Previous Grass-Lucerne Mixtures Affect Barley Yield and Quality in a Semiarid Location of the Canadian Prairie Region

In the semiarid region of the Canadian prairies perennial forages are not rotated with annual crops because previous experiments reported negative impacts (Kilcher and Anderson 1963; Campbell et al. 1990). However, previous research used persistent species while short-lived species could have less adverse effect. Our objective was to compare three grass species in three lucerne mixtures terminated with tillage or herbicide for effects on barley grain, N concentration, and N uptake

Yield and protein of wheat and durum in Brown Soil Zone as affected by long-term tillage system and crop rotation

Non-Peer ReviewedThree tillage-rotation experiments in the Brown soil zone showed that spring wheat and durum grain yield and protein were affected by tillage system, length of time in tillage system, crop sequence. During the initial 15 years of no-tillage (NT) monoculture wheat, grain yield and protein were equal or lower than minimum-till (MT) or conventional tillage (CT). These differences were attributed to reduced N availability with NT, likely from greater N immobilization (sequestration) in soil organic matter under NT. However, during the last several years, grain yield and protein with NT continuous wheat has been equal to higher than with MT practices. This may be due to improved management, specifically better control of foxtail barley and side banding of N at time of seeding, and/or simply a longer time in NT. When following non-cereal crop, spring wheat and durum had equal or higher yield and protein than wheat following wheat. In diversified rotations, the wheat or durum had highest yield under NT practices. Wheat on MT and NT fallow, with an extra 23 kg/ha fertilizer N applied, had higher grain protein than wheat on CT fallow but not higher grain yield. Durum grown on fallow after a pulse crop had higher yield and protein than that grown after fallow after durum

A procedure to extract the complex amplitudes of He photodouble ionization from experimental data

A procedure to extract the two complex amplitudes that govern the He photodouble ionization process from the experimental data is proposed. The results are compared with the predictions of the convergent close coupling and hyperspherical R-matrix with semiclassical outgoing wave theories

The effect of long-term application of P fertilizer on soil grown forage plants

Non-Peer ReviewedPhosphorus (P) fertilization does not always increase crop yields but the repeated use of P may modify the biological properties of soils. The objective of the present study, therefore, was to investigate the effect of long term applications of P fertilizer on soil biological properties. We used an experimental site located in Swift Current in which different amounts of P (0, 20 and 40 kg P2O5 ha-1) were applied annually for the past 8 years on alfalfa and alfalfa-Russian wild rye hay crops. Our hypothesis was that repeated application of P influences soil microbial biomass and various soil enzymes. Microbial biomass C in the 0-7.5 cm soil layer was determined by fumigation-extraction at each of three harvest dates, and dehydrogenase, acid phosphatase and urease activities were assayed. Application of P to soil increased soil available P, dissolved organic C and available NO3-N, but did not significantly affect crop yields or soil microbial biomass C. Arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization of crop roots, and dehydrogenase and urease activities were decreased, suggesting that P reduced soil microbial activity. Acid phosphatase activity remained unchanged with P fertilization, suggesting that P availability was not limiting in these systems. While 8 years of application of P had little effect on hay yields, it generally reduced the activity of the soil microbial biomass

Driving Factors of Recommending a Hand Surgery Clinic After Surgery

Purpose: Since a patient's recommendation of a clinic to others is an important indicator of patient experience, more insight is needed into the underlying factors that motivate such recommendations. This retrospective cohort study assessed the relative contribution of the following: (1) patient-related characteristics, (2) treatment outcome, (3) satisfaction with treatment outcome, and (4) patients’ experience with the process of care to patients’ recommendation of a specific clinic after elective surgery. Methods: Patients of specialized outpatient hand surgery clinics (N = 6,895) reported the likelihood of recommending the clinic to friends or family 3–5 months after surgery by filling in the Net Promoter Score. Potential predictors of the Net Promoter Score were preoperative patient characteristics, patient-reported treatment outcomes, satisfaction with treatment outcome, and experience with several health care delivery domains. Linear regression analyses were used to examine the contribution of the predictors. Results: Mean age of the patients was 53 (SD, 14) years, 62.5% were women, and 62.5% were employed. Preoperative patient characteristics explained 1% of the variance in clinic recommendations. An additional 6% was explained by the treatment outcome, 21.6% by satisfaction with treatment outcome, and 33.8% by patients’ experience with care delivery (total explained variance was 62.3%). The strongest independent predictors of clinic recommendations were positive experiences with the quality of the facilities and the communication skills of the physician. Conclusions: Patient recommendations are more strongly driven by patients’ experience with care delivery than by treatment outcome and patient characteristics. Clinical relevance: In elective surgery, improving patient experiences is pivotal in boosting patient recommendation of the clinic.</p

Manual de manejo conservacionista do solo para os estados do Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina e Paraná.

