PATENT PROTECTION AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW CROP VARIETIES: CASE STUDY OF THE HIGH PECTIN TOMATO

Intellectual property is only one element of successful R&D. Our case study tracks a GM crop variety from R&D to processing and retailing. One finding that emerged was the importance of factors besides patent protection for developing a new technology, such as effective partnering and supply chain management.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Why is Intake Reduced When Cattle are Fed Tall Fescue?

A major problem for the cattle producer that utilizes tall fescue forage is the unrealized or reduced gains in body weight in growing animals. This result has been reproduced across numerous studies evaluating cattle performance on tall fescue (Hoveland et al., 1983; Boling, 1985; Schmidt et al., 1986; Goetsch et al., 1987). Cattle have gained from 30 to 100% less consuming toxic endophyte-infected tall fescue compared to consumption of an endophyte-free tall fescue (Paterson et al., 1995). This effect of reduced gain is a consequence of a fungal endophyte present within the grass that produces toxins called ergot alkaloids. Fungal production of these toxins benefits the grass and fungus by causing a decrease in intake and has likely evolved as a strategy to prevent over grazing by cattle and other livestock. Not surprisingly, grazing time is reduced high endophyte-infected tall fescue pastures compared to pastures with low infection levels (Bond et al., 1984). The forage quality of endophyte-infected compared to endophyte-free tall fescues are similar, suggesting that the ergot alkaloids are responsible for the drop in weight gain (Burns, 2009). An understanding of how ergot alkaloids cause the observed decreased weight gain in cattle will permit the development of strategies aimed at mitigating or alleviating this source of loss

Extremal problems for matrix-valued polynomials on the unit circle and applications to multivariate stationary sequences

AbstractThe paper is devoted to a matrix generalization of a problem studied by Grenander and Rosenblatt (Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 76 (1954) 112–126) and deals with the computation of the infimum Δ of ∫TQ∗(z)M(dz)Q(z), where M is a non-negative Hermitian matrix-valued Borel measure on the unit circle T and Q runs through the set of matrix-valued polynomials with prescribed values of some of their derivatives at a finite set J of complex numbers. Under some additional assumptions on M and J, the value of Δ is computed and the results are applied to linear prediction problems of multivariate weakly stationary random sequences. A related truncated problem is studied and further extremal problems are briefly discussed

A modern study of HD166734: a massive supergiant system

Aims. HD166734 is an eccentric eclipsing binary system composed of two supergiant O-type stars, orbiting with a 34.5-day period. In this rare configuration for such stars, the two objects mainly evolve independently, following single-star evolution so far. This system provides a chance to study the individual parameters of two supergiant massive stars and to derive their real masses. Methods. An intensive monitoring was dedicated to HD166734.We analyzed mid- and high-resolution optical spectra to constrain the orbital parameters of this system. We also studied its light curve for the first time, obtained in the VRI filters. Finally, we disentangled the spectra of the two stars and modeled them with the CMFGEN atmosphere code in order to determine the individual physical parameters. Results. HD166734 is a O7.5If+O9I(f) binary. We confirm its orbital period but we revise the other orbital parameters. In comparison to what we found in the literature, the system is more eccentric and, now, the hottest and the most luminous component is also the most massive one. The light curve exhibits only one eclipse and its analysis indicates an inclination of 63.0{\deg} $\pm$ 2.7{\deg}. The photometric analysis provides us with a good estimation of the luminosities of the stars, and therefore their exact positions in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. The evolutionary and the spectroscopic masses show good agreement with the dynamical masses of 39.5 Msun for the primary and 33.5 Msun for the secondary, within the uncertainties. The two components are both enriched in helium and in nitrogen and depleted in carbon. In addition, the primary also shows a depletion in oxygen. Their surface abundances are however not different from those derived from single supergiant stars, yielding, for both components, an evolution similar to that of single stars.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures, A&A accepte