bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Modelling the effects of vernalization on progress to final leaf appearance in winter wheat
Authors: Craigon J. , Atherton J. G. , Sweet N.
Published: March 2009

A simple model of vernalization, originally developed to quantify the vernalization response of fieldgrown carrots, was fitted to previously published experimental results for winter wheat cv. Norin 27. The optimum temperature for vernalization indicated by the model wasc.5·2 °C, as this induced the fastest progress to final leaf appearance, expressed as the reciprocal of number of days from sowing to final leaf. This rate decreased linearly with temperature rise or fall on either side of the optimum, extrapolating to zero at –4·8 °C (Tmin) and 26·6 °C (Tmax). When all the treatment temperatures and durations were expressed as vernalizing degree days > –4·8 °C (V °C d), there was a linear increase in post-treatment development rate with increasing vernalization up toc.275 V °C d. Ending the effective treatment duration for vernalization at the estimated time of initiation of the final leaf primordia brought many of the data points closer to the linear trend which described the rest of the data.

Effects of using leaf number, which is linearly related to thermal time, instead of days as the unit of time to compensate for temperature differences in the original experiment were examined. Unvernalized plants had the potential to produce 18 leaves before flowering and therefore rates were expressed as the fraction of the potential total leaf number that each new leaf represented. All plants were assumed to have an initial development rate of 1/18 per leaf. This rate was assumed to increase linearly with time during the vernalizing treatment periods and then remain constant after treatment until the final leaf appeared. Leaf numbers reported from the original experiment were used with these assumptions to estimate the rate at the end of each treatment. The relationship between these rates and treatment temperatures was similar to that for rates based on post-treatment durations. There was an optimum temperaturec.5·5 °C andTminandTmaxof –5·1 and 18·8 °C estimated by extrapolating the decreasing linear trends to the base rate of 1/18. When plotted against V °C d calculated from these temperatures, the rates from the full data set were well represented by the model line which had been fitted to the data from just one treatment duration.
Yields of crop dry matter and nitrogen in long-term barley rotation trials at two sites in northern Syria
Authors: Jones M. J. , Singh M.
Published: March 2009

Trials were established at two sites in 1982 to compare six 2-course rotations, in which barley alternated with feed legumes (pure or mixed with barley), fallow or barley, in partial factorial combination with different N and P fertilizer regimes. This paper summarizes data from the second to the seventh cropping seasons.

Barley yielded most after fallow and more after legumes than after barley; but, on the basis of total dry matter production over both courses, barley-legume rotations outyielded barley-fallow and barley-barley rotations. In terms of net nitrogen offtake, which may be taken as a rough measure of feed value, barley-legumes surpassed the other rotations by c. 100% at both sites, whether the comparison was made on values obtained from plots with or without added fertilizer. Of the legumes, Lathyrus sativus was slightly more productive than Vicia saliva, and this carried over into the rotational yield of both dry matter and nitrogen. Rotations involving pure legumes were slightly more productive than those involving legume/barley mixtures.

Yields of all crops and rotations varied greatly from year to year depending on rainfall. Those of the barley-fallow rotation were much less variable than those of the barley-barley rotation at the wetter site (323±103 mm), with the barley-legume rotation intermediate; but variability was much greater at the drier site (250±79 mm), with much less difference between rotations. Nevertheless, fertilizer use and rotations including legumes gave a significant yield advantage under the driest conditions.
Influence of sowing rate on dry matter yield, plant density and survival of lucerne (Medicago sativa) under dryland and irrigated conditions
Authors: Thompson D. J. , Stout D. G.
Published: March 2009

Lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) sowing rates were evaluated to determine how environmental conditions affect seedling establishment and plant survival. Lucerne (cv. Peace) was sown during 1988 at rates ranging from 2·8 to 11·2 kg ha-1 at one irrigated and two dryland sites (a forest and a mid-elevation grassland site) near Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. Dry matter (DM) yield was measured for 3 years, and plants were counted to estimate seedling establishment and plant survival. Sowing year DM yield increased linearly with sowing rate at the irrigated and forest sites, but at the mid-elevation grassland site it decreased at sowing rates > 5·6 kg ha-1. In the first full-production year, DM yield levelled off at sowing rates > 8·4 kg ha-1 at the irrigated site and was not affected by sowing rate at the forest site. At the grassland site, first full-production year DM yield decreased at sowing rates > 2·8 kg ha-1. In the second full-production year, there was a linear effect of sowing rate on DM yield at the irrigated site, but it did not affect DM yield at the two dryland sites. At all sites, the percentage of seedlings that survived to the end of the second growing season decreased curvilinearly as seedling density increased. Survival was less at the irrigated site than at the dryland sites. Higher sowing rates are required at irrigated sites than at dryland sites to obtain maximum yield or a required plant population density.
Effects of recurrent selection on populations of various generations in wheat by using the Tai Gu single dominant male-sterile gene
Authors: Wang X. W. , Lap J. R. , Fan L , Zhang R. B.
Published: March 2009

