Higher Fertilizer Inputs Increase Fitness Traits of Brown Planthopper in Rice.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the primary staple food source for more than half of the world's population. In many developing countries, increased use of fertilizers is a response to increase demand for rice. In this study, we investigated the effects of three principal fertilizer components (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) on the development of potted rice plants and their effects on fitness traits of the brown planthopper (BPH) [Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) (Homoptera: Delphacidae)], which is a major pest of rice in Bangladesh and elsewhere. Compared to low fertilizer inputs, high fertilizer treatments induced plant growth but also favored BPH development. The BPH had higher survival, developed faster, and the intrinsic rate of natural increase (r m ) was higher on well-fertilized than under-fertilized plants. Among the fertilizer inputs, nitrogen had the strongest effect on the fitness traits of BPH. Furthermore, both the "Plant vigor hypothesis" and the "Plant stress hypothesis" were supported by the results, the former hypothesis more so than the latter. These hypotheses suggest that the most suitable/attractive hosts for insect herbivores are the most vigorous plants. Our findings emphasized that an exclusive focus on yield increases through only enhanced crop fertilization may have unforeseen, indirect, effects on crop susceptibility to pests, such as BPH

Sustainable (Green) Food and Purchase Intention – An Analysis of Influence Factors

According to the basic needs of eating and drinking, new demands develop steadily for the assortment, the food production and trade. Beside the current trends in the food sector like „convenience“, „health, fitness & wellness“, „premium & pleasure“, the subjects „sustainability/ecological/green“ gain in importance for the consumer. To counteract the narrow view on single sustainable (green) food product attributes and their influence on consumer behaviour, the following paper aims to provide an approach that includes several variables that have been considered to be of importance after reviewing existing literature to better understand the consumer and key drivers for their purchase intention towards green food products

Scalar radius of the pion in the Kroll-Lee-Zumino renormalizable theory

The Kroll-Lee-Zumino renormalizable Abelian quantum field theory of pions and a massive rho-meson is used to calculate the scalar radius of the pion at next to leading (one loop) order in perturbation theory. Due to renormalizability, this determination involves no free parameters. The result is $_s = 0.40 {fm}^2$. This value gives for $\bar{\ell}_4$, the low energy constant of chiral perturbation theory, $\bar{\ell}_4 = 3.4$, and $F_\pi/F = 1.05$, where F is the pion decay constant in the chiral limit. Given the level of accuracy in the masses and the $\rho\pi\pi$ coupling, the only sizable uncertainty in this result is due to the (uncalculated) NNLO contribution

Mobile Computing in Physics Analysis - An Indicator for eScience

This paper presents the design and implementation of a Grid-enabled physics analysis environment for handheld and other resource-limited computing devices as one example of the use of mobile devices in eScience. Handheld devices offer great potential because they provide ubiquitous access to data and round-the-clock connectivity over wireless links. Our solution aims to provide users of handheld devices the capability to launch heavy computational tasks on computational and data Grids, monitor the jobs status during execution, and retrieve results after job completion. Users carry their jobs on their handheld devices in the form of executables (and associated libraries). Users can transparently view the status of their jobs and get back their outputs without having to know where they are being executed. In this way, our system is able to act as a high-throughput computing environment where devices ranging from powerful desktop machines to small handhelds can employ the power of the Grid. The results shown in this paper are readily applicable to the wider eScience community.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures. Presented at the 3rd Int Conf on Mobile Computing & Ubiquitous Networking (ICMU06. London October 200

Pion form factor in the Kroll-Lee-Zumino model

The renormalizable Abelian quantum field theory model of Kroll, Lee, and Zumino is used to compute the one-loop vertex corrections to the tree-level, Vector Meson Dominance (VMD) pion form factor. These corrections, together with the known one-loop vacuum polarization contribution, lead to a substantial improvement over VMD. The resulting pion form factor in the space-like region is in excellent agreement with data in the whole range of accessible momentum transfers. The time-like form factor, known to reproduce the Gounaris-Sakurai formula at and near the rho-meson peak, is unaffected by the vertex correction at order $\cal{O}$(g_\rpp^2).Comment: Revised version corrects a misprint in Eq.(1

