A meteorologically driven grain sorghum stress indicator model

A grain sorghum soil moisture and temperature stress model is described. It was developed to serve as a meteorological data filter to alert commodity analysts to potential stress conditions and crop phenology in selected grain sorghum production areas. The model also identifies optimum conditions on a daily basis and planting/harvest problems associated with poor tractability

A meteorologically driven maize stress indicator model

A maize soil moisture and temperature stress model is described which was developed to serve as a meteorological data filter to alert commodity analysts to potential stress conditions in the major maize-producing areas of the world. The model also identifies optimum climatic conditions and planting/harvest problems associated with poor tractability

Evaluation of the Doraiswamy-Thompson winter wheat crop calendar model incorporating a modified spring restart sequence

The Robertson phenology was used to provide growth stage information to a wheat stress indicator mode. A stress indicator model demands two acurate predictions from a crop calendar: date of spring growth initiation; and crop calendar stage at growth initiation. Several approaches for restarting the Robertson phenology model at spring growth initiation were studied. Although best results were obtained with a solar thermal unit method, an alternate approach which indicates soil temperature as the controlling parameter for spring growth initiation was selected and tested. The modified model (Doraiswamy-Thompson) is compared to LACIE-Robertson model predictions

Signature of structure failure using asymmetric and broadening factors of brillouin spectrum

Copyright © 2005 IEEEWe introduce a novel data analysis approach based on the extraction of peak strain, asymmetric and broadening factors of the Brillouin spectrum measured with the distributed Brillouin sensor (DBS). Such an approach provides simultaneously global and local strains, describing the status of the structure, at the contrary of average strain measurements. These results are confirmed by a trial on a composite column subjected to vertical and bending loads. This demonstrates that the DBS is a powerful tool to give the signature of the structure failure and then to identify early problems in structures that none of existing point sensors can detect.Fabien Ravet, Xiaoyi Bao, Togay Ozbakkaloglu, and Murat Saatciogl

Differential elevation of matrix metalloproteinase expression in women exposed to levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system for a short or prolonged period of time

peer reviewedBACKGROUND: The levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) is an effective contraceptive and has many non-contraceptive health benefits. However, it is commonly associated with irregular endometrial bleeding. Metalloproteinases contribute to extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling and regulate bleeding during the menstrual cycle. Enhanced metalloproteinase expression participates in the pathogenesis of breakthrough bleeding. Thus the objective of this study was to compare matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression in endometrium during luteal phase and in short-term (1 month) and long-term (> or =6 months) LNG-IUS users. METHODS: MMP expression was analysed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Gelatinase activity was determined by gelatin zymography. RESULTS: MMP-1, -2, -3, -7, -9 and -12 mRNAs levels were increased, whereas that of MMP-26 was decreased in the endometrium of LNG-IUS users. MMP-1, -2, -3, -7 and -9 were localized by immunohistochemistry in all biopsies in the short-term group but in only 0-27% in the control group. The incidence of positive immunostaining for MMP-2 and -3 decreased significantly in the long-term compared with short-term LNG-IUS users. MMP-26 was localized in all biopsies from the control group but in only 14 and 25% from the short- and long-term LNG-IUS groups, respectively. In both LNG groups, the numbers of macrophages (the major source of MMP-12) was increased. CONCLUSIONS: MMP-1, active MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-7, MMP-9 and MMP-12 are more prevalent in the short-term LNG-IUS group, suggesting their important contribution to ECM breakdown and transient bleeding. The decrease in the percentage of women expressing MMP-2 and -3 might contribute to the decreased occurrence of unwanted spotting and bleeding in long-term LNG-IUS users

A meteorologically-driven yield reduction model for spring and winter wheat

A yield reduction model for spring and winter wheat was developed for large-area crop condition assessment. Reductions are expressed in percentage from a base yield and are calculated on a daily basis. The algorithm contains two integral components: a two-layer soil water budget model and a crop calendar routine. Yield reductions associated with hot, dry winds (Sukhovey) and soil moisture stress are determined. Input variables include evapotranspiration, maximum temperature and precipitation; subsequently crop-stage, available water holding percentage and stress duration are evaluated. No specific base yield is required and may be selected by the user; however, it may be generally characterized as the maximum likely to be produced commercially at a location

Multi-target genome editing reduces polyphenol oxidase activity in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grains

Introduction: Polyphenol oxidases (PPO) are dual activity metalloenzymes that catalyse the production of quinones. In plants, PPO activity may contribute to biotic stress resistance and secondary metabolism but is undesirable for food producers because it causes the discolouration and changes in flavour profiles of products during post-harvest processing. In wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), PPO released from the aleurone layer of the grain during milling results in the discolouration of flour, dough, and end-use products, reducing their value. Loss-of-function mutations in the PPO1 and PPO2 paralogous genes on homoeologous group 2 chromosomes confer reduced PPO activity in the wheat grain. However, limited natural variation and the proximity of these genes complicates the selection of extremely low-PPO wheat varieties by recombination. The goal of the current study was to edit all copies of PPO1 and PPO2 to drive extreme reductions in PPO grain activity in elite wheat varieties. Results: A CRISPR/Cas9 construct with one single guide RNA (sgRNA) targeting a conserved copper binding domain was used to edit all seven PPO1 and PPO2 genes in the spring wheat cultivar ‘Fielder’. Five of the seven edited T1 lines exhibited significant reductions in PPO activity, and T2 lines had PPO activity up to 86.7% lower than wild-type. The same construct was transformed into the elite winter wheat cultivars ‘Guardian’ and ‘Steamboat’, which have five PPO1 and PPO2 genes. In these varieties PPO activity was reduced by >90% in both T1 and T2 lines. In all three varieties, dough samples from edited lines exhibited reduced browning. Discussion: This study demonstrates that multi-target editing at late stages of variety development could complement selection for beneficial alleles in cropbreeding programs by inducing novel variation in loci inaccessible to recombinatio

Review: optical fiber sensors for civil engineering applications

Optical fiber sensor (OFS) technologies have developed rapidly over the last few decades, and various types of OFS have found practical applications in the field of civil engineering. In this paper, which is resulting from the work of the RILEM technical committee “Optical fiber sensors for civil engineering applications”, different kinds of sensing techniques, including change of light intensity, interferometry, fiber Bragg grating, adsorption measurement and distributed sensing, are briefly reviewed to introduce the basic sensing principles. Then, the applications of OFS in highway structures, building structures, geotechnical structures, pipelines as well as cables monitoring are described, with focus on sensor design, installation technique and sensor performance. It is believed that the State-of-the-Art review is helpful to engineers considering the use of OFS in their projects, and can facilitate the wider application of OFS technologies in construction industry

The SWAP EUV Imaging Telescope Part I: Instrument Overview and Pre-Flight Testing

The Sun Watcher with Active Pixels and Image Processing (SWAP) is an EUV solar telescope on board ESA's Project for Onboard Autonomy 2 (PROBA2) mission launched on 2 November 2009. SWAP has a spectral bandpass centered on 17.4 nm and provides images of the low solar corona over a 54x54 arcmin field-of-view with 3.2 arcsec pixels and an imaging cadence of about two minutes. SWAP is designed to monitor all space-weather-relevant events and features in the low solar corona. Given the limited resources of the PROBA2 microsatellite, the SWAP telescope is designed with various innovative technologies, including an off-axis optical design and a CMOS-APS detector. This article provides reference documentation for users of the SWAP image data.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, 1 movi