Mass selection (MS) and bulk selection of a single character (CS) were used for the improvement of a base population, Bl, which was composed of Tai Gu male-sterile progenies of ten high protein content and four high yielding parental lines of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), transferred by 6–10 backcrossing generations, with equal numbers of plants from each line. Backcross mass selection (BS) was used for the improvement of a second base population, B2, which was formed by Tai Gu malesterile plants of four high yielding parental lines, again with equal numbers of plants from each line. Three cycles of selection were conducted for both population Bl and B2. Direct genetic advances of sterile plants for six traits were studied. The results indicated that use of the Tai Gu male-sterile single dominant gene is effective for recurrent selection of wheat. For improvement of a single character, CS was the most effective method, of which the selective effect in the first cycle (Cl) was greater than in the second (C2) and the third cycle (C3), although multivariate analysis snowed that the CS method was not conducive to the maintenance of variation in a population. The greatest response to selection was found in C2 with the MS method. Multivariate analysis also indicated that both the MS and BS methods increased the variation in the population, but MS was found to be the best selective method as judged by the mean response over three cycles of selection.
The yield of potato plants as affected by stem canker (Rhizoctonia solani), blackleg (Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica) and by neighbouring plants
Authors: Hide G. A. , Welham S. J. , Read P. J. , Ainsley A. E.
Published: March 2009

Potato seed tubers inoculated with Rhizoctonia solani and Erwinia carotovora subsp. atroseptica, to induce stem canker and blackleg respectively, were planted with uninoculated seed tubers in field experiments designed to measure the effects of the diseases and of neighbouring plants on tuber yield. Gaps were also included. The plant variables total and ware (> 150 g) yields and tuber numbers were affected by disease, and also by competition from the two plants on either side in the same row (first neighbours), and increased as competition from neighbouring plants decreased. Plants adjacent to the first neighbours also influenced yields of plants with stem canker but those in adjacent rows did not have a significant effect with either disease. Both diseases altered the tuber size distributions, which were also modified by neighbouring plants. The data were used to predict total and ware yields for crops containing different proportions of healthy, diseased and missing plants.
General adaptability of potato genotypes selected in the UK for the Mediterranean region
Authors: Brown J. , Dale M. F. B. , Mackay G. R.
Published: March 2009

The recombinant genotypes generated with a potato breeding scheme cannot always be evaluated over the range of environments for which cultivar development is aimed. At the Scottish Crop Research Institute, the cultivar breeding programme aims to develop genotypes which perform well in one or more environments in the UK and/or countries around the Mediterranean basin. In each of three years (1984, 1985 and 1986) between 40 and 50 potato genotypes were selected solely on their phenotypic performance in an environment just south of Edinburgh in Scotland. These were then trialled at sites in four environments in the typical ware-producing regions of England and four environments around the Mediterranean region. Despite significant genotype x environment interactions for many traits, the superior genotypes tended to perform well over a wide range of environments.
The effect of cover crops on the establishment and yield of vining peas and on nitrate leaching
Authors: Knott C. M.
Published: March 2009

Experiments were designed to assess the effects of cover crops, compared with bare stubble, on the establishment and yield of a following crop of vining peas sown in March. The cover crops of winter wheat (to simulate self-sown wheat) or winter rye, and bare stubble, were ploughed in on different dates: 1 December, 1 February or 1 March. Cover crops were destroyed with or without the use of herbicide. The three experiments in 1990/91, 1991/92 and 1992/93 were sited on a free-draining, sandy loam soil at Thornhaugh, Cambridgeshire.

The cover crops, sown as soon as possible in September following a winter wheat crop, had low dry matter (DM) production and nitrogen uptake in the dry autumns of 1990 and 1991, but in the third experiment (1992/93), autumn rainfall was higher than the long-term average and DM production and N uptake were greater. Cover crops reduced the overwinter soil mineral nitrogen (SMN) content in all 3 years compared with bare stubble. However, in spring, SMN increased where cover crops had been incorporated, due to the mineralization of the cover crop residues. Rye captured more nitrogen than wheat.

Vining pea vigour and maturity at quick-freezing harvest stage were not affected by cover crop, destruction date or method in any of the three seasons.

On the light soil, satisfactory seedbeds were achieved after ploughing at all three timings for experiments in 1990/91 and 1992/93 and vining pea yields were not reduced by cover crops or by destruction date or method. However, delayed ploughing in February and March in the 1991/92 experiment resulted in lower vining pea yields compared with ploughing in December. This was due to poor seedbeds after late ploughing rather than cover crop, stubble treatment or method of destruction.
Response of Mediterranean grassland to phosphate and stocking rates: biomass production and botanical composition
Authors: Osman A. E. , Cocks P. S. , Russi L. , Pagnotta M. A.
Published: March 2009

Three rates of phosphate (0, 25, and 60 kg/ha P2O5) were applied to phosphorus-deficient native grassland at Tel Hadya, in northern Syria, and biomass productivity, botanical composition and number of legume seeds in the soil were monitored for five seasons (1984/85–1988/89). The experiment was grazed at low (0·8 sheep/ha per year) and high (1·7 sheep/ha per year) stocking rates from the second to the fourth seasons of the experiment; in the fifth season, the low and high stocking rates were increased to 1·1 and 2·3 sheep/ha per year, respectively. The experimental site was typical of native grassland within the cereal zone of west Asia, where cropping is not possible because of shallow, stony soils and steep slopes.

