Maximizer Hybrid Corn: Performance Update

Results of 1996 field tests with Maximizer™ hybrid com confirm the results from the previous two years, indicating that these products offer an innovative solution to growers, enabling them to maximize grain yield, test weight, standability, and performance consistency in spite of damage otherwise caused by the European com borer (ECB). Responses from the approximately 9,000 growers who had the opportunity to plant the 135,000 units available in 1996 are overwhelmingly positive. In addition, feedback supporting rapid market growth of this technology is being received from 800-plus on-farm company-sponsored tests, and those from university and USDA researchers. Rapid market growth is expected in 1997

Soybean seed yield, viability and vigor, and chemical composition resulting from drought and high temperature stress during seed fill

Control, moderate, and severe drought stresses were imposed on pot-grown soybean plants in the greenhouse at air temperatures (AT) of 20, 26, 27, 29, 33, and 35 C. Stress intensity was quantified by summing stress degree days (SDD), the daily difference between AT and leaf temperature (LT), during seed fill;As SDD increased from 46 to 141 at 26 C, leaf resistance increased 220%, the transpiration rate decreased 45%, and the photosynthetic rate decreased linearly 69%. Yield was reduced linearly 49% by drought and 29% by the stressfully-high AT. Seed mass was reduced 20% by severe drought at 28 C, and 47% at 34 C;The germination percentage was reduced 10% by severe drought, 3% by high AT, and 29% by a SDD x AT interaction. Seedling axis dry weight (SADW) decreased, and conductivity increased proportionately because of stress, indicating reduced vigor. Viability and vigor exhibited a correlation of 0.89 with seed mass. The production of fewer seeds because of moderate stress quenched the reductions in viability and vigor. Severe stress reduced seed number, mass, viability, and vigor;Protein and oil content exhibited an inverse curvilinear relationship with AT. Maximum oil and minimum protein content were 24.6 and 38.0, respectively, at a critical AT of 29 C. Severe drought reduced the oil content linearly by 3%, and increased the protein content by 5%. Linolenic and linoleic acid content were reduced 19 and 5%, and oleic acid increased 13%, by high AT. Fatty acid composition was little affected by drought;Phospholipid class composition, and the fatty acid composition of each class, are altered by the AT during development optimizing membrane fluidity. A cool germination environment may confer nonfluid and leaky membranes of seeds that developed in warm environments;The effect of pod position on seed mass, viability, and vigor was dependent upon growth habit, whereas seed chemical composition was dependent upon pod temperature. Pods from top nodes were 1.4 C warmer than those from bottom nodes between 900 and 1700 hours

Geobiology of a lower Cambrian carbonate platform, Pedroche Formation, Ossa Morena Zone, Spain

The Cambrian Pedroche Formation comprises a mixed siliciclastic-carbonate succession recording subtidal deposition on a marine platform. Carbonate carbon isotope chemostratigraphy confirms previous biostratigraphic assignment of the Pedroche Formation to the Atdabanian regional stage of Siberia, correlative to Cambrian Series 2. At the outcrop scale, thrombolitic facies comprise ~. 60% of carbonate-normalized stratigraphy and coated-grains another ~. 10%. Petrographic point counts reveal that skeletons contribute at most 20% to thrombolitic inter-reef and reef-flank lithologies; on average, archaeocyath clasts make up 68% of skeletal materials. In contrast, petrographic point counts show that skeletons comprise a negligible volume of biohermal and biostromal thrombolite, associated nodular carbonate facies, and ooid, oncoid and peloid grainstone facies. As such, archaeocyathan reefal bioconstructions represent a specific and limited locus of skeletal carbonate production and deposition. Consistent with data from coeval, globally dispersed lower Cambrian successions, our analysis of the Pedroche Formation supports the view that lower Cambrian carbonates have more in common with earlier, Neoproterozoic deposits than with younger carbonates dominated by skeletal production and accumulation. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.Jessica R. Creveling, David Fernández-Remolar, Marta Rodríguez-Martínez, Silvia Menéndez, Kristin D. Bergmann, Benjamin C. Gill, John Abelson, Ricardo Amils, Bethany L. Ehlmann, Diego C. García-Bellido, John P. Grotzinger, Christian Hallmann, Kathryn M. Stack, Andrew H. Knol

How to iGuide: flat panel detector, CT-assisted, minimally invasive evacuation of intracranial hematomas.

