Are nonwoven synthetic pollination bags a better choice for sorghum breeding?

This work investigated the effects of seven pollination bag treatments on three varieties of sorghum for: grain loss to birds; total weight of five panicles (g); total grain weight of five panicles (g); average grain weight per panicle (g); germination per cent; and occurrence of grain mold during 2016. Varieties were: 1167048 hybrid (brown seeded); BR007B (red seeded); and P9401 (white seeded). The bag treatments were: 1. No bagging; 2. Kraft paper; 3. Kraft paper + plastic bag screen; 4 Used duraweb® SG1; 5. Used duraweb® SG2; 6. New duraweb® SG1; 7. New duraweld® SG2. High bird pressure resulted in 100% seed loss on uncovered panicles and 75% under Kraft paper pollination bags. Birds preferred white seeded P9401, which led to no seed recovery under Kraft paper bags. There was virtually no bird damage with all other pollination bags. For panicle and grain yields the varieties performed in the order 1167048>BR007B>P9401. Unprotected panicles and paper bag treatments had the lowest yields. Panicles covered with the new synthetic bags exhibited 195 to 652% higher yields compared to Kraft paper bags. Varieties x bag type interactions were not important as they contributed 4 to 6% to the total sum of squares for yield traits. Germination test under normal and stress conditions showed no significant adverse effect of bag treatments on seed health. Reused bags performed as well as new bags for all of these traits. Varieties differed significantly for the occurrence of five grain mold pathogens, with highest occurrence of Alternaria, up to 40%, on 1167048 hybrid. Of the five pathogens, bag types differed significantly for Phoma with the highest occurrence of 9% on re-used duraweb®SG2 bags. Thus bags require disinfecting and cleaning before re-use. It is concluded that nonwoven synthetic bags are a better choice than the Kraft paper pollination bags for increasing the grain yield and virtually eliminating the bird damage in sorghum

Termite resistance of DMDHEU-treated wood.

Four field trials were conducted with wood modified with dimethyloldihydroxy-ethyleneurea (DMDHEU) in contact with subterranean termites. Trials 1 to 3 were conducted with Coptotermes acinaciformis (Froggatt); 1 and 2 in south-east Queensland, and 3 in northern Queensland, Australia. Trial 4 was conducted in northern Queensland with Mastotermes darwiniensis (Froggatt). Four timber species (Scots pine, beech, Slash pine and Spotted gum) and two levels (1.3 M and 2.3 M) of DMDHEU were used. The tests were validated. DMDHEU successfully prevented damage by C. acinaciformis in south-east Queensland, but not in northern Queensland. It also did not protect the wood against M. darwiniensis. Except for beech in trial 4, DMDHEU led to reduced mass losses caused by termite attack compared to the unmodified feeder stakes. Slash pine (in trials 1 and 3) and Spotted gum (in trial 1) presented low mass losses. Modification of Scots pine was more effective against termite damage than the modification of beech

Produção de álcool etílico de colmos de sorgo sacarino em microdestilaria.

A producao de etanol a partir de acucares fermentesciveis de fontes renovaveis de energia, despontou como a mais viavel para substituir os combustiveis derivados de petroleo. As tecnologias para transformar carboidratos em etanol sao bem conhecidos desde longa data, sendo utilizadas como principais fontes de obtencao de acucares fermentesciveis a cana-de-acucar e a beterraba acucareira. Entretanto, nao ha nenhuma limitacao no uso do sorgo sacarino como materia-prima para producao de etanol. Com o aumento do interesse em um melhor uso desta nova fonte de biomassa energetica, informacoes adicionais devem ser obtidas para avaliar o real potencial dessa nova fonte renovavel de energia. Pelo fato de se adaptar as condicoes climaticas diversas, rapido crescimento, moderada exigencia de agua e elevado conteudo de carboidrato, o sorgo sacarino podera vir a se constituir em uma cultura de alto valor para as regioes tropicais e sub-tropicais. Nos experimentos a cultivar de sorgo sacarino BR-505, originaria da cultivar norte-americana Wray, foi plantada nos anos agricolas de 1984/85 e 1985/86, para avaliar o seu comportamento como materia-prima para producao de alcool etilico em microdestilaria. Amostras de colmos foram retiradas por algumas semanas, a partir do aparecimento das paniculas ate que os graos atingissem o estadio firme, que ocorreu 120 dias apos o plantio. Foram determinados nos colmos os teores de acucares redutores, acucares totais e sacarose. O teor em acucares redutores decresceu durante a maturacao do grao, provavelmente pelo fato de ser assimilado na forma de outros metabolicos. O teor em sacarose aumentou significativamente atingindo valores altos quando os graos estavam maduros, bem firmes. Deste modo, e possivel cultivar o sorgo sacarino com dupla finalidade: uso dos colmos para producao de etanol, e uso dos graos para racao animal e/ou consumo humano. Foram obtidos rendimentos de colmos e folhas de 40-50 t.ha no estadio de maturacao completa das paniculas, com uma producao adicional de graos de 2, 5-3, 5 t/ha. Os colmos e folhas foram processadas em uma microdestilaria com sistema de difusao, obtendo-se alta taxa de extracao de acucares fermentesciveis, que permitiu a obtencao de cerca de 50 litros de etanol por tonelada de materia-prima

