Instructional Support for Vocational ESL Teachers

Workplace/Occupational/Vocational ESL (VESL) is a growing approach within English for Specific Purposes (ESP), fueled by national initiatives such as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), and Integrated Education and Training (IET) among others. However, teacher training and support is often lacking for ESL teachers within these areas. This led to the research question, how can instructional support be provided to teachers of adult learners in Vocational ESL (VESL) programs? The creation of a Faculty Learning Community (FLC) for VESL instructors was developed in response to this question, which is collected into a facilitator guide. The Faculty Learning Community is designed to bring together a small group of dedicated ESL faculty who are interested in exploring issues related to how to best support Limited English Proficient (LEP) learners in their vocational ESL classrooms, and to address other challenges that they as instructors may face when teaching in the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) context

Development of European corn borer larvae on Event 176 Bt corn: Influence on survival and fitness

European corn borer larvae, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) that have completed development on Event 176 Bt corn hybrids have survived exposure to sublethal doses of the Cry1Ab Bt toxin or are exploiting plant tissues that do not express the toxin. To evaluate the impact of such exposure, diapausing larvae were collected from Event 176 and conventional hybrids and compared for rates of pupation, parasitism, fitness (pupal weight, longevity, and fecundity) and susceptibility to the Cry1Ab toxin. Larvae completing development on Event 176 corn exhibited approximately 10% higher survival rates and correspondingly lower parasitism rates than larvae completing development on conventional hybrids. No significant differences were detected in pupal weight, fecundity, longevity or susceptibility to the Cry1Ab Bt toxin. These results indicate that survival on Event 176 corn are not adversely affect fitness and does not cause increased tolerance to the Cry1Ab toxin in subsequent generations

Development of European corn borer larvae on Event 176 Bt corn: Influence on survival and fitness

European corn borer larvae, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) that have completed development on Event 176 Bt corn hybrids have survived exposure to sublethal doses of the Cry1Ab Bt toxin or are exploiting plant tissues that do not express the toxin. To evaluate the impact of such exposure, diapausing larvae were collected from Event 176 and conventional hybrids and compared for rates of pupation, parasitism, fitness (pupal weight, longevity, and fecundity) and susceptibility to the Cry1Ab toxin. Larvae completing development on Event 176 corn exhibited approximately 10% higher survival rates and correspondingly lower parasitism rates than larvae completing development on conventional hybrids. No significant differences were detected in pupal weight, fecundity, longevity or susceptibility to the Cry1Ab Bt toxin. These results indicate that survival on Event 176 corn are not adversely affect fitness and does not cause increased tolerance to the Cry1Ab toxin in subsequent generations

Larval distribution and survival of second generation European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (H.ubner) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) on Event 176 Bt Corn

European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis H.ubner (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) larvae that have completed development on Event 176 Bt corn hybids have either survived exposure to sublethal doses of Cry1Ab Bt toxin or exploited plant tissues that do not express the toxin. To evaluate the impact of such exposure on larval establishment and survival, Event 176 plants with and without tassels and a non-Bt isoline were infested with O. nubilalis egg masses during anthesis. On the non-Bt plants, larval establishment occurred primarily on pollen collecting in the leaf axils, silks and ears. In contrast, almost no larvae were recovered from leaf axils of the Bt treatments and at least 50% fewer larvae were recovered from the silks and ears during the first 2 weeks after infestation relative to the non-Bt plants. The larvae recovered from Bt treatments weighed significantly less than those observed in the non-Bt isoline at 4 weeks after infestation. By the eighth week, the larval weights of all three treatments were similar in three of four different field tests, suggesting that second generation larvae have the ability to compensate for initial exposure to sublethal doses of Bt toxin. In laboratory assays involving exposure of neonate larvae to silks of Event 176 and non-Bt corn, survival of neonate O. nubilalis was not different although larval weights were significantly reduced (2- to 6-fold). These results suggest that second generation larvae completing development on Event 176 corn do not completely avoid exposure to the Bt toxin, although those that do survive are able to compensate for these sublethal effects. The implication of these results is that Event 176 hybrids do not appear to satisfy requirements for high dose that are recommended for resistance management purposes

Storage Structures for Grass Silage

This publication deals primarily with one phase of forage production and preservation – structures for storing grass silage. The work has been conducted in cooperation with a North Central Regional project dealing with farm structures and pertaining to handling, storing, and feeding of grass silage with comparisons of various methods of storage and losses encountered. In addition Agronomy, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Husbandry, Economics, Plant Pathology, and Station Biochemistry departments at the South Dakota State4 College Agricultural Experiment station are conducting research in other phases of silage research have been published by some of the departments. Future reports will be issued as additional information is secured

Air-Sea Exchange of Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds and the Impact on Aerosol Particle Size Distributions

