Life Sciences Commons^™

Post–Green Revolution Trends In Yield Potential Of Temperate Maize In The North-Central United States, D. N. Duvick, Kenneth G. Cassman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

This paper addresses the question of whether there has been an increase in yield potential of maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids released in the north-central United States since the advent of the “Green Revolution” that began in the late 1960s. Because there are few published data about hybrid growth rates and yield-determining plant traits when grown at yield potential levels, we attempt to address this issue indirectly by evaluation of maize breeding efforts, changes in plant traits of commercial hybrids, and by comparison of statewide average yield trends and yield trends in sanctioned yield contests. On the basis of …

Yield Potential Trends Of Tropical Rice Since The Release Of Ir8 And The Challenge Of Increasing Rice Yield Potential, S. Peng, Kenneth G. Cassman, S. S. Virmani, J. Sheehy, G. S. Khush

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Since the release of IR8 in 1966, 42 additional indica rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for the irrigated and favorable rainfed lowlands have been released in the Philippines. The maximum yield of IR8 has been reduced by about 2 Mg ha^-1 during the past 30 yr. Empirical breeding for population improvement within the indica germplasm has in the maintenance of rice yield potential in the tropics of about 10 Mg ha^-1. To break the yield barrier, several approaches are being explored. These include development of a new plant …

Cropwatch No. 99-24, Oct. 29,1999, Lisa Brown Jasa

Crop Watch (1994–2005)

Inside

Field updates/briefs…………212

Sample crop budgets…………213

Winter meetings…………214

Rural writings sought…………216

New Web site…………218

Bt stalk grazing…………218

Allometric Scaling Of Production And Life-History Variation In Vascular Plants, Brian Enquist, Geoffrey West, Eric Charnov, James Brown

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

A prominent feature of comparative life histories is the well documented negative correlation between growth rate and life span. Patterns of resource allocation during growth and reproduction reflect life-history differences between species. This is particularly striking in tropical forests, where tree species can differ greatly in their rates of growth and ages of maturity but still attain similar canopy sizes. Here we provide a theoretical framework for relating life-history variables to rates of production, dM/ dt, where M is above-ground mass and t is time. As metabolic rate limits production as an individual grows, dM=dt ~M3=4. Incorporating interspecific variation in …

Summary Of 1998 Income And Expenses From 12 Monitor Dairy Herds In Nebraska, Krishna R. Boddugari,, Doug Jose

Cornhusker Economics

A survey was conducted involving 12 monitor dairy farms in Nebraska. The size of the farms ranged from 160 to 625 cows, and all of the farms had dairy as the primary enterprise. The farmers were asked to complete input forms that were sent to them. The data was then analyzed using a spreadsheet program developed at the University of Missouri. Income and expenses involved only in the dairy enterprise were considered. Values for some expense items that were common to both the dairy and crop enterprises were split proportionately based on the percentage use on the dairy. This number …

Pricing Agricultural Products And Commodities, Jim Kendrick

Cornhusker Economics

The price of corn at most any location is based on the price of Chicago Board of Trade corn futures. There, corn is assumed to be #2 yellow and is a commodity that is carefully specified as to its quality anywhere in the world.

An Insulator Element And Condensed Chromatin Region Separate The Chicken Β-Globin Locus From An Independently Regulated Erythroid-Specific Folate Receptor Gene, Marie-Noelle Prioleau, Pascale Nony, Melanie A. Simpson, Gary Felsenfeld

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

We have identified a folate receptor gene upstream of the chicken β-globin locus and separated from it by a 16 kbp region of silent chromatin. We find that this receptor is expressed only at a stage of erythroid differentiation (CFU-E) preceding the activation of β-globin genes, consistent with the role of folate receptors in proliferation. This discovery raises the question of how these two loci are regulated during erythropoiesis. Our data suggest that the folate receptor gene and the β-globin locus are regulated independently. We show that a 3.3 kbp DNA region upstream of the folate receptor gene is sufficient …

