the explosion source model, including material properties, and depth. Some formulas are based on assumptions of the explosion having a standard depth-of-burial and observed amplitudes can vary if the actual test is either significantly overburied or underburied. We will consider the complications and challenges of making these determinations using a number of standard, more traditional methods and a more recent method that we have developed using regional waveform envelopes. We will do this comparison for recent declared nuclear tests from the DPRK. We will also compare the methods using older explosions at the Nevada Test Site with announced yields, material and depths, so that actual performance can be measured. In all cases, we also strive to quantify realistic uncertainties on the yield estimation.

Anomalous effects in the aluminum oxide sputtering yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schelfhout, R.; Strijckmans, K.; Depla, D.

2018-04-01

The sputtering yield of aluminum oxide during reactive magnetron sputtering has been quantified by a new and fast method. The method is based on the meticulous determination of the reactive gas consumption during reactive DC magnetron sputtering and has been deployed to determine the sputtering yield of aluminum oxide. The accuracy of the proposed method is demonstrated by comparing its results to the common weight loss method excluding secondary effects such as redeposition. Both methods exhibit a decrease in sputtering yield with increasing discharge current. This feature of the aluminum oxide sputtering yield is described for the first time. It resembles the discrepancy between published high sputtering yield values determined by low current ion beams and the low deposition rate in the poisoned mode during reactive magnetron sputtering. Moreover, the usefulness of the new method arises from its time-resolved capabilities. The evolution of the alumina sputtering yield can now be measured up to a resolution of seconds. This reveals the complex dynamical behavior of the sputtering yield. A plausible explanation of the observed anomalies seems to originate from the balance between retention and out-diffusion of implanted gas atoms, while other possible causes are commented.

Capability Development among the Ultra-poor in Bangladesh: A Case Study

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Microcredit is advocated as a development tool that has the potential to reduce poverty, empower participants, and improve health. Results of several studies have shown that the extreme poor, or the ultra-poor, often are unable to benefit from traditional microcredit programmes and can, as a result of taking a loan they cannot repay, sink deeper into economic and social poverty. This case study describes an intervention directed at enabling the ultra-poor rural populations to pull themselves out of poverty. The intervention integrates multiple components, including asset grants for income generation, skills training, a time-bound monthly stipend for subsistence, social development and mobilization of local elite, and health support. Results of an evaluation showed that, after 18 months, the programme positively impacted livelihood, economic, social and health status to the extent that 63% of households (n=5,000) maintained asset growth and joined (or intended to join) a regular microcredit programme. Impacts included improved income, improved food security, and improved health knowledge and behaviour. Applying a social exclusion framework to the intervention helps identify the different dynamic forces that can exclude or include the ultra-poor in Bangladesh in development interventions such as microcredit. PMID:19761086

Capability development among the ultra-poor in Bangladesh: a case study.

PubMed

Ahmed, Syed Masud

2009-08-01

Microcredit is advocated as a development tool that has the potential to reduce poverty, empower participants, and improve health. Results of several studies have shown that the extreme poor, or the ultra-poor, often are unable to benefit from traditional microcredit programmes and can, as a result of taking a loan they cannot repay, sink deeper into economic and social poverty. This case study describes an intervention directed at enabling the ultra-poor rural populations to pull themselves out of poverty. The intervention integrates multiple components, including asset grants for income generation, skills training, a time-bound monthly stipend for subsistence, social development and mobilization of local elite, and health support. Results of an evaluation showed that, after 18 months, the programme positively impacted livelihood, economic, social and health status to the extent that 63% of households (n=5,000) maintained asset growth and joined (or intended to join) a regular microcredit programme. Impacts included improved income, improved food security, and improved health knowledge and behaviour. Applying a social exclusion framework to the intervention helps identify the different dynamic forces that can exclude or include the ultra-poor in Bangladesh in development interventions such as microcredit.

Far-ultraviolet energy distributions of the metal-poor A stars HD 109995 and HD 161817

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boehm-Vitense, E.

1981-01-01

Low-resolution IUE spectra at wavelengths between 1300 and 3400 A of the metal-poor stars HD 109995 (A1p) and HD 161817 (A4p) have been compared with model-atmosphere energy distributions computed by Kurucz (1979). Good overall agreement is found. Effective temperatures, metal abundances, and angular diameters could be determined. Assuming an absolute visual magnitude of 0.7, the previously determined gravity log = 3 yields masses of 0.5 solar masses for both stars. It is found that the theoretical UBV colors calculated earlier agree reaonably well with the ones observed for these stars.

REMO poor man's reanalysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ries, H.; Moseley, C.; Haensler, A.

2012-04-01

Reanalyses depict the state of the atmosphere as a best fit in space and time of many atmospheric observations in a physically consistent way. By essentially solving the data assimilation problem in a very accurate manner, reanalysis results can be used as reference for model evaluation procedures and as forcing data sets for different model applications. However, the spatial resolution of the most common and accepted reanalysis data sets (e.g. JRA25, ERA-Interim) ranges from approximately 124 km to 80 km. This resolution is too coarse to simulate certain small scale processes often associated with extreme events. In addition, many models need higher resolved forcing data ( e.g. land-surface models, tools for identifying and assessing hydrological extremes). Therefore we downscaled the ERA-Interim reanalysis over the EURO-CORDEX-Domain for the time period 1989 to 2008 to a horizontal resolution of approximately 12 km. The downscaling is performed by nudging REMO-simulations to lower and lateral boundary conditions of the reanalysis, and by re-initializing the model every 24 hours ("REMO in forecast mode"). In this study the three following questions will be addressed: 1.) Does the REMO poor man's reanalysis meet the needs (accuracy, extreme value distribution) in validation and forcing? 2.) What lessons can be learned about the model used for downscaling? As REMO is used as a pure downscaling procedure, any systematic deviations from ERA-Interim result from poor process modelling but not from predictability limitations. 3.) How much small scale information generated by the downscaling model is lost with frequent initializations? A comparison to a simulation that is performed in climate mode will be presented.

High-yield recombinant expression and purification of marginally soluble, short elastin-like polypeptides.

PubMed

Bahniuk, Markian S; Alshememry, Abdullah K; Unsworth, Larry D

2016-12-01

The protocol described here is designed as an extension of existing techniques for creating elastin-like polypeptides. It allows for the expression and purification of elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) constructs that are poorly expressed or have very low transition temperatures. DNA concatemerization has been modified to reduce issues caused by methylation sensitivity and inefficient cloning. Linearization of the modified expression vector has been altered to greatly increase cleavage efficiency. The purification regimen is based upon using denaturing metal affinity chromatography to fully solubilize and, if necessary, pre-concentrate the target peptide before purification by inverse temperature cycling (ITC). This protocol has been used to express multiple leucine-containing elastin-like polypeptides, with final yields of 250-660 mg per liter of cells, depending on the specific construct. This was considerably greater than previously reported yields for similar ELPs. Due to the relative hydrophobicity of the tested constructs, even compared with commonly employed ELPs, conventional methods would not have been able to be purify these peptides.

Yield and size of oyster mushroom grown on rice/wheat straw basal substrate supplemented with cotton seed hull.

PubMed

Yang, Wenjie; Guo, Fengling; Wan, Zhengjie

2013-10-01

Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) was cultivated on rice straw basal substrate, wheat straw basal substrate, cotton seed hull basal substrate, and wheat straw or rice straw supplemented with different proportions (15%, 30%, and 45% in rice straw substrate, 20%, 30%, and 40% in wheat straw substrate) of cotton seed hull to find a cost effective substrate. The effect of autoclaved sterilized and non-sterilized substrate on growth and yield of oyster mushroom was also examined. Results indicated that for both sterilized substrate and non-sterilized substrate, oyster mushroom on rice straw and wheat basal substrate have faster mycelial growth rate, comparatively poor surface mycelial density, shorter total colonization period and days from bag opening to primordia formation, lower yield and biological efficiency, lower mushroom weight, longer stipe length and smaller cap diameter than that on cotton seed hull basal substrate. The addition of cotton seed hull to rice straw and wheat straw substrate slowed spawn running, primordial development and fruit body formation. However, increasing the amount of cotton seed hull can increase the uniformity and white of mycelium, yield and biological efficiency, and increase mushroom weight, enlarge cap diameter and shorten stipe length. Compared to the sterilized substrate, the non-sterilized substrate had comparatively higher mycelial growth rate, shorter total colonization period and days from bag opening to primordia formation. However, the non-sterilized substrate did not gave significantly higher mushroom yield and biological efficiency than the sterilized substrate, but some undesirable characteristics, i.e. smaller mushroom cap diameter and relatively long stipe length.

Characterizing bias correction uncertainty in wheat yield predictions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortiz, Andrea Monica; Jones, Julie; Freckleton, Robert; Scaife, Adam

2017-04-01

Farming systems are under increased pressure due to current and future climate change, variability and extremes. Research on the impacts of climate change on crop production typically rely on the output of complex Global and Regional Climate Models, which are used as input to crop impact models. Yield predictions from these top-down approaches can have high uncertainty for several reasons, including diverse model construction and parameterization, future emissions scenarios, and inherent or response uncertainty. These uncertainties propagate down each step of the 'cascade of uncertainty' that flows from climate input to impact predictions, leading to yield predictions that may be too complex for their intended use in practical adaptation options. In addition to uncertainty from impact models, uncertainty can also stem from the intermediate steps that are used in impact studies to adjust climate model simulations to become more realistic when compared to observations, or to correct the spatial or temporal resolution of climate simulations, which are often not directly applicable as input into impact models. These important steps of bias correction or calibration also add uncertainty to final yield predictions, given the various approaches that exist to correct climate model simulations. In order to address how much uncertainty the choice of bias correction method can add to yield predictions, we use several evaluation runs from Regional Climate Models from the Coordinated Regional Downscaling Experiment over Europe (EURO-CORDEX) at different resolutions together with different bias correction methods (linear and variance scaling, power transformation, quantile-quantile mapping) as input to a statistical crop model for wheat, a staple European food crop. The objective of our work is to compare the resulting simulation-driven hindcasted wheat yields to climate observation-driven wheat yield hindcasts from the UK and Germany in order to determine ranges of yield

Assessment of cluster yield components by image analysis.

PubMed

Diago, Maria P; Tardaguila, Javier; Aleixos, Nuria; Millan, Borja; Prats-Montalban, Jose M; Cubero, Sergio; Blasco, Jose

2015-04-01

Berry weight, berry number and cluster weight are key parameters for yield estimation for wine and tablegrape industry. Current yield prediction methods are destructive, labour-demanding and time-consuming. In this work, a new methodology, based on image analysis was developed to determine cluster yield components in a fast and inexpensive way. Clusters of seven different red varieties of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) were photographed under laboratory conditions and their cluster yield components manually determined after image acquisition. Two algorithms based on the Canny and the logarithmic image processing approaches were tested to find the contours of the berries in the images prior to berry detection performed by means of the Hough Transform. Results were obtained in two ways: by analysing either a single image of the cluster or using four images per cluster from different orientations. The best results (R(2) between 69% and 95% in berry detection and between 65% and 97% in cluster weight estimation) were achieved using four images and the Canny algorithm. The model's capability based on image analysis to predict berry weight was 84%. The new and low-cost methodology presented here enabled the assessment of cluster yield components, saving time and providing inexpensive information in comparison with current manual methods. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

Recent patterns of crop yield growth and stagnation.

PubMed

Ray, Deepak K; Ramankutty, Navin; Mueller, Nathaniel D; West, Paul C; Foley, Jonathan A

2012-01-01

In the coming decades, continued population growth, rising meat and dairy consumption and expanding biofuel use will dramatically increase the pressure on global agriculture. Even as we face these future burdens, there have been scattered reports of yield stagnation in the world's major cereal crops, including maize, rice and wheat. Here we study data from ∼2.5 million census observations across the globe extending over the period 1961-2008. We examined the trends in crop yields for four key global crops: maize, rice, wheat and soybeans. Although yields continue to increase in many areas, we find that across 24-39% of maize-, rice-, wheat- and soybean-growing areas, yields either never improve, stagnate or collapse. This result underscores the challenge of meeting increasing global agricultural demands. New investments in underperforming regions, as well as strategies to continue increasing yields in the high-performing areas, are required.

Associations between Family Adversity and Brain Volume in Adolescence: Manual vs. Automated Brain Segmentation Yields Different Results

PubMed Central

Lyden, Hannah; Gimbel, Sarah I.; Del Piero, Larissa; Tsai, A. Bryna; Sachs, Matthew E.; Kaplan, Jonas T.; Margolin, Gayla; Saxbe, Darby

2016-01-01

Associations between brain structure and early adversity have been inconsistent in the literature. These inconsistencies may be partially due to methodological differences. Different methods of brain segmentation may produce different results, obscuring the relationship between early adversity and brain volume. Moreover, adolescence is a time of significant brain growth and certain brain areas have distinct rates of development, which may compromise the accuracy of automated segmentation approaches. In the current study, 23 adolescents participated in two waves of a longitudinal study. Family aggression was measured when the youths were 12 years old, and structural scans were acquired an average of 4 years later. Bilateral amygdalae and hippocampi were segmented using three different methods (manual tracing, FSL, and NeuroQuant). The segmentation estimates were compared, and linear regressions were run to assess the relationship between early family aggression exposure and all three volume segmentation estimates. Manual tracing results showed a positive relationship between family aggression and right amygdala volume, whereas FSL segmentation showed negative relationships between family aggression and both the left and right hippocampi. However, results indicate poor overlap between methods, and different associations were found between early family aggression exposure and brain volume depending on the segmentation method used. PMID:27656121

Associations between Family Adversity and Brain Volume in Adolescence: Manual vs. Automated Brain Segmentation Yields Different Results.

PubMed

Lyden, Hannah; Gimbel, Sarah I; Del Piero, Larissa; Tsai, A Bryna; Sachs, Matthew E; Kaplan, Jonas T; Margolin, Gayla; Saxbe, Darby

2016-01-01

Associations between brain structure and early adversity have been inconsistent in the literature. These inconsistencies may be partially due to methodological differences. Different methods of brain segmentation may produce different results, obscuring the relationship between early adversity and brain volume. Moreover, adolescence is a time of significant brain growth and certain brain areas have distinct rates of development, which may compromise the accuracy of automated segmentation approaches. In the current study, 23 adolescents participated in two waves of a longitudinal study. Family aggression was measured when the youths were 12 years old, and structural scans were acquired an average of 4 years later. Bilateral amygdalae and hippocampi were segmented using three different methods (manual tracing, FSL, and NeuroQuant). The segmentation estimates were compared, and linear regressions were run to assess the relationship between early family aggression exposure and all three volume segmentation estimates. Manual tracing results showed a positive relationship between family aggression and right amygdala volume, whereas FSL segmentation showed negative relationships between family aggression and both the left and right hippocampi. However, results indicate poor overlap between methods, and different associations were found between early family aggression exposure and brain volume depending on the segmentation method used.

Estimating variability in grain legume yields across Europe and the Americas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cernay, Charles; Ben-Ari, Tamara; Pelzer, Elise; Meynard, Jean-Marc; Makowski, David

2015-06-01

Grain legume production in Europe has recently come under scrutiny. Although legume crops are often promoted to provide environmental services, European farmers tend to turn to non-legume crops. It is assumed that high variability in legume yields explains this aversion, but so far this hypothesis has not been tested. Here, we estimate the variability of major grain legume and non-legume yields in Europe and the Americas from yield time series over 1961-2013. Results show that grain legume yields are significantly more variable than non-legume yields in Europe. These differences are smaller in the Americas. Our results are robust at the level of the statistical methods. In all regions, crops with high yield variability are allocated to less than 1% of cultivated areas. Although the expansion of grain legumes in Europe may be hindered by high yield variability, some species display risk levels compatible with the development of specialized supply chains.

Interactive effects of pests increase seed yield.

PubMed

Gagic, Vesna; Riggi, Laura Ga; Ekbom, Barbara; Malsher, Gerard; Rusch, Adrien; Bommarco, Riccardo

2016-04-01

Loss in seed yield and therefore decrease in plant fitness due to simultaneous attacks by multiple herbivores is not necessarily additive, as demonstrated in evolutionary studies on wild plants. However, it is not clear how this transfers to crop plants that grow in very different conditions compared to wild plants. Nevertheless, loss in crop seed yield caused by any single pest is most often studied in isolation although crop plants are attacked by many pests that can cause substantial yield losses. This is especially important for crops able to compensate and even overcompensate for the damage. We investigated the interactive impacts on crop yield of four insect pests attacking different plant parts at different times during the cropping season. In 15 oilseed rape fields in Sweden, we estimated the damage caused by seed and stem weevils, pollen beetles, and pod midges. Pest pressure varied drastically among fields with very low correlation among pests, allowing us to explore interactive impacts on yield from attacks by multiple species. The plant damage caused by each pest species individually had, as expected, either no, or a negative impact on seed yield and the strongest negative effect was caused by pollen beetles. However, seed yield increased when plant damage caused by both seed and stem weevils was high, presumably due to the joint plant compensatory reaction to insect attack leading to overcompensation. Hence, attacks by several pests can change the impact on yield of individual pest species. Economic thresholds based on single species, on which pest management decisions currently rely, may therefore result in economically suboptimal choices being made and unnecessary excessive use of insecticides.

Poor People, Black Faces: The Portrayal of Poverty in Economics Textbooks.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clawson, Rosalee A.

2002-01-01

Examined the portrayal of poverty in economics textbooks, investigating whether poverty would be predicted as a black problem. Results found evidence that black faces were overwhelmingly portrayed among the contemporary poor, yet Blacks were not portrayed among the Great Depression era poor and nor were they used to illustrate the popular Social…

Anomalous DD and TT yields relative to the DT yield in inertial-confinement-fusion implosions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casey, Daniel T.

2011-10-01

Measurements of the D(d,p)T (DD), T(t,2n)4He (TT) and D(t,n)4He (DT) reactions have been conducted using deuterium-tritium gas-filled inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions. In these experiments, which were carried out at the OMEGA laser facility, absolute spectral measurements of the DD protons and TT neutrons were conducted and compared to neutron-time-of-flight measured DT-neutron yields. From these measurements, it is concluded that the DD yield is anomalously low and the TT yield is anomalously high relative to the DT yield, an effect that is enhanced with increasing ion temperature. These results can be explained by an enrichment of tritium in the core of an ICF implosion, which may be present in ignition experiments planned on the National Ignition Facility. In addition, the spectral measurements of the TT-neutron spectrum were conducted for the first time at reactant central-mass energies in the range of 15-30 keV. The results from these measurements indicate that the TT reaction proceeds primarily through the direct three-body reaction channel, producing a continuous TT-neutron spectrum in the range 0 - 9.5 MeV. This work was conducted in collaboration with J. A. Frenje, M. Gatu Johnson, M. J.-E. Manuel, H. G. Rinderknecht, N. Sinenian, F. H. Seguin, C. K. Li, R. D. Petrasso, P. B. Radha, J. A. Delettrez, V. Yu Glebov, D. D. Meyerhofer, T. C. Sangster, D. P. McNabb, P. A. Amendt, R. N. Boyd, J. R. Rygg, H. W. Herrmann, Y. H. Kim, G. P. Grim and A. D. Bacher. This work was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy (Grant No. DE-FG03-03SF22691), LLE (subcontract Grant No. 412160-001G), LLNL (subcontract Grant No. B504974).

Poor health kills small business: illness and microenterprises in South Africa.

PubMed

Chao, Li-Wei; Pauly, Mark; Szrek, Helena; Pereira, Nuno Sousa; Bundred, Frances; Cross, Catherine; Gow, Jeff

2007-01-01

Small businesses contribute almost 50 percent of total employment and 30 percent of gross domestic product in South Africa, but the impact of poor health and AIDS on these businesses is poorly documented. Using three waves of longitudinal data from predominantly African neighborhoods in peri-urban Durban, South Africa, this project investigates the connections between the health of the owner of a micro- and small enterprise (MSE) and the MSE's growth, survival, or exit. The results show that poor baseline health and declines in health over time are both significantly associated with subsequent business closure.

Poor Results of Pancreatoduodenectomy in High-Risk Patients with Endoscopic Stent and Bile Colonization are Associated with E. coli, Diabetes and Advanced Age.

PubMed

Costi, Renato; De Pastena, Matteo; Malleo, Giuseppe; Marchegiani, Giovanni; Butturini, Giovanni; Violi, Vincenzo; Salvia, Roberto; Bassi, Claudio

2016-07-01

Endoscopic stenting has spread as bridge management before pancreatoduedenectomy (PD) to resolve jaundice, but its role is nowadays challenged as it is reported to increase morbidity. Although bile sampling is increasingly performed, its clinical role is unclear. The objective of the study is to assess bile colonization's impact on outcome. Results of pancreatoduodenectomy after endoscopic stenting are analyzed in 61 high-risk patients presenting bacterial bile colonization. The impact of 11 demographic, clinical, infectious, and laboratory parameters and outcome, including pancreatic leakage, morbidity, and mortality, is analyzed. All stented patients present bacterial bile colonization and PD mortality approaches 10 %. The presence of E. coli in the bile is significantly related to poor outcome, including 23.5 % mortality (p = 0.034), whereas age (≥70 years) and diabetes present borderline results (p < 0.070 and p < 0.066, respectively). E. coli (p = 0.002) and age (p = 0.017) are also related to grade C pancreatic fistula. In high-risk patients undergoing PD, bile colonization inevitably occurs after endoscopic stenting and is a major risk factor of poor outcome, reaching its maximum in the case of E. coli colonization and elderly patients, where the indication to stent and/or to perform PD should be accurately evaluated. E. coli-targeted antibiotic prophylaxis should be administered.

The mental health benefits of work: do they apply to poor single mothers?

PubMed

Zabkiewicz, Denise

2010-01-01

The relationship between employment and improved mental health is well documented. However, no research has examined whether this relationship applies to poor single mothers. Given recent changes in the labor market where poor women are disproportionately employed in unstable jobs, the competing demands of work and childcare may operate to prevent poor women from reaping the mental health benefits of employment. Understanding these connections has become more salient not just for mental health epidemiology but for policies targeting employment and poverty. This study draws on four waves of data from the Welfare Client Longitudinal Study. Generalized estimating equations are utilized to assess the role of current employment and employment continuity on the depression status of poor single mothers over time. Through a comparison of results drawn from a dichotomous categorization of current employment with results drawn from measures of employment continuity, this study is also able to assess whether it is employment per se or the characteristics of employment that matter. Overall, the results from this study suggest that current employment improves the mental health of many poor single mothers. However, the circumstances most likely to improve their mental health are full-time or stable, longer term employment. The results from this study are of concern given that the lack of employment continuity is a growing trend in the U.S. labor market and poor women are disproportionately employed in these types of unstable jobs. These findings, thus, have wide-reaching implications for welfare policy as they provide an important and timely perspective in our understanding of the impact of the changing face of employment on poor women.

Effects of nettle slurry (Urtica dioica L.) used as foliar fertilizer on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) yield and plant growth

PubMed Central

Raigón, María Dolores; Marques, Olmo; Ferriol, María; Royo, Jorge

2018-01-01

Organic agriculture is becoming increasingly important, and many natural products are now available for organic farmers to manage and improve their crops. Several ethnobotanical studies have indicated that the use of nettle slurry as fertilizer in organic farming for horticultural crops is spreading. Sometimes, however, the consequences of using these natural products have been poorly evaluated, and there is very little scientific evidence for the effects of using these slurries. In this study, we aimed to analyze the possible effect of nettle slurry on potato yields produced by organic farming. To achieve this main objective, we assessed the effect of nettle slurry on potato yields, plant size and growth parameters, chlorophyll content, and the presence of pests and diseases. Different slurry doses were assessed in 36 plots and nine variables were measured during the crop cycle. Under these field experimental conditions, nettle slurry (including one treatment with Urtica in combination with Equisetum) had no significant effects on yield, chlorophyll content, or the presence of pests and diseases in organic potato crops. The highest chlorophyll content was found in the double dose treatment, but the difference was not significant. This result, together with a small improvement in plant height with the double dose treatment, might indicate very slight crop enhancement which, under our experimental conditions, was not enough to improve yield. The Urtica and Equisetum slurry chemical analyses showed very low levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. PMID:29761049

Modulus and yield stress of drawn LDPE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thavarungkul, Nandh

Modulus and yield stress were investigated in drawn low density polyethylene (LDPE) film. Uniaxially drawn polymeric films usually show high values of modulus and yield stress, however, studies have normally only been conducted to identify the structural features that determine modulus. In this study small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), thermal shrinkage, birefringence, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) were used to examine, directly and indirectly, the structural features that determine both modulus and yield stress, which are often closely related in undrawn materials. Shish-kebab structures are proposed to account for the mechanical properties in drawn LDPE. The validity of this molecular/morphological model was tested using relationships between static mechanical data and structural and physical parameters. In addition, dynamic mechanical results are also in line with static data in supporting the model. In the machine direction (MD), "shish" and taut tie molecules (TTM) anchored in the crystalline phase account for E; whereas crystal lamellae with contributions from "shish" and TTM determine yield stress. In the transverse direction (TD), the crystalline phase plays an important roll in both modulus and yield stress. Modulus is determined by crystal lamellae functioning as platelet reinforcing elements in the amorphous matrix with an additional contributions from TTM and yield stress is determined by the crystal lamellae's resistance to deformation.

Maximized exoEarth candidate yields for starshades

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stark, Christopher C.; Shaklan, Stuart; Lisman, Doug; Cady, Eric; Savransky, Dmitry; Roberge, Aki; Mandell, Avi M.

2016-10-01

The design and scale of a future mission to directly image and characterize potentially Earth-like planets will be impacted, to some degree, by the expected yield of such planets. Recent efforts to increase the estimated yields, by creating observation plans optimized for the detection and characterization of Earth-twins, have focused solely on coronagraphic instruments; starshade-based missions could benefit from a similar analysis. Here we explore how to prioritize observations for a starshade given the limiting resources of both fuel and time, present analytic expressions to estimate fuel use, and provide efficient numerical techniques for maximizing the yield of starshades. We implemented these techniques to create an approximate design reference mission code for starshades and used this code to investigate how exoEarth candidate yield responds to changes in mission, instrument, and astrophysical parameters for missions with a single starshade. We find that a starshade mission operates most efficiently somewhere between the fuel- and exposuretime-limited regimes and, as a result, is less sensitive to photometric noise sources as well as parameters controlling the photon collection rate in comparison to a coronagraph. We produced optimistic yield curves for starshades, assuming our optimized observation plans are schedulable and future starshades are not thrust-limited. Given these yield curves, detecting and characterizing several dozen exoEarth candidates requires either multiple starshades or an η≳0.3.

RNA isolation from loquat and other recalcitrant woody plants with high quality and yield.

PubMed

Morante-Carriel, Jaime; Sellés-Marchart, Susana; Martínez-Márquez, Ascensión; Martínez-Esteso, María José; Luque, Ignacio; Bru-Martínez, Roque

2014-05-01

RNA isolation is difficult in plants that contain large amounts of polysaccharides and polyphenol compounds. To date, no commercial kit has been developed for the isolation of high-quality RNA from tissues with these characteristics, especially for fruit. The common protocols for RNA isolation are tedious and usually result in poor yields when applied to recalcitrant plant tissues. Here an efficient RNA isolation protocol based on cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and two successive precipitations with 10 M lithium chloride (LiCl) was developed specifically for loquat fruits, but it was proved to work efficiently in other tissues of loquat and woody plants. The RNA isolated by this improved protocol was not only of high purity and integrity (A260/A280 ratios ranged from 1.90 to 2.04 and A260/A230 ratios were>2.0) but also of high yield (up to 720 μg on average [coefficient of variation=21%] total RNA per gram fresh tissue). The protocol was tested on loquat fruit (different stages of development, postharvest, ripening, and bruising), leaf, root, flower, stem, and bud; quince fruit and root; grapevine cells in liquid culture; and rose petals. The RNA obtained with this method is amenable to enzymatic treatments and can be efficiently applied for research on gene characterization, expression, and function. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

University Students With Poor Reading Comprehension: The Hidden Cognitive Processing Deficit.

PubMed

Georgiou, George K; Das, J P

2015-01-01

The present study aimed to examine the nature of the working memory and general cognitive ability deficits experienced by university students with a specific reading comprehension deficit. A total of 32 university students with poor reading comprehension but average word-reading skills and 60 age-matched controls with no comprehension difficulties participated in the study. The participants were assessed on three verbal working memory tasks that varied in terms of their processing demands and on the Das-Naglieri Cognitive Assessment System, which was used to operationalize intelligence. The results indicated first that the differences between poor and skilled comprehenders on working memory were amplified as the processing demands of the tasks increased. In addition, although poor comprehenders as a group had average intelligence, they experienced significant difficulties in simultaneous and successive processing. Considering that working memory and general cognitive ability are highly correlated processes, these findings suggest that the observed differences between poor and skilled comprehenders are likely a result of a deficient information processing system. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2013.

Elucidating Poor Decision-Making in a Rat Gambling Task

PubMed Central

Seriès, Peggy; Marchand, Alain R.; Dellu-Hagedorn, Françoise

2013-01-01

Although poor decision-making is a hallmark of psychiatric conditions such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, pathological gambling or substance abuse, a fraction of healthy individuals exhibit similar poor decision-making performances in everyday life and specific laboratory tasks such as the Iowa Gambling Task. These particular individuals may provide information on risk factors or common endophenotypes of these mental disorders. In a rodent version of the Iowa gambling task – the Rat Gambling Task (RGT), we identified a population of poor decision makers, and assessed how these rats scored for several behavioral traits relevant to executive disorders: risk taking, reward seeking, behavioral inflexibility, and several aspects of impulsivity. First, we found that poor decision-making could not be well predicted by single behavioral and cognitive characteristics when considered separately. By contrast, a combination of independent traits in the same individual, namely risk taking, reward seeking, behavioral inflexibility, as well as motor impulsivity, was highly predictive of poor decision-making. Second, using a reinforcement-learning model of the RGT, we confirmed that only the combination of extreme scores on these traits could induce maladaptive decision-making. Third, the model suggested that a combination of these behavioral traits results in an inaccurate representation of rewards and penalties and inefficient learning of the environment. Poor decision-making appears as a consequence of the over-valuation of high-reward-high-risk options in the task. Such a specific psychological profile could greatly impair clinically healthy individuals in decision-making tasks and may predispose to mental disorders with similar symptoms. PMID:24339988

Elucidating poor decision-making in a rat gambling task.

