1,694 research outputs found
Seed pathology
Seeds provide an efficient method for disseminating pathogenic organisms to different locations; more than 50 percent of the major bean diseases are seed borne. Mechanical damage, which may occur during harvesting, threshing and/or planting, can affect seed viability, germination and contamination by microorganisms. Seed pathogens can be controlled with protectant fungicides that penetrate the seed coat but not the cotyledons. Systemic fungicides, which penetrate that seed coat and cotyledons, provide some degree of control. The date of harvest is very important in the production of high-quality, pathogen-free seed. Leaving plants for prolonged periods in the field after plant maturity increases the percentage of seed infection by fungi and decreases the percentage of seed germination. Various species of bacteria and viruses are seed borne, but no treatment controls them satisfactorily. The seed-borne and seed-contaminating organisms associated with dry beans are given in table form. Color illustrations are given. (AS)La semilla constituye un metodo eficiente de diseminacion de organismos fitopatogenos entre distintas localidades; mas del 50 por ciento de las principales enfermedades del frijol son transmitidas por semilla. El dano mecanico que ocurre durante la cosecha, trilla y/o siembra tambien puede afectar la viabilidad, germinacion y contaminacion de la semilla por parte de microorganismos. Los patogenos de la semilla se pueden controlar con fungicidas protectores que penetran en la testa de la semilla pero no en el interior de los cotiledones. Los fungicidas sistemicos, que penetran en la testa y en los cotiledones, brindan cierto grado de control. La fecha de cosecha es muy importante en la produccion de semilla de alta calidad, libre de agentes patogenos. El dejar las plantas por periodos prolongados en el campo despues de que estas han madurado, hace que el porcentaje de infeccion por hongos aumente y que el porcentaje de germinacion de la semilla disminuya. Varias especies de bacterias y virus son portadas por la semilla, pero ningun tratamiento las controla satisfactoriamente. En forma de cuadro se presentan los organismos portados por las semillas y contaminantes de ellos asociados con el frijol. Se presentan ilustraciones a color. (R
Asymptotic Pad\'e Approximants and the SQCD -function
We present a prediction for the four loop -function for SQCD based on
the method of Asymptotic Pad\'e Approximants.Comment: 8 pages, including 2 figures. Plain TeX. Uses Harvmac and eps
Non-Critical Liouville String Escapes Constraints on Generic Models of Quantum Gravity
It has recently been pointed out that generic models of quantum gravity must
contend with severe phenomenological constraints imposed by gravitational
Cerenkov radiation, neutrino oscillations and the cosmic microwave background
radiation. We show how the non-critical Liouville-string model of quantum
gravity we have proposed escapes these constraints. It gives energetic
particles subluminal velocities, obviating the danger of gravitational Cerenkov
radiation. The effect on neutrino propagation is naturally flavour-independent,
obviating any impact on oscillation phenomenology. Deviations from the expected
black-body spectrum and the effects of time delays and stochastic fluctuations
in the propagation of cosmic microwave background photons are negligible, as
are their effects on observable spectral lines from high-redshift astrophysical
objects.Comment: 15 pages LaTeX, 2 eps figures include
Capacity in nonlinear fiber transmission systems
We review the nonlinear channel capacity of optical fiber communication systems using both linear and nonlinear amplifiers. We show that the capacity of a nonlinear transmission system employing linear optical amplifiers can be enhanced by over 300% by using all optical regeneration
Variation in the responses of wild species of duck, gull, and wader to inoculation with a wild-bird-origin H6N2 low pathogenicity avian influenza virus
There is poor understanding of host responses to avian influenza virus (AIV) infection in wild birds, with most experimental studies using captive-bred birds and highly pathogenic AIVs that have an early endpoint. The objective of this study was to experimentally assess antibody responses and patterns of viral excretion in wild birds challenged with a low pathogenicity AIV. Ruddy turnstones (Arenaria interpres), silver gulls (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae), and wandering whistling ducks (Dendrocygna arcuata) were challenged with a H6N2 virus, and blood, cloacal, and oropharyngeal (OP) swabs were analyzed from each bird over 28 days, with serology conducted on the ducks for a further 7 mo. Nineteen of 22 birds showed evidence of infection, with respiratory infection prevalent in the turnstones and gulls as mostly low titer viral excretion to 4 days postinoculation (DPI) with gastrointestinal replication detected in only one turnstone. In AIV naive ducks, there was gastrointestinal tropism with moderately high titer viral excretion via the cloaca to 6 DPI and low-grade OP viral excretion to 4 DPI. The hemagglutination inhibition antibody response was poor in the ducks, declining from 19 to 56 DPI, with higher titer responses in the gulls and turnstones. All infected birds responded with elevated nucleoprotein antibodies (in competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) by 7-10 DPI, and in the ducks these waned slowly after 42 DPI and were long-lived to at least 8 mo. The interspecies variability in response was consistent with a subtype that had adapted well in ducks, while the response of the turnstones may have been influenced by preexisting immunity to AIV. These findings provide insight into AIV infection dynamics in wild birds and highlight the need for further research
Coastal vulnerability of a pinned, soft-cliff coastline. Part I, assessing the natural sensitivity to wave climate
The impact of future sea-level rise on coastal erosion as a result of a changing climate has been studied in detail over the past decade. The potential impact of a changing wave climate on erosion rates, however, is not typically considered. We explore the effect of changing wave climates on a pinned, soft-cliff, sandy coastline, using as an example the Holderness coast of East Yorkshire, UK.
