Genetic Diversity, Genetic Variation and Identification of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) Associated with Biomass Yield and Establishment-Related Traits in Lowland Switchgrass (\u3ci\u3ePanicum virgatum\u3c/i\u3e L.)

Switchgrass is a warm-season C4 grass used for biofuel production. The primary goal of this study is biomass yield improvement for use as a bioenergy feedstock. The research plan was partitioned into three main objectives: (i) evaluate the genetic diversity among lowland switchgrass populations using microsatellite markers; (ii) assess genetic variation in an Alamo half-sib (AHS) population developed through phenotypic selection; (iii) and identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with biomass yield and establishment related seed traits using a Nested Association Mapping (NAM) population. The genetic diversity study on lowland switchgrass showed significant phenotypic variations (P\u3c0.05) among and within germplasm accessions. The Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) revealed that among genotypes within populations and among populations explained 84 and 16% of molecular genetic variations. The Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) and cluster analysis separated switchgrass populations according to the ancestral background. The study on genetic variation showed significant variation (P\u3c0.05) among AHS for biomass yield, tillering ability, and spring vigor, suggesting the importance of additive genetic variation in these traits. Results also showed great potential for biomass yield improvement through selection based on family performance. Using 10% selection intensity, parental control of two, and a narrow-sense heritability estimate of 0.11, gain per cycle selection from half-sib family selection is estimated to be 23%. The study on identification of QTLs associated with biomass yield and establishment related traits showed significant variation among NAM families and genotypes within families for biomass yield, seed weight, and germination (P\u3c0.05). A total of 785 significant markers for biomass yield were detected (P\u3c0.05) of which 176 were for seed weight and 131 for germination. Composite interval mapping revealed 21 QTLs for biomass yield across locations in 2 years the highest LOD score of 7.6 detected in chromosome Ia that explained a 12.5% of the phenotypic variation. Two QTLs located in chromosome VIIIb for seed weight explained 5.2% and 4.6% phenotypic variation. One QTL for germination located in chromosome IXa explained 5.2% of the phenotypic variation. The results of these studies will be useful for future breeding efforts in switchgrass and other perennial grasses

Effects of precursor composition used in solution precursor plasma spray on the properties of ZnO coatings for CO2 and UV light sensing

this is the author's version of a work that was accepted for publication in Surface and Coatings Technology. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in VOL 371, 2019 DOI 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2018.10.009[EN] The potential of finely-structured zinc oxide (ZnO) coatings developed via solution precursor plasma spraying (SPPS) as CO2 gas and UV light sensor was explored in this work. The coatings were deposited on stainless steel substrates using aqueous solutions of zinc nitrate and zinc acetate as precursors. The coatings' microstructures were studied in relation to the solution precursors used. Relatively porous coatings were obtained when using acetate as starting precursor compared to the coatings from the nitrate precursor. This was attributed to the different chemical routes of ZnO formation for each precursor droplet upon contact with plasma jet. Phase analysis confirmed the formation of polycrystalline ZnO having wurtzite structure from both precursors. The sprayed ZnO coatings showed good sensitivity and recovery towards UV light. Moreover, the coatings were sensitive towards carbon dioxide (CO2) analyte gas but did not show any good recovery which was attributed to the microstructure of the coatings. These results showed the feasibility of SPPS process for the fabrication of finely-structured ZnO coatings as sensors of CO2 gas and UV light.The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension (OVCRE) of Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) through the Department of Research (DR) is hereby acknowledged for financially supporting this research workCandidato, RTJ.; Ontolan, JPJ.; Carpio-Cobo, P.; Pawlowski, L.; Vequizo, RM. (2019). Effects of precursor composition used in solution precursor plasma spray on the properties of ZnO coatings for CO2 and UV light sensing. Surface and Coatings Technology. 371:395-400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2018.10.009S39540037

Graft and Corruption Practices Among Selected Public Officials in Mindanao, Southern Philippines

This study aims to examine the graft and corruption practices among selected public officials in southern Philippines. Thestudy is qualitative in nature making use of case study method in which an in-depth analysis of primary data obtained fromeight informants, four of whom are town mayors and their four incumbent municipal treasurers, is employed. The findingsrevealed that the mayor informants got elected through vote buying and bribery. Politics and family matters intersect asinformants are supported by their families during election who used guns, gold and goons to ensure election victory. Theclannish nature of the community finds expression also in the selection of relatives in municipal employment and in accessingmunicipal resources. The most prevalent corruption practice disclosed by the informants is amassing the internal revenueallotment (IRA) for personal purposes in order to recover the huge amount of money spent during election. Other types ofcorruption practices also include falsification of documents, nepotism, bribery, kickbacks, and evasion of public bidding.These public officials also do not seem to perform official duties in their towns as they live outside of their municipalities.Inter-agency involvement of corruption among different government agencies in the areas studied are also uncovered.Moreover, the perceived negative effects of corruption are manifested in the poor delivery of the community’s basic socialservices in health, water supply, education, and security protection. Corruption also adversely affects the construction ofcommunity infrastructure facilities and the establishment of an equitable and solid economic base. The study has implicationsto the strict policy implementation of the provisions of the 1991 Local Government Code of the Philippines, The Anti-Graftand Corrupt Practices Act, and other pertinent laws in order to improve the transparency, integrity and accountability of publicofficials not only in southern Philippines but also in the entire countryKEYWORDS: governance, inter-agency corruption involvement, Internal Review Allotment, maratabat, nepotis

The Hankel Transform of q

We define two forms of q-analogue of noncentral Stirling numbers of the second kind and obtain some properties parallel to those of noncentral Stirling numbers. Certain combinatorial interpretation is given for the second form of the q-analogue in the context of 0-1 tableaux which, consequently, yields certain additive identity and some convolution-type formulas. Finally, a q-analogue of noncentral Bell numbers is defined and its Hankel transform is established