The results showed that annual applications of phosphorus, even as low as 25 kg P2O5/ha, alleviated the deficiency in soil P and resulted in improved pasture production, even in dry years. Legume production showed the greatest response to P, increasing by 0·3–3 times the production of the control treatments. By the fifth season, legume seed mass had increased threefold and number of seeds sixfold in the P-treated plots, compared with the first season, while in the control plots there was little change. Rain-use efficiency on the P-treated plots was more than double that of the controls by the fourth and fifth seasons.

Practical application of the results depends on whether (i) legumes are as frequent in native grasslands, as a whole, as they are at Tel Hadya, (ii) the P deficiency observed at Tel Hadya is widespread, and (iii) grazing of communally owned grasslands can be controlled. It is suggested that all three criteria will often be fulfilled and, therefore, that grassland productivity in west Asia could be substantially increased. Furthermore, the results suggest that above-ground cover and soil organic matter will also increase after P application, both of which will help to reduce soil erosion and thereby increase the sustainability of livestock production in west Asia.
Growth of forage tree legumes at four agro-climatic sites in Indonesia
Authors: Panjaitan Mas'ud , Stur W. W. , Jessop R.
Published: March 2009

The growth of the tree legumes Leucaena leucocephala, Gliricidia sepium, Sesbania sesban, Sesbania grandiflora, Albizia falcataria and Calliandra calothyrsus was evaluated at four sites in Indonesia between 1984 and 1986. Tree seedlings were planted at 10000 trees/ha and, after an establishment period of 9–12 months, harvested every 3 months for a 2-year period.

At Bambu Apus, West Java (2040 mm annual rainfall, 1 month dry period, lowland, latosol with pH 5·6 decreasing with depth), G. sepium and C. calothyrsus produced 13 and 10 t/ha per year of leaf dry matter, respectively. Other species did not grow well at this site and fewer than 60% of the trees of these species survived until the end of the experimental period. At Sei Putih, North Sumatra (1550 mm annual rainfall, 3 months dry period, lowland, podzolic with pH 5·5 increasing with depth), no species produced > 6 t/ha per year of leaf dry matter. The highest yielding species were L. leucocephala and A. falcataria. At Cisarua, West Java (3340 mm annual rainfall, no dry periods, 925 m altitude, latosol with pH 5–6 increasing with depth) only C. calothyrsus grew well and produced 9 t/ha per year of leaf dry matter. At Grati, East Java (1500 mm annual rainfall, 6 months dry period, lowland, alluvial with pH 6·6 increasing with depth) L. leucocephala produced > 8 t·ha per year of leaf dry matter, while none of the C. calothyrsus and A. falcataria trees survived the first dry season.

Although L. leucocephala has been the most widely grown tree legume species in the tropics, C. calothyrsus and G. sepium performed better at the wetter sites and at high altitude.
Integrated rice straw–urea management for transplanted rice
Authors: Bulbule A. V. , Talashilkar S. C. , Savant N. K.
Published: March 2009

Four field experiments were conducted over the 1992 and 1993 seasons (southwest monsoon seasons, June–October) in the warm subhumid tropical region on the west coast of the Maharashtra State, India. The objective was to investigate the effect of recycling limited amounts of rice straw (RS) (as a source of K and Si) integrated with the use of prilled urea (PU) and urea briquettes (UB) at 60 kg N/ha on the growth and yield of rainfed transplanted rice (Oryza sativa L.). The management practice, consisting of basal incorporation of RS (2 t/ha) integrated with deep placement of UB (one 2·1-g UB/4 hills) immediately after transplanting using a modified 20 × 20 cm spacing, produced a significantly higher grain yield (average increase of 1·3 t/ha) and straw yield (average increase of 1·1 t/ha) than did the RS practice integrated with two equal split applications of PU at the same N rate and hill spacing. The additional yields were attributed to the increase of total and productive tillers/m2 and panicle weight. The results indicate the potential of the integrated RS–UB management for increasing yields of rainfed transplanted rice in the warm subhumid tropical zone.
Study of gas production capacity by three sources of inocula
Authors: Gonçalves L. M. B. O. , Borba A. E. S.
Published: March 2009

The capacity for gas production by three sources of inocula was evaluated at the University of the Azores between 1993 and 1994. The sources were: liquor from the rumen of sheep and slaughtered cattle and a suspension of sheep faeces. The highest gas production was observed in the liquor obtained from sheep rumen. Lower production(p ≤ 0·05) was observed in the rumen liquor obtained from slaughtered cattle, and the lowest results (p ≤ 0·05) were obtained with the suspension of faeces from sheep.
A simple procedure for the analysis of experiments on mixtures of varieties or species of agronomic interest
Authors: Yates F. , Dutton Susan J.
Published: March 2009

This paper re-analyses three experiments for which results have previously been published. A simpler model for aggression, based only on the proportions of the component yields of the mixed plots, is adopted. This greatly simplifies the analysis, which requires only a straightforward application of least squares, and gives much more accurate estimates of competitive power. Omission of some combinations from the mixtures included in an experiment presents little extra difficulty.

Various secondary matters, some of which have implications for the design of experiments of this type, are discussed in the paper. Graphical plots which throw light on the effect of sole yield differences on competitive power are exhibited. A logarithmic transformation of the data, often used to equalize the variance, was found to lead to underestimation of enhancement.
Influence of seed treatment and foliar nutrition of molybdenum on green gram and black gram
Authors: Anwarulla M. Syed , Shivashankar K.
Published: March 2009

In two separate field experiments with green gram (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) and black gram (Vigna mungo L. Wilczek), the effect of seed treatment of molybdenum at 4, 8 and 12 g of sodium molybdate/kg seeds as well as foliar nutrition of sodium molybdate at 0·4, 0·8 and 1·2 kg/ha was evaluated on the nodulation characteristics and leghaemoglobin content of nodules and growth and yield of crops. Both seed treatment and foliar application of sodium molybdate were found to be superior to controls in respect of the number of nodules per plant and dry weight of nodules. The leghaemoglobin content of nodules in both crops was maximal in the treatments with the highest dose of seed treatment followed by the highest dose of molybdenum for foliar sprays. Molybdenum favourably influenced the growth of green gram and black gram by increasing the number of branches and leaves and by nearly doubling the leaf area index. This resulted in increased D.M. and yield of pods.
The influence of feeding frequency on feed intake, nutrient utilization and nitrogen metabolism in growing zebu cattle
Authors: Ikhatua U. J. , Ehoche O. W. , Umoh J. E.
Published: March 2009

Eighteen bulls were used to investigate the influence of feeding frequency on feed consumption, nutrient utilization and nitrogen metabolism in growing zebu cattle.

Results indicated higher feed intake, nutrient utilization and average daily live-weight gains for animals fed two or three times daily compared with those fed once daily. Feed efficiency and feed cost per kg gain as well as nitrogen metabolism also increased as the frequency of feeding increased from once to three times daily.

More frequent feeding could evidently be of practical advantage in intensive beef cattle production where zebu cattle are raised on tropical hay diets.
Effects of a compacted subsoil layer on root and shoot growth, water use and nutrient uptake of winter wheat
Authors: Barraclough P. B. , Weir A. H.
Published: March 2009

Avalon winter wheat was grown in 1983 on a light-textured, sandy loam (Cottenham series) which had a subsoil pan with a maximum dry bulk density of 1·8 g/cm3 at 35 cm depth. This was destroyed on part of the site with a ‘Wye Double Digger’ so that crop growth in panned and pan-free soils could be compared. The interaction of the pan with soil water supply was studied by sheltering the crops during May, June and July and either withholding water completely or irrigating weekly back to field capacity.

The pan had a major effect on the vertical extension rate of the root system as monitored both by coring and from observation tubes. Roots were largely confined above the pan until March, but compensatory growth occurred within this soil layer and the total length of root was unaffected. At anthesis, roots had reached a maximum depth of 100 cm in the panned soil compared with 140 cm in the pan-free soil.

Early shoot growth and N content were substantially reduced by the pan because of the inaccessibility of mineral N in the subsoil. However, both the growth of the crop and N uptake recovered following top dressings of N fertilizer and, when water was not limiting, the pan had a negligible effect on grain yield.

Root and shoot growth were reduced by the fixed shelter, but the imposed drought did ot affect water use by the crops until after anthesis when the root systems were already fully developed. Without irrigation, the crop growing on the double-dug soil yielded 5% more than that growing on the panned soil, but there was no evidence for extra water use from the subsoil by the former crop. The best treatment (double-dug with irrigation) outyielded the worst (panned soil with drought) by 8%.
Residual effects of a slant-legged subsoiler on some soil physical conditions and the root growth of spring barley
Authors: Hipps N. A. , Hodgson D. R.
Published: March 2009

Soil disturbance caused by a slant-legged subsoiler (Trade name, ‘Paraplow’) and the duration of its effect was investigated in an experiment comparing long-term direct drilling with shallow tine cultivation and mouldboard ploughing. The ‘Paraplow’ significantly reduced soil strength, measured by cone resistance, to the depth of cultivation (33–35 cm) for up to 20 months, after which soil recompacted. The ‘Paraplow’ increased the volume of soil with cone resistance < 1·5 MPa by 52% within its working depth, compared with an equivalent depth of undisturbed soil. Contour diagrams of cone resistances clearly illustrate the patterns of soil loosening caused by the ‘Paraplow’.

Measurements on soil cores (73 mm diameter × 50 mm) show that the ‘Paraplow’ did not appear to increase significantly the volume of macropores (> 60 μm) in direct-drilled soil, nor did it reduce the bulk density in the top 5 cm as effectively as the mouldboard plough.

