Missouri grain sorghum performance trials, 1969

"MP 138, February, 1970""This bulletin reports on Department of Agronomy research project 351, Sorghum Testing. The statistics pertaining to sorghum production were furnished by R.S. Overton of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Columbia, Missouri. Climatological data were furnished by W.L. Decker, Professor and Chairman, Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Missouri. The following individuals assisted in making the 1969 Grain Sorghum Trials possible: Larkin Langford, Louis Meinke, Earl Page, Dr. Norman Justus, Norman Brown, and N.G. Weir."--Page 2."Locations. Grain sorghum performance trials were conducted at four locations in 1969, Fig. 1. They were located at the North Missouri Center near Spickard in Grundy County, on the Earl Page farm near Palmyra in Marion County, on the N. G. Weir farm near Columbia in Boone County, and at the Southwest Center near Mt. Vernon in Lawrence County. A fifth location was planted at the Delta Center near Portageville in Pemiscot County but was not harvested due to hail and bird damage. The test site at the Southwest Center was located on a Gerald soil. This soil is characterized by very slow permeability to water and air, nearly level topography, moderate water storage capacity, a claypan subsoil, medium inherent fertility, and a tendency to be slighty doughty during summer months. These characteristics coupled with a May 1 to September 15 rainfall deficit of 6 to 8 inches resulted in greatly reduced yields (Table 9). The variation, due to soil, at this site was accentuated by the drought. Thus relatively large difference in yield among entries were required for statistical significance. State production. In 1968, 216,000 acres of grain sorghum were harvested in Missouri with an average yield of 66 bushels per acre. The 1969 estimate of harvested grain sorghum is 214,000 acres and 91. 1 percent of the 1960-1969 average. The state-wide 1969 estimate of 64 bushels per acre is 9. 7 bushels more than the 10-year average and six bushels less than the 1969 estimated corn yield. These data are summarized in Table 1. Sorghum vs corn. Comparisons between the yield of corn and grain sorghum at three of the testing sites can be made since these tests were located either in the same field or close proximity (Table 2). These comparisons are only suggestive; planting and cultural factors were not the same for corn and sorghum. Interpretation of differences in yield. Small yield differences should not be overemphasized since there was considerable inherent variation in the soil at each test site. Special planting arrangements and use of the statistical procedure called analysis of variance, from which the L. S. D. (least significant difference) value is computed, help make valid yield comparisons. The L. S. D. value, found at the bottom of the tables, simply states how much one hybrid must differ from another in yield to be reasonably confident of superior performance."--Introduction.R.D. Horrocks, F.D. Cloninge

Hybrid corn, 1969

Cover title."The bulletin reports on Department of Agronomy Research Project 3100"--P. [2].Includes bibliographical references

A preliminary investigation into the prevalence and prediction of problematic cell phone use

Abstract Background and aims Likening mobile phone use dependency to the classification of excessive behaviors may be necessarily equivalent in seriousness to previously established addictions such as problematic computing or excessive gambling. The aim of the study explores into the behavior of excessive use of mobile phones as a pathological behavior. Methods Two studies investigated criteria for problematic mobile phone usage by examining student (Study 1, N = 301) and nonstudent (Study 2, N = 362) responses to a set of adapted mobile phone addiction inventories. Study 1 investigated cell phone addiction inventories as constructs designed to measure problematic cell phone use. Additionally, Study 2 sought to predict age, depression, extraversion, emotional stability, impulse control, and self-esteem as independent variables that augment respondents' perceptions of problematic use. Results The results from Study 1 and Study 2 indicate that 10 to 25% of the participants tested exhibited problematic cell phone usage. Additionally, age, depression, extraversion, and low impulse control are the most suitable predictors for problematic use. Conclusions The results of the two studies indicate that problematic mobile phone use does occur and ought to be taken seriously by the psychological community. Presently, there is limited data providing conclusive evidence for a comprehensible categorization of cell phone addiction, as well as a unified explanatory model specific to problematic mobile phone use. Studies such as this one may contribute substantial findings, adding scientific significance, and offering a valuable submission for the ongoing progress of creating intervention frameworks relative to “virtual addictions”

ADHD symptomatology in eating disorders : a secondary psychopathological measure of severity?

Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has commonly been described in psychiatric disorders. Although several studies have found positive associations between abnormal eating patterns during childhood and ADHD, there is a lack of studies on ADHD and Eating Disorders (ED). The aims of this exploratory study were 1) to assess the ADHD symptoms level in ED and to ascertain whether there are differences among ED subtypes; 2) to analyze whether the presence of ADHD symptoms is associated with more severe eating disorder symptoms and greater general psychopathology; and 3) to assess whether the ADHD symptoms level is associated with specific temperament and character traits. Methods: 191 female ED patients were included. Assessment was carried out with the EDI-2, ASRS-v1.1, the SCL-90-R and the TCI-R. Results: The ADHD symptoms level was similar in bulimia, eating disorder not otherwise specified and binge eating subtypes, and lower in anorexic patients. Obsessiveness and Hostility were significantly positively associated with ADHD symptoms. A path model showed that ADHD was associated with high Novelty Seeking and low Self-Directedness, whereas ED severity was influenced by ADHD severity and low Self-Directedness. Conclusions: Bingeing/purging ED subtypes have a high ADHD symptoms level, also related with more severe eating, general and personality psychopathology

Dissecting the determinants of depressive disorders outcome: an in depth analysis of two clinical cases

Clinicians face everyday the complexity of depression. Available pharmacotherapies and psychotherapies improve patients suffering in a large part of subjects, however up to half of patients do not respond to treatment. Clinicians may forecast to a good extent if a given patient will respond or not, based on a number of data and sensations that emerge from face to face assessment. Conversely, clinical predictors of non response emerging from literature are largely unsatisfactory. Here we try to fill this gap, suggesting a comprehensive assessment of patients that may overcome the limitation of standardized assessments and detecting the factors that plausibly contribute to so marked differences in depressive disorders outcome. For this aim we present and discuss two clinical cases. Mr. A was an industrial manager who came to psychiatric evaluation with a severe depressive episode. His employment was demanding and the depressive episode undermined his capacity to manage it. Based on standardized assessment, Mr. A condition appeared severe and potentially dramatic. Mrs. B was a housewife who came to psychiatric evaluation with a moderate depressive episode. Literature predictors would suggest Mrs. B state as associated with a more favourable outcome. However the clinician impression was not converging with the standardized assessment and in fact the outcome will reverse the prediction based on the initial formal standard evaluation. Although the present report is based on two clinical cases and no generalizability is possible, a more detailed analysis of personality, temperament, defense mechanisms, self esteem, intelligence and social adjustment may allow to formalize the clinical impressions used by clinicians for biologic and pharmacologic studies

Applying Agile Methods to Weapon/Weapon-Related Software

This white paper provides information and guidance to the Department of Energy (DOE) sites on Agile software development methods and the impact of their application on weapon/weapon-related software development. The purpose of this white paper is to provide an overview of Agile methods, examine the accepted interpretations/uses/practices of these methodologies, and discuss the applicability of Agile methods with respect to Nuclear Weapons Complex (NWC) Technical Business Practices (TBPs). It also provides recommendations on the application of Agile methods to the development of weapon/weapon-related software

Pramipexole effects on startle gating in rats and normal men

Dopamine D3 receptors regulate sensorimotor gating in rats, as evidenced by changes in prepulse inhibition (PPI) of startle after acute administration of D3 agonists and antagonists. In this study, we tested the effects of the D3-preferential agonist, pramipexole, on PPI in normal men and Sprague–Dawley rats. Acoustic startle and PPI were tested in clinically normal men, comparing the effects of placebo vs. 0.125 mg (n = 20) or placebo vs. 0.1875 mg (n = 20) pramipexole, in double blind, crossover designs. These measures were also tested in male Sprague–Dawley rats using a parallel design [vehicle vs. 0.1 mg/kg (n = 8), vehicle vs. 0.3 mg/kg (n = 8) or vehicle vs. 1.0 mg/kg pramipexole (n = 8)]. Autonomic and subjective measures of pramipexole effects and several personality instruments were also measured in humans. Pramipexole increased drowsiness and significantly increased PPI at 120-ms intervals in humans; the latter effect was not moderated by baseline PPI or personality scale scores. In rats, pramipexole causes a dose-dependent reduction in long-interval (120 ms) PPI, while low doses actually increased short-interval (10–20 ms) PPI. Effects of pramipexole on PPI in rats were independent of baseline PPI and changes in startle magnitude. The preferential D3 agonist pramipexole modifies PPI in humans and rats. Unlike indirect DA agonists and mixed D2/D3 agonists, pramipexole increases long-interval PPI in humans, in a manner that is independent of baseline PPI and personality measures. These findings are consistent with preclinical evidence for differences in the D2- and D3-mediated regulation of sensorimotor gating