Stability and Broad-Sense Heritability of Mineral Content in Potato: Potassium and Phosphorus

In the study of nutritional variability in potato it is desirable to know the present range of expression and genetic potential for increase. Potato breeding lines and varieties in two separate trials were evaluated for potassium and phosphorus content by wet ashing and Inductively Coupled Argon Plasma Emission Spectrophotometer analysis. Stability and broad-sense heritability were determined. Among genotypes, potassium content ranged from 1.85 and 2.49% DW while phosphorus content ranged from 0.16 to 0.34% DW over both trials. Genotype by environment interactions were significant in the Tri-State and Western Regional Red/Specialty (WR-R/SP) trials for both potassium and phosphorus, while environments were not. Genotype was a significant source of variation for both minerals in the WR-R/SP trial only. In the Tri-State trials, 7 and 4 of ten clones were unstable before and after removal of environmental heterogeneity, respectively, for potassium content, and 5 and 4 genotypes were unstable before and after removal of environmental heterogeneity, respectively, for phosphorus. In the WR-R/SP Trials, 7 and 3 of 13 clones were unstable before and after removal of environmental heterogeneity, respectively, for potassium content, and 3 and 4 genotypes were unstable before and after removal of environmental heterogeneity, respectively, for phosphorus. Broad sense heritability was low for both potassium and phosphorus in the Tri-State Russet-Skin Trials but high for both potassium and phosphorus in the WR-R/SP Trials. Although potato is a minor contributor of phosphorus to the human diet, it is an important source of potassium. Adult males and females receive 12% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance of potassium from 100 g of potato. Estimates of broad-sense heritability from these two trials suggest that genotypes with higher levels of both potassium and phosphorus can be selected from within the Red/Specialty market class, but not from within the Tri-State russet class. An increase in potassium content in the potato, for which the daily need in the human body is so high, could be a boon to human health.Keywords: Germplasm, Breeding, ICAPES, Human nutrition, RD

Should I Take Aspirin? (SITA): RCT of a decision aid for cancer chemoprevention.

Background Australian guidelines recommend that all people aged 50-70 years old consider taking low-dose aspirin to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Aim To determine the effect of a consultation with a researcher in general practice using a decision aid about taking low-dose aspirin to prevent CRC on informed decision-making and low-dose aspirin uptake compared to a general CRC prevention brochure. Design and Setting Individually randomised controlled trial in six general practices in Victoria, Australia, from October 2020 to March 2021. Method Patients aged 50-70 years attending a general practitioner (GP) were recruited consecutively. The intervention was a consultation using a decision aid to discuss taking aspirin to reduce CRC risk; control consultations discussed reducing CRC risk generally. The self-reported co-primary outcomes were informed choices about taking aspirin at one month and low-dose aspirin uptake at six months. Results 261 participants (86% of eligible patients) were randomised into trial arms (129 intervention, 132 control). 17.7% (20/113) of intervention and 7.6% (9/118) control participants reported making an informed choice at one month, an estimated 9.1% (95% CI 0.29% to 18.5) between-arm difference in proportions [odds ratio (OR) 2.47 (97.5% CI:0.94 to 6.52) p=0.074]. The proportions of individuals who reported using aspirin at six months were: 10.2% (12/118) intervention vs 13.8% (16/116) control (estimated between-arm difference: -4.0% (95% CI: -13.5 to 5.5); [OR= 0.68 (97.5% CI:0.27 to 1.70), p= 0.692]. Conclusion The decision aid improved informed decision-making; but has little effect on long-term regular use of aspirin to reduce CRC risk

Owyhee Russet: AVariety with High Yields of U.S. No. 1 Tubers, Excellent Processing Quality, and Moderate Resistance to Fusarium Dry Rot (\u3ci\u3eFusarium solani var. coeruleum\u3c/i\u3e)

