Cover crops, tillage, and the suppression of soil borne diseases in soybean

Cover crops have historically been shown to be useful in the management of pathogens of high value crops, such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts. However, the properties of these cover crops and the type of suppressive soil that they induce, can be useful in the production of agronomic crops as well. Disease suppressive soils either do not allow the pathogen to become established, or they reduce the level of disease resulting from the presence of the pathogen, in comparison to the level that would occur in a conducive soil. In this study, five cover crop treatments (cereal rye, vetch, mustard, rye+vetch, and fallow) were evaluated at the University of Illinois South Farms in both 2014 and 2015 for decreasing the incidence and severity of soybean diseases, changing soil microbial community structures, and increasing soybean yield. Two tillage treatments (chisel plow and ridge till) were also evaluated to determine whether these treatments had any effect on the microbial populations. Data of root disease severity and soybean yield were taken over the two seasons to determine the effectiveness of the different treatments. Bulk and rhizospheric soil samples were taken to compare the microbial community structures of the different treatments in relation to disease development. Poor establishment of cover crops in the field plots led to the use of greenhouse bioassays to evaluate the effects of the cover crop treatments

Do Biogeographical Patterns in Morphological Traits of Insect Host and Parasitoid Wasp Communities Contribute to Ecological Release of a Range-Expanding Host via Trait Mismatching?

Climate change is causing species to expand their ranges poleward into new locations. As species move, they will lose interactions with species that fail to follow and gain new interactions with species with which they are not coevolved or coadapted. As a result, one common outcome for range expansions is that species outbreak in their expanded ranges in response to altered antagonistic interactions (“ecological release”). Insect hosts have a suite of morphological adaptations to evade parasitoid enemies, and enemies have adaptations to effectively attack hosts. Here, we study a recent range expansion of an insect host. Neuroterus saltatorius (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) is a gall-forming wasp specializing on oaks that has undergone a recent range expansion from Washington state to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. In its expanded range, it experiences ecological release, causing foliar damage and impacting oak ecosystems. It interacts with an array of insect host competitors on its host plant Quercus garryana (other cynipids wasps) that are attacked by a suite of enemies (parasitoid wasps). The aim of this study is to measure morphological traits of cynipid hosts and parasitoids to examine if community traits of interacting hosts and enemies vary along a latitudinal gradient, and in the native and expanded range of N. saltatorius. Specifically, we ask if trait diversity of insect host-parasitoid communities provides biological resistance or facilitates ecological release of N. saltatorius in the native and expanded ranges. We predict that if trait mismatching contributes to ecological release, the degree of trait matching between the range-expanding host and other cynipid hosts and parasitoids will be lower in the expanded range, where it interacts with non-coadapted community members. Understanding factors that lead to ecological release is crucial to predicting outcomes of range expansions and to mitigate negative impacts of range-expanding specieshttps://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2021/1061/thumbnail.jp

Artificial Intelligence/Operations Research Workshop 2 Report Out

This workshop Report Out focuses on the foundational elements of trustworthy AI and OR technology, and how to ensure all AI and OR systems implement these elements in their system designs. Four sessions on various topics within Trustworthy AI were held, these being Fairness, Explainable AI/Causality, Robustness/Privacy, and Human Alignment and Human-Computer Interaction. Following discussions of each of these topics, workshop participants also brainstormed challenge problems which require the collaboration of AI and OR researchers and will result in the integration of basic techniques from both fields to eventually benefit societal needs

Parents\u27 Reports of Children\u27s Physical and Sedentary Behavior Engagement among Parents in Weight Management

Background: The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between demographics, family exercise participation, family discouragement of exercise, and the children\u27s physical and sedentary behaviors to identify specific areas of physical activity intervention for children with parents engaged in medical weight management (MWM). Methods: Parents (n = 294) of children aged 2-18 years old were recruited from two university MWM programs to complete a one-time survey. Bivariate analyses tested associations. Results: Parents reported that sedentary activity was higher for children who identified as racial minorities (t(141) = -2.05, p \u3c 0.05). Mobile phone and tablet use was higher for adolescents compared to school age and young children (H(2) = 10.96, p \u3c 01) Exercise game use was higher for racial minority children compared to white children (U = 9440.5, z = 2.47, p ≤ 0.03). Male children (t(284) = 1.83, p \u3c 0.07), children perceived to have a healthy weight status (t(120) = 4.68, p \u3c 0.00), and younger children (t(289) = 1.79, p \u3c 0.08) all engaged in more strenuous physical activity. Family exercise participation (t(162) = -2.93, p \u3c 0.01) and family discouragement of exercise (U = 7813.50, z = -2.06, p ≤ 0.04) were significantly higher for children in racial minority families. Conclusions: Future work should determine methods to engage children and their parents participating in MWM in physical activities together to ensure that the changes the parents are making with MWM are sustainable