PubMed

Rivalan, Marion; Valton, Vincent; Seriès, Peggy; Marchand, Alain R; Dellu-Hagedorn, Françoise

2013-01-01

Although poor decision-making is a hallmark of psychiatric conditions such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, pathological gambling or substance abuse, a fraction of healthy individuals exhibit similar poor decision-making performances in everyday life and specific laboratory tasks such as the Iowa Gambling Task. These particular individuals may provide information on risk factors or common endophenotypes of these mental disorders. In a rodent version of the Iowa gambling task--the Rat Gambling Task (RGT), we identified a population of poor decision makers, and assessed how these rats scored for several behavioral traits relevant to executive disorders: risk taking, reward seeking, behavioral inflexibility, and several aspects of impulsivity. First, we found that poor decision-making could not be well predicted by single behavioral and cognitive characteristics when considered separately. By contrast, a combination of independent traits in the same individual, namely risk taking, reward seeking, behavioral inflexibility, as well as motor impulsivity, was highly predictive of poor decision-making. Second, using a reinforcement-learning model of the RGT, we confirmed that only the combination of extreme scores on these traits could induce maladaptive decision-making. Third, the model suggested that a combination of these behavioral traits results in an inaccurate representation of rewards and penalties and inefficient learning of the environment. Poor decision-making appears as a consequence of the over-valuation of high-reward-high-risk options in the task. Such a specific psychological profile could greatly impair clinically healthy individuals in decision-making tasks and may predispose to mental disorders with similar symptoms.

Hospital charge exemptions for the poor in Shandong, China.

PubMed

Meng, Qingyue; Sun, Qiang; Hearst, Norman

2002-12-01

Rapid economic changes in China have produced soaring hospital charges, a breakdown of the old social health insurance system, a resulting crisis in hospital affordability and renewed interest in mechanisms for discounts or exemptions from hospital charges for the poor. Little is known, however, about how effective such systems are in practice. We studied nine public hospitals in Shandong Province that offer discount or exemption mechanisms for the poor. Methods included document review, key informant interviews, detailed review of financial records and focus group discussions. These hospitals receive little government subsidy and must support themselves almost entirely through user fees. Hospital managers saw discount mechanisms primarily as marketing tools and designed them to limit their cost. Only a small fraction of hospital services were eligible for discount, and these were usually low cost or low utilization items. Discounts were generally 10-50% for selected items with very few services exempted from charge. The total value of discounts granted was 1% or less of total hospital operating budgets. Correct identification of indigents was a major difficulty for hospitals. Only a minority of indigents received discounts, the process was sometimes arbitrary and some who received discounts were not really poor. Government policies requiring discounts for the poor were vague and not enforced. The exemption programmes studied do not provide effective protection from hospital charges for the poor. To be effective, exemption mechanisms would likely require both financing and regulation by the government as well as an accurate way to identify the poor.

Climate change and maize yield in Iowa

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Hong; Twine, Tracy E.; Girvetz, Evan

Climate is changing across the world, including the major maize-growing state of Iowa in the USA. To maintain crop yields, farmers will need a suite of adaptation strategies, and choice of strategy will depend on how the local to regional climate is expected to change. Here we predict how maize yield might change through the 21 st century as compared with late 20 th century yields across Iowa, USA, a region representing ideal climate and soils for maize production that contributes substantially to the global maize economy. To account for climate model uncertainty, we drive a dynamic ecosystem model withmore » output from six climate models and two future climate forcing scenarios. Despite a wide range in the predicted amount of warming and change to summer precipitation, all simulations predict a decrease in maize yields from late 20 th century to middle and late 21 st century ranging from 15% to 50%. Linear regression of all models predicts a 6% state-averaged yield decrease for every 1°C increase in warm season average air temperature. When the influence of moisture stress on crop growth is removed from the model, yield decreases either remain the same or are reduced, depending on predicted changes in warm season precipitation. Lastly, our results suggest that even if maize were to receive all the water it needed, under the strongest climate forcing scenario yields will decline by 10-20% by the end of the 21 st century.« less

Climate change and maize yield in Iowa

DOE PAGES

Xu, Hong; Twine, Tracy E.; Girvetz, Evan

2016-05-24

Climate is changing across the world, including the major maize-growing state of Iowa in the USA. To maintain crop yields, farmers will need a suite of adaptation strategies, and choice of strategy will depend on how the local to regional climate is expected to change. Here we predict how maize yield might change through the 21 st century as compared with late 20 th century yields across Iowa, USA, a region representing ideal climate and soils for maize production that contributes substantially to the global maize economy. To account for climate model uncertainty, we drive a dynamic ecosystem model withmore » output from six climate models and two future climate forcing scenarios. Despite a wide range in the predicted amount of warming and change to summer precipitation, all simulations predict a decrease in maize yields from late 20 th century to middle and late 21 st century ranging from 15% to 50%. Linear regression of all models predicts a 6% state-averaged yield decrease for every 1°C increase in warm season average air temperature. When the influence of moisture stress on crop growth is removed from the model, yield decreases either remain the same or are reduced, depending on predicted changes in warm season precipitation. Lastly, our results suggest that even if maize were to receive all the water it needed, under the strongest climate forcing scenario yields will decline by 10-20% by the end of the 21 st century.« less

Surgical treatment for non-union of the mid-shaft clavicle using a reconstruction plate: scapular malposition is related to poor results.

PubMed

Huang, Teng-Le; Lin, Feng-Huei; Hsu, Horng-Chaung

2009-03-01

A retrospective study was performed to evaluate the use of an AO reconstruction plate in open reduction and internal fixation for non-union of the mid-shaft clavicle, examining the relationship between the position of the scapula and final functional results and whether perioperative variables such as clavicular reconstruction ratio and period of non-union influence the position of the scapula. From January 1998 to January 2005, data on 21 people with symptomatic non-union of the mid-shaft clavicle were collected; 17 non-unions were atrophic and 4 were hypertrophic. Initially, treatment was conservative with a figure-of-eight bandage in 19 cases, and cerclage wire fixation in 2 cases. The follow-up period was 65.7 (24-108) months. Outcome analyses included standard clinical follow-up, plain radiography, the Constant-Murley scoring and subjective assessment. All non-unions united well in 13.6 (11-27) weeks. All patients were satisfied with their surgical results. Greater age and longer period of non-union resulted in a larger amount of scapular malposition, which related to poor functional results.

Measurements of branching fraction ratios and CP-asymmetries in suppressed B{sup -}{yields}D({yields}K{sup +}{pi}{sup -})K{sup -} and B{sup -}{yields}D({yields}K{sup +}{pi}{sup -}){pi}{sup -} decays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aaltonen, T.; Brucken, E.; Devoto, F.

2011-11-01

We report the first reconstruction in hadron collisions of the suppressed decays B{sup -}{yields}D({yields}K{sup +}{pi}{sup -})K{sup -} and B{sup -}{yields}D({yields}K{sup +}{pi}{sup -}){pi}{sup -}, sensitive to the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa phase {gamma}, using data from 7 fb{sup -1} of integrated luminosity collected by the CDF II detector at the Tevatron collider. We reconstruct a signal for the B{sup -}{yields}D({yields}K{sup +}{pi}{sup -})K{sup -} suppressed mode with a significance of 3.2 standard deviations, and measure the ratios of the suppressed to favored branching fractions R(K)=[22.0{+-}8.6(stat){+-}2.6(syst)]x10{sup -3}, R{sup +}(K)=[42.6{+-}13.7(stat){+-}2.8(syst)]x10{sup -3}, R{sup -}(K)=[3.8{+-}10.3(stat){+-}2.7(syst)]x10{sup -3} as well as the direct CP-violating asymmetry A(K)=-0.82{+-}0.44(stat){+-}0.09(syst) of this mode. Corresponding quantitiesmore » for B{sup -}{yields}D({yields}K{sup +}{pi}{sup -}){pi}{sup -} decay are also reported.« less

Cognitive performance after mild traumatic brain injury: the impact of poor effort on test results and its relation to distress, personality and litigation.

PubMed

Stulemeijer, Maja; Andriessen, Teuntje M J C; Brauer, Jolanda M P; Vos, Pieter E; Van Der Werf, Sieberen

2007-03-01

To compare consecutive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) patients with and without adequate effort on cognitive performance, litigation status, fatigue, distress and personality. (Neuro)psychological assessment was done 6 months post-injury in 110 patients from a cohort of 618 consecutive MTBI patients aged 18-60, who attended the emergency department of our level I trauma centre. Effort was tested with the Amsterdam Short Term Memory test. Thirty patients (27%) failed the effort test. Poor effort was associated with significantly poorer scores on seven out of eleven measures, covering all tested domains. Poor effort was associated with lower educational level and changes in work status, but not litigation. Furthermore, poor effort was related to high levels of distress, Type-D personality and fatigue. Even in a sample of non-referred MTBI patients, poor effort was common and was strongly associated with inferior test performance. These findings imply that effort testing should be part of all cognitive assessments, also outside mediolegal settings. Behavioural factors like distress and personality should be considered as potential threats to the validity of neuropsychological testing after MTBI.

High yield fabrication of fluorescent nanodiamonds

PubMed Central

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

2009-01-01

A new fabrication method to produce homogeneously fluorescent nanodiamonds with high yields is described. The powder obtained by high energy ball milling of fluorescent high pressure, high temperature diamond microcrystals was converted in a pure concentrated aqueous colloidal dispersion of highly crystalline ultrasmall nanoparticles with a mean size less than or equal to 10 nm. The whole fabrication yield of colloidal quasi-spherical nanodiamonds was several orders of magnitude higher than those previously reported starting from microdiamonds. The results open up avenues for the industrial cost-effective production of fluorescent nanodiamonds with well-controlled properties. PMID:19451687

Turning a Poor Ion Channel into a Good Pump

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Astumian, Dean

2003-05-01

We consider a membrane protein that can exist in two configurations, either one of which acts as a poor ion channel, allowing ions to slowly leak across the membrane from high to low elctrochemical potential. We show that random external fluctuations can provide the energy to turn this poor channel into a good pump that drives ion transport from low to high electrochemical potential. We discuss this result in terms of a gambling analogy, and point to possible implications for fields as far ranging as population biology, economics, and actuarial science.

Blackleg (Leptosphaeria maculans) Severity and Yield Loss in Canola in Alberta, Canada

PubMed Central

Hwang, Sheau-Fang; Strelkov, Stephen E.; Peng, Gary; Ahmed, Hafiz; Zhou, Qixing; Turnbull, George

2016-01-01

Blackleg, caused by Leptosphaeria maculans, is an important disease of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) in Canada and throughout the world. Severe epidemics of blackleg can result in significant yield losses. Understanding disease-yield relationships is a prerequisite for measuring the agronomic efficacy and economic benefits of control methods. Field experiments were conducted in 2013, 2014, and 2015 to determine the relationship between blackleg disease severity and yield in a susceptible cultivar and in moderately resistant to resistant canola hybrids. Disease severity was lower, and seed yield was 120%–128% greater, in the moderately resistant to resistant hybrids compared with the susceptible cultivar. Regression analysis showed that pod number and seed yield declined linearly as blackleg severity increased. Seed yield per plant decreased by 1.8 g for each unit increase in disease severity, corresponding to a decline in yield of 17.2% for each unit increase in disease severity. Pyraclostrobin fungicide reduced disease severity in all site-years and increased yield. These results show that the reduction of blackleg in canola crops substantially improves yields. PMID:27447676

Differential gene expression at different stages of mesocarp development in high- and low-yielding oil palm.

PubMed

Wong, Yick Ching; Teh, Huey Fang; Mebus, Katharina; Ooi, Tony Eng Keong; Kwong, Qi Bin; Koo, Ka Loo; Ong, Chuang Kee; Mayes, Sean; Chew, Fook Tim; Appleton, David R; Kulaveerasingam, Harikrishna

2017-06-21

The oil yield trait of oil palm is expected to involve multiple genes, environmental influences and interactions. Many of the underlying mechanisms that contribute to oil yield are still poorly understood. In this study, we used a microarray approach to study the gene expression profiles of mesocarp tissue at different developmental stages, comparing genetically related high- and low- oil yielding palms to identify genes that contributed to the higher oil-yielding palm and might contribute to the wider genetic improvement of oil palm breeding populations. A total of 3412 (2001 annotated) gene candidates were found to be significantly differentially expressed between high- and low-yielding palms at at least one of the different stages of mesocarp development evaluated. Gene Ontologies (GO) enrichment analysis identified 28 significantly enriched GO terms, including regulation of transcription, fatty acid biosynthesis and metabolic processes. These differentially expressed genes comprise several transcription factors, such as, bHLH, Dof zinc finger proteins and MADS box proteins. Several genes involved in glycolysis, TCA, and fatty acid biosynthesis pathways were also found up-regulated in high-yielding oil palm, among them; pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 component Subunit Beta (PDH), ATP-citrate lyase, β- ketoacyl-ACP synthases I (KAS I), β- ketoacyl-ACP synthases III (KAS III) and ketoacyl-ACP reductase (KAR). Sucrose metabolism-related genes such as Invertase, Sucrose Synthase 2 and Sucrose Phosphatase 2 were found to be down-regulated in high-yielding oil palms, compared to the lower yield palms. Our findings indicate that a higher carbon flux (channeled through down-regulation of the Sucrose Synthase 2 pathway) was being utilized by up-regulated genes involved in glycolysis, TCA and fatty acid biosynthesis leading to enhanced oil production in the high-yielding oil palm. These findings are an important stepping stone to understand the processes that lead to

Influence of declining mean annual rainfall on the behavior and yield of sediment and particulate organic carbon from tropical watersheds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strauch, Ayron M.; MacKenzie, Richard A.; Giardina, Christian P.; Bruland, Gregory L.

2018-04-01

The capacity to forecast climate and land-use driven changes to runoff, soil erosion and sediment transport in the tropics is hindered by a lack of long-term data sets and model study systems. To address these issues we utilized three watersheds characterized by similar shape, geology, soils, vegetation cover, and land use arranged across a 900 mm gradient in mean annual rainfall (MAR). Using this space-for-time design, we quantified suspended sediment (SS) and particulate organic carbon (POC) export over 18 months to examine how large-scale climate trends (MAR) affect sediment supply and delivery patterns (hysteresis) in tropical watersheds. Average daily SS yield ranged from 0.128 to 0.618 t km- 2 while average daily POC ranged from 0.002 to 0.018 t km- 2. For the largest storm events, we found that sediment delivery exhibited similar clockwise hysteresis patterns among the watersheds, with no significant differences in the similarity function between watershed pairs, indicating that: (1) in-stream and near-stream sediment sources drive sediment flux; and (2) the shape and timing of hysteresis is not affected by MAR. With declining MAR, the ratio of runoff to baseflow and inter-storm length between pulse events both increased. Despite increases in daily rainfall and the number of days with large rainfall events increasing with MAR, there was a decline in daily SS yield possibly due to the exhaustion of sediment supply by frequent runoff events in high MAR watersheds. By contrast, mean daily POC yield increased with increasing MAR, possibly as a result of increased soil organic matter decomposition, greater biomass, or increased carbon availability in higher MAR watersheds. We compared results to modeled values using the Load Estimator (LOADEST) FORTRAN model, confirming the negative relationship between MAR and sediment yield. However, because of its dependency on mean daily flow, LOADEST tended to under predict sediment yield, a result of its poor ability to

High-yield maize with large net energy yield and small global warming intensity

PubMed Central

Grassini, Patricio; Cassman, Kenneth G.

2012-01-01

Addressing concerns about future food supply and climate change requires management practices that maximize productivity per unit of arable land while reducing negative environmental impact. On-farm data were evaluated to assess energy balance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of irrigated maize in Nebraska that received large nitrogen (N) fertilizer (183 kg of N⋅ha−1) and irrigation water inputs (272 mm or 2,720 m3 ha−1). Although energy inputs (30 GJ⋅ha−1) were larger than those reported for US maize systems in previous studies, irrigated maize in central Nebraska achieved higher grain and net energy yields (13.2 Mg⋅ha−1 and 159 GJ⋅ha−1, respectively) and lower GHG-emission intensity (231 kg of CO2e⋅Mg−1 of grain). Greater input-use efficiencies, especially for N fertilizer, were responsible for better performance of these irrigated systems, compared with much lower-yielding, mostly rainfed maize systems in previous studies. Large variation in energy inputs and GHG emissions across irrigated fields in the present study resulted from differences in applied irrigation water amount and imbalances between applied N inputs and crop N demand, indicating potential to further improve environmental performance through better management of these inputs. Observed variation in N-use efficiency, at any level of applied N inputs, suggests that an N-balance approach may be more appropriate for estimating soil N2O emissions than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change approach based on a fixed proportion of applied N. Negative correlation between GHG-emission intensity and net energy yield supports the proposition that achieving high yields, large positive energy balance, and low GHG emissions in intensive cropping systems are not conflicting goals. PMID:22232684

An impact evaluation of medical insurance for poor in Georgia: preliminary results and policy implications.

PubMed

Gotsadze, George; Zoidze, Akaki; Rukhadze, Natia; Shengelia, Natia; Chkhaidze, Nino

2015-03-01

The objective of this article is to assess the impact of the new health financing reform in Georgia-'medical insurance for the poor (MIP)'-which uses private insurance companies and delivers state-subsidized health benefits to the poorest groups of the Georgian population. To evaluate the reform we looked at access to health care services and financial protection against health care costs, which are two key dimensions proposed for the universal coverage plans. The data from two nationally representative Health Utilization and Expenditure Surveys (2007 and 2010) were used, and a difference-in-difference method of evaluation was applied. The MIP was not found to have a significant impact on service utilization growth nationwide, but in the capital city the MIP insured were 12% more likely to use formal health services and 7.6% more likely to use hospitals as compared with other areas of the country. The MIP impact on out-of-pocket health expenditures was greater in reducing costs of accessing services. The cost reductions were sizable and more pronounced among the poorest. Finally, the MIP significantly increased the odds of obtaining free benefits by insured individuals as compared with the control group. Such an increase was most noticeable for the poorest third of the population. Marginal changes in access to services and the geographically diverse impact of the MIP on service utilization points to other factors affecting health-seeking behaviour of the insured. These other factors include private insurer behaviour that may have used strategies for reducing claims and managing utilization. Equity impact of the MIP and improved financial protection, especially for the poor, are benefits to be retained by government policies when universal health coverage is rolled out nationwide and all citizens will be covered. The role of private insurance companies as financial intermediaries of the publicly funded programme needs further evaluation before moving forward

Direct effects of mitochondrial dysfunction on poor bone health in Leigh syndrome.

PubMed

Kato, Hiroki; Han, Xu; Yamaza, Haruyoshi; Masuda, Keiji; Hirofuji, Yuta; Sato, Hiroshi; Pham, Thanh Thi Mai; Taguchi, Tomoaki; Nonaka, Kazuaki

2017-11-04

Mitochondrial diseases are the result of aberrant mitochondrial function caused by mutations in either nuclear or mitochondrial DNA. Poor bone health has recently been suggested as a symptom of mitochondrial diseases; however, a direct link between decreased mitochondrial function and poor bone health in mitochondrial disease has not been demonstrated. In this study, stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) were isolated from a child with Leigh syndrome (LS), a mitochondrial disease, and the effects of decreased mitochondrial function on poor bone health were analyzed. Compared with control SHED, LS SHED displayed decreased osteoblastic differentiation and calcium mineralization. The intracellular and mitochondrial calcium levels were lower in LS SHED than in control SHED. Furthermore, the mitochondrial activity of LS SHED was decreased compared with control SHED both with and without osteoblastic differentiation. Our results indicate that decreased osteoblast differentiation potential and osteoblast function contribute to poor bone health in mitochondrial diseases. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Controlled-rate freezer cryopreservation of highly concentrated peripheral blood mononuclear cells results in higher cell yields and superior autologous T-cell stimulation for dendritic cell-based immunotherapy.

PubMed

Buhl, Timo; Legler, Tobias J; Rosenberger, Albert; Schardt, Anke; Schön, Michael P; Haenssle, Holger A

2012-11-01

Availability of large quantities of functionally effective dendritic cells (DC) represents one of the major challenges for immunotherapeutic trials against infectious or malignant diseases. Low numbers or insufficient T-cell activation of DC may result in premature termination of treatment and unsatisfying immune responses in clinical trials. Based on the notion that cryopreservation of monocytes is superior to cryopreservation of immature or mature DC in terms of resulting DC quantity and immuno-stimulatory capacity, we aimed to establish an optimized protocol for the cryopreservation of highly concentrated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) for DC-based immunotherapy. Cryopreserved cell preparations were analyzed regarding quantitative recovery, viability, phenotype, and functional properties. In contrast to standard isopropyl alcohol (IPA) freezing, PBMC cryopreservation in an automated controlled-rate freezer (CRF) with subsequent thawing and differentiation resulted in significantly higher cell yields of immature and mature DC. Immature DC yields and total protein content after using CRF were comparable with results obtained with freshly prepared PBMC and exceeded results of standard IPA freezing by approximately 50 %. While differentiation markers, allogeneic T-cell stimulation, viability, and cytokine profiles were similar to DC from standard freezing procedures, DC generated from CRF-cryopreserved PBMC induced a significantly higher antigen-specific IFN-γ release from autologous effector T cells. In summary, automated controlled-rate freezing of highly concentrated PBMC represents an improved method for increasing DC yields and autologous T-cell stimulation.

Mind the Roots: Phenotyping Below-Ground Crop Diversity and Its Influence on Final Yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nieters, C.; Guadagno, C. R.; Lemli, S.; Hosseini, A.; Ewers, B. E.

2017-12-01

Changes in global climate patterns and water regimes are having profound impacts on worldwide crop production. An ever-growing population paired with increasing temperatures and unpredictable periods of severe drought call for accurate modeling of future crop yield. Although novel approaches are being developed in high-throughput, above-ground image phenotyping, the below-ground plant system is still poorly phenotyped. Collection of plant root morphology and hydraulics are needed to inform mathematical models to reliably estimate yields of crops grown in sub-optimal conditions. We used Brassica rapa to inform our model as it is a globally cultivated crop with several functionally diverse cultivars. Specifically, we use 7 different accessions from oilseed (R500 and Yellow Sarson), leafy type (Pac choi and Chinese cabbage), a vegetable turnip, and two Wisconsin Fast Plants (Imb211 and Fast Plant self-compatible), which have shorter life cycles and potentially large differences in allocation to roots. Bi-weekly, we harvested above and below-ground biomass to compare the varieties in terms of carbon allocation throughout their life cycle. Using WinRhizo software, we analyzed root system length and surface area to compare and contrast root morphology among cultivars. Our results confirm that root structural characteristics are crucial to explain plant water use and carbon allocation. The root:shoot ratio reveals a significant (p < 0.01) difference among crop accession. To validate the procedure across different varieties and life stages we also compared surface area results from the image-based technology to dry biomass finding a strong linear relationship (R2= 0.85). To assess the influence of a diverse above-ground morphology on the root system we also measured above-ground anatomical and physiological traits such as gas exchange, chlorophyll content, and chlorophyll a fluorescence. A thorough analysis of the root system will clarify carbon dynamics and hydraulics at

Predictive factors for poor prognosis febrile neutropenia.

PubMed

Ahn, Shin; Lee, Yoon-Seon

2012-07-01

Most patients with chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia recover rapidly without serious complications. However, it still remains a life-threatening treatment-related toxicity, and is associated with dose reductions and delays of chemotherapeutic agents that may compromise treatment outcomes. Recent developments of risk stratification enabled early discharge with oral antibiotics for low-risk patients. However, even in low-risk patients, medical complications including bacteremia could happen. The authors reviewed recent literature to provide an update on research regarding predictive factors for poor prognosis in patients with febrile neutropenia. Various prognostic factors have been suggested with controversies. Hematological parameters, prophylactic measurements and patient-specific risk factors showed inconsistent results. MASCC risk-index score, which was originally developed to identify low-risk patients, in turn showed that the lower the MASCC score, the poorer the prognosis of febrile neutropenia, with very low levels (<15), the rate of complications was high. Patients with severe sepsis and septic shock commonly had procalcitonin concentration above 2.0 ng/ml, and this level should be considered at high risk of poor prognosis. Lower MASCC score and higher procalcitonin concentration can predict poor outcomes in febrile neutropenia. More research is required with regard to the other factors showing controversies.

Yield performance and stability of CMS-based triticale hybrids.

PubMed

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

2015-02-01

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

Targeting the Poor: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Indonesia

PubMed Central

Alatas, Vivi; Banerjee, Abhijit; Hanna, Rema; Olken, Benjamin A.; Tobias, Julia

2014-01-01

This paper reports an experiment in 640 Indonesian villages on three approaches to target the poor: proxy-means tests (PMT), where assets are used to predict consumption; community targeting, where villagers rank everyone from richest to poorest; and a hybrid. Defining poverty based on PPP$2 per-capita consumption, community targeting and the hybrid perform somewhat worse in identifying the poor than PMT, though not by enough to significantly affect poverty outcomes for a typical program. Elite capture does not explain these results. Instead, communities appear to apply a different concept of poverty. Consistent with this finding, community targeting results in higher satisfaction. PMID:25197099

Covariance Matrix Evaluations for Independent Mass Fission Yields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Terranova, N., E-mail: nicholas.terranova@unibo.it; Serot, O.; Archier, P.

2015-01-15

Recent needs for more accurate fission product yields include covariance information to allow improved uncertainty estimations of the parameters used by design codes. The aim of this work is to investigate the possibility to generate more reliable and complete uncertainty information on independent mass fission yields. Mass yields covariances are estimated through a convolution between the multi-Gaussian empirical model based on Brosa's fission modes, which describe the pre-neutron mass yields, and the average prompt neutron multiplicity curve. The covariance generation task has been approached using the Bayesian generalized least squared method through the CONRAD code. Preliminary results on mass yieldsmore » variance-covariance matrix will be presented and discussed from physical grounds in the case of {sup 235}U(n{sub th}, f) and {sup 239}Pu(n{sub th}, f) reactions.« less

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-10-01

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

Decomposing the gap in missed opportunities for vaccination between poor and non-poor in sub-Saharan Africa: A Multicountry Analyses.

PubMed

Ndwandwe, Duduzile; Uthman, Olalekan A; Adamu, Abdu A; Sambala, Evanson Z; Wiyeh, Alison B; Olukade, Tawa; Bishwajit, Ghose; Yaya, Sanni; Okwo-Bele, Jean-Marie; Wiysonge, Charles S

2018-04-24

Understanding the gaps in missed opportunities for vaccination (MOV) in sub-Saharan Africa would inform interventions for improving immunisation coverage to achieving universal childhood immunisation. We aimed to conduct a multicountry analyses to decompose the gap in MOV between poor and non-poor in SSA. We used cross-sectional data from 35 Demographic and Health Surveys in SSA conducted between 2007 and 2016. Descriptive statistics used to understand the gap in MOV between the urban poor and non-poor, and across the selected covariates. Out of the 35 countries included in this analysis, 19 countries showed pro-poor inequality, 5 showed pro-non-poor inequality and remaining 11 countries showed no statistically significant inequality. Among the countries with statistically significant pro-illiterate inequality, the risk difference ranged from 4.2% in DR Congo to 20.1% in Kenya. Important factors responsible for the inequality varied across countries. In Madagascar, the largest contributors to inequality in MOV were media access, number of under-five children, and maternal education. However, in Liberia media access narrowed inequality in MOV between poor and non-poor households. The findings indicate that in most SSA countries, children belonging to poor households are most likely to have MOV and that socio-economic inequality in is determined not only by health system functions, but also by factors beyond the scope of health authorities and care delivery system. The findings suggest the need for addressing social determinants of health.

Xenon Sputter Yield Measurements for Ion Thruster Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, John D.; Gardner, Michael M.; Johnson, Mark L.; Wilbur, Paul J.

2003-01-01

In this paper, we describe a technique that was used to measure total and differential sputter yields of materials important to high specific impulse ion thrusters. The heart of the technique is a quartz crystal monitor that is swept at constant radial distance from a small target region where a high current density xenon ion beam is aimed. Differential sputtering yields were generally measured over a full 180 deg arc in a plane that included the beam centerline and the normal vector to the target surface. Sputter yield results are presented for a xenon ion energy range from 0.5 to 10 keV and an angle of incidence range from 0 deg to 70 deg from the target surface normal direction for targets consisting of molybdenum, titanium, solid (Poco) graphite, and flexible graphite (grafoil). Total sputter yields are calculated using a simple integration procedure and comparisons are made to sputter yields obtained from the literature. In general, the agreement between the available data is good. As expected for heavy xenon ions, the differential and total sputter yields are found to be strong functions of angle of incidence. Significant under- and over-cosine behavior is observed at low- and high-ion energies, respectively. In addition, strong differences in differential yield behavior are observed between low-Z targets (C and Ti) and high-Z targets (Mo). Curve fits to the differential sputter yield data are provided. They should prove useful to analysts interested in predicting the erosion profiles of ion thruster components and determining where the erosion products re-deposit.

Electron-Poor Thiophene 1,1-Dioxides: Synthesis, Characterization, and Application as Electron Relays in Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation.

