Field survey of kabuli chickpea and dry bean plant spacing uniformity

Non-Peer ReviewedIn an effort to reduce capital expenditures, dryland growers of kabuli chickpea and dry bean in Saskatchewan have been seeding their crops with conventional seeding equipment rather than precision planters. Intra-row plant spacing has been non-uniform, and this project was undertaken to quantify that non-uniformity. Data on within-row plant spacing were collected from twenty-nine commercial growers of dry bean and kabuli chickpea in Saskatchewan during the 2000-growing season. Plant spacing was non-uniform, but the need for equipment modifications to improve plant spacing uniformity is uncertain. Preliminary experiments by the Crop Development Centre have shown a yield advantage for dry bean seeded with more uniform spacing. However, little scientific work has been done on the effect of spacing uniformity on chickpea, and the literature reveals conflicting information among crop types. It is speculated that more uniform plant spacing will improve seed quality and reduce weed competition

RAPD and AFLP markers linked to anthracnose resistance gene in PI 320937 lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.)

Non-Peer ReviewedColletotrichum truncatum (Schwein.) Andrus & W.D. Moore is the causal fungus for anthracnose disease in lentils. A germplasm accession, ‘PI 320937’, is among the lines used as a resistance source to develop cultivars in the breeding program. A cross of Eston (susceptible) and PI 320937 (resistant) was used to develop 147 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) to study the genetics of resistance and identify markers associated to the resistance gene. The F5:6 RILs were inoculated with C. truncatum isolate 95B36 at 105 conidia ml-1 and scored for anthracnose reactions over 2 replications in the greenhouse. About 600 RAPD and 10 AFLP primers were screened. We used bulk segregant analysis to construct contrasting DNA bulks, one containing only resistant and the other only susceptible plants based on the greenhouse tests. These polymorphic markers between parental lines were used to genotype RILs and make linkage analysis. Segregation data indicated that a single major gene (LCt-2) confers resistance. Minor genes also modified the level of resistance. Two RAPD markers; namely, OPE O61250 and UBC 704700 were linked in repulsion and coupling at 6.4 and 10.8 cM, respectively, to the resistance gene. Also, 3 AFLP markers were identified within 30 cM distance from the resistance locus. These markers will be useful in lentil breeding via marker-assisted selection towards developing cultivars with anthracnose resistance

Nucleon distribution amplitudes from lattice QCD

We calculate low moments of the leading-twist and next-to-leading twist nucleon distribution amplitudes on the lattice using two flavors of clover fermions. The results are presented in the MSbar scheme at a scale of 2 GeV and can be immediately applied in phenomenological studies. We find that the deviation of the leading-twist nucleon distribution amplitude from its asymptotic form is less pronounced than sometimes claimed in the literature.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. RevTeX style. Normalization for \lambda_i corrected. Discussion of the results extended. To be published in PR

Genetic study of Ascochyta blight resistance in chickpea and lentil

Non-Peer ReviewedAscochyta blight is responsible for severe crop losses in most chickpea and lentil production areas around the world. The research was conducted to study the genetic basis for Ascochyta blight resistance in chickpea and lentil by means of QTL analysis, and PCR-based approaches to identify resistance gene analogues (RGA) sequences in the lentil genome. An AFLP and three SSR markers were linked to the gene(s) for Ascochyta resistance in a chickpea population derived from a cross between CDC Chico and CDC Marengo. Two QTL that explained 36 % and 29 % of the disease reaction variability were identified in a lentil RI population derived from a cross between ILL5588 and L692-16-1. These markers were converted into SCAR markers to simplify their use for marker-assisted selection

Quasi-free Compton Scattering from the Deuteron and Nucleon Polarizabilities

Cross sections for quasi-free Compton scattering from the deuteron were measured for incident energies of 236--260 MeV at the laboratory angle -135 degrees. The recoil nucleons were detected in a liquid-scintillator array situated at 20 degrees. The measured differential cross sections were used, with the calculations of Levchuk et al., to determine the polarizabilities of the bound nucleons. For the bound proton, the extracted values were consistent with the accepted value for the free proton. Combining our results for the bound neutron with those from Rose et al., we obtain one-sigma constraints of alpha_n = 7.6-14.0 and beta_n = 1.2-7.6.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted in PR

Revisiting strategies for breeding anthracnose resistance in lentil: the case with wild species

