Soil Water Balance Model for Grain Sorghum under Wide Spaced Furrow Irrigation

Agronom

Assessing the Knowledge of Teachers in Objective Test Construction Procedure in the Teacher Education Programs: A Literature Review

This literature review aims to assess the knowledge of teachers in constructing objective tests in the teacher education programs where assessment of prospective teachers is seen as the most practical technique to improve and assess teacher candidates' abilities to make judgments that will help their students learn when presented with diverse scenarios in the classroom. In addition, in order to connect earlier studies on objective test construction, it is essential to highlight literature on Multiple-Choice test and the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy which is seen as a guide in constructing variety of valid and reliable objective tests. Doing so will enable to make connections on the procedure and rules of constructing objective tests for prospective teachers. Keywords: objective test construction procedure, multiple-choice, revised bloom’s taxonomy, assessment DOI: 10.7176/JEP/14-24-06 Publication date:August 31st 202

Quantifying proximity, confinement, and interventions in disease outbreaks: a decision support framework for air-transported pathogens

Includes bibliographical references (pages H-I).The inability to communicate how infectious diseases are transmitted in human environments has triggered avoidance of interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic. We define a metric, Effective ReBreathed Volume (ERBV), that encapsulates how infectious pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, transport in air. ERBV separates environmental transport from other factors in the chain of infection, allowing quantitative comparisons among situations. Particle size affects transport, removal onto surfaces, and elimination by mitigation measures, so ERBV is presented for a range of exhaled particle diameters: 1, 10, and 100 μm. Pathogen transport depends on both proximity and confinement. If interpersonal distancing of 2 m is maintained, then confinement, not proximity, dominates rebreathing after 10–15 min in enclosed spaces for all but 100 μm particles. We analyze strategies to reduce this confinement effect. Ventilation and filtration reduce person-to-person transport of 1 μm particles (ERBV1) by 13–85% in residential and office situations. Deposition to surfaces competes with intentional removal for 10 and 100 μm particles, so the same interventions reduce ERBV10 by only 3–50%, and ERBV100 is unaffected. Prior knowledge of size-dependent ERBV would help identify transmission modes and effective interventions. This framework supports mitigation decisions in emerging situations, even before other infectious parameters are known

Organic fertilizer source and application method impact ammonia volatilization

Ammonia (NH3) volatilization from fertilizer applications reduces efficiency and poses environmental hazards. This study used semi-open static chambers to measure NH3 volatilization from organic fertilizers (feather meal, blood meal, fish emulsion, cyano-fertilizer) to evaluate the impacts of fertilizer source, application method, and rate on NH3 volatilization. In 2014, two application rates (28 and 56 kg N ha−1) were applied to lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Solid fertilizers (feather meal, blood meal) were preplant applied in a subsurface band, whereas liquid fertilizers (fish emulsion, cyano-fertilizer) were applied weekly through drip irrigation beginning two weeks after transplanting. In 2015, a single application rate (28 kg N ha−1) was applied to cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Solid fertilizers were applied in either subsurface or surface bands. There was a significant difference in NH3 volatilization among fertilizers, but there was little difference between application rates. Liquid fertilizers had lower NH3 emissions than solid fertilizers due to their timing and placement. In 2014, blood meal at 56 kg N ha−1 and feather meal at both rates had the highest NH3 fluxes. In 2015, surface-banded blood and feather meal had the highest NH3 fluxes. Fertilizer decisions for organic systems should consider NH3 emission losses and practices for their reduction

The SUN Protein Mps3 Is Required for Spindle Pole Body Insertion into the Nuclear Membrane and Nuclear Envelope Homeostasis

The budding yeast spindle pole body (SPB) is anchored in the nuclear envelope so that it can simultaneously nucleate both nuclear and cytoplasmic microtubules. During SPB duplication, the newly formed SPB is inserted into the nuclear membrane. The mechanism of SPB insertion is poorly understood but likely involves the action of integral membrane proteins to mediate changes in the nuclear envelope itself, such as fusion of the inner and outer nuclear membranes. Analysis of the functional domains of the budding yeast SUN protein and SPB component Mps3 revealed that most regions are not essential for growth or SPB duplication under wild-type conditions. However, a novel dominant allele in the P-loop region, MPS3-G186K, displays defects in multiple steps in SPB duplication, including SPB insertion, indicating a previously unknown role for Mps3 in this step of SPB assembly. Characterization of the MPS3-G186K mutant by electron microscopy revealed severe over-proliferation of the inner nuclear membrane, which could be rescued by altering the characteristics of the nuclear envelope using both chemical and genetic methods. Lipid profiling revealed that cells lacking MPS3 contain abnormal amounts of certain types of polar and neutral lipids, and deletion or mutation of MPS3 can suppress growth defects associated with inhibition of sterol biosynthesis, suggesting that Mps3 directly affects lipid homeostasis. Therefore, we propose that Mps3 facilitates insertion of SPBs in the nuclear membrane by modulating nuclear envelope composition

Exploiting members of the BAHD acyltransferase family to synthesize multiple hydroxycinnamate and benzoate conjugates in yeast