PubMed

Tsai, Chia-Hua; Chirdon, Danielle N; Kagalwala, Husain N; Maurer, Andrew B; Kaur, Aman; Pintauer, Tomislav; Bernhard, Stefan; Noonan, Kevin J T

2015-08-03

The synthesis and characterization of electron-poor thiophene 1,1-dioxides bearing cyanated phenyl groups are reported. The electron-accepting nature of these compounds was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, and highly reversible and facile reductions were observed for several derivatives. Moreover, some of the reduced thiophene dioxides form colorful anions, which were investigated spectroelectrochemically. Photoluminescence spectra of the electron-deficient sulfones were measured in CH2 Cl2, and they emit in the blue-green region with significant variation in the quantum yield depending on the aryl substituents. By expanding the degree of substitution on the phenyl rings, quantum yields up to 34 % were obtained. X-ray diffraction data are reported for two of the thiophene 1,1-dioxides, and the electronic structure was probed for all synthesized derivatives through DFT calculations. The dioxides were also examined as electron relays in a photocatalytic water reduction reaction, and they showed potential to boost the efficiency. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Efficient SRAM yield optimization with mixture surrogate modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhongjian, Jiang; Zuochang, Ye; Yan, Wang

2016-12-01

Largely repeated cells such as SRAM cells usually require extremely low failure-rate to ensure a moderate chi yield. Though fast Monte Carlo methods such as importance sampling and its variants can be used for yield estimation, they are still very expensive if one needs to perform optimization based on such estimations. Typically the process of yield calculation requires a lot of SPICE simulation. The circuit SPICE simulation analysis accounted for the largest proportion of time in the process yield calculation. In the paper, a new method is proposed to address this issue. The key idea is to establish an efficient mixture surrogate model. The surrogate model is based on the design variables and process variables. This model construction method is based on the SPICE simulation to get a certain amount of sample points, these points are trained for mixture surrogate model by the lasso algorithm. Experimental results show that the proposed model is able to calculate accurate yield successfully and it brings significant speed ups to the calculation of failure rate. Based on the model, we made a further accelerated algorithm to further enhance the speed of the yield calculation. It is suitable for high-dimensional process variables and multi-performance applications.

Drug-like properties and the causes of poor solubility and poor permeability.

PubMed

Lipinski, C A

2000-01-01

There are currently about 10000 drug-like compounds. These are sparsely, rather than uniformly, distributed through chemistry space. True diversity does not exist in experimental combinatorial chemistry screening libraries. Absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) and chemical reactivity-related toxicity is low, while biological receptor activity is higher dimensional in chemistry space, and this is partly explainable by evolutionary pressures on ADME to deal with endobiotics and exobiotics. ADME is hard to predict for large data sets because current ADME experimental screens are multi-mechanisms, and predictions get worse as more data accumulates. Currently, screening for biological receptor activity precedes or is concurrent with screening for properties related to "drugability." In the future, "drugability" screening may precede biological receptor activity screening. The level of permeability or solubility needed for oral absorption is related to potency. The relative importance of poor solubility and poor permeability towards the problem of poor oral absorption depends on the research approach used for lead generation. A "rational drug design" approach as exemplified by Merck advanced clinical candidates leads to time-dependent higher molecular weight, higher H-bonding properties, unchanged lipophilicity, and, hence, poorer permeability. A high throughput screening (HTS)-based approach as exemplified by unpublished data on Pfizer (Groton, CT) early candidates leads to higher molecular weight, unchanged H-bonding properties, higher lipophilicity, and, hence, poorer aqueous solubility.

Inductive learning of thyroid functional states using the ID3 algorithm. The effect of poor examples on the learning result.

PubMed

Forsström, J

1992-01-01

The ID3 algorithm for inductive learning was tested using preclassified material for patients suspected to have a thyroid illness. Classification followed a rule-based expert system for the diagnosis of thyroid function. Thus, the knowledge to be learned was limited to the rules existing in the knowledge base of that expert system. The learning capability of the ID3 algorithm was tested with an unselected learning material (with some inherent missing data) and with a selected learning material (no missing data). The selected learning material was a subgroup which formed a part of the unselected learning material. When the number of learning cases was increased, the accuracy of the program improved. When the learning material was large enough, an increase in the learning material did not improve the results further. A better learning result was achieved with the selected learning material not including missing data as compared to unselected learning material. With this material we demonstrate a weakness in the ID3 algorithm: it can not find available information from good example cases if we add poor examples to the data.

Earthquake prediction; new studies yield promising results

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robinson, R.

1974-01-01

On Agust 3, 1973, a small earthquake (magnitude 2.5) occurred near Blue Mountain Lake in the Adirondack region of northern New York State. This seemingly unimportant event was of great significance, however, because it was predicted. Seismologsits at the Lamont-Doherty geologcal Observatory of Columbia University accurately foretold the time, place, and magnitude of the event. Their prediction was based on certain pre-earthquake processes that are best explained by a hypothesis known as "dilatancy," a concept that has injected new life and direction into the science of earthquake prediction. Although much mroe reserach must be accomplished before we can expect to predict potentially damaging earthquakes with any degree of consistency, results such as this indicate that we are on a promising road. 

Effects of Management Practices on Meloidogyne incognita and Snap Bean Yield.

PubMed

Smittle, D A; Johnson, A W

1982-01-01

Phenamiphos applied at 6.7 kg ai/ha through a solid set or a center pivot irrigation system with 28 mm of water effectively controlled root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne incognita, and resulted in greater snap bean growth and yields irrespective of growing season, tillage method, or cover crop system. The percentage yield increases attributed to this method of M. incognita control over nontreated controls were 45% in the spring crop, and 90% and 409% in the fall crops following winter rye and fallow, respectively. Root galling was not affected by tillage systems or cover crop, but disk tillage resulted in over 50% reduction in bean yield compared with yields from the subsoil-bed tillage system.

Singing with yourself: evidence for an inverse modeling account of poor-pitch singing.

PubMed

Pfordresher, Peter Q; Mantell, James T

2014-05-01

Singing is a ubiquitous and culturally significant activity that humans engage in from an early age. Nevertheless, some individuals - termed poor-pitch singers - are unable to match target pitches within a musical semitone while singing. In the experiments reported here, we tested whether poor-pitch singing deficits would be reduced when individuals imitate recordings of themselves as opposed to recordings of other individuals. This prediction was based on the hypothesis that poor-pitch singers have not developed an abstract "inverse model" of the auditory-vocal system and instead must rely on sensorimotor associations that they have experienced directly, which is true for sequences an individual has already produced. In three experiments, participants, both accurate and poor-pitch singers, were better able to imitate sung recordings of themselves than sung recordings of other singers. However, this self-advantage was enhanced for poor-pitch singers. These effects were not a byproduct of self-recognition (Experiment 1), vocal timbre (Experiment 2), or the absolute pitch of target recordings (i.e., the advantage remains when recordings are transposed, Experiment 3). Results support the conceptualization of poor-pitch singing as an imitative deficit resulting from a deficient inverse model of the auditory-vocal system with respect to pitch. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Calculation of K-shell fluorescence yields for low-Z elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nekkab, M.; Kahoul, A.; Deghfel, B.; Aylikci, N. Küp; Aylikçi, V.

2015-03-01

The analytical methods based on X-ray fluorescence are advantageous for practical applications in a variety of fields including atomic physics, X-ray fluorescence surface chemical analysis and medical research and so the accurate fluorescence yields (ωK) are required for these applications. In this contribution we report a new parameters for calculation of K-shell fluorescence yields (ωK) of elements in the range of 11≤Z≤30. The experimental data are interpolated by using the famous analytical function (ωk/(1 -ωk)) 1 /q (were q=3, 3.5 and 4) vs Z to deduce the empirical K-shell fluorescence yields. A comparison is made between the results of the procedures followed here and those theoretical and other semi-empirical fluorescence yield values. Reasonable agreement was typically obtained between our result and other works.

Kinetics of phosphorus and potassium release from rock phosphate and waste mica enriched compost and their effect on yield and nutrient uptake by wheat (Triticum aestivum).

PubMed

Nishanth, D; Biswas, D R

2008-06-01

An attempt was made to study the efficient use of rice straw and indigenous source of phosphorus and potassium in crop production through composting technology. Various enriched composts were prepared using rice straw, rock phosphate (RP), waste mica and bioinoculant (Aspergillus awamori) and kinetics of release of phosphorus and potassium from enriched composts and their effect on yield and nutrient uptake by wheat (Triticum aestivum) were carried out. Results showed sharp increases in release in water-soluble P and K from all the composts at 8th to 12th day of leaching, thereafter, it decreased gradually. Maximum release of water-soluble P and K were obtained in ordinary compost than enriched composts during the initial stages of leaching, but their differences narrowed down at latter stages. Data in pot experiments revealed that enriched composts performed poorly than diammonium phosphate during initial stages of crop growth, but they out yielded at the latter stages, particularly at maturity stage, as evident from their higher yield, uptake, nutrient recoveries and fertility status of P and K in soils. Moreover, enriched composts prepared with RP and waste mica along with A. awamori resulted in significantly higher biomass yield, uptake and recoveries of P and K as well as available P and K in soils than composts prepared without inoculant. Results indicated that enriched compost could be an alternate technology for the efficient management of rice straw, low-grade RP and waste mica in crop production, which could help to reduce the reliance on costly chemical fertilizers.

Climate change impacts on crop yield: evidence from China.

PubMed

Wei, Taoyuan; Cherry, Todd L; Glomrød, Solveig; Zhang, Tianyi

2014-11-15

When estimating climate change impact on crop yield, a typical assumption is constant elasticity of yield with respect to a climate variable even though the elasticity may be inconstant. After estimating both constant and inconstant elasticities with respect to temperature and precipitation based on provincial panel data in China 1980-2008, our results show that during that period, the temperature change contributes positively to total yield growth by 1.3% and 0.4% for wheat and rice, respectively, but negatively by 12% for maize. The impacts of precipitation change are marginal. We also compare our estimates with other studies and highlight the implications of the inconstant elasticities for crop yield, harvest and food security. We conclude that climate change impact on crop yield would not be an issue in China if positive impacts of other socio-economic factors continue in the future. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Steps toward dismantling poverty for working, poor women.

PubMed

Froehlich, Jeanette

2005-01-01

The majority of the world's poor people are women and many of them spend long hours doing paid and unpaid work. Pay inequities between men and women persist and income inequalities between the rich and poor are deepening. Working poor females, especially working poor mothers, struggle against considerable odds. This situation, and some steps that healthcare professionals can take toward dismantling poverty are addressed.

Specific Yield--Column drainage and centrifuge moisture content

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, A.I.; Prill, R.C.; Morris, D.A.

1963-01-01

The specific yield of a rock or soil, with respect to water, is the ratio of (1) the volume of water which, after being saturated, it will yield by gravity to (2) its own volume. Specific retention represents the water retained against gravity drainage. The specific yield and retention when added together are equal to the total interconnected porosity of the rock or soil. Because specific retention is more easily determined than specific yield, most methods for obtaining yield first require the determination of specific retention. Recognizing the great need for developing improved methods of determining the specific yield of water-bearing materials, the U.S. Geological Survey and the California Department of Water Resources initiated a cooperative investigation of this subject. The major objectives of this research are (1) to review pertinent literature on specific yield and related subjects, (2) to increase basic knowledge of specific yield and rate of drainage and to determine the most practical methods of obtaining them, (3) to compare and to attempt to correlate the principal laboratory and field methods now commonly used to obtain specific yield, and (4) to obtain improved estimates of specific yield of water-bearing deposits in California. An open-file report, 'Specific yield of porous media, an annotated bibliography,' by A. I. Johnson, D. A. Morris, and R. C. Prill, was released in 1960 in partial fulfillment of the first objective. This report describes the second phase of the specific-yield study by the U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Laboratory at Denver, Colo. Laboratory research on column drainage and centrifuge moisture equivalent, two methods for estimating specific retention of porous media, is summarized. In the column-drainage study, a wide variety of materials was packed into plastic columns of 1- to 8-inch diameter, wetted with Denver tap water, and drained under controlled conditions of temperature and humidity. The effects of cleaning the

On-line prediction of yield grade, longissimus muscle area, preliminary yield grade, adjusted preliminary yield grade, and marbling score using the MARC beef carcass image analysis system.

PubMed

Shackelford, S D; Wheeler, T L; Koohmaraie, M

2003-01-01

The present experiment was conducted to evaluate the ability of the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center's beef carcass image analysis system to predict calculated yield grade, longissimus muscle area, preliminary yield grade, adjusted preliminary yield grade, and marbling score under commercial beef processing conditions. In two commercial beef-processing facilities, image analysis was conducted on 800 carcasses on the beef-grading chain immediately after the conventional USDA beef quality and yield grades were applied. Carcasses were blocked by plant and observed calculated yield grade. The carcasses were then separated, with 400 carcasses assigned to a calibration data set that was used to develop regression equations, and the remaining 400 carcasses assigned to a prediction data set used to validate the regression equations. Prediction equations, which included image analysis variables and hot carcass weight, accounted for 90, 88, 90, 88, and 76% of the variation in calculated yield grade, longissimus muscle area, preliminary yield grade, adjusted preliminary yield grade, and marbling score, respectively, in the prediction data set. In comparison, the official USDA yield grade as applied by online graders accounted for 73% of the variation in calculated yield grade. The technology described herein could be used by the beef industry to more accurately determine beef yield grades; however, this system does not provide an accurate enough prediction of marbling score to be used without USDA grader interaction for USDA quality grading.

Fission yield calculation using toy model based on Monte Carlo simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jubaidah, Kurniadi, Rizal

2015-09-01

Toy model is a new approximation in predicting fission yield distribution. Toy model assumes nucleus as an elastic toy consist of marbles. The number of marbles represents the number of nucleons, A. This toy nucleus is able to imitate the real nucleus properties. In this research, the toy nucleons are only influenced by central force. A heavy toy nucleus induced by a toy nucleon will be split into two fragments. These two fission fragments are called fission yield. In this research, energy entanglement is neglected. Fission process in toy model is illustrated by two Gaussian curves intersecting each other. There are five Gaussian parameters used in this research. They are scission point of the two curves (Rc), mean of left curve (μL) and mean of right curve (μR), deviation of left curve (σL) and deviation of right curve (σR). The fission yields distribution is analyses based on Monte Carlo simulation. The result shows that variation in σ or µ can significanly move the average frequency of asymmetry fission yields. This also varies the range of fission yields distribution probability. In addition, variation in iteration coefficient only change the frequency of fission yields. Monte Carlo simulation for fission yield calculation using toy model successfully indicates the same tendency with experiment results, where average of light fission yield is in the range of 90yield is in about 135

Lumber grade-yields for factory-grade northern red oak sawlogs

Treesearch

James G. Schroeder; Leland F. Hanks

1967-01-01

A report on results of sawing 556 northern red oak sawlogs at four sawmills in West Virginia and Virginia, and the distribution of grades for the standard factory lumber produced. Tabular data on actual yield and curved grade-yield percentages.

The specific role of inhibition in reading comprehension in good and poor comprehenders.

PubMed

Borella, Erika; Carretti, Barbara; Pelegrina, Santiago

2010-01-01

Difficulties in inhibitory processes have been shown to characterize the performance of poor comprehenders. However, the inhibitory inefficiency of poor comprehenders is most often assessed by their resistance to proactive interference, that is, the ability to suppress off-goal task information from working memory (WM). In two studies tasks assessing resistance to proactive interference (intrusion errors), response to distracters (Text With Distracters task) and prepotent response inhibition (Stroop and Hayling tests), along with WM measures, were administered to children aged 10 to 11, both good and poor comprehenders. The aim of the study was to specifically determine whether general or specific inhibitory factors affect poor comprehenders' reading difficulties. Results showed that poor comprehenders, compared to good ones, are impaired in WM tasks and in inhibitory tasks that assess resistance to proactive interference. This suggests that reading comprehension difficulties of poor comprehenders are related to specific inhibitory problems.

Usability of NASA Satellite Imagery-Based Daily Solar Radiation for Crop Yield Simulation and Management Decisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, H.; Cassman, K. G.; Stackhouse, P. W.; Hoell, J. M.

2007-12-01

measurements at the 20 US sites, while the correlation was poor (mean r2=0.55**, though significant) at the four international sites. At the 20 US sites, the mean root mean square error (RMSE) between NASA solar radiation and the ground data was 2.7 MJ/m2/d, or 19% of the mean daily ground data. At the four international sites, the mean RMSE was 4.0 MJ/m2/d, or 25% of the mean daily ground value. Large differences between NASA solar radiation and the ground data were likely associated with tropical environment or significant variation in elevation within a short distance. When using NASA solar radiation coupled with other weather data from ground measurements, the simulated corn yields were highly significantly correlated (mean r2=0.85**) with those using complete ground weather data at the 20 US sites, while the correlation (mean r2=0.48**) was poor at the four international sites. The mean RMSE between the simulated corn yields of the two batches was 0.50 Mg/ha, or 3% of the mean absolute value using the ground data. At the four international sites, the RMSE of the simulated yields was 1.5 Mg/ha, or 13% of the mean absolute value using the ground data. We conclude that the NASA satellite imagery-based daily solar radiation is a reasonably reliable surrogate for the ground observations for farm-specific crop yield simulation and management decisions, especially at locations where ground-measured solar radiation is unavailable.

Consequences of waterlogging in cotton and opportunities for mitigation of yield losses

PubMed Central

Najeeb, Ullah; Bange, Michael P.; Tan, Daniel K. Y.; Atwell, Brian J.

2015-01-01

Climatic variability, typified by erratic heavy-rainfall events, causes waterlogging in intensively irrigated crops and is exacerbated under warm temperature regimes on soils with poor internal drainage. Irrigated cotton is often grown in precisely these conditions, exposing it to waterlogging-induced yield losses after substantial summer rainfall. This calls for a deeper understanding of mechanisms of waterlogging tolerance and its relevance to cotton. Hence this review suggests possible causes of waterlogging-induced yield loss in cotton and approaches to improvement of waterlogging tolerance, drawing upon the slight body of published data in cotton and principles from other species. The yield penalty depends on soil type, phenological stage and cumulative period of root exposure to air-filled porosities below 10 %. Events in the soil include O2 deficiency in the root zone that changes the redox state of nutrients, making them unavailable (e.g. nitrogen) or potentially toxic for plants. Furthermore, root-derived hormones that are transported in the xylem have long been associated with oxygen deficits. These belowground effects (impaired root growth, nutrient uptake and transport, hormonal signalling) affect the shoots, interfering with canopy development, photosynthesis and radiation-use efficiency. Compared with the more waterlogging-tolerant cereals, cotton does not have identified adaptations to waterlogging in the root zone, forming no conspicuous root aerenchyma and having low fermentative activity. We speculate that these factors contribute substantially to the sensitivity of cotton to sustained periods of waterlogging. We discuss the impact of these belowground factors on shoot performance, photosynthesis and yield components. Management practices, i.e. soil aeration, scheduling irrigation and fertilizer application, can reduce waterlogging-induced damage. Limiting ethylene biosynthesis using anti-ethylene agents and down-regulating expression of genes

Confronting Poor Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dennis, Bruce L.

Responsible and effective administrative leadership requires confronting those members of the teaching staff who are a negative influence on the institution. Importantly, the absence of expressed appreciation for good work can have a devastating impact on a principal's image if he or she suddenly begins to confront poor performances. Actually, the…

Poorly Differentiated Squamous Cell Carcinoma Arising in Tattooed Skin

PubMed Central

Sarma, Deba P.; Dentlinger, Renee B.; Forystek, Amanda M.; Stevens, Todd; Huerter, Christopher

2010-01-01

Introduction. Tattoos have increasingly become accepted by mainstream Western society. As a result, the incidence of tattoo-associated dermatoses is on the rise. The presence of a poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma in an old tattooed skin is of interest as it has not been previously documented. Case Presentation. A 79-year-old white homeless man of European descent presented to the dermatology clinic with a painless raised nodule on his left forearm arising in a tattooed area. A biopsy of the lesion revealed a poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma infiltrating into a tattoo. The lesion was completely excised and the patient remains disease-free one year later. Conclusion. All previous reports of squamous cell carcinomas arising in tattoos have been well-differentiated low-grade type or keratoacanthoma-type and are considered to be coincidental rather than related to any carcinogenic effect of the tattoo pigments. Tattoo-associated poorly differentiated invasive carcinoma appears to be extremely rare. PMID:21274289

[Contrast of Z-Pinch X-Ray Yield Measure Technique].

PubMed

Li, Mo; Wang, Liang-ping; Sheng, Liang; Lu, Yi

2015-03-01

Resistive bolometer and scintillant detection system are two mainly Z-pinch X-ray yield measure techniques which are based on different diagnostic principles. Contrasting the results from two methods can help with increasing precision of X-ray yield measurement. Experiments with different load material and shape were carried out on the "QiangGuang-I" facility. For Al wire arrays, X-ray yields measured by the two techniques were largely consistent. However, for insulating coating W wire arrays, X-ray yields taken from bolometer changed with load parameters while data from scintillant detection system hardly changed. Simulation and analysis draw conclusions as follows: (1) Scintillant detection system is much more sensitive to X-ray photons with low energy and its spectral response is wider than the resistive bolometer. Thus, results from the former method are always larger than the latter. (2) The responses of the two systems are both flat to Al plasma radiation. Thus, their results are consistent for Al wire array loads. (3) Radiation form planar W wire arrays is mainly composed of sub-keV soft X-ray. X-ray yields measured by the bolometer is supposed to be accurate because of the nickel foil can absorb almost all the soft X-ray. (4) By contrast, using planar W wire arrays, data from scintillant detection system hardly change with load parameters. A possible explanation is that while the distance between wires increases, plasma temperature at stagnation reduces and spectra moves toward the soft X-ray region. Scintillator is much more sensitive to the soft X-ray below 200 eV. Thus, although the total X-ray yield reduces with large diameter load, signal from the scintillant detection system is almost the same. (5) Both Techniques affected by electron beams produced by the loads.

Yield estimation of corn with multispectral data and the potential of using imaging spectrometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bach, Heike

1997-05-01

In the frame of the special yield estimation, a regular procedure conducted for the European Union to more accurately estimate agricultural yield, a project was conducted for the state minister for Rural Environment, Food and Forestry of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany) to test remote sensing data with advanced yield formation models for accuracy and timelines of yield estimation of corn. The methodology employed uses field-based plant parameter estimation from atmospherically corrected multitemporal/multispectral LANDSAT-TM data. An agrometeorological plant-production-model is used for yield prediction. Based solely on 4 LANDSAT-derived estimates and daily meteorological data the grain yield of corn stands was determined for 1995. The modeled yield was compared with results independently gathered within the special yield estimation for 23 test fields in the Upper Rhine Valley. The agrement between LANDSAT-based estimates and Special Yield Estimation shows a relative error of 2.3 percent. The comparison of the results for single fields shows, that six weeks before harvest the grain yield of single corn fields was estimated with a mean relative accuracy of 13 percent using satellite information. The presented methodology can be transferred to other crops and geographical regions. For future applications hyperspectral sensors show great potential to further enhance the results or yield prediction with remote sensing.

Poor tap water quality experiences and poor sleep quality during the Flint, Michigan Municipal Water Crisis.

PubMed

Kruger, Daniel J; Kodjebacheva, Gergana D; Cupal, Suzanne

2017-08-01

After inadequate official response to community concerns over water quality following changes in Flint's municipal water supply, this study sought evidence for a relationship between water quality and community mental health. The Speak to Your Health Community Survey is a community-based participatory component of the health surveillance system in Genesee County, Michigan. This cross-sectional survey recruits participants from every residential Census Tract of the county and strives for demographic representativeness. Respondents (n=834) rated their tap water quality (taste, smell, appearance) as poor (36%), fair (18%), good (20%), very good (17%), and excellent (10%). They rated their sleep quality as poor (12%), fair (28%), good (39%), very good (18%), and excellent (4%), and had an average (SD) sleep length of 408(90) minutes. Controlling for age, sex, years of education, and whether respondents were African American and Hispanic/Latino/a, lower perceived tap water quality was associated with lower sleep quality and shorter sleep length. Results indicate that adverse health conditions related to the water crisis extend beyond lead poisoning in children and include deterioration of sleep conditions among adult residents. Copyright © 2017 National Sleep Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The surgical treatment of chronic intestinal ischemia: results of a recent series.

PubMed

Illuminati, G; Caliò, F G; D'Urso, A; Papaspiropoulos, V; Mancini, P; Ceccanei, G

2004-04-01

Due to the rarity of the condition, large and prospective series defining the optimal method of digestive arteries revascularization, for the treatment of chronic intestinal ischemia, are lacking. The aim of this consecutive sample clinical study was to test the hypothesis that flexible application of different revascularization methods, according to individual cases, will yield the best results in the management of chronic intestinal ischemia. Eleven patients, of a mean age of 56 years, underwent revascularization of 11 digestive arteries for symptomatic chronic mesenteric occlusive disease. Eleven superior mesenteric arteries and one celiac axis were revascularized. The revascularization techniques included retrograde bypass grafting in 7 cases, antegrade bypass grafting in 2, percutaneous arterial angioplasty in 1, and arterial reimplantation in one case. The donor axis for either reimplantation or bypass grafting was the infrarenal aorta in 4 cases, an infrarenal Dacron graft in 4, and the celiac aorta in one case. Grafting materials included 5 polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and 3 Dacron grafts. Concomitant procedures included 3 aorto-ilio-femoral grafts and one renal artery revascularization. Mean follow-up duration was 31 months. There was no operative mortality. Cumulative survival rate was 88.9% at 36 months (SE 12.1%). Primary patency rate was 90% at 36 months (SE 11.6%). The symptom free rate was 90% at 36 months (SE 11.6%). Direct reimplantation, antegrade and retrograde bypass grafting, all allow good mid-term results: the choice of the optimal method depends on the anatomic and general patient's status. Associated infrarenal and renal arterial lesions can be safely treated in the same time of digestive revascularization. Angioplasty alone yields poor results and should be limited to patients at poor risk for surgery.

Measurement of ground-water storage change and specific yield using the temporal-gravity method near Rillito Creek, Tucson, Arizona

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pool, Donald R.; Schmidt, Werner

1997-01-01

The temporal-gravity method was used to estimate ground-water storage change and specific -yield values at wells near Rillito Creek, Tucson, Arizona, between early December 1992 and early January 1994. The method applies Newton's Law of Gravitation to measure changes in the local gravitational field of the Earth that are caused by changes in the mass and volume of ground water. Gravity at 50 stations in a 6-square-mile area was measured repeatedly relative to gravity at two bedrock stations. Ephemeral recharge through streamflow infiltration during the winter of 1992-93 resulted in water-level rises and gravity increases near Rillito Creek as the volume of ground water in storage increased. Water levels in wells rose as much as 30 feet, and gravity increased as much as 90 microgals. Water levels declined and gravity decreased near the stream after the last major winter flow but continued to rise and increase, respectively, in downgradient areas. Water levels and gravity relative to bedrock were measured at 10 wells. Good linear correlations between water levels and gravity values at five wells nearest the stream allowed for the estimation of specific-yield values for corresponding stratigraphic units assuming the mass change occurred in an infinite horizonal slab of uniform thickness. Specific-yield values for the stream-channel deposits at three wells ranged from 0.15 to 0.34, and correlation coefficients ranged from 0.81 to 0.99. Specific-yield values for the Fort Lowell Formation at three wells ranged from 0.07 to 0.18, and correlation coefficients ranged from 0.82 to 0.93. Specific-yield values were not calculated for the five wells farthest from the stream because of insufficient water-level and gravity change or poor correlations between water level and gravity. Poor correlations between water levels and gravity resulted from ground-water storage change in perched aquifers and in the unsaturated zone near ephemeral streams. Seasonal distributions of ground

Dimension scaling effects on the yield sensitivity of HEMT digital circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sarker, Jogendra C.; Purviance, John E.

1992-01-01

In our previous works, using a graphical tool, yield factor histograms, we studied the yield sensitivity of High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMT) and HEMT circuit performance with the variation of process parameters. This work studies the scaling effects of process parameters on yield sensitivity of HEMT digital circuits. The results from two HEMT circuits are presented.

Early Results of Mycorrhizal Inoculation of Pine in Puerto Rico

Treesearch

Charles B. Briscoe

1959-01-01

Despite the presence of more than 500 native tree species in Puerto Rico, many efforts have been made to introduce pine. These attempts have been made because, compared to the native species, pine has a much wider accepted market and has the longer fiber necessary as a component of kraft papers. In addition pine produces higher yields on poor sites, and its...

The results of an experimental indoor hydroponic Cannabis growing study, using the 'Screen of Green' (ScrOG) method-Yield, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and DNA analysis.

PubMed

Knight, Glenys; Hansen, Sean; Connor, Mark; Poulsen, Helen; McGovern, Catherine; Stacey, Janet

2010-10-10

The results of an indoor hydroponic Cannabis growth study are presented. It is intended that this work will be of assistance to those with an interest in determining an estimation of yield and value of Cannabis crops. Three cycles of six plants were grown over a period of 1 year in order to ascertain the potential yield of female flowering head material from such an operation. The cultivation methods used were selected to replicate typical indoor hydroponic Cannabis growing operations, such as are commonly encountered by the New Zealand Police. The plants were also tested to ascertain the percentage of the psychoactive chemical Δ-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) present in the flowering head material, and were genetically profiled by STR analysis. Phenotypic observations are related to the data collected. The inexperience of the growers was evidenced by different problems encountered in each of the three cycles, each of which would be expected to negatively impact the yield and THC data obtained. These data are therefore considered to be conservative. The most successful cycle yielded an average of 881g (31.1oz) of dry, groomed female flowering head per plant, and over the whole study the 18 plants yielded a total of 12,360g (436.0oz), or an average of 687g (24.2oz) of dry head per plant. THC data shows significant intra-plant variation and also demonstrates inter-varietal variation. THC values for individual plants ranged from 4.3 to 25.2%. The findings of this study and a separate ESR research project illustrate that the potency of Cannabis grown in New Zealand has dramatically increased in recent years. DNA analysis distinguished distinct groups in general agreement with the phenotypic variation observed. One plant however, exhibiting a unique triallelic pattern at two of the five loci tested, while remaining phenotypically indistinguishable from three other plants within the same grow. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Predicting yields from Appalachian red oak logs and lumber

Treesearch

Daniel E. Dunmire

1971-01-01

One utilization problem is in pinpointing how to efficiently and effectively recover usable parts from logs, bolts, and lumber. Yields, which are output divided by input, provide a key to managers who make processing decisions. Research results are applied to indicate yields of graded lumber and dimension stock from graded Appalachian red oak (group) logs. How to...

Association of Suicidal Ideation with Poor Sleep Quality among Ethiopian Adults

PubMed Central

Gelaye, Bizu; Okeiga, Joseph; Ayantoye, Idris; Berhane, Hanna Y.; Berhane, Yemane; Williams, Michelle A.

