Genetic Diversity and Heterosis in Perennial Ryegrass

Plant breeders are concerned with the diversity among and within breeding populations, because it largely determines the future prospects of success in breeding programs. DNA markers provide a powerful tool for the assessment of genetic diversity. The relationship between genetic diversity and heterosis has been investigated in several species (Melchinger, 1999). In hybrid breeding programs divergent genepools have been established in the past, according to heterotic patterns based on testcross information. In the last decade it has been shown, that new breeding materials can be assigned to already existing gene pools using molecular markers. The phenomenon of heterosis has been of interest in grass breeding research for a long time, and the occurrence of heterosis has been demonstrated for particular crosses (review in Posselt, 2003). However, no attempts have been made to group perennial ryegrass populations according to diversity measures. So far, breeders have mostly combined diverse materials into a base population and applied intra-population improvement. Accidently, heterosis was captured in the new variety. For more reliable exploitation of heterosis in grasses, divergent genepools have to be established

Influence of Giant CCN on warm rain processes in the ECHAM5 GCM

International audienceIncreased Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) load due to anthropogenic activity might lead to non-precipitating clouds because the cloud drops become smaller (for a constant liquid water content) and, therefore, less efficient in rain formation (aerosol indirect effect). Adding giant CCN (GCCN) into such a cloud can initiate precipitation (namely, drizzle) and, therefore, might counteract the aerosol indirect effect. The effect of GCCN on global climate, especially on clouds and precipitation, within a General Circulation Model (GCM) is investigated. GCCN are aerosol particles larger than 5?10 ?m in radius that can act as cloud condensation nuclei. One prominent GCCN species is sea salt. Sea salt concentrations depend mainly on wind speed but also on relative humidity, stability and precipitation history. Natural variability is much larger than the simulated one because sea salt emissions within ECHAM5 are a function of wind speed only. Giant sea salt concentrations in ECHAM5 are determined by using the tail of the coarse mode aerosol distribution with cutoff radii of 5 ?m or 10 ?m. It is assumed that activated GCCN particles directly form rain drops (of 25 ?m size). Thereby, the added rain water mass and number stems from the redistribution of the condensed water into cloud and rain water according to the number of activated GCCN. As the formed precipitation is most likely drizzle with rather small drops a prognostic rain scheme is applied to account for the lower fall speeds and, therefore, slower sedimentation of the drizzle drops. The ECHAM5 simulations with incorporated GCCN show that precipitation is affected only locally. Cloud properties like liquid water and cloud drop number show a larger sensitivity to GCCN. On the one hand, the increased rain water mass causes an increase in the accretion rate and, therefore, in the rain production. On the other hand, very high GCCN concentrations can lead to an artificially exaggerated transfer of cloud water to the rain class which then results in a strong decrease of the conversion rate and the rain production. The introduction of the GCCN reduces the anthropogenic increase of liquid water in the atmosphere from pre-industrial to present day because clouds are precipitating faster in the presence of the GCCN. Hence, the accumulation of liquid water in the atmosphere is reduced. According to those changes in the cloud properties, the radiative budget is also changing. The GCCN cause a reduction of the anthropogenic aerosol indirect effect of about 0.1?0.25 W m?2 which corresponds to 5?10% of the total effect. Thus, the GCCN in ECHAM5 partly offset the anthropogenic aerosol indirect effect

