Missouri grain sorghum performance trials, 1969

"MP 138, February, 1970""This bulletin reports on Department of Agronomy research project 351, Sorghum Testing. The statistics pertaining to sorghum production were furnished by R.S. Overton of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Columbia, Missouri. Climatological data were furnished by W.L. Decker, Professor and Chairman, Department of Atmospheric Science, University of Missouri. The following individuals assisted in making the 1969 Grain Sorghum Trials possible: Larkin Langford, Louis Meinke, Earl Page, Dr. Norman Justus, Norman Brown, and N.G. Weir."--Page 2."Locations. Grain sorghum performance trials were conducted at four locations in 1969, Fig. 1. They were located at the North Missouri Center near Spickard in Grundy County, on the Earl Page farm near Palmyra in Marion County, on the N. G. Weir farm near Columbia in Boone County, and at the Southwest Center near Mt. Vernon in Lawrence County. A fifth location was planted at the Delta Center near Portageville in Pemiscot County but was not harvested due to hail and bird damage. The test site at the Southwest Center was located on a Gerald soil. This soil is characterized by very slow permeability to water and air, nearly level topography, moderate water storage capacity, a claypan subsoil, medium inherent fertility, and a tendency to be slighty doughty during summer months. These characteristics coupled with a May 1 to September 15 rainfall deficit of 6 to 8 inches resulted in greatly reduced yields (Table 9). The variation, due to soil, at this site was accentuated by the drought. Thus relatively large difference in yield among entries were required for statistical significance. State production. In 1968, 216,000 acres of grain sorghum were harvested in Missouri with an average yield of 66 bushels per acre. The 1969 estimate of harvested grain sorghum is 214,000 acres and 91. 1 percent of the 1960-1969 average. The state-wide 1969 estimate of 64 bushels per acre is 9. 7 bushels more than the 10-year average and six bushels less than the 1969 estimated corn yield. These data are summarized in Table 1. Sorghum vs corn. Comparisons between the yield of corn and grain sorghum at three of the testing sites can be made since these tests were located either in the same field or close proximity (Table 2). These comparisons are only suggestive; planting and cultural factors were not the same for corn and sorghum. Interpretation of differences in yield. Small yield differences should not be overemphasized since there was considerable inherent variation in the soil at each test site. Special planting arrangements and use of the statistical procedure called analysis of variance, from which the L. S. D. (least significant difference) value is computed, help make valid yield comparisons. The L. S. D. value, found at the bottom of the tables, simply states how much one hybrid must differ from another in yield to be reasonably confident of superior performance."--Introduction.R.D. Horrocks, F.D. Cloninge

Hybrid corn, 1969

Cover title."The bulletin reports on Department of Agronomy Research Project 3100"--P. [2].Includes bibliographical references

Combinatorial Games with a Pass: A dynamical systems approach

By treating combinatorial games as dynamical systems, we are able to address a longstanding open question in combinatorial game theory, namely, how the introduction of a "pass" move into a game affects its behavior. We consider two well known combinatorial games, 3-pile Nim and 3-row Chomp. In the case of Nim, we observe that the introduction of the pass dramatically alters the game's underlying structure, rendering it considerably more complex, while for Chomp, the pass move is found to have relatively minimal impact. We show how these results can be understood by recasting these games as dynamical systems describable by dynamical recursion relations. From these recursion relations we are able to identify underlying structural connections between these "games with passes" and a recently introduced class of "generic (perturbed) games." This connection, together with a (non-rigorous) numerical stability analysis, allows one to understand and predict the effect of a pass on a game.Comment: 39 pages, 13 figures, published versio

Application of monoclonal antibodies in quantifying fungal growth dynamics during aerobic spoilage of silage

Proliferation of filamentous fungi following ingress of oxygen to silage is an important cause of dry matter losses, resulting in significant waste. In addition, the production of mycotoxins by some filamentous fungi pose a risk to animal health through mycotoxicosis. Quantitative assessment of fungal growth in silage, through measurement of ergosterol content, colony forming units or temperature increase are limiting in representing fungal growth dynamics during aerobic spoilage due to being deficient in either representing fungal biomass or being able to identify specific genera. Here, we conducted a controlled environment aerobic exposure experiment to test the efficacy of a monoclonal antibody-based enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect the proliferation of fungal biomass in six silage samples. We compared this to temperature which has been traditionally deployed in such experiments and on-farm to detect aerobic deterioration. In addition, we quantified ergosterol, a second marker of fungal biomass. At 8 d post aerobic exposure, the ergosterol and ELISA methods indicated an increase in fungal biomass in one of the samples with a temperature increase observed after 16 d. A comparison of the methods with Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed a positive association between temperature and ergosterol and both markers of fungal biomass. This work indicates that the technology has potential to be used as an indicator of microbial degradation in preserved forage. Consequently, if developed as an on farm technique this could inform forage management decisions made by farmers, with the goal of decreasing dry matter losses, improving resource and nutrient efficiency and reducing risks to animal health