2016-01-01

Objective To examine the extent to which poor sleep quality is associated with suicidal ideation among Ethiopian adults. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,054 adults attending outpatient clinical facilities in Ethiopia. Standardized questionnaires were utilized to collect data on demographics, sleep quality, lifestyle, and depression status. Depression and suicidal ideation were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), while the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire was utilized to assess sleep quality. Multivariate logistic regression models were fit to estimate adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Results The prevalence of suicidal ideation was 24.3% while poor sleep quality (PSQI global score of > 5vs. ≤5) was endorsed by 60.2% of participants. After adjustment for confounders including depression, poor sleep quality was associated with more than 3-fold increased odds of suicidal ideation (AOR=3.46; 95%CI 2.27–5.26). When assessed as a continuous variable, each 1-unit increase in the global PSQI score resulted in a 20% increased odds for suicidal ideation, even after adjusting for depression (AOR=1.20; 95%CI 1.14–1.27). Participants with both poor sleep quality and depression had much higher odds (AOR=24.9, 95% CI 15.2–40.8) of suicidal ideation as compared with those who had good sleep quality and no depression although inferences from this analysis are limited due to the wide 95%CI. Conclusion Suicidal ideation and poor sleep quality are highly prevalent. Individuals with poor sleep quality have higher odds of suicidal ideation. If confirmed, mental health services need to address sleep disturbances seriously to prevent suicidal episodes. PMID:27771845

The Chronically Poor: Breaking the Cycle.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morris-Bilotti, Sharon

This question-and-answer format paper looks at some of the basic issues surrounding the chronically poor and initiatives and services designed to break the poverty cycle. A first section explores some of the myths and realities surrounding the characteristics of the chronically poor population and notes that this population is comprised of…

Dendritic brushes under theta and poor solvent conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gergidis, Leonidas N.; Kalogirou, Andreas; Charalambopoulos, Antonios; Vlahos, Costas

2013-07-01

The effects of solvent quality on the internal stratification of polymer brushes formed by dendron polymers up to third generation were studied by means of molecular dynamics simulations with Langevin thermostat. The distributions of polymer units, of the free ends, the radii of gyration, and the back folding probabilities of the dendritic spacers were studied at the macroscopic states of theta and poor solvent. For high grafting densities we observed a small decrease in the height of the brush as the solvent quality decreases. The internal stratification in theta solvent was similar to the one we found in good solvent, with two and in some cases three kinds of populations containing short dendrons with weakly extended spacers, intermediate-height dendrons, and tall dendrons with highly stretched spacers. The differences increase as the grafting density decreases and single dendron populations were evident in theta and poor solvent. In poor solvent at low grafting densities, solvent micelles, polymeric pinned lamellae, spherical and single chain collapsed micelles were observed. The scaling dependence of the height of the dendritic brush at high density brushes for both solvents was found to be in agreement with existing analytical results.

Poor Sleep Quality, Antepartum Depression and Suicidal Ideation among Pregnant Women

PubMed Central

Gelaye, Bizu; Addae, Gifty; Neway, Beemnet; Larrabure-Torrealva, Gloria T.; Qiu, Chunfang; Stoner, Lee; Fernandez, Miguel Angel Luque; Sanchez, Sixto E.; Williams, Michelle A.

2016-01-01

Objective To evaluate the independent and combined associations of maternal self-reported poor sleep quality and antepartum depression with suicidal ideation during the third trimester Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,298 pregnant women (between 24 and 28 gestational weeks) attending prenatal clinics in Lima, Peru. Antepartum depression and suicidal ideation were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire was used to assess sleep quality. Multivariate logistical regression procedures were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) after adjusting for putative confounders. Results Approximately, 17% of women were classified as having poor sleep quality (defined using the recommended criteria of PSQI global score of >5 vs. ≤5). Further, the prevalence of antepartum depression and suicidal ideation were 10.3% and 8.5%, respectively in this cohort. After adjusting for confounders including depression, poor sleep quality was associated with a 2.81-fold increased odds of suicidal ideation (OR=2.81; 95% CI 1.78–4.45). When assessed as a continuous variable, each 1-unit increase in the global PSQI score resulted in a 28% increase in odds for suicidal ideation, even after adjusting for depression (OR=1.28; 95% CI 1.15–1.41). The odds of suicidal ideation was particularly high among depressed women with poor sleep quality (OR=13.56 95% CI 7.53–24.41) as compared with women without either risk factor. Limitations This cross-sectional study utilized self-reported data. Causality cannot be inferred, and results may not be fully generalizable. Conclusion Poor sleep quality, even after adjusting for depression, is associated with antepartum suicidal ideation. Our findings support the need to explore sleep-focused interventions for pregnant women. PMID:27930912

Global Crop Yields, Climatic Trends and Technology Enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Najafi, E.; Devineni, N.; Khanbilvardi, R.; Kogan, F.

2016-12-01

During the last decades the global agricultural production has soared up and technology enhancement is still making positive contribution to yield growth. However, continuing population, water crisis, deforestation and climate change threaten the global food security. Attempts to predict food availability in the future around the world can be partly understood from the impact of changes to date. A new multilevel model for yield prediction at the country scale using climate covariates and technology trend is presented in this paper. The structural relationships between average yield and climate attributes as well as trends are estimated simultaneously. All countries are modeled in a single multilevel model with partial pooling and/or clustering to automatically group and reduce estimation uncertainties. El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), Geopotential height (GPH), historical CO2 level and time-trend as a relatively reliable approximation of technology measurement are used as predictors to estimate annual agricultural crop yields for each country from 1961 to 2007. Results show that these indicators can explain the variability in historical crop yields for most of the countries and the model performs well under out-of-sample verifications.

Real-time yield estimation based on deep learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahnemoonfar, Maryam; Sheppard, Clay

2017-05-01

Crop yield estimation is an important task in product management and marketing. Accurate yield prediction helps farmers to make better decision on cultivation practices, plant disease prevention, and the size of harvest labor force. The current practice of yield estimation based on the manual counting of fruits is very time consuming and expensive process and it is not practical for big fields. Robotic systems including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV), provide an efficient, cost-effective, flexible, and scalable solution for product management and yield prediction. Recently huge data has been gathered from agricultural field, however efficient analysis of those data is still a challenging task. Computer vision approaches currently face diffident challenges in automatic counting of fruits or flowers including occlusion caused by leaves, branches or other fruits, variance in natural illumination, and scale. In this paper a novel deep convolutional network algorithm was developed to facilitate the accurate yield prediction and automatic counting of fruits and vegetables on the images. Our method is robust to occlusion, shadow, uneven illumination and scale. Experimental results in comparison to the state-of-the art show the effectiveness of our algorithm.

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

PubMed

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

2014-06-01

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

Detection of meteorological extreme effect on historical crop yield anomaly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, W.; Iizumi, T.; Nishimori, M.

2017-12-01

Meteorological extremes of temperature and precipitation are a critical issue in the global climate change, and some studies investigating how the extreme changes in accordance with the climate change are continuously reported. However, it is rarely understandable that the extremes affect crop yield worldwide as heatwave, coolwave, drought, and flood, albeit some local or national reports are available. Therefore, we globally investigated the extremes effects on the variability of historical yield of maize, rice, soy, and wheat with a standardized index and a historical yield anomaly. For the regression analysis, the standardized index is annually aggregated in the consideration of a crop calendar, and the historical yield is detrended with 5-year moving average. Throughout this investigation, we found that the relationship between the aggregated standardized index and the historical yield anomaly shows not merely positive correlation but also negative correlation in all crops in the globe. Namely, the extremes cause decrease of crop yield as a matter of course, but increase in some regions contrastingly. These results help us to quantify the extremes effect on historical crop yield anomaly.

Reed canarygrass yield improvement

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Reed canarygrass is well adapted to the northern USA. Eight cultivars and 72 accessions collected in rural landscapes from Iowa to New Hampshire were evaluated for yield. Accessions produced on average 7% higher biomass yield compared to existing cultivars. Naturalized populations of reed canarygras...

Three methods to monitor utilization of healthcare services by the poor

PubMed Central

Bhuiya, Abbas; Hanifi, SMA; Urni, Farhana; Mahmood, Shehrin Shaila

2009-01-01

Background Achieving equity by way of improving the condition of the economically poor or otherwise disadvantaged is among the core goals of contemporary development paradigm. This places importance on monitoring outcome indicators among the poor. National surveys allow disaggregation of outcomes by socioeconomic status at national level and do not have statistical adequacy to provide estimates for lower level administrative units. This limits the utility of these data for programme managers to know how well particular services are reaching the poor at the lowest level. Managers are thus left without a tool for monitoring results for the poor at lower levels. This paper demonstrates that with some extra efforts community and facility based data at the lower level can be used to monitor utilization of healthcare services by the poor. Methods Data used in this paper came from two sources- Chakaria Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) of ICDDR,B and from a special study conducted during 2006 among patients attending the public and private health facilities in Chakaria, Bangladesh. The outcome variables included use of skilled attendants for delivery and use of facilities. Rate-ratio, rate-difference, concentration index, benefit incidence ratio, sequential sampling, and Lot Quality Assurance Sampling were used to assess how pro-poor is the use of skilled attendants for delivery and healthcare facilities. Findings Poor are using skilled attendants for delivery far less than the better offs. Government health service facilities are used more than the private facilities by the poor. Benefit incidence analysis and sequential sampling techniques could assess the situation realistically which can be used for monitoring utilization of services by poor. The visual display of the findings makes both these methods attractive. LQAS, on the other hand, requires small fixed sample and always enables decision making. Conclusion With some extra efforts monitoring of the

Linear unmixing of multidate hyperspectral imagery for crop yield estimation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In this paper, we have evaluated an unsupervised unmixing approach, vertex component analysis (VCA), for the application of crop yield estimation. The results show that abundance maps of the vegetation extracted by the approach are strongly correlated to the yield data (the correlation coefficients ...

Inequality in the use of maternal and child health services in the Philippines: do pro-poor health policies result in more equitable use of services?

PubMed

Paredes, Karlo Paolo P

2016-11-10

The Philippines failed to achieve its Millennium Development Goal (MDG) commitment to reduce maternal deaths by three quarters. This, together with the recently launched Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reinforces the need for the country to keep up in improving reach of maternal and child health (MCH) services. Inequitable use of health services is a risk factor for the differences in health outcomes across socio-economic groups. This study aims to explore the extent of inequities in the use of MCH services in the Philippines after pro-poor national health policy reforms. This paper uses data from the 2008 and 2013 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) in the Philippines. Socio-economic inequality in MCH services use was measured using the concentration index. The concentration index was also decomposed in order to examine the contribution of different factors to the inequalities in the use of MCH services. In absolute figures, women who delivered in facilities increased from 2008 to 2013. Little change was noted for women who received complete antenatal care and caesarean births. Facility deliveries remain pro-rich although a pro-poor shift was noted. Women who received complete antenatal care services also remain concentrated to the rich. Further, there is a highly pro-rich inequality in caesarean deliveries which did not change much from 2008 to 2013. Household income remains as the most important contributor to the resulting inequalities in health services use, followed by maternal education. For complete antenatal care use and deliveries in government facilities, regional differences also showed to have important contribution. The findings suggest inequality in the use of MCH services had limited pro-poor improvements. Household income remains to be the major driver of inequities in MCH services use in the Philippines. This is despite the recent national government-led subsidy for the health insurance of the poor. The highly pro-rich caesarean deliveries

Gender gaps--Life expectancy and proportion of life in poor health.

PubMed

Luy, Marc; Minagawa, Yuka

2014-12-01

The literature suggests that women report worse health but live longer than men--a phenomenon known as the gender paradox in health and mortality. Although studies examining the paradox abound, relatively little is known about mechanisms underlying the gap. With data on healthy life expectancy from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010, this article analyses the relationship between length of life and health among men and women in 45 more-developed countries. The proportion of life spent in poor health is used as an indicator of health. This approach accounts for gender differences in longevity and illustrates the female health disadvantage pattern more clearly. Life expectancy at birth and the proportion of life in poor health are closely related for both genders. Furthermore, the larger the female excess in longevity, the larger the female excess in the proportion of life in poor health. By focusing on the proportion of life in poor health, this analysis suggests that women's longevity advantage translates into a health disadvantages relative to men. The results indicate that women suffer from poor health not in spite of living longer, but because they live longer.

Debt relief and public health spending in heavily indebted poor countries.

PubMed Central

Gupta, Sanjeev; Clements, Benedict; Guin-Siu, Maria Teresa; Leruth, Luc

2002-01-01

The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, which was launched in 1996, is the first comprehensive effort by the international community to reduce the external debt of the world's poorest countries. The Initiative will generate substantial savings relative to current and past public spending on health and education in these countries. Although there is ample scope for raising public health spending in heavily indebted poor countries, it may not be advisable to spend all the savings resulting from HIPC resources for this purpose. Any comprehensive strategy for tackling poverty should also focus on improving the efficiency of public health outlays and on reallocating funds to programmes that are most beneficial to the poor. In order to ensure that debt relief increases poverty-reducing spending and benefits the poor, all such spending, not just that financed by HIPC resources, should be tracked. This requires that countries improve all aspects of their public expenditure management. In the short run, heavily indebted poor countries can take some pragmatic tracking measures based on existing public expenditure management systems, but in the longer run they should adopt a more comprehensive approach so as to strengthen their budget formulation, execution, and reporting systems. PMID:11953794

Particle size reduction to the nanometer range: a promising approach to improve buccal absorption of poorly water-soluble drugs

PubMed Central

Rao, Shasha; Song, Yunmei; Peddie, Frank; Evans, Allan M

2011-01-01

Poorly water-soluble drugs, such as phenylephrine, offer challenging problems for buccal drug delivery. In order to overcome these problems, particle size reduction (to the nanometer range) and cyclodextrin complexation were investigated for permeability enhancement. The apparent solubility in water and the buccal permeation of the original phenylephrine coarse powder, a phenylephrine–cyclodextrin complex and phenylephrine nanosuspensions were characterized. The particle size and particle surface properties of phenylephrine nanosuspensions were used to optimize the size reduction process. The optimized phenylephrine nanosuspension was then freeze dried and incorporated into a multi-layered buccal patch, consisting of a small tablet adhered to a mucoadhesive film, yielding a phenylephrine buccal product with good dosage accuracy and improved mucosal permeability. The design of the buccal patch allows for drug incorporation without the need to change the mucoadhesive component, and is potentially suited to a range of poorly water-soluble compounds. PMID:21753876

Particle size reduction to the nanometer range: a promising approach to improve buccal absorption of poorly water-soluble drugs.

PubMed

Rao, Shasha; Song, Yunmei; Peddie, Frank; Evans, Allan M

2011-01-01

Poorly water-soluble drugs, such as phenylephrine, offer challenging problems for buccal drug delivery. In order to overcome these problems, particle size reduction (to the nanometer range) and cyclodextrin complexation were investigated for permeability enhancement. The apparent solubility in water and the buccal permeation of the original phenylephrine coarse powder, a phenylephrine-cyclodextrin complex and phenylephrine nanosuspensions were characterized. The particle size and particle surface properties of phenylephrine nanosuspensions were used to optimize the size reduction process. The optimized phenylephrine nanosuspension was then freeze dried and incorporated into a multi-layered buccal patch, consisting of a small tablet adhered to a mucoadhesive film, yielding a phenylephrine buccal product with good dosage accuracy and improved mucosal permeability. The design of the buccal patch allows for drug incorporation without the need to change the mucoadhesive component, and is potentially suited to a range of poorly water-soluble compounds.

Effects of soil amendment on soil characteristics and maize yield in Horqin Sandy Land

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, L.; Liu, J. H.; Zhao, B. P.; Xue, A.; Hao, G. C.

2016-08-01

A 4-year experiment was conducted to investigate the inter-annual effects of sandy soil amendment on maize yield, soil water storage and soil enzymatic activities in sandy soil in Northeast China in 2010 to 2014. We applied the sandy soil amendment in different year, and investigated the different effects of sandy soil amendment in 2014. There were six treatments including: (1) no sandy soil amendment application (CK); (2) one year after applying sandy soil amendment (T1); (3) two years after applying sandy soil amendment(T2); (4) three years after applying sandy soil amendment(T3); (5)four years after applying sandy soil amendment(T4); (6) five years after applying sandy soil amendment (T5). T refers to treatment, and the number refers to the year after application of the sandy soil amendment. Comparing with CK, sandy soil amendments improved the soil water storage, soil urease, invertase, and catalase activity in different growth stages and soil layers, the order of soil water storage in all treatments roughly performed: T3 > T5 > T4 > T2 > T1 > CK. the order of soil urease, invertase, and catalase activity in all treatments roughly performed: T5 > T3 > T4 > T2 > T1 > CK. Soil application of sandy soil amendment significantly (p≤⃒0.05) increased the grain yield and biomass yield by 22.75%-41.42% and 29.92%-45.45% respectively, and maize yield gradually increased with the years go by in the following five years. Sandy soil amendment used in poor sandy soil had a positive effect on soil water storage, soil enzymatic activities and maize yield, after five years applied sandy soil amendment (T5) showed the best effects among all the treatments, and deserves further research.

[Epidemiological Study of Poor Visual Acuity among Schoolchildren in Bonin Islands].

PubMed

Ito, Misae; Shimizu, Kimiya; Kawamorita, Takushi; Shoji, Nobuyuki

2016-04-01

To investigate the change in uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) among schoolchildren in Bonin Islands. UCVA of schoolchildren aged 6 to 14 years, was collected from reports of School Health Examination Surveys conducted from 1981 to 2012. The proportion of schoolchildren with poor UCVA in the Bonin Islands was compared with those in metropolitan Tokyo. The results in Bonin Islands were also divided into two groups, before- and after-1996 when terrestrial television broadcasting service has been started, and the data of those two groups were compared. The proportion of schoolchildren with poor UCVA in Bonin Islands was lower than that in Tokyo. Among the residents of Bonin Islands, the proportion of schoolchildren with UCVA of < 1.0 was higher in the after-1996 group than in the before- 1996 group, with a clear increase in schoolchildren with poor UCVA after 1996 (p < 0.01, Fisher's exact test), examined among the 4th grade of elementary school or above. After 1996, 26.6% of first graders at a public junior high school had poor UCVA of < 0.7, whereas before 1996 no such case could be detected. The present study revealed that the proportions of schoolchildren with poor UCVA in Bonin Islands was lower than that in Tokyo; but in the residents of Bonin Islands after 1996, the proportion of the schoolchildren with poor UCVA increased.

Cycle cancellation and pregnancy after luteal estradiol priming in women defined as poor responders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PubMed Central

Reynolds, Kasey A.; Omurtag, Kenan R.; Jimenez, Patricia T.; Rhee, Julie S.; Tuuli, Method G.; Jungheim, Emily S.

2013-01-01

STUDY QUESTION Does a luteal estradiol (LE) stimulation protocol improve outcomes in poor responders to IVF? SUMMARY ANSWER LE priming is associated with decreased cycle cancellation and increased chance of clinical pregnancy in poor responders WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Poor responders to IVF are one of the most challenging patient populations to treat. Many standard protocols currently exist for stimulating these patients but all have failed to improve outcomes. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION Systematic review and meta-analysis including eight published studies comparing assisted reproduction technology (ART) outcomes in poor responders exposed to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation with and without LE priming. A search of the databases MEDLINE, EMBASE and PUBMED was carried out for studies in the English language published up to January 2012. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Studies evaluating women defined as poor responders to ART were evaluated. These studies were identified following a systematic review of the literature and data were analyzed using the DerSimonian–Laird random effects model. The main outcomes of interest were cycle cancellation rate and clinical pregnancy. Although the definition of clinical pregnancy varied between studies, the principal definition included fetal cardiac activity as assessed by transvaginal ultrasonography after 5 weeks of gestation. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE A total of 2249 publications were identified from the initial search, and the bibliographies, abstracts and other sources yielded 11 more. After excluding duplications, 1227 studies remained and 8 ultimately met the inclusion criteria. Compared with women undergoing non-LE primed protocols (n = 621), women exposed to LE priming (n = 468) had a lower risk of cycle cancellation [relative risk (RR): 0.60, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.45–0.78] and an improved chance of clinical pregnancy (RR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.02–1.72). There was no significant

Poor Rural Children Attract Close Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Viadero, Debra

2008-01-01

Growing up poor in isolated rural areas and small towns is qualitatively different from growing up poor in the city. Yet most of what experts know about the effects of poverty on children's development comes from studies conducted in big cities. Now, an ambitious project run by universities in Pennsylvania and North Carolina is putting what some…

Poor Executive Functions among Children with Moderate-into-Severe Asthma: Evidence from WCST Performance.

PubMed

Taha, Haitham

2017-01-01

Executive functions (EFs) measures of 27 asthmatic children, with general learning difficulties, were tested by using the Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST), and were compared to the performances of 30 non-asthmatic children with general learning difficulties. The results revealed that the asthmatic group has poor performance through all the WCST psychometric parameters and especially the perseverative errors one. The results were discussed in light of the postulation that poor EFs could be associated with the learning difficulties of asthmatic children. Neurophysiological framework has been suggested to explain the etiology of poor EFs among children with moderate into severe asthma.

Neurological soft signs in obsessive compulsive disorder with good and poor insight.

PubMed

Karadag, Filiz; Tumkaya, Selim; Kırtaş, Duygu; Efe, Muharrem; Alacam, Hüseyin; Oguzhanoglu, Nalan K

2011-06-01

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a clinically heterogeneous disorder; OCD with poor insight has been suggested to be a specific clinical subtype. Neurological soft signs (NSSs) may be helpful to identify the specific subtypes of OCD patients. In the present study, we aimed to compare OCD patients with poor insight with OCD patients having good insight, and healthy individuals. Sixty-four OCD patients (38 with good insight and 26 with poor insight), and 32 healthy subjects were enrolled in the present study. The Overvalued Ideas Scale (OVIS) was used to determine OCD patients with poor insight. NSSs were assessed by using the Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES). Two OCD groups had significantly higher total NES scores compared to controls (p=.000). Compared to healthy controls, OCD patients with poor insight performed significantly worse on all NES subscales, and they had significantly more NSSs on motor coordination, and sensory integration subscales compared to the OCD with good insight group. Our results suggested that OCD patients with poor insight exhibit more extensive neurodevelopmental impairments compared to OCD patients with good insight. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Crop yield monitoring in the Sahel using root zone soil moisture anomalies derived from SMOS soil moisture data assimilation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gibon, François; Pellarin, Thierry; Alhassane, Agali; Traoré, Seydou; Baron, Christian

2017-04-01

West Africa is greatly vulnerable, especially in terms of food sustainability. Mainly based on rainfed agriculture, the high variability of the rainy season strongly impacts the crop production driven by the soil water availability in the soil. To monitor this water availability, classical methods are based on daily precipitation measurements. However, the raingauge network suffers from the poor network density in Africa (1/10000km2). Alternatively, real-time satellite-derived precipitations can be used, but they are known to suffer from large uncertainties which produce significant error on crop yield estimations. The present study proposes to use root soil moisture rather than precipitation to evaluate crop yield variations. First, a local analysis of the spatiotemporal impact of water deficit on millet crop production in Niger was done, from in-situ soil moisture measurements (AMMA-CATCH/OZCAR (French Critical Zone exploration network)) and in-situ millet yield survey. Crop yield measurements were obtained for 10 villages located in the Niamey region from 2005 to 2012. The mean production (over 8 years) is 690 kg/ha, and ranges from 381 to 872 kg/ha during this period. Various statistical relationships based on soil moisture estimates were tested, and the most promising one (R>0.9) linked the 30-cm soil moisture anomalies from mid-August to mid-September (grain filling period) to the crop yield anomalies. Based on this local study, it was proposed to derive regional statistical relationships using 30-cm soil moisture maps over West Africa. The selected approach was to use a simple hydrological model, the Antecedent Precipitation Index (API), forced by real-time satellite-based precipitation (CMORPH, PERSIANN, TRMM3B42). To reduce uncertainties related to the quality of real-time rainfall satellite products, SMOS soil moisture measurements were assimilated into the API model through a Particular Filter algorithm. Then, obtained soil moisture anomalies were

Elevated NT-proBNP Levels are Associated with Poor Cognitive Function in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Results from the Rancho Bernardo Study

PubMed Central

Daniels, Lori B.; Laughlin, Gail A.; Kritz-Silverstein, Donna; Clopton, Paul; Chen, Wei-Chung; Maisel, Alan S.; Barrett-Connor, Elizabeth

2011-01-01

Background Natriuretic peptides (NP’s) have prognostic value across a wide spectrum of cardiovascular diseases and may predict cognitive dysfunction in patients with cardiovascular disease even in the absence of prior stroke. Little is known about the association of NP’s with cognitive function in community-dwelling adults. We assessed the association between NT-proBNP levels and cognitive function in community-dwelling ambulatory older adults in the Rancho Bernardo Study. Methods We studied 950 men and women, aged 60 years and older, who attended a research clinic visit where a medical history and examination were performed, and blood for cardiovascular disease risk factors and NT-proBNP levels were obtained. Three cognitive function tests were administered: Mini Mental State Exam (MMSE), Trail-Making Test B (Trails B), and Category Fluency. Results Participants with high NT-proBNP levels (≥450 pg/mL, n=198) were older and had a higher prevalence of coronary heart disease (12% vs. 30%), and stroke (5% vs. 11%) (both p’s≤0.001). In unadjusted analyses, all three cognitive function test scores were significantly associated with NT-proBNP levels (p<0.001). After adjusting for age, sex, education, hypertension, body mass index, exercise, alcohol use, smoking, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, creatinine clearance, and prior cardiovascular disease, elevated NT-proBNP levels remained independently associated with poor cognitive performance on MMSE (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] 2.0 [1.1–3.6], p=0.02) and Trails B (1.7 [1.2–2.7], p=0.01), but not Category Fluency (1.4 [0.9–2.2], p=0.19). Results were unchanged after excluding the 6% of participants with a history of stroke. Conclusions NT-proBNP levels were strongly and independently associated with poor cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults. PMID:21683832

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

PubMed

Dou, Fugen; Soriano, Junel; Tabien, Rodante E; Chen, Kun

2016-01-01

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

What Constitutes Poor Teaching? A Preliminary Inquiry into the Misbehaviors of Not-So-Good Instructors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Busler, Jessica; Kirk, Claire; Keeley, Jared; Buskist, William

2017-01-01

Across three phases, we investigated college students' perceptions of poor college teaching to develop a typology of poor teaching behaviors. In Phase 1, students generated a list of qualities representative of poor teaching. In Phase 2, another group of students assigned behavioral correspondents to these qualities, resulting in a list of 15 poor…

Doctors' stress responses and poor communication performance in simulated bad-news consultations.

PubMed

Brown, Rhonda; Dunn, Stewart; Byrnes, Karen; Morris, Richard; Heinrich, Paul; Shaw, Joanne

2009-11-01

No studies have previously evaluated factors associated with high stress levels and poor communication performance in breaking bad news (BBN) consultations. This study determined factors that were most strongly related to doctors' stress responses and poor communication performance during a simulated BBN task. In 2007, the authors recruited 24 doctors comprising 12 novices (i.e., interns/residents with 1-3 years' experience) and 12 experts (i.e., registrars, medical/radiation oncologists, or cancer surgeons, with more than 4 years' experience). Doctors participated in simulated BBN consultations and a number of control tasks. Five-minute-epoch heart rate (HR), HR variability, and communication performance were assessed in all participants. Subjects also completed a short questionnaire asking about their prior experience BBN, perceived stress, psychological distress (i.e., anxiety, depression), fatigue, and burnout. High stress responses were related to inexperience with BBN, fatigue, and giving bad versus good news. Poor communication performance in the consultation was related to high burnout and fatigue scores. These results suggest that BBN was a stressful experience for doctors even in a simulated encounter, especially for those who were inexperienced and/or fatigued. Poor communication performance was related to burnout and fatigue, but not inexperience with BBN. These results likely indicate that burnout and fatigue contributed to stress and poor work performance in some doctors during the simulated BBN task.

Improved Co I log(gf) & hfs data and Abundance Determinations in the Photospheres of the Sun & Metal-poor Star HD 84937

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawler, James E.; Sneden, Chris; Cowan, John J.

2016-01-01

New emission branching fraction measurements for 898 lines of the first spectrum of cobalt (Co I) from hollow cathode lamp spectra recorded with a 1m Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) and a high resolution echelle spectrometer are reported. Radiative lifetimes from laser induced fluorescence measurements are combined with the branching fractions to determine accurate log(gf)s for the 898 lines. Selected published hyperfine structure (hfs) constants for levels of neutral Co are used to generate complete hfs component patterns for 195 transitions of Co I. These new laboratory data are applied to determine the Co abundance in the Sun and metal-poor star HD 84937, yielding log eps(Co) = 4.955 ± 0.007 (sigma = 0.059) based on 82 Co I lines and log eps(Co) = 2.785 ± 0.008 (sigma = 0.065) based on 66 Co I lines respectively. A Saha balance test on the photosphere of HD 84937 is performed using 16 UV lines of Co II, and good agreement is found with the Co I result in this metal-poor ([Fe I /H] = -2.32, [Fe II /H] = -2.32) dwarf star. The resulting value of [Co/Fe] = +0.14 supports a rise of Co/Fe at low metallicity that has been suggested in other studies. These new Co I data are part of a continuing effort to explore the limits of 1D/LTE photospheric models in metal-poor stars and to determine the relative abundance of Fe-group elements at low metallicity. This work is supported in part by NASA grant NNX10AN93G (J.E.L.), by NSF grant AST-1211055 (J.E.L.), and by NSF grant AST-1211585 (C.S.).

Estimating yields of salt- and water-stressed forages with remote sensing in the visible and near infrared.

