Hybrid maturity influence on maize yield and yield component response to plant population in Croatia and Nebraska

Maize (Zea mays L.) yield component analysis is limited. Research was conducted in 2012 and 2013 at Zagreb, Croatia and Mead, Nebraska, United States with the objective to determine the influence of environment, hybrid maturity, and plant population (PP) on maize yield and yield components. Three maturity classes of maize hybrids were produced at five PP ranging from 65,000 to 105,000 plants ha−1 under rainfed conditions. Yield, ears m−2, rows ear−1, ear circumference, kernels ear−1, kernels row−1, ear length, and kernel weight were determined. Average yield was 10.7 t ha−1, but was variable for hybrids across PP. The early maturity-hybrids had lesser ear circumference, more kernels ear−1, greater ear length, and fewer rows ear−1 than mid- and late-maturity hybrids. Kernels ear−1 had the highest correlation with yield (r = 0.47; P −2, kernels ear−1 and kernel weight had similar direct effects on yield for early-maturity hybrids (R = 0.41 to 0.48) while kernels ear−1 had the largest direct effect (R = 0.58 versus 0.32 to 0.36) for the midand late-maturity hybrids. Rows ear−1 had an indirect effects on yield (R = 0.30 to 0.33) for all hybrids, while kernels row−1 had indirect effect (R = 0.46) on yield for mid- and latematurity hybrids. Yield component compensation was different for early-maturity hybrid than the mid- and late-maturity hybrids, likely due to the proportion of southern dent and northern flint germplasm present in these hybrids

Association Between Hospital Performance on Patient Safety and 30‐Day Mortality and Unplanned Readmission for Medicare Fee‐for‐Service Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background: Little is known regarding the relationship between hospital performance on adverse event rates and hospital performance on 30‐day mortality and unplanned readmission rates for Medicare fee‐for‐service patients hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods and Results: Using 2009–2013 medical record‐abstracted patient safety data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Medicare Patient Safety Monitoring System and hospital mortality and readmission data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, we fitted a mixed‐effects model, adjusting for hospital characteristics, to evaluate whether hospital performance on patient safety, as measured by the hospital‐specific risk‐standardized occurrence rate of 21 common adverse event measures for which patients were at risk, is associated with hospital‐specific 30‐day all‐cause risk‐standardized mortality and unplanned readmission rates for Medicare patients with AMI. The unit of analysis was at the hospital level. The final sample included 793 acute care hospitals that treated 30 or more Medicare patients hospitalized for AMI and had 40 or more adverse events for which patients were at risk. The occurrence rate of adverse events for which patients were at risk was 3.8%. A 1% point change in the risk‐standardized occurrence rate of adverse events was associated with average changes in the same direction of 4.86% points (95% CI, 0.79–8.94) and 3.44% points (95% CI, 0.19–6.68) for the risk‐standardized mortality and unplanned readmission rates, respectively. Conclusions: For Medicare fee‐for‐service patients discharged with AMI, hospitals with poorer patient safety performance were also more likely to have poorer performance on 30‐day all‐cause mortality and on unplanned readmissions

Archean to Recent aeolian sand systems and their preserved successions: current understanding and future prospects

The sedimentary record of aeolian sand systems extends from the Archean to the Quaternary, yet current understanding of aeolian sedimentary processes and product remains limited. Most preserved aeolian successions represent inland sand-sea or dunefield (erg) deposits, whereas coastal systems are primarily known from the Cenozoic. The complexity of aeolian sedimentary processes and facies variability are under-represented and excessively simplified in current facies models, which are not sufficiently refined to reliably account for the complexity inherent in bedform morphology and migratory behaviour, and therefore cannot be used to consistently account for and predict the nature of the preserved sedimentary record in terms of formative processes. Archean and Neoproterozoic aeolian successions remain poorly constrained. Palaeozoic ergs developed and accumulated in relation to the palaeogeographical location of land masses and desert belts. During the Triassic, widespread desert conditions prevailed across much of Europe. During the Jurassic, extensive ergs developed in North America and gave rise to anomalously thick aeolian successions. Cretaceous aeolian successions are widespread in South America, Africa, Asia, and locally in Europe (Spain) and the USA. Several Eocene to Pliocene successions represent the direct precursors to the present-day systems. Quaternary systems include major sand seas (ergs) in low-lattitude and mid-latitude arid regions, Pleistocene carbonate and Holocene–Modern siliciclastic coastal systems. The sedimentary record of most modern aeolian systems remains largely unknown. The majority of palaeoenvironmental reconstructions of aeolian systems envisage transverse dunes, whereas successions representing linear and star dunes remain under-recognized. Research questions that remain to be answered include: (i) what factors control the preservation potential of different types of aeolian bedforms and what are the characteristics of the deposits of different bedform types that can be used for effective reconstruction of original bedform morphology; (ii) what specific set of controlling conditions allow for sustained bedform climb versus episodic sequence accumulation and preservation; (iii) can sophisticated four-dimensional models be developed for complex patterns of spatial and temporal transition between different mechanisms of accumulation and preservation; and (iv) is it reasonable to assume that the deposits of preserved aeolian successions necessarily represent an unbiased record of the conditions that prevailed during episodes of Earth history when large-scale aeolian systems were active, or has the evidence to support the existence of other major desert basins been lost for many periods throughout Earth history

Fish-scale bio-inspired multifunctional ZnO nanostructures

Scales provide optical disguise, low water drag and mechanical protection to fish, enabling them to survive catastrophic environmental disasters, predators and microorganisms. The unique structures and stacking sequences of fish scales inspired the fabrication of artificial nanostructures with salient optical, interfacial and mechanical properties. Herein, we describe fish-scale bio-inspired multifunctional ZnO nanostructures that have similar morphology and structure to the cycloid scales of the Asian Arowana. These nanostructured coatings feature tunable light refraction and reflection, modulated surface wettability and damage-tolerant mechanical properties. The salient properties of these multifunctional nanostructures are promising for applications in: - (i) optical coatings, sensing or lens arrays for use in reflective displays, packing, advertising and solar energy harvesting; - (ii) self-cleaning surfaces, including anti-smudge, anti-fouling and anti-fogging, and self-sterilizing surfaces, and; - (iii) mechanical/chemical barrier coatings. This study provides a low-cost and large-scale production method for the facile fabrication of these bio-inspired nanostructures and provides new insights for the development of novel functional materials for use in 'smart' structures and applications