The Kinesin-Related Protein, Hset, Opposes The Activity Of Eg5 And Cross-Links Microtubules In The Mammalian Mitotic Spindle, Vicki Mountain, Calvin Simerly, Louisa Howard, Asako Ando, Gerald Schatten, Duane A. Compton

Dartmouth Scholarship

We have prepared antibodies specific for HSET, the human homologue of the KAR3 family of minus end-directed motors. Immuno-EM with these antibodies indicates that HSET frequently localizes between microtubules within the mammalian metaphase spindle consistent with a microtubule cross-linking function. Microinjection experiments show that HSET activity is essential for meiotic spindle organization in murine oocytes and taxol-induced aster assembly in cultured cells. However, inhibition of HSET did not affect mitotic spindle architecture or function in cultured cells, indicating that centrosomes mask the role of HSET during mitosis. We also show that (acentrosomal) microtubule asters fail to assemble in vitro without …

Dynactin Is Required For Microtubule Anchoring At Centrosomes, N J. Quintyne, S. R. Gill, D M. Eckley, C L. Crego, D A. Compton, T A. Schroer

Dartmouth Scholarship

The multiprotein complex, dynactin, is an integral part of the cytoplasmic dynein motor and is required for dynein-based motility in vitro and in vivo. In living cells, perturbation of the dynein–dynactin interaction profoundly blocks mitotic spindle assembly, and inhibition or depletion of dynein or dynactin from meiotic or mitotic cell extracts prevents microtubules from focusing into spindles. In interphase cells, perturbation of the dynein–dynactin complex is correlated with an inhibition of ER-to-Golgi movement and reorganization of the Golgi apparatus and the endosome–lysosome system, but the effects on microtubule organization have not previously been defined. To explore this question, we overexpressed …

West Florida Continental Shelf Response To Upwelling Favorable Wind Forcing 2. Dynamics, Zhenjiang Li, Robert H. Weisberg

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Dynamics analyses are presented for the west Florida continental shelf response to upwelling favorable, alongshore or offshore winds using a three-dimensional, time-dependent, primitive equation model. These analyses complement the kinematics analyses of Li and Weisberg [1999]. Results are provided on four topics: (1) the response evolutions to quasi steady states, (2) the across-shelf distributions of the vertically integrated alongshore and across-shelf momentum balances, (3) the three-dimensional structures of the terms composing the momentum balance closures, and (4) the model sensitivity to vertical friction parameterization. The response evolution starts with a local wind-driven acceleration, and it transitions over the inner shelf …

Tropical Pacific Near-Surface Currents Estimated From Altimeter, Wind, And Drifter Data, Gary S. E. Lagerloef, Gary T. Mitchum, Roger B. Lukas, Pearn P. Niiler

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Tropical surface currents are estimated from satellite-derived surface topography and wind stress using a physically based statistical model calibrated by 15 m drogue drifters. The model, assumes a surface layer dominated by steady geostrophic and Ekman dynamics. Geostrophy varies smoothly from a beta plane formulation at the equator to an f plane formulation in midlatitude, with the transition occurring at similar to 2 degrees-3 degrees latitude. The transition is treated with a Gaussian weight function having a meridional decay scale that is found to be approximately the Rossby radius (similar to 2.2 degrees latitude). The two-parameter Ekman model represents drifter …

Feed Cost – Critical To Pork Producers, Allen Prosch

Cornhusker Economics

While low grain prices are burdensome for grain producers, they offer some relief for pork producers. Until live hog supplies decrease, producers are faced with a poor outlook for prices. Therefore, keeping control of input cost, especially feed cost, will be critical to success.

Humulus Japonicus Siebold & Zucc., John E. Ebinger

Specimens by Name

No abstract provided.

Cropwatch No. 99-23, Oct. 8,1999, Lisa Brown Jasa

Crop Watch (1994–2005)

Inside

Row crops maturing………..204

New web site………..204

Marketing loans/LDPs………..205

LDPs before you sell………..206

Insect handbooks………..206

Converting storage………..207

Distress loans………..207

Renting a grain bin………..208

Bin contracts………..208

Precipitation data………..210

Some Diversity On Biodiversity, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article advocates for the need to qualify the political goal of maintaining and even increasing global biodiversity.

