Influence of planting geometry on photosynthetically active radiation interception and dry matter production relationships in pearl millet

A field experiment was conducted at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) Center, Patancheru, India to study photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) interception and dry matter production relationships in pearl millet (Pennisetum americanum (L.) Leeke). Two pearl millet genotypes, BJ 104 (G1) and ICH 226 (G2) were sown at three planting geometries obtained by using combinations of row and plant spacings (S1: 37·5 cm × 26·6 cm; S2: 75·0 cm × 13·3 cm; S3: 150·0 cm × 6·6 cm) such that plant population was constant at 100 000 ha−1 in all treatments. Cumulative intercepted PAR was maximum (330 MJ m−2) in G2S2 and minimum (268 MJ m−2) in G1S3. Conversion efficiency values ranged from 1·87 g MJ−1 in G1S2 to 2·32 g MJ−1 in G2S3. Final above-ground dry matter followed the pattern of cumulative intercepted PAR and maximum dry matter (7·22 Mg ha−1) was produced by G2S2 while G1S3 produced minimum dry matter (4·97 Mg ha−1

The reliability of evidence review methodology in environmental science and conservation

Given the proliferation of primary research articles, the importance of reliable environmental evidence reviews for informing policy and management decisions is increasing. Although conducting reviews is an efficient method of synthesising the fragmented primary evidence base, reviews that are of poor methodological reliability have the potential to misinform by not accurately reflecting the available evidence base. To assess the current value of evidence reviews for decision-making we appraised a systematic sample of articles published in early 2015 (N = 92) using the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence Synthesis Assessment Tool (CEESAT). CEESAT assesses the methodology of policy-relevant evidence reviews according to elements important for objectivity, transparency and comprehensiveness. Overall, reviews performed poorly with a median score of 2.5/39 and a modal score of zero (range 0–30, mean 5.8), and low scores were ubiquitous across subject areas. In general, reviews that applied meta-analytical techniques achieved higher scores than narrative syntheses (median 18.3 and 2.0 respectively), as a result of the latter consistently failing to adequately report methodology or how conclusions were drawn. However, some narrative syntheses achieved high scores, illustrating that the reliability of reviews should be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Given the potential importance of reviews for informing management and policy, as well as research, it is vital that overall methodological reliability is improved. Although the increasing number of systematic reviews and meta-analyses highlight that some progress is being made, our findings suggest little or no improvement in the last decade. To motivate progress, we recommend that an annual assessment of the methodological reliability of evidence reviews be conducted. To better serve the environmental policy and management communities we identify a requirement for independent critical appraisal of review methodology thus enabling decision-makers to select reviews that are most likely to accurately reflect the evidence base

Cycloaddition Strategies for the Synthesis of Diverse Heterocyclic Spirocycles for Fragment-Based Drug Discovery.

In recent years the pharmaceutical industry has benefited from the advances made in fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) with more than 30 fragment-derived drugs currently marketed or progressing through clinical trials. The success of fragment-based drug discovery is entirely dependent upon the composition of the fragment screening libraries used. Heterocycles are prevalent within marketed drugs due to the role they play in providing binding interactions; consequently, heterocyclic fragments are important components of FBDD libraries. Current screening libraries are dominated by flat, sp2-rich compounds, primarily owing to their synthetic tractability, despite the superior physicochemical properties displayed by more three-dimensional scaffolds. Herein, we report step-efficient routes to a number of biologically relevant, fragment-like heterocyclic spirocycles. The use of both electron-deficient and electron-rich 2-atom donors was explored in complexity-generating [3+2]-cycloadditions to furnish products in 3 steps from commercially available starting materials. The resulting compounds were primed for further fragment elaboration through the inclusion of synthetic handles from the outset of the syntheses

Effects of gypsum and stubble retention on the chemical and physical properties of a sodic grey Vertosol in western Victoria

Copyright © 2001 CSIROThe effects of gypsum (0 and 10 t/ha) and stubble management [retained (SR) or burnt (SB)] on a range of soil chemical, physical, and micromorphological properties were investigated on a grey Vertosol soil near Natimuk, Victoria, Australia. After 2.5 years and 3 winter crops, gypsum, and to a lesser extent the stubble treatments, resulted in significant changes to the composition of the exchangeable and soluble cations, and to soil physical properties. When gypsum was combined with SR, the beneficial effects of this ameliorant on soil properties were present in both the A and B horizons of the soil. When combined with SB, the gypsum treatments were only effective in the A horizon. Organic carbon levels in the A and B horizons were not significantly affected by the gypsum or stubble treatments. However, micromorphological evidence indicated that in the A horizon, biological activity was greater in SR plots than SB plots. Soil dispersion, penetrometer resistance, and bulk density were reduced in plots treated with gypsum compared with plots without gypsum. A stubble management effect was also present, showing lower dispersion scores, penetrometer resistance values, and bulk densities in SR plots than SB plots. The available water holding capacity of the soil from Natimuk was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in the gypsum-treated plots than in plots without gypsum. This effect was limited to the A horizon of the SB plots, but was apparent for the A and B horizons of the plots treated with SR. The use of gypsum in combination with SR (and break crops) may improve soil physical and chemical properties at a greater depth than the use of gypsum with SB alone.F. P. Valzano, R. S. B. Greene, B. W. Murphy, P. Rengasamy and S. D. Jarwa