Grain zinc, iron and protein concentrations and zinc-efficiency in wild emmer wheat under contrasting irrigation regimes

Micronutrient malnutrition, and particularly deficiency in zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe), afflicts over three billion people worldwide, and nearly half of the world’s cereal-growing area is affected by soil Zn deficiency. Wild emmer wheat [Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides (Körn.) Thell.], the progenitor of domesticated durum wheat and bread wheat, offers a valuable source of economically important genetic diversity including grain mineral concentrations. Twenty two wild emmer wheat accessions, representing a wide range of drought resistance capacity, as well as two durum wheat cultivars were examined under two contrasting irrigation regimes (well-watered control and water-limited), for grain yield, total biomass production and grain Zn, Fe and protein concentrations. The wild emmer accessions exhibited high genetic diversity for yield and grain Zn, Fe and protein concentrations under both irrigation regimes, with a considerable potential for improvement of the cultivated wheat. Grain Zn, Fe and protein concentrations were positively correlated with one another. Although irrigation regime significantly affected ranking of genotypes, a few wild emmer accessions were identified for their advantage over durum wheat, having consistently higher grain Zn (e.g., 125 mg kg−1), Fe (85 mg kg−1) and protein (250 g kg−1) concentrations and high yield capacity. Plants grown from seeds originated from both irrigation regimes were also examined for Zn efficiency (Zn deficiency tolerance) on a Zn-deficient calcareous soil. Zinc efficiency, expressed as the ratio of shoot dry matter production under Zn deficiency to Zn fertilization, showed large genetic variation among the genotypes tested. The source of seeds from maternal plants grown under both irrigation regimes had very little effect on Zn efficiency. Several wild emmer accessions revealed combination of high Zn efficiency and drought stress resistance. The results indicate high genetic potential of wild emmer wheat to improve grain Zn, Fe and protein concentrations, Zn deficiency tolerance and drought resistance in cultivated wheat

Foliar-applied glyphosate substantially reduced uptake and transport of iron and manganese in sunflower (helianthus annuus L.) plants

Evidence clearly shows that cationic micronutrients in spray solutions reduce the herbicidal effectiveness of glyphosate for weed control due to the formation of metal-glyphosate complexes. The formation of these glyphosate-metal complexes in plant tissue may also impair micronutrient nutrition of nontarget plants when exposed to glyphosate drift or glyphosate residues in soil. In the present study, the effects of simulated glyphosate drift on plant growth and uptake, translocation, and accumulation (tissue concentration) of iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu) were investigated in sunflower ( Helianthus annuusL.) plants grown in nutrient solution under controlled environmental conditions. Glyphosate was sprayed on plant shoots at different rates between 1.25 and 6.0% of the recommended dosage (i.e., 0.39 and 1.89 mM glyphosate isopropylamine salt). Glyphosate applications significantly decreased root and shoot dry matter production and chlorophyll concentrations of young leaves and shoot tips. The basal parts of the youngest leaves and shoot tips were severely chlorotic. These effects became apparent within 48 h after the glyphosate spray. Glyphosate also caused substantial decreases in leaf concentration of Fe and Mn while the concentration of Zn and Cu was less affected. In short-term uptake experiments with radiolabeled Fe (59Fe), Mn (54Mn), and Zn (65Zn), root uptake of 59Fe and 54Mn was significantly reduced in 12 and 24 h after application of 6% of the recommended dosage of glyphosate, respectively. Glyphosate resulted in almost complete inhibition of root-to-shoot translocation of 59Fe within 12 h and 54Mn within 24 h after application. These results suggest that glyphosate residues or drift may result in severe impairments in Fe and Mn nutrition of nontarget plants, possibly due to the formation of poorly soluble glyphosate-metal complexes in plant tissues and/or rhizosphere interactions

Glyphosate inhibition of ferric reductase activity in iron deficient sunflower roots

Iron (Fe) deficiency is increasingly being observed in cropping systems with frequent glyphosate applications. A likely reason for this is that glyphosate interferes with root uptake of Fe by inhibiting ferric reductase in roots required for Fe acquisition by dicot and nongrass species. This study investigated the role of drift rates of glyphosate (0.32, 0.95 or 1.89 mM glyphosate corresponding to 1, 3 and 6% of the recommended herbicidal dose, respectively) on ferric reductase activity of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) roots grown under Fe deficiency conditions. Application of 1.89 mM glyphosate resulted in almost 50% inhibition of ferric reductase within 6 h and complete inhibition 24 h after the treatment. Even at lower rates of glyphosate (e.g. 0.32 mM and 0.95 mM), ferric reductase was inhibited. Soluble sugar concentration and the NAD(P)H oxidizing capacity of apical roots were not decreased by the glyphosate applications. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the effects of glyphosate on ferric reductase activity. The nature of the inhibitory effect of glyphosate on ferric reductase could not be identified. Impaired ferric reductase could be a major reason for the increasingly observed Fe deficiency in cropping systems associated with widespread glyphosate usage

Endogeneity in Panel Stochastic Frontier Models: An Application to the Japanese Cotton Spinning Industry

We present a panel stochastic frontier model that handles the endogeneity problem. This model can treat the endogeneity of both frontier and inefficiency variables. We apply our method to examine the technical efficiency of Japanese cotton spinning industry. Our results indicate that market concentration is endogenous, and when its endogeneity is properly handled, it has a larger negative impact on the technical efficiency of cotton spinning plants. We find that the exogenous model substantially overestimates efficiency in concentrated markets

