Predictive ability of models for litter size in swine on the basis of different sources of genetic information was investigated. Data represented average litter size on 2598, 1604 and 1897 60K ...genotyped sows from two purebred and one crossbred line, respectively. The average correlation (r) between observed and predicted phenotypes in a 10-fold cross-validation was used to assess predictive ability. Models were: pedigree-based mixed-effects model (PED), Bayesian ridge regression (BRR), Bayesian LASSO (BL), genomic BLUP (GBLUP), reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces regression (RKHS), Bayesian regularized neural networks (BRNN) and radial basis function neural networks (RBFNN). BRR and BL used the marker matrix or its principal component scores matrix (UD) as covariates; RKHS employed a Gaussian kernel with additive codes for markers whereas neural networks employed the additive genomic relationship matrix (G) or UD as inputs. The non-parametric models (RKHS, BRNN, RNFNN) gave similar predictions to the parametric counterparts (average r ranged from 0.15 to 0.23); most of the genome-based models outperformed PED (r = 0.16). Predictive abilities of linear models and RKHS were similar over lines, but BRNN varied markedly, giving the best prediction (r = 0.31) when G was used in crossbreds, but the worst (r = 0.02) when the G matrix was used in one of the purebred lines. The r values for RBFNN ranged from 0.16 to 0.23. Predictive ability was better in crossbreds (0.26) than in purebreds (0.15 to 0.22). This may be related to family structure in the purebred lines.
Safe, lightweight, high-strength and sustainable materials are required for automotive parts and electrical components. In this paper, a polymeric composite based on nylon 6 and clinoptilolite (green ...fire retardant) was obtained by ultrasound-assisted extrusion. The materials were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cone calorimetry. From the FT-IR results, the presence of elements corresponding to the composition of the clinoptilolite that was used as an additive and nylon 6 was observed. TGA analysis showed that thermal stability improved, and in DSC analysis, we observed a slight increase in the crystallinity of the clinoptilolite polymer compounds, which was reflected in the flame retardation tests and by the mechanical properties. Significant improvement in the stiffness mechanical properties of nylon 6 with increasing clinoptilolite content was observed. For clinoptilolite contents of 1, 5 and 10% weight, the Young’s modulus increased by 3352.79, 3675.53 and 4327.06 MPa, respectively, compared to that of nylon 6, with a value of 2997.45 MPa. Meanwhile, the flexion resistance of nylon 6 increased from 84.75 to 95.05, 99.9 and 105.4 N/mm
2
for the compounds obtained. The homogeneous distribution of clinoptilolite in the polymeric matrix due to processing by ultrasonic-assisted melt extrusion prevents the formation of stress concentration points. Flame retardant properties were studied with cone calorimetry, and a reduction in the peak heat release rate (HRR) was observed.
Copper lost in foliar wash-off from vine leaves treated with Cu-based fungicides was analyzed with a single-drop rainfall simulator. The temporal losses of the particulate Cu (CuP) and the solution ...Cu (CuS) from raindrop strikes on leaves were modeled using a Poisson point process. This model estimated maximum detachment rates of 0.82 ng CuP and 0.033 ng CuS per raindrop. The total amount of Cu (CuT) in the leaves before rainfall ranged between 0.4 and 4.4 g Cu kg−1 dry weight. Wash-off reduced the amount of CuT present in the leaves by 0.6 g kg−1. Particulate losses of CuT ranged from 75 to 90%, while soluble losses of CuT ranged from 10 to 25%. The kinetic energy of the raindrops influenced the loss of CuS but not the loss of CuP. The Poisson point approach can provide an interesting starting point to model non-point source pollution produced from agricultural chemicals washed-off by rain.
•Loss of Cu-fungicides by rainfall can be modeled by means of a Poisson point process.•The model describes the time course of Cu expelled by drop strikes on vine leaves.•The model parameters were easily obtained by inverse modeling from experiments.•This mechanistic approach can be used to assess agricultural pollution risks.
In0.145Ga0.855AsySb1−y semiconductor alloys were grown on GaSb(100) substrates by varying the As content by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE). We demonstrated that the growth mechanism of these quaternary ...alloys is mainly constituted by two stable bonding configurations, Ga−Sb and In−As. These quaternary alloys showed a high crystalline quality due to the nearly lattice-matched epitaxial growth to the GaSb substrate. We identified a tensile strain of the In0.145Ga0.855AsySb1−y alloys on the GaSb substrate, strain that increases with the As content. In the bulk region of these crystalline alloys it was noticed a greater fonon-plasmon coupling than in the surface space-charge region. In addition, we found that the band gap energy of the In0.145Ga0.855AsySb1−y alloys can be easily engineered in the near infrared by varying the As content. Excitonic transitions were observed in these quaternary alloys, whose energy decreases with the As content. We employed a theoretical method that considers spin-orbit coupling for the determination of the band gap energy, which is in agreement with experimental results. These findings provide an important understanding of the growth dynamics, and of the optical and structural properties of the In0.145Ga0.855AsySb1−y crystalline alloys by varying the As content for near infrared applications using the band gap engineering.
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•In0.145Ga0.855AsySb1−y alloys were grown on GaSb substrate by varying the As content.•The quaternary alloys were grown by Liquid Phase Epitaxy (LPE).•The growth mechanism of these alloys is mainly constituted by Ga−Sb and In−As.•The excitonic transition energies of the alloys decrease with the As content.