Insulin Glargine in the Intensive Care Unit: A Model-Based Clinical Trial Design

Online 4 Oct 2012Introduction: Current succesful AGC (Accurate Glycemic Control) protocols require extra clinical effort and are impractical in less acute wards where patients are still susceptible to stress-induced hyperglycemia. Long-acting insulin Glargine has the potential to be used in a low effort controller. However, potential variability in efficacy and length of action, prevent direct in-hospital use in an AGC framework for less acute wards. Method: Clinically validated virtual trials based on data from stable ICU patients from the SPRINT cohort who would be transferred to such an approach are used to develop a 24-hour AGC protocol robust to different Glargine potencies (1.0x, 1.5x and 2.0x regular insulin) and initial dose sizes (dose = total insulin over prior 12, 18 and 24 hours). Glycemic control in this period is provided only by varying nutritional inputs. Performance is assessed as %BG in the 4.0-8.0mmol/L band and safety by %BG<4.0mmol/L. Results: The final protocol consisted of Glargine bolus size equal to insulin over the previous 18 hours. Compared to SPRINT there was a 6.9% - 9.5% absolute decrease in mild hypoglycemia (%BG<4.0mmol/L) and up to a 6.2% increase in %BG between 4.0 and 8.0mmol/L. When the efficacy is known (1.5x assumed) there were reductions of: 27% BG measurements, 59% insulin boluses, 67% nutrition changes, and 6.3% absolute in mild hypoglycemia. Conclusion: A robust 24-48 clinical trial has been designed to safely investigate the efficacy and kinetics of Glargine as a first step towards developing a Glargine-based protocol for less acute wards. Ensuring robustness to variability in Glargine efficacy significantly affects the performance and safety that can be obtained

Impact of alternative controller strategies on exhaust emissions from an integrated diesel: continuously variable transmission powertrain

Abstract: The use of an integrated powertrain including a continuously variable transmission (CVT) offers great scope for improvements in fuel consumption and emissions, although this must be achieved without adversely affecting vehicle drivability. These conflicting aims can best be resolved by the use of novel control strategies designed from the outset with these considerations in mind. Two alternative approaches to the task are presented here. These made use of artificial intelligence and more traditional and intuitive methods to allow the maximum flexibility in operation. Both strategies incorporated a novel optimization routine described in a companion paper to locate the best operating point for the engine. The two strategies were implemented for an integrated diesel CVT powertrain and compared with an existing controller and the equivalent manual transmission powertrain. Chassis dynamometer results show the newly designed controller strategies to have significant impact on vehicle exhaust emissions, while the structure of the software allows the controller action to be highly tuneable and flexible in order to balance the vehicle drivability requirements with economy and emissions targets

Using contractual incentives in district nursing in the English NHS: results from a qualitative study

© 2018 The author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Since 2008, health policy in England has been focusing increasingly on improving quality in healthcare services. To ensure quality improvements in community nursing, providers are required to meet several quality targets, including an incentive scheme known as Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN). This paper reports on a study of how financial incentives are used in district nursing, an area of care which is particularly difficult to measure and monitor

Cataract, abnormal electroretinogram and visual evoked potentials in a child with SMA-LED2 - extending the phenotype.

This case report describes a girl who presented antenatal arthrogryposis and postnatal hypotonia, generalized and respiratory weakness, joint deformities particularly affecting the lower limbs and poor swallow. By 5 months, cataracts, abnormal electroretinograms, visual evoked potentials and global developmental impairments were recognized. No causative variants were identified on targeted gene panels. After her unexpected death at 11 months, gene-agnostic trio whole exome sequencing revealed a likely pathogenic de novo BICD2 missense variant, NM_001003800.1, c.593T>C, p.(Leu198Pro), confirming the diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy lower extremity predominant type 2 (SMA-LED2). We propose that cataracts and abnormal electroretinograms are novel features of SMA-LED2

The Mineral Composition of Wild Type and Cultivated Varieties of Pasture Species

Mineral deficiencies in livestock are often prevented by using prophylactic supplementation, which is imprecise and inefficient. Instead, the trend for increased species diversity in swards is an opportunity to improve mineral concentrations in the basal diet. Currently there are limited data on the mineral concentrations of different species and botanical groups, particularly for I and Se, which are among the most deficient minerals in livestock diets. We grew 21 pasture species, including some cultivar/wild type comparisons, of grasses, legumes and forbs, as single species stands in a pot study in a standard growth medium. Herbage concentrations of Co, Cu, I, Mn, Se, Zn, S, Mo and Fe showed no consistent differences between the wild and cultivated types. There were significant differences between botanical groups for many minerals tested. Forbs were highest in I and Se, grasses in Mn, and legumes in Cu, Co, Zn and Fe. Comparing species concentrations to recommended livestock intakes, the forbs Achillea millefolium, Cichorium intybus and Plantago lanceolate, and the legumes Medicago lupulina, Trifolium hybridum, and Lotus corniculatus, appear good sources of Co, Cu, I, Se and Zn. Further work is required to ensure these results are consistent in multispecies mixtures, in different soil types, and in field trials