bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
RELAY PLANTING OF WHEAT IN COTTON: AN INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR ENHANCING PRODUCTIVITY AND PROFITABILITY OF WHEAT IN COTTON–WHEAT PRODUCTION SYSTEM OF SOUTH ASIA
Authors: BUTTAR G. S. , SIDHU H. S. , SINGH VICKY , JAT M. L. , GUPTA R. , SINGH YADVINDER , SINGH BALDEV 
Published: December 2012

SUMMARYCotton–wheat (CW) is the second most important cropping system after rice–wheat in South Asia. Sowing of wheat after cotton is usually delayed due to late pickings coupled with time needed for seedbed preparation, resulting in low wheat yield. Lack of suitable machinery is a major constraint to direct drilling of wheat into the heavy cotton stubbles. An innovative approach with much promise is the ‘2-wheel tractor-based self-propelled relay seeder’ with seed-cum-fertilizer attachment. On-farm trials were conducted at four locations during 2009–2010 and at 10 locations during 2010–2011 to evaluate the following four wheat establishment methods in CW-dominated areas of south-western Punjab, India: (1) zero till seeding in standing cotton using a self-propelled relay seeder, (2) relay seeding in standing cotton with a manual drill without prior tillage (2010 only), (3) relay broadcast seeding in standing cotton following light manual tillage and (4) conventional sowing of wheat after cotton harvest (conventional tillage and sowing with a seed–fertilizer drill). Planting of wheat under conventional practice was delayed by 20–44 days compared with relay seeding. Seed cotton yield was also significantly higher with relay seeding due to opportunity for one additional picking. Yield of wheat sown with the self-propelled relay seeder was 41.2% and 11.8% higher than with conventional practice in 2009–2010 and 2010–2011 respectively. The increase in wheat yield under relay seeding of wheat was primarily due to higher spike density and more grains per spike. The net income from the CW system was 28.2% higher for the self-propelled relay seeder than with conventional sowing.
FARM-LEVEL ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE IN ECUADOR
Authors: NGUEMA ABIGAIL , NORTON GEORGE W. , ALWANG JEFFREY , TAYLOR DANIEL B. , BARRERA VICTOR , BERTELSEN MICHAEL 
Published: December 2012

SUMMARYFarm households in the Andean region of South America face serious livelihood challenges, including a poor natural resource base and declining agricultural yields. Conservation agriculture has been identified as a potential solution to environmental degradation and the associated poverty and food insecurity in the region. This study analyses the potential economic impact of conservation agriculture in two sub-watersheds in central Ecuador utilizing a linear programming model and data from experiments in farmer fields. The model found that specific cover crops, crop rotations and reduced tillage designed to reduce soil erosion and increase soil organic matter can lead to increased incomes for farm households in a time period of as short as two years. It appears that conservation agriculture practices have the potential to improve the livelihoods of the rural poor in Ecuador because conservation agriculture activities entered the revenue-maximizing model solution for both sub-watersheds.
Growth of amorphous carbon and graphene on pulse laser deposited SiC films and their characterization studies
Authors: Mishra Pratima K. , Sahoo Bijayalaxmi 
Published: December 2012

AbstractLaser induced ablation studies have been carried out on formation of amorphous carbon and graphene on SiC thin films with their detailed characterization studies. Pulse laser ablation technique with process parameters such as 248 nm KrF excimer laser, frequency 10 Hz, 200 mJ of laser energy, and chamber pressure of 7 × 10−6 mbar has been used. Films were characterized in detail by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared, micro-Raman, X-ray reflectivity, Field emission scanning electron microscopic, transmission electron microscope, and Nano-indentation techniques and the results are reported. As deposited SiC film surface is rich in amorphous carbon and the same has been used as the nucleation site for further growth of graphene on SiC films. Film hardness increased from 29 GPa to 37 GPa for SiC film and graphene on SiC film (C-SiC), respectively. These films show bands due to surface phonon polariton mode in the range of 810–840 cm−1 that is a research concern today in nano-photonics area. Further these materials find applications in understanding the laser irradiation effects on SiC based nuclear fusion wall material.
Using morphemes in language modeling and automatic speech recognition of Amharic
Authors: TACHBELIE MARTHA YIFIRU , ABATE SOLOMON TEFERRA , MENZEL WOLFGANG 
Published: December 2012

AbstractThis paper presents morpheme-based language models developed for Amharic (a morphologically rich Semitic language) and their application to a speech recognition task. A substantial reduction in the out of vocabulary rate has been observed as a result of using subwords or morphemes. Thus a severe problem of morphologically rich languages has been addressed. Moreover, lower perplexity values have been obtained with morpheme-based language models than with word-based models. However, when comparing the quality based on the probability assigned to the test sets, word-based models seem to fare better. We have studied the utility of morpheme-based language models in speech recognition systems and found that the performance of a relatively small vocabulary (5k) speech recognition system improved significantly as a result of using morphemes as language modeling and dictionary units. However, as the size of the vocabulary increases (20k or more) the morpheme-based systems suffer from acoustic confusability and did not achieve a significant improvement over a word-based system with an equivalent vocabulary size even with the use of higher order (quadrogram) n-gram language models.
Quantifying uncertainty sources in an ensemble of hydrological climate‐impact projections
Authors: Bosshard T. , Carambia M. , Goergen K. , Kotlarski S. , Krahe P. , Zappa M. , Schär C. 
Published: December 2012

Key Points
ANOVA method applied to climate‐impact modeling
Detailed assessment of changes in water balance quantities due to climate change
Interactions of uncertainty sources
A regression modeling approach for studying carbonate system variability in the northern Gulf of Alaska
Authors: Evans Wiley , Mathis Jeremy T. , Winsor Peter , Statscewich Hank , Whitledge Terry E. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractThe northern Gulf of Alaska (GOA) shelf experiences carbonate system variability on seasonal and annual time scales, but little information exists to resolve higher frequency variability in this region. To resolve this variability using platforms‐of‐opportunity, we present multiple linear regression (MLR) models constructed from hydrographic data collected along the Northeast Pacific Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics (GLOBEC) Seward Line. The empirical algorithms predict dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) using observations of nitrate (NO3−), temperature, salinity and pressure from the surface to 500 m, with R2s > 0.97 and RMSE values of 11 µmol kg−1 for DIC and 9 µmol kg−1 for TA. We applied these relationships to high‐resolution NO3− data sets collected during a novel 20 h glider flight and a GLOBEC mesoscale SeaSoar survey. Results from the glider flight demonstrated time/space along‐isopycnal variability of aragonite saturations (Ωarag) associated with a dicothermal layer (a cold near‐surface layer found in high latitude oceans) that rivaled changes seen vertically through the thermocline. The SeaSoar survey captured the uplift to <100 m of dense, high‐pCO2 waters at the shelf break that had been forced by the passage of a Yakutat eddy. During this event, the aragonite saturation horizon (depth where Ωarag = 1) shoaled to a previously unseen depth in the northern GOA. This work is similar to recent studies aimed at predicting the carbonate system in continental margin settings, albeit demonstrates that a NO3−‐based approach can be applied to high‐latitude data collected from platforms capable of high‐frequency measurements.
Decoding the rules of recruitment of excitatory interneurons in the adult zebrafish locomotor network
Authors: Ausborn Jessica , Mahmood Riyadh , El Manira Abdeljabbar 
Published: December 2012

Significance
Spinal neural networks generate locomotion. An adjustment of the locomotion speed entails a precise order of recruitment of excitatory interneurons (e.g., V2a interneurons) within these networks. We show, using the adult zebrafish spinal cord, that the recruitment order of V2a interneurons is not topographic and does not conform to input resistance. The incremental recruitment of these interneurons is determined by scaling the excitatory drive with input resistance. We also show that locomotor networks are composed of multiple microcircuits recruited in a continuum. Thus, we provide insights into the recruitment mechanisms of spinal microcircuits that ensure optimal execution of locomotor movements.
Salt Stress Induces Accumulation of γ–Aminobutyric Acid in Germinated Foxtail Millet (Setaria italica L.)
Authors: Bai Qingyun , Yang Runqiang , Zhang Lixia , Gu Zhenxin 
Published: December 2012

ABSTRACTEffects of NaCl treatments on sprout length, the contents of soluble protein, free amino acids, and γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) and on glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) activity in germinated foxtail millet were investigated, and the regulating effects of exogenous Ca2+, along with lanthanum chloride (LaCl3, a specific inhibitor of the Ca2+ pathway) and ethylene glycol tetraacetic acid (EGTA, a chelator of Ca2+) under salt stress, on GABA accumulation in germinated millet were examined in this paper. The results showed that NaCl treatments caused a decrease in sprout length of millet. Low concentration of NaCl treatments increased soluble protein content, but high concentration decreased soluble protein content. The level of free amino acids, GAD activity, and GABA content increased significantly under NaCl stress. Exogenous Ca2+ application under NaCl stress further increased GAD activity and GABA content; the optimal concentration of Ca2+ for GAD activity and GABA accumulation was 5.0mM under 100mM NaCl for 48 hr, at which GABA content was 31.92 mg/100 g, a 1.41‐fold increase as compared with that in seeds under NaCl stress (22.64 mg/100 g). GAD activity and GABA accumulation in germinated millet decreased when treated with LaCl3 or EGTA under NaCl stress. Our results suggest that salt stress combined with Ca2+ treatment may be used for preparation of millet with higher GABA content, which can be used as a natural resource for functional foods.
First Report of Leaf Spot Caused by Corynespora cassiicola on Baphicacanthus cusia in China
Authors: Li Q.-L. , Huang S.-P. , Guo T.-X. , Pan Z.-B. , Mo J.-Y. , Ning P. , Hsiang T. 
Published: December 2012

Baphicacanthus cusia is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Acanthaceae that is native to China, where it grows in warm temperate mountainous or hilly regions. It is commonly used as a Chinese herbal medicine. In March 2012, symptoms of leaf spot were observed on leaves of B. cusia in Long'an County, Guangxi, China, where this plant is extensively cultivated. Symptoms were initially small brown dots which developed into irregular to circular leaf spots. These spots enlarged and overlapped, extending until the 7- to 9-cm-long and 3- to 4-cm-wide leaves withered entirely, mostly within 2 months. On potato dextrose agar (PDA), the same fungus was cultured from 92% of 75 symptomatic leaf samples that had been surface sterilized in a 45-second dip in 0.1% mercuric chloride. Fungal structures were observed on diseased leaves: conidiophores (85 to 460 × 4 to 8 μm) were erect, brown, single or in clusters, and conidia (36 to 90 × 5 to 16 μm) were single or in chains of two to four, brown, cylindrical or obclavate, straight or slightly curved, with 3 to 18 pseudosepta and a conspicuous hilum. Three single-spore isolates were identified as Corynespora cassiicola (Berk & Curt.) Wei based on morphological and cultural characteristics (1). The rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of one isolate, ZY-1, was sequenced (GenBank Accession No. JX908713), and it showed 100% identity to C. cassiicola, GenBank FJ852716, an isolate from Micronesia cultured from Ipomoea batatas (2). Pathogenicity tests were performed with each of the three isolates by spraying conidial suspensions (5 × 104 conidia/ml) containing 0.1% Tween 20 onto the surfaces of leaves of 60-day-old, 20-cm tall plants. For each isolate, 30 leaves from five replicate plants were treated. Control plants were treated with sterilized water containing 0.1% Tween 20. All plants were incubated for 36 h at 25°C and 90% relative humidity in an artificial climate chamber, and then moved into a greenhouse. Seven days after inoculation, dark brown spots typical of field symptoms were observed on all inoculated leaves, but no symptoms were seen on water-treated control plants. Koch's postulates were fulfilled by reisolation of C. cassiicola from diseased leaves. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. cassiicola infecting B. cusia worldwide. References: (1) M. B. Ellis. Dematiaceous Hyphomycetes. Commonwealth Mycological Institute: Kew, Surrey, England, 1971. (2) L. J. Dixon et al. Phytopathology 99:1015, 2009.
First Report of Lasiodiplodia theobromae Causing Dieback of Aquilaria sinensis in Taiwan
Authors: Fan M.-C. , Yeh H.-C. , Hong C.-F. 
Published: December 2012