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Growth Diagrams for Individual Finger Strength in Children Measured with the RIHM

Background: Although grip and pinch strength provide a more global measure of a large number of digits and muscles, measuring strength of individual fingers or the thumb can provide additional and more detailed information regarding hand strength. Questions/purposes: We developed growth diagrams for individual finger strength in children. Patients and Methods: We measured thumb palmar abduction, thumb opposition, and thumb flexion in the metacarpophalangeal joint, and abduction of the index and little fingers in 101 children (4-12 years old) using a myometer. We recorded hand dominance, gender, height, and weight. All measurements were performed in a randomized order by the same researcher. We developed statistical models for drawing growth diagrams using estimated percentiles for each strength measurement. Separate models for dominant and nondominant hands of boys and girls were developed, in addition to a combined model. Results: Because there was no difference in strength between boys and girls and between dominant and nondominant hands, both hands and genders were combined in one growth diagram for each measurement. The normative data were presented in a table format and in growth diagrams for each myometer measurement. Conclusions: These diagrams can be used for pediatric patients such as patients with congenital malformations or neuromuscular disorders who receive interventions or therapy aimed at function of the hand, fingers, or thumb. The growth diagrams facilitate distinguishing between the effects of growth and intervention on strength development

Item reduction of the patient-rated wrist evaluation using decision tree modelling

© 2019 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Background: The aim of this study is to assess the viability of a decision tree version of an often used questionnaire to measure wrist pain and disability, the Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation. Methods: Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation scores were collected from a cohort of 10394 patients who are part of a routine outcome measurement system. A decision tree version of the Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE) was created. The intraclass correlation was used to evaluate the inter-version reliability between the original PRWE and the decision tree version. Results: The decision tree reduced the number of questions from 5 to 3 for the pain subscale, and from 10 to 3 for the disability subscale. The intraclass correlation between the original PRWE and the decision tree version was 0.97. The mean difference between the Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation and the decision tree Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation total sumscore was 0.35 (95% CI −9.92–10.62). Conclusions: We found that the decision tree was successful at reducing the items of the Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation from fifteen to only six questions with very high similarity to the scores of the full questionnaire.Implications for rehabilitation The Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation can reliably be used with 6 instead of 15 questions. Decision trees are useful statistical tools to shorten lengthy questionnaires, especially when large amounts of data are available. Having a shortened Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation saves patients and clinicians time in answering this specific questionnaire

CONNECTIVITY BETWEEN POPULATIONS OF THE MARINE CRAB LIOCARCINUS DEPURATOR IN THE ATLANTO-MEDITERRANEAN TRANSITION: A FIVE YEAR SERIES

Abstract: We carried out a spatial and temporal genetic differentiation analysis using seven populations of the marine crab Liocarcinus depurator to elucidate the effect of three oceanographic discontinuities in the Atlanto-Mediterranean coast: Gibraltar Strait, Almeria-Oran Front and Ibiza Channel. To conduct this study, a 527 bp fragment of the mitochondrial COI gene was sequenced in individuals captured in the period 2014-2018 from the following Iberian coast populations: Cádiz, West Alboran, East Alboran, Alacant, Valencia, Ebro Delta and North Catalonia. Two haplogroups were detected; one characteristic of Atlantic waters and the other of Mediterranean. Their differential distribution allowed understanding the connectivity between populations. The effect of the oceanographic fronts on gene flow varied over time. Their effects were significant for the Gibraltar Strait (2014 and 2017), Almeria Oran Front (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017) and Ibiza Channel (2015). Interestingly, the joint analysis of West Alboran, East Alboran and Alacant populations allowed a more precise detection of the location of the Almeria Oran Front biological effects. Finally, significant differences were observed in connectivity between Valencia and Ebro Delta in 2015, although there is not an oceanographic discontinuity between them. The main conclusion is that the gene flow is mediated by oceanographic fronts, but their intensity and effects change over time.CTM2017-88080 AEI/FEDER, UE) (CTM2015-66400-C3-3-R MINECO/FEDER) (2017 SGR 1120)