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Stability and Broad-Sense Heritability of Mineral Content in Potato: Calcium and Magnesium
Get PDFCalcium and magnesium are two minerals that play prominent roles in animal and plant metabolism. The purpose of this study was to determine if genetic variation exists among advanced potato breeding clones for tuber calcium and magnesium content and the extent of genotype x environment interactions on these two traits. Ten, 13, and 13 clones were evaluated in the Tri-State, Western Regional, and Western Regional Red/Specialty Trials, respectively. Tuber calcium content ranged from 266 to 944 μg-g⁻¹ DW; magnesium from 787 to 1,089 μg-g⁻¹ DW. Genotype x environment interactions were significant in all trials. However, only the Tri-State for calcium and the Western Regional Red/Specialty trials for both minerals displayed a significant source of variation for genotypes. Broad-sense heritabilities for tuber calcium content were 0.65, 0.37 and 0 in the Tri-State, Western Regional, and Western Regional Red/Specialty Trials, respectively. Broad-sense heritabilities for tuber magnesium content were 0.57, 0, and 0.72 in the Tri-State, Western Regional, and Western Regional Red/Specialty Trials, respectively. Potato is not a rich source of either calcium or magnesium for the human diet, but genetic variation exists among potato clones that might be useful for plant health.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The article is copyrighted by the Potato Association of America and published by Springer. It can be found at: http://link.springer.com/journal/12230?nullKeywords: Solanum tuberosum, Biofortification, Genotype x environment interaction, ICAEPS, BreedingKeywords: Solanum tuberosum, Biofortification, Genotype x environment interaction, ICAEPS, Breedin
Professional Decisions: Responsibilities
Get PDFThe responsibilities which civil engineers, and particularly the engineer of record, accept are considered. The interaction with other decision makers such as the owner, stakeholders, the law and contractors results in complexity that can be partially resolved by the introduction of protocols in the form of regulations and codes of practice. However, uncertainty always exists and can result in surprises that can produce both beneficial and bad results. The sections entitled the cast, protocols and reality, advocacy and surprise, and complexity cover these topics. The nature of responsibility is analysed. Professional engineers work within an increasingly complex environment and have a responsibility to acquire and use skills beyond those applicable to traditional technical issues.Keywords: systems, surprise, uncertainty, stakeholders, complexity, decisions, responsibilit
Nicholle Miller - Poster.pdf
No full textCrime rates affect everything from home values, to the quality of education. Through the use of Social Disorganization Theory this paper will support the hypothesis that there is a correlation between neighborhood upkeep and crime rates within neighborhoods. Social Disorganization theory itself aims to show the correlation between the place in which one grows up and the likelihood that one is to deviate from social norms and participate in deviant behavior. This theory has not been applied to all types of crimes, but instead focuses on street crimes.Keywords: Crime rates, Neighborhood upkeep, Neighborhood crim
Analytical Hierarchical Process and Cost Benefit Analysis for Evaluation of Alabama Catfish Profitability and Sustainability
Get PDFCatfish production has experienced a decline in the past two years, and farmers have been blaming international competition, exports, low prices and poor feed conversion ratios as the main causes. We evaluate the usefulness of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) as instruments for rapid evaluation of farmers‚ problems, the profitability and sustainability of aquaculture systems in Alabama. In April 2010, tests of the instruments were conducted among five farmers. A survey was then administered to 27 Alabama farmers and specialists involved in large-scale catfish production and marketing. Participants displayed unanimity in their responses. All IRs were less than 0.1. The variables: the‚ improvement in technology‚ and the‚ reduction of disease problems‚ received the highest ranks. Embedded in the response of technological innovation is the improvement in feed conversion ratio. This criterion received a rank of 75% higher than the second highest ranked criteria, which is‚ increase harvest frequency. In last place were reduction in selling cost and burglary/theft. Government influence received a low ranking, but research and extension received average scores. The participants did not rate trade highly and only accorded average importance to environmental sustainability. The CBA analysis shows that catfish farming in Alabama on a 60-acre pond is profitable in the long run, given the RRR of 8%. Based on participants‚ ranking of needs, if a 12% increase in technological change is attained, profitability will increase by 20%. The improvements can be obtained from increasing feed conversion efficiencyKeywords: Fisheries Economics, Fish and Aquaculture Sectors' Development, The Economics of Aquaculture Production and Profitability Part II