BACKGROUND: BAHD acyltransferases, named after the first four biochemically characterized enzymes of the group, are plant-specific enzymes that catalyze the transfer of coenzyme A-activated donors onto various acceptor molecules. They are responsible for the synthesis in plants of a myriad of secondary metabolites, some of which are beneficial for humans either as therapeutics or as specialty chemicals such as flavors and fragrances. The production of pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and commodity chemicals using engineered microbes is an alternative, green route to energy-intensive chemical syntheses that consume petroleum-based precursors. However, identification of appropriate enzymes and validation of their functional expression in heterologous hosts is a prerequisite for the design and implementation of metabolic pathways in microbes for the synthesis of such target chemicals. RESULTS: For the synthesis of valuable metabolites in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we selected BAHD acyltransferases based on their preferred donor and acceptor substrates. In particular, BAHDs that use hydroxycinnamoyl-CoAs and/or benzoyl-CoA as donors were targeted because a large number of molecules beneficial to humans belong to this family of hydroxycinnamate and benzoate conjugates. The selected BAHD coding sequences were synthesized and cloned individually on a vector containing the Arabidopsis gene At4CL5, which encodes a promiscuous 4-coumarate:CoA ligase active on hydroxycinnamates and benzoates. The various S. cerevisiae strains obtained for co-expression of At4CL5 with the different BAHDs effectively produced a wide array of valuable hydroxycinnamate and benzoate conjugates upon addition of adequate combinations of donors and acceptor molecules. In particular, we report here for the first time the production in yeast of rosmarinic acid and its derivatives, quinate hydroxycinnamate esters such as chlorogenic acid, and glycerol hydroxycinnamate esters. Similarly, we achieved for the first time the microbial production of polyamine hydroxycinnamate amides; monolignol, malate and fatty alcohol hydroxycinnamate esters; tropane alkaloids; and benzoate/caffeate alcohol esters. In some instances, the additional expression of Flavobacterium johnsoniae tyrosine ammonia-lyase (FjTAL) allowed the synthesis of p-coumarate conjugates and eliminated the need to supplement the culture media with 4-hydroxycinnamate. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate in this study the effectiveness of expressing members of the plant BAHD acyltransferase family in yeast for the synthesis of numerous valuable hydroxycinnamate and benzoate conjugates

Evapotranspiration in a prairie ecosystem: effects of grazing by cattle

Grazing by ungulates is common in grasslands and may influence evapotranspiration (ET). The Bowen ratio energy balance method was used to measure ET from grazed (GR) and ungrazed (UGR) tallgrass prairie in northeastern Kansas, USA. Yearling steers were stocked on the GR site from day of year (DOY) 128 to 202, 1999, and ET data were collected from DOY 141 to 295. Grazing reduced ET by 28% between DOY 179 and 207; mean ETs were 3.6 mm d[superscript -1] (GR) and 5.0 mm d[superscript -1] (UGR). During that period, leaf area index (LAI) averaged 78% lower on the GR site and below-normal precipitation kept soil dry near the surface; hence transpiration and evaporation of water from soil decreased. Lower ET during that period conserved soil water in the 0-0.30 m profile on the GR site. Prior to that (e.g., DOY 152 to 179), ET was similar between treatments despite an average 70% lower LAI on the GR compared with the UGR site. Above-normal precipitation during that period probably maintained high evaporation of water from soil, thereby compensating for reductions in transpiration (via LAI removal) on the GR site. Cumulative ETs during the 155-day study were estimated at 526 and 494 mm on the UGR and GR sites, respectively. Thus, grazing reduced seasonal ET by 6.1%. Late in the study, ET was higher on the GR site, despite a lower LAI compared with the UGR site. Younger leaves in regrowth after grazing resulted in delayed senescence, causing higher ET on the GR site

Measurement and modeling of soil CO[subscript]2 flux in a temperate grassland under mowed and burned regimes

Soil-surface CO2 flux (R[subscript]s), which is a large component of the carbon (C) budgets in grasslands, usually is measured infrequently using static or dynamic chambers. Therefore, to quantify annual C budgets, estimates of Rs are required during days when no direct measurements of R[subscript]s are available. Other researchers have developed empirical models based on soil temperature, soil volumetric water content ([theta]v), and leaf area index (LAI) that have provided reasonable estimates of Rs during the growing season in ungrazed tallgrass prairie. However, the effects of mowing and grazing, which are common in grasslands, on predictions of Rs from those models are uncertain. Predictions of R[subscript]s during dormancy (post-senescence to spring fire) also are uncertain. Data from a year-long mowing study, which simulated grazing, were used to refit these models. Output from the models then was compared to independent data collected from nearby prairie sites. Results showed that LAI must be included to accurately estimate R[subscript]s in mowed prairie ecosystems. When LAI was not included in the model, predicted daily R[subscript]s following mowing was nearly four times greater than measured R[subscript]s, and cumulative, annual R[subscript]s was overestimated by 95-102%. When LAI was included in the model, predictions of R[subscript]s were comparable to measured R[subscript]s in the mowing study. Annual estimates of cumulative Rs ranged from 3.93 to 4.92 kg CO[subscript]2 m[superscript minus]2. When comparing the model with independent chamber data from nearby sites, cumulative R[subscript]s during those studies was within [plus minus]9% of cumulative estimates calculated from measured R[subscript]s. The model overestimated daily R[subscript]s during a dry period, suggesting a nonlinear response of R[subscript]s to soil water content; matric potential may be more appropriate than [theta]v for modeling R[subscript]s. Data suggest that R[subscript]s, in addition to being dependent on soil temperature and soil water content, is dependent on the photosynthetic capacity of the canopy and the subsequent translocation of C belowground