Evidence is growing to support minimally invasive surgical evacuation of intraparenchymal hematomas, particularly those with minimal residual hematoma volumes following evacuation. To maximize the potential for neurologic recovery, it is imperative that the trajectory for access to the hematoma minimizes disruption of normal parenchyma. Flat panel detector CT-based navigation and needle guidance software provides a platform that uses flat panel detector CT imaging obtained on the angiography table to aid reliable and safe access to the hematoma. In addition to providing a high degree of accuracy, this method also allows convenient and rapid re-imaging to assess navigation accuracy and the degree of hematoma evacuation prior to procedural completion. We provide a practical review of the syngo iGuide needle guidance software and the methodology for incorporating its use, and the software of other vendors, in a variety of minimally invasive methods for evacuation of intraparenchymal hematomas

The Committee on Advanced Subspecialty Training-accredited postgraduate neurosurgery fellowship application experience: a national survey.

OBJECTIVE: The neurosurgery fellowship application process is heterogenous. Therefore, the authors conducted a survey of individuals graduating from Committee on Advanced Subspecialty Training (CAST)-accredited fellowships in the past 5 years to examine 1) experiences with the fellowship application process, 2) perspectives on the process, 3) reasons for pursuing a given subspecialty and fellowship, and 4) post-fellowship practices. METHODS: A survey querying demographics, experiences with and perspectives on the fellowship application process, and factors contributing to the pursuit of a given fellowship was distributed to individuals who had graduated from CAST-accredited fellowships in the past 5 years. The survey response period was May 22, 2021-June 22, 2021. RESULTS: Of 273 unique individuals who had graduated from CAST-accredited fellowships in the past 5 years, 65 (29.7%) were included in this analysis. The most common postgraduate year (PGY) during which respondents applied for fellowship positions was PGY5 (43.8%), whereas the most common training level at which respondents accepted a fellowship position was PGY6 (46.9%), with a large degree of variability for both (range PGY4-PGY7). Only 43.1% respondents reported an application deadline for their fellowship. A total of 77.4% respondents received 1-2 fellowship position offers, and 13.4% indicated that there was a match process. In total, 64.5% respondents indicated that the fellowship offer timeline was mostly or very asynchronous. The time frame for applicants to decline or accept a fellowship offer was heterogeneous and mismatched among institutions. Respondents agreed that a more standardized application timeline would be beneficial (median response agree ), and 83.1% of respondents indicated that PGY5 or PGY6 was the appropriate time to interview for a fellowship. CONCLUSIONS: Respondents reported heterogeneous experiences in applying for a fellowship, indicated that a standardized application timeline including interviews at PGY5 or PGY6 would be beneficial, and preferred streamlining the fellowship application process

Burnout and career satisfaction among attending neurosurgeons during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed significant changes to physician workflow and healthcare delivery. This national survey investigated the impact of the pandemic on burnout and career satisfaction among U.S. attending neurosurgeons. METHODS: A 24-question survey was sent electronically to all American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) attending members. The abbreviated Maslach Burnout Inventory (aMBI) was used to measure the following burnout and career satisfaction indices: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Bivariate analyses were conducted and multivariate analyses were performed using logistic regression models. RESULTS: 407 attending neurosurgeons were included in the present study, with an overall response rate of 17.7 %. The majority of respondents were male (88.7 %), White (84.3 %), and in practice for 15 years or more (64.6 %). The majority reported a decrease in work hours due to the pandemic (82.6 %), uncertainty about future earnings (80.3 %), and uncertainty regarding future healthcare reform (84.5 %). Burnout was identified in 83 (20.4 %) respondents, whereas career satisfaction was identified in 316 (77.6 %) respondents. Rate of burnout was decreased when compared to rates reported in the pre-COVID era. In multivariate analysis, burnout was associated with working in a hostile or difficult environment since the rise of COVID-19 (OR = 2.534, p = 0.008), not having children (OR = 3.294, p = 0.011), being in practice for 5-15 years (vs. \u3c 5 years) (OR = 4.568, p = 0.014), spending increased time conducting non-neurosurgical medical care due to COVID-19 (OR = 2.362, p = 0.019), feeling uncertain about future earnings due to COVID-19 (OR = 4.031, p = 0.035), and choosing not to pursue or feeling uncertain about pursuing neurosurgery again if given the choice (OR = 7.492, p \u3c 0.001). Career satisfaction was associated with cerebrovascular subspecialty training (OR = 2.614, p = 0.046) and a willingness to pursue neurosurgery again if given the choice (OR = 2.962, p \u3c 0.001). CONCLUSION: Factors related to the novel COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to changes in workflow among U.S. attending neurosurgeons. Despite these changes, we report decreased burnout and high career satisfaction among U.S. neurosurgeons. Understanding modifiable stressors among neurosurgeons during the pandemic may help to identify effective future interventions to mitigate burnout and improve career satisfaction