Defining quantitative stream disturbance gradients and the additive role of habitat variation to explain macroinvertebrate taxa richness
No full textMost studies dealing with the use of ecological indicators and other applied ecological research rely on some definition or concept of what constitutes least-, intermediate- and most-disturbed condition. Currently, most rigorous methodologies designed to define those conditions are suited to large spatial extents (nations, ecoregions) and many sites (hundreds to thousands). The objective of this study was to describe a methodology to quantitatively define a disturbance gradient for 40 sites in each of two small southeastern Brazil river basins. The assessment of anthropogenic disturbance experienced by each site was based solely on measurements strictly related to the intensity and extent of anthropogenic pressures. We calculated two indices: one concerned site-scale pressures and the other catchment-scale pressures. We combined those two indices into a single integrated disturbance index (IDI) because disturbances operating at both scales affect stream biota. The local- and catchment-scale disturbance indices were weakly correlated in the two basins (r= 0.21 and 0.35) and both significantly (p < 0.05) reduced site EPT (insect orders Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera) richness. The IDI also performed well in explaining EPT richness in the basin that presented the stronger disturbance gradient (R² = 0.39, p < 0.001). Natural habitat variability was assessed as a second source of variation in EPT richness. Stream size and microhabitats were the key habitat characteristics not related to disturbances that enhanced the explanation of EPT richness over that attributed to the IDI. In both basins the IDI plus habitat metrics together explained around 50% of EPT richness variation. In the basin with the weaker disturbance gradient, natural habitat explained more variation in EFT richness than did the IDI, a result that has implications for biomonitoring studies. We conclude that quantitatively defined disturbance gradients offer a reliable and comprehensive characterization of anthropogenic pressure that integrates data from different spatial scales. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Keywords: Reference condition approach, EPT assemblages, Catchment disturbances, Disturbance indices, Local disturbances, Stream habitat
Development of a 10,000 Locus Genetic Map of the Sunflower Genome Based on Multiple Crosses
Get PDFGenetic linkage maps have the potential to facilitate the genetic dissection of complex traits and comparative analyses of genome structure, as well as molecular breeding efforts in species of agronomic importance. Until recently, the majority of such maps was based on relatively low-throughput marker technologies, which limited marker density across the genome. The availability of high-throughput genotyping technologies has, however, made possible the efficient development of high-density genetic maps. Here, we describe the analysis and integration of genotypic data from four sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) mapping populations to produce a consensus linkage map of the sunflower genome. Although the individual maps (which contained 3500-5500 loci each) were highly colinear, we observed localized variation in recombination rates in several genomic regions. We also observed several gaps up to 26 cM in length that completely lacked mappable markers in individual crosses, presumably due to regions of identity by descent in the mapping parents. Because these regions differed by cross, the consensus map of 10,080 loci contained no such gaps, clearly illustrating the value of simultaneously analyzing multiple mapping populations.Keywords: Sequence, Eastern North America, Linkage map, Maize, Helianthus annuus L, Evolution, Cultivated sunflower, Recombinant inbred populations, Markers, TraitsKeywords: Sequence, Eastern North America, Linkage map, Maize, Helianthus annuus L, Evolution, Cultivated sunflower, Recombinant inbred populations, Markers, Trait
GreerBatesianMimicryLarvalSupplement1.xlsx
No full textMarine teleost fishes often experience over 99% mortality in the early life stages (eggs and larvae), yet larval survival is essential to population sustainability. Marine fish larvae from a wide range of families display elaborate, delicate features that bear little resemblance to adult forms and hinder their swimming escape ability by increasing drag. Here, we systematically examine the criteria needed for Batesian mimicry to evolve as a survival strategy and present new evidence from in situ imaging technology and simulation modelling to support the hypothesis that many larval morphological features (particularly long, delicate fin rays) and behaviors evolved at least in part through Batesian mimicry of less palatable or noxious gelatinous zooplankton. Many of these organisms (e.g. hydromedusae, ctenophores, and siphonophores) are much more abundant than previously recognized. The high predation mortality during the larval phase provides strong potential for selection in favor of maintaining complex and metabolically costly features that mimic gelatinous zooplankton, provided that larger fishes, as selective visual predators, can occasionally be fooled. We conclude that recent advances in our understanding of mimicry combined with information obtained from plankton imaging supports the hypothesis that Batesian mimicry is a widespread survival strategy for larval fishes, which could have broad implications for fish population dynamics. However, further research is needed in the areas of predator cognition and larval fish behavior in the presence of different predators and models to elucidate the circumstances in which the larval fish mimicry hypothesis may apply.Keywords: Recruitment, Plankton, Gelatinous zooplankton, Batesian mimicry, Larval fish, SurvivalKeywords: Recruitment, Plankton, Gelatinous zooplankton, Batesian mimicry, Larval fish, Surviva
CoteManagementIncidentallyDetectedExecutiveSummary.pdf
No full textA dog or a cat has an incidentally detected heart murmur if the murmur is an unexpected discovery during a veterinary consultation that was not initially focused on the cardiovascular system. This document presents approaches for managing dogs and cats that have incidentally-detected heart murmurs, with an emphasis on murmur characteristics, signalment profiling, and multifactorial decision-making to choose an optimal course for a given patient.Keywords: Innocent, Feline, Cardiac, Canine, Physiologi
Modeling effect of initial soil moisture on sorptivity and infiltration
Get PDFA soil’s capillarity, associated with the parameter sorptivity, is a dominant control on
infiltration, particularly at the onset of rainfall or irrigation. Many mathematical models
used to estimate sorptivity are only valid for dry soils. This paper examines how sorptivity
and its capillary component (as wetting front potential) change with initial degree of
saturation. We capture these effects with a simple modification to the classic Green-Ampt
model of sorptivity. The modified model has practical applications, including (1) accurately
describing the relative sorptivity of a soil at various water contents and (2) allowing for
quantification of a soil’s saturated hydraulic conductivity from sorptivity measurements,
given estimates of the soil’s characteristic curve and initial water content. The latter
application is particularly useful in soils of low permeability, where the time required to
estimate hydraulic conductivity through steady-state methods can be impractical.Keywords: wetting front potential, sorptivity, capillarity, infiltration, hydraulic conductivityKeywords: wetting front potential, sorptivity, capillarity, infiltration, hydraulic conductivit
Marking Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) With Rubidium or ¹⁵N
Get PDFDrosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) has caused significant economic damage to berry and stone fruit production regions. Markers that are systemic in plants and easily transferred to target organisms are needed to track D. suzukii exploitation of host resources and trophic interactions. High and low concentrations of the trace element, rubidium (Rb), and the stable isotope, ¹⁵N, were tested to mark D. suzukii larvae feeding on fruits of enriched strawberry plants grown in containers under greenhouse conditions. Fly marker content and proportion of flies marked 1, 7, and 14 d after emergence from enriched fruits and fly dry mass were analyzed. Nearly 100% of the flies analyzed 14 d after emerging from ¹⁵N-enriched plants were marked, whereas only 30–75% and 0–3% were marked 14 d after emerging from high and low Rb concentration plants, respectively. Rapid Rb decay, strong ¹⁵N persistence, and the economics of using these markers in the field to elucidate D. suzukii pest ecology are discussed.Keywords: ¹⁵N, spotted wing drosophila, rubidium, strawberry, insect markingKeywords: ¹⁵N, spotted wing drosophila, rubidium, strawberry, insect markin