Computational Models of Classical Conditioning guest editors’ introduction

In the present special issue, the performance of current computational models of classical conditioning was evaluated under three requirements: (1) Models were to be tested against a list of previously agreed-upon phenomena; (2) the parameters were fixed across simulations; and (3) the simulations used to test the models had to be made available. These requirements resulted in three major products: (a) a list of fundamental classical-conditioning results for which there is a consensus about their reliability; (b) the necessary information to evaluate each of the models on the basis of its ordinal successes in accounting for the experimental data; and (c) a repository of computational models ready to generate simulations. We believe that the contents of this issue represent the 2012 state of the art in computational modeling of classical conditioning and provide a way to find promising avenues for future model development

Phytotoxicity and Benzoxazinone Concentration in Field Grown Cereal Rye (Secale cereale L.)

Winter rye (Secale cereale L.) is used as a cover crop because of the weed suppression potential of its mulch. To gain insight into the more effective use of rye as a cover crop we assessed changes in benzoxazinone (BX) levels in rye shoot tissue over the growing season. Four rye varieties were planted in the fall and samples harvested at intervals the following spring. Two different measures of phytotoxic compound content were taken. Seed germination bioassays were used as an estimate of total phytotoxic potential. Dilutions of shoot extracts were tested using two indicator species to compare the relative toxicity of tissue. In addition, BX (DIBOA, DIBOA-glycoside, and BOA) levels were directly determined using gas chromatography. Results showed that rye tissue harvested in March was the most toxic to indicator species, with toxicity decreasing thereafter. Likewise the BX concentration in rye shoot tissue increased early in the season and then decreased over time. Thus, phytotoxicity measured by bioassay and BX levels measured by GC have a similar but not identical temporal profile. The observed decrease in phytotoxic potential and plant BX levels in rye later in the season appears to correlate with the transition from vegetative to reproductive growth

Cultivating trust in technology-mediated sustainable agricultural research

We formed the Precision Sustainable Agriculture (PSA) team to conduct interdisciplinary research and technology development to improve adoption and practice of knowledge-intensive sustainable agricultural practices such as cover cropping. In this paper, we share our approach to cultivating trust among diverse stakeholders (researchers, farmers, extensionists, agricultural and information specialists, private and public entities) vested in agricultural data collection, management, and use. Our trust framework describes how we aim to be trusted with data (through preserving privacy and increasing stakeholder agency) and trusted in the process (through practicing transparency and accountability). It is operationalized through a series of social and technical infrastructures. Our project governance, stakeholder engagement tools and activities, and technology development methods aim to promote transparency and accountability in our process. We use a maturity model to govern data acquisition to ensure that only robust, privacy-preserving technologies are deployed on our partner farms and describe evolving mechanisms for handling data with varying sensitivity. Finally, we share preliminary work aimed at anticipating data use, and identify challenges on the horizon for cultivating trust in agricultural technologies and data-driven agriculture.This article is published as Raturi, Ankita, Jennifer J. Thompson, Victoria Ackroyd, Carlene A. Chase, Brian W. Davis, Robert Myers, Aurelie Poncet et al. "Cultivating trust in technology‐mediated sustainable agricultural research." Agronomy Journal (2021). doi:10.1002/agj2.20974. Works produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted