Intercropping dynamics in a perennial Kernza cropping system

A research agenda has been undertaken to perennialize agrarian landscapes in response to structural issues inherent to annual agricultural production, which compromise the sustainability and resiliency of cropping systems. These issues include soil erosion, nutrient runoff, declining soil organic matter stocks, and poor water relations. Two major efforts to perennialize landscapes have been initiated: agroforestry and perennial herbaceous crop improvement. The former focuses on integrating trees in existing annual cropping systems, and the latter focuses on developing perennial crop varieties to replace their annual counterparts. As it stands, these research agendas have been relatively disparate. However, their merging has significant potential for the future of perennial agricultural research. The integration of novel perennial cereal crops, such as Kernza (Thinopyrum intermedium (Host) Barkworth & D.R. Dewey), perennial rice (Oryza sativa x longistaminata), or Silphium (Silphium integrifolium (Michx.)) into agroforestry configurations could provide numerous beneficial ecosystem services that support the productivity of said perennial cereal crops as well as diversify farm income streams, provide wildlife habitat, and work towards the development and commercialization of multifunctional landscapes. While this field experiment is set within an alley cropping design, the main objective of this thesis was to determine the productivity of Kernza in monocrop and intercrop configurations. This thesis also investigated mechanisms of nitrogen provisioning and sought to reveal the processes driving productivity of Kernza when intercropped with alfalfa (Medicago sativa (L.)). Study 1 of this thesis evaluated the grain and biomass productivity of Kernza, including when intercropped with the perennial forage alfalfa. Monoculture Kernza was grown in both unfertilized and fertilized settings. Alfalfa was also grown in a monoculture. Each of these treatments was replicated four times. Data was taken on both Kernza plant development and the harvestable productivity of alfalfa and Kernza. The results of this study showed that between 2022 and 2024 the fertilized treatment produced 39.27 percent and 67.05 percent more grain than the intercropped and unfertilized treatments, respectively. It also produced 53.74 percent and 44.83 percent more Kernza biomass than each respective monoculture treatment. The alfalfa monoculture produced 63.85 percent more biomass than the intercrop treatment. However, the intercrop treatment reported higher Land Equivalency Ratios than each monocrop treatment, with the average ratio being 1.11 for 2022, 1.60 for 2023, and 1.74 for 2024. The average ratio was 1.17 when the intercrop was compared to the fertilized monocrop and 2.30 when compared to the unfertilized monocrop. Thus, the biculture of Kernza and alfalfa is a more efficient use of land over growing said crops in monoculture settings in Northern Missouri. Additionally, the biculture treatment showed a greater level of resilience to drought than the monoculture treatments, with intercrop yields only dropping by 28.3 percent during a severe drought. In contrast, the fertilized and unfertilized monocrops reported yield reductions of 59.5 percent and 83.4 percent, respectively. Study 2 evaluated N movement through a Kernza-alfalfa alley cropping system. The movement of 15N from alfalfa aboveground biomass to Kernza and pin oak (Quercus palustris (Münchh.)) was examined across existing vegetative treatments, to simulate the provisioning of N from alfalfa utilized as a green manure. A nitrogen tracer was taken up by the alfalfa, which was mulched and applied to the Kernza and oak as a green manure alongside a control where no mulch was applied. Over one year, N transfer was documented from the alfalfa to the Kernza and oak plants, with four replications for the Kernza and two for the oak. Between mulch application and harvest, 6.79 percent of N in the Kernza leaf and 5.35 percent of N in the aboveground biomass of Kernza was provided by the mulch. After harvest, during fall regrowth, fertilization intensified, with 23.9 percent of N in the Kernza leaf being provisioned by the mulch. A lack of N transfer was found for soil and oak tissue pools. Mechanisms driving N transfer between alfalfa and these pools include the slow rate of alfalfa decomposition and physiologically determined rates and timing of N demand, mediating N mineralization and uptake rates. These findings enhanced our understanding of Kernza-alfalfa N dynamics, including the benefit of ground cover in providing this essential nutrient to perennial cereals, compared to synthetic fertilizer. Overall, this thesis aimed to frame how the two primary forms of field crop-oriented perennial agricultural research can better interact with one another and inform how novel cropping systems integrating trees and perennial cereals can help solve the challenges of contemporary agriculture. Through two experiments evaluating the ecological interactions of these systems, we found that alfalfa provides adequate N to Kernza, driving productivity for both grain and biomass. It is hoped that this thesis can provide a solid foundation for advancing ecologically intensified perennial cropping systems to meet future food security and sustainability needs.Includes bibliographical references

