Expected Response To Early-generation Selection For Yield And Tuber Appearance Traits In Potatoes

The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of potato clonal families, and to estimate genetic variance, heritability and the expected response to selection of tuber yield and appearance traits in early generations. Twelve potato families were obtained from crosses between two groups of randomly-selected genotypes, including Eliza, C1730-7-94, and C1742-8-95 in group 1; and Shepody, Asterix, Caesar, and White Lady in group 2. The crosses were made in factorial design (3 genotypes x 4 genotypes), and each family consisted of 75 genotypes. Experiments were conducted in the fall of 2010, with a seedling generation under greenhouse conditions, and in the fall of 2011, with a clonal generation under field condition. High heritability estimates suggest that mild to moderate selection can be applied in the seedling generation to eye depth, eyebrow prominence, tuber curvature, flattening and shape uniformity. The C1742-8-95/White Lady stood out as a superior cross, as did all other crosses with White Lady, regarding tuber appearance and yield traits.3752849285

Nuno Venturinha. Description of Situations: An Essay in Contextualist Epistemology (Springer, 2018, 120 pages)

UIDB/00183/2020 UIDP/00183/2020This book symposium comprises a précis of Nuno Venturinha’s Description of Situations: An Essay in Contextualist Epistemology (Springer, 2018) together with four critical commentaries on different aspects of the book by Marcelo Carvalho, João Vergílio Gallerani Cuter, Marcos Silva and Darlei Dall’Agnol, and the author’s replies.publishersversionpublishe

Magnetocaloric Effect And Evidence Of Superparamagnetism In Gda L2 Nanocrystallites: A Magnetic-structural Correlation

The correlation between structural and magnetic properties of GdAl2, focusing on the role played by the disorder in magnetic ordering and how it influences the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) are discussed. Micrometric-sized particles, consisting of nanocrystallites embedded in an amorphous matrix, were prepared by a mechanical milling technique and characterized by means of x-ray diffraction, scanning and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy as well as magnetic measurements as a function of an applied external magnetic field and temperature. The results show that the average particle size is just slightly diminished (≈7%) with the milling time (between 3 and 13 h), whereas the average crystallite size undergoes an expressive reduction (≈43%). For long milling times, structural disorders mostly associated with crystallite size singularly affect the magnetic properties, leading to a large tablelike MCE in the temperature range between 30 and 165 K. Below 30 K, nanocrystallites with dimensions below a given critical size cause an enhancement in the magnetic entropy change related to superparamagnetic behavior. In contrast, for low milling times, relative cooling power values are improved. These striking features along with the small magnetic hysteresis observed make the milled GdAl2 a promising material for application in the magnetic refrigeration technology. Finally, a discussion in an attempt to elucidate the origin of the spin-glass states previously reported in the literature for mechanically milled GdAl2 samples for very long times (400 and 1000 h) is presented. © 2016 American Physical Society.93

Modulation Of The Catalytic Activity Of Porphyrins By Lipid- And Surfactant-containing Nanostructures

The structural factors modulating porphyrin activity encompass pyrrole and equatorial ligands, as well as the central metal and the number and structure of their axial ligands. Of equal importance is the microenvironment provided by apoproteins, solvents and membranes. Porphyrins are often used to construct supramolecular structures with different applications. The modulation of activity of the porphyrins has been frequently achieved by mimicking nature, i.e., by the provision of different microenvironments for these molecules. The association of porphyrins to surfactant- and lipid-containing nanostructures has changed the activity of these compounds to mimic different enzymes such as SOD, cytochrome P450, peroxidases and others. In determined conditions, the reactive forms of the porphyrins are high-valence states of oxo-metal-π cations and oxo-metal produced by the reaction with peroxides and peracids. 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On the evaluation of soil erosion models:Are we doing enough?

As any model of real-world phenomena, soil erosion models must be tested against empirical evidence to have their performance evaluated. This is critical to develop knowledge and confidence in model predictions. However, evaluating soil erosion models is complicated due to the uncertainties involved in the estimation of model parameters and measurements of system responses. Here, we undertake a term co-occurrence analysis to investigate how model evaluation is approached in soil erosion research. The analysis illustrates how model testing is often neglected, and how model evaluation topics are segregated from current research interests. We perform a meta-analysis of model performance to understand the mechanisms that influence model predictive accuracy. Results indicate that different models do not systematically outperform each other, and that calibration seems to be the main mechanism of model improvement. We review how soil erosion models have been evaluated at different temporal and spatial scales, focusing on the methods, assumptions, and data used for model testing. We discuss the implications of uncertainty and equifinality in soil erosion models, and implement a case study of uncertainty assessment that enables models to be tested as hypotheses. A comment on the way forward for the evaluation of erosion models is presented, discussing philosophical aspects of hypothesis testing in environmental modelling. We refute the notion that soil erosion models can be validated, and emphasize the necessity of defining fit-for-purpose tests, based on multiple sources of data, that allow for a broad investigation of model usefulness and consistency

Post-release challenges: case report of parasitosis by Ancylostoma sp. in a giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla)

