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A novel approach to accelerate ideotyping using model-aided envirotyping
Get PDFCONTEXT
Climate change threatens wheat production by intensifying drought, heat stress, and yield instability. Selecting optimal cultivars is crucial for mitigating climate change impacts. Crop model-assisted ideotyping, i.e., designing and/or selecting for traits that maximise yield or quality under defined conditions, requires exploring a large number of genotype-by-environment (GxE) interactions but is computationally demanding. This is where envirotyping, i.e., categorising environments into a few environment types (ETs), emerges as a promising solution. Integrating envirotyping with ideotyping enhances breeding efficiency and enables targeted trait optimisation. This scalable, data-driven approach supports the development of climate-resilient wheat cultivars suited to diverse and changing environments.
OBJECTIVE
Show how an innovative approach leveraging envirotyping can significantly cut down the computational demands of ideotyping, while still maintaining yield improvements. This approach offers a scalable framework for developing resilient crop cultivars tailored to diverse and changing environments.
METHODS
Using the next generation of Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM Next Generation), wheat growth and development was simulated across diverse Australian environments. Four commercial cultivars were simulated under multiple sowing dates to determine optimal sowing windows and highest-yielding cultivars for each location. Cluster analysis of water supply/demand ratios identified six ETs with distinct seasonal drought patterns. A genetic algorithm was used to optimise 14 key cultivar parameters influencing phenology, morphology, resource use, and yield components. Three ideotyping strategies—global, targeted at high-stress ETs, and location-specific—were assessed for their impact on average yield and yield stability.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
The ideotyping strategies effectively reduced the occurrence frequency of late-season water stress. The identified ideotypes significantly improved average yield (∼18 %) and yield stability (up to 16 % reduction in coefficient of variation). Global and targeted ideotyping strategies outperformed location-specific approaches in enhancing broad adaptability. In these strategies, key traits influencing yield gains included low minimum leaf number, high grain potential size, high radiation use efficiency, low potential root water uptake rate, high stay-green, and high number of grains per gram of stem and spike biomass. Phenological traits and trait interactions were more influential in the location-specific strategy.
SIGNIFICANCE
This study demonstrates the potential of model-assisted envirotyping to improve wheat breeding efficiency by reducing computational demands while maximising average yield and yield stability. Incorporating envirotyping into breeding workflows provides a scalable, data-driven approach that complements traditional GxE testing. Our findings offer valuable insights for developing climate-resilient wheat cultivars and contribute to global food security in the face of increasing climatic variability
Modeling the Effect of Prior Knowledge on Memory Efficiency for the Study of Transfer of Learning: A Spiking Neural Network Approach
Get PDFThe transfer of learning (TL) is the process of applying knowledge and skills learned in one context to a new and different context. Efficient use of memory is essential in achieving successful TL and good learning outcomes. This study uses a cognitive computing approach to identify and explore brain activity patterns related to memory efficiency in the context of learning a new programming language. This study hypothesizes that prior programming knowledge reduces cognitive load, leading to improved memory efficiency. Spatio-temporal brain data (STBD) were collected from a sample of participants (n = 26) using an electroencephalogram (EEG) device and analyzed by applying a spiking neural network (SNN) approach and the SNN-based NeuCube architecture. The findings revealed the neural patterns demonstrating the effect of prior knowledge on memory efficiency. They showed that programming learning outcomes were aligned with specific theta and alpha waveband spike activities concerning prior knowledge and cognitive load, indicating that cognitive load was a feasible metric for measuring memory efficiency. Building on these findings, this study proposes that the methodology developed for examining the relationship between prior knowledge and TL in the context of learning a programming language can be extended to other educational domains
How might the jury function in the future in Australia?
Get PDFThe nature of a jury trial in criminal proceedings has evolved over time from jurors being exclusively drawn from within a class of all male property owners to the emergence of majority verdicts and the abandonment of jury unanimity. In some Australian jurisdictions, cases dealing with defendants who have a diagnosed mental condition are routinely referred to Mental Health Courts which comprise a judge assisted by one or two clinicians. In addition, there would appear to be growing support for an expansion of trials by judge alone. This article examines how the operation of the jury might alter in the future in Australia, particularly considering the rapid changes in technology, the prevalence of social media, the level of understanding by juries of judicial directions, and the prospect of greater interrogation in jury selection through a voir dire. Such an examination of the role of the jury is complicated by the legislated secrecy surrounding the deliberations and verdicts of juries, which increases the difficulty in assessing the accountability and effectiveness of the jury an historic legal institution that lies at the heart of the Australian criminal justice system
MnO2-TiO2 Composite Additives Driven Low-Cost Fabrication of Coal Gangue/Bauxite Ceramic Proppants
Get PDFThe urgency of resource utilization for coal gangue has driven innovations toward its high-value processing technologies. Although coal gangue can serve as a low-cost source of silicon and aluminum—reducing raw material costs by 14% compared to pure bauxite—its direct application in the production of ceramic proppants faces significant challenges. These challenges include an excessively high calcination temperature (e.g. >1450 °C) and compromised mechanical properties. In this study, we designed the fabrication of ceramic proppants by using coal gangue and bauxite as raw materials. By adjusting the dosage of a MnO2–TiO2 composite additive (0–7.5 wt%), a dual-phase ceramic proppant composed of corundum and mullite was prepared. The results show that the addition of the MnO2–TiO2 can lower the sintering temperature, allowing the proppant to develop a well-dense structure within the temperature range of 1250 to 1350 °C. However, the composite additive also inhibits the formation of mullite while promoting the development of the corundum phase. This phase transformation enhances the compressive strength of the proppant but simultaneously increases its density. When the composite additive content is 7.5 wt% and the sintering temperature is 1350 °C, the resulting ceramic proppant exhibits a bulk density of 1.88 ± 0.01 g/cm3 and an apparent density of 3.17 ± 0.02 g/cm3, with a minimum breakage rate of 2.71 ± 0.32% under 52 MPa