The continuous use of copper against fungal diseases and off-target effects causes major environmental and agronomic problems. However, the rain-induced removal of Cu-based residues is known only for ...a limited number of crops. We present the results of rain-induced removal of fungicides from two monitored vineyard plots which were sprayed with two widely used Cu-based formulations: copper-oxychloride (CO) and Bordeaux mixture (BM), respectively. Cu removal per growing season was 0.60±0.12kgha−1 (30% of the applied fungicide) for CO and 0.80±0.10kgha−1 for BM (70% of the applied fungicide). Fractioning the Cu in soluble (CuS) and particulate fractions (CuP) showed that most of the Cu was removed as CuP, but CuS concentrations found in throughfall collectors exceeded the regulatory threshold for toxicity in surface waters. The first few millimeters of rain caused most of the Cu removal. Our findings agreed with the data reported in the scientific literature, in which a significant fraction of the Cu-based formulation is loosely attached to the plant surfaces. In addition, we found that rainfall energy had a minor influence on the removal.
In recent years, several statistical models have been developed for predicting genetic values for complex traits using information on dense molecular markers, pedigrees, or both. These models ...include, among others, the Bayesian regularized neural networks (BRNN) that have been widely used in prediction problems in other fields of application and, more recently, for genome-enabled prediction. The R package described here (brnn) implements BRNN models and extends these to include both additive and dominance effects. The implementation takes advantage of multicore architectures via a parallel computing approach using openMP (Open Multiprocessing) for the computations. This note briefly describes the classes of models that can be fitted using the brnn package, and it also illustrates its use through several real examples.
In
x
Ga
1
-
x
As
y
Sb
1
-
y
epilayers with a fixed In content of
x
= 0.145 were grown on GaSb(100) substrates using liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE). The lattice mismatch between the quaternary epilayers ...and substrates was analyzed for different As contents (
y
) by X-ray
ω
-2
θ
. Epilayers with As content between
y
= 0.120 and
y
= 0.124 exhibited a positive lattice mismatch, leading to compressive strain. These samples showed a high crystalline quality and flat surfaces, as confirmed by high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Quaternary alloys with As content between
y
= 0.133 and
y
= 0.141 displayed a negative lattice mismatch, resulting in tensile strain. Structural defects in these samples were evidenced by HR-XRD and on AFM micrographs. Raman measurements also revealed that lateral strain has a direct impact on the intensities of the LO-like, phonon–plasmon and disorder-activated longitudinal acoustic modes. For all In
x
Ga
1
-
x
As
y
Sb
1
-
y
films, photoluminescence (PL) spectra showed a bound exciton (BE) transition, with additional features observed in samples under tensile strain, indicating the involvement of native defect centers and donor–acceptor pairs. This study provides new insights into the effect of lateral strain on the crystalline and surface quality, and optical properties of quaternary alloys, relevant for novel optoelectronic applications.
The presence of agricultural pesticides in the environment and their effects on ecosystems are major concerns addressed in a significant number of articles. However, limited information is available ...on the pesticide concentrations released from crops. This study reports losses of new-generation fungicides by foliar wash-off from vineyards and their potential impact on the concentrations of their main active substances (AS) in surface waters.
Two experimental plots devoted to vineyards were treated with various combinations of commercial new-generation fungicide formulations. Then, up to sixteen throughfall collectors were installed under the canopy. Concentrations of sixteen different AS in throughfall were determined along nine rainfall episodes. Concentrations in throughfall far exceeded the maximum permissible levels for drinking water established by the European Union regulations. Dynamics of fungicide release indicated a first-flush effect in the wash-off founding the highest concentrations of AS in the first rain episodes after application of the fungicides.
This article shows that foliar spray application of commercial formulations of new-generation fungicides does not prevent the release of their AS to soil or the runoff. Concentration data obtained in this research can be valuable in supporting the assessment of environmental effects of new-generation fungicides and modeling their environmental fate.
•Throughfall was monitored in vineyards treated with new-generation fungicides.•Twelve active substances (AS) were detected in throughfall.•Concentrations widely exceeded the limits established by European regulations.•The release of some persistent AS continued after several rainfall episodes.
The
Coffea
genus includes about 124 species, of which
Coffea arabica
L. and
Coffea canephora
Pierre ex A. Froehner are the most commercially important, supplying 63 and 37% of the world coffee ...production, respectively.
C. arabica
L. is associated with better cup quality, but presents serious problems with pests and diseases, potentiated by climate change. The development of new varieties of
C. arabica
L. requires the inclusion of genetic diversity, looking for incorporating new genes to tolerate or resist the most important pests and diseases, maintaining or improving yield and cup quality of the new materials. The technology of diversity arrays based on sequencing (DArTseq™) allows the rapid identification of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) for a genomic approach of genetic diversity. The objectives of the present study were: (1) to evaluate the diversity and genetic structure of a central coffee collection of the Mexican National Bank of Coffee Germplasm; (2) assess the reproducibility and error rates of the markers and their broad representation in the genome and (3) to propose a new collection with representative and divergent promising genotypes for stablishing a coffee breeding program in Mexico. 87 coffee accessions of three different species of the
Coffea
genus were sequenced and 16,995 SNP markers were derived from 34,000 unique sequences obtained by the DArTseq™ method. After removing the markers with more than 10% of missing data and the MAF < 5%, we end up with 1739 polymorphic SNP markers for the analysis. A dendrogram was generated which divided the accessions into five divergent groups where promising genotypes were identified. In conclusion, there is genetic diversity among the accessions of
Coffea
spp. for use in future breeding programs.
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