The root density of spring barley, measured at the beginning and end of tillering, was significantly increased within the horizon disturbed by the ‘Paraplow’ but below the depth of loosening there were no differences. This improvement of root growth probably resulted from an increase in the number of large pores (which could not be measured adequately in the soil cores), as well as the reduced soil strength. Better drainage of the soil loosened with the ‘Paraplow’ suggested that macroporosity was improved. The need to sample large volumes of soil to detect changes in bulk density and macroporosity is stressed.
Crop continuity and prediction of maturity in the crisp lettuce variety Saladin
Authors: Wurr D. C. E. , Fellows Jane R. , Suckling R. F.
Published: March 2009

The dates of transplanting and maturity of twenty-four experiments between 1980 and 1986 with the lettuce varieties Saladin and Saladin R 100 were used, together with meteorological data for each crop, to study the planning of crop continuity and the prediction of crop maturity. The interval in days from transplanting to maturity was shown to be a minimum for crops transplanted around the middle of June and was described by a fitted quadratic relationship which accounted for 34·6% of the variance. When expressed in accumulated day-degrees >0 °C the interval increased with later transplanting but a linear relationship accounted for only 22·2% of the variance. However, when expressed as accumulated solar radiation the interval decreased with later transplanting and a linear relationship accounted for 82·2% of the variance. When expressed in effective day-degrees (EDDs) the interval was relatively stable at 589 EDDs (S.D. = 39·5).

Predictions of commercial crop maturity based on these relationships and using a combination of average and observed meteorological data showed that EDDs gave the most accurate prediction. Differences between actual and predicted maturity appeared to be associated with the site of production, suggesting that a ‘site’ factor needs to be incorporated to take account of local differences in temperature, solar radiation and soil type. The use of long-term average day-degree and EDD data was less consistent than estimates of maturity based wholly or predominantly on observed day-degree and EDD data though with solar radiation the reverse was true.
Genotype × site interactions in seed production, hard seed breakdown and regeneration of annual medics (Medicago spp.) in west Asia
Authors: Cocks P. S.
Published: March 2009

Seed production of annual medics was measured at four sites in Syria and Jordan between 1986/87 and 1988/89. Plots sown to medic in the first year were sown to wheat in the second year, and medic regeneration was measured in the third year. At three of the sites, adjacent plots were established in the second and third years and herbage production, and regeneration where appropriate, were measured in the third year. In this way, genotype × site interactions were used to assess medic adaptation to wheat/pasture rotations, continuous pasture and newly sown pasture.

Seed production was correlated with rainfall, the mean yield of 14 genotypes ranging from zero at 160 mm to 1 tonne/ha at 510 mm. Medicago polymorpha produced the highest yields, though not at the lowest rainfalls. Yields of M. rotata were also above average. There was, however, wide variation between species in seed weight, pod weight and seeds/pod.

Regeneration was better after wheat than after pasture. Herbage production was slightly better after pasture than after wheat, and both were greatly superior to that of newly sown pasture. After 2 years' germination, most genotypes retained more than half (mean 60%) and up to 99% of the seed produced in the first year.

Genotype × environment interactions were tested using analysis of variance (ANOVA), regression (Finlay & Wilkinson 1963) and principal component analysis (PCA). Because adaptation in pasture plants depends on many variables, PCA proved to be the most useful technique and the simplest to apply. ANOVA and regression were limited by their inability to process more than one variable at a time. Regression analysis is further limited by requiring a greater number of sites.

Based on seed production, seed survival, seedling regeneration and herbage production, certain locally collected genotypes of M. rigidula, M. noeana, M. polymorpha and possibly M. rotala, were adapted to conditions in Syria and Jordan. A similar methodology could be used to test pasture legumes throughout west Asia and north Africa
Badgers and bovine tuberculosis: a reappraisal of aetiology and pathogenesis
Authors: Hancox M.
Published: March 2009

The badger culling component of the cattle tuberculosis (TB) eradication scheme has been controversial from the outset. Despite the apparent complexity of the issue, and ever expanding literature, it is perhaps worth highlighting several basic key aspects in need of an urgent reappraisal.
The pollination of hybrid kale (Brassica oleraceae L.)
Authors: Free J. B. , Williams Ingrid H.
Published: March 2009

Honeybees were able to distinguish between the flowers of two different oultivars of kale grown to produce hybrid seed and most foraged only on one or other of them.
Effect of condensed tannins upon the performance of lambs grazing Lotus corniculatus and lucerne (Medicago sativa)
Authors: Wang Y. , Douglas G. B. , Waghorn G. C. , Barry T. N. , Foote A. G. , Purchas R. W.
Published: March 2009

