scholarly journals Breaking through the feed barrier: options for improving forage genetics

2015 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 883 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. A. Barrett ◽  
M. J. Faville ◽  
S. N. Nichols ◽  
W. R. Simpson ◽  
G. T. Bryan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Gain ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Fungal Endophytes ◽  
Field Evaluation ◽  
Genomic Diversity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Breeding Strategies ◽  
Forage Value ◽  
Improve Rate ◽  
Traditional Approaches

Pasture based on perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) is the foundation for production and profit in the Australasian pastoral sectors. The improvement of these species offers direct opportunities to enhance sector performance, provided there is good alignment with industry priorities as quantified by means such as the forage value index. However, the rate of forage genetic improvement must increase to sustain industry competitiveness. New forage technologies and breeding strategies that can complement and enhance traditional approaches are required to achieve this. We highlight current and future research in plant breeding, including genomic and gene technology approaches to improve rate of genetic gain. Genomic diversity is the basis of breeding and improvement. Recent advances in the range and focus of introgression from wild Trifolium species have created additional specific options to improve production and resource-use-efficiency traits. Symbiont genetic resources, especially advances in grass fungal endophytes, make a critical contribution to forage, supporting pastoral productivity, with benefits to both pastures and animals in some dairy regions. Genomic selection, now widely used in animal breeding, offers an opportunity to lift the rate of genetic gain in forages as well. Accuracy and relevance of trait data are paramount, it is essential that genomic breeding approaches be linked with robust field evaluation strategies including advanced phenotyping technologies. This requires excellent data management and integration with decision-support systems to deliver improved effectiveness from forage breeding. Novel traits being developed through genetic modification include increased energy content and potential increased biomass in ryegrass, and expression of condensed tannins in forage legumes. These examples from the wider set of research emphasise forage adaptation, yield and energy content, while covering the spectrum from exotic germplasm and symbionts through to advanced breeding strategies and gene technologies. To ensure that these opportunities are realised on farm, continuity of industry-relevant delivery of forage-improvement research is essential, as is sustained research input from the supporting pasture and plant sciences.

Parasocial Interaction as More Than Friendship

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 122-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayson L. Dibble ◽  
Sarah F. Rosaen
Keyword(s):  
Parasocial Interaction ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
Traditional Approaches

This study supports the refinement of the concept of parasocial interaction (PSI) to apply to mediated personae that viewers might dislike. By contrast, traditional approaches have treated PSI as a sort of friendship with the mediated persona. Participants (N = 249) were randomly assigned to self-select a liked or disliked television persona. Various viewer reactions to that character were measured using two different measures of PSI. The data revealed that participants did experience PSI with disliked characters as well as liked characters, and that the two measures of PSI did not appear to assess the same construct. Implications for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Portfolios of Agile Projects

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 18-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Sweetman ◽  
Kieran Conboy
Keyword(s):  
Portfolio Management ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Project Portfolio ◽  
Expert Interviews ◽  
Current Thinking ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
Project Level

While agile approaches can be extremely effective at a project level, they can impose significant complexity and a need for adaptiveness at the project portfolio level. While this has proven to be highly problematic, there is little research on how to manage a set of agile projects at the project portfolio level. What limited research that does exist often assumes that portfolio-level agility can be achieved by simply scaling project level agile approaches such as Scrum. This study uses a complex adaptive systems lens, focusing specifically on the properties of projects as agents in a complex adaptive portfolio to critically appraise current thinking on portfolio management in an agile context. We then draw on a set of 30 expert interviews to develop 16 complex adaptive systems (CAS)-based propositions as to how portfolios of agile projects can be managed effectively. We also outline an agenda for future research and discuss the differences between a CAS-based approach to portfolio management and traditional approaches.

scholarly journals Sorghum pan-genome explores the functional utility to accelerate the genetic gain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pradeep Ruperao ◽  
Nepolean Thirunavukkarasu ◽  
Prasad Gandham ◽  
Sivasubramani S. ◽  
Govindaraj M ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Gain ◽  
Core Genome ◽  
Agronomic Traits ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Genomic Diversity ◽  
Pan Genome ◽  
Genome Association ◽  
Reference Genomes ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Variable Genes

AbstractSorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) is one of the most important food crops in the arid and rainfed production ecologies. It is a part of resilient farming and is projected as a smart crop to overcome the food and nutritional challenges in the developing world. The development and characterisation of the sorghum pan-genome will provide insight into genome diversity and functionality, supporting sorghum improvement. We built a sorghum pan-genome using reference genomes as well as 354 genetically diverse sorghum accessions belonging to different races. We explored the structural and functional characteristics of the pan-genome and explain its utility in supporting genetic gain. The newly-developed pan-genome has a total of 35,719 genes, a core genome of 16,821 genes and an average of 32,795 genes in each cultivar. The variable genes are enriched with environment responsive genes and classify the sorghum accessions according to their race. We show that 53% of genes display presence-absence variation, and some of these variable genes are predicted to be functionally associated with drought traits. Using more than two million SNPs from the pan-genome, association analysis identified 398 SNPs significantly associated with important agronomic traits, of which, 92 were in genes. Drought gene expression analysis identified 1,788 genes that are functionally linked to different conditions, of which 79 were absent from the reference genome assembly. This study provides comprehensive genomic diversity resources in sorghum which can be used in genome assisted crop improvement.

scholarly journals Metabolism and Exercise During Youth—The Year That Was 2017

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-41
Author(s):  
Keith Tolfrey ◽  
Julia Kirstey Zakrzewski-Fruer ◽  
Alice Emily Thackray
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Exercise Training ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Glucose Monitoring ◽  
Interval Training ◽  
Postprandial Glucose ◽  
Sitting Time ◽  
Moderate Intensity ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Continuous Training

Two publications were selected because they are excellent representations of studies examining different ends of the exercise-sedentary behavior continuum in young people. The first study is an acute response study with 13 mixed-sex, mid to late adolescents presenting complete data from 4 different randomized experimental crossover conditions for analyses. Continuous glucose monitoring showed that interrupting prolonged continuous sitting with body-weight resistance exercises reduced the postprandial glucose concentration compared with a time-matched uninterrupted period of sitting. Furthermore, the effects of the breaks in sitting time were independent of the energy content of the standardized meals, but variations in the area under the glucose time curves expression were important. The second study adopted a chronic 12-week exercise training intervention design with a large sample of obese children and adolescents who were allocated randomly to high-intensity interval training (HIIT), moderate-intensity continuous training, or nutritional advