A lack of response of irrigated soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) in rotation with cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in the Mississippi Delta, USA

The effects of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.): soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotations on the respective crops are limited. This manuscript discusses the response of irrigated soybean in crop rotation with cotton. An irrigated soybean: cotton rotation experiment was conducted from the year 2012 through 2015 near Elizabeth, MS. The crop rotation sequences were included continuous soybean (SSSS), continuous cotton (CCCC), cotton followed by soybean (SCSC), soybean followed by cotton (CSCS), soybean followed by two year of cotton (SCCS), and cotton followed by two year of soybean (CSSC). The rotations were grown under two production systems conventional and transgenetic with respect to weed control. During this study, a weed control treatment of (pendimethalin pre-emergence vs. glyphosate post-emergence) as included on the soybean plots was used. The soybean yields across rotations within a year were not significantly different. The means yields differed among years (3655.1, 3023.6, 3500.6 and 2600.3 Kg ha-1 for the year 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively) and appear related to difference in rainfall/irrigation amounts. The results revealed that the weights of 100 seed samples averaged 13.9g in the year 2015 which differed from the previous years (16.2, 15.6, and 16.2g; 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively). Therefore, the rotations of cotton with soybean appear to have neither a beneficial or negative effect on soybean yield

Changing the ideological roots of prejudice: Longitudinal effects of ethnic intergroup contact on social dominance orientation

Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) has been reported to be strongly related to a multitude of intergroup phenomena, but little is known about situational experiences that may influence SDO. Drawing from research on intergroup contact theory, we argue that positive intergroup contact is able to reduce SDO-levels. The results of an intergroup contact intervention study among high school students (Study 1, N=71) demonstrated that SDO-levels were indeed attenuated after the intervention. Furthermore, this intervention effect on SDO was especially pronounced among students reporting a higher quality of contact. A cross-lagged longitudinal survey among adults (Study 2, N=363) extended these findings by demonstrating that positive intergroup contact is able to decrease SDO over time. Moreover, we did not obtain evidence for the idea that people high in SDO would engage less in intergroup contact. These findings indicate that intergroup contact erodes one of the important socio-ideological bases of generalized prejudice and discrimination

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY Genotypic Variation in Physiological Strategies For Attaining Cotton Lint Yield Production

ABSTRACT The quality and quantity of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) lint produced are complex traits controlled by multiple processes. The physiology behind yield and quality variations is not completely understood. Objectives for this research were to document the physiological strategies diverse cotton genotypes take to achieve their yield and fiber quality. The genotypes 'DPL 444BR', 'DPL 555BR', 'FM 800BR', 'MD 9', 'MD 15-OP', 'MD 29', 'MD 51 normal', 'MD 51 okra', 'PM 1218BR', and 'ST 4892BR' were grown in the field from 2005-2008. Dry matter partitioning, leaf photosynthesis, chlorophyll concentration, root hydraulic conductance, lint yield, yield components, and fiber quality data were collected. Lint yields ranged from 1675 to 1119 kg ha -1 among the genotypes. The size of the available carbon assimilate pool generated by a genotype appeared to be related to lint yield production. Genotypes used different strategies to generate this carbon assimilate pool, i.e. through improved photosynthetic rates and/ or solar radiation interception, and then convert that carbon into lint production. Fiber quality variations, however, could not easily be explained by just variations in the plants ability to produce carbon assimilates. Beyond just the quantity of carbon assimilates, it is the manner in which the plant assembles these carbon skeletons into the cellular matrix that determines the quality of the fiber produced. These research findings can be utilized to meet the challenge of future yield and fiber quality improvements