A grazing experiment, conducted for 22 weeks in 1992/93 at Aorangi Research Station, AgResearch Grasslands, Manawatu, New Zealand, compared the productivity of weaned lambs grazing Lotus corniculatus (birdsfoot trefoil) and lucerne (Medicago sativa). Effects of condensed tannins (CT) in lotus were evaluated by studying the responses of lambs to twice daily oral supplementation with polyethylene glycol (PEG). A rotational grazing system with restricted feed allowance was used. Measurements were made of pre- and post-grazing herbage mass, the composition of the feed on offer and diet selected, voluntary feed intake (VFI), liveweight gain (LWG), carcass growth, wool growth and the concentration of metabolites in rumen fluid. For both lotus and lucerne swards, the diet selected was mainly leaf. Lotus contained 34 g total CT/kg dry matter in the diet selected, whilst there were essentially no CT in lucerne. Compared to lambs grazing lucerne, lambs grazing lotus had slightly lower VFI, and higher LWG, carcass weight gain, carcass dressing-out percentage and wool growth. PEG supplementation had no effect on these measurements or upon the composition of rumen fluid in lambs grazing lucerne. However, in lambs grazing lotus, PEG supplementation reduced wool growth (10·9 ν. 12·1 g/day), slightly reduced LWG (188 ν. 203 g/day), increased rumen ammonia concentration, and increased the molar proportions of /.so-butyric, isovaleric and n-valeric acids and protozoa numbers in rumen fluid. PEG supplementation did not affect carcass gain, carcass fatness or the molar proportion of rumen acetic, propionic or n-butyric acids in lambs grazing lotus. It was concluded that the principal effect of CT in growing lambs grazing lotus was to increase wool growth without affecting VFI, thereby increasing the efficiency of wool production, that the greater rate of carcass gain of lambs grazing lotus than those grazing lucerne was mainly caused by factors other than CT and that CT did not affect the rumen fermentation of carbohydrate to major volatile fatty acids.
Neglected Origins of Modern Hebrew Prose: Hasidic and Maskilic Travel Narratives
Authors: Frieden Ken
Published: March 2009

The emergence of modern Hebrew literature has too often been represented as a straight line from Enlightenment authors'meliẓato “Mendele'snusaḥ” in S. Y. Abramovitsh's fiction. If we are to move beyond this one-dimensional geometry, we must add additional lines of development: from traditional rabbinic writing in postmishnaic Hebrew, branching out to hasidic narratives and parodies of hasidic Hebrew, and gradually leading toward a more vernacular Hebrew style. Once we have recognized the inadequacy of the older model, which culminates in hyperbolic claims for Abramovitsh's short stories (1886–96), we can better appreciate the contributions of diverse authors such as R. Nathan (Nosn) Sternharz (1780–1845), Mendel Lefin (1749–1826), and their successors.
The Formerly Wealthy Poor: From Empathy to Ambivalence in Rabbinic Literature of Late Antiquity
Authors: Gray Alyssa M.
Published: March 2009

Students of poverty in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim social, literary, and legal contexts in late antiquity and the Middle Ages have noted the phenomenon of wealthy people who fall into poverty and the provision of charitable assistance to them. This essay's principal purpose is to point out an important difference between the development of attitudes toward the formerly wealthy poor in rabbinic literature of late antiquity and in other religious and legal contexts. Peter Brown notes evidence of late Roman empathy for the wellborn poor, hypothesizing that this empathy can be attributed to a desire to preserve these remnants of the old, proudplebs romanain the uncertain sixth century. Ingrid Mattson demonstrates that between the eighth and tenth or eleventh centuries CE, Islamic jurists moved in the direction of taking the “social and economic context” of a poor person into account in determining that person's legitimate needs. By contrast, as this essay will show, rabbinic literature of late antiquity moved in the opposite direction, from third-century empathy for the formerly wealthy poor to growing ambivalence in the fourth through the seventh centuries.
How does trench coupling lead to mountain building in the Subandes? A viscoelastoplastic finite element model
Authors: Luo Gang , Liu Mian
Published: March 2009

Subduction‐induced crustal shortening is believed to be the primary cause of the Andean mountain building. The present‐day crustal shortening in the Andes is clear from the GPS measurements, but the rate (30–40 mm/a) is higher than the geological shortening rate (<15 mm/a), suggesting that much of the present‐day crustal shortening may recover during future earthquakes in the subduction zone. Using a two‐dimensional viscoelastoplastic finite element model, we investigate here how the cyclic trench coupling leads to long‐term mountain building, which has been concentrated in the Subandes in the past few million years. Our results show that much of the GPS‐measured crustal shortening in the Andes can be explained by the interseismic and postseismic viscoelastic strain that does not contribute to mountain building. The apparently discordant GPS and geological data can be reconciled in the geodynamic model with a weakened crust in the Subandes, which allows accumulation of plastic strains that leads to mountain building. The localized crustal weakening and mountain building in the Subandes may have been a consequence of the uplifted High Andes, the accelerated westward drift of the South American plate, the possible delamination of mantle lithosphere under the Eastern Cordillera, and the increasing trench coupling.
A preliminary comparison of daylit and night Cn2 profiles measured by thermosonde
Authors: Roadcap John R. , Tracy Paul
Published: March 2009