Owyhee Russet (AO96160-3) originated from a cross between A89384-10 and A89512-3 in 1996. Owyhee Russet was released in 2009 by Oregon State University, in cooperation with the USDA-ARS and the Agricultural Experiment Stations of Idaho and Washington and is a product of the Northwest Potato Variety (Tri-State) Development Program. Owyhee Russet has semi-erect medium sized vines with medium to late maturity. The tubers are long, with a tan skin, medium russeting, and attractive tuber appearance for fresh market. Owyhee Russet was evaluated in several locations across the Northwest for more than 15 years. Total yield of Owyhee Russet is similar to that of Russet Burbank and Ranger Russet but significantly higher than Russet Norkotah. U.S. No.1 tuber yield of Owyhee Russet is significantly higher than Russet Burbank and Russet Norkotah, resulting in substantially higher marketable yield. Owyhee Russet tubers have significantly higher specific gravity than Russet Burbank and Russet Norkotah. Fry color following tuber storage at 4°C and 9°C is significantly lighter for Owyhee Russet than the comparison varieties. Relative strengths include high yield with a very high proportion of U.S. No.1 tubers, good tuber appearance and excellent processing quality, resistance to cold sweetening, common scab and Fusarium dry rot. Weaknesses include susceptibility to foliar and tuber late blight and susceptibility to metribuzin herbicide injury. Allelic patterns of five SSR markers have shown that Owyhee Russet has a distinctive DNA genetic fingerprint from its russet type reference varieties which are Ranger Russet, Russet Burbank, and Russet Norkotah

Stability and Broad-Sense Heritability of Mineral Content in Potato: Copper and Sulfur

Sulfur and copper are important for human health. Sulfur deficiency is rare, but may occur in the elderly. However, a large percentage of the U.S. population is deficient in copper. The purpose of this study was to determine the range of values for sulfur and copper available in advanced potato germplasm and varieties and estimate how much genetic variation exists for these two elements. Potato breeding lines and varieties in three multisite trials were evaluated for copper and sulfur content by wet ashing and Inductively Coupled Argon Plasma Emission Spectrophotometer analysis. Stability and broad-sense heritability were determined. Among genotypes, copper content ranged from 2.0 to 4.5 ug-g⁻¹ DW. This was a 2.25-fold difference. In these three trials, environment was never significant, while genotype by environment interactions were always significant. Genotype was significant in two of the regional trials. Broad-sense heritabilities were estimated to be 0.0, 0.93 and 0.51 for the Tri-State, Western Regional Russet and Western Regional Red/Specialty trials, respectively. Among genotypes, sulfur content ranged from 991 to 1488 ug-g⁻¹ DW. The highest value was 50% higher than the lowest. In these three trials, environment was never significant, while genotype x environment interactions were always significant. Genotype was significant in two of the regional trials. Broad-sense heritabilities were estimated to be 0.53, 0.68 and 0.88, for Tri-State, Western Regional Russet, and Western Regional Red/Specialty trials, respectively. For both sulfur and copper, selection in the Western Regional Russet and Western Regional Red/Specialty trials is likely to lead to an increase in content. Selection for sulfur in the Tri-State would result in a gain as well. These results suggest that genetic improvements could be made to potato to enhance the concentrations of these minerals.Keywords: RDA, ICAPES, Germplasm, Human nutrition, BreedingKeywords: RDA, ICAPES, Germplasm, Human nutrition, Breedin

Interplay among transversity induced asymmetries in hadron leptoproduction

In the fragmentation of a transversely polarized quark several left-right asymmetries are possible for the hadrons in the jet. When only one unpolarized hadron is selected, it exhibits an azimuthal modulation known as Collins effect. When a pair of oppositely charged hadrons is observed, three asymmetries can be considered, a di-hadron asymmetry and two single hadron asymmetries. In lepton deep inelastic scattering on transversely polarized nucleons all these asymmetries are coupled with the transversity distribution. From the high statistics COMPASS data on oppositely charged hadron-pair production we have investigated for the first time the dependence of these three asymmetries on the difference of the azimuthal angles of the two hadrons. The similarity of transversity induced single and di-hadron asymmetries is discussed. A new analysis of the data allows to establish quantitative relationships among them, providing for the first time strong experimental indication that the underlying fragmentation mechanisms are all driven by a common physical process.Comment: 6 figure