North Fork Of The New River Benthic Macroinvertebrate Recruitment Study: Final Report, Charles G. Messing

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

Over the last several years, the Broward County Department of Natural Resource Protection has identified a series of major environmental problems in the North Fork of the New River, including illegal wastewater sludge discharge and heavy metal contamination of sediments (DNRP 1993 1994). A qualitative survey suggests that benthic macroinvertebrates have been negatively affected (DNRP 1997). Restoration projects have included removal in the summer of 1997 of a remnant sludge blanket from an area of the channel east of Interstate 95 and north of Broward Boulevard. However, the effectiveness of such dredging in terms of habitat restoration has not previously …

What's Your Family Living Expense Per Bushel?, Larry Bitney

Cornhusker Economics

A speaker at the Women in Agriculture conference in Kearney last month said a woman told him that her family’s living expense was 39 cents per bushel of corn. This made me curious as to how some of our data compared. First, I looked at an example farm situation on a worksheet which we use to help producers allocate their costs to individual enterprises. Surprisingly, the family living expense was also 39 cents per bushel of corn. It was 94 cents per bushel of soybeans and $4.50 per hundredweight of hog production.

Meeting Minutes, October 5th, 1999, National Smokejumper Association Executive Committee

National Smokejumper Association Meeting Minutes

Agenda: Minutes of August 14, 1999 were accepted as amended.; Treasurer's Report.; Membership Report.; Newsletter Report.; OLD BUSINESS; Video Committee.; NEW BUSINESS; Credit Card purchases.; RTIF Format for E-mail documents.; The Life and Times of NSA's membership definition.; Corporate membership.; Books and Pictures.; Bill Moody request.; Director's responsibilities.; November meeting of the Executive Committee.; Adjourned the meeting.;

A Defect In Interleukin 12-Induced Activation And Interferon Gamma Secretion Of Peripheral Natural Killer T Cells In Nonobese Diabetic Mice Suggests New Pathogenic Mechanisms For Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus., Marika Falcone, Brian Yeung, Lee Tucker, Enrique Rodriguez, Nora Sarvetnick

Journal Articles: Regenerative Medicine

The function of natural killer T (NKT) cells in the immune system has yet to be determined. There is some evidence that their defect is associated with autoimmunity, but it is still unclear how they play a role in regulating the pathogenesis of T cell-mediated autoimmune diseases. It was originally proposed that NKT cells could control autoimmunity by shifting the cytokine profile of autoimmune T cells toward a protective T helper 2 cell (Th2) type. However, it is now clear that the major function of NKT cells in the immune system is not related to their interleukin (IL)-4 secretion. In …

Legume Logic Number 110

Legume Logic

Contents

Global breeders record benefits of Narrow-leafed lupine

Pulse points

Anthracnose update

Tariff breakthrough

1999/00 Yiels expectations

Asia tour 200

Indicators improve

Winter pulse plantings for 1999 ('000 hectares)

Isotope Ratio Studies Of Marine Mammals In Prince William Sound, Donald M. Schell, Amy Hirons

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

Bioavailability And Trophic Transfer Of Humic-Bound Copper From Bacteria To Zooplankton, Emile M. Lores, Jonathan Pennock

School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering

ABSTRACT:

The effect of humic acid (HA) on uptake and transfer of Cu by selected marine organisms from the microbial loop was determined. Bacteria grown with and without 15 µg Cu l^-1 and with and without 10 mg Suwannee River Humic Acid (SRHA) l^-1 were fed to Uronema sp. The Uronema were subsequently fed to Acartia tonsa to determine the effect of humic acid on the uptake and transfer of Cu from bacteria to copepods. The presence of 10 mg SRHA l^-1 reduced Cu uptake in A. tonsa by an average of 54% and significantly reduced the …

Regulation And Management Of New Hampshire Estuaries: A Base Programs Analysis, Nh Department Of Fish And Game, Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

PREP Reports & Publications

This report is designed to provide a snapshot of the local, state and federal management framework for the estuaries of the state. Natural resource management, land use regulation, research, education and funding are all important pieces of this framework, and each is reviewed in relation to specific problems of the estuaries. The report first summarizes the issues and potential issues confronting the estuaries and then reviews the existing policies and programs aimed at dealing with these issues.

