SAMPLING OF CORN TO ASSESS BIRD DAMAGE: A Preliminary Review of a Comprehensive Study

How large a sample is needed to survey the bird damage to corn in a county in Ohio or New Jersey or South Dakota? Like those in the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife and the U.S.D.A. who have been faced with a question of this sort we found only meager information on which to base an answer, whether the problem related to a county in Ohio or to one in New Jersey, or elsewhere. Many sampling methods and rates of sampling did yield reliable estimates but the judgment was often intuitive or based on the reasonableness of the resulting data. Later, when planning the next study or survey, little additional information was available on whether 40 samples of 5 ears each or 5 samples of 200 ears should be examined, i.e., examination of a large number of small samples or a small number of large samples. What information is needed to make a reliable decision? Those of us involved with the Agricultural Experiment Station regional project concerned with the problems of bird damage to crops, known as NE-49, thought we might supply an ans¬wer if we had a corn field in which all the damage was measured. If all the damage were known, we could then sample this field in various ways and see how the estimates from these samplings compared to the actual damage and pin-point the best and most accurate sampling procedure. Eventually the investigators in four states became involved in this work1 and instead of one field we were able to broaden the geographical base by examining all the corn ears in 2 half-acre sections of fields in each state, 8 sections in all. When the corn had matured well past the dough stage, damage on each corn ear was assessed, without removing the ear from the stalk, by visually estimating the percent of the kernel surface which had been destroyed and rating it in one of 5 damage categories. Measurements (by row-centimeters) of the rows of kernels pecked by birds also were made on selected ears representing all categories and all parts of each field section. These measurements provided conversion factors that, when fed into a computer, were applied to the more than 72,000 visually assessed ears. The machine now had in its memory and could supply on demand a map showing each ear, its location and the intensity of the damage

The local electronic structure of alpha-Li3N

New theoretical and experimental investigation of the occupied and unoccupied local electronic density of states (DOS) are reported for alpha-Li3N. Band structure and density functional theory calculations confirm the absence of covalent bonding character. However, real-space full-multiple-scattering (RSFMS) calculations of the occupied local DOS finds less extreme nominal valences than have previously been proposed. Nonresonant inelastic x-ray scattering (NRIXS), RSFMS calculations, and calculations based on the Bethe-Salpeter equation are used to characterize the unoccupied electronic final states local to both the Li and N sites. There is good agreement between experiment and theory. Throughout the Li 1s near-edge region, both experiment and theory find strong similarities in the s- and p-type components of the unoccupied local final density of states projected onto an orbital angular momentum basis (l-DOS). An unexpected, significant correspondence exists between the near-edge spectra for the Li 1s and N 1s initial states. We argue that both spectra are sampling essentially the same final density of states due to the combination of long core-hole lifetimes, long photoelectron lifetimes, and the fact that orbital angular momentum is the same for all relevant initial states. Such considerations may be generically applicable for low atomic number compounds.Comment: 34 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl

Inducible DNA breaks in Ig S regions are dependent on AID and UNG

Class switch recombination (CSR) occurs by an intrachromosomal deletion whereby the IgM constant region gene (Cμ) is replaced by a downstream constant region gene. This unique recombination event involves formation of double-strand breaks (DSBs) in immunoglobulin switch (S) regions, and requires activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), which converts cytosines to uracils. Repair of the uracils is proposed to lead to DNA breaks required for recombination. Uracil DNA glycosylase (UNG) is required for most CSR activity although its role is disputed. Here we use ligation-mediated PCR to detect DSBs in S regions in splenic B cells undergoing CSR. We find that the kinetics of DSB induction corresponds with AID expression, and that DSBs are AID- and UNG-dependent and occur preferentially at G:C basepairs in WRC/GYW AID hotspots. Our results indicate that AID attacks cytosines on both DNA strands, and staggered breaks are processed to blunt DSBs at the initiating ss break sites. We propose a model to explain the types of end-processing events observed

The grinch who stole wisdom

Dr. Seuss is wise. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Seuss, 1957) could serve as a parable for our time. It can also be seen as a roadmap for the development of contemplative wisdom. The abiding popularity of How the Grinch Stole Christmas additionally suggests that contemplative wisdom is more readily available to ordinary people, even children, than is normally thought. This matters because from the point of view of contemplatives in any of the world's philosophies or religions, people are confused about wisdom. The content of the nascent field of wisdom studies, they might say, is largely not wisdom at all but rather what it's like to live in a particular kind of prison cell, a well appointed cell perhaps, but not a place that makes possible either personal satisfaction or deep problem solving. I believe that what the contemplative traditions have to say is important; they offer a different orientation to what personal wisdom is, how to develop it, and how to use it in the world than is presently contained in either our popular culture or our sciences. In order to illustrate this I will examine, in some detail, one contemplative path within Buddhism. Buddhism is particularly useful in this respect because its practices are nontheistic and thus avoid many of the cultural landmines associated with the contemplative aspects of Western religions