Influence of Giant CCN on warm rain processes in the ECHAM5 GCM

Predmet rada je detektirati i analizirati kanale distribucije proizvoda za njegu kose. U tu svrhu su obrađeni dostupni sekundarni izvori informacija te je provedeno empirijsko istraživanje na uzorku poznavatelja metodom dubinskog intervjua. Kanali distribucije proizvoda za njegu kose u Hrvatskoj su u većini slučajeva neizravni s jednim ili više posrednika. Posrednici mogu biti distributeri, veleprodaje, maloprodaje, ljekarne, frizerski saloni, drogerije, internet prodaja itd. Izbor posrednika ovisi o segmentu u kojem se proizvodi za kosu prodaju, a on može biti luksuzne, dermatološke, profesionalne prirode ili za masovnu potrošnju. Kod proizvoda za njegu kose se tržište značajno izmijenilo razvojem digitalne tehnologije. Kako bi pojedina marka uspjela, mora prije svega osluškivati postojeće i nadolazeće trendove, biti inovativna u razvoju proizvoda, pružiti prirodnost barem u dijelu svog asortimana, poznavati svoju ciljanu skupinu potrošača te njihove potrebe, navike i preferencije i na temelju toga pronaći dodanu vrijednost proizvoda koju im može ponuditi. Nakon toga mora pomno odabrati kanale distribucije, ali i tu treba biti vrlo fleksibilna i prilagođavati se čestim promjenama. Svakako mora biti prisutna online, imati svoju web stranicu, Facebook i Instagram profil, You Tube i IGTV kanal i mrežu influencera. Oni moraju biti pažljivo odabrani da svojim modnim, verbalnim i osobnim izričajem odgovaraju vrijednostima marke jer samo tako mogu biti vjerodostojni. Osim toga, vrlo je bitno da pratitelji influencera čine ciljanu skupinu marke kako bi se osiguralo doticanje pravih potencijalnih kupaca. U svim segmentima obraćanja publici, marka mora prenositi istu poruku jer je sve više kupaca koji informacije o proizvodima prikupljaju iz više različitih izvora. U porastu je prodaja putem interneta na koju se kupci odlučuju nakon što su se informirali na samom prodajnom mjestu ili također online. Zato je vrlo važno da svi sudionici kanala budu educirani o proizvodima, ali i da poznaju svoje kupce. No, to više nije dovoljno, oni moraju biti i i vrsni prodavači. Stoga se sve više ulaže u edukacije i načine motiviranja posrednika između proizvođača i potrošača jer su ovi potonji postali dosta zahtjevni i upućeni u ono što žele, kako mogu do toga doći i uz koje uvjete. Ni najbolji proizvodi za kosu se ne mogu uspješno prodati ukoliko se ne omogući dostupnost tih proizvoda na mjestima gdje i kada ju potrošači žele kupiti.The subject of this thesis is to detect and analyze distribution channels of hair care products. For this purpose, available secondary sources of information were processed and empirical research on a sample of experts was conducted through a deep interview method. Distribution channels of hair care products in Croatia are in most cases indirect with one or more intermediaries. Intermediary can be distributors, wholesalers, retailers, pharmacies, hairdressers, drugstores, internet sales, etc. The selection of mediators depends on the segment in which hair products are sold and it can be of luxurious nature, dermatologic, professional or mass market. Regarding hair care products, the market has significantly changed with the development of digital technology. In order for each brand to succeed, it must primarily listen to existing and upcoming trends, be innovative in product development, provide naturalness in at least part of its range, know its target consumer group and their needs, habits and preferences and find added value of products to offer them. Thereafter, it is necessary to carefully select distribution channels, but also be very flexible and adapt them to the frequent changes. Brand must be present online, have its website, Facebook and Instagram profiles, You Tube and IGTV channels and influencers network. They have to be carefully selected and present the brand's values by their personal, fashion and verbal expressions to ensure their credibility. Additionally, it is very important that influencer's followers are part of brand's target group to ensure that they are touching the right potential buyers. In all segments of addressing the audience, the brand has to deliver the same message because customers receive product information from a variety of sources. Online sales is growing and buyers buy online after they have been informed about products at the point of sale or online. That is why it is very important for all channel participants to be educated about products, but also to know their customers. That is not enough anymore; they must be excellent sellers as well. Therefore, investment in education and ways of motivating intermediaries between producers and consumers are rising, because the latter have become highly demanding and acquainted to what they want, how they can get it and under what conditions. Even the best hair products cannot be successfully sold unless you ensure that these products are available in places where and when consumers want to buy it

Molecular Characterisation of Bacterial Wilt Resistance in \u3cem\u3eLolium Multiflorum\u3c/em\u3e Lam.

Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), a forage grass of prime importance throughout the world, is adversely affected by the pathogen Xanthomonas translucens pv graminis. Breeding for resistant cultivars is the only practicable means of disease control. However, the inheritance of bacterial wilt resistance is largely unknown. The aim of our research is to elucidate genetic control of bacterial wilt resistance using molecular technologies such as genetic linkage mapping and the analysis of quantitative trait loci (QTL)

Aerosol size-dependent below-cloud scavenging by rain and snow in the ECHAM5-HAM

Wet deposition processes are highly efficient in the removal of aerosols from the atmosphere, and thus strongly influence global aerosol concentrations, and clouds, and their respective radiative forcings. In this study, physically detailed size-dependent below-cloud scavenging parameterizations for rain and snow are implemented in the ECHAM5-HAM global aerosol-climate model. Previously, below-cloud scavenging by rain in the ECHAM5-HAM was simply a function of the aerosol mode, and then scaled by the rainfall rate. The below-cloud scavenging by snow was a function of the snowfall rate alone. The global mean aerosol optical depth, and sea salt burden are sensitive to the below-cloud scavenging coefficients, with reductions near to 15% when the more vigorous size-dependent below-cloud scavenging by rain and snow is implemented. The inclusion of a prognostic rain scheme significantly reduces the fractional importance of below-cloud scavenging since there is higher evaporation in the lower troposphere, increasing the global mean sea salt burden by almost 15%. Thermophoretic effects are shown to produce increases in the global and annual mean number removal of Aitken size particles of near to 10%, but very small increases (near 1%) in the global mean below-cloud mass scavenging of carbonaceous and sulfate aerosols. Changes in the assumptions about the below-cloud scavenging by rain of particles with radius smaller than 10 nm do not cause any significant changes to the global and annual mean aerosol mass or number burdens, despite a change in the below-cloud number removal rate for nucleation mode particles by near to five-fold. Annual and zonal mean nucleation mode number concentrations are enhanced by up to 30% in the lower troposphere with the more vigourous size-dependent below-cloud scavenging. Closer agreement with different observations is found when the more physically detailed below-cloud scavenging parameterization is employed in the ECHAM5-HAM model