PubMed

Poss, J A; Russell, W B; Grieve, C M

2006-01-01

In arid irrigated regions, the proportion of crop production under deficit irrigation with poorer quality water is increasing as demand for fresh water soars and efforts to prevent saline water table development occur. Remote sensing technology to quantify salinity and water stress effects on forage yield can be an important tool to address yield loss potential when deficit irrigating with poor water quality. Two important forages, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and tall wheatgrass (Agropyron elongatum L.), were grown in a volumetric lysimeter facility where rootzone salinity and water content were varied and monitored. Ground-based hyperspectral canopy reflectance in the visible and near infrared (NIR) were related to forage yields from a broad range of salinity and water stress conditions. Canopy reflectance spectra were obtained in the 350- to 1000-nm region from two viewing angles (nadir view, 45 degrees from nadir). Nadir view vegetation indices (VI) were not as strongly correlated with leaf area index changes attributed to water and salinity stress treatments for both alfalfa and wheatgrass. From a list of 71 VIs, two were selected for a multiple linear-regression model that estimated yield under varying salinity and water stress conditions. With data obtained during the second harvest of a three-harvest 100-d growing period, regression coefficients for each crop were developed and then used with the model to estimate fresh weights for preceding and succeeding harvests during the same 100-d interval. The model accounted for 72% of the variation in yields in wheatgrass and 94% in yields of alfalfa within the same salinity and water stress treatment period. The model successfully predicted yield in three out of four cases when applied to the first and third harvest yields. Correlations between indices and yield increased as canopy development progressed. Growth reductions attributed to simultaneous salinity and water stress were well characterized, but the

Fission yield calculation using toy model based on Monte Carlo simulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jubaidah, E-mail: jubaidah@student.itb.ac.id; Physics Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science – State University of Medan. Jl. Willem Iskandar Pasar V Medan Estate – North Sumatera, Indonesia 20221; Kurniadi, Rizal, E-mail: rijalk@fi.itb.ac.id

2015-09-30

Toy model is a new approximation in predicting fission yield distribution. Toy model assumes nucleus as an elastic toy consist of marbles. The number of marbles represents the number of nucleons, A. This toy nucleus is able to imitate the real nucleus properties. In this research, the toy nucleons are only influenced by central force. A heavy toy nucleus induced by a toy nucleon will be split into two fragments. These two fission fragments are called fission yield. In this research, energy entanglement is neglected. Fission process in toy model is illustrated by two Gaussian curves intersecting each other. Theremore » are five Gaussian parameters used in this research. They are scission point of the two curves (R{sub c}), mean of left curve (μ{sub L}) and mean of right curve (μ{sub R}), deviation of left curve (σ{sub L}) and deviation of right curve (σ{sub R}). The fission yields distribution is analyses based on Monte Carlo simulation. The result shows that variation in σ or µ can significanly move the average frequency of asymmetry fission yields. This also varies the range of fission yields distribution probability. In addition, variation in iteration coefficient only change the frequency of fission yields. Monte Carlo simulation for fission yield calculation using toy model successfully indicates the same tendency with experiment results, where average of light fission yield is in the range of 90« less

Environmental Change: Precipitation and N, P, K, mg Fertilization Influences on Crop Yield Under Temperate Climate Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

László Phd, Dd. M.

2009-04-01

. Negative effects (drought, excess rainfall) were diminished by 20-25% with Mg treatments. c, Correlation between rye yields and precipitation during vegetation seasons showed that optimum yield (4.0 t ha-1) develops in the 430-470 mm range. 2. Potato: a, Trial years were estimated by recurrent extremes of climate. b, In vegetation seasons poor in rainfall yield safety in potato cannot be secured by fertilisation (N, NP, NK, NPK, NPKMg) alone. Under this weather condition yield was decreased by 35%. c, Optimum yields range between 17-21 t ha-1 at 280-350 mm. 3. Winter wheat: a, Climate was manifested mainly by precipitation using average, drought, dry and rainy levels. b, Yields from drought year effects with N, NP and NK combinations were diminished to 48% and with NPK and NPKMg treatments fell to 51%. c, Optimum yields (3.5-4.0 t ha-1) were developed at 450-500 mm. This paper summarises quantified results of rye, potato and winter wheat research with regarding to interaction effects and relationships between climate (rainfall)-mineral nutrition-crop production changes in Hungary during a long term field experiment to agricultural sustainability. Key words: ecology, rainfall, crop, fertilization, yield Introduction: "Climate Change" are recognized as a serious environmental issues [1]. Presently the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and the inertia in trends in emissions means that we can expect significant changes for at least the next few decades and probably for the whole 21th century too [2]. It would badly need to understand what might be involved in adapting to the new climates. A decade ago, researchers asked the „what if" question. For example, what will be the impact if climate changes. Now, we must increasingly address the following question: how do we respond effectivelly to prevent damaging impacts and take advantage of new climatic opportunities [3]. This question requires detailed in information regarding expected impacts and effect

Structural Characterization of Poorly-Crystalline Scorodite, Iron (III)-arsenate Co-precipitates and Uranium Millneutralized Raffinate Solids using X-ray Absorption Fine Structure Spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, N.; Jiang, D; Cutler, J

X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) is used to characterize the mineralogy of the iron(III)-arsenate(V) precipitates produced during the raffinate (aqueous effluent) neutralization process at the McClean Lake uranium mill in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. To facilitate the structural characterization of the precipitated solids derived from the neutralized raffinate, a set of reference compounds were synthesized and analyzed. The reference compounds include crystalline scorodite, poorly-crystalline scorodite, iron(III)-arsenate co-precipitates obtained under different pH conditions, and arsenate-adsorbed on goethite. The poorly-crystalline scorodite (prepared at pH 4 with Fe/As = 1) has similar As local structure as that of crystalline scorodite. Both As and Femore » K-edge XAFS of poorly-crystalline scorodite yield consistent results on As-Fe (or Fe-As) shell. From As K-edge analysis the As-Fe shell has an inter-atomic distance of 3.33 {+-} 0.02 A and coordination number of 3.2; while from Fe K-edge analysis the Fe-As distance and coordination number are 3.31 {+-} 0.02 A and 3.8, respectively. These are in contrast with the typical arsenate adsorption on bidentate binuclear sites on goethite surfaces, where the As-Fe distance is 3.26 {+-} 0.03 A and coordination number is close to 2. A similar local structure identified in the poorly-crystalline scorodite is also found in co-precipitation solids (Fe(III)/As(V) = 3) when precipitated at the same pH (pH = 4): As-Fe distance 3.30 {+-} 0.03 A and coordination number 3.9; while at pH = 8 the co-precipitate has As-Fe distance of 3.27 {+-} 0.03 A and coordination number about 2, resembling more closely the adsorption case. The As local structure in the two neutralized raffinate solid series (precipitated at pH values up to 7) closely resembles that in the poorly-crystalline scorodite. All of the raffinate solids have the same As-Fe inter-atomic distance as that in the poorly-crystalline scorodite, and a systematic

Low Cerebral Blood Volume Identifies Poor Outcome in Stent Retriever Thrombectomy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Protto, Sara, E-mail: sara.protto@pshp.fi; Pienimäki, Juha-Pekka; Seppänen, Janne

BackgroundMechanical thrombectomy (MT) is an efficient treatment of acute stroke caused by large-vessel occlusion. We evaluated the factors predicting poor clinical outcome (3-month modified Rankin Scale, mRS >2) although MT performed with modern stent retrievers.MethodsWe prospectively collected the clinical and imaging data of 105 consecutive anterior circulation stroke patients who underwent MT after multimodal CT imaging. Patients with occlusion of the internal carotid artery and/or middle cerebral artery up to the M2 segment were included. We recorded baseline clinical, procedural and imaging variables, technical outcome, 24-h imaging outcome and the clinical outcome. Differences between the groups were studied with appropriatemore » statistical tests and binary logistic regression analysis.ResultsLow cerebral blood volume Alberta stroke program early CT score (CBV-ASPECTS) was associated with poor clinical outcome (median 7 vs. 9, p = 0.01). Lower collateral score (CS) significantly predicted poor outcome in regression modelling with CS = 0 increasing the odds of poor outcome 4.4-fold compared to CS = 3 (95% CI 1.27–15.5, p = 0.02). Lower CBV-ASPECTS significantly predicted poor clinical outcome among those with moderate or severe stroke (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.68–1, p = 0.05) or poor collateral circulation (CS 0–1, OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.48–0.90, p = 0.009) but not among those with mild strokes or good collaterals.ConclusionsCBV-ASPECTS estimating infarct core is a significant predictor of poor clinical outcome among anterior circulation stroke patients treated with MT, especially in the setting of poor collateral circulation and/or moderate or severe stroke.« less

Comparison of statistical models for analyzing wheat yield time series.

PubMed

Michel, Lucie; Makowski, David

2013-01-01

The world's population is predicted to exceed nine billion by 2050 and there is increasing concern about the capability of agriculture to feed such a large population. Foresight studies on food security are frequently based on crop yield trends estimated from yield time series provided by national and regional statistical agencies. Various types of statistical models have been proposed for the analysis of yield time series, but the predictive performances of these models have not yet been evaluated in detail. In this study, we present eight statistical models for analyzing yield time series and compare their ability to predict wheat yield at the national and regional scales, using data provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and by the French Ministry of Agriculture. The Holt-Winters and dynamic linear models performed equally well, giving the most accurate predictions of wheat yield. However, dynamic linear models have two advantages over Holt-Winters models: they can be used to reconstruct past yield trends retrospectively and to analyze uncertainty. The results obtained with dynamic linear models indicated a stagnation of wheat yields in many countries, but the estimated rate of increase of wheat yield remained above 0.06 t ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ in several countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and America, and the estimated values were highly uncertain for several major wheat producing countries. The rate of yield increase differed considerably between French regions, suggesting that efforts to identify the main causes of yield stagnation should focus on a subnational scale.

Comparison of Statistical Models for Analyzing Wheat Yield Time Series

PubMed Central

Michel, Lucie; Makowski, David

2013-01-01

The world's population is predicted to exceed nine billion by 2050 and there is increasing concern about the capability of agriculture to feed such a large population. Foresight studies on food security are frequently based on crop yield trends estimated from yield time series provided by national and regional statistical agencies. Various types of statistical models have been proposed for the analysis of yield time series, but the predictive performances of these models have not yet been evaluated in detail. In this study, we present eight statistical models for analyzing yield time series and compare their ability to predict wheat yield at the national and regional scales, using data provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and by the French Ministry of Agriculture. The Holt-Winters and dynamic linear models performed equally well, giving the most accurate predictions of wheat yield. However, dynamic linear models have two advantages over Holt-Winters models: they can be used to reconstruct past yield trends retrospectively and to analyze uncertainty. The results obtained with dynamic linear models indicated a stagnation of wheat yields in many countries, but the estimated rate of increase of wheat yield remained above 0.06 t ha−1 year−1 in several countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and America, and the estimated values were highly uncertain for several major wheat producing countries. The rate of yield increase differed considerably between French regions, suggesting that efforts to identify the main causes of yield stagnation should focus on a subnational scale. PMID:24205280

The Crisis of the Near Poor

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newman, Katherine S.; Tan Chen, Victor

2007-01-01

This article focuses on the "missing class," the near poor whose incomes place them above the poverty line, but well below the middle class. Near-poor families with two parents and two children subsist on $20,000 to $40,000 a year, which disqualifies them for virtually all public subsidies, but is a far cry from what they need to be…

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

PubMed

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

2015-02-01

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

Analysis of the trade-off between high crop yield and low yield instability at the global scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben-Ari, Tamara; Makowski, David

2016-10-01

Yield dynamics of major crops species vary remarkably among continents. Worldwide distribution of cropland influences both the expected levels and the interannual variability of global yields. An expansion of cultivated land in the most productive areas could theoretically increase global production, but also increase global yield instability if the most productive regions are characterized by high interannual yield variability. In this letter, we use portfolio analysis to quantify the tradeoff between the expected values and the interannual variance of global yield. We compute optimal frontiers for four crop species i.e., maize, rice, soybean and wheat and show how the distribution of cropland among large world regions can be optimized to either increase expected global crop production or decrease its interannual variability. We also show that a preferential allocation of cropland in the most productive regions can increase global expected yield at the expense of yield stability. Theoretically, optimizing the distribution of a small fraction of total cultivated areas can help find a good compromise between low instability and high crop yields at the global scale.

Use of modern contraception by the poor is falling behind.

PubMed

Gakidou, Emmanuela; Vayena, Effy

2007-02-01

The widespread increase in the use of contraception, due to multiple factors including improved access to modern contraception, is one of the most dramatic social transformations of the past fifty years. This study explores whether the global progress in the use of modern contraceptives has also benefited the poorest. Demographic and Health Surveys from 55 developing countries were analyzed using wealth indices that allow the identification of the absolute poor within each country. This article explores the macro level determinants of the differences in the use of modern contraceptives between the poor and the national averages of several countries. Despite increases in national averages, use of modern contraception by the absolute poor remains low. South and Southeast Asia have relatively high rates of modern contraception in the absolute poor, on average 17% higher than in Latin America. Over time the gaps in use persist and are increasing. Latin America exhibits significantly larger gaps in use between the poor and the averages, while gaps in sub-Saharan Africa are on average smaller by 15.8% and in Southeast Asia by 11.6%. The secular trend of increasing rates of modern contraceptive use has not resulted in a decrease of the gap in use for those living in absolute poverty. Countries with large economic inequalities also exhibit large inequalities in modern contraceptive use. In addition to macro level factors that influence contraceptive use, such as economic development and provision of reproductive health services, there are strong regional variations, with sub-Saharan Africa exhibiting the lowest national rates of use, South and Southeast Asia the highest use among the poor, and Latin America the largest inequalities in use.

Fault architecture and deformation processes within poorly lithified rift sediments, Central Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loveless, Sian; Bense, Victor; Turner, Jenni

2011-11-01

Deformation mechanisms and resultant fault architecture are primary controls on the permeability of faults in poorly lithified sediments. We characterise fault architecture using outcrop studies, hand samples, thin sections and grain-size data from a minor (1-10 m displacement) normal-fault array exposed within Gulf of Corinth rift sediments, Central Greece. These faults are dominated by mixed zones with poorly developed fault cores and damage zones. In poorly lithified sediment deformation is distributed across the mixed zone as beds are entrained and smeared. We find particulate flow aided by limited distributed cataclasis to be the primary deformation mechanism. Deformation may be localised in more competent sediments. Stratigraphic variations in sediment competency, and the subsequent alternating distributed and localised strain causes complexities within the mixed zone such as undeformed blocks or lenses of cohesive sediment, or asperities at the mixed zone/protolith boundary. Fault tip bifurcation and asperity removal are important processes in the evolution of these fault zones. Our results indicate that fault zone architecture and thus permeability is controlled by a range of factors including lithology, stratigraphy, cementation history and fault evolution, and that minor faults in poorly lithified sediment may significantly impact subsurface fluid flow.

Heavy-element yields and abundances of asymptotic giant branch models with a Small Magellanic Cloud metallicity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karakas, Amanda I.; Lugaro, Maria; Carlos, Marília; Cseh, Borbála; Kamath, Devika; García-Hernández, D. A.

2018-06-01

We present new theoretical stellar yields and surface abundances for asymptotic giant branch (AGB) models with a metallicity appropriate for stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC, Z = 0.0028, [Fe/H] ≈ -0.7). New evolutionary sequences and post-processing nucleosynthesis results are presented for initial masses between 1 and 7 M⊙, where the 7 M⊙ is a super-AGB star with an O-Ne core. Models above 1.15 M⊙ become carbon rich during the AGB, and hot bottom burning begins in models M ≥ 3.75 M⊙. We present stellar surface abundances as a function of thermal pulse number for elements between C to Bi and for a selection of isotopic ratios for elements up to Fe and Ni (e.g. 12C/13C), which can be compared to observations. The integrated stellar yields are presented for each model in the grid for hydrogen, helium, and all stable elements from C to Bi. We present evolutionary sequences of intermediate-mass models between 4 and 7 M⊙ and nucleosynthesis results for three masses (M = 3.75, 5, and 7 M⊙) including s-process elements for two widely used AGB mass-loss prescriptions. We discuss our new models in the context of evolved AGB and post-AGB stars in the SMCs, barium stars in our Galaxy, the composition of Galactic globular clusters including Mg isotopes with a similar metallicity to our models, and to pre-solar grains which may have an origin in metal-poor AGB stars.

Violet-to-Blue Gain and Lasing from Colloidal CdS Nanoplatelets: Low-Threshold Stimulated Emission Despite Low Photoluminescence Quantum Yield

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Diroll, Benjamin T.; Talapin, Dmitri V.; Schaller, Richard D.

Amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and lasing from solution-processed materials are demonstrated in the challenging violet-to-blue (430–490 nm) spectral region for colloidal nanoplatelets of CdS and newly synthesized core/shell CdS/ZnS nanoplatelets. Despite modest band-edge photoluminescence quantum yields of 2% or less for single excitons, which we show results from hole trapping, the samples exhibit low ASE thresholds. Furthermore, four-monolayer CdS samples show ASE at shorter wavelengths than any reported film of colloidal quantum-confined material. This work underlines that low quantum yields for single excitons do not necessarily lead to a poor gain medium. The low ASE thresholds originate from negligible dispersionmore » in thickness, large absorption cross sections of 2.8 × 10–14 cm–2, and rather slow (150 to 300 ps) biexciton recombination. We show that under higher-fluence excitation, ASE can kinetically outcompete hole trapping. Using nanoplatelets as the gain medium, lasing is observed in a linear optical cavity. This work confirms the fundamental advantages of colloidal quantum well structures as gain media, even in the absence of high photoluminescence efficiency.« less

Predictors of poor sportspersonship in youth sports: personal attitudes and social influences.

PubMed

Shields, David Light; LaVoi, Nicole M; Bredemeier, Brenda Light; Power, F Clark

2007-12-01

The present study examined personal and social correlates of poor sportspersonship among youth sport participants. Male and female athletes (n = 676) in the fifth through eighth grades from three geographic regions of the U.S. participated in the study. Young athletes involved in basketball, soccer, football, hockey, baseball/ softball, or lacrosse completed a questionnaire that tapped poor sportspersonship behaviors and attitudes, team sportspersonship norms, perceptions of the poor sportspersonship behaviors of coaches and spectators, and the sportspersonship norms of coaches and parents. Preliminary analyses revealed significant gender, grade, sport area, and location differences in self-reported unsportspersonlike behavior. The main analysis revealed that self-reported poor sport behaviors were best predicted by perceived coach and spectator behaviors, followed by team norms, sportspersonship attitudes, and the perceived norms of parents and coaches. Results are discussed in relation to the concept of moral atmosphere.

Plausible rice yield losses under future climate warming.

PubMed

Zhao, Chuang; Piao, Shilong; Wang, Xuhui; Huang, Yao; Ciais, Philippe; Elliott, Joshua; Huang, Mengtian; Janssens, Ivan A; Li, Tao; Lian, Xu; Liu, Yongwen; Müller, Christoph; Peng, Shushi; Wang, Tao; Zeng, Zhenzhong; Peñuelas, Josep

2016-12-19

Rice is the staple food for more than 50% of the world's population 1-3 . Reliable prediction of changes in rice yield is thus central for maintaining global food security. This is an extraordinary challenge. Here, we compare the sensitivity of rice yield to temperature increase derived from field warming experiments and three modelling approaches: statistical models, local crop models and global gridded crop models. Field warming experiments produce a substantial rice yield loss under warming, with an average temperature sensitivity of -5.2 ± 1.4% K -1 . Local crop models give a similar sensitivity (-6.3 ± 0.4% K -1 ), but statistical and global gridded crop models both suggest less negative impacts of warming on yields (-0.8 ± 0.3% and -2.4 ± 3.7% K -1 , respectively). Using data from field warming experiments, we further propose a conditional probability approach to constrain the large range of global gridded crop model results for the future yield changes in response to warming by the end of the century (from -1.3% to -9.3% K -1 ). The constraint implies a more negative response to warming (-8.3 ± 1.4% K -1 ) and reduces the spread of the model ensemble by 33%. This yield reduction exceeds that estimated by the International Food Policy Research Institute assessment (-4.2 to -6.4% K -1 ) (ref. 4). Our study suggests that without CO 2 fertilization, effective adaptation and genetic improvement, severe rice yield losses are plausible under intensive climate warming scenarios.

Strategy For Yield Control And Enhancement In VLSI Wafer Manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neilson, B.; Rickey, D.; Bane, R. P.

1988-01-01

In most fully utilized integrated circuit (IC) production facilities, profit is very closely linked with yield. In even the most controlled manufacturing environments, defects due to foreign material are a still major contributor to yield loss. Ideally, an IC manufacturer will have ample engineering resources to address any problem that arises. In the real world, staffing limitations require that some tasks must be left undone and potential benefits left unrealized. Therefore, it is important to prioritize problems in a manner that will give the maximum benefit to the manufacturer. When offered a smorgasbord of problems to solve, most people (engineers included) will start with what is most interesting or the most comfortable to work on. By providing a system that accurately predicts the impact of a wide variety of defect types, a rational method of prioritizing engineering effort can be made. To that effect, a program was developed to determine and rank the major yield detractors in a mixed analog/digital FET manufacturing line. The two classical methods of determining yield detractors are chip failure analysis and defect monitoring on drop in test die. Both of these methods have short comings: 1) Chip failure analysis is painstaking and very time consuming. As a result, the sample size is very small. 2) Drop in test die are usually designed for device parametric analysis rather than defect analysis. To provide enough wafer real estate to do meaningful defect analysis would render the wafer worthless for production. To avoid these problems, a defect monitor was designed that provided enough area to detect defects at the same rate or better than the NMOS product die whose yield was to be optimized. The defect monitor was comprehensive and electrically testable using such equipment as the Prometrix LM25 and other digital testers. This enabled the quick accumulation of data which could be handled statistically and mapped individually. By scaling the defect densities

Accelerating yield ramp through design and manufacturing collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarma, Robin C.; Dai, Huixiong; Smayling, Michael C.; Duane, Michael P.

2004-12-01

Ramping an integrated circuit from first silicon bring-up to production yield levels is a challenge for all semiconductor products on the path to profitable market entry. Two approaches to accelerating yield ramp are presented. The first is the use of laser mask writers for fast throughput, high yield, and cost effective pattern transfer. The second is the use of electrical test to find a defect and identify the physical region to probe in failure analysis that is most likely to uncover the root cause. This provides feedback to the design team on modifications to make to the design to avoid the yield issue in a future tape-out revision. Additionally, the process parameter responsible for the root cause of the defect is forward annotated through the design, mask and wafer coordinate systems so it can be monitored in-line on subsequent lots of the manufacturing run. This results in an improved recipe for the manufacturing equipment to potentially prevent the recurrence of the defect and raise yield levels on the following material. The test diagnostics approach is enabled by the seamless traceability of a feature across the design, photomask and wafer, made possible by a common data model for design, mask pattern generation and wafer fabrication.

Genomic architecture of heterosis for yield traits in rice.

PubMed

Huang, Xuehui; Yang, Shihua; Gong, Junyi; Zhao, Qiang; Feng, Qi; Zhan, Qilin; Zhao, Yan; Li, Wenjun; Cheng, Benyi; Xia, Junhui; Chen, Neng; Huang, Tao; Zhang, Lei; Fan, Danlin; Chen, Jiaying; Zhou, Congcong; Lu, Yiqi; Weng, Qijun; Han, Bin

2016-09-29

Increasing grain yield is a long-term goal in crop breeding to meet the demand for global food security. Heterosis, when a hybrid shows higher performance for a trait than both parents, offers an important strategy for crop breeding. To examine the genetic basis of heterosis for yield in rice, here we generate, sequence and record the phenotypes of 10,074 F 2 lines from 17 representative hybrid rice crosses. We classify modern hybrid rice varieties into three groups, representing different hybrid breeding systems. Although we do not find any heterosis-associated loci shared across all lines, within each group, a small number of genomic loci from female parents explain a large proportion of the yield advantage of hybrids over their male parents. For some of these loci, we find support for partial dominance of heterozygous locus for yield-related traits and better-parent heterosis for overall performance when all of the grain-yield traits are considered together. These results inform on the genomic architecture of heterosis and rice hybrid breeding.

Identifying poor metabolic adaptation during early lactation in dairy cows using cluster analysis.

PubMed

Tremblay, M; Kammer, M; Lange, H; Plattner, S; Baumgartner, C; Stegeman, J A; Duda, J; Mansfeld, R; Döpfer, D

2018-05-02

Currently, cows with poor metabolic adaptation during early lactation, or poor metabolic adaptation syndrome (PMAS), are often identified based on detection of hyperketonemia. Unfortunately, elevated blood ketones do not manifest consistently with indications of PMAS. Expected indicators of PMAS include elevated liver enzymes and bilirubin, decreased rumen fill, reduced rumen contractions, and a decrease in milk production. Cows with PMAS typically are higher producing, older cows that are earlier in lactation and have greater body condition score at the start of lactation. It was our aim to evaluate commonly used measures of metabolic health (input variables) that were available [i.e., blood β-hydroxybutyrate acid, milk fat:protein ratio, blood nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA)] to characterize PMAS. Bavarian farms (n = 26) with robotic milking systems were enrolled for weekly visits for an average of 6.7 wk. Physical examinations of the cows (5-50 d in milk) were performed by veterinarians during each visit, and blood and milk samples were collected. Resulting data included 790 observations from 312 cows (309 Simmental, 1 Red Holstein, 2 Holstein). Principal component analysis was conducted on the 3 input variables, followed by K-means cluster analysis of the first 2 orthogonal components. The 5 resulting clusters were then ascribed to low, intermediate, or high PMAS classes based on their degree of agreement with expected PMAS indicators and characteristics in comparison with other clusters. Results revealed that PMAS classes were most significantly associated with blood NEFA levels. Next, we evaluated NEFA values that classify observations into appropriate PMAS classes in this data set, which we called separation values. Our resulting NEFA separation values [<0.39 mmol/L (95% confidence limits = 0.360-0.410) to identify low PMAS observations and ≥0.7 mmol/L (95% confidence limits = 0.650-0.775) to identify high PMAS observations] were similar to values

Language deficits in poor comprehenders: a case for the simple view of reading.

PubMed

Catts, Hugh W; Adlof, Suzanne M; Ellis Weismer, Susan

2006-04-01

To examine concurrently and retrospectively the language abilities of children with specific reading comprehension deficits ("poor comprehenders") and compare them to typical readers and children with specific decoding deficits ("poor decoders"). In Study 1, the authors identified 57 poor comprehenders, 27 poor decoders, and 98 typical readers on the basis of 8th-grade reading achievement. These subgroups' performances on 8th-grade measures of language comprehension and phonological processing were investigated. In Study 2, the authors examined retrospectively subgroups' performances on measures of language comprehension and phonological processing in kindergarten, 2nd, and 4th grades. Word recognition and reading comprehension in 2nd and 4th grades were also considered. Study 1 showed that poor comprehenders had concurrent deficits in language comprehension but normal abilities in phonological processing. Poor decoders were characterized by the opposite pattern of language abilities. Study 2 results showed that subgroups had language (and word recognition) profiles in the earlier grades that were consistent with those observed in 8th grade. Subgroup differences in reading comprehension were inconsistent across grades but reflective of the changes in the components of reading comprehension over time. The results support the simple view of reading and the phonological deficit hypothesis. Furthermore, the findings indicate that a classification system that is based on the simple view has advantages over standard systems that focus only on word recognition and/or reading comprehension.

Identification of saline soils with multi-year remote sensing of crop yields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lobell, D; Ortiz-Monasterio, I; Gurrola, F C

2006-10-17

Soil salinity is an important constraint to agricultural sustainability, but accurate information on its variation across agricultural regions or its impact on regional crop productivity remains sparse. We evaluated the relationships between remotely sensed wheat yields and salinity in an irrigation district in the Colorado River Delta Region. The goals of this study were to (1) document the relative importance of salinity as a constraint to regional wheat production and (2) develop techniques to accurately identify saline fields. Estimates of wheat yield from six years of Landsat data agreed well with ground-based records on individual fields (R{sup 2} = 0.65).more » Salinity measurements on 122 randomly selected fields revealed that average 0-60 cm salinity levels > 4 dS m{sup -1} reduced wheat yields, but the relative scarcity of such fields resulted in less than 1% regional yield loss attributable to salinity. Moreover, low yield was not a reliable indicator of high salinity, because many other factors contributed to yield variability in individual years. However, temporal analysis of yield images showed a significant fraction of fields exhibited consistently low yields over the six year period. A subsequent survey of 60 additional fields, half of which were consistently low yielding, revealed that this targeted subset had significantly higher salinity at 30-60 cm depth than the control group (p = 0.02). These results suggest that high subsurface salinity is associated with consistently low yields in this region, and that multi-year yield maps derived from remote sensing therefore provide an opportunity to map salinity across agricultural regions.« less

Perceptual impairment in face identification with poor sleep

PubMed Central

Beattie, Louise; Walsh, Darragh; McLaren, Jessica; Biello, Stephany M.

2016-01-01

Previous studies have shown impaired memory for faces following restricted sleep. However, it is not known whether lack of sleep impairs performance on face identification tasks that do not rely on recognition memory, despite these tasks being more prevalent in security and forensic professions—for example, in photo-ID checks at national borders. Here we tested whether poor sleep affects accuracy on a standard test of face-matching ability that does not place demands on memory: the Glasgow Face-Matching Task (GFMT). In Experiment 1, participants who reported sleep disturbance consistent with insomnia disorder show impaired accuracy on the GFMT when compared with participants reporting normal sleep behaviour. In Experiment 2, we then used a sleep diary method to compare GFMT accuracy in a control group to participants reporting poor sleep on three consecutive nights—and again found lower accuracy scores in the short sleep group. In both experiments, reduced face-matching accuracy in those with poorer sleep was not associated with lower confidence in their decisions, carrying implications for occupational settings where identification errors made with high confidence can have serious outcomes. These results suggest that sleep-related impairments in face memory reflect difficulties in perceptual encoding of identity, and point towards metacognitive impairment in face matching following poor sleep. PMID:27853547

Microenterprise program gives hope to the world's poor.

