A SIMPLE ANALYSIS OF ACREAGE RESPONSE TO SOME AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (a) To analyze the effect of some common agricultural programs on the planted area of a crop. This will be done with the framework of a simple model mostly by graphical methods. (b) To comment on an estimative procedure by which a support price, which is linked to acreage restrictions, is transformed to an "effective support price." Three programs will be analyzed, namely, unlinked support price, link support price and diversion payment.Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries,

Orobanche cohenii (Orobanchaceae) a new species from Israel

Orobanche cohenii a new species belonging to Orobanche sect. Trionychon is described and illustrated from Mt. Hermon, Israel. Its relationships with the other species of Orobanche sect. Trionychon occurring in this area are examined

The status of Portulaca oleraceal in Tenerife, the Canary Islands

La recolección de material perteneciente a Portulaca oleracea y especies afines en Tenerife y algunas otras islas del archipiélago reavivó nuestro interés en este complejo poliploide. Con la intención de homogeneizar el tratamiento de los taxones relacionados a Portulaca oleracea L., se propone elevar el rango subespecífico de alguno de ellos a rango específico. Se describe por primera vez para la ciencia Portulaca canariensis. El estudio de Portulaca oleracea y especies afines en Tenerife y otras islas del archipiélago revelan los siguientes hechos: a. Tres niveles de ploidía (diploide, tetraploide y hexaploide) están presentes en las islas, b. Se observaron poblaciones simpátricas de especies diploides, de tetraploides, de tetraploides más hexaploides, de hexaploides y de diploides más tetraploides y hexaploides y c. Las especies tetraploides fueron las más frecuentes, seguidas de las diploides, siendo las hexaploides las menos frecuentes. Los resultados de los recuentos cromosómicos concuerdan con los estudios previos realizadosFollowing a comprehensive collection of Portulaca oleracea-related species in Tenerife and a few other Canary Island renewed interest this polyploidy complex led to another progress in its investigations. In order to equalize the treatment of the taxa related to Portulaca oleracea L., its subspecies are raised to the specific rank. A new species, P. canariensis is described. Our study of the Portulaca oleracea-related species found in Tenerife and a few other Canary Island reveal the following facts: a. The three ploidy levels (diploids, tetraploids, and hexaploids) are well represented there, b. Sympatric populations of diploid plus diploid, tetraploids plus tetraploids, tetraploids plus hexaploids, hexaploids plus hexaploids, and diploid plus tetraploid plus hexaploid were discovered there and c. The most frequent species found were tetraploid, then the diploid and the least were hexaploids. Chromosome count followed our findings in previous studies

Xampling in Ultrasound Imaging

Recent developments of new medical treatment techniques put challenging demands on ultrasound imaging systems in terms of both image quality and raw data size. Traditional sampling methods result in very large amounts of data, thus, increasing demands on processing hardware and limiting the exibility in the post-processing stages. In this paper, we apply Compressed Sensing (CS) techniques to analog ultrasound signals, following the recently developed Xampling framework. The result is a system with significantly reduced sampling rates which, in turn, means significantly reduced data size while maintaining the quality of the resulting images.Comment: 17 pages, 9 Figures. Introduced in SPIE Medical Imaging Conference, Orlando Florida, 201

Su alcune piante nuove delle Isole Pelagie

On some new plants to Pelagic islands (Straits of Sicily) \u2013 Fifteen vascular plants belonging to the families Aizoaceae, Amaryllidaceae, Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Myoporaceae, Orobanchaceae, Oxalidaceae, Portulacaceae and Solanaceae are reported as new to one or both the major Pelagic islands. With the exception of Narcissus serotinus and Orobanche minor, they are non-native plants, probably of recent human introduction, mostly in areas heavily modified by man. Myoporum insulare, widely used for reforestation and for ornament, occurs also in sub and semi-natural environments

Vegetation history and climatic fluctuations on a transect along the Dead Sea west shore and impact on past societies over the last 3500 years.

