Adoption of Variable Rate Technology

Site Specific Management (SSM), which also variously referred to as Variable Rate Technology (VRT), is an emergingtechnology that enables producers to make more precise input application decisions based on soil and fieldcharacteristics. This study analyzes factors influencing the adoption of VRT for fertilizer application for cash grainproduction in Ohio. Results show that producer and field characteristics might influence the adoption decision onvarious SSM components differently. It also provides insight as to the sequence of adoption of SSM componenttechnologies and how this sequence might differ for producers of differing characteristics

An Economic Analysis of Variable Rate Technology

Variable Rate Technology (VRT) offers an opportunity to improve production efficiency by allowing input applicationsto fluctuate in response to spatial variations in soil characteristics and nutrient levels. Society may also benefit fromreduced negative externalities, such as surface and groundwater contamination, from input applications. Using adynamic spatial model, this study examines how the interaction among variability, spatial autocorrelation, and meanlevel of soil fertility affects optimal sampling density and the economic gains from VRT. VRT was found to beprofitable under selected conditions, and the optimal grid size will vary with these conditions. In the case wherevariability and mean fertility levels are significantly high associated with low spatial autocorrelation, VRT producesgreater net returns than Uniform Rate Technology (URT), even with the smallest grid size to base the input applicationdecisions. Results also demonstrate that optimal grid size increases with increased spatial autocorrelation

On the Influence of ENSO on Sudden Stratospheric Warmings

Using the extended ERA5 reanalysis and three state-of-the-art models, this study explores how El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) can influence the total frequency, seasonal cycle and preconditioning of sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs). Reanalysis data shows that in the last seven decades, winters with SSWs were more common than winters without, regardless El Niño (EN) or La Niña (LN) occurrence or the ENSO/SSW definitions. In agreement with previous studies, our models tend to simulate a linear ENSO-SSW relationship, with more SSWs for EN, around mid-winter (January–February) as in reanalysis, and less for LN when compared to neutral conditions. Independently of ENSO, the main tropospheric precursor of SSWs appears to be an anomalous wave-like pattern over Eurasia, but it is dominated by wavenumber 1 (WN1) for EN and shows an enhanced wavenumber 2 (WN2) for LN. The differences in this Eurasian wave pattern, which is largely internally generated, emerge from the distinct configuration of the background, stationary wave pattern induced by ENSO in the North Pacific, favoring a stronger WN1 (WN2) component during EN (LN). Our results suggest that the ENSO-forced signal relies on modulating the seasonal-mean polar vortex strength, becoming weaker and more displaced (stronger and more stable) for EN (LN), while ENSO-unforced wave activity represents the ultimate trigger of SSWs. This supports the view that ENSO and SSWs are distinct sources of variability of the winter atmospheric circulation operating at different time-scales and may reconcile previous findings in this context

On the role of Eurasian autumn snow cover in dynamical seasonal predictions

Seasonal predictions leverage on predictable or persistent components of the Earth system that can modify the state of the atmosphere. The land surface provides predictability through various mechanisms, including snow cover, with particular reference to Autumn snow cover over the Eurasian continent. The snow cover alters the energy exchange between surface and atmosphere and induces a diabatic cooling that in turn can affect the atmosphere locally and remotely. Lagged relationships between snow cover in Eurasia and atmospheric modes of variability in the Northern Hemisphere have been documented but are deemed to be non-stationary and climate models typically do not reproduce observed relationships with consensus. The role of the snow in recent dynamical seasonal forecasts is therefore unclear. Here we assess the role of Autumn Eurasian snow cover in a set of five operational seasonal forecasts with large ensemble size and high resolution and with the help of targeted idealised simulations. Forecast systems reproduce realistically regional changes of the surface energy balance. Retrospective forecasts and idealised sensitivity experiments identify a coherent change of the circulation in the Northern Hemisphere. The main features of the atmospheric response are a wave-train downstream over the Pacific and North America and a signal in the Arctic. The latter does not emerge in reanalysis data but is compatible with a lagged but weak and fast feedback from the snow to the Arctic Oscillation

Suitability of existing Musa morphological descriptors to characterize East African highland ‘matooke’ bananas

Article purchased; Published online: 18 Sept 2017Morphological traits are commonly used for characterizing plant genetic resources. Germplasm characterization should be based on distinctly identifiable, stable and heritable traits that are expressed consistently and are easy to distinguish by the human eye. Characterization and documentation of a representative sample of East African highland bananas (Lujugira–Mutika subgroup) was carried out following an internationally accepted standard protocol for bananas. Eleven cultivars were characterized using an existing set of minimum descriptors (31 qualitative and quantitative traits) with the aim of determining stable descriptors and the ability of these descriptors to distinguish among East African highland banana cultivars. There was variation in stability of these descriptors within cultivars and across the 11 cultivars. Only 10 (32%) out of 31 descriptors studied were stable in the 11 cultivars. However, they had similar scores and therefore are not suitable to distinguish between cultivars within this group. Nonetheless, these 10 descriptors may be useful for distinguishing the East African highland bananas as a group from other groups of bananas. A few descriptors were unique to the cultivar ‘Tereza’ and may be used to distinguish this cultivar from other ‘matooke’ cultivars. None of the quantitative descriptors were stable

Family Communication in a Population at Risk for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Encouraging family communication is an integral component of genetic counseling; therefore, we sought to identify factors impacting communication to family members at risk for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). Participants (N = 383) completed an online survey assessing: 1) demographics (gender, genetic test results, HCM family history, and disease severity); 2) illness representations; 3) family functioning and cohesiveness; 4) coping styles; 5) comprehension of HCM autosomal dominant inheritance; and 6) communication of HCM risk information to at‐risk relatives. Participants were a national sample of individuals with HCM, recruited through the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association. Data from 183 participants were analyzed using a logistic regression analysis, with family communication as a dichotomous dependent variable. We found that female gender and higher comprehension of autosomal dominant inheritance were significant predictors of participants’ communication of HCM risk information to all their siblings and children. Our results suggest that utilizing interventions that promote patient comprehension (e.g., a teaching‐focused model of genetic counseling) are important and may positively impact family communication within families with HCM.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147017/1/jgc40336.pd

