Predicting soybean development with a simple photothermal dynamic algorithm

Predicting the occurrence of the critical period for soybean’s yield determination is important for farmers to decide on variety and sowing date with the objective to expose this period (during which yield is mainly determined) to the best environmental conditionsEEA PergaminoFil: Severini, Alan. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Pergamino. Sección Ecofisiología; ArgentinaFil: Álvarez Prado, S. Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Otegui, María Elena. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Pergamino. Ecofisiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; ArgentinaFil: Vega, Claudia Rosa Cecilia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Manfredi; ArgentinaFil: Zuil, Sebastian. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Reconquista; ArgentinaFil: Kavanová, M. Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (INIA). La Estanzuela; UruguayFil: Ceretta, S. Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria (INIA). La Estanzuela; UruguayFil: Acreche, Martin Moises. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Salta; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Scholz Drodowski, R.F. Instituto Paraguayo de Tecnología Agraria (IPTA). Capitan Miranda; ParaguayFil: Serrago, R.A. Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Miralles, D.J. Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Clinical comparison between conventional and microdissection testicular sperm extraction for non-obstructive azoospermia : understanding which treatment works for which patient

OBJECTIVES: The superiority of microdissection testicular sperm extraction (mTESE) over conventional TESE (cTESE) for men with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) is debated. We aimed to compare the sperm retrieval rate (SRR) of mTESE to cTESE and to identify candidates who would most benefit from mTESE in a cohort of Caucasian-European men with primary couple's infertility. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data from 49 mTESE and 96 cTESE patients were analysed. We collected demographic and clinical data, serum levels of LH, FSH and total testosterone. Patients with abnormal karyotyping were excluded from analysis. Age was categorized according to the median value of 35 years. FSH values were dichotomized according to multiples of the normal range (N) (N and 1.5 N: 1-18 mIU/mL, and > 18 mIU/mL). Testicular histology was recorded for each patient. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analyses tested the impact of potential predictors on positive SRR in both groups. RESULTS: No differences were found between groups in terms of clinical and hormonal parameters with the exception of FSH values that were higher in mTESE patients (p = 0.004). SRR were comparable between mTESE and cTESE (49.0% vs. 41.7%, p = 0.40). SRRs were significantly higher after mTESE in patients with Sertoli cell-only syndrome (SCOS) (p = 0.038), in those older than 35 years (p = 0.03) and with FSH >1.5N (p 1.5N (p = 0.018). Moreover, increased FSH levels (p = 0.03) and both SCOS (p = 0.01) and MA histology (p = 0.04) were independent predictors of SRR failure. CONCLUSIONS: Microdissection and cTESE showed comparable success rates in our cohort of patients with NOA. mTESE seems beneficial for patients older than 35 years, with high FSH values, or when SCOS can be predicted. Given the high costs associated with the mTESE approach, the identification of candidates most likely to benefit from this procedure is a major clinical need

High night temperatures during grain number determination reduce wheat and barley grain yield: A field study

Warm nights are a widespread predicted feature of climate change. This study investigated the impact of high night temperatures during the critical period for grain yield determination in wheat and barley crops under field conditions, assessing the effects on development, growth and partitioning crop-level processes driving grain number per unit area (GN). Experiments combined: (i) two contrasting radiation and temperature environments: late sowing in 2011 and early sowing in 2013, (ii) two well-adapted crops with similar phenology: bread wheat and two-row malting barley and (iii) two temperature regimes: ambient and high night temperatures. The night temperature increase (ca. 3.9 °C in both crops and growing seasons) was achieved using purpose-built heating chambers placed on the crop at 19:000 hours and removed at 7:00 hours every day from the third detectable stem node to 10 days post-flowering. Across growing seasons and crops, the average minimum temperature during the critical period ranged from 11.2 to 17.2 °C. Wheat and barley grain yield were similarly reduced under warm nights (ca. 7% °C), due to GN reductions (ca. 6% °C) linked to a lower number of spikes per m. An accelerated development under high night temperatures led to a shorter critical period duration, reducing solar radiation capture with negative consequences for biomass production, GN and therefore, grain yield. The information generated could be used as a starting point to design management and/or breeding strategies to improve crop adaptation facing climate change

Post-anthesis warm nights reduce grain weight in field-grown wheat and barley

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) crops are exposed to warm nights during their growing seasons and this trend is unlikely to change. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of higher post-anthesis night temperatures on field-grown crop yield, focusing on final grain weight determination. Experiments combined: (i) two well-adapted crops with similar phenology: bread wheat and two-row malting barley, under (ii) two temperature regimes: ambient and high night temperatures from 10 days after anthesis to physiological maturity during (iii) two contrasting growing seasons in terms of radiation and temperature: late sowing in 2011 and early sowing in 2013. The night temperature increase (ca. 4.1 °C) was achieved using purpose-built heating chambers placed on the crop at 7 pm and removed at 7 am every day during the heating period. Across growing seasons and crops, the average minimum temperature during that period ranged from 14.3 °C to 21.9 °C. Thousand grain weight was reduced by ca. 3% per °C of night temperature increase, similarly for wheat and barley, causing a grain yield reduction of ca. 4% per °C. An accelerated development under high night temperatures led to a shorter effective grain filling period, reducing the final grain weight. The lack of consistent impact on source availability between crops and seasons, measured as senescence and stem water soluble carbohydrates, as well as a similar impact in magnitude and direction on individual grain weight for different grain positions along wheat or barley spikes, suggest that the negative effects of warm nights on grain weight were directly related to processes within the grain itself.Fil: García, Guillermo Ariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Serrago, Roman Augusto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaFil: Dreccer, M. Fernanda. The University Of Queensland; AustraliaFil: Miralles, Daniel Julio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentin

Segmental testicular infarction: Case series and brief literature review of a great mime

Segmental testicular infarction is rare, and the etiology is mostly idiopathic. We report a case series of four young patients, one of them with metachronous bilateral disease, presenting with an acute scrotum and treated with a testis-sparing approach, if feasible, after a negative intraoperative biopsy. Etiology, differential diagnosis, and management are reviewed. To be aware of clinical and imaging features of this benign testicular pathology, it is crucial to avoid unnecessary orchiectomies to preserve vital testicular tissue left