We report simultaneous, underway eddy covariance measurements of the vertical flux of isoprene, total monoterpenes, and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) over the Northern Atlantic Ocean during fall. Mean isoprene and monoterpene sea-to-air vertical fluxes were significantly lower than mean DMS fluxes. While rare, intense monoterpene sea-to-air fluxes were observed, coincident with elevated monoterpene mixing ratios. A statistically significant correlation between isoprene vertical flux and short wave radiation was not observed, suggesting that photochemical processes in the surface microlayer did not enhance isoprene emissions in this study region. Calculations of secondary organic aerosol production rates (PSOA) for mean isoprene and monoterpene emission rates sampled here indicate that PSOA is on average <0.1 μg m−3 d−1. Despite modest PSOA, low particle number concentrations permit a sizable role for condensational growth of monoterpene oxidation products in altering particle size distributions and the concentration of cloud condensation nuclei during episodic monoterpene emission events from the ocean

Assessing Phytotoxicity in Lentils (Lens culinaris) Using Hyperspectral UAV Imagery

Non-Peer ReviewedWeed control is of great importance in the successful management of lentil due to its poor competitive ability and short stature. With a lack of effective herbicides and an increase in herbicide resistant weeds; weed control is becoming even more challenging to lentil producers. Field ratings to assess herbicide safety and phytotoxicity in crops can be a tedious and bias associated process. The objective of this research is to determine if phenotyping crop phytotoxicity is possible using UAV imagery. A two-factor randomized complete block design was conducted at two locations in Saskatchewan, Canada in 2019. The factors lentil variety (CDC Greenstar, CDC Maxim, CDC Impala and CDC Improve) and herbicide rates- including the recommended dose and up to ten times the recommended dose of both saflufenacil and metribuzin herbicides. Unmanned aerial vehicle hyperspectral imagery was captured 6, 16 and 23 days after the application of metribuzin in accordance with visual ratings for phytotoxicity. Increasing herbicide dose decreased both field measures of above-ground biomass and plant stand counts. The greatest spectral variation in reflectance was present for metribuzin versus the saflufenacil herbicide. The spectra were noted to differ especially in the green peak, red-edge, and near infrared regions. Further work is being done to analyze imagery data from 2020 to determine if appropriate vegetative indices can be produced to classify different levels of herbicide tolerance. The end goal of this work is to contribute to improving herbicide screening technology with the ability to assess crop phytotoxicity autonomously via computer algorithms. Link to Video Presentation: https://youtu.be/8H7sm-DUki

Silencing of the sulfur rich alpha-gliadin storage protein family in wheat grains (Triticum aestivum L.) causes no unintended side-effects on other metabolites

Zoerb C, Becker D, Hasler M, et al. Silencing of the sulfur rich alpha-gliadin storage protein family in wheat grains (Triticum aestivum L.) causes no unintended side-effects on other metabolites. Frontiers in Plant Science. 2013;4:369.Wheat is an important source of proteins and metabolites for human and animal nutrition. To assess the nutritional quality of wheat products, various protein and diverse metabolites have to be evaluated. The grain storage protein family of the alpha-gliadins are suggested to be the primary initiator of the inflammatory response to gluten in Celiac disease patients. With the technique of RNAi, the alpha-gliadin storage protein fraction in wheat grains was recently knocked down. From a patient's perspective, this is a desired approach, however, this study aims to evaluate whether such a down-regulation of these problematic alpha-gliadins also has unintended side-effects on other plant metabolites. Such uncontrolled and unknown arbitrary effects on any metabolite in plants designated for food production would surely represent an avoidable risk for the consumer. In general, alpha-gliadins are rich in sulfur, making their synthesis and content depended of the sulfur supply. For this reason, the influence of the application of increasing sulfur amounts on the metabolome of alpha-gliadin-deficient wheat was additionally investigated because it might be possible that e.g., considerable high/low amounts of S might increase or even induce such unintended effects that are not observable under moderate S nutrition. By silencing the alpha-gliadin genes, a recently developed wheat line that lacks the set of 75 corresponding alpha-gliadin proteins has become available. The plants were subsequently tested for RNAi-induced effects on metabolites that were not directly attributable to the specific effects of the RNAi-approach on the alpha-gliadin proteins. For this, GC-MS-based metabolite profiles were recorded. A comparison of wild type with gliadin-deficient plants cultivated in pot experiments revealed no differences in all 109 analyzed metabolites, regardless of the S-nutritional status. No unintended effects attributable to the RNAi-based specific genetic deletion of a storage protein fraction were observed

Revisiting benzene cluster cations for the chemical ionization of dimethyl sulfide and select volatile organic compounds

Benzene cluster cations were revisited as a sensitive and selective reagent ion for the chemical ionization of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and a select group of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Laboratory characterization was performed using both a new set of compounds (i.e., DMS, β-caryophyllene) as well as previously studied VOCs (i.e., isoprene, α-pinene). Using a field deployable chemical-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (CI-ToFMS), benzene cluster cations demonstrated high sensitivity (> 1 ncps ppt^(−1)) to DMS, isoprene, and α-pinene standards. Parallel measurements conducted using a chemical-ionization quadrupole mass spectrometer, with a much weaker electric field, demonstrated that ion–molecule reactions likely proceed through a combination of ligand-switching and direct charge transfer mechanisms. Laboratory tests suggest that benzene cluster cations may be suitable for the selective ionization of sesquiterpenes, where minimal fragmentation ( 0.95, 10 s averages) over a wide range of sampling conditions