Non-Peer ReviewedBreeders at the Crop Development Centre (CDC) have up to now only used germplasm resources available in the cultivated lentil to develop new varieties with resistance to diseases. Based on recent studies, the available cultivated germplasm does not offer sufficient genetic variation for resistance to anthracnose and ascochyta diseases. Lentil crop is attacked by two major diseases (anthracnose and ascochyta) that can cause 100% loss in the worst scenarios. Since anthracnose is only a major lentil disease in North America, no work has been done to improve resistance to this disease elsewhere. Wild species of many crops are known to carry many disease resistance genes lacking in the cultivated crop. We began the search for anthracnose resistance in the six wild species of lentil (world collection), of which two can be easily crossed with the cultivated type. Two strains of anthracnose (race 1 and race 2) with varying degrees of virulence were reported. The 2002 field data suggested that some of the Lens ervoides and Lens lamottei accessions exhibited no lesions at all when exposed to the combination of the two anthracnose strains. The cultivated types that show resistance to the less virulent strain were severely affected by anthracnose. In the greenhouse study the wild species were inoculated with the two strains separately and results indicate that no accession is immune to the more virulent type. However, some of the L. ervoides and L. lamottei accessions had good resistance compared to their cultivated counterparts. As a long term strategy, the lentil breeding program at CDC, University of Saskatchewan has a goal of fully utilizing the available resistance sources. However, these two species cannot be easily crossed with the cultivated types using the conventional/manual crossing techniques. A tissue culture procedure involving embryo rescue is used to facilitate crossing. We have been able to successfully rescue some embryos from crosses with Lens ervoides. The hybrid plants produce some fertile seeds which will be evaluated for resistance to both anthracnose and ascochyta. The selected resistant lines will then be backcrossed to the adopted backgrounds in order to deploy resistance genes

Factors associated with small aggressive non-small cell lung cancers in the national lung screening trial: A validation study

Abstract Background A small proportion of non–small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) have been observed to spread to distant lymph nodes (N3) or metastasize (M1) or both, while the primary tumor is small (≤3 cm, T1). These small aggressive NSCLCs (SA-NSLSC) are important as they are clinically significant, may identify unique biologic pathways, and warrant aggressive follow-up and treatment. This study identifies factors associated with SA-NSCLC and attempts to validate a previous finding that women with a family history of lung cancer are at particularly elevated risk of SA-NSCLC. Methods This study used a case–case design within the National Cancer Institute’s National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) cohort. Case patients and “control” patients were selected based on TNM staging parameters. Case patients (n = 64) had T1 NSCLCs that were N3 or M1 or both, while “control” patients (n = 206) had T2 or T3, N0 to N2, and M0 NSCLCs. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression were used to identify factors associated with SA-NSCLC. Results In bootstrap bias–corrected multivariable logistic regression models, small aggressive adenocarcinomas were associated with a positive history of emphysema (odds ratio [OR] = 5.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.63 to 23.00) and the interaction of female sex and a positive family history of lung cancer (OR = 6.55, 95% CI = 1.06 to 50.80). Conclusions Emphysema may play a role in early lung cancer progression. Females with a family history of lung cancer are at increased risk of having small aggressive lung adenocarcinomas. These results validate previous findings and encourage research on the role of female hormones interacting with family history and genetic factors in lung carcinogenesis and progression

E-government adoption: A cultural comparison

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2008.E-government diffusion is an international phenomenon. This study compares e-government adoption in the U.K. to adoption in the U.S. In particular, this study seeks to determine if the same factors are salient in both countries. Several studies have explored citizen acceptance of e-government services in the U.S. However, few studies have explored this phenomenon in the U.K. To identify the similarities and differences between the U.K. and the U.S. a survey is conducted in the U.K. and the findings are compared to the literature that investigates diffusion in the U.S. This study proposes a model of e-government adoption in the U.K. based on salient factors in the U.S. A survey is administered to 260 citizens in London to assess the importance of relative advantage, trust and the digital divide on intention to use e-government. The results of binary logistic regression indicate that there are cultural differences in e-government adoption in the U.K. and the U.S. The results indicate that of the prevailing adoption constructs, relative advantage and trust are pertinent in both the U.S. and the U.K., while ICT adoption barriers such as access and skill may vary by culture. Implications for research and practice are discussed