PubMed

Anderson, J B

2000-01-01

When the Point Four Program was launched by US President Harry Truman in 1949, helping the world's poorest people help themselves became the primary aim of US development assistance. While much of the US Agency for International Development's (USAID) economic development work has concentrated on policy reforms, privatization and other measures aimed at strengthening overall economies, the very poor often are unable to share in the resulting economic growth. Although starting small businesses is an important way for people to work their way out of poverty, the poorest people usually lack the resources to get started and have no access to traditional loans. However, microenterprise financing is changing that by granting poor people loans to enable them to establish and expand microenterprises. It is noted that since 1990 USAID has provided well over US$1 billion to support more than 1000 institutions around the world that provide the very poor with small loans and secure, interest-bearing savings accounts as well as services to help them develop businesses. In turn, it is recorded that USAID-supported institutions have helped more than 10 million microentrepreneurs in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Eastern and Central Europe build better lives for their families.

Abundance profiling of extremely metal-poor stars and supernova properties in the early universe

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tominaga, Nozomu; Iwamoto, Nobuyuki; Nomoto, Ken'ichi, E-mail: tominaga@konan-u.ac.jp, E-mail: iwamoto.nobuyuki@jaea.go.jp, E-mail: nomoto@astron.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp

2014-04-20

After the big bang nucleosynthesis, the first heavy element enrichment in the universe was made by a supernova (SN) explosion of a population (Pop) III star (Pop III SN). The abundance ratios of elements produced from Pop III SNe are recorded in abundance patterns of extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars. The observations of the increasing number of EMP stars have made it possible to statistically constrain the explosion properties of Pop III SNe. We present Pop III SN models whose nucleosynthesis yields well reproduce, individually, the abundance patterns of 48 such metal-poor stars as [Fe/H] ≲ – 3.5. We then derivemore » relations between the abundance ratios of EMP stars and certain explosion properties of Pop III SNe: the higher [(C + N)/Fe] and [(C + N)/Mg] ratios correspond to the smaller ejected Fe mass and the larger compact remnant mass, respectively. Using these relations, the distributions of the abundance ratios of EMP stars are converted to those of the explosion properties of Pop III SNe. Such distributions are compared with those of the explosion properties of present day SNe: the distribution of the ejected Fe mass of Pop III SNe has the same peak as that of the present day SNe but shows an extended tail down to ∼10{sup –2}-10{sup –5} M {sub ☉}, and the distribution of the mass of the compact remnant of Pop III SNe is as wide as that of the present-day, stellar-mass black holes. Our results demonstrate the importance of large samples of EMP stars obtained by ongoing and future EMP star surveys and subsequent high-dispersion spectroscopic observations in clarifying the nature of Pop III SNe in the early universe.« less

Study of water stress effects in different growth stages on yield and yield components of different rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars.

PubMed

Sarvestani, Zinolabedin Tahmasebi; Pirdashti, Hemmatollah; Sanavy, Seyed Ali Mohammad Modarres; Balouchi, Hamidreza

2008-05-15

A field experiment was conducted during 2001-2003 to evaluate the effect of water stress on the yield and yield components of four rice cultivars commonly grown in Mazandaran province, Iran. In northern Iran irrigated lowland rice usually experiences water deficit during the growing season include of land preparation time, planting, tillering stage, flowering and grain filing period. Recently drought affected 20 of 28 provinces in Iran; with the southeastern, central and eastern parts of the country being most severely affected. The local and improved cultivars used were Tarom, Khazar, Fajr and Nemat. The different water stress conditions were water stress during vegetative, flowering and grain filling stages and well watered was the control. Water stress at vegetative stage significantly reduced plant height of all cultivars. Water stress at flowering stage had a greater grain yield reduction than water stress at other times. The reduction of grain yield largely resulted from the reduction in fertile panicle and filled grain percentage. Water deficit during vegetative, flowering and grain filling stages reduced mean grain yield by 21, 50 and 21% on average in comparison to control respectively. The yield advantage of two semidwarf varieties, Fajr and Nemat, were not maintained under drought stress. Total biomass, harvest index, plant height, filled grain, unfilled grain and 1000 grain weight were reduced under water stress in all cultivars. Water stress at vegetative stage effectively reduced total biomass due to decrease of photosynthesis rate and dry matter accumulation.

Lithium-rich very metal-poor stars discovered with LAMOST and Subaru

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aoki, Wako; Li, Haining; Matsuno, Tadafumi; Kumar, Yerra Bharat; Shi, Jianrong; Suda, Takuma; Zhao, Gang

2018-04-01

Lithium is a unique element that is produced in the Big Bang nucleosynthesis but is destroyed by nuclear reactions inside stars. As a result, almost constant lithium abundance is found in unevolved main-sequence metal-poor stars, although the value is systematically lower than that expected from the standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis models, whereas lithium abundances of red giants are more than one order of magnitudes lower than those of unevolved stars. There are, however, a small fraction of metal-poor stars that show extremely high lithium abundances, which is not explained by standard stellar evolution models. We have discovered 12 new very metal-poor stars that have enhancement of lithium by more than 10 times compared with typical metal-poor stars at similar evolutionary stages by the large-scale spectroscopic survey with LAMOST and the follow-up high-resolution spectroscopy with the Subaru Telescope. The sample shows a wide distribution of evolutionary stages from subgiants to red giants with the metallicity of -3.3 <[Fe/H]< -1.6. The chemical abundance ratios of other elements have been obtained by our spectroscopic study, and an estimate of the binary frequency by radial velocity monitoring is ongoing. The observational results provide new constraints on the scenarios to explain lithium-rich metal-poor stars, such as extra mixing during the evolution along the red giant branch, mass-transfer from a companion AGB star, and engulfment of planet-like objects. These explanations are very unlikely for at least some of lithium-rich objects in our sample, suggesting a new mechanism that enhances lithium during the low-mass star evolution.

Testing Metal-Poor Stellar Models and Isochrones with HST Parallaxes of Metal-Poor Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaboyer, B.; McArthur, B. E.; O'Malley, E.; Benedict, G. F.; Feiden, G. A.; Harrison, T. E.; McWilliam, A.; Nelan, E. P.; Patterson, R. J.; Sarajedini, A.

2017-02-01

Hubble Space Telescope (HST) fine guidance sensor observations were used to obtain parallaxes of eight metal-poor ([Fe/H] < -1.4) stars. The parallaxes of these stars determined by the new Hipparcos reduction average 17% accuracy, in contrast to our new HST parallaxes, which average 1% accuracy and have errors on the individual parallaxes ranging from 85 to 144 μas. These parallax data were combined with HST Advanced Camera for Surveys photometry in the F606W and F814W filters to obtain the absolute magnitudes of the stars with an accuracy of 0.02-0.03 mag. Six of these stars are on the main sequence (MS) (with -2.7 < [Fe/H] < -1.8) and are suitable for testing metal-poor stellar evolution models and determining the distances to metal-poor globular clusters (GCs). Using the abundances obtained by O’Malley et al., we find that standard stellar models using the VandenBerg & Clem color transformation do a reasonable job of matching five of the MS stars, with HD 54639 ([Fe/H] = -2.5) being anomalous in its location in the color-magnitude diagram. Stellar models and isochrones were generated using a Monte Carlo analysis to take into account uncertainties in the models. Isochrones that fit the parallax stars were used to determine the distances and ages of nine GCs (with -2.4 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤ -1.9). Averaging together the age of all nine clusters led to an absolute age of the oldest, most metal-poor GCs of 12.7 ± 1.0 Gyr, where the quoted uncertainty takes into account the known uncertainties in the stellar models and isochrones, along with the uncertainty in the distance and reddening of the clusters.

Quantification of the fraction poorly deformable red blood cells using ektacytometry.

PubMed

Streekstra, G J; Dobbe, J G G; Hoekstra, A G

2010-06-21

We describe a method to obtain the fraction of poorly deformable red blood cells in a blood sample from the intensity pattern in an ektacytometer. In an ektacytometer red blood cells are transformed into ellipsoids by a shear flow between two transparent cylinders. The intensity pattern, due to a laser beam that is sent through the suspension, is projected on a screen. When measuring a healthy red blood cell population iso-intensity curves are ellipses with an axial ratio equal to that of the average red blood cell. In contrast poorly deformable cells result in circular iso-intensity curves. In this study we show that for mixtures of deformable and poorly deformable red blood cells, iso-intensity curves in the composite intensity pattern are neither elliptical nor circular but obtain cross-like shapes. We propose a method to obtain the fraction of poorly deformable red blood cells from those intensity patterns. Experiments with mixtures of poorly deformable and deformable red blood cells validate the method and demonstrate its accuracy. In a clinical setting our approach is potentially of great value for the detection of the fraction of sickle cells in blood samples of patients with sickle cell disease or to find a measure for the parasitemia in patients infected with malaria.

Yield model development project implementation plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ambroziak, R. A.

1982-01-01

Tasks remaining to be completed are summarized for the following major project elements: (1) evaluation of crop yield models; (2) crop yield model research and development; (3) data acquisition processing, and storage; (4) related yield research: defining spectral and/or remote sensing data requirements; developing input for driving and testing crop growth/yield models; real time testing of wheat plant process models) and (5) project management and support.

Yield modeling of acoustic charge transport transversal filters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kenney, J. S.; May, G. S.; Hunt, W. D.

1995-01-01

This paper presents a yield model for acoustic charge transport transversal filters. This model differs from previous IC yield models in that it does not assume that individual failures of the nondestructive sensing taps necessarily cause a device failure. A redundancy in the number of taps included in the design is explained. Poisson statistics are used to describe the tap failures, weighted over a uniform defect density distribution. A representative design example is presented. The minimum number of taps needed to realize the filter is calculated, and tap weights for various numbers of redundant taps are calculated. The critical area for device failure is calculated for each level of redundancy. Yield is predicted for a range of defect densities and redundancies. To verify the model, a Monte Carlo simulation is performed on an equivalent circuit model of the device. The results of the yield model are then compared to the Monte Carlo simulation. Better than 95% agreement was obtained for the Poisson model with redundant taps ranging from 30% to 150% over the minimum.

Weather-based forecasts of California crop yields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lobell, D B; Cahill, K N; Field, C B

2005-09-26

Crop yield forecasts provide useful information to a range of users. Yields for several crops in California are currently forecast based on field surveys and farmer interviews, while for many crops official forecasts do not exist. As broad-scale crop yields are largely dependent on weather, measurements from existing meteorological stations have the potential to provide a reliable, timely, and cost-effective means to anticipate crop yields. We developed weather-based models of state-wide yields for 12 major California crops (wine grapes, lettuce, almonds, strawberries, table grapes, hay, oranges, cotton, tomatoes, walnuts, avocados, and pistachios), and tested their accuracy using cross-validation over themore » 1980-2003 period. Many crops were forecast with high accuracy, as judged by the percent of yield variation explained by the forecast, the number of yields with correctly predicted direction of yield change, or the number of yields with correctly predicted extreme yields. The most successfully modeled crop was almonds, with 81% of yield variance captured by the forecast. Predictions for most crops relied on weather measurements well before harvest time, allowing for lead times that were longer than existing procedures in many cases.« less

VERY METAL-POOR STARS IN THE OUTER GALACTIC BULGE FOUND BY THE APOGEE SURVEY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Garcia Perez, Ana E.; Majewski, Steven R.; Hearty, Fred R.

2013-04-10

Despite its importance for understanding the nature of early stellar generations and for constraining Galactic bulge formation models, at present little is known about the metal-poor stellar content of the central Milky Way. This is a consequence of the great distances involved and intervening dust obscuration, which challenge optical studies. However, the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), a wide-area, multifiber, high-resolution spectroscopic survey within Sloan Digital Sky Survey III, is exploring the chemistry of all Galactic stellar populations at infrared wavelengths, with particular emphasis on the disk and the bulge. An automated spectral analysis of data on 2403more » giant stars in 12 fields in the bulge obtained during APOGEE commissioning yielded five stars with low metallicity ([Fe/H] {<=} -1.7), including two that are very metal-poor [Fe/H] {approx} -2.1 by bulge standards. Luminosity-based distance estimates place the 5 stars within the outer bulge, where 1246 of the other analyzed stars may reside. A manual reanalysis of the spectra verifies the low metallicities, and finds these stars to be enhanced in the {alpha}-elements O, Mg, and Si without significant {alpha}-pattern differences with other local halo or metal-weak thick-disk stars of similar metallicity, or even with other more metal-rich bulge stars. While neither the kinematics nor chemistry of these stars can yet definitively determine which, if any, are truly bulge members, rather than denizens of other populations co-located with the bulge, the newly identified stars reveal that the chemistry of metal-poor stars in the central Galaxy resembles that of metal-weak thick-disk stars at similar metallicity.« less

Agricultural land use doubled sediment yield of western China's rivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidt, A. H.; Bierman, P. R.; Sosa-Gonzalez, V.; Neilson, T. B.; Rood, D. H.; Martin, J.; Hill, M.

2017-12-01

Land use changes, such as deforestation and agriculture, increase soil erosion rates on the scale of hillslopes and small drainage basins; however, the effects of these changes on the sediment load in larger rivers is poorly quantified, with a few studies scattered globally, and only 10 data points in the world's most populous nation, China. At 20 different sites in western China, we compare contemporary (1945-1987) fluvial sediment yield data collected daily over 4 to 26 years (median = 19 years) to long-term measures of erosion (sediment generation) based on new isotopic measurements of in situ 10Be in river sediments. We find that median sediment transport at these sites exceeds background sediment generation rates by a factor of two (from 0.13 to 5.79 times, median 1.85 times) and that contemporary sediment yield is statistically significantly different from long-term sediment yield (p < 0.05). Agricultural land use is directly and significantly proportional to the ratio of contemporary sediment yield to long term sediment generation rates (Spearman correlation coefficient rho = 0.52, p < 0.05). We support these findings by calculating erosion indices (following Brown et al., 1988), which compare the delivery of meteoric 10Be to each watershed with the export of meteoric 10Be bound to riverine sediment. Erosion indices are also directly and significantly proportional to agricultural land use (rho = 0.58, p < 0.05). We measured unsupported 210Pb and 137Cs in 130 detrital samples from throughout the region. We find that only 4 samples (those from high elevation, low relief watersheds) have detectable 137Cs and 31 samples have detectable unsupported 210Pb. The lack of 137Cs in most samples suggests high rates of erosion in the 1950s-1960s when 137Cs would have been delivered to the landscape. Detectable 210Pb in 25% of the watersheds suggests that in some areas erosion rates have slowed since that time allowing 210Pb to accumulate to measurable levels. Together

Commuting expenses : disparity for the working poor

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-03-01

The working poor spent a fraction of what other workers spent on commuting expenses, but those costs amounted to a significantly higher proportion of their income. The working poor who drove their own vehicle spent a higher percentage of their income...

Relationship between compatibilizer and yield strength of PLA/PP Blend

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jariyakulsith, Pattanun; Puajindanetr, Somchai

2018-01-01

The aim of this research is to study the relationship between compatibilizer and yield strength of polylactic acid (PLA) and polypropylene (PP) blend. The PLA is blended with PP (PLA/PP) at the ratios of 70/30, 50/50 and 30/70. In addition, (1) polypropylene grafted maleic anhydride (PP-g-MAH) as a compatibilizer at 0.3 and 0.7 part per hundred of PLA/PP resin (phr) and (2) dicumyl peroxide (DCP) being an initiator at 0.03 and 0.07 phr are added in each composition. Yield strength is characterized to study the interaction between compatibilizer, initiator and yield strength by using experimental design of multilevel full factorial. The results show that (1) the yield strength of PLA/PP blend are increased after addition of compatibilizer. Because the adding of PP-g-MAH and DCP resulted in improving compatibility between PLA and PP. (2) there are interaction between PP-g-MAH and DCP that have affected the final properties of PLA/PP blend. The highest yield strength of 27.68 MPa is provided at the ratio of 70/30 blend by using the 0.3 phr of PP-g-MAH and 0.03 phr of DCP. Linear regression model is fitted and follow the assumptions of normal distribution.

Flood-tolerant rice reduces yield variability and raises expected yield, differentially benefitting socially disadvantaged groups

PubMed Central

Dar, Manzoor H.; de Janvry, Alain; Emerick, Kyle; Raitzer, David; Sadoulet, Elisabeth

2013-01-01

Approximately 30% of the cultivated rice area in India is prone to crop damage from prolonged flooding. We use a randomized field experiment in 128 villages of Orissa India to show that Swarna-Sub1, a recently released submergence-tolerant rice variety, has significant positive impacts on rice yield when fields are submerged for 7 to 14 days with no yield penalty without flooding. We estimate that Swarna-Sub1 offers an approximate 45% increase in yields over the current popular variety when fields are submerged for 10 days. We show additionally that low-lying areas prone to flooding tend to be more heavily occupied by people belonging to lower caste social groups. Thus, a policy relevant implication of our findings is that flood-tolerant rice can deliver both efficiency gains, through reduced yield variability and higher expected yield, and equity gains in disproportionately benefiting the most marginal group of farmers. PMID:24263095

Riparian vegetation and water yield: A synthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salemi, Luiz Felippe; Groppo, Juliano Daniel; Trevisan, Rodrigo; Marcos de Moraes, Jorge; de Paula Lima, Walter; Martinelli, Luiz Antonio

2012-08-01

SummaryForested riparian zones perform numerous ecosystem functions, including the following: storing and fixing carbon; serving as wildlife habitats and ecological corridors; stabilizing streambanks; providing shade, organic matter, and food for streams and their biota; retaining sediments and filtering chemicals applied on cultivated/agricultural sites on upslope regions of the catchments. In this paper, we report a synthesis of a different feature of this type of vegetation, which is its effect on water yield. By synthesizing results from studies that used (i) the nested catchment and (ii) the paired catchment approaches, we show that riparian forests decrease water yield on a daily to annual basis. In terms of the treated area increases on average were 1.32 ± 0.85 mm day-1 and 483 ± 309 mm yr-1, respectively; n = 9. Similarly, riparian forest plantation or regeneration promoted reduced water yield (on average 1.25 ± 0.34 mm day-1 and 456 ± 125 mm yr-1 on daily and annual basis, respectively, when prorated to the catchment area subjected to treatment; n = 5). Although there are substantially fewer paired catchment studies assessing the effect of this vegetation type compared to classical paired catchment studies that manipulate the entire vegetation of small catchments, our results indicate the same trend. Despite the occurrence of many current restoration programs, measurements of the effect on water yield under natural forest restoration conditions are still lacking. We hope that presenting these gaps will encourage the scientific community to enhance the number of observations in these situations as well as produce more data from tropical regions.

Intellectual Abilities That Discriminate Good and Poor Problem Solvers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Ruth Ann

1981-01-01

This study compared good and poor fourth-grade problem solvers on a battery of 19 "reference" tests for verbal, induction, numerical, word fluency, memory, perceptual speed, and simple visualization abilities. Results suggest verbal, numerical, and especially induction abilities are important to successful mathematical problem solving.…

Crop Diversity for Yield Increase

PubMed Central

Li, Chengyun; He, Xiahong; Zhu, Shusheng; Zhou, Huiping; Wang, Yunyue; Li, Yan; Yang, Jing; Fan, Jinxiang; Yang, Jincheng; Wang, Guibin; Long, Yunfu; Xu, Jiayou; Tang, Yongsheng; Zhao, Gaohui; Yang, Jianrong; Liu, Lin; Sun, Yan; Xie, Yong; Wang, Haining; Zhu, Youyong

2009-01-01

Traditional farming practices suggest that cultivation of a mixture of crop species in the same field through temporal and spatial management may be advantageous in boosting yields and preventing disease, but evidence from large-scale field testing is limited. Increasing crop diversity through intercropping addresses the problem of increasing land utilization and crop productivity. In collaboration with farmers and extension personnel, we tested intercropping of tobacco, maize, sugarcane, potato, wheat and broad bean – either by relay cropping or by mixing crop species based on differences in their heights, and practiced these patterns on 15,302 hectares in ten counties in Yunnan Province, China. The results of observation plots within these areas showed that some combinations increased crop yields for the same season between 33.2 and 84.7% and reached a land equivalent ratio (LER) of between 1.31 and 1.84. This approach can be easily applied in developing countries, which is crucial in face of dwindling arable land and increasing food demand. PMID:19956624

How much more exposed are the poor to natural disasters? Global and regional measurement.

PubMed

Kim, Namsuk

2012-04-01

This paper proposes a simple indicator to measure the exposure to natural disasters for the poor and non-poor population, in order to assess the global and regional trend of natural hazard and poverty. Globally, poor people are two times more exposed to natural disasters than the non-poor in the twenty-first century. The time trend varies across regions, with poor people in East Asia and Pacific being most exposed to natural disasters, followed by those in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The change of exposure measure over time is decomposed into two factors: a pure exposure change, which could be fuelled by climate change; and a concentration component. The result shows that the total net increase of exposure between the 1970s and the 2000s is driven significantly by the increased concentration of the poor (26 per cent) in disaster-prone areas, whereas the contribution of that factor remains very small for the non-poor (six per cent). © 2012 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2012.

Diagnostic Yield of Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background: New transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) technologies have been developed, but their clinical effectiveness and determinants of diagnostic yield have not been quantified. Prospective data are needed to determine risk-adjusted diagnostic yield. Methods: We prospectively enrolled patients undergoing TBNA of mediastinal lymph nodes in the American College of Chest Physicians Quality Improvement Registry, Evaluation, and Education (AQuIRE) multicenter database and recorded clinical, procedural, and provider information. All clinical decisions, including type of TBNA used (conventional vs endobronchial ultrasound-guided), were made by the attending bronchoscopist. The primary outcome was obtaining a specific diagnosis. Results: We enrolled 891 patients at six hospitals. Most procedures (95%) were performed with ultrasound guidance. A specific diagnosis was made in 447 cases. Unadjusted diagnostic yields were 37% to 54% for different hospitals, with significant between-hospital heterogeneity (P = .0001). Diagnostic yield was associated with annual hospital TBNA volume (OR, 1.003; 95% CI, 1.000-1.006; P = .037), smoking (OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.02-2.34; P = .042), biopsy of more than two sites (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.38-0.85; P = .015), lymph node size (reference > 1-2 cm, ≤ 1 cm: OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.34-0.77; P = .003; > 2-3 cm: OR, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.61-3.85; P < .001; and > 3 cm: OR, 3.61; 95% CI, 2.17-6.00; P < .001), and positive PET scan (OR, 3.12; 95% CI, 1.39-7.01; P = .018). Biopsy was performed on more and smaller nodes at high-volume hospitals (P < .0001). Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first bronchoscopy study of risk-adjusted diagnostic yields on a hospital-level basis. High-volume hospitals were associated with high diagnostic yields. This study also demonstrates the value of procedural registries as a quality improvement tool. A larger number and variety of participating hospitals is needed to verify these results and to further

Z{gamma}{gamma}{gamma} {yields} 0 Processes in SANC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bardin, D. Yu., E-mail: bardin@nu.jinr.ru; Kalinovskaya, L. V., E-mail: kalinov@nu.jinr.ru; Uglov, E. D., E-mail: corner@nu.jinr.ru

2013-11-15

We describe the analytic and numerical evaluation of the {gamma}{gamma} {yields} {gamma}Z process cross section and the Z {yields} {gamma}{gamma}{gamma} decay rate within the SANC system multi-channel approach at the one-loop accuracy level with all masses taken into account. The corresponding package for numeric calculations is presented. For checking of the results' correctness we make a comparison with the other independent calculations.

Wildlife-friendly farming increases crop yield: evidence for ecological intensification.

PubMed

Pywell, Richard F; Heard, Matthew S; Woodcock, Ben A; Hinsley, Shelley; Ridding, Lucy; Nowakowski, Marek; Bullock, James M

2015-10-07

Ecological intensification has been promoted as a means to achieve environmentally sustainable increases in crop yields by enhancing ecosystem functions that regulate and support production. There is, however, little direct evidence of yield benefits from ecological intensification on commercial farms growing globally important foodstuffs (grains, oilseeds and pulses). We replicated two treatments removing 3 or 8% of land at the field edge from production to create wildlife habitat in 50-60 ha patches over a 900 ha commercial arable farm in central England, and compared these to a business as usual control (no land removed). In the control fields, crop yields were reduced by as much as 38% at the field edge. Habitat creation in these lower yielding areas led to increased yield in the cropped areas of the fields, and this positive effect became more pronounced over 6 years. As a consequence, yields at the field scale were maintained--and, indeed, enhanced for some crops--despite the loss of cropland for habitat creation. These results suggested that over a 5-year crop rotation, there would be no adverse impact on overall yield in terms of monetary value or nutritional energy. This study provides a clear demonstration that wildlife-friendly management which supports ecosystem services is compatible with, and can even increase, crop yields. © 2015 The Authors.

Wildlife-friendly farming increases crop yield: evidence for ecological intensification

PubMed Central

Pywell, Richard F.; Heard, Matthew S.; Woodcock, Ben A.; Hinsley, Shelley; Ridding, Lucy; Nowakowski, Marek; Bullock, James M.

2015-01-01

Ecological intensification has been promoted as a means to achieve environmentally sustainable increases in crop yields by enhancing ecosystem functions that regulate and support production. There is, however, little direct evidence of yield benefits from ecological intensification on commercial farms growing globally important foodstuffs (grains, oilseeds and pulses). We replicated two treatments removing 3 or 8% of land at the field edge from production to create wildlife habitat in 50–60 ha patches over a 900 ha commercial arable farm in central England, and compared these to a business as usual control (no land removed). In the control fields, crop yields were reduced by as much as 38% at the field edge. Habitat creation in these lower yielding areas led to increased yield in the cropped areas of the fields, and this positive effect became more pronounced over 6 years. As a consequence, yields at the field scale were maintained—and, indeed, enhanced for some crops—despite the loss of cropland for habitat creation. These results suggested that over a 5-year crop rotation, there would be no adverse impact on overall yield in terms of monetary value or nutritional energy. This study provides a clear demonstration that wildlife-friendly management which supports ecosystem services is compatible with, and can even increase, crop yields. PMID:26423846

Estimated Under-Five Deaths Associated with Poor-Quality Antimalarials in Sub-Saharan Africa

PubMed Central

Renschler, John P.; Walters, Kelsey M.; Newton, Paul N.; Laxminarayan, Ramanan

2015-01-01

Many antimalarials sold in sub-Saharan Africa are poor-quality (falsified, substandard, or degraded), and the burden of disease caused by this problem is inadequately quantified. In this article, we estimate the number of under-five deaths caused by ineffective treatment of malaria associated with consumption of poor-quality antimalarials in 39 sub-Saharan countries. Using Latin hypercube sampling our estimates were calculated as the product of the number of private sector antimalarials consumed by malaria-positive children in 2013; the proportion of private sector antimalarials consumed that were of poor-quality; and the case fatality rate (CFR) of under-five malaria-positive children who did not receive appropriate treatment. An estimated 122,350 (interquartile range [IQR]: 91,577–154,736) under-five malaria deaths were associated with consumption of poor-quality antimalarials, representing 3.75% (IQR: 2.81–4.75%) of all under-five deaths in our sample of 39 countries. There is considerable uncertainty surrounding our results because of gaps in data on case fatality rates and prevalence of poor-quality antimalarials. Our analysis highlights the need for further investigation into the distribution of poor-quality antimalarials and the need for stronger surveillance and regulatory efforts to prevent the sale of poor-quality antimalarials. PMID:25897068

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2017-12-01

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

New Fe i Level Energies and Line Identifications from Stellar Spectra. II. Initial Results from New Ultraviolet Spectra of Metal-poor Stars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peterson, Ruth C.; Kurucz, Robert L.; Ayres, Thomas R., E-mail: peterson@ucolick.org

2017-04-01

The Fe i spectrum is critical to many areas of astrophysics, yet many of the high-lying levels remain uncharacterized. To remedy this deficiency, Peterson and Kurucz identified Fe i lines in archival ultraviolet and optical spectra of metal-poor stars, whose warm temperatures favor moderate Fe i excitation. Sixty-five new levels were recovered, with 1500 detectable lines, including several bound levels in the ionization continuum of Fe i. Here, we extend the previous work by identifying 59 additional levels, with 1400 detectable lines, by incorporating new high-resolution UV spectra of warm metal-poor stars recently obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope Imagingmore » Spectrograph. We provide gf values for these transitions, both computed as well as adjusted to fit the stellar spectra. We also expand our spectral calculations to the infrared, confirming three levels by matching high-quality spectra of the Sun and two cool stars in the H -band. The predicted gf values suggest that an additional 3700 Fe i lines should be detectable in existing solar infrared spectra. Extending the empirical line identification work to the infrared would help confirm additional Fe i levels, as would new high-resolution UV spectra of metal-poor turnoff stars below 1900 Å.« less

New Fe I Level Energies and Line Identifications from Stellar Spectra. II. Initial Results from New Ultraviolet Spectra of Metal-poor Stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, Ruth C.; Kurucz, Robert L.; Ayres, Thomas R.

2017-04-01

The Fe I spectrum is critical to many areas of astrophysics, yet many of the high-lying levels remain uncharacterized. To remedy this deficiency, Peterson & Kurucz identified Fe I lines in archival ultraviolet and optical spectra of metal-poor stars, whose warm temperatures favor moderate Fe I excitation. Sixty-five new levels were recovered, with 1500 detectable lines, including several bound levels in the ionization continuum of Fe I. Here, we extend the previous work by identifying 59 additional levels, with 1400 detectable lines, by incorporating new high-resolution UV spectra of warm metal-poor stars recently obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. We provide gf values for these transitions, both computed as well as adjusted to fit the stellar spectra. We also expand our spectral calculations to the infrared, confirming three levels by matching high-quality spectra of the Sun and two cool stars in the H-band. The predicted gf values suggest that an additional 3700 Fe I lines should be detectable in existing solar infrared spectra. Extending the empirical line identification work to the infrared would help confirm additional Fe I levels, as would new high-resolution UV spectra of metal-poor turnoff stars below 1900 Å.