The refractive index structure constant Cn2 is needed to characterize optical wave propagation in a refractive turbulent scattering medium. A limited number of in situ measurements of Cn2 made during day and night conditions from the surface to 10 km above sea level are compared in three different atmospheric boundary layer environments: dry convective, moist convective, and marine inversion. Cn2 on average appears to be higher through the convective boundary layer depth during the day compared to night for the same air mass type and location but is generally lower than night values within the stable marine inversion layer. Calculations of path scintillation effects for slant paths in the lower atmosphere at near‐infrared wavelengths are also compared for day and night conditions associated with the different air mass types.
High piezoelectricity of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3-based ternary compound thin films on silicon substrates
Authors: Zhang Tao , Wasa Kiyotaka , Zhang Shu-yi , Chen Zhao-jiang , Zhou Feng-mei , Zhang Zhong-ning , Yang Yue-tao
Published: March 2009

Pb ( Zr , Ti ) O 3 (PZT)-based ternary compound thin films, 0.06PMnN-0.94PZT(50/50) (PMnN-PZT), are deposited on Si-based heterostructures by rf magnetron sputtering system. The intrinsic PZT(50/50) thin films are also deposited on the same kind of substrates for comparison. The PMnN-PZT thin films show the similar polycrystalline structures as those of PZT with highly (111) oriented perovskite phase. The PMnN-PZT thin films show excellent piezoelectricity and ferroelectricity which are distinctly better than those of PZT thin films prepared with the same deposition conditions. Besides, the cantilevers of PMnN-PZT thin films on the heterostructure substrates also exhibit higher sensitivities than the PZT thin film cantilevers.
Direct imaging of GaN p-n junction by cross-sectional scanning photoelectron microscopy and spectroscopy
Authors: Kuo Cheng-Tai , Lee Hong-Mao , Shiu Hung-Wei , Chen Chia-Hao , Gwo Shangjr
Published: March 2009

We demonstrate that formation of p-n junction in gallium nitride (GaN) can be directly visualized on cleavage surfaces in a cross-sectional geometry, where the focused synchrotron radiation (soft x-ray) images the different doping layers on the nonpolar a-plane surface perpendicular to the polar growth direction. In contrast to the as-grown GaN polar surface, the in situ cleaved GaN a-plane surface is shown by using photoelectron spectroscopy to be under the flatband conditions. This unique surface property opens up the way to image and identify p-n junctions in III-nitride semiconductors.
Modeling the temporal interplay of molecular signaling and gene expression by using dynamic nested effects models
Authors: Anchang Benedict , Sadeh Mohammad J. , Jacob Juby , Tresch Achim , Vlad Marcel O. , Oefner Peter J. , Spang Rainer
Published: March 2009

Cellular decision making in differentiation, proliferation, or cell death is mediated by molecular signaling processes, which control the regulation and expression of genes. Vice versa, the expression of genes can trigger the activity of signaling pathways. We introduce and describe a statistical method called Dynamic Nested Effects Model (D-NEM) for analyzing the temporal interplay of cell signaling and gene expression. D-NEMs are Bayesian models of signal propagation in a network. They decompose observed time delays of multiple step signaling processes into single steps. Time delays are assumed to be exponentially distributed. Rate constants of signal propagation are model parameters, whose joint posterior distribution is assessed via Gibbs sampling. They hold information on the interplay of different forms of biological signal propagation. Molecular signaling in the cytoplasm acts at high rates, direct signal propagation via transcription and translation act at intermediate rates, while secondary effects operate at low rates. D-NEMs allow the dissection of biological processes into signaling and expression events, and analysis of cellular signal flow. An application of D-NEMs to embryonic stem cell development in mice reveals a feed-forward loop dominated network, which stabilizes the differentiated state of cells and points to
Nanog
as the key sensitizer of stem cells for differentiation stimuli.
Written production of German compounds
Authors: Sahel Said , Nottbusch Guido , Grimm Angela , Weingarten Rüdiger
Published: March 2009

In this study, we present an experiment in which we examined the time course of typing German compounds. The compounds varied according to three criteria: (1) whole word frequency (high vs. low), (2) head frequency (high vs. low) and (3) semantic transparency (transparent vs. opaque). In this experiment, we recorded the interkey intervals (IKIs) and concentrated on the IKI measurements found at the boundary of the two immediate constituents in compounds. We refer to this boundary type as an SM-boundary because (S)yllable and (M)orpheme boundaries coincide at this word position. As we found effects of lexical frequency for SM-IKIs in a series of previous studies, we argue that possible differences in SM-IKIs found for compounds of different frequency classes and of different degrees of semantic transparency can give an insight into the processes involved in the written production of German compounds: whole word procedures and/or compositional procedures. Our findings show that SM-IKIs are affected by compound frequency, head frequency and semantic transparency. We therefore argue that both whole word procedures and compositional procedures are involved in the written production of German compounds. These findings are in line with those versions of dual-route models which postulate that the two routes run in parallel and interact.
Sensitivity of thermohaline circulation to decadal and multidecadal variability
Authors: Lorenzo María N. , Taboada Juan J. , Iglesias Isabel
Published: March 2009