Sources and input mechanisms of hafnium and neodymium in surface waters of the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean

Radiogenic isotopes of hafnium (Hf) and neodymium (Nd) are powerful tracers for water mass transport and trace metal cycling in the present and past oceans. However, due to the scarcity of available data the processes governing their distribution are not well understood. Here we present the first combined dissolved Hf and Nd isotope and concentration data from surface waters of the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. The samples were collected along the Zero Meridian, in the Weddell Sea and in the Drake Passage during RV Polarstern expeditions ANTXXIV/3 and ANTXXIII/3 in the frame of the International Polar Year (IPY) and the GEOTRACES program. The general distribution of Hf and Nd concentrations in the region is similar. However, at the northernmost station located 200 km southwest of Cape Town a pronounced increase of the Nd concentration is observed, whereas the Hf concentration is minimal, suggesting much less Hf than Nd is released by the weathering of the South African Archean cratonic rocks. From the southern part of the Subtropical Front (STF) to the Polar Front (PF) Hf and Nd show the lowest concentrations (<0.12 pmol/kg and 10 pmol/kg, respectively), most probably due to the low terrigenous flux in this area and efficient scavenging of Hf and Nd by biogenic opal. In the vicinity of landmasses the dissolved Hf and Nd isotope compositions are clearly labeled by terrigenous inputs. Near South Africa Nd isotope values as low as ε[subscript Nd] = −18.9 indicate unradiogenic inputs supplied via the Agulhas Current. Further south the isotopic data show significant increases to ε[subscript Hf] = 6.1 and ε[subscript Nd] = −4.0 documenting exchange of seawater Nd and Hf with the Antarctic Peninsula. In the open Southern Ocean the Nd isotope compositions are relatively homogeneous (ε[subscript Nd] ∼ −8 to −8.5) towards the STF, within the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, in the Weddell Gyre, and the Drake Passage. The Hf isotope compositions in the entire study area only show a small range between ε[subscript Hf] = + 6.1 and +2.8 support Hf to be more readily released from young mafic rocks compared to old continental ones. The Nd isotope composition ranges from ε[subscript Nd] = −18.9 to −4.0 showing Nd isotopes to be a sensitive tracer for the provenance of weathering inputs into surface waters of the Southern Ocean.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The article is sponsored by the Geochemical Society and the Meteoritical Society and published by Elsevier. It can be found at: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/geochimica-et-cosmochimica-acta

Comorbid anxiety-like behavior in a rat model of colitis is mediated by an upregulation of corticolimbic fatty acid amide hydrolase

Peripheral inflammatory conditions, including those localized to the gastrointestinal tract, are highly comorbid with psychiatric disorders such as anxiety and depression. These behavioral symptoms are poorly managed by conventional treatments for inflammatory diseases and contribute to quality of life impairments. Peripheral inflammation is associated with sustained elevations in circulating glucocorticoid hormones, which can modulate central processes, including those involved in the regulation of emotional behavior. The endocannabinoid (eCB) system is exquisitely sensitive to these hormonal changes and is a significant regulator of emotional behavior. The impact of peripheral inflammation on central eCB function, and whether this is related to the development of these behavioral comorbidities remains to be determined. To examine this, we employed the trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced model of colonic inflammation (colitis) in adult, male, Sprague Dawley rats to produce sustained peripheral inflammation. Colitis produced increases in behavioral measures of anxiety and elevations in circulating corticosterone. These alterations were accompanied by elevated hydrolytic activity of the enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), which hydrolyzes the eCB anandamide (AEA), throughout multiple corticolimbic brain regions. This elevation of FAAH activity was associated with broad reductions in the content of AEA, whose decline was driven by central corticotropin releasing factor type 1 receptor signaling. Colitis-induced anxiety was reversed following acute central inhibition of FAAH, suggesting that the reductions in AEA produced by colitis contributed to the generation of anxiety. These data provide a novel perspective for the pharmacological management of psychiatric comorbidities of chronic inflammatory conditions through modulation of eCB signaling

Stroke Induces Prolonged Changes in Lipid Metabolism, the Liver and Body Composition in Mice

Acknowledgements We would like to thank the Biological Services Facility at the University of Manchester for expert animal husbandry and Karen Davies who helped with the MRI. The Histology Facility equipment that was used in this study was purchased by the University of Manchester Strategic Fund. Special thanks goes to Peter Walker for their help with the histology. Funding information This work was supported by the Kohn Foundation, an Edward Bonham Carter Doctoral Scholarship, an EPSRC/MRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Regenerative Medicine studentship grant (EP/L014904/1), and the Medical Research Council (MR/K501311/1).Peer reviewedPublisher PD