The initial phase of the study concentrates on calibrating a numerical model to recently measured erosion rates for the Holderness coast using an ensemble of geomorphological and shoreface parameters under an observed offshore wave climate. In the main phase of the study, wave climate data are perturbed gradually to assess their impact on coastal morphology. Forward-modelled simulations constrain the nature of the morphological response of the coast to changes in wave climate over the next century. Results indicate that changes to erosion rates over the next century will be spatially and temporally heterogeneous, with a variability of up to ±25% in the erosion rate relative to projections under constant wave climate. The heterogeneity results from the current coastal morphology and the sediment transport dynamics consequent on differing wave climate regimes
Today's View on Strangeness
There are several different experimental indications, such as the
pion-nucleon sigma term and polarized deep-inelastic scattering, which suggest
that the nucleon wave function contains a hidden s bar s component. This is
expected in chiral soliton models, which also predicted the existence of new
exotic baryons that may recently have been observed. Another hint of hidden
strangeness in the nucleon is provided by copious phi production in various N
bar N annihilation channels, which may be due to evasions of the
Okubo-Zweig-Iizuka rule. One way to probe the possible polarization of hidden s
bar s pairs in the nucleon may be via Lambda polarization in deep-inelastic
scattering.Comment: 8 pages LaTeX, 10 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the
International Conference on Parity Violation and Hadronic Structure,
Grenoble, June 200
Assessing the influence of sea walls on the coastal vulnerability of a pinned, soft-cliff, sandy coastline
Coastal defences have long been employed to halt or slow coastal erosion. Their impact on local sediment flux and ecology has been studied in detail through field studies and numerical simulations. The non-local impact of a modified sediment flux regime on mesoscale erosion and accretion has received less attention. Morphological changes at this scale due to defended structures can be difficult to quantify or identify with field data. Engineering scale numerical models, often applied to assess the design of modern defences on local coastal erosion, tend not to cover large stretches of coast and are rarely applied to assess the impact of older structures. We extend previous work to explore the influences of sea walls on the evolution and morphological sensitivity of a pinned, soft-cliff, sandy coastline under a changing wave climate. The Holderness coast of East Yorkshire, UK, is used as a case study, represented both as a defended example with major sea walls included and a natural example where no sea defences exist.
Using a mesoscale numerical coastal evolution model, stochastic wave climate data are perturbed gradually to assess the sensitivity of the coastal morphology to changing wave climate for both the defended and natural scenarios. Comparative analysis of the simulated output suggests that sea walls in the south of the region have a greater impact on sediment flux due to the increased sediment availability along this part of the coast. Multiple defended structures, including those separated by several kilometres, were found to interact with each other, producing a complex imprint on coastal morphology under a changing wave climate. Although spatially and temporally heterogeneous, sea walls generally slowed coastal recession and accumulated sediment on their up-drift side
Coastal vulnerability of a pinned, soft-cliff coastline. Part II, assessing the influence of sea walls on future morphology
Coastal defences have long been employed to halt or slow coastal erosion, and their impact on local
sediment flux and ecology has been studied in detail through field research and numerical simulation. The nonlocal
impact of a modified sediment flux regime on mesoscale erosion and accretion has received less attention.
Morphological changes at this scale due to defending structures can be difficult to quantify or identify with
field data. Engineering-scale numerical models, often applied to assess the design of modern defences on local
coastal erosion, tend not to cover large stretches of coast and are rarely applied to assess the impact of older
structures. We extend previous work to explore the influences of sea walls on the evolution and morphological
sensitivity of a pinned, soft-cliff, sandy coastline under a changing wave climate. The Holderness coast of East
Yorkshire, UK, is used as a case study to explore model scenarios where the coast is both defended with major
sea walls and allowed to evolve naturally were there are no sea defences.
Using a mesoscale numerical coastal evolution model, observed wave-climate data are perturbed linearly to
assess the sensitivity of the coastal morphology to changing wave climate for both the defended and undefended
scenarios. Comparative analysis of the simulated output suggests that sea walls in the south of the region have
a greater impact on sediment flux due to increased sediment availability along this part of the coast. Multiple
defence structures, including those separated by several kilometres, were found to interact with each other,
producing complex changes in coastal morphology under a changing wave climate. Although spatially and
temporally heterogeneous, sea walls generally slowed coastal recession and accumulated sediment on their
up-drift side
Causality and the speed of sound
A usual causal requirement on a viable theory of matter is that the speed of
sound be at most the speed of light. In view of various recent papers querying
this limit, the question is revisited here. We point to various issues
confronting theories that violate the usual constraint.Comment: v2: additional discussion on models that appear to have superluminal
signal speeds; version to appear in GR
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