Use of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy to predict nitrogen uptake by winter wheat within fields with high variability in organic matter

In this study, the ability to predict N-uptake in winter wheat crops using NIR-spectroscopy on soil samples was evaluated. Soil samples were taken in unfertilized plots in one winter wheat field during three years (1997-1999) and in another winter wheat field nearby in one year (2000). Soil samples were analyzed for organic C content and their NIR-spectra. N-uptake was measured as total N-content in aboveground plant materials at harvest. Models calibrated to predict N-uptake were internally cross validated and validated across years and across fields. Cross-validated calibrations predicted N-uptake with an average error of 12.1 to 15.4 kg N ha-1. The standard deviation divided by this error (RPD) ranged between 1.9 and 2.5. In comparison, the corresponding calibrations based on organic C alone had an error from 11.7 to 28.2 kg N ha-1 and RPDs from 1.3 to 2.5. In three of four annual calibrations within a field, the NIR-based calibrations worked better than the organic C based calibrations. The prediction of N-uptake across years, but within a field, worked slightly better with an organic C based calibration than with a NIR based one, RPD = 1.9 and 1.7 respectively. Across fields, the corresponding difference was large in favour of the NIR-calibration, RPD = 2.5 for the NIR-calibration and 1.5 for the organic C calibration. It was concluded that NIR-spectroscopy integrates information about organic C with other relevant soil components and therefore has a good potential to predict complex functions of soils such as N-mineralization. A relatively good agreement of spectral relationships to parameters related to the N-mineralization of datasets across the world suggests that more general models can be calibrated

Anti-transglutaminase 6 antibodies in children and young adults with cerebral palsy.

Objectives. We have previously reported a high prevalence of gluten-related serological markers (GRSM) in children and young adults with cerebral palsy (CP). The majority had no enteropathy to suggest coeliac disease (CD). Antibodies against transglutaminase 6 (anti-TG6) represent a new marker associated with gluten-related neurological dysfunction. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of anti-TG6 antibodies in this group of individuals with an early neurological injury resulting in CP. Materials and Methods. Sera from 96 patients with CP and 36 controls were analysed for IgA/IgG class anti-TG6 by ELISA. Results. Anti-TG6 antibodies were found in 12/96 (13%) of patients with CP compared to 2/36 (6%) in controls. The tetraplegic subgroup of CP had a significantly higher prevalence of anti-TG6 antibodies 6/17 (35%) compared to the other subgroups and controls. There was no correlation of anti-TG6 autoantibodies with seropositivity to food proteins including gliadin. Conclusions. An early brain insult and associated inflammation may predispose to future development of TG6 autoimmunity

Transients in Power Systems

Power system engineering largely focuses on steady state analysis. The main areas of power system engineering are power flow studies and fault studies - both steady state technologies. But the world is largely transient, and power systems are always subject to time varying and short lived signals. This technical report concerns several important topics in transient analyses of power systems. The leading chapter deals with a new analytical tool-wavelets-for power system transients. Flicker and electric are furnace transients are discussed in Chapters I1 and IV. Chapter 111 deals with transients from shunt capacitor switching. The concluding chapters deal with transformer inrush current and non simultaneous pole closures of circuit breakers. This report was prepared by the students in EE532 at Purdue University. When I first came to Purdue in 1965, Professor El-Abiad was asking for student term projects which were turned into technical reports. I have \u27borrowed\u27 this idea and for many years we have produced technical reports from the power systems courses. The students get practice in writing reports, and the reader is able to get an idea of the coverage of our courses. I think that the students have done a good job on the subject of transients in power systems

Microservice Transition and its Granularity Problem: A Systematic Mapping Study

Microservices have gained wide recognition and acceptance in software industries as an emerging architectural style for autonomic, scalable, and more reliable computing. The transition to microservices has been highly motivated by the need for better alignment of technical design decisions with improving value potentials of architectures. Despite microservices' popularity, research still lacks disciplined understanding of transition and consensus on the principles and activities underlying "micro-ing" architectures. In this paper, we report on a systematic mapping study that consolidates various views, approaches and activities that commonly assist in the transition to microservices. The study aims to provide a better understanding of the transition; it also contributes a working definition of the transition and technical activities underlying it. We term the transition and technical activities leading to microservice architectures as microservitization. We then shed light on a fundamental problem of microservitization: microservice granularity and reasoning about its adaptation as first-class entities. This study reviews state-of-the-art and -practice related to reasoning about microservice granularity; it reviews modelling approaches, aspects considered, guidelines and processes used to reason about microservice granularity. This study identifies opportunities for future research and development related to reasoning about microservice granularity.Comment: 36 pages including references, 6 figures, and 3 table

Semi-Markov reward models for disability insurance

A semi-Markov model for disability insurance is described. Statistical evidences of relevance semi-Markov setting are given. High order semi-Markov backward reward models are invented. Applications of these models to profit-risk analysis of disability insurance contracts are considered

Convergence of option rewards for Markov type price processes

A general price process represented by a two-component Markov process is considered. Its first component is interpreted as a price process and the second one as an index process controlling the price component. American type options with pay-off functions, which admit power type upper bounds, are studied. Both the transition characteristics of the price processes and the pay-off functions are assumed to depend on a perturbation parameter δ ≥ 0 and to converge to the corresponding limit characteristics as δ → 0. Results about the convergence of reward functionals for American type options for perturbed processes are presented for models with continuous and discrete time as well as asymptotically uniform skeleton approximations connecting reward functionals for continuous and discrete time models

