Ag Engineering and Agronomy Farm and Central Iowa Research Farms Summary

Includes Ag Engineering and Agronomy Farm Farm and Weather Summary, Central Iowa Farms Farm and Weather Summary and Project List

Potassium Effects on Yield of Corn and Soybean and on Potassium Uptake and Recycling to the Soil

Considerable research has been conducted in central Iowa to study potassium (K) fertilization rates and placement methods on corn and soybean grain yield, K uptake, and soil-test K values. However, no research has investigated K recycling to the soil by maturing plants and crop residue until the next crop is planted. The amount and the timing of the K recycled to the soil should have a significant impact on soil-test K values, and should explain a great deal of usually very high soil-test K temporal variability. Therefore, plots of several field K trials in central Iowa were used to investigate these issues

Method For Obtaining Wood/Bark Adhesion Measurements on Small Samples

Using the Instron Tester, a procedure has been developed for measuring wood/bark adhesion on small samples. Using very small, specially prepared samples, wood/bark adhesion measurements were made on twenty-four hardwoods and eighteen conifers. High dormant season wood/bark adhesion in hardwoods was found to be associated with the presence of fibers in the inner bark. The procedure appears to be useful in identifying difficult-to-debark species and evaluating methods of reducing adhesion

Anti-Angiogenic and Anti-Cancer Effects by Targeting the Protein Kinase G Type-Iα (PKG-Iα) Signaling Pathway and its Downstream Effects on Expression of Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins, C-IAP1, Livin and Survivin

Ovarian cancer is often difficult to treat because of the development of resistance to many of the currently-used therapeutic agents (i.e. chemoresistance). The progression and chemoresistance of ovarian cancer can involve tumor angiogenesis, the development of new blood vessels bringing more blood and nutrients to the growing tumor. Tumor angiogenesis also involves the vascular endothelium-induced stimulation of cancer cell growth (1) and the higher expression levels of certain “cell survival proteins”, such as the Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins (IAPs, including c-IAP1, Livin and Survivin), which are expressed in both the proliferating cancer cells (2, 3) and the vascular endothelial cells involved in tumor angiogenesis (4)

Ag Engineering/Agronomy Farm and Central Iowa Farms Summary

Contains: Ag Engineering and Agronomy Farm Farm and Weather Summary Central Iowa Farms Farm and Weather Summary Project Lis

Morphological and Bark Strength Characteristics Important to Wood/Bark Adhesion in Hardwoods

Dormant season wood/bark adhesion was determined for twenty-four hardwood species using a previously described Instron testing machine method. Wood/bark adhesion was compared, using simple and multiple correlation techniques, with bark specific gravity, inner bark strength, bark toughness, wood specific gravity, wood toughness, percent bark fibers, and percent sclereids. Wood/bark adhesion was found to be positively correlated with percent bark fibers, bark toughness, and inner bark strength. Wood/bark adhesion was negatively correlated with percent sclereids in the bark. Morphologically, it appeared that the presence of fibers increased inner bark strength, sclereids decreased inner bark strength, and inner bark strength had a major influence on wood/bark adhesion. A multiple correlation comparison employing wood toughness and inner bark strength accounted for 69% of the wood/bark adhesion encountered