TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Phase Transformations During Solidification of a Laser-Beam-Welded TiAl Alloy—An In Situ Synchrotron Study

An in situ highly time-resolved, high-energy X-ray diffraction investigation was carried out toobserve the phase transformations of a TiAl alloy during laser beam welding. The diffractionpatterns are recorded every 0.1 seconds by a fast area two-dimensional detector and plottedaccording to time, yielding the solidification pathway, the solid phase volume fraction, and thelattice parameter variation of different phases during the solidification and cooling process.Moreover, it is the first study that can demonstrate that the a phase without any Burgersorientation relationship, the so-called non-Burgers a, precipitates appear earlier than theBurgers a. The non-Burgers a grains are found to nucleate on the primary borides

Formulação com aminoácidos totais ou digestíveis em rações com níveis decrescentes de proteína bruta para frangos de corte de 21 a 42 dias de idade Total and digestible amino acids formulation in diets with decreasing levels of crude protein for broilers from 21 to 42 days of age

Foram realizados dois experimentos para avaliar a formulação de rações para frangos de corte com redução do nível de proteína bruta (PB) e suplementadas com aminoácidos sintéticos, formuladas com base nos aminoácidos totais - AAT (experimento 1) ou digestíveis - AAD (experimento 2). Os experimentos foram conduzidos no período de 3 a 6 semanas de idade das aves. Em ambos os experimentos, os quatros níveis de PB foram: 20,8; 19,7; 18,6 e 17,5% PB. No experimento 2, também foram testados outros dois tratamentos com rações contendo 20,8 e 17,5% de PB e alta digestibilidade (ADig), à base de milho, farelo de soja, amido de milho e proteína isolada de soja. Nos dois experimentos, o consumo de ração não foi afetado pela redução de PB. No experimento 1, o ganho de peso (GP), a conversão alimentar (CA) e os rendimentos de peito e de coxa foram afetados negativamente pela redução dos níveis de PB, enquanto, no experimento 2 estas variáveis não foram influenciadas. No entanto, em ambos os experimentos, na semana de 21 a 28 dias, o GP e a CA foram influenciados negativamente pela redução dos níveis de PB na ração. Com o decréscimo no nível de PB, a digestibilidade da matéria seca (MS) e da matéria orgânica (MO) aumentou no experimento 2, em virtude da menor inclusão de farelo de soja. Em ambos os experimentos, a retenção relativa de proteína foi superior para rações com baixos níveis de PB. No experimento 2, apesar de os níveis de PB não terem influenciado o desempenho, a ração de ADig proporcionou maior digestibilidade da MO e tendência à maior digestibilidade da MS. As rações com 17,5% PB e ADig promoveram balanço mais positivo e maior retenção relativa de proteína em comparação às de digestibilidade padrão. Considerando todos os resultados, a formulação de rações com AAD mostrou vantagens em relação aos AAT.<br>Two experiments (Exp) were carried out to evaluate diets for broilers formulated with reducing crude protein (CP) level, supplemented with synthetic amino acids, formulated based on total amino acids (TAA) (Exp 1) or digestible AA (DAA) (Exp 2). The experiments conducted in the period from 3 to 6 weeks of age of the birds. In both experiments, the four levels of CP were: 20.8, 19.7, 18.6 and 17.5% CP. In the Experiment 2, two other treatments were added: diets containing 20.8 and 17.5% CP and high digestibility (HD), based on corn, soybean meal, corn starch and soy protein isolate. In both experiments, the feed intake was not affected by CP decreasing. In Exp1, weight gain (WG), feed conversion (FC), breast and drumstick yield were negatively affected by CP reduction, meanwhile in Exp 2 those variables were not affected. However, in both experiments, in the week from 21 to 28 days of age, WG and FC were negatively influenced by CP decrease. As the CP levels decrease, the dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) digestibility increased in the Exp 2, due to the smaller inclusion of soybean meal. In both experiments, the relative protein retention was greater for rations with low CP levels. In Exp 2, although of the different CP levels did not affect the performance, the Hdig diets promoted higher OM digestibility and tended to have higher DM digestibility. The rations with 17.5%CP level and HDig promoted a more positive protein balance and higher relative protein retention as compared to the standard digestibility. Considering all the results, formulation with DAA showed advantages related to TAA

Argumentation in Foreign Policy Settings

This is a study of argumentation in three different kinds of high level, confidential, foreign policy settings: a collegial setting, a bureaucratic setting, and a bargaining setting. The causal and value assertions of the participants were coded using the detailed records of these three settings. The data show to be inadequate a defense/ attack model of argumentation in which the participants support their own arguments to make them resistant to attack, while attacking the weak spots in others'stated positions. In fact, there are few assertions which are supported by specific evidence, almost no mutually supported causal arguments, and the assertions which were attacked were no less emphasized than the assertions which were not attacked. More in accord with the data is the novel-arguments approach in which the key factor in persuasive argumentation is the development of arguments which others have not already taken into account.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67391/2/10.1177_002200277702100410.pd