El Niño teleconnection to the Euro-Mediterranean late-winter: the role of extratropical Pacific modulation

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) represents the major driver of interannual climate variability at global scale. Observational and model-based studies have fostered a long-standing debate on the shape and intensity of the ENSO influence over the Euro-Mediterranean sector. Indeed, the detection of this signal is strongly affected by the large internal variability that characterizes the atmospheric circulation in the North Atlantic–European (NAE) region. This study explores if and how the low-frequency variability of North Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) may impact the El Niño-NAE teleconnection in late winter, which consists of a dipolar pattern between middle and high latitudes. A set of idealized atmosphere-only experiments, prescribing different phases of the anomalous SST linked to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) superimposed onto an El Niño-like forcing in the tropical Pacific, has been performed in a multi-model framework, in order to assess the potential modulation of the positive ENSO signal. The modelling results suggest, in agreement with observational estimates, that the PDO negative phase (PDO−) may enhance the amplitude of the El Niño-NAE teleconnection, while the dynamics involved appear to be unaltered. On the other hand, the modulating role of the PDO positive phase (PDO+) is not reliable across models. This finding is consistent with the atmospheric response to the PDO itself, which is robust and statistically significant only for PDO−. Its modulation seems to rely on the enhanced meridional SST gradient and the related turbulent heat-flux released along the Kuroshio–Oyashio extension. PDO− weakens the North Pacific jet, whereby favoring more poleward propagation of wave activity, strengthening the El Niño-forced Rossby wave-train. These results imply that there might be conditional predictability for the interannual Euro-Mediterranean climate variability depending on the background state

The accuracy of a mobile phone application (Wulira app) compared to standard audiometry in assessing hearing loss among patients on treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Uganda

Objectives: Our aim was to validate the “Wulira App” a mHealth application against gold standard audiometry as a pragmatic audiometry solution for under-served and vulnerable groups of patients at risk of hearing loss. The specific objectives were as follows:1) To compare hearing thresholds determined using the Wulira app to standard pure tone audiometry among patients on MDR-TB treatment.2) To determine the correlation between the measured hearing loss with the Wulira app and standard audiometry with patient reported hearing loss.3) To determine the proportion of patients on MDR-TB treatment that experience hearing loss?Materials and Methods: We consecutively recruited patients ≥18 years old and receiving kanamycin in their treatment regimen between February and June 2019 for this study. Clinical and demographic data were obtained from each participant and documented in a secure database. Participants had hearing assessment performed once at enrolment with paired standard audiometry and the Wulira mobile phone app in a soundproof room.Results: A total of 120 MDR-TB patients with a mean age of 34.0 (±9.6) years were recruited for this study and 69 (57.5%) were male. When compared to pure tone audiometry, the Wulira app was able to correctly detect 91.4% hearing loss in right ear and 88.4% in the left ear. The specificity of the Wulira app was equally high, reaching 93.2% in the right ear and 91.5% in the left ear.Conclusion: The Wulira app may be a useful alternative home-based tool for hearing assessment in MDR-TB patients, essentially for early detection of hearing loss following commencement of second-line injectable drugs

Continuous mapping identifies Loci associated with weevil resistance [Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar)] in a triploid banana population

Open Access Journal; Published online: 29 Nov 2021The first step towards marker-assisted selection is linking the phenotypes to molecular markers through quantitative trait loci (QTL) analysis. While the process is straightforward with self-pollinating diploid species, QTL analysis in polyploids requires unconventional methods. In this study, we have identified markers associated with weevil Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) resistance in banana using 138 triploid (2n = 3x) hybrids derived from a cross between a tetraploid ‘Monyet’ (2n = 4x) and a diploid ‘Kokopo’ (2n = 2x) banana genotypes. The population was genotyped by DArTSeq, resulting in 18,009 polymorphic SNPs between the two parents. Marker–trait association was carried out by continuous mapping where the adjusted trait means for corm peripheral damage (PD) and total cross-section damage (TXD), both on the logit scale, were regressed on the marker allele frequencies. Forty-four SNPs were identified that were associated with corm peripheral damage on the chromosomes 5, 6 and 8 with 41 of them located on chromosome 6 and segregating in ‘Kokopo’. Eleven SNPs associated with corm total cross-section damage were identified on chromosome 6 and segregating in ‘Monyet’. The additive effect of replacing one reference allele with the alternative allele was determined at each marker position. The peripheral damage QTL was confirmed using conventional QTL linkage analysis in the simplex markers segregating in ‘Kokopo’ (AAAA × RA). We also identified 43 putative genes in the vicinity of the markers significantly associated with the two traits. The identified loci associated with resistance to weevil damage will be used in the efforts of developing molecular tools for marker-assisted breeding in banana

Working group 3: What are and how do we measure the pros and cons of existing approaches?

WG3 discussed both the pros and cons of existing schemes as well as metrics to measure relative advantages and disadvantages. We first provide a list of the current operational techniques and their respective advantages and disadvantages that were discussed in the WG. We do not claim that the list is complete, and we note that the pros and cons are neither exhaustive nor quantitative. Nevertheless, it may be useful to note the WG’s consensus on the general advantages and disadvantages of the most commonly-used schemes. We then list our recommendations for evaluating model uncertainty schemes. At the end is a short list pertaining to recommendations for further development of methods to represent model uncertainty