Watermelon Cold Stress Testing for Cold Intolerant Seeds

Watermelon sales and production for Company X is a lucrative business. Watermelon is scientifically known as Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. & Nakai. Watermelon sales for Company X are directed to Georgia, Florida and Spain. These areas make up 80% of Company X’s watermelon seed sales. One major stress factor in these areas is low temperature during watermelon transplant season. Growers interested in selling their produce at the fall harvest markets must transplant the seedlings between February and April. This creative component outlines how watermelon transplants are produced in greenhouses, and what growing conditions are necessary in a field environment. It also outlines temperature trends and fluctuations in the targeted areas of Georgia, Florida and Spain. The cold stress testing has been historically used to help predict seed lot performance in the field in cooler climates and can be used to predict performance in potentially cold climates like Georgia, North Florida and Spain. Company X was interested in developing their own cold stress test to screen seed lots for cold susceptibility and to reduce bad emergence claims for the company. The objective of this project was to develop a test for screening seed lots based on germination and growth in cold temperatures. The road to this test took several steps from prescreening 47 watermelon seed lots to growing watermelon seeds in greenhouses to mimic cold conditions. A difference between primed and unprimed seed lots was observed throughout this experiment. Primed seeds are seed treated with a seed-germination-enhancement treatment. Primed seeds are thus at the same stage of physiological activation and germinate uniformly. Unprimed seeds do not undergo this process; therefore, unprimed seeds germinate at different rates due to different maturity levels and seeds ability to absorb water for imbibition. Ultimately thresholds for mean germination rate in primed seeds were set to identify seed lots that were cold tolerant and help direct the sales of primed seeds. Unprimed watermelon seeds performed differently and required a different testing protocol to help predict poor emergence in cold conditions. Ideally, unprimed seeds would not be sold to potentially colder climates. However, due to the large market size for watermelon, unprimed seeds also must be screened for cold susceptibility. The threshold for acceptable mean germination rates for unprimed seeds is set higher to reduce the risk of poor emergence claims. The outcome from this project was the development of two test protocols to rank primed and unprimed watermelon seed lots for emergence in cold environments. **This submission only represents an abstract from a project that was presented and approved by the students Graduate Faculty Committee. Because the complete creative component project contained proprietary company information, the student is only able to share this version of the project to the online repository

The Influence of Risk Society on Summer Camp Programs: A Comparative Analysis of Two Enrichment Programs in Distinctive Contexts

The purpose of this research is to examine how themes related to Ulrich Beck\u27s Risk Society framework have affected organizations that are positioned intermediately between the institutions of education and family. Specifically, the study explores how notions of risk and risk management have become fundamental in the goals, organization and activities of summer camp programs. In addition, the study considers how social class conditions, the range of perceived risks, and organizational responses to them across camps located in two communities characterized by very different socioeconomic conditions

An MLE method for finding LKB NTCP model parameters using Monte Carlo uncertainty estimates

The aims of this work were to establish a program to fit NTCP models to clinical data with multiple toxicity endpoints, to test the method using a realistic test dataset, to compare three methods for estimating confidence intervals for the fitted parameters and to characterise the speed and performance of the program

Assessing the Feasibility of a Mobile HIV Screening Unit in Vermont: A Community Survey

Introduction. Estimates show that 20% of HIV-positive individuals are unaware of their serostatus, in part due to limited access to testing services. Challenges of HIV testing within communities may be overcome by providing non-traditional avenues for testing and counseling, such as mobile HIV testing units. Such services have demonstrated success in increasing awareness of personal HIV status, and facilitating diagnosis and treatment.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1196/thumbnail.jp

Predictors of Dropout in a Digital Intervention for the Prevention and Treatment of Depression in Patients With Chronic Back Pain : Secondary Analysis of Two Randomized Controlled Trials

Peer reviewe

Very Large Array Observations of Ammonia in Infrared-Dark Clouds II: Internal Kinematics

Infrared-dark clouds (IRDCs) are believed to be the birthplaces of rich clusters and thus contain the earliest phases of high-mass star formation. We use the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) and Very Large Array (VLA) maps of ammonia (NH3) in six IRDCs to measure their column density and temperature structure (Paper 1), and here, we investigate the kinematic structure and energy content. We find that IRDCs overall display organized velocity fields, with only localized disruptions due to embedded star formation. The local effects seen in NH3 emission are not high velocity outflows but rather moderate (few km/s) increases in the line width that exhibit maxima near or coincident with the mid-infrared emission tracing protostars. These line width enhancements could be the result of infall or (hidden in NH3 emission) outflow. Not only is the kinetic energy content insufficient to support the IRDCs against collapse, but also the spatial energy distribution is inconsistent with a scenario of turbulent cloud support. We conclude that the velocity signatures of the IRDCs in our sample are due to active collapse and fragmentation, in some cases augmented by local feedback from stars.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Active turnover of genomic methylcytosine in pluripotent cells

Epigenetic plasticity underpins cell potency, but the extent to which active turnover of DNA methylation contributes to such plasticity is not known and the underlying pathways are poorly understood. Here we use metabolic labelling with stable isotopes and mass spectrometry to quantitatively address the global turnover of genomic methylcytidine (mdC), hydroxymethylcytidine (hmdC) and formylcytidine (fdC) across mouse pluripotent cell states. High rates of mdC/hmdC oxidation and fdC turnover characterize a formative-like pluripotent state. In primed pluripotent cells the global mdC turnover rate is about 3-6% faster than can be explained by passive dilution through DNA synthesis. While this active component is largely dependent on Tet-mediated mdC oxidation, we unveil additional oxidation-independent mdC turnover, possibly through DNA repair. This process accelerates upon acquisition of primed pluripotency and returns to low levels in lineage committed cells. Thus, in pluripotent cells active mdC turnover involves both mdC oxidation-dependent and independent processes

Tailored materials for radioactive waste disposal

This paper reports on the developments for advanced fuel cycles to fully utilize resource materials (e.g., uranium) from used nuclear fuel and decrease the amount and toxicity of waste requiring geological disposal by the U.S. Department of Energy

International consensus statement on allergy and rhinology: Allergic rhinitis – 2023

Background In the 5 years that have passed since the publication of the 2018 International Consensus Statement on Allergy and Rhinology: Allergic Rhinitis (ICAR-Allergic Rhinitis 2018), the literature has expanded substantially. The ICAR-Allergic Rhinitis 2023 update presents 144 individual topics on allergic rhinitis (AR), expanded by over 40 topics from the 2018 document. Originally presented topics from 2018 have also been reviewed and updated. The executive summary highlights key evidence-based findings and recommendation from the full document. Methods ICAR-Allergic Rhinitis 2023 employed established evidence-based review with recommendation (EBRR) methodology to individually evaluate each topic. Stepwise iterative peer review and consensus was performed for each topic. The final document was then collated and includes the results of this work. Results ICAR-Allergic Rhinitis 2023 includes 10 major content areas and 144 individual topics related to AR. For a substantial proportion of topics included, an aggregate grade of evidence is presented, which is determined by collating the levels of evidence for each available study identified in the literature. For topics in which a diagnostic or therapeutic intervention is considered, a recommendation summary is presented, which considers the aggregate grade of evidence, benefit, harm, and cost. Conclusion The ICAR-Allergic Rhinitis 2023 update provides a comprehensive evaluation of AR and the currently available evidence. It is this evidence that contributes to our current knowledge base and recommendations for patient evaluation and treatment