Evaluation of physiological characteristics as selection criteria for drought tolerance in maize inbred lines and their hybrids

Improvement for maize drought tolerance has always been a significantobjective for breeders and plant physiologists. Nowadays, climate change sets new challenges to major crop adaptation at stressful environments. For such a purpose, the measurement of physiological traits related to maize response to drought might prove to be useful indices. The objective of the present study was to establish whether the physiological traits can be used as reliable physiological markers to evaluate the performance of parental genotypes and their hybrids under both dry and normally watered conditions, and under two densities an ultra-low density (ULD) and a normal dense stand (DS). Thirty (30) maize inbred lines and 30 single-crosses among them were evaluated across three diverse locations in Greece. The ULD was 0.74 plants/m-2, while the DS comprised 4.44 plants m-2 in the water deficitregime, and 6.67 and 7.84 plants m-2 in the normal water treatment for lines and hybrids, respectively. There was a very good association between the physiological characteristics studied and grain yield under the ultra-low density and especially for inbred lines. It was shown that the physiological characteristics can facilitate the selection of stress-adaptive genotypes under the low-density conditions and may permit modern maize to be grown at a wider range of environments. At the normal densities such a possibility was not evidenced since physiological parameters and yield did not correlate for either parents or hybrid

Combined Endovascular/Surgical Management of a Ruptured Para-Anastomotic Aneurysm of the Left Common Iliac Artery#

A 75-year old man presented with signs and symptoms of acute abdomen and a clinical picture of hypovolemic shock. An emergency CT scan revealed a ruptured para-anastomotic left common iliac artery aneurysm. The patient had undergone an elective abdominal aortic aneurysm repair operation and placement of an aortoiliac bifurcated graft 10 years before. Para-anastomotic aneurysms had developed in all 3 (aortic and the 2 iliac) anastomosis. As the patient was highrisk, a combined endovascular/surgical approach was undertaken. The patient was discharged 4 days later

Cuboid fracture: An extremely rare cause of limping in a 2‐year‐old child

Abstract The purpose of this case report is to raise awareness of an extremely rare cause of limping, in young children. Clinicians should have a high index of suspicion of a possible cuboid fracture when evaluating a young child who presents with limping

Sensitivity Calculations on New Particle Formation Parameterizations Using a Modal Aerosol Dynamics Model.

Abstract not availableJRC.(ISIS)-Institute For Systems, Informatics And Safet

Functional stability of goats' milk yoghurt supplemented with Pistacia atlantica resin extracts and Saccharomyces boulardii

The present study describes the development of a functional goats' milk yoghurt, using Pistacia atlantica resin extracts and Saccharomyces boulardii, in an attempt to combine the beneficial effects of the milk, extract and probiotic microorganisms. Results demonstrated that Pistacia extracts promoted the survival of lactic acid bacteria and NMR spectra additionally revealed that the functional fatty acids can be retained during the shelf life of yoghurts, alongside with the other bioactive compounds. The organoleptic assessment revealed that there were no significant differences in flavour, body, texture and appearance between the different yoghurts

Plant Yield Efficiency by Homeostasis as Selection Tool at Ultra-Low Density. A Comparative Study with Common Stability Measures in Maize

The study pertains to field experimentation testing seven maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids at four densities, across five locations under normal (NIR) and low-input (LIR) regimes. The main objective was to assess the prognostic value of plant yield efficiency by homeostasis (PYEH) for breeding purposes at ultra-low plant density to predict hybrid yield potential and stability. PYEH comprises plant yield efficiency (PYE) that reflects the ability of individual plants to exploit resources, and plant yield homeostasis (PYH) that indicates the crop’s ability to evade acquired plant-to-plant variability. The same hybrids were also evaluated for stability by commonly used parametric and non-parametric statistics based on data at low (LCD) and high crop densities (HCD). Hybrid stability focused on potential yield loss due to erratic optimum density (OD). Most methods produced conflicting results regarding hybrid ranking for yield and stability especially at LCD. In contrast, PYEH consistently highlighted high-yielding and stable hybrids, potentially able to reach the attainable crop yield (ACY) inter-seasonally irrespective of crop spacing. Low density is common practice under resource-deficit conditions, so crop adaptation to crop spacing is a viable option to overcome erratic OD that constitutes a root source of crop instability in rainfed maize. The results were further supportive of breeding at ultra-low density to facilitate the identification and selection of superior genotypes, since such conditions promote phenotypic expression and differentiation, and ensure repeatability across diverse environments