Informationsbedürfnisse von Prostatakrebspatienten: Große individuelle Unterschiede nach Diagnose eines lokalisierten Prostatakarzinoms

Zusammenfassung: Fragestellung: Hinsichtlich einer Patienteneinbindung bei der Therapieentscheidung sind Kenntnisse über die Informationsbedürfnisse von Patienten nach einer Prostatakarzinomdiagnose für behandelnde Fachleute wichtig. Die vorliegende Studie untersuchte Art und Umfang dieser Informationsbedürfnisse. Material und Methoden: In 4 urologischen Kliniken wurden Patienten 3-24Monate nach Diagnose eines lokalisierten Prostatakarzinoms mit einem erprobten Fragebogen befragt. Die 330 angeschriebenen Patienten retournierten 179Fragebögen, von denen 128 (39%) statistisch ausgewertet werden konnten. Ergebnisse: Es besteht ein umfangreicher Informationsbedarf bei individuell ausgeprägten Unterschieden zwischen Patienten. Jede Einzelne von 92 aufgeführten Fragen wurde von mindesten 18% der Patienten als "unentbehrlich"eingestuft. Die Befragten stuften durchschnittlich 50 von 92Fragen als "unentbehrlich" ein. Während ein Patient nur 4Fragen als "unentbehrlich" einschätzte, waren dies für einen anderen alle 92Fragen. Schlussfolgerungen: Angesichts der großen, individuell verschiedenen Informationsbedürfnisse ist bei der Therapieberatung die Identifikation der patientenspezifischen Bedürfnisse von zentraler Bedeutun

Rationing of nursing care and its relationship to patient outcomes: the Swiss extension of the International Hospital Outcomes Study

Objectives To explore the association between implicit rationing of nursing care and selected patient outcomes in Swiss hospitals, adjusting for major organizational variables, including the quality of the nurse practice environment and the level of nurse staffing. Rationing was measured using the newly developed Basel Extent of Rationing of Nursing Care (BERNCA) instrument. Additional data were collected using an adapted version of the International Hospital Outcomes Study questionnaire. Design Multi-hospital cross-sectional surveys of patients and nurses. Setting Eight Swiss acute care hospitals Participants Nurses (1338) and patients (779) on 118 medical, surgical and gynecological units. Main outcome measures Patient satisfaction, nurse-reported medication errors, patient falls, nosocomial infections, pressure ulcers and critical incidents involving patients over the previous year. Results Generally, nurses reported rarely having omitted any of the 20 nursing tasks listed in the BERNCA over their last 7 working days. However, despite relatively low levels, implicit rationing of nursing care was a significant predictor of all six patient outcomes studied. Although the adequacy of nursing resources was a significant predictor for most of the patient outcomes in unadjusted models, it was not an independent predictor in the adjusted models. Low nursing resource adequacy ratings were a significant predictor for five of the six patient outcomes in the unadjusted models, but not in the adjusted ones. Conclusion As a system factor in acute general hospitals, implicit rationing of nursing care is an important new predictor of patient outcomes and merits further stud