54th the Voice Foundation Annual Symposium
No full textIn contemporary musical theatre, the ability of performers to sing in “mix” is paramount. This skill enables performers to seamlessly transition their singing voice between the chest and head registers, ensuring vocal consistency and preventing noticeable breaks or shifts in tone. Teaching “mix” can be challenging due to a lack of agreed terminology and understanding, compounded by a dearth of research on contemporary musical theatre voice, particularly research that involves professional performers as participants. This study investigated the lived experiences of female Broadway performers’ experiences of singing in a mix. A qualitative survey of 36 singers who self-identify as skilled in mixed voice yielded detailed descriptions and personal accounts. Using reflexive thematic analysis, survey data were systematically analyzed and interpreted to highlight patterns of meaning, foregrounding participants’ perceptions and experiences. Themes were constructed around technical adjustments, affective responses, and external influences. These findings shed light on the multifaceted nature of the “Broadway mix“ within contemporary musical theatre and its crucial role in shaping the expressive capabilities of performers at the highest professional levels
FinTech Adoption and Its Influence on Sustainable Mineral Resource Management in the United States
Get PDFSustainable mineral resource management is critical amid escalating environmental concerns and growing demand for minerals in digital and clean energy technologies. While financial technology (FinTech) has been widely recognized for enhancing financial inclusion and economic efficiency, its role in environmental governance—particularly in the mining sector—remains underexplored, especially within developed economies like the United States. This study addresses this gap by examining how FinTech adoption influences mineral sustainability, using time series data from 1998 to 2023. Four FinTech proxies—mobile cellular subscriptions, Internet usage, fixed broadband access, and financial inclusion—were analyzed alongside environmental compliance and investment in sustainable mining technologies. Using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model and Frequency Domain Causality (FDC) analysis, the results show that greater FinTech adoption significantly reduces mineral depletion rates, indicating improved sustainability. Internet and broadband access exhibit strong long-term impacts, while mobile connectivity and credit access show notable short- and medium-term effects. Investment in sustainable mining technologies further enhances these outcomes. Our findings suggest that FinTech serves as a multidimensional enabler of sustainability through digital inclusion, transparency, and access to green financing. This study provides empirical evidence to guide policymakers in integrating digital financial infrastructure into strategies for sustainable mineral resource governance
Parental decision-making for non-urgent emergency department presentations in Victoria, Australia
Get PDFNon-urgent paediatric Emergency Department presentations contribute to overcrowding, poor patient health outcomes, and burden acute healthcare services. A study was conducted to explore motivations and factors that influence decision-making processes of parents who presented their child to ED for non-urgent conditions. An exploratory study using a qualitative descriptive design was undertaken to address research aims. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with
a purposive sample of eight parents who presented their child (birth to 14 years of age), to ED for non-urgent conditions. Parental decision-making regarding ED presentations were influenced by a constellation of factors; however, three main themes emerged. These included Parental Anxiety, There is Only One Place, and Mitigating Perceived Delay or Inaccessibility. As such, centred on how parents addressed their anxiety when a child was ill, accessibility and capacity of EDs to provide immediate relief to parents and children, and parents’ perception that accessing other healthcare services impacted crucial time for treatment. EDs remain a preferred healthcare service to address non-urgent paediatric needs, despite adequate health literacy among participants. When improving models of care within EDs, non-urgent presentations must be considered, including management of parental anxiety, along with establishing non-urgent care adjacent to or integrated within an ED
Examining decolonisation in global higher education: addressing another social contract breach in the absence of enduring institutional redress
Get PDFDecolonisation is not a specific issue to higher education, but it is a particular one because of the imperative for higher education to act as a global public good. This systematic literature review examines global literature addressing decolonisation over the past five years. It finds decolonisation efforts are undertaken by a passionate few without sustained, systemic institutional support. Globalised academic practices continue to perpetuate white hegemony and futurity. This study positions a missing theme in decolonisation research; the analysis and evaluation of the systematic efforts institutions themselves expend in redressing and deconstructing coloniality embedded in operational structures, practices, and cultures
Engineering sulfonated rigid organic particles for fire-safe polycarbonate combining high transparency and enhanced mechanical property
Get PDFDespite great advances in overcoming the inherent flammability of polycarbonate (PC), it remains highly challenging to achieve a property portfolio of flame retardancy, mechanical properties and transparency. To ameliorate this issue, a sulfonate organic rigid particle (sSANNa) was synthesized by incorporating sodium sulfonate into the acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer (SAN) molecular chain. Only 0.5 wt% sSANNa endowed the resultant PC/0.5sSANNa composite with desired flame-retardancy, including limiting oxygen index (LOI) of 34.0 % and vertical burning (UL-94) V-0 rating, and well-preserved optical properties. The peak heat release rate (PHRR) and total smoke release (TSR) of PC/0.5sSANNa were respectively decreased by 23 % and 15 % compared to pure PC, attributing to the organic sulfonates promoting the formation of a denser char layer during combustion. Meanwhile, PC/0.5sSANNa showed an enhanced notch impact strength reaching 76.9 kJ·m−2 due to the craze induction mechanism of sSANNa and improved interfacial interaction between PC matrix and sSANNa. This work establishes a promising design strategy for creating transparent, flame-resistant yet tough PC composites by integrating sulfonate and organic rigid particles, expecting to broaden the high-tech applications of PC (e.g. transparent fireproofing board, covers for unmanned vehicles and architectural lighting equipment)