Consumers’ responses to front-of-pack labels that vary by interpretive content

Previous research has shown that front-of-pack labels (FoPLs) can assist people to make healthier food choices if they are easy to understand and people are motivated to use them. There is some evidence that FoPLs providing an assessment of a food’s health value (evaluative FoPLs) are easier to use than those providing only numerical information on nutrients (reductive FoPLs). Recently, a new evaluative FoPL (the Health Star Rating (HSR)) has been introduced to Australia and New Zealand. The HSR features a summary indicator, differentiating it from many other FoPLs being used around the world. The aim of this study was to understand how consumers of all ages use and make sense of reductive FoPLs and evaluative FoPLs including evaluative FoPLs with and without summary indicators. Ten focus groups were conducted in Perth, Western Australia with adults (n=50) and children aged 10-17 years (n=35) to explore reactions to one reductive FoPL (the Daily Intake Guide), an existing evaluative FoPL (multiple traffic lights), and a new evaluative FoPL (the HSR). Participants preferred the evaluative FoPLs over the reductive FoPL, with the strongest preference being for the FoPL with the summary indicator (HSR). Discussions revealed the cognitive strategies used when interpreting each FoPL (e.g., using cut offs, heuristics, and the process of elimination), which differed according to FoPL format. Most participants reported being motivated to use the evaluative FoPLs (particularly the HSR) to make choices about foods consumed as part of regular daily meals, but not for discretionary foods consumed as snacks or deserts. The findings provide further evidence of the potential utility of evaluative FoPLs in supporting healthy food choices and can assist policy makers in selecting between alternative FoPL formats

MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY Genotypic Variation in Physiological Strategies For Attaining Cotton Lint Yield Production

ABSTRACT The quality and quantity of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) lint produced are complex traits controlled by multiple processes. The physiology behind yield and quality variations is not completely understood. Objectives for this research were to document the physiological strategies diverse cotton genotypes take to achieve their yield and fiber quality. The genotypes 'DPL 444BR', 'DPL 555BR', 'FM 800BR', 'MD 9', 'MD 15-OP', 'MD 29', 'MD 51 normal', 'MD 51 okra', 'PM 1218BR', and 'ST 4892BR' were grown in the field from 2005-2008. Dry matter partitioning, leaf photosynthesis, chlorophyll concentration, root hydraulic conductance, lint yield, yield components, and fiber quality data were collected. Lint yields ranged from 1675 to 1119 kg ha -1 among the genotypes. The size of the available carbon assimilate pool generated by a genotype appeared to be related to lint yield production. Genotypes used different strategies to generate this carbon assimilate pool, i.e. through improved photosynthetic rates and/ or solar radiation interception, and then convert that carbon into lint production. Fiber quality variations, however, could not easily be explained by just variations in the plants ability to produce carbon assimilates. Beyond just the quantity of carbon assimilates, it is the manner in which the plant assembles these carbon skeletons into the cellular matrix that determines the quality of the fiber produced. These research findings can be utilized to meet the challenge of future yield and fiber quality improvements

Clinical Perspectives in Integrating Whole Genome Sequencing into the Investigation of Healthcare and Public Health Outbreaks - Hype or Help?

Bioinformatics and Computational Biology analyses were supported by the University of St Andrews Bioinformatics Unit which is funded by a Wellcome Trust ISSF award [grant 097831/Z/11/Z]. The SHAIPI consortium is funded by the Chief Scientist Office through the Scottish Infection Research Network (SIRN10).Outbreaks pose a significant patient safety risk as well as being costly and time consuming to investigate. The implementation of targeted infection prevention and control (IPC) measures relies on infection prevention and control teams (IPCTs) having access to rapid results that accurately detect resistance, and typing results that give clinically useful information on the relatedness of isolates. At present, determining whether transmission has occurred can be a major challenge. Conventional typing results do not always have sufficient granularity or robustness to unequivocally define strains, and sufficient epidemiological data to establish links between patients and the environment is not always available. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) has emerged as the ultimate genotyping tool, but has not yet fully crossed the divide between research method and routine clinical diagnostic microbiology technique. A clinical WGS service was officially established in 2014 as part of the Scottish Healthcare Associated Infection Prevention Institute (SHAIPI) to confirm or refute outbreaks in hospital settings from across Scotland. In this personal view we describe our experiences that we believe provide new insights into the practical application of the use of WGS to investigate healthcare and public health outbreaks. We also propose solutions to overcome barriers to implementation of this technology in a clinical environment.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Thinking strategically about assessment

Drawing upon the literature on strategy formulation in organisations, this paper argues for a focus on strategy as process. It relates this to the need to think strategically about assessment, a need engendered by resource pressures, developments in learning and the demands of external stakeholders. It is argued that in practice assessment strategies are often formed at the level of practice, but that this produces contradiction and confusion at higher levels. Such tensions cannot be managed away, but they can be reflected on and mitigated. The paper suggests a framework for the construction of assessment strategies at different levels of an institution. However, the main conclusion is that the process of constructing such strategies should be an opportunity for learning and reflection, rather than one of compliance