Structural and electrical analysis of the atomic layer deposition of HfO2/n-In0.53Ga0.47As capacitors with and without an Al2O3 interface control layer

High mobility III-V substrates with high-k oxides are required for device scaling without loss of channel mobility. Interest has focused on the self-cleaning effect on selected III-V substrates during atomic layer deposition of Al2O3. A thin (similar to 1 nm) Al2O3 interface control layer is deposited on In0.53Ga0.47As prior to HfO2 growth, providing the benefit of self-cleaning and improving the interface quality by reducing interface state defect densities by similar to 50% while maintaining scaling trends. Significant reductions in leakage current density and increased breakdown voltage are found, indicative of a band structure improvement due to the reduction/removal of the In0.53Ga0.47As native oxides. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. (doi: 10.1063/1.3473773

Review: The Newsletter of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, volume 13, issue 1

Contents include: Reading Review (Again), Radical from the Root, Arthur Ballet Recipient of the 2002 LMDA Loessing Award, Notes from the Lunatic Fringe, Regional Reports Info: News and Previews From All Over, Review is Inaugurating a New Section in the Next Issue: Projects-In-Process, and LMDA Prize in Drammatury 2002 The Elliott Hayes Award. Issue editors: D.J. Hopkins, Shelley Orr, Liz Engelman, Madeline Oldham, Jacob Zimmerhttps://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/lmdareview/1026/thumbnail.jp

Soft Targets: Nurses and the Pharmaceutical Industry

The nursing literature has yet to pay much attention to the expansive reach of the pharmaceutical industry into the nursing profession

General anaesthetic and airway management practice for obstetric surgery in England: a prospective, multi-centre observational study

There are no current descriptions of general anaesthesia characteristics for obstetric surgery, despite recent changes to patient baseline characteristics and airway management guidelines. This analysis of data from the direct reporting of awareness in maternity patients' (DREAMY) study of accidental awareness during obstetric anaesthesia aimed to describe practice for obstetric general anaesthesia in England and compare with earlier surveys and best-practice recommendations. Consenting patients who received general anaesthesia for obstetric surgery in 72 hospitals from May 2017 to August 2018 were included. Baseline characteristics, airway management, anaesthetic techniques and major complications were collected. Descriptive analysis, binary logistic regression modelling and comparisons with earlier data were conducted. Data were collected from 3117 procedures, including 2554 (81.9%) caesarean deliveries. Thiopental was the induction drug in 1649 (52.9%) patients, compared with propofol in 1419 (45.5%). Suxamethonium was the neuromuscular blocking drug for tracheal intubation in 2631 (86.1%), compared with rocuronium in 367 (11.8%). Difficult tracheal intubation was reported in 1 in 19 (95%CI 1 in 16-22) and failed intubation in 1 in 312 (95%CI 1 in 169-667). Obese patients were over-represented compared with national baselines and associated with difficult, but not failed intubation. There was more evidence of change in practice for induction drugs (increased use of propofol) than neuromuscular blocking drugs (suxamethonium remains the most popular). There was evidence of improvement in practice, with increased monitoring and reversal of neuromuscular blockade (although this remains suboptimal). Despite a high risk of difficult intubation in this population, videolaryngoscopy was rarely used (1.9%)

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Borlaug Ruan Internship

This research project was completed as a part of the Borlaug-Ruan Internship program sponsored by the World Food Prize Foundation. The host institution for this project was China Agricultural University State Key Laboratory for Plant Physiology and Biochemistry. Abstract: Waterlogging is a major and often understudied issue affecting maize farmers across the world, especially in developing countries. This project takes two different lines of Zea mays which have been genetically modified to over express two segments of the genome. They were grown under normal and waterlogged conditions and compared by the physical development to a standard variety of corn. The lines of maize were then compared in both terms of root activity and the level of expression in the genome. The first set of maize showed no signs of waterlogging resistance and maize from the second set showed some signs of resistance to waterlogging