Evidence for structural and electronic instabilities at intermediate temperatures in κ\kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2_{2}X for X=Cu[N(CN)2_{2}]Cl, Cu[N(CN)2_{2}]Br and Cu(NCS)2_{2}: Implications for the phase diagram of these quasi-2D organic superconductors

We present high-resolution measurements of the coefficient of thermal expansion $\alpha (T)=\partial \ln l(T)/\partial T$ of the quasi-twodimensional (quasi-2D) salts $\kappa$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$X with X = Cu(NCS)$_2$, Cu[N(CN)$_2$]Br and Cu[N(CN)$_2$]Cl. At intermediate temperatures (B), distinct anomalies reminiscent of second-order phase transitions have been found at $T^\ast = 38$ K and 45 K for the superconducting X = Cu(NCS)$_2$ and Cu[N(CN)$_2$]Br salts, respectively. Most interestingly, we find that the signs of the uniaxial pressure coefficients of $T^\ast$ are strictly anticorrelated with those of $T_c$. We propose that $T^\ast$ marks the transition to a spin-density-wave (SDW) state forming on minor, quasi-1D parts of the Fermi surface. Our results are compatible with two competing order parameters that form on disjunct portions of the Fermi surface. At elevated temperatures (C), all compounds show $\alpha (T)$ anomalies that can be identified with a kinetic, glass-like transition where, below a characteristic temperature $T_g$, disorder in the orientational degrees of freedom of the terminal ethylene groups becomes frozen in. We argue that the degree of disorder increases on going from the X = Cu(NCS)$_2$ to Cu[N(CN)$_2$]Br and the Cu[N(CN)$_2$]Cl salt. Our results provide a natural explanation for the unusual time- and cooling-rate dependencies of the ground-state properties in the hydrogenated and deuterated Cu[N(CN)$_2$]Br salts reported in the literature.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figure

Trends in influenza vaccination coverage rates in Germany over five seasons from 2001 to 2006

BACKGROUND: To assess influenza vaccination coverage from 2001 to 2006 in Germany, to understand drivers and barriers to vaccination and to identify vaccination intentions for season 2006/07. METHODS: 9,990 telephone-based household surveys from age 14 were conducted between 2001 and 2006. Essentially, the same questionnaire was used in all seasons. RESULTS: The influenza vaccination coverage rate reached 32.5% in 2005/06. In the elderly (> or years), the vaccination rate reached 58.9% in 2005/06. In those aged 65 years and older, it was 63.4%. Perceiving influenza as a serious illness was the most frequent reason for getting vaccinated. Thirteen percent of those vaccinated in 2005/06 indicated the threat of avian flu as a reason. The main reason for not getting vaccinated was thinking about it without putting it into practice. The major encouraging factor to vaccination was a recommendation by the family doctor. 49.6% of the respondents intend to get vaccinated against influenza in season 2006/07. CONCLUSION: Increasing vaccination rates were observed from 2001 to 2006 in Germany. The threat of avian influenza and the extended reimbursement programs may have contributed to the recent increase

Lowering IceCube’s energy threshold for point source searches in the southern sky

Observation of a point source of astrophysical neutrinos would be a "smoking gun" signature of a cosmic-ray accelerator. While IceCube has recently discovered a diffuse flux of astrophysical neutrinos, no localized point source has been observed. Previous IceCube searches for point sources in the southern sky were restricted by either an energy threshold above a few hundred TeV or poor neutrino angular resolution. Here we present a search for southern sky point sources with greatly improved sensitivities to neutrinos with energies below 100 TeV. By selecting charged-current nu(mu) interacting inside the detector, we reduce the atmospheric background while retaining efficiency for astrophysical neutrino-induced events reconstructed with sub-degree angular resolution. The new event sample covers three years of detector data and leads to a factor of 10 improvement in sensitivity to point sources emitting below 100 TeV in the southern sky. No statistically significant evidence of point sources was found, and upper limits are set on neutrino emission from individual sources. A posteriori analysis of the highest-energy (similar to 100 TeV) starting event in the sample found that this event alone represents a 2.8 sigma deviation from the hypothesis that the data consists only of atmospheric background

Searches for sterile neutrinos with the IceCube detector

The IceCube neutrino telescope at the South Pole has measured the atmospheric muon neutrino spectrum as a function of zenith angle and energy in the approximate 320 GeV to 20 TeV range, to search for the oscillation signatures of light sterile neutrinos. No evidence for anomalous nu(mu) or (nu) over bar (mu) disappearance is observed in either of two independently developed analyses, each using one year of atmospheric neutrino data. New exclusion limits are placed on the parameter space of the 3 + 1 model, in which muon antineutrinos experience a strong Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein-resonant oscillation. The exclusion limits extend to sin(2)2 theta(24) <= 0.02 at Delta m(2) similar to 0.3 eV(2) at the 90% confidence level. The allowed region from global analysis of appearance experiments, including LSND and MiniBooNE, is excluded at approximately the 99% confidence level for the global best-fit value of vertical bar U-e4 vertical bar(2)