Incense trees (Aquilaria sinensis (Lour.) Gilg) belong to a plant family used for alternative medicine in China and the production of wood. In the summer of 2012, at a nursery in Niaosong district, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, more than 30% of a total of 400 incense trees had dieback symptoms on twigs with leaves attached, leading to eventual death of the entire plant. Symptomatic twigs and trunk pieces from six trees were collected and discolored tissues were excised, surface sterilized in 0.5% sodium hypochlorite solution, rinsed in sterilized distilled water, dried on sterilized filter paper, and then placed in petri dishes containing 2% water agar (WA). The dishes were incubated at room temperature for 1 to 2 days to obtain fungal strains from diseased tissues. The hyphal tips from developing fungal colonies were transferred to potato dextrose agar (PDA, Difco) dishes and placed under UV light (12 h/day) at 30°C. The purified colonies were used as inoculum in the pathogenicity tests. Pathogenicity tests were performed on 2-month-old A. sinensis seedlings, each treatment had three plants. Each plant was wounded by removing bark of the twigs with a disinfected scalpel enough to place a mycelium plug (about 5 × 10 mm2) of 7-day-old fungal isolate on the wound. The inoculated area was wrapped with a wet paper towel and Parafilm. Control plants were treated with PDA plugs. The symptoms described above were observed on inoculated plants 4 to 8 days after inoculation whereas control plants did not show symptoms. Diseased twigs were cut and placed in a moist chamber 21 days after inoculation and conidia oozing from pycnidia were observed. The same fungal pathogen was reisolated from inoculated plants, but not from the control. To identify the pathogen, the fungus was cultured as described above. The colonies were initially white with green to gray aerial mycelium after 5 to 6 days and eventually turned darker. Immature conidia were hyaline and one-celled, but mature conidia were dark brown, two-celled, thin-walled, and oval-shaped with longitudinal striations. The average size of 100 conidia was 25.23 ± 1.97 × 13.09 ± 0.99 μm with a length/width ratio of 1.92. For the molecular identification, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA was PCR amplified with primers ITS1 and ITS4 (2) and sequenced. The sequences were deposited in GenBank (Accession No. JX945583) and showed 99% identity to Lasiodiplodia theobromae (HM346871, GQ469929, and HQ315840). Hence, both morphological and molecular characteristics confirmed the pathogen as L. theobromae (Pat.) Griffon & Maubl (1). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of L. theobromae causing dieback on Incense tree. This disease threatens tree survival and may decrease the income of growers. References: (1) W. H. Ko et al. Plant Dis. 88:1383, 2004. (2) T. J. White et al. Page 315 in: PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications. M. A. Innis et al., eds. Academic Press, New York, 1990.
A Noninvasive Platform for Imaging and Quantifying Oil Storage in Submillimeter Tobacco Seed
Authors: Fuchs Johannes , Neuberger Thomas , Rolletschek Hardy , Schiebold Silke , Nguyen Thuy Ha , Borisjuk Nikolai , Börner Andreas , Melkus Gerd , Jakob Peter , Borisjuk Ljudmilla 
Published: December 2012

AbstractWhile often thought of as a smoking drug, tobacco (Nicotiana spp.) is now considered as a plant of choice for molecular farming and biofuel production. Here, we describe a noninvasive means of deriving both the distribution of lipid and the microtopology of the submillimeter tobacco seed, founded on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology. Our platform enables counting of seeds inside the intact tobacco capsule to measure seed sizes, to model the seed interior in three dimensions, to quantify the lipid content, and to visualize lipid gradients. Hundreds of seeds can be simultaneously imaged at an isotropic resolution of 25 µm, sufficient to assess each individual seed. The relative contributions of the embryo and the endosperm to both seed size and total lipid content could be assessed. The extension of the platform to a range of wild and cultivated Nicotiana species demonstrated certain evolutionary trends in both seed topology and pattern of lipid storage. The NMR analysis of transgenic tobacco plants with seed-specific ectopic expression of the plastidial phosphoenolpyruvate/phosphate translocator, displayed a trade off between seed size and oil concentration. The NMR-based assay of seed lipid content and topology has a number of potential applications, in particular providing a means to test and optimize transgenic strategies aimed at the manipulation of seed size, seed number, and lipid content in tobacco and other species with submillimeter seeds.
Donepezil, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, attenuates nicotine self‐administration and reinstatement of nicotine seeking in rats
Authors: Kimmey Blake A. , Rupprecht Laura E. , Hayes Matthew R. , Schmidt Heath D. 
Published: December 2012