Use of Sports Science Knowledge by Turkish Coaches

International Journal of Exercise Science 8(1) : 21-37, 2015. The purpose of this study is to examine the following research questions in Turkish coaching context: a) What are coaches’ perceptions on the application of sport science research to their coaching methods? b) What sources do coaches utilize to obtain the knowledge they need? c) What barriers do coaches encounter when trying to access and apply the knowledge they need for their sport? In addition, differences in research questions responses were examined based on gender, years of coaching experience, academic educational level, coaching certificate level, coaching team or individual sports, and being paid or unpaid for coaching. The participants were 321 coaches (255 men, 66 women) from diverse sports and coaching levels working in Ankara. The questionnaire “New Ideas for Coaches” by Reade, Rodgers and Hall (2008) was translated, adapted into Turkish, and validated for the current study. According to our findings among Turkish coaches, there is a high prevalence of beliefs that sport science contributes to sport (79.8%);however, there are gaps between what coaches are looking for and the research that is being conducted. Coaches are most likely to attend seminars or consult other coaches to get new information. Scientific publications were ranked very low by the coaches in getting current information. The barriers to coaches’ access to sport science research are finding out the sources of information, being able to implement the sport science knowledge into the field of coaching, lack of monetary support in acquiring knowledge, and language barriers. Also, differences in perceptions and preferences for obtaining new information were identified based on coaches’ gender, coaching contexts (i.e., professional-amateur), coaching settings (i.e., team/individual), and their other demographic characteristics (i.e., coaching experience, coaching educational level, and coaching certificate level). Future coach education programs should emphasize the development of coaches’ competencies in identifying and accessing eligible sports science knowledge sources and lack of money for acquiring information while also tailoring the messages based on differences in coaching contexts, coaching settings, and coaches’ demographic characteristics so as to ensure successful knowledge transfer

Customized Co-Simulation Environment for Autonomous Driving Algorithm Development and Evaluation

Increasing the implemented SAE level of autonomy in road vehicles requires extensive simulations and verifications in a realistic simulation environment before proving ground and public road testing. The level of detail in the simulation environment helps ensure the safety of a real-world implementation and reduces algorithm development cost by allowing developers to complete most of the validation in the simulation environment. Considering sensors like camera, LIDAR, radar, and V2X used in autonomous vehicles, it is essential to create a simulation environment that can provide these sensor simulations as realistically as possible. While sensor simulations are of crucial importance for perception algorithm development, the simulation environment will be incomplete for the simulation of holistic AV operation without being complemented by a realistic vehicle dynamic model and traffic cosimulation. Therefore, this paper investigates existing simulation environments, identifies use case scenarios, and creates a cosimulation environment to satisfy the simulation requirements for autonomous driving function development using the Carla simulator based on the Unreal game engine for the environment, Sumo or Vissim for traffic co-simulation, Carsim or Matlab, Simulink for vehicle dynamics co-simulation and Autoware or the author or user routines for autonomous driving algorithm co-simulation. As a result of this work, a model-based vehicle dynamics simulation with realistic sensor simulation and traffic simulation is presented. A sensor fusion methodology is implemented in the created simulation environment as a use case scenario. The results of this work will be a valuable resource for researchers who need a comprehensive co-simulation environment to develop connected and autonomous driving algorithms

School district consolidation policies: endogenous cost inefficiency and saving reversals

Some education policy studies suggest that consolidation of public school districts saves resources. However, endogeneity in cost models would result in incorrect estimates of the effects of consolidation. We use a new stochastic frontier methodology to examine district expenditures while handling endogeneity. Using the data from California, we find that the effects of student achievement and education market concentration on expenditure per pupil are substantially larger when endogeneity is handled. Our findings are robust to concerns such as instrumental variable adequacy and spatial interactions. Our consolidation simulations indicate that failure to address endogeneity can result in unrealistic expectations of savings

Electromagnetic radiation from multilayer printed circuit boards: a 3D FDTD-based virtual emission predictor

A novel FDTD-based virtual electromagnetic compatibility tool for the prediction of electromagnetic emissions from a multilayer printed circuit board is introduced. Tests are performed with characteristic structures and sample simulation results are presented

Turkish EFL teachers' attitudes towards online instruction throughout the Covid-19 outbreak

The purpose of the present study is to shed light on the attitudes of Turkish EFL teachers towards online instruction (OI), the impact of training on their attitudes, the obstacles they encounter, and the strategies to deliver OI more successfully throughout the Covid-19 outbreak. The participants were 70 EFL teachers (52 female, 18 male). The data was collected through a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed by using SPSS 26. Descriptive statistics of each item was calculated and an independent sample t-test was conducted to answer the research questions. For the analysis of the interview data, the responses of the participants were transcribed and the recurring themes were identified. The results revealed that the attitudes of Turkish EFL teachers, who experienced online instruction during the Covid-19 outbreak, are not as positive as expected regarding some of the results of the related research in the literature. The interview findings revealed that EFL teachers do not feel capable of delivering online instruction effectively since they do not have adequate knowledge and necessary skills to do that. In view of the findings, it's suggested that online instruction methodology should be integrated into teacher training programs and teachers should receive an in-service training about the related subject