Measurement of the charged-pion polarisability

The COMPASS collaboration at CERN has investigated pion Compton scattering, $\pi^-\gamma\rightarrow \pi^-\gamma$, at centre-of-mass energy below 3.5 pion masses. The process is embedded in the reaction $\pi^-\mathrm{Ni}\rightarrow\pi^-\gamma\;\mathrm{Ni}$, which is initiated by 190\,GeV pions impinging on a nickel target. The exchange of quasi-real photons is selected by isolating the sharp Coulomb peak observed at smallest momentum transfers, $Q^2<0.0015$\,(GeV/$c$)$^2$. From a sample of 63\,000 events the pion electric polarisability is determined to be $\alpha_\pi\ =\ (\,2.0\ \pm\ 0.6_{\mbox{\scriptsize stat}}\ \pm\ 0.7_{\mbox{\scriptsize syst}}\,) \times 10^{-4}\,\mbox{fm}^3$under the assumption$\alpha_\pi=-\beta_\pi$, which relates the electric and magnetic dipole polarisabilities. It is the most precise measurement of this fundamental low-energy parameter of strong interaction, that has been addressed since long by various methods with conflicting outcomes. While this result is in tension with previous dedicated measurements, it is found in agreement with the expectation from chiral perturbation theory. An additional measurement replacing pions by muons, for which the cross-section behavior is unambigiously known, was performed for an independent estimate of the systematic uncertainty.Comment: Published version: 9 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

Interplay among transversity induced asymmetries in hadron leptoproduction

In the fragmentation of a transversely polarized quark several left-right asymmetries are possible for the hadrons in the jet. When only one unpolarized hadron is selected, it exhibits an azimuthal modulation known as Collins effect. When a pair of oppositely charged hadrons is observed, three asymmetries can be considered, a di-hadron asymmetry and two single hadron asymmetries. In lepton deep inelastic scattering on transversely polarized nucleons all these asymmetries are coupled with the transversity distribution. From the high statistics COMPASS data on oppositely charged hadron-pair production we have investigated for the first time the dependence of these three asymmetries on the difference of the azimuthal angles of the two hadrons. The similarity of transversity induced single and di-hadron asymmetries is discussed. A new analysis of the data allows to establish quantitative relationships among them, providing for the first time strong experimental indication that the underlying fragmentation mechanisms are all driven by a common physical process.Comment: 6 figure

Collins and Sivers asymmetries in muonproduction of pions and kaons off transversely polarised proton

Measurements of the Collins and Sivers asymmetries for charged pions and charged and neutral kaons produced in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering of high energy muons off transversely polarised protons are presented. The results were obtained using all the available COMPASS proton data, which were taken in the years 2007 and 2010. The Collins asymmetries exhibit in the valence region a non-zero signal for pions and there are hints of non-zero signal also for kaons. The Sivers asymmetries are found to be positive for positive pions and kaons and compatible with zero otherwise.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures and 1 tabl

Spin alignment and violation of the OZI rule in exclusive ω\omega and ϕ\phi production in pp collisions

Exclusive production of the isoscalar vector mesons $\omega$ and $\phi$ is measured with a 190 GeV$/c$ proton beam impinging on a liquid hydrogen target. Cross section ratios are determined in three intervals of the Feynman variable $x_{F}$ of the fast proton. A significant violation of the OZI rule is found, confirming earlier findings. Its kinematic dependence on $x_{F}$ and on the invariant mass $M_{p\mathrm{V}}$ of the system formed by fast proton $p_\mathrm{fast}$ and vector meson $V$ is discussed in terms of diffractive production of $p_\mathrm{fast}V$ resonances in competition with central production. The measurement of the spin density matrix element $\rho_{00}$ of the vector mesons in different selected reference frames provides another handle to distinguish the contributions of these two major reaction types. Again, dependences of the alignment on $x_{F}$ and on $M_{p\mathrm{V}}$ are found. Most of the observations can be traced back to the existence of several excited baryon states contributing to $\omega$ production which are absent in the case of the $\phi$ meson. Removing the low-mass $M_{p\mathrm{V}}$ resonant region, the OZI rule is found to be violated by a factor of eight, independently of $x_\mathrm{F}$.Comment: 23 pages, 13 figures and 5 table