ABSTRACT The giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is classified as vulnerable to extinction. Here, we report the occurrence of ancylostomiasis in a young male Myrmecophaga tridactyla. The animal was raised from a puppy in captivity with management directed toward rehabilitation and monitored soft release. Five months after release, significant weight loss was noted in the individual, who was captured for examinations, with detection of Ancylostoma sp. in coproparasitological analysis. Although common in domestic carnivores, this is the first report of hookworm disease in free-ranging giant anteaters. Due to the stress factor arising from adapting to the challenges in the new environment, long-term post-release monitoring of animals undergoing rehabilitation is extremely important to increase the chance of survival of individuals. The giant anteater was released after treatment with vermifuge composed of fenbendazole, pyrantel pamoate, and praziquantel

Base-assisted synthesis of 4-pyridinate gold(I) metallaligands: a study of their use in self-assembly reactions

The synthesis of di- and tritopic gold(I) metallaligands of the type [(Au4-py)2(μ2-diphosphane)] (diphosphane = bis(diphenylphosphanyl)isopropane or dppip (1), 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphanyl)ethane or dppe (2), 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphanyl)propane or dppp (3) and 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphanyl)butane or dppb (4)) and [(Au4-py)3(μ3-triphosphane)] (triphosphane = 1,1,1-tris(diphenylphosphanylmethyl)ethane or triphos (5) and 1,3,5-tris(diphenylphosphanyl)benzene or triphosph (6)) from [(AuCl)2(μ2-diphosphane)] or [(AuCl)3(μ3-triphosphane)] and 4-pyridylboronic acid in the presence of Cs2CO3 has been conducted. Interestingly, when [(AuCl)2(μ2-dppm)] (dppm = bis(diphenylphosphanyl)methane) was used as a starting material, the cyclic tetranuclear gold(I) compound [(Au4-py)2(CH)2{μ2-Au(PPh2)2}2] (I) was obtained instead. All the products have been characterized by IR and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and elemental analysis and in the case of 1, 3, 5 and I by X-ray crystallography, which showed the presence of aurophilic interactions in all of them. The obtained metallaligands have been used as building blocks in self-assembly reactions with cis-blocked palladium or platinum acceptor moieties producing [2 + 2] metallamacrocycles or trigonal bipyramidal (TBP) [2 + 3] metallacages in good yields. The photophysical properties of both the metallaligands and the corresponding assemblies have been investigated

Soil biochemistry and microbial activity in vineyards under conventional and organic management at Northeast Brazil.

The São Francisco Submedium Valley is located at the Brazilian semiarid region and is an important center for irrigated fruit growing. This region is responsible for 97% of the national exportation of table grapes, including seedless grapes. Based on the fact that orgThe São Francisco Submedium Valley is located at the Brazilian semiarid region and is an important center for irrigated fruit growing. This region is responsible for 97% of the national exportation of table grapes, including seedless grapes. Based on the fact that organic fertilization can improve soil quality, we compared the effects of conventional and organic soil management on microbial activity and mycorrhization of seedless grape crops. We measured glomerospores number, most probable number (MPN) of propagules, richness of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) species, AMF root colonization, EE-BRSP production, carbon microbial biomass (C-MB), microbial respiration, fluorescein diacetate hydrolytic activity (FDA) and metabolic coefficient (qCO2). The organic management led to an increase in all variables with the exception of EE-BRSP and qCO2. Mycorrhizal colonization increased from 4.7% in conventional crops to 15.9% in organic crops. Spore number ranged from 4.1 to 12.4 per 50 g-1 soil in both management systems. The most probable number of AMF propagules increased from 79 cm-3 soil in the conventional system to 110 cm-3 soil in the organic system. Microbial carbon, CO2 emission, and FDA activity were increased by 100 to 200% in the organic crop. Thirteen species of AMF were identified, the majority in the organic cultivation system. Acaulospora excavata, Entrophospora infrequens, Glomus sp.3 and Scutellospora sp. were found only in the organically managed crop. S. gregaria was found only in the conventional crop. Organically managed vineyards increased mycorrhization and general soil microbial activity

Accessing directly the properties of fundamental scalars in the confinement and Higgs phase

The properties of elementary particles are encoded in their respective propagators and interaction vertices. For a SU(2) gauge theory coupled to a doublet of fundamental complex scalars these propagators are determined in both the Higgs phase and the confinement phase and compared to the Yang-Mills case, using lattice gauge theory. Since the propagators are gauge-dependent, this is done in the Landau limit of 't Hooft gauge, permitting to also determine the ghost propagator. It is found that neither the gauge boson nor the scalar differ qualitatively in the different cases. In particular, the gauge boson acquires a screening mass, and the scalar's screening mass is larger than the renormalized mass. Only the ghost propagator shows a significant change. Furthermore, indications are found that the consequences of the residual non-perturbative gauge freedom due to Gribov copies could be different in the confinement and the Higgs phase.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, 1 table; v2: one minor error corrected; v3: one appendix on systematic uncertainties added and some minor changes, version to appear in EPJ