Lorenzo, M. N., Taboada, J. J., and Iglesias, I. 2009. Sensitivity of thermohaline circulation to decadal and multidecadal variability. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1439–1447. In this paper, stochastic freshwater inputs with different variabilities are introduced into an Earth Model of Intermediate Complexity to study their effect on the behaviour of the thermohaline circulation (THC). The variability in the stochastic signal was set to be either decadal or multidecadal (70 years), based on intensity modulation of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. The results demonstrate a weakening of the THC in both the decadal and the multidecadal cases. This weakening results in a reduction in air surface temperature, mainly in the North Atlantic. Moreover, the 500-mb stream function also weakens. This causes lower rainfall in Western Europe, except in the areas most influenced by the Gulf Stream. Sea surface temperature is reduced significantly in the area around Greenland, whereas sea surface salinity is reduced around Greenland and in the Gulf Stream, but increased in the Labrador Sea and in Hudson Strait. The latter effects are more marked in the case where the variability of the inputs is multidecadal. The main implication of these results is that the natural decadal or multidecadal variability in freshwater inputs could have noticeable effects on the fate of the THC, which may be superimposed on the effects of climate change.
A simulation strategy for fleet dynamics in Australia’s northern prawn fishery: effort allocation at two scales
Authors: Venables William N. , Ellis Nick , Punt André E. , Dichmont Catherine M. , Deng Roy A.
Published: March 2009

Venables, W. N., Ellis, N., Punt, A. E., Dichmont, C. M., and Deng, R. A. 2009. A simulation strategy for fleet dynamics in Australia’s northern prawn fishery: effort allocation at two scales. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 631–645. We describe simple and effective methods for simulating the movement of a fishing fleet, the spatio-temporal allocation of effort, in the context of harvest policy evaluation. Vessel movements are simulated in a manner that can balance established seasonal fishing patterns with the influence of perceived local variations in abundance. In the longer term, the model adapts smoothly to changes in fleet size and price fluctuations in critical resources, such as fuel. Given an initial allocation of effort at a fine temporal (but coarse spatial) scale, as needed for projecting stock dynamics, a second phase assigns the effort at a finer spatial (but coarser temporal) scale for environmental impact assessment. The first phase is based on a discrete-state, time-inhomogeneous Markov chain, with transition probabilities following a multiple logistic model. Although the ideas are generic, the method has been developed for the specific case of Australia’s northern prawn fishery, which is used to motivate and describe the method. The approach, in a harvest policy evaluation context, is novel in that it uses economic projections (not surrogates) to reflect realistically the recent pressures many fishing industries are under to change their spatial fishing pattern in response to global fuel price fluctuations.
Recruitment as a driver of production dynamics in stream‐resident brown trout (Salmo trutta)
Authors: LOBÓN‐CERVIÁ JAVIER
Published: March 2009

1. The objective was to assess the role of recruitment as a determinant of the production dynamics of stream‐resident brown trout (Salmo trutta) across replicate habitats of contrasting quality and population attributes. A total of 128‐year‐classes (YC) at 12 stream sites were examined along four tributaries of the Rio Esva drainage (northwestern Spain).

2. A meta‐comparison revealed that growth, density, mortality and production were essentially site‐specific. However, when all data were pooled, recruitment (as a delayed density‐dependent process) affected both growth and mortality in a way such that individuals in YC with high recruitment grew less and had higher mortality.

3. The value of total YC production recorded covered the global range of variation in the production of stream salmonids reported in the literature. Linear regressions of log‐transformed data revealed that 89.0%, 58.9% and 70.7% of the variation in YC density, biomass and production, respectively, were explained by variations in recruitment.

4. The inclusion of growth and mortality, together with recruitment, into a multiple regression increased the variance explained of the total YC production by 13.3%, from 70.7% to 84.0%.

5. The functional relationships between recruitment and the population attributes elucidated in this study appear to provide a useful tool for management applications, including forecasting population status.
Aspects on dental hard tissues in primary teeth from patients with Ehlers–Danlos syndrome
Authors: KLINGBERG GUNILLA , HAGBERG CATHARINA , NORÉN JÖRGEN G. , NIETZSCHE SANDOR
Published: March 2009

Background. Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a rare hereditary condition affecting connective tissues and dental hard tissues.

Hypotheses. Primary enamel and dentine from EDS patients were expected to differ from those of healthy subjects regarding morphology and chemical composition.

Design. Forty‐seven exfoliated primary teeth from 25 patients with EDS were investigated. Morphology was studied using a polarized light microscope, scanning electron microscope, and X‐ray microanalysis. Comparisons were made with 36 primary teeth from 36 healthy patients.

Results. Morphological analysis of enamel in EDS teeth showed a high frequency of postnatally hypomineralized enamel and postnatally located incremental lines, whereas dentine was normal in all patients. Chemical analysis could not reveal any differences between EDS and control patients except for lower content of C and a higher Ca/P ratio in the enamel in the EDS teeth, indicating porous enamel. Regarding dentine, EDS teeth had a lower content of C, and a higher content of Ca, P, and O. Ratios for Ca/C and Ca/O were also higher compared with controls.

Conclusions. There are several aberrations of booth enamel and dentine in primary teeth from patients with EDS. These could explain the occurrence of both more dental caries and tooth fractures in patients with EDS.