Internalization of silver nanoparticles into mouse spermatozoa results in poor fertilization and compromised embryo development

PubMed Central

Yoisungnern, Ton; Choi, Yun-Jung; Woong Han, Jae; Kang, Min-Hee; Das, Joydeep; Gurunathan, Sangiliyandi; Kwon, Deug-Nam; Cho, Ssang-Goo; Park, Chankyu; Kyung Chang, Won; Chang, Byung-Soo; Parnpai, Rangsun; Kim, Jin-Hoi

2015-01-01

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have many features that make them attractive as medical devices, especially in therapeutic agents and drug delivery systems. Here we have introduced AgNPs into mouse spermatozoa and then determined the cytotoxic effects of AgNPs on sperm function and subsequent embryo development. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analyses showed that AgNPs could be internalized into sperm cells. Furthermore, exposure to AgNPs inhibited sperm viability and the acrosome reaction in a dose-dependent manner, whereas sperm mitochondrial copy numbers, morphological abnormalities, and mortality due to reactive oxygen species were significantly increased. Likewise, sperm abnormalities due to AgNPs internalization significantly decreased the rate of oocyte fertilization and blastocyst formation. Blastocysts obtained from AgNPs-treated spermatozoa showed lower expression of trophectoderm-associated and pluripotent marker genes. Overall, we propose that AgNPs internalization into spermatozoa may alter sperm physiology, leading to poor fertilization and embryonic development. Such AgNPs-induced reprotoxicity may be a valuable tool as models for testing the safety and applicability of medical devices using AgNPs. PMID:26054035

Estimating the potential intensification of global grazing systems based on climate adjusted yield gap analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheehan, J. J.

2016-12-01

performance, global output of meat and milk could increase 2.8 fold. This is much higher than that reported previously for major grain crops like corn and wheat. Our results suggest that efforts to address poor performance of pasture systems around the world could substantially improve the outlook for meeting future food demand.

Application Process Improvement Yields Results.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holesovsky, Jan Paul

1995-01-01

After a continuing effort to improve its grant application process, the department of medical microbiology and immunology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is submitting many more applications and realizing increased funding. The methods and strategy used to make the process more efficient and effective are outlined. (Author/MSE)

Comparison of the Results of MISSE 6 Atomic Oxygen Erosion Yields of Layered Kapton H Films with Monte Carlo Computational Predictions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Banks, Bruce A.; Groh, Kim De; Kneubel, Christian A.

2014-01-01

A space experiment flown as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment 6B (MISSE 6B) was designed to compare the atomic oxygen erosion yield (Ey) of layers of Kapton H polyimide with no spacers between layers with that of layers of Kapton H with spacers between layers. The results were compared to a solid Kapton H (DuPont, Wilmington, DE) sample. Monte Carlo computational modeling was performed to optimize atomic oxygen interaction parameter values to match the results of both the MISSE 6B multilayer experiment and the undercut erosion profile from a crack defect in an aluminized Kapton H sample flown on the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). The Monte Carlo modeling produced credible agreement with space results of increased Ey for all samples with spacers as well as predicting the space-observed enhancement in erosion near the edges of samples due to scattering from the beveled edges of the sample holders.

Crop yield responses to a hardwood biochar across varied soils and climate conditions

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Biochars applied to soil for crop yield improvements have produced mixed results. The assorted crop yield responses may be linked to employing biochars with diverse chemical and physical characteristics. To clarify if biochars can improve crop yields, it may be prudent to evaluate one biochar type...

Relationships between surface solar radiation and wheat yield in Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernandez-Barrera, Sara; Rodriguez-Puebla, Concepción

2017-04-01

Here we examine the role of solar radiation to describe wheat-yield variability in Spain. We used Partial Least Square regression to capture the modes of surface solar radiation that drive wheat-yield variability. We will show that surface solar radiation introduces the effects of teleconnection patterns on wheat yield and also it is associated with drought and diurnal temperature range. We highlight the importance of surface solar radiation to obtain models for wheat-yield projections because it could reduce uncertainty with respect to the projections based on temperatures and precipitation variables. In addition, the significance of the model based on surface solar radiation is greater than the previous one based on drought and diurnal temperature range (Hernandez-Barrera et al., 2016). According to our results, the increase of solar radiation over Spain for 21st century could force a wheat-yield decrease (Hernandez-Barrera et al., 2017). Hernandez-Barrera S., Rodríguez-Puebla C. and Challinor A.J. 2016 Effects of diurnal temperature range and drought on wheat yield in Spain. Theoretical and Applied Climatology. DOI: 10.1007/s00704-016-1779-9 Hernandez-Barrera S., Rodríguez-Puebla C. 2017 Wheat yield in Spain and associated solar radiation patterns. International Journal of Climatology. DOI: 10.1002/joc.4975

Arsenite Oxidation by a Poorly-Crystalline Manganese Oxide 2. Results from X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy and X-ray Diffraction

PubMed Central

Lafferty, Brandon J.; Ginder-Vogel, Matthew; Zhu, Mengqiang; Livi, Kenneth J. T.; Sparks, Donald L.

2010-01-01

Arsenite (AsIII) oxidation by manganese oxides (Mn-oxides) serves to detoxify and, under many conditions, immobilize arsenic (As) by forming arsenate (AsV). AsIII oxidation by MnIV-oxides can be quite complex, involving many simultaneous forward reactions and subsequent back reactions. During AsIII oxidation by Mn-oxides, a reduction in oxidation rate is often observed, which is attributed to Mn-oxide surface passivation. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) data show that MnII sorption on a poorly-crystalline hexagonal birnessite (δ-MnO2) is important in passivation early during reaction with AsIII. Also, it appears that MnIII in the δ-MnO2 structure is formed by conproportionation of sorbed MnII and MnIV in the mineral structure. The content of MnIII within the δ-MnO2 structure appears to increase as the reaction proceeds. Binding of AsV to δ-MnO2 also changes as MnIII becomes more prominent in the δ-MnO2 structure. The data presented indicate that AsIII oxidation and AsV sorption by poorly-crystalline δ-MnO2 is greatly affected by Mn oxidation state in the δ-MnO2 structure. PMID:20977204

Linkages among climate change, crop yields and Mexico-US cross-border migration.

PubMed

Feng, Shuaizhang; Krueger, Alan B; Oppenheimer, Michael

2010-08-10

Climate change is expected to cause mass human migration, including immigration across international borders. This study quantitatively examines the linkages among variations in climate, agricultural yields, and people's migration responses by using an instrumental variables approach. Our method allows us to identify the relationship between crop yields and migration without explicitly controlling for all other confounding factors. Using state-level data from Mexico, we find a significant effect of climate-driven changes in crop yields on the rate of emigration to the United States. The estimated semielasticity of emigration with respect to crop yields is approximately -0.2, i.e., a 10% reduction in crop yields would lead an additional 2% of the population to emigrate. We then use the estimated semielasticity to explore the potential magnitude of future emigration. Depending on the warming scenarios used and adaptation levels assumed, with other factors held constant, by approximately the year 2080, climate change is estimated to induce 1.4 to 6.7 million adult Mexicans (or 2% to 10% of the current population aged 15-65 y) to emigrate as a result of declines in agricultural productivity alone. Although the results cannot be mechanically extrapolated to other areas and time periods, our findings are significant from a global perspective given that many regions, especially developing countries, are expected to experience significant declines in agricultural yields as a result of projected warming.

Effect of unitarization on the amplitudes for the decays K{sub 1}{sup 0} {sup {yields} {pi}+{pi}-} and K{sup +} {sup {yields} {pi}+{pi}+{pi}-}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shabalin, E. P., E-mail: shabalin@itep.r

The unitarization of the amplitude for the decay process K{sub 1}{sup 0} {sup {yields} {pi}+{pi}-} and allowance for the rescattering of final-state pions in the decay process K{sup +} {sup {yields} {pi}+{pi}+{pi}-} make it possible to evaluate, by using the parameters extracted from data on K {sup {yields}}2{pi} decays, the K{sup +} {sup {yields} {pi}+{pi}+{pi}-} decay width. The result agrees with the experimental width value at a level of a few percent. Allowance for corrections for higher order terms of the momentum expansion of the amplitude for the decay process K{sup +} {sup {yields} {pi}+{pi}+{pi}-} leads to the slope-parameter valuemore » of g{sub ++-}{sup th} = 0.2182, which agrees with its experimental counterpart, g{sub ++-}{sup exp} = 0.2154 {+-} 0.0035.« less

Changes in utilization of health services among poor and rural residents in Uganda: are reforms benefitting the poor?

PubMed

Pariyo, George W; Ekirapa-Kiracho, Elizabeth; Okui, Olico; Rahman, Mohammed Hafizur; Peterson, Stefan; Bishai, David M; Lucas, Henry; Peters, David H

2009-11-12

Uganda implemented health sector reforms to make services more accessible to the population. An assessment of the likely impact of these reforms is important for informing policy. This paper describes the changes in utilization of health services that occurred among the poor and those in rural areas between 2002/3 and 2005/6 and associated factors. Secondary data analysis was done using the socio-economic component of the Uganda National Household Surveys 2002/03 and 2005/06. The poor were identified from wealth quintiles constructed using an asset based index derived from Principal Components Analysis (PCA). The probability of choice of health care provider was assessed using multinomial logistic regression and multi-level statistical models. The odds of not seeking care in 2005/6 were 1.79 times higher than in 2002/3 (OR = 1.79; 95% CI 1.65 - 1.94). The rural population experienced a 43% reduction in the risk of not seeking care because of poor geographical access (OR = 0.57; 95% CI 0.48 - 0.67). The risk of not seeking care due to high costs did not change significantly. Private for profit providers (PFP) were the major providers of services in 2002/3 and 2005/6. Using PFP as base category, respondents were more likely to have used private not for profit (PNFP) in 2005/6 than in 2002/3 (OR = 2.15; 95% CI 1.58 - 2.92), and also more likely to use public facilities in 2005/6 than 2002/3 (OR = 1.31; 95% CI 1.15 - 1.48). The most poor, females, rural residents, and those from elderly headed households were more likely to use public facilities relative to PFP. Although overall utilization of public and PNFP services by rural and poor populations had increased, PFP remained the major source of care. The odds of not seeking care due to distance decreased in rural areas but cost continued to be an important barrier to seeking health services for residents from poor, rural, and elderly headed households. Policy makers should consider targeting subsidies to the poor and

Factors Affecting Firm Yield and the Estimation of Firm Yield for Selected Streamflow-Dominated Drinking-Water-Supply Reservoirs in Massachusetts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Waldron, Marcus C.; Archfield, Stacey A.

2006-01-01

Factors affecting reservoir firm yield, as determined by application of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's Firm Yield Estimator (FYE) model, were evaluated, modified, and tested on 46 streamflow-dominated reservoirs representing 15 Massachusetts drinking-water supplies. The model uses a mass-balance approach to determine the maximum average daily withdrawal rate that can be sustained during a period of record that includes the 1960s drought-of-record. The FYE methodology to estimate streamflow to the reservoir at an ungaged site was tested by simulating streamflow at two streamflow-gaging stations in Massachusetts and comparing the simulated streamflow to the observed streamflow. In general, the FYE-simulated flows agreed well with observed flows. There were substantial deviations from the measured values for extreme high and low flows. A sensitivity analysis determined that the model's streamflow estimates are most sensitive to input values for average annual precipitation, reservoir drainage area, and the soil-retention number-a term that describes the amount of precipitation retained by the soil in the basin. The FYE model currently provides the option of using a 1,000-year synthetic record constructed by randomly sampling 2-year blocks of concurrent streamflow and precipitation records 500 times; however, the synthetic record has the potential to generate records of precipitation and streamflow that do not reflect the worst historical drought in Massachusetts. For reservoirs that do not have periods of drawdown greater than 2 years, the bootstrap does not offer any additional information about the firm yield of a reservoir than the historical record does. For some reservoirs, the use of a synthetic record to determine firm yield resulted in as much as a 30-percent difference between firm-yield values from one simulation to the next. Furthermore, the assumption that the synthetic traces of streamflow are statistically equivalent to the

Poor sleep quality, antepartum depression and suicidal ideation among pregnant women.

PubMed

Gelaye, Bizu; Addae, Gifty; Neway, Beemnet; Larrabure-Torrealva, Gloria T; Qiu, Chunfang; Stoner, Lee; Luque Fernandez, Miguel Angel; Sanchez, Sixto E; Williams, Michelle A

2017-02-01

To evaluate the independent and combined associations of maternal self-reported poor sleep quality and antepartum depression with suicidal ideation during the third trimester METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1298 pregnant women (between 24 and 28 gestational weeks) attending prenatal clinics in Lima, Peru. Antepartum depression and suicidal ideation were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire was used to assess sleep quality. Multivariate logistical regression procedures were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) after adjusting for putative confounders. Approximately, 17% of women were classified as having poor sleep quality (defined using the recommended criteria of PSQI global score of >5 vs. ≤5). Further, the prevalence of antepartum depression and suicidal ideation were 10.3% and 8.5%, respectively in this cohort. After adjusting for confounders including depression, poor sleep quality was associated with a 2.81-fold increased odds of suicidal ideation (OR=2.81; 95% CI 1.78-4.45). When assessed as a continuous variable, each 1-unit increase in the global PSQI score resulted in a 28% increase in odds for suicidal ideation, even after adjusting for depression (OR=1.28; 95% CI 1.15-1.41). The odds of suicidal ideation was particularly high among depressed women with poor sleep quality (OR=13.56 95% CI 7.53-24.41) as compared with women without either risk factor. This cross-sectional study utilized self-reported data. Causality cannot be inferred, and results may not be fully generalizable. Poor sleep quality, even after adjusting for depression, is associated with antepartum suicidal ideation. Our findings support the need to explore sleep-focused interventions for pregnant women. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Search for Proton Decay via p{yields}e{sup +}{pi}{sup 0} and p{yields}{mu}{sup +}{pi}{sup 0} in a Large Water Cherenkov Detector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nishino, H.; Hazama, S.; Higuchi, I.

2009-04-10

We have searched for proton decays via p{yields}e{sup +}{pi}{sup 0} and p{yields}{mu}{sup +}{pi}{sup 0} using data from a 91.7 kt{center_dot}yr exposure of Super-Kamiokande-I and a 49.2 kt{center_dot}yr exposure of Super-Kamiokande-II. No candidate events were observed with expected backgrounds induced by atmospheric neutrinos of 0.3 events for each decay mode. From these results, we set lower limits on the partial lifetime of 8.2x10{sup 33} and 6.6x10{sup 33} years at 90% confidence level for p{yields}e{sup +}{pi}{sup 0} and p{yields}{mu}{sup +}{pi}{sup 0} modes, respectively.

Speech Perception Deficits in Mandarin-Speaking School-Aged Children with Poor Reading Comprehension

PubMed Central

Liu, Huei-Mei; Tsao, Feng-Ming

2017-01-01

Previous studies have shown that children learning alphabetic writing systems who have language impairment or dyslexia exhibit speech perception deficits. However, whether such deficits exist in children learning logographic writing systems who have poor reading comprehension remains uncertain. To further explore this issue, the present study examined speech perception deficits in Mandarin-speaking children with poor reading comprehension. Two self-designed tasks, consonant categorical perception task and lexical tone discrimination task were used to compare speech perception performance in children (n = 31, age range = 7;4–10;2) with poor reading comprehension and an age-matched typically developing group (n = 31, age range = 7;7–9;10). Results showed that the children with poor reading comprehension were less accurate in consonant and lexical tone discrimination tasks and perceived speech contrasts less categorically than the matched group. The correlations between speech perception skills (i.e., consonant and lexical tone discrimination sensitivities and slope of consonant identification curve) and individuals’ oral language and reading comprehension were stronger than the correlations between speech perception ability and word recognition ability. In conclusion, the results revealed that Mandarin-speaking children with poor reading comprehension exhibit less-categorized speech perception, suggesting that imprecise speech perception, especially lexical tone perception, is essential to account for reading learning difficulties in Mandarin-speaking children. PMID:29312031

Calculated secondary yields for proton broadband using DECAY TURTLE

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sondgeroth, A.

1995-02-01

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

Food-Insecure Dietary Patterns Are Associated With Poor Longitudinal Glycemic Control in Diabetes: Results From the Boston Puerto Rican Health Study

PubMed Central

Gao, Xiang; Tucker, Katherine L.

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE To determine whether dietary patterns associated with food insecurity are associated with poor longitudinal glycemic control. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In a prospective, population-based, longitudinal cohort study, we ascertained food security (Food Security Survey Module), dietary pattern (Healthy Eating Index–2005 [HEI 2005]), and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in Puerto Rican adults aged 45–75 years with diabetes at baseline (2004–2009) and HbA1c at ∼2 years follow-up (2006–2012). We determined associations between food insecurity and dietary pattern and assessed whether those dietary patterns were associated with poorer HbA1c concentration over time, using multivariable-adjusted repeated subjects mixed-effects models. RESULTS There were 584 participants with diabetes at baseline and 516 at follow-up. Food-insecure participants reported lower overall dietary quality and lower intake of fruit and vegetables. A food insecurity*HEI 2005 interaction (P < 0.001) suggested that better diet quality was more strongly associated with lower HbA1c in food-insecure than food-secure participants. In adjusted models, lower follow-up HbA1c was associated with greater HEI 2005 score (β = −0.01 HbA1c % per HEI 2005 point, per year, P = 0.003) and with subscores of total vegetables (β = −0.09, P = 0.04) and dark green and orange vegetables and legumes (β = −0.06, P = 0.048). Compared with the minimum total vegetable score, a participant with the maximum score showed relative improvements of HbA1c of 0.5% per year. CONCLUSIONS Food insecurity was associated with lower overall dietary quality and lower consumption of plant-based foods, which was associated with poor longitudinal glycemic control. PMID:24969578

Is American business working for the poor?

PubMed

Bane, M J; Ellwood, D T

1991-01-01

At first glance, poverty seems to have little to do with business. When most people--managers included--think about poverty, they assume that people are poor because they are isolated from the mainstream economy, not productive participants in it. But according to Harvard University professors Mary Jo Bane and David Ellwood, this is a misleading image of the true face of poverty in the United States today. Most poor adults--and a full 90% of poor children--live in families where work is the norm, not the exception. Poor people often work or want to work. But at the low-wage end of the American economy, having a job is no guarantee of avoiding poverty. Poverty is a business issue, then, because the American poor are part of the American work force. And this poses a problem for managers. In a more competitive and fast-changing economic environment, the performance of companies increasingly depends on the capabilities of their employees. In response to this human-resource challenge, more and more managers are embracing the language of "empowerment". And yet how can low-wage employees believe empowerment when their experience of work is, quite literally, impoverishment? It is unlikely that American companies can create the work force of the future with the poverty policies of the past. Fortunately, there are some simple policy mechanisms that can assist the working poor without putting an undue burden on business. Enacting them, however, requires managers to see poverty policy as one part of a national human-resource strategy that links the strategic concerns of companies to a broad social agenda.

Factors determining poor prognostic outcomes following diabetic hand infections

PubMed Central

Ince, Bilsev; Dadaci, Mehmet; Arslan, Abdullah; Altuntas, Zeynep; Evrenos, Mustafa Kursat; Fatih Karsli, Mehmet

2015-01-01

Background and Objective: Hand ulcers are seen in a small percentage of patients with diabetes. The predisposing factors of diabetic hand varies between different countries. However, the effects of predisposing factors on prognosis are not clear in diabetic hand infections. In this study, our aim was to determine the effects of predisposing factors on poor prognostic outcomes in patients with diabetes mellitus. Methods: Thirty-four patients with diabetes mellitus who were treated and followed up for a hand infection in between 2008 and 2014 were investigated retrospectively. Patients were evaluated according to predisposing factors defined in the literature that included disease period, age, gender, admission time, presence of neuropathy, smoking habits, HbA1c levels at admission time, peripheral vascular disease, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and trauma. Death and minor/major amputation cases during treatment were defined as poor prognosis. Results: Patients who had ESRD, peripheral neuropathy, or an HbA1c level greater than 10% had significantly higher amputation rates. Conclusions: Peripheral neuropathy, ESRD, and HbA1c levels greater than 10% at the time of admission were determined as poor prognosis criteria for diabetic hand treatment. PMID:26150838

Yield Mapping for Different Crops in Sudano-Sahelian Smallholder Farming Systems: Results Based on Metric Worldview and Decametric SPOT-5 Take5 Time Series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blaes, X.; Lambert, M.-J.; Chome, G.; Traore, P. S.; de By, R. A.; Defourny, P.

2016-08-01

Efficient yield mapping in Sudano-Sahelian Africa, characterized by a very heterogeneous landscape, is crucial to help ensure food security and decrease smallholder farmers' vulnerability. Thanks to an unprecedented in-situ data and HR and VHR remote sensing time series collected in the Koutiala district (in south-eastern Mali), the yield and some key factors of yield estimation were estimated. A crop-specific biomass map was derived with a mean absolute error of 20% using metric WorldView and 25% using decametric SPOT-5 TAKE5 image time series. The very high intra- and inter-field heterogeneity was captured efficiently. The presence of trees in the fields led to a general overestimation of yields, while the mixed pixels at the field borders introduced noise in the biomass predictions.

Poor readers' retrieval mechanism: efficient access is not dependent on reading skill

PubMed Central

Johns, Clinton L.; Matsuki, Kazunaga; Van Dyke, Julie A.

2015-01-01

A substantial body of evidence points to a cue-based direct-access retrieval mechanism as a crucial component of skilled adult reading. We report two experiments aimed at examining whether poor readers are able to make use of the same retrieval mechanism. This is significant in light of findings that poor readers have difficulty retrieving linguistic information (e.g., Perfetti, 1985). Our experiments are based on a previous demonstration of direct-access retrieval in language processing, presented in McElree et al. (2003). Experiment 1 replicates the original result using an auditory implementation of the Speed-Accuracy Tradeoff (SAT) method. This finding represents a significant methodological advance, as it opens up the possibility of exploring retrieval speeds in non-reading populations. Experiment 2 provides evidence that poor readers do use a direct-access retrieval mechanism during listening comprehension, despite overall poorer accuracy and slower retrieval speeds relative to skilled readers. The findings are discussed with respect to hypotheses about the source of poor reading comprehension. PMID:26528212

Growth and yield models for central hardwoods

Treesearch

Martin E. Dale; Donald E. Hilt

1989-01-01

Over the last 20 years computers have become an efficient tool to estimate growth and yield. Computerized yield estimates vary from simple approximation or interpolation of traditional normal yield tables to highly sophisticated programs that simulate the growth and yield of each individual tree.

Estimating oak growth and yield

Treesearch

Martin E. Dale; Donald E. Hilt

1989-01-01

Yields from upland oak stands vary widely from stand to stand due to differences in age, site quality, species composition, and stand structure. Cutting history and other past disturbances such as grazing or fire also affect yields.

A nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive equation - Yield predictions in multiaxial deformations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shay, R. M., Jr.; Caruthers, J. M.

1987-01-01

Yield stress predictions of a nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive equation for amorphous polymer solids have been obtained and are compared with the phenomenological von Mises yield criterion. Linear viscoelasticity theory has been extended to include finite strains and a material timescale that depends on the instantaneous temperature, volume, and pressure. Results are presented for yield and the correct temperature and strain-rate dependence in a variety of multiaxial deformations. The present nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive equation can be formulated in terms of either a Cauchy or second Piola-Kirchhoff stress tensor, and in terms of either atmospheric or hydrostatic pressure.

Reduced product yield in chemical processes by second law effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

England, C.; Funk, J. E.

1980-01-01

An analysis of second law effects in chemical processes, where product yield is explicitly related to the individual irreversibilities within the process to indicate a maximum theoretical yield, is presented. Examples are given that indicate differences between first and second law approaches toward process efficiency and process yield. This analysis also expresses production capacity in terms of the heating value of a product. As a result, it is particularly convenient in analyzing fuel conversion plants and their potential for improvement. Relationships are also given for the effects of irreversibilities on requirements for process heat and for feedstocks.

First archeointensity results from Portuguese potteries (1550-1750 AD)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hartmann, Gelvam A.; Trindade, Ricardo I. F.; Goguitchaichvili, Avto; Etchevarne, Carlos; Morales, Juan; Afonso, Marisa C.

2009-01-01

Geomagnetic field variations at archeomagnetic timescales can be obtained from well-dated heated structures and archeological potsherds. Here, we present the first archeointensity results obtained on Portuguese ceramics (1550 to 1750 AD) collected at Brazilian archeological sites. The results are compared to those obtained from Western Europe and currently available geomagnetic field models. Continuous thermomagnetic and IRM acquisitions curves indicate that Ti-poor titanomagnetite is responsible for the remanence in these ceramic fragments. Five fragments (24 samples) out of twelve analyzed yielded reliable intensity estimates. The row archeointensity data were corrected for TRM anisotropy and cooling rate effect. The mean dipole moments are obtained for three different age intervals: 1550±30 AD, 1600±30 AD and 1750±50 AD. Mean intensities vary from 37.9±4.2 μT to 54.8±7.6 μT in agreement with the previously reported data for 1550 AD and 1750 AD. Relatively weaker, but still highly dispersed, values were obtained for 1600 AD ceramics.

Fission yield and criticality excursion code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blanchard, A.

2000-06-30

The ANSI/ANS 8.3 standard allows a maximum yield not to exceed 2 x 10 fissions to calculate requiring the alarm system to be effective. It is common practice to use this allowance or to develop some other yield based on past criticality accident history or excursion experiments. The literature on the subject of yields discusses maximum yields larger and somewhat smaller than the ANS 8.3 permissive value. The ability to model criticality excursions and vary the various parameters to determine a credible maximum yield for operational specific cases has been available for some time but is not in common usemore » by criticality safety specialists. The topic of yields for various solution, metal, oxide powders, etc. in various geometry's and containers has been published by laboratory specialists or university staff and students for many decades but have not been available to practitioners. The need for best-estimate calculations of fission yields with a well-validated criticality excursion code has long been recognized. But no coordinated effort has been made so far to develop a generalized and well-validated excursion code for different types of systems. In this paper, the current practices to estimate fission yields are summarized along with its shortcomings for the 12-Rad zone (at SRS) and Criticality Alarm System (CAS) calculations. Finally the need for a user-friendly excursion code is reemphasized.« less

Climate Variability and Sugarcane Yield in Louisiana.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenland, David

2005-11-01

This paper seeks to understand the role that climate variability has on annual yield of sugarcane in Louisiana. Unique features of sugarcane growth in Louisiana and nonclimatic, yield-influencing factors make this goal an interesting and challenging one. Several methods of seeking and establishing the relations between yield and climate variables are employed. First, yield climate relations were investigated at a single research station where crop variety and growing conditions could be held constant and yield relations could be established between a predominant older crop variety and a newer one. Interviews with crop experts and a literature survey were used to identify potential climatic factors that control yield. A statistical analysis was performed using statewide yield data from the American Sugar Cane League from 1963 to 2002 and a climate database. Yield values for later years were adjusted downward to form an adjusted yield dataset. The climate database was principally constructed from daily and monthly values of maximum and minimum temperature and daily and monthly total precipitation for six cooperative weather-reporting stations representative of the area of sugarcane production. The influence of 74 different, though not independent, climate-related variables on sugarcane yield was investigated. The fact that a climate signal exists is demonstrated by comparing mean values of the climate variables corresponding to the upper and lower third of adjusted yield values. Most of these mean-value differences show an intuitively plausible difference between the high- and low-yield years. The difference between means of the climate variables for years corresponding to the upper and lower third of annual yield values for 13 of the variables is statistically significant at or above the 90% level. A correlation matrix was used to identify the variables that had the largest influence on annual yield. Four variables [called here critical climatic variables (CCV

Climate Change Impact on Rainfall: How will Threaten Wheat Yield?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tafoughalti, K.; El Faleh, E. M.; Moujahid, Y.; Ouargaga, F.

2018-05-01

Climate change has a significant impact on the environmental condition of the agricultural region. Meknes has an agrarian economy and wheat production is of paramount importance. As most arable area are under rainfed system, Meknes is one of the sensitive regions to rainfall variability and consequently to climate change. Therefore, the use of changes in rainfall is vital for detecting the influence of climate system on agricultural productivity. This article identifies rainfall temporal variability and its impact on wheat yields. We used monthly rainfall records for three decades and wheat yields records of fifteen years. Rainfall variability is assessed utilizing the precipitation concentration index and the variation coefficient. The association between wheat yields and cumulative rainfall amounts of different scales was calculated based on a regression model. The analysis shown moderate seasonal and irregular annual rainfall distribution. Yields fluctuated from 210 to 4500 Kg/ha with 52% of coefficient of variation. The correlation results shows that wheat yields are strongly correlated with rainfall of the period January to March. This investigation concluded that climate change is altering wheat yield and it is crucial to adept the necessary adaptation to challenge the risk.

Extent of Malnourishment among the Rural Poor.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shotland, Jeffrey

1989-01-01

Uses national survey data to demonstrate that, compared to the rural or U.S. non-poor, the rural poor consumed less of eight of nine key nutrients; and disparities were greatest for vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium, and for the youngest (two-five years) age group studied. (SV)

Recent climate variability and its impacts on soybean yields in Southern Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira, Danielle Barros; Rao, V. Brahmananda

2011-08-01

Recent climate variability in rainfall, temperatures (maximum and minimum), and the diurnal temperature range is studied with emphasis on its influence over soybean yields in southern Brazil, during 1969 to 2002. The results showed that the soybean ( Glycine max L. Merril) yields are more affected by changes in temperature during summer, while changes in rainfall are more important during the beginning of plantation and at its peak of development. Furthermore, soybean yields in Paraná are more sensitive to rainfall variations, while soybean yields in the Rio Grande do Sul are more sensitive to variations in temperature. Effects of interannual climatic variability on soybean yields are evaluated through three agro-meteorological models: additive Stewart, multiplicative Rao, and multiplicative Jensen. The Jensen model is able to reproduce the interannual behavior of soybean yield reasonably well.

Health care utilization and costs among medical-aid enrollees, the poor not enrolled in medical-aid, and the near poor in South Korea.

PubMed

Choi, Jae Woo; Park, Eun-Cheol; Chun, Sung-Youn; Han, Kyu-Tae; Han, Euna; Kim, Tae Hyun

2015-11-14

Although government has implemented medical-aid policy that provides assistance to the poor with almost free medical services, there are low-income people who do not receive necessary medical services in Korea. The aim of this study is to highlight the characteristics of Medical-Aid enrollees, the poor not enrolled in Medical-Aid, and the near poor and their utilization and costs for health care. This study draws on the 2012 Korea Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS), a nationally representative dataset. We divided people with income less than 120% of the minimum cost of living (MCL) into three groups (n = 2,784): the poor enrolled in Medical-Aid, the poor not enrolled in Medical-Aid (at or below 100% of MCL), and the near poor (100-120% of MCL). Using a cross-sectional design, this study provides an overview of health care utilization and costs of these three groups. The findings of the study suggest that significantly lower health care utilization was observed for the poor not enrolled in Medical-Aid compared to those enrolled in Medical-Aid. On the other hand, two groups (the poor not enrolled in Medical-Aid, the near poor) had higher health care costs, percentage of medical expenses to income compared to Medical-Aid. Given the particularly low rate of the population enrolled in Medical-Aid, similarly economically vulnerable groups are more likely to face barriers to needed health services. Meeting the health needs of these groups is an important consideration.