Outcomes for 18 to 25-year-olds with borderline personality disorder in a dedicated young adult only DBT programme compared to a general adult DBT programme for all ages 18

Aim Targeting young adults with borderline personality disorder (BPD) for treatment may carry significant social and clinical benefits. We aimed to evaluate a community‐based Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) programme delivered exclusively to young adults with BPD. Methods We describe a naturally occurring non‐equivalent, quasi‐experimental comparison of outcomes for young adults (18‐25 years) with BPD following 1 year of treatment in either a young adult only DBT programme or a general adult DBT programme (18+ years). Twenty‐four young adults enrolled in a community‐based young adult DBT programme open only to 18‐ to 25‐year‐olds with BPD. Another 13 young adults, also 18‐25 years, enrolled in a general adult DBT programme open to all ages above 18 years. Both treatment conditions offered all modes of standard DBT for 1 year. Participants completed a battery of self‐report measures on mental health symptoms at baseline and again at treatment completion after 1 year. Discharge rates at 2 years post‐treatment completion were also recorded. Results Better outcomes were found on borderline symptom severity and general psychopathology among completers of young adult DBT, with a large effect size for treatment condition as well as greater clinically significant change. Discharge rates from mental health services 24 months later were also higher for completers of young adult DBT. Conclusions There may be advantages in delivering DBT to young adults in an age‐specific programme, possibly due to group cohesion. Methodological limitations apply, such as small sample size and non‐randomization. Further controlled research is needed

Increased Maternal Education and Knowledge of Nutrition and Reductions in Poverty are Associated with Dietary Diversity and Meal Frequency in an Observational Study of Indonesian Children

Background: Optimal infant and young child feeding during the first two years of life is essential to optimum child development and health. While the link between feeding practices and child health outcomes is well documented, little is known about the determinants of these feeding practices in Indonesia. The purpose of this study was to better understand factors associated with appropriate child feeding among Indonesian children 6–23 months of age.Methods: Interviewers conducted interviews with 1498 mothers of children 6–23 months of age to identify practices. Measures of feeding practices included dietary diversity, meal frequency, and minimum acceptable diet. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with dietary diversity and separately with meal frequency.Results: After adjusting for covariates, increased maternal education was associated with improved dietary diversity. Age of child [OR=1.11], knowledge of stunting [OR=1.80], and having ever received nutrition information [OR=1.89] were also associated with greater dietary diversity. Wealth [OR=0.86] and age of child [OR=0.92] were inversely associated with meal frequency. Maternal education, age of child, being a male child, knowledge of stunting, and having received nutrition information increased the odds of the child consuming a minimum acceptable diet.Conclusion: Increasing maternal education, knowledge of stunting, and knowledge of nutrition may improve dietary diversity while poverty alleviation has the potential to improve minimum meal frequency. These findings corroborate similar studies and confirm the importance of government efforts that help girls stay in school, improve families’ understanding of nutrition, and reduce poverty

The potential use of artificial intelligence in the therapy of borderline personality disorder

This paper explores the possibility of AI-based addendum therapy for borderline personality disorder, its potential advantages and limitations. Identity disturbance in this condition is strongly connected to self-narratives, which manifest excessive incoherence, causal gaps, dysfunctional beliefs, and diminished self-attributions of agency. Different types of therapy aim at boosting self-knowledge through self-narratives in BPD. The suggestion of this paper is that human-to-human therapy could be complemented by AI assistance holding out the promise of making patients' self-narratives more coherent through improving the accuracy of their self-assessments, reflection on their emotions, and understanding their relationships with others. Theoretical and pragmatic arguments are presented in favour of this idea, and certain technical solutions are suggested to implement it

Early stages of ramified growth in quasi-two-dimensional electrochemical deposition

I have measured the early stages of the growth of branched metal aggregates formed by electrochemical deposition in very thin layers. The growth rate of spatial Fourier modes is described qualitatively by the results of a linear stability analysis [D.P. Barkey, R.H. Muller, and C.W. Tobias, J. Electrochem. Soc. {\bf 136}, 2207 (1989)]. The maximum growth rate is proportional to $(I/c)^\delta$ where $I$ is the current through the electrochemical cell, $c$ the electrolyte concentration, and $\delta = 1.37 \pm 0.08$. Differences between my results and the theoretical predictions suggest that electroconvection in the electrolyte has a large influence on the instability leading to ramified growth.Comment: REVTeX, four ps figure