Characterization and inheritance assessment of fruit and leaf shape in unique Vitis seedlings

From August to October of 2009, two separate studies were conducted to assess fruit shape of Vitis section Euvitis hybrid bunch grapes using digital photography (Study 1) and evaluate inheritance of leaf shape in unique populations of V. rotundifolia hybrids (Vitis section Muscadinia) (Study 2). All vines studied were located at the University of Arkansas Fruit Research Station, Clarksville. Study 1 used SigmaScan® digital photography analysis software to calculate shape factor, major:minor axis ratio, and compactness of highly variable, unique-shaped fruit from a population of 182 Euvitis seedlings. SigmaScan® accurately characterized fruit shape elongation as had been recorded in previous studies. Although elongated shapes were measured accurately, the calculations used were unable to conclusively analyze ovoid or pear-shaped fruits. Study 2 evaluated the inheritance of leaf shape (lobing) in several populations of V. rotundifolia crosses within the University of Arkansas fruit breeding program. Based on previous studies, it was hypothesized that leaf lobing was a dominant trait. The two populations expected to segregate into a 3:1, lobed:standard, phenotypic ratio were successfully observed, while only two of the six expected to demonstrate a 1:1, lobed:standard, phenotypic ratio were observed. Previous studies suggest the unexpected ratios observed may be attributed to a lethal allele combination, where homozygous dominant progeny are not viable, or modifier genes impacted leaf shape of the seedlings. Further evaluation of these and other populations in addition to molecular analysis would be helpful in characterizing inheritance of leaf lobing in muscadine hybrid

System and method of determining nitrogen levels from a digital image

A system and method of determining nitrogen levels from a digital image. In particular, a method of determining leaf nitrogen concentration and yield from a digital photograph of a fully developed leaf (collared leaf) of a crop of nonlegumes, such as corn, rice, wheat, cotton, potatoes or sugarcane. The digital image is processed to determine a dark green color index ( DGCI ), which is closely related to leaf nitrogen concentration and yield. Standardized color disks having known DGCI values are included in the digital photograph and serve as an internal standard. The internal standard allows correction of DGCI of samples when using different cameras and/or when lighting conditions change

System and method of in-season nitrogen measurement and fertilization of non-leguminous crops from digital image analysis

Systems and methods of determining nitrogen levels from a digital image and in-season nitrogen measurement and fertilization of non-leguminous crops from digital image analysis are disclosed. In particular, a method of determining leaf nitrogen concentration and yield from a digital photograph of a fully developed leaf (collared leaf) of a crop of non-legumes, such as corn, wheat, rice, cotton, potatoes sugarcane, turfgrass or forage grass species. The digital image is processed to determine a dark green color index ( DGCI ), which is closely related to leaf nitrogen concentration and yield. Standardized color disks having known DGCI values are included in the digital photograph and serve as an comparative standard. The comparative standard allows correction of DGCI of samples when using different cameras and/or when lighting conditions change. The DGCI values can then be used to determine the amount of nitrogen fertilizer that should be applied to recover crop yield potential

The Arctic freshwater system : changes and impacts

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 112 (2007): G04S54, doi:10.1029/2006JG000353.Dramatic changes have been observed in the Arctic over the last century. Many of these involve the storage and cycling of fresh water. On land, precipitation and river discharge, lake abundance and size, glacier area and volume, soil moisture, and a variety of permafrost characteristics have changed. In the ocean, sea ice thickness and areal coverage have decreased and water mass circulation patterns have shifted, changing freshwater pathways and sea ice cover dynamics. Precipitation onto the ocean surface has also changed. Such changes are expected to continue, and perhaps accelerate, in the coming century, enhanced by complex feedbacks between the oceanic, atmospheric, and terrestrial freshwater systems. Change to the arctic freshwater system heralds changes for our global physical and ecological environment as well as human activities in the Arctic. In this paper we review observed changes in the arctic freshwater system over the last century in terrestrial, atmospheric, and oceanic systems.The authors gratefully acknowledge the National Science Foundation (NSF) for funding this synthesis work. This paper is principally the work of authors funded under the NSF-funded Freshwater Integration (FWI) study

Long-baseline neutrino oscillation physics potential of the DUNE experiment

The sensitivity of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) to neutrino oscillation is determined, based on a full simulation, reconstruction, and event selection of the far detector and a full simulation and parameterized analysis of the near detector. Detailed uncertainties due to the flux prediction, neutrino interaction model, and detector effects are included. DUNE will resolve the neutrino mass ordering to a precision of 5σ, for all ΑCP values, after 2 years of running with the nominal detector design and beam configuration. It has the potential to observe charge-parity violation in the neutrino sector to a precision of 3σ (5σ) after an exposure of 5 (10) years, for 50% of all ΑCP values. It will also make precise measurements of other parameters governing long-baseline neutrino oscillation, and after an exposure of 15 years will achieve a similar sensitivity to sin22θ13 to current reactor experiments

First results on ProtoDUNE-SP liquid argon time projection chamber performance from a beam test at the CERN Neutrino Platform

The ProtoDUNE-SP detector is a single-phase liquid argon time projection chamber with an active volume of 7.2× 6.1× 7.0 m3. It is installed at the CERN Neutrino Platform in a specially-constructed beam that delivers charged pions, kaons, protons, muons and electrons with momenta in the range 0.3 GeV/c to 7 GeV/c. Beam line instrumentation provides accurate momentum measurements and particle identification. The ProtoDUNE-SP detector is a prototype for the first far detector module of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment, and it incorporates full-size components as designed for that module. This paper describes the beam line, the time projection chamber, the photon detectors, the cosmic-ray tagger, the signal processing and particle reconstruction. It presents the first results on ProtoDUNE-SP\u27s performance, including noise and gain measurements, dE/dx calibration for muons, protons, pions and electrons, drift electron lifetime measurements, and photon detector noise, signal sensitivity and time resolution measurements. The measured values meet or exceed the specifications for the DUNE far detector, in several cases by large margins. ProtoDUNE-SP\u27s successful operation starting in 2018 and its production of large samples of high-quality data demonstrate the effectiveness of the single-phase far detector design