Marriage or dissolution? Union transitions among poor cohabiting women.

PubMed

Lichter, Daniel T; Qian, Zhenchao; Mellott, Leanna M

2006-05-01

The objective of this paper is to identify the incentives and barriers to marriage among cohabiting women, especially disadvantaged mothers who are targets of welfare reform. We use the newly released cohabitation data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1979-2000), which tracks the partners of cohabiting women across survey waves. Our results support several conclusions. First, cohabiting unions are short-lived--about one-half end within one year, and over 90% end by the fifth year. Unlike most previous research, our results show that most cohabiting unions end by dissolution of the relationship rather than by marriage. Second, transitions to marriage are especially unlikely among poor women; less than one-third marry within five years. Cohabitation among poor women is more likely than that among nonpoor women to be a long-term alternative or substitute for traditional marriage. Third, our multinomial analysis of transitions from cohabitation into marriage or dissolution highlights the salience of economically disadvantaged family backgrounds, cohabitation and fertility histories, women's economic resources, and partner characteristics. These results are interpreted in a policy environment that increasingly views marriage as an economic panacea for low-income women and their children.

Early process development of API applied to poorly water-soluble TBID.

PubMed

Meise, Marius; Niggemann, Matthias; Dunens, Alexandra; Schoenitz, Martin; Kuschnerow, Jan C; Kunick, Conrad; Scholl, Stephan

2018-05-01

Finding and optimising of synthesis processes for active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) is time consuming. In the finding phase, established methods for synthesis, purification and formulation are used to achieve a high purity API for biological studies. For promising API candidates, this is followed by pre-clinical and clinical studies requiring sufficient quantities of the active component. Ideally, these should be produced with a process representative for a later production process and suitable for scaling to production capacity. This work presents an overview of different approaches for process synthesis based on an existing lab protocol. This is demonstrated for the production of the model drug 4,5,6,7-tetrabromo-2-(1H-imidazol-2-yl) isoindolin-1,3-dione (TBID). Early batch synthesis and purification procedures typically suffer from low and fluctuating yields and purities due to poor process control. In a first step the literature synthesis and purification procedure was modified and optimized using solubility measurements, targeting easier and safer processing for consecutive studies. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Fast pyrolysis of palm kernel shells: influence of operation parameters on the bio-oil yield and the yield of phenol and phenolic compounds.

PubMed

Kim, Seon-Jin; Jung, Su-Hwa; Kim, Joo-Sik

2010-12-01

Palm kernel shells were pyrolyzed in a pyrolysis plant equipped with a fluidized-bed reactor and a char-separation system. The influence of reaction temperature, feed size and feed rate on the product spectrum was also investigated. In addition, the effect of reaction temperature on the yields of phenol and phenolic compounds in the bio-oil was examined. The maximum bio-oil yield was 48.7 wt.% of the product at 490 degrees C. The maximum yield of phenol plus phenolic compounds amounted to about 70 area percentage at 475 degrees C. The yield of pyrolytic lignin after its isolation from the bio-oil was approximately 46 wt.% based on the water and ash free oil. The pyrolytic lignin was mainly composed of phenol, phenolic compounds and oligomers of coniferyl, sinapyl and p-coumaryl alcohols. From the result of a GPC analysis, the number average molecular weight and the weight average molecular weight were 325 and 463 g/mol, respectively. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Kinematics and dynamics of the MKW/AWM poor clusters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beers, Timothy C.; Kriessler, Jeffrey R.; Bird, Christina M.; Huchra, John P.

1995-01-01

We report 472 new redshifts for 416 galaxies in the regions of the 23 poor clusters of galaxies originally identified by Morgan, Kayser, and White (MKW), and Albert, White, and Morgan (AWM). Eighteen of the poor clusters now have 10 or more available redshifts within 1.5/h Mpc of the central galaxy; 11 clusters have at least 20 available redshifts. Based on the 21 clusters for which we have sufficient velocity information, the median velocity scale is 336 km/s, a factor of 2 smaller than found for rich clusters. Several of the poor clusters exhibit complex velocity distributions due to the presence of nearby clumps of galaxies. We check on the velocity of the dominant galaxy in each poor cluster relative to the remaining cluster members. Significantly high relative velocities of the dominant galaxy are found in only 4 of 21 poor clusters, 3 of which we suspect are due to contamination of the parent velocity distribution. Several statistical tests indicate that the D/cD galaxies are at the kinematic centers of the parent poor cluster velocity distributions. Mass-to-light ratios for 13 of the 15 poor clusters for which we have the required data are in the range 50 less than or = M/L(sub B(0)) less than or = 200 solar mass/solar luminosity. The complex nature of the regions surrounding many of the poor clusters suggests that these groupings may represent an early epoch of cluster formation. For example, the poor clusters MKW7 and MKWS are shown to be gravitationally bound and likely to merge to form a richer cluster within the next several Gyrs. Eight of the nine other poor clusters for which simple two-body dynamical models can be carried out are consistent with being bound to other clumps in their vicinity. Additional complex systems with more than two gravitationally bound clumps are observed among the poor clusters.

Yield gap mapping as a support tool for risk management in agriculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lahlou, Ouiam; Imani, Yasmina; Slimani, Imane; Van Wart, Justin; Yang, Haishun

2016-04-01

The increasing frequency and magnitude of droughts in Morocco and the mounting losses from extended droughts in the agricultural sector emphasized the need to develop reliable and timely tools to manage drought and to mitigate resulting catastrophic damage. In 2011, Morocco launched a cereals multi-risk insurance with drought as the most threatening and the most frequent hazard in the country. However, and in order to assess the gap and to implement the more suitable compensation, it is essential to quantify the potential yield in each area. In collaboration with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a study is carried out in Morocco and aims to determine the yield potentials and the yield gaps in the different agro-climatic zones of the country. It fits into the large project: Global Yield Gap and Water Productivity Atlas: http://www.yieldgap.org/. The yield gap (Yg) is the magnitude and difference between crop yield potential (Yp) or water limited yield potential (Yw) and actual yields, reached by farmers. World Food Studies (WOFOST), which is a Crop simulation mechanistic model, has been used for this purpose. Prior to simulations, reliable information about actual yields, weather data, crop management data and soil data have been collected in 7 Moroccan buffer zones considered, each, within a circle of 100 km around a weather station point, homogenously spread across the country and where cereals are widely grown. The model calibration was also carried out using WOFOST default varieties data. The map-based results represent a robust tool, not only for drought insurance organization, but for agricultural and agricultural risk management. Moreover, accurate and geospatially granular estimates of Yg and Yw will allow to focus on regions with largest unexploited yield gaps and greatest potential to close them, and consequently to improve food security in the country.

Early Disparities in Mathematics Gains among Poor and Non-Poor Children: Examining the Role of Behavioral Engagement in Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robinson, Keith

2013-01-01

Multilevel modeling was used to investigate the relationship between poverty status, mathematics achievement gains, and behavioral engagement in learning over kindergarten. Data included information on 11,680 poor, low-income, and non-poor kindergartners from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K). Results…

Global growth and stability of agricultural yield decrease with pollinator dependence

PubMed Central

Garibaldi, Lucas A.; Aizen, Marcelo A.; Klein, Alexandra M.; Cunningham, Saul A.; Harder, Lawrence D.

2011-01-01

Human welfare depends on the amount and stability of agricultural production, as determined by crop yield and cultivated area. Yield increases asymptotically with the resources provided by farmers’ inputs and environmentally sensitive ecosystem services. Declining yield growth with increased inputs prompts conversion of more land to cultivation, but at the risk of eroding ecosystem services. To explore the interdependence of agricultural production and its stability on ecosystem services, we present and test a general graphical model, based on Jensen's inequality, of yield–resource relations and consider implications for land conversion. For the case of animal pollination as a resource influencing crop yield, this model predicts that incomplete and variable pollen delivery reduces yield mean and stability (inverse of variability) more for crops with greater dependence on pollinators. Data collected by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations during 1961–2008 support these predictions. Specifically, crops with greater pollinator dependence had lower mean and stability in relative yield and yield growth, despite global yield increases for most crops. Lower yield growth was compensated by increased land cultivation to enhance production of pollinator-dependent crops. Area stability also decreased with pollinator dependence, as it correlated positively with yield stability among crops. These results reveal that pollen limitation hinders yield growth of pollinator-dependent crops, decreasing temporal stability of global agricultural production, while promoting compensatory land conversion to agriculture. Although we examined crop pollination, our model applies to other ecosystem services for which the benefits to human welfare decelerate as the maximum is approached. PMID:21422295

Improving the yield from fermentative hydrogen production.

PubMed

Kraemer, Jeremy T; Bagley, David M

2007-05-01

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

Measurements of {Gamma}(Z{sup O} {yields} b{bar b})/{Gamma}(Z{sup O} {yields} hadrons) using the SLD

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Neal, H.A. Jr. II

1995-07-01

The quantity R{sub b} = {Gamma}(Z{sup o} {yields}b{bar b})/{Gamma}(Z{sup o} {yields} hadrons) is a sensitive measure of corrections to the Zbb vertex. The precision necessary to observe the top quark mass dependent corrections is close to being achieved. LEP is already observing a 1.8{sigma} deviation from the Standard Model prediction. Knowledge of the top quark mass combined with the observation of deviations from the Standard Model prediction would indicate new physics. Models which include charged Higgs or light SUSY particles yield predictions for R{sub b} appreciably different from the Standard Model. In this thesis two independent methods are used tomore » measure R{sub b}. One uses a general event tag which determines R{sub b} from the rate at which events are tagged as Z{sup o} {yields} b{bar b} in data and the estimated rates at which various flavors of events are tagged from the Monte Carlo. The second method reduces the reliance on the Monte Carlo by separately tagging each hemisphere as containing a b-decay. The rates of single hemisphere tagged events and both hemisphere tagged events are used to determine the tagging efficiency for b-quarks directly from the data thus eliminating the main sources of systematic error present in the event tag. Both measurements take advantage of the unique environment provided by the SLAC Linear Collider (SLC) and the SLAC Large Detector (SLD). From the event tag a result of R{sub b} = 0.230{plus_minus}0.004{sub statistical}{plus_minus}0.013{sub systematic} is obtained. The higher precision hemisphere tag result obtained is R{sub b} = 0.218{plus_minus}0.004{sub statistical}{plus_minus}0.004{sub systematic}{plus_minus}0.003{sub Rc}.« less

Silviculture affects composition, growth, and yield in mixed northern conifers: 40-year results from the Penobscot Experimental Forest

Treesearch

Paul E. Sendak; John C. Brissette; Robert M. Frank

2003-01-01

This long-term experiment in Maine, U.S.A., was designed to provide information on the best silvicultural practices for managing stands of mixed northern conifers in northeastern U.S.A. We evaluated growth and yield and changes in species composition, quality, and structure during the first 40 years of the experiment. Replicated treatments include the selection system...

Ethiopian Wheat Yield and Yield Gap Estimation: A Spatial Small Area Integrated Data Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mann, M.; Warner, J.

2015-12-01

Despite the collection of routine annual agricultural surveys and significant advances in GIS and remote sensing products, little econometric research has been undertaken in predicting developing nation's agricultural yields. In this paper, we explore the determinants of wheat output per hectare in Ethiopia during the 2011-2013 Meher crop seasons aggregated to the woreda administrative area. Using a panel data approach, combining national agricultural field surveys with relevant GIS and remote sensing products, the model explains nearly 40% of the total variation in wheat output per hectare across the country. The model also identifies specific contributors to wheat yields that include farm management techniques (eg. area planted, improved seed, fertilizer, irrigation), weather (eg. rainfall), water availability (vegetation and moisture deficit indexes) and policy intervention. Our findings suggest that woredas produce between 9.8 and 86.5% of their potential wheat output per hectare given their altitude, weather conditions, terrain, and plant health. At the median, Amhara, Oromiya, SNNP, and Tigray produce 48.6, 51.5, 49.7, and 61.3% of their local attainable yields, respectively. This research has a broad range of applications, especially from a public policy perspective: identifying causes of yield fluctuations, remotely evaluating larger agricultural intervention packages, and analyzing relative yield potential. Overall, the combination of field surveys with spatial data can be used to identify management priorities for improving production at a variety of administrative levels.

Morphosyntax in Poor Comprehenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adlof, Suzanne M.; Catts, Hugh W.

2015-01-01

Children described as "poor comprehenders" (PCs) have reading comprehension difficulties in spite of adequate word reading abilities. PCs are known to display weakness with semantics and higher-level aspects of oral language, but less is known about their grammatical skills, especially with regard to morphosyntax. The purpose of this…

Yields of Bacterial Cells from Hydrocarbons

PubMed Central

Wodzinski, Richard S.; Johnson, Marvin J.

1968-01-01

A strain of Nocardia and one of Pseudomonas, both isolated on pristane (2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecane), gave cell yields of approximately 100% on n-octadecane and pristane. Both organisms grew more rapidly on the n-octadecane than on the pristane. A mixed culture, isolated on 3-methylheptane, whose two components were identified as species of Pseudomonas and of Nocardia, gave approximately 100% cell yields and grew with generation times of about 5 hr on n-heptane, n-octane, and 2-methylheptane. The generation time on 3-methylheptane was 8.6 hr and the cell yield was only 79%. A strain of Pseudomonas isolated from naphthalene enrichments and one from phenanthrene enrichments both gave a cell yield of 50% on naphthalene. The phenanthrene isolate gave a cell yield of 40% on phenanthrene. A Nocardia species isolated on benzene gave a 79% cell yield on benzene. The generation times of the bacteria isolated on aromatic hydrocarbons were related to the solubility of the aromatic hydrocarbons on which they were grown; the more insoluble hydrocarbons gave slower growth. PMID:5726161

Quantitative Generalizations for Catchment Sediment Yield Following Plantation Logging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bathurst, James; Iroume, Andres

2014-05-01

While there is a reasonably clear qualitative understanding of the impact of forest plantations on sediment yield, there is a lack of quantitative generalizations. Such generalizations would be helpful for estimating the impacts of proposed forestry operations and would aid the spread of knowledge amongst both relevant professionals and new students. This study therefore analyzed data from the literature to determine the extent to which quantitative statements can be established. The research was restricted to the impact of plantation logging on catchment sediment yield as a function of ground disturbance in the years immediately following logging, in temperate countries, and does not consider landslides consequent upon tree root decay. Twelve paired catchment studies incorporating pre- and post-logging measurements of sediment yield were identified, resulting in forty-three test catchments (including 14 control catchments). Analysis yielded the following principal conclusions: 1) Logging generally provokes maximum annual sediment yields of less than a few hundred t km-2 yr-1; best management practice can reduce this below 100 t km-2 yr-1. 2) At both the annual and event scales, the sediment yield excess of a logged catchment over a control catchment is within one order of magnitude, except with severe ground disturbance. 3) There is no apparent relationship between sediment yield impact and the proportion of catchment logged. The effect depends on which part of the catchment is altered and on its connectivity to the stream network. 4) The majority of catchments delivered their maximum sediment yield in the first two years after logging. The logging impacts were classified in terms of the absolute values of specific sediment yield, the values relative to those in the control catchments for the same period and the values relative both to the control catchment and the pre-logging period. Most studies have been for small catchments (< 10 km2) and temperate regions

Solubility product constants of covellite and a poorly crystalline copper sulfide precipitate at 298 K

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shea, Damian; Helz, George R.

1989-02-01

The equilibrium constant at 25°C for the following reaction has been measured in NaCl media by an indirect method: CuS(cov) + H +(aq) ⇄ Cu 2+(aq) + HS -(qa), Ksp = MCu 2+MHS -(10 +pH) where CuS(cov) designates synthetic covellite. Values of pKsp are 21.39, 21.04 and 20.95 at NaCl = 0.2, 0.7 and 1.0 M, respectively; the uncertainty in these Ksp values is ±0.15. The free energy of formation of covellite, for which published values are discordant, is calculated to be -11.83±0.4 kcal/mole at 298 K (-49.50 ± 1.7 kJ/mole). This value is obtained by extrapolating the meaured pKsp values to infinite dilution with corrections for Cl - complexing. Applying similar Cl - complexing corrections, based on recent measurements by Seward, to previously published solubility data for galena yields a revised pKsp0 for galena of 12.78. A poorly crystalline precipitate, obtained by mixing Cu 2+ and HS - solutions, yielded a reversible solubility product 3 orders of magnitude greater than that of covellite but about 3 orders of magnitude less than that of a truly amorphous phase, super-cooled liquid CuS. The poorly crystalline phase has not been studied previously. Its bulk composition was Cu 1.18S, but microprobe analysis revealed that it was a partially exsolved mixture of roughly Cu 1.11S and Cu 1.32S (similar to known blaubleibender covellites). It was kinetically unstable, and converted to covellite when thermally annealed or when exposed to polysulfide solutions. Because of its instability, a material of this nature is unlikely to account for the amorphous copper sulfide alleged to occur in the Red Sea Brine deposits. However, it is possible that on short time scales dissolved Cu in sulfidic waters is controlled by metastable, rather than stable phases, as is known to be the case with dissolved Fe.

The role of preoccupation in attributions for poor sleep.

PubMed

Ellis, Jason; Hampson, Sarah E; Cropley, Mark

2007-04-01

Studies examining the impact of daytime preoccupations with sleep are rare. The aim of the present study was to determine whether daytime preoccupations mediate the relationship between anxiety and attributions for poor sleep within older adults. A cross-sectional study examined the mediational role of sleep preoccupations in the link between anxiety and attributions for poor sleep in a sample of late-life insomniacs (n=92). The findings show that a preoccupation with sleep during the day mediates the relationship between anxiety and both sleep effort and sleep pattern problem attributions but does not mediate cognitive arousal attributions for insomnia and only partially mediates the relationship between anxiety and physical tension attributions for insomnia. The results are discussed in terms of the existing models of insomnia and cognitive intervention strategies.

The relationship between poor sleep and inhibitory functions indicated by event-related potentials.

PubMed

Breimhorst, Markus; Falkenstein, Michael; Marks, Anke; Griefahn, Barbara

2008-06-01

The present study focused on the relationship between normal variations of sleep and inhibitory functions as reflected in event-related potentials. For this reason one night of 21 healthy participants was analysed. After waking up all participants completed a visual Go/Nogo task. On the basis of a sleep disturbance index (SDI) the participants were separated into 8 SDI-good and 13 SDI-poor sleepers using a cluster analysis. The results showed that Nogo-N2 amplitude was smaller and Nogo-P3 latency longer in SDI-poor sleepers. Moreover, Go-P3 amplitude was smaller in SDI-poor sleepers. Performance parameters were not influenced by poor sleep. We concluded that poor sleep specifically affects the intensity of pre-motor inhibitory processes (Nogo-N2 amplitude), the speed to inhibit a motor response (Nogo-P3 latency) and the intensity of task-relevant information processing (Go-P3 amplitude). In further studies, it should be explored under which conditions such subliminal deficits also become relevant for overt behaviour.

Linkages among climate change, crop yields and Mexico–US cross-border migration

PubMed Central

Feng, Shuaizhang; Krueger, Alan B.; Oppenheimer, Michael

2010-01-01

Climate change is expected to cause mass human migration, including immigration across international borders. This study quantitatively examines the linkages among variations in climate, agricultural yields, and people's migration responses by using an instrumental variables approach. Our method allows us to identify the relationship between crop yields and migration without explicitly controlling for all other confounding factors. Using state-level data from Mexico, we find a significant effect of climate-driven changes in crop yields on the rate of emigration to the United States. The estimated semielasticity of emigration with respect to crop yields is approximately −0.2, i.e., a 10% reduction in crop yields would lead an additional 2% of the population to emigrate. We then use the estimated semielasticity to explore the potential magnitude of future emigration. Depending on the warming scenarios used and adaptation levels assumed, with other factors held constant, by approximately the year 2080, climate change is estimated to induce 1.4 to 6.7 million adult Mexicans (or 2% to 10% of the current population aged 15–65 y) to emigrate as a result of declines in agricultural productivity alone. Although the results cannot be mechanically extrapolated to other areas and time periods, our findings are significant from a global perspective given that many regions, especially developing countries, are expected to experience significant declines in agricultural yields as a result of projected warming. PMID:20660749

Char yield on pyrolysis of cellulose

Treesearch

A. Broido; Maxine A. Nelson

1975-01-01

Whether the pyrolysis of cellulose is conducted in an inert medium or in air, partial pyrolysis at a lower temperature increases the char yield subsequently obtained after 1 hour at 370°C. The results are consistent with a pyrolysis scheme in which two competing sequences of cellulose pyrolysis reactions are initiated by (1) an intermolecular dehydration leading to...

Irrigation offsets wheat yield reductions from warming temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tack, Jesse; Barkley, Andrew; Hendricks, Nathan

2017-11-01

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

Crop status evaluations and yield predictions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haun, J. R.

1976-01-01

One phase of the large area crop inventory project is presented. Wheat yield models based on the input of environmental variables potentially obtainable through the use of space remote sensing were developed and demonstrated. By the use of a unique method for visually qualifying daily plant development and subsequent multifactor computer analyses, it was possible to develop practical models for predicting crop development and yield. Development of wheat yield prediction models was based on the discovery that morphological changes in plants are detected and quantified on a daily basis, and that this change during a portion of the season was proportional to yield.

PAY1 improves plant architecture and enhances grain yield in rice.

PubMed

Zhao, Lei; Tan, Lubin; Zhu, Zuofeng; Xiao, Langtao; Xie, Daoxin; Sun, Chuanqing

2015-08-01

Plant architecture, a complex of the important agronomic traits that determine grain yield, is a primary target of artificial selection of rice domestication and improvement. Some important genes affecting plant architecture and grain yield have been isolated and characterized in recent decades; however, their underlying mechanism remains to be elucidated. Here, we report genetic identification and functional analysis of the PLANT ARCHITECTURE AND YIELD 1 (PAY1) gene in rice, which affects plant architecture and grain yield in rice. Transgenic plants over-expressing PAY1 had twice the number of grains per panicle and consequently produced nearly 38% more grain yield per plant than control plants. Mechanistically, PAY1 could improve plant architecture via affecting polar auxin transport activity and altering endogenous indole-3-acetic acid distribution. Furthermore, introgression of PAY1 into elite rice cultivars, using marker-assisted background selection, dramatically increased grain yield compared with the recipient parents. Overall, these results demonstrated that PAY1 could be a new beneficial genetic resource for shaping ideal plant architecture and breeding high-yielding rice varieties. © 2015 The Authors The Plant Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effective secondary prevention through cardiac rehabilitation after coronary revascularization and predictors of poor adherence to lifestyle modification and medication. Results of the ICAROS Survey.

PubMed

Griffo, Raffaele; Ambrosetti, Marco; Tramarin, Roberto; Fattirolli, Francesco; Temporelli, Pier Luigi; Vestri, Anna Rita; De Feo, Stefania; Tavazzi, Luigi

2013-08-20

Secondary prevention is a priority after coronary revascularization. We investigate the impact of a cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program on lifestyle, risk factors and medication modifications and analyze predictors of poor behavioral changes and events in patients after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Multicenter (n=62), prospective, longitudinal survey in post-CABG or -PCI consecutive patients after a comprehensive CR program. Cardiac risk factors, lifestyle habits, medication and 1 year cardiovascular events were collected. Logistic regression analyzed the association between risk factors, events and predictors of non-adherence to treatment and lifestyle. At 1 year, of the 1262 patients (66 ± 10 years, CABG 69%, PCI 31%), 94% were taking antiplatelet agents (vs. 91.8% at CR admission and 91.7% at CR discharge, p=ns), 87% statins (vs. 67.5%, p<.0001, and 86.3%, p=ns), 80.7% beta-blockers (vs. 67.4%, p<.0001, and 88.8%, p=ns), and 81.1% ACE inhibitors (vs. 57.5% p<.0001, and 77.7%, p=ns). 89.9% of the patients showed good adherence to treatment, 72% adhered to diet and 51% to exercise recommendations; 74% of smokers stopped smoking. Younger age was predictive of smoking resumption (OR 8.9, CI 3.5-22.8). Pre-event sedentary lifestyle (OR 3.3, CI 1.3-8.7) was predictive of poor diet. Older patients with comorbidity (OR 3.1; CI, 1.8-5.2) tended to persist in sedentary lifestyle and discontinue therapy and diet recommendations. Age, diabetes, smoking and PCI indication were predictors of recurrent CV events which occurred in 142 patients. Participation in CR results in excellent treatment after revascularization, as well as a good lifestyle and medication adherence at 1 year and provides further confirmation of the benefit of secondary prevention. Several clinical characteristics may predict poor behavioral changes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

African crop yield reductions due to increasingly unbalanced Nitrogen and Phosphorus consumption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Velde, Marijn; Folberth, Christian; Balkovič, Juraj; Ciais, Philippe; Fritz, Steffen; Janssens, Ivan A.; Obersteiner, Michael; See, Linda; Skalský, Rastislav; Xiong, Wei; Peñuealas, Josep

2014-05-01

The impact of soil nutrient depletion on crop production has been known for decades, but robust assessments of the impact of increasingly unbalanced nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) application rates on crop production are lacking. Here, we use crop response functions based on 741 FAO maize crop trials and EPIC crop modeling across Africa to examine maize yield deficits resulting from unbalanced N:P applications under low, medium, and high input scenarios, for past (1975), current, and future N:P mass ratios of respectively, 1:0.29, 1:0.15, and 1:0.05. At low N inputs (10 kg/ha), current yield deficits amount to 10% but will increase up to 27% under the assumed future N:P ratio, while at medium N inputs (50 kg N/ha), future yield losses could amount to over 40%. The EPIC crop model was then used to simulate maize yields across Africa. The model results showed relative median future yield reductions at low N inputs of 40%, and 50% at medium and high inputs, albeit with large spatial variability. Dominant low-quality soils such as Ferralsols, which are strongly adsorbing P, and Arenosols with a low nutrient retention capacity, are associated with a strong yield decline, although Arenosols show very variable crop yield losses at low inputs. Optimal N:P ratios, i.e. those where the lowest amount of applied P produces the highest yield (given N input) where calculated with EPIC to be as low as 1:0.5. Finally, we estimated the additional P required given current N inputs, and given N inputs that would allow Africa to close yield gaps (ca. 70%). At current N inputs, P consumption would have to increase 2.3-fold to be optimal, and to increase 11.7-fold to close yield gaps. The P demand to overcome these yield deficits would provide a significant additional pressure on current global extraction of P resources.

A Comparison of Machine Learning Approaches for Corn Yield Estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, N.; Lee, Y. W.

2017-12-01

Machine learning is an efficient empirical method for classification and prediction, and it is another approach to crop yield estimation. The objective of this study is to estimate corn yield in the Midwestern United States by employing the machine learning approaches such as the support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), and deep neural networks (DNN), and to perform the comprehensive comparison for their results. We constructed the database using satellite images from MODIS, the climate data of PRISM climate group, and GLDAS soil moisture data. In addition, to examine the seasonal sensitivities of corn yields, two period groups were set up: May to September (MJJAS) and July and August (JA). In overall, the DNN showed the highest accuracies in term of the correlation coefficient for the two period groups. The differences between our predictions and USDA yield statistics were about 10-11 %.

Calculation of the total electron excitation cross section in the Born approximation using Slater wave functions for the Li (2s yields 2p), Li (2s yields 3p), Na (3s yields 4p), Mg (3p yields 4s), Ca (4s yields 4p) and K (4s yields 4p) excitations. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simsic, P. L.

1974-01-01

Excitation of neutral atoms by inelastic scattering of incident electrons in gaseous nebulae were investigated using Slater Wave functions to describe the initial and final states of the atom. Total cross sections using the Born Approximation are calculated for: Li(2s yields 2p), Na(3s yields 4p), k(4s yields 4p). The intensity of emitted radiation from gaseous nebulae is also calculated, and Maxwell distribution is employed to average the kinetic energy of electrons.

Very Early Language Skills of Fifth-Grade Poor Comprehenders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Justice, Laura; Mashburn, Andrew; Petscher, Yaacov

2013-01-01

This study tested the theory that future poor comprehenders would show modest but pervasive deficits in both language comprehension and production during early childhood as compared with future poor decoders and typical readers. Using an existing database (NICHD ECCRN), fifth-grade students were identified as having poor comprehension skills…

Simulated crop yield in response to changes in climate and agricultural practices: results from a simple process based model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caldararu, S.; Smith, M. J.; Purves, D.; Emmott, S.

2013-12-01

Global agriculture will, in the future, be faced with two main challenges: climate change and an increase in global food demand driven by an increase in population and changes in consumption habits. To be able to predict both the impacts of changes in climate on crop yields and the changes in agricultural practices necessary to respond to such impacts we currently need to improve our understanding of crop responses to climate and the predictive capability of our models. Ideally, what we would have at our disposal is a modelling tool which, given certain climatic conditions and agricultural practices, can predict the growth pattern and final yield of any of the major crops across the globe. We present a simple, process-based crop growth model based on the assumption that plants allocate above- and below-ground biomass to maintain overall carbon optimality and that, to maintain this optimality, the reproductive stage begins at peak nitrogen uptake. The model includes responses to available light, water, temperature and carbon dioxide concentration as well as nitrogen fertilisation and irrigation. The model is data constrained at two sites, the Yaqui Valley, Mexico for wheat and the Southern Great Plains flux site for maize and soybean, using a robust combination of space-based vegetation data (including data from the MODIS and Landsat TM and ETM+ instruments), as well as ground-based biomass and yield measurements. We show a number of climate response scenarios, including increases in temperature and carbon dioxide concentrations as well as responses to irrigation and fertiliser application.