This study represents the vegetation history of the last 3500 years and conducts an analysis of the climatic fluctuations on a 75 km long transect on the western Dead Sea shore. Palynological and sedimentological data are available from six cores near Mount Sedom, Ein Boqueq, and Ein Gedi and from outcrops near Ze'elim and Ein Feshkha. The comparison of the pollen data with the lake levels shows synchronous trends. During the Middle Bronze Age, Iron Age and Hellenistic to Byzantine Period the high lake level of the Dead Sea signals an increase in precipitation. Contemporaneously, values of cultivated plants indicate an increase in agriculture. Lake level is low during the Late Bronze Age, within the Iron Age and at the end of the Byzantine period, indicating dry periods when all pds show a decrease of cultivated plants. Forest regeneration led by drought-resistant pines is observed in all pollen diagrams (pds) following the agricultural decline in the Byzantine period and, in the pds near Ein Boqeq, Ze'elim and Ein Feshkha, during the late Iron Age. The modern vegetation gradient is reflected in the palaeo-records: a stronger expansion of Mediterranean vegetation and cultivated plants in the northern sites is recognisable

Mechanical influences on fluid leakage past the tracheal tube cuff in a benchtop model

Purpose: High-volume low-pressure (HVLP) cuffs on endotracheal tubes do not fully protect the lower airway from leakage of potentially contaminated secretions down the longitudinal folds within the cuff. Here, our purpose was to evaluate potential effects of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP), inspiratory effort intensity, and tube characteristics on fluid leakage past the cuff. Methods: This benchtop study at a research laboratory used a tracheal tube inserted into an artificial Plexiglas trachea connected to a ventilator and lung model. Methylene blue was deposited above the tube cuff to simulate subglottic secretions. Five PEEP levels (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20cmH2O) were tested with volume-controlled ventilation and three simulated inspiratory effort levels with pressure-support ventilation. Several cuff materials and tube sizes were tested. Results: The leakage occurrence rate ranged from 91% with zero PEEP to 8% with 15 and 20cmH2O PEEP and was indirectly proportional to the PEEP level with significant correlation (R 2=0.39, p<0.001), an effect not explained by higher peak inspiratory pressure. Low, moderate, and high inspiratory effort intensities were associated with 38%, 46%, and 75% leakage rates, respectively (p=0.024). Leakage flow was considerably less with polyurethane than with polyvinylchloride tubes (mean 0.5 versus 31.8ml/h). Leakage increased with larger tube diameters. Conclusion: This benchtop study shows that PEEP and a polyurethane cuff prevent leakage past the endotracheal tube cuff, whereas greater inspiratory effort and larger tube diameters for given tracheal size induce or worsen leakag

Collapsing granular suspensions

A 2D contact dynamics model is proposed as a microscopic description of a collapsing suspension/soil to capture the essential physical processes underlying the dynamics of generation and collapse of the system. Our physical model is compared with real data obtained from in situ measurements performed with a natural collapsing/suspension soil. We show that the shear strength behavior of our collapsing suspension/soil model is very similar to the behavior of this collapsing suspension soil, for both the unperturbed and the perturbed phases of the material.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in EPJ

Draft Genome Sequence of Environmental Bacterium Vibrio vulnificus CladeA-yb158

We report the genome sequence of the environmental Vibrio vulnificus biotype 1_cladeA. This draft genome of the CladeA-yb158 strain, isolated in Israel, represents this newly emerged clonal group that contains both clinical and environmental strains

Synthetic RNA modules for fine-tuning gene expression levels in yeast by modulating RNase III activity

The design of synthetic gene networks requires an extensive genetic toolbox to control the activities and levels of protein components to achieve desired cellular functions. Recently, a novel class of RNA-based control modules, which act through post-transcriptional processing of transcripts by directed RNase III (Rnt1p) cleavage, were shown to provide predictable control over gene expression and unique properties for manipulating biological networks. Here, we increase the regulatory range of the Rnt1p control elements, by modifying a critical region for enzyme binding to its hairpin substrates, the binding stability box (BSB). We used a high throughput, cell-based selection strategy to screen a BSB library for sequences that exhibit low fluorescence and thus high Rnt1p processing efficiencies. Sixteen unique BSBs were identified that cover a range of protein expression levels, due to the ability of the sequences to affect the hairpin cleavage rate and to form active cleavable complexes with Rnt1p. We further demonstrated that the activity of synthetic Rnt1p hairpins can be rationally programmed by combining the synthetic BSBs with a set of sequences located within a different region of the hairpin that directly modulate cleavage rates, providing a modular assembly strategy for this class of RNA-based control elements