Intrinsic and extrinsic x-ray absorption effects in soft x-ray diffraction from the superstructure in magnetite

We studied the (001/2) diffraction peak in the low-temperature phase of magnetite (Fe3O4) using resonant soft x-ray diffraction (RSXD) at the Fe-L2,3 and O-K resonance. We studied both molecular-beam-epitaxy (MBE) grown thin films and in-situ cleaved single crystals. From the comparison we have been able to determine quantitatively the contribution of intrinsic absorption effects, thereby arriving at a consistent result for the (001/2) diffraction peak spectrum. Our data also allow for the identification of extrinsic effects, e.g. for a detailed modeling of the spectra in case a "dead" surface layer is present that is only absorbing photons but does not contribute to the scattering signal.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev.

Cryogenic silicon detectors with implanted contacts for the detection of visible photons using the Neganov-Luke Effect

There is a common need in astroparticle experiments such as direct dark matter detection, 0{\nu}\b{eta}\b{eta} (double beta decay without emission of neutrinos) and Coherent Neutrino Nucleus Scattering experiments for light detectors with a very low energy threshold. By employing the Neganov-Luke Effect, the thermal signal of particle interactions in a semiconductor absorber operated at cryogenic temperatures, can be amplified by drifting the photogenerated electrons and holes in an electric field. This technology is not used in current experiments, in particular because of a reduction of the signal amplitude with time which is due to trapping of the charges within the absorber. We present here the first results of a novel type of Neganov-Luke Effect detector with an electric field configuration designed to improve the charge collection within the semiconductor.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Journal of Low Temperature Physic

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF SITE-SPECIFIC EXPERIMENTS WITHIN COMMERCIAL COTTON FIELDS

Information products derived from multi-spectral remote sensing images, LIDAR elevations, or data products from other sensor systems (soil electrical conductivity measurements, yield monitors, etc.) characterize potential crop productivity by mapping biophysical aspects of cropland variability. These sensor systems provide spectral, spatial, and temporal measurements at resolutions and accuracies describing the variability of in-field, physical characteristic phenomena, including management practices from cropland preparation, selection of crop cultivars, and variable-rate applications of inputs. In addition, DGPS-equipped (differential, global positioning system) harvesters monitor yield response at closely spaced, georeferenced points. Geographic information system and image processing techniques fuse diverse information sources to spatially characterize cropland, describe management practices, and quantify the variable yield response. Following fusion of information sources, effectiveness of spatially applied management practices may be evaluated by designed experiments assessing impacts on yield caused by geo-referenced relationships between (1) uncontrollable spatial components (the environment) and (2) controllable management practices (cultivar selection, fertility management, herbicide, insecticide, and plant growth regulator applications, etc.). These kinds of experiments can be designed because farming equipment can be computer controlled through DGPS giving farmers the ability to continuously change applied treatments for many farming operations. A mixed linear model involving both uncontrollable and controllable management attributes attached as spatial descriptors to yield monitor points evaluates effects of management practices on yield. An example based upon cotton production demonstrates the methodology. Additional strategies for designing studies in commercial cotton fields involving spatial information are discussed

UTILIZATION OF THE LINE-INTERCEPT METHOD TO ESTIMATE THE COVERAGE, DENSITY, AND AVERAGE LENGTH OF ROW SKIPS IN COTTON AND OTHER ROW CROPS

In row crops, a skip is a length of row within the drill where the crop has failed to establish. If the number of skips and their mean length per acre becomes too high, then considerable losses in crop yield occur. Frequently, farmers are faced with the decision to replant a crop which has row skips. To make the best decision, reliable estimates of the stand loss due to skips must be available. In making this decision, three parameters are useful: the percent of the area per acre that is skipped, the number of individual skips (that is, density) per acre, and the mean row length per skip. The line-intercept method for the sampling of two-dimensional objects (particles) can be used to obtain estimates of these parameters. The method is illustrated with an example from a cotton field