Ferns, Robert H. Mohlenbrock

Illustrated Flora of Illinois

Perhaps no other group of plants attracts more interest among both professional and amateur botanists than ferns. As early as 1846, when one of the first lists of Illinois plants was published, sixteen species of ferns were already known in the state. The longtime interest of a great many people makes the distribution of ferns better known than that of any other group of plants in Illinois.

This detailed account of ferns and fern-allies was first published in 1967 as the first volume in the series The Illustrated Flora of Illinois. Eminent botanist Robert H. Mohlenbrock has now revised Ferns …

Predicting Flock Vigilance From Simple Passerine Interactions: Modelling With Cellular Automata, David B. Bahr, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

Vigilance in flocks can be described and modelled as a plausible set of local interactions between neighbouring birds. Each bird in the modelled flock chooses to feed or to scan based solely on whether or not its neighbours are feeding or scanning. This simple model has the ability both to reproduce observations that have not been previously explained and to predict flock behaviours that might be confirmed with future field studies. Examples include simulations showing decreased vigilance with increased flock size (as observed in the field), greater time spent scanning when obstacles such as trees are present (as observed) and …

Optical Monitoring And Forecasting Systems For Harmful Algal Blooms: Possibility Or Pipe Dream?, Mark A. Moline, Oscar Schofield, Joe Grzymski, Paul W. Bissett, Gary J. Kirkpatrick, David F. Millie, Collin S. Roesler

Biological Sciences

Monitoring programs for harmful algal blooms (HABs) are currently reactive and provide little or no means for advance warning. Given this, the development of algal forecasting systems would be of great use because they could guide traditional monitoring programs and provide a proactive means for responding to HABs. Forecasting systems will require near real-time observational capabilities and hydrodynamic/biological models designed to run in the forecast mode. These observational networks must detect and forecast over ecologically relevant spatial/ temporal scales. One solution is to incorporate a multiplatform optical approach utilizing remote sensing and in situ moored technologies. Recent advances in instrumentation …

Observations Of Shallow Groundwater Contamination Due To Leakage Of Dairy Effluent Ponds On The Swan Coastal Plain, Wa, Richard J. George Dr, D L. Bennett, J R M Bell, Roger Wrigley

Resource management technical reports

In response to the risk of pollution of surface water from farm runoff, dairy farmers have been encouraged to install effluent storage ponds. Previous research has indicated that leachate from these storages can contribute to groundwater contamination. This project assessed the performance of storages at eight sites on the Swan Coastal Plain (SCP), WA. Groundwater conditions were monitored for over three years to study the influence of soil type, water table depth and waste water characteristics.

Ua66/5 Newsletter, Wku Agriculture

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by WKU Agriculture Department re: faculty/staff, students/alumni, student organizations and clubs and donors.

American Society Of Parasitologists Newsletter, V. 21, No. 3, August 25, 1999, Scott Lyell Gardner

American Society of Parasitologists: Newsletter

An issue of the American Society of Parasitologists' quarterly newsletter, also called the Journal of Parasitology Newsletter.

Center For Grassland Studies Newsletter, Fall 1999, Volume 5, No. 4

Center for Grassland Studies: Newsletters

Contents:

End-of-Season Visual Obstruction after Summer Grazing in the Nebraska Sandhills by Patrick Reece, Jerry Volesky, and Walter Schacht, Department of Agronomy, UNL

Global Change: Implications for Great Plains and Midwest Grasslands by David Wedin, School of Natural Resource Sciences, UNL

On the Green with the Environment [Reprinted from the June/July, 1999 Conservation Voices]

Special Publication on Grasslands at the Millenium

USDA Holds Land Conservation Forums and Summit