AbstractNicotine craving and cognitive impairments represent core symptoms of nicotine withdrawal and predict relapse in abstinent smokers. Current smoking cessation pharmacotherapies have limited efficacy in preventing relapse and maintaining abstinence during withdrawal. Donepezil is an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor that has been shown previously to improve cognition in healthy non–treatment‐seeking smokers. However, there are no studies examining the effects of donepezil on nicotine self‐administration and/or the reinstatement of nicotine‐seeking behavior in rodents. The present experiments were designed to determine the effects of acute donepezil administration on nicotine taking and the reinstatement of nicotine‐seeking behavior, an animal model of relapse in abstinent human smokers. Moreover, the effects of acute donepezil administration on sucrose self‐administration and sucrose seeking were also investigated in order to determine whether donepezil's effects generalized to other reinforced behaviors. Acute donepezil administration (1.0 or 3.0 mg/kg, i.p.) attenuated nicotine, but not sucrose self‐administration maintained on a fixed‐ratio 5 schedule of reinforcement. Donepezil administration also dose‐dependently attenuated the reinstatement of both nicotine‐ and sucrose‐seeking behaviors. Commonly reported adverse effects of donepezil treatment in humans are nausea and vomiting. However, at doses required to attenuate nicotine self‐administration in rodents, no effects of donepezil on nausea/malaise as measured by pica were observed. Collectively, these results indicate that increased extracellular acetylcholine levels are sufficient to attenuate nicotine taking and seeking in rats and that these effects are not due to adverse malaise symptoms such as nausea.
Creating change: building the capacity of the medical workforce in Aboriginal health
Authors: Paul David 
Published: December 2012

AbstractBackgroundThis paper provides an overview of the long‐term strategies that have been in place at the University of Western Australia, which aim to build the capacity and preparedness of the health‐care workforce in Aboriginal health. In 1996, the Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health was established within the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences to implement a comprehensive approach to Aboriginal health.MethodsThe initial focus was on developing recruitment and retention strategies that meaningfully address the significant under‐representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the medical and broader health professions. At the same time, the Centre developed, implemented and evaluated a comprehensive vertically and horizontally integrated Aboriginal health curriculum initially in the Medicine course and subsequently in the Podiatry and Nursing courses within the faculty.ResultsThe priority has been to ensure that all graduates will be better prepared to work effectively and safely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities. Without effective alternative entry processes access to tertiary health courses and health careers would not have been an option for the majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and graduates.ConclusionThis paper reflects on the partnerships, structures and approaches that have enabled the achievements to date and on the challenges that confront not only initial implementation but also sustaining the gains already made.
Comparative morphology of the tentorium and hypopharyngeal–premental sclerites in sporophagous and non‐sporophagous adult Aleocharinae (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)
Authors: Weide Daniela , Thayer Margaret K. , Betz Oliver 
Published: December 2012

AbstractWe elucidate the configuration of the tentorium and the sclerites of the hypopharynx–prementum complex in selected spore‐ (pollen‐) and non‐spore‐feeding Aleocharinae (Staphylinidae) by presenting the first comparative 3D reconstructions of these structures for 19 staphylinoid beetle species (six outgroups, 13 Aleocharinae). General organization of the tentorium follows the groundplan previously proposed for adult Staphylinidae, although some taxa have reduced or lost the dorsal (all Aleocharinae studied, Agathidium mandibulare [Leiodidae]) or anterior (Omalium rivulare [Omaliinae], Anotylus sculpturatus [Oxytelinae]) tentorial arms. All species investigated have premental and hypopharyngeal sclerites that are partly homologizable across taxa. We clarified that Musculus praementopalpalis externus originates from the premental sclerite, resolving its unclear origin reported in our previous publications. Eight of 13 investigated Aleocharinae species are spore/pollen feeders, six obligatorily. Three of these six (Eumicrota, Gyrophaena fasciata, G. gentilis) have grinding pseudomolae and a fully developed hypopharyngeal suspensorium with posterior bridge and anterior elongations; the remaining three (Oxypoda, Pagla, Polylobus) lack pseudomolae and suspensorial bridge, but have the suspensorium elongated anteriorly. The dorsolateral side of the hypopharyngeal sclerite interacts with the pseudomola. Obligate sporophagy/pollinivory apparently arose at least three times in Aleocharinae, not always involving the pseudomola–hypopharynx grinding mechanism.