109 research outputs found
Weather, disease, and wheat breeding effects on Kansas wheat varietal yields, 1985 to 2011.
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yields in Kansas have increased due to wheat breeding and improved agronomic practices, but are subject to climate and disease challenges. The objective of this research is to quantify the impact of weather, disease, and genetic improvement on wheat yields of varieties grown in 11 locations in Kansas from 1985 to 2011. Wheat variety yield data from Kansas performance tests were matched with comprehensive location-specific disease and weather data, including seasonal precipitation, monthly air temperature, air temperature and solar radiation around anthesis, and vapor pressure deficit (VPD). The results show that wheat breeding programs increased yield by 34 kg haâ»Âč yrâ»Âč. From 1985 through 2011, wheat breeding increased average wheat yields by 917 kg haâ»Âč, or 27% of total yield. Weather was found to have a large impact on wheat yields. Simulations demonstrated that a 1°C increase in projected mean temperature was associated with a decrease in wheat yields of 715 kg haâ»Âč, or 21%. Weather, diseases, and genetics all had significant impacts on wheat yields in 11 locations in Kansas during 1985 to 2011
Biodegradable foams based on starch, polyvinyl alcohol, chitosan and sugarcane fibers obtained by extrusion
Weather, Disease, and Wheat Breeding Effects on Kansas Wheat Varietal Yields, 1985 to 2011
Customer emotions in service failure and recovery encounters
Emotions play a significant role in the workplace, and considerable attention has been given to the study of employee emotions. Customers also play a central function in organizations, but much less is known about customer emotions. This chapter reviews the growing literature on customer emotions in employeeâcustomer interfaces with a focus on service failure and recovery encounters, where emotions are heightened. It highlights emerging themes and key findings, addresses the measurement, modeling, and management of customer emotions, and identifies future research streams. Attention is given to emotional contagion, relationships between affective and cognitive processes, customer anger, customer rage, and individual differences
The feasibility of motion and structure from noisy time-varying image velocity information
VariaçÔes espaço-temporais no estoque de sementes do solo na floresta amazÎnica
A dispersĂŁo eficiente, a longevidade e a capacidade das sementes de permanecer em estado latente a espera de condiçÔes adequadas de germinação no banco de sementes do solo da floresta garantem a presença de espĂ©cies arbĂłreas pioneiras nas ĂĄreas perturbadas. As variaçÔes estacionais e espaciais na densidade e na composição florĂstica do banco de sementes em Florestas Tropicais Ămidas sĂŁo assuntos ainda pouco compreendidos. Este trabalho verificou a existĂȘncia de modificaçÔes espaço-temporais do banco de sementes presente em ĂĄreas de Floresta Tropical Ășmida localizadas prĂłximas a Manaus, AM. Em cada uma das seis ĂĄreas estudadas, foram coletadas 40 amostras circulares de solo superficial (10 cm de diĂąmetro e 2 cm de profundidade) ao acaso. Essas amostras foram coletadas a cada dois meses, entre agosto/2004 e junho/2005,. As amostras de solo foram distribuĂdas em bandejas em casa de vegetação e a emergĂȘncia das sementes presentes no solo foi acompanhada por 4 meses. Houve uma redução significativa (H: 14,09, p < 0,05) na densidade mĂ©dia de sementes no solo em junho (inĂcio da estação seca) em relação a fevereiro (meio da estação chuvosa). Houve tambĂ©m diferença significativa (H: 188,72, p < 0,05) na densidade mĂ©dia de sementes do solo presente nas diferentes ĂĄreas amostradas. Assim como para outras ĂĄreas de florestas tropicais, o banco de sementes permanente da floresta foi dominado por espĂ©cies pioneiras, principalmente da famĂlia Melastomataceae, enquanto as espĂ©cies tĂpicas da Floresta Tropical madura foram raras no solo florestal
Cost-effectiveness of replacing versus discarding the nail in children with nail bed injury
Every year in the UK, around 10 000 children need to have operations to mend injuries to the bed of their fingernails. Currently, most children have their fingernail placed back on the injured nail bed after the operation. The NINJA trial found that children were slightly less likely to have an infection if the nail was thrown away rather than being put back, but the difference between groups was small and could have be due to chance. This study looked at whether replacing the nail is cost-effective compared with throwing it away. Using data from the NINJA trial, we compared costs, healthcare use, and quality of life and assessed the cost-effectiveness of replacing the nail. It was found that throwing the nail away after surgery would save the National Health Service (NHS) ÂŁ75 (âŹ85) per operation compared with placing the nail back on the nail bed. Changing clinical practice could save the NHS in England ÂŁ720 000 (âŹ819 000) per year
Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19
Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2,3,4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genesâincluding reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)âin critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease
Dreading the boards: stress response to a competitive audition characterized by social-evaluative threat.
The capacity of psychosocial stressors to provoke the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis has been demonstrated to vary depending upon a number of psychological factors. Laboratory stressors characterized by social-evaluative threat are proposed to be the most efficacious in the elicitation of a cortisol stress response. Salivary cortisol, cardiovascular, and subjective responses of 16 healthy adults facing a naturalistic stressor characterized by social-evaluative threat (competitive performance auditions) were examined. Audition exposure was sufficient to provoke significant cortisol, arterial blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), and subjective stress responses. Cortisol response reactivity (area under the curve with respect to increase [AUCi]) also correlated with participants' subjective rating of social-evaluative threat. The competitive performance audition context is therefore considered a promising context in which to further explore cortisol responsivity to social-evaluative threat
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