Lateness Gene Concerning Photosensitivity Increases Yield, by Applying Low to High Levels of Fertilization, in Rice, a Preliminary Report

Various genes controlling heading time have been reported in rice. An isogenic-line pair of late and early lines “L” and “E” were developed from progenies of the F1 of Suweon 258 × an isogenic line of IR36 carrying Ur1 gene. The lateness gene for photosensitivity that causes the difference between L and E was tentatively designated as “Ex(t)”, although it's chromosomal location is unknown. The present study was conducted to examine the effects of Ex(t) on yield and related traits in a paddy field in two years. Chemical fertilizers containing N, P2O5 and K2O were applied at the nitrogen levels of 4.00, 9.00 and 18.00 g/m2 in total, being denoted by "N4", "N9" and "N18", respectively, in 2014. L was later in 80%-heading by 18 or 19 days than E. Regarding total brown rice yield (g/m2), L and E were 635 and 577, 606 and 548, and 590 and 501, respectively, at N18, N9 and N4, indicating that Ex(t) increased this trait by 10 to 18%. Ex(t) increased yield of brown rice with thickness above 1.5mm (g/m2), by 9 to 15%. Ex(t) increased spikelet number per panicle by 16 to 22% and spikelet number per m2 by 11 to 18%. Thousand-grain weight (g) was 2 to 4% lower in L than in E. L was not significantly different from E in ripened-grain percentage. Hence, Ex(t) increased yield by increasing spikelet number per panicle. It is suggested that Ex(t) could be utilized to develop high yielding varieties for warmer districts of the temperate zone

Advance care planning in 21st century Australia: a systematic review and appraisal of online advance care directive templates against national framework criteria

Objectives A drive to promote advance care planning at a population level has led to a proliferation of online advance care directive (ACD) templates but little information to guide consumer choice. The current study aimed to appraise the quality of online ACD templates promoted for use in Australia. Methods A systematic review of online Australian ACD templates was conducted in February 2014. ACD templates were identified via Google searches, and quality was independently appraised by two reviewers against criteria from the 2011 report A National Framework for Advance Care Directives. Bias either towards or against future medical treatment was assessed using criteria designed to limit subjectivity. Results Fourteen online ACD templates were included, all of which were available only in English. Templates developed by Southern Cross University best met the framework criteria. One ACD template was found to be biased against medical treatment – the Dying with Dignity Victoria Advance Healthcare Directive. Conclusions More research is needed to understand how online resources can optimally elicit and record consumers’ individual preferences for future care. Future iterations of the framework should address online availability and provide a simple rating system to inform choice and drive quality improvement

The Economic Aspects of Chilli Production in Central Java

This study analyses the economic aspects of chilli in Central Java where chilli is massively and intensively cultivated. Data for this study is compiled during 2009-2011 in three chilli producing districts: Brebes, Magelang and Rembang. Analyses is conducted using qualitative and quantitative approaches. The results indicate that many important findings related to economic aspects of chilli. There are various ranges of economic aspects across regions. The main findings is that chilli provided positive net returns, has relatively high economic risk and intensive use of chemicals. The policies related to improvement of chilli cultivation need to be formulated based on local specific constraints

Selective Breeding to Improve Productive and Reproductive Performances and Survivability of Indigenous Sakini Chicken

Indigenous chickens are quite popular in Family Poultry Production System (FPPS) in Nepal, but are constrained with their low productive performance. The present study evaluated the productive and reproductive performance of Sakini chicken in different filial generations and sexes. In addition, research also aimed at understanding the effect of generations on above performances. Initially, base populations (G-0) of Sakini were maintained by collecting eight weeks old birds from different agro-ecologial zones of Nepal. Performance of the birds of G-0 was evaluated based on weekly body weight (12-24 weeks), laying performance, fertility, hatchability, hatch weight and survivability. Selected birds of base population (G-0) were used to produce first (G-1), second (G-2) and third (G-3) generations through selective breeding in each generation. Similarly, body weights at hatching, 12 weeks, 16 weeks, 20 week and 24 weeks were significantly (p<0.001) improved from G0 to G3 and were also significantly (p<0.001) differ for sex (males were always heavier than females). Likewise, there was significant (p<0.05) improvement in egg production (per hen per year), age at first lay (days), body weight at sexual maturity, egg number and egg weight at 90 days of laying in progressive generations. Fertility, hatchability and survivability significantly (p<0.05) improved in selected generations in comparison to base population, whereas, no significant difference was obtained within the different selected population. Thus, indigenous Sakini chicken under this experiment performed better with respect to survivability, fertility and hatchability in later generations that provides ample scope of advancing selective breeding activities within the indigenous population in order to bring significant improvement in the overall productive performance of Sakini chicken in Nepal

A shadow function model based on perspective projection and atmospheric effect for satellites in eclipse

Accurate Solar Radiation Pressure (SRP) modelling is critical for correctly describing the dynamics of satellites. A shadow function is a unitless quantity varying between 0 and 1 to scale the solar radiation flux at a satellite’s location during eclipses. Errors in modelling shadow function lead to inaccuracy in SRP that degrades the orbit quality. Shadow function modelling requires solutions to a geometrical problem (Earth’s oblateness) and a physical problem (atmospheric effects). This study presents a new shadow function model (PPM_atm) which uses a perspective projection based approach to solve the geometrical problem rigorously and a linear function to describe the reduction of solar radiation flux due to atmospheric effects. GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment) satellites carry accelerometers that record variations of non-conservative forces, which reveal the variations of shadow function during eclipses. In this study, the PPM_atm is validated using accelerometer observations of the GRACE-A satellite. Test results show that the PPM_atm is closer to the variations in accelerometer observations than the widely used SECM (Spherical Earth Conical Model). Taking the accelerometer observations derived shadow function as the “truth”, the relative error in PPM_atm is −0.79% while the SECM 11.07%. The influence of the PPM_atm is also shown in orbit prediction for Galileo satellites. Compared with the SECM, the PPM_atm can reduce the radial orbit error RMS by 5.6 cm over a 7-day prediction. The impacts of the errors in shadow function modelling on the orbit remain to be systematic and should be mitigated in long-term orbit prediction

Ovipositional preference, fidelity, and fitness of \u3ci\u3eDrosophila suzukii\u3c/i\u3e in a co-occurring crop and non-crop host system

Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) is a devastating pest of soft-skinned fruits including blackberries and raspberries. Management of this pest is focused on preventing infestation in crops, but non-crop hosts may play an important role in enabling D. suzukii to persist in the absence of cultivated hosts. Drosophila suzukii may also infest fruits of both crop and non-crop hosts concurrently. Our goals were to determine whether (1) D. suzukii prefers to oviposit in cultivated blackberry, Rubus L. subgenus rubus Watson, or American pokeweed, Phytolacca americana, a non-crop host commonly found along field edges, (2) D. suzukii prefers to oviposit into the same host from which it emerged, and (3) performance differs between D. suzukii progeny that develop in blackberries or pokeweed berries. Although the pest was able to infest both hosts at the same rate, we found that D. suzukii females emerging from pokeweed preferred to oviposit into blackberries, while females emerging from blackberry had no preference. Progeny that developed in blackberries were more fit than progeny that developed in pokeweed berries based on several measures. In field locations, cultivated blackberries and pokeweed berries only overlapped in availability for a short period of time, and infestation rates were variable between blackberries and pokeweed berries collected during that period. Nonetheless, these results suggest that noncrop hosts may facilitate the invasion of D. suzukii and perpetuate infestation of cultivated hosts under certain circumstances

Fluorescence-Based Ratiometric Nanosensor for Selective Imaging of Cancer Cells

Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization of a nanosensor developed from a group of uniform materials based on organic salts (GUMBOS). This sensor is composed of three ionic species, namely, fluorescein, rhodamine B, and tetradecyltrihexyl phosphonium (P-66614) ions. Nanoparticles prepared from this three-component GUMBOS, termed nanoGUMBOS, exhibited increased fluorescence at two wavelengths with increases in pH values. The ratio of fluorescence emission corresponding to FL and RhB components of these nanoGUMBOS also changed with pH, allowing ratiometric analysis of pH through fluorescence measurements. Peak ratios were significantly different at pH 5 and pH 7, indicating potential applications of this nanomaterial as a cancer diagnostic tool. In this regard, in vitro fluorescence microscopy was employed to image cancerous and normal breast cells incubated with nanoGUMBOS. Fluorescence imaging of cancer cells showed higher uptake of these nanoGUMBOS and more pervasive fluorescence intensity in comparison with normal cells. Thus, the synthesized novel nanomaterial shows a great potential for rapid visual imaging of cancer cells

Comparative Analysis of V-Akt Murine Thymoma Viral Oncogene Homolog 3 (AKT3) Gene between Cow and Buffalo Reveals Substantial Differences for Mastitis

AKT3 gene is a constituent of the serine/threonine protein kinase family and plays a crucial role in synthesis of milk fats and cholesterol by regulating activity of the sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP). AKT3 is highly conserved in mammals and its expression levels during the lactation periods of cattle are markedly increased. AKT3 is highly expressed in the intestine followed by mammary gland and it is also expressed in immune cells. It is involved in the TLR pathways as effectively as proinflammatory cytokines. The aims of this study were to investigate the sequences differences between buffalo and cow. Our results showed that there were substantial differences between buffalo and cow in some exons and noteworthy differences of the gene size in different regions. We also identified the important consensus sequence motifs, variation in 2000 upstream of ATG, substantial difference in the “3′UTR” region, and miRNA association in the buffalo sequences compared with the cow. In addition, genetic analyses, such as gene structure, phylogenetic tree, position of different motifs, and functional domains, were performed to establish their correlation with other species. This may indicate that a buffalo breed has potential resistance to disease, environment changes, and airborne microorganisms and some good production and reproductive traits

Rural Employment Scheme and Agricultural Wage Rate Nexus: An Analysis across States

This paper on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has covered two objectives; one, whether the introduction of MGNREGS has increased the wage rates for agricultural labourers across the states and two, if so what are the factors that determine the growth rate of wages for farm labourers. The study is based on the secondary data on farm wages published by the Labour Bureau of India by gender and farm operation across the states and has covered the period 2000–01 to 2010–11. To present a comparative picture, the study period has been divided into two sub-periods, viz. pre-MGNREGS (2000–01 to 2005–06) and post-MGNREGS (2005–06 to 2010–11). The study has shown that the real wage rates have increased substantially during post-MGNREGS period as compared to pre-MGNREGS period for both male and female agricultural labourers in all the major farming operations. The rate of increase in wage rates has been found to be higher across the female agricultural labourers as compared to their male counterparts. The regression analysis has suggested that the average days of employment per household by MGNREGS, productivity of foodgrains, and road density have positively fuelled the growth rate of wages for both male and female farm labourers