Two hundred years of land-use change in the South Swedish Uplands : comparison of historical map-based estimates with a pollen-based reconstruction using the landscape reconstruction algorithm

International audienceLong-term records of environmental history at decadal to millennial timescales enable an assessment of ecosystem variability and responses to past anthropogenic disturbances and are fundamental for the development of environmental management strategies. This study examines the local variability of land-use history in the South Swedish Uplands over the last 200 years based on pollen records from three lake-sediment successions. Temporal changes in the proportional cover of 14 plant taxa were quantified as percentages using the landscape reconstruction algorithm (LRA). The LRA-based estimates of the extent of four land-use categories (cropland, meadows/grassland, wetland, outland/woodland) were compared to corresponding estimates based on historical maps and aerial photographs from AD 1769–1823, 1837–1895, 1946 and 2005. Although the LRA approach tends to overestimate grassland cover by 10–30 % for the two earliest time periods, the reconstructed vegetation composition is generally in good agreement with estimates based on the historical records. Subsequently, the LRA approach was used to reconstruct the 200-year history of local land-use dynamics at 20-year intervals around two small lakes. The qualitative assessment of difference approach , which requires fewer assumptions and parameters than LRA for objective evaluation of between-site differences in plant abundances, provides consistent results in general. Significant differences exist in the land-use history between the sites. Local catchment characteristics, such as soil conditions and wetland cover, appear important for the development of human impact on the landscape. Quantifi-cations of past vegetation dynamics provide information on the amplitude, frequency and duration of the land-use changes and their effects on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems , and should be taken into account when nature conservation strategies are developed

Numerical Computations with H(div)-Finite Elements for the Brinkman Problem

The H(div)-conforming approach for the Brinkman equation is studied numerically, verifying the theoretical a priori and a posteriori analysis in previous work of the authors. Furthermore, the results are extended to cover a non-constant permeability. A hybridization technique for the problem is presented, complete with a convergence analysis and numerical verification. Finally, the numerical convergence studies are complemented with numerical examples of applications to domain decomposition and adaptive mesh refinement.Comment: Minor clarifications, added references. Reordering of some figures. To appear in Computational Geosciences, final article available at http://www.springerlink.co

Genetic variation in herbivore resistance within a strawberry crop wild relative (Fragaria vesca L.)

To decrease the dependency on chemical pesticides, the resistance of cultivated strawberry to pests needs to be increased. While genetic resources within domesticated varieties are limited, wild genotypes are predicted to show high heritable variation in useful resistance traits. We collected 86 wild accessions of Fragaria vesca L. from central Sweden and screened this germplasm for antibiosis (pest survival and performance) and antixenosis (pest preference) traits active against the strawberry leaf beetle (Galerucella tenella L.). First, extensive common garden experiments were used to study antibiosis traits in the sampled plant genotypes. Heritable genetic variation among plant genotypes was found for several antibiosis traits. Second, controlled cafeteria experiments were used to test for plant genetic variation in antixenosis traits. The leaf beetles avoided egg laying on plant genotypes possessing high antibiosis. This indicates a high degree of concordance between antibiosis and antixenosis and that the beetles' egg-laying behavior optimizes the fitness of their offspring. The existence of high genetic variation in key resistance traits suggests that wild woodland strawberry contains untapped resources that are sought to reduce pesticide dependence in cultivated strawberry. Given that only a very small portion of the species' distribution area was sampled, even higher variation may be expected at the continental scale. As a whole, the genetic resources identified in this study serve to strengthen the position of woodland strawberry as a key crop wild relative

Muscleblind-like 1 interacts with RNA hairpins in splicing target and pathogenic RNAs

The MBNL and CELF proteins act antagonistically to control the alternative splicing of specific exons during mammalian postnatal development. This process is dysregulated in myotonic dystrophy because MBNL proteins are sequestered by (CUG)n and (CCUG)n RNAs expressed from mutant DMPK and ZNF9 genes, respectively. While these observations predict that MBNL proteins have a higher affinity for these pathogenic RNAs versus their normal splicing targets, we demonstrate that MBNL1 possesses comparably high affinities for (CUG)n and (CAG)n RNAs as well as a splicing target, Tnnt3. Mapping of a MBNL1-binding site upstream of the Tnnt3 fetal exon indicates that a preferred binding site for this protein is a GC-rich RNA hairpin containing a pyrimidine mismatch. To investigate how pathogenic RNAs sequester MBNL1 in DM1 cells, we used a combination of chemical/enzymatic structure probing and electron microscopy to determine that MBNL1 forms a ring-like structure which binds to the dsCUG helix. While the MBNL1 N-terminal region is required for RNA binding, the C-terminal region mediates homotypic interactions which may stabilize intra- and/or inter-ring interactions. Our results provide a mechanistic basis for dsCUG-induced MBNL1 sequestration and highlight a striking similarity in the binding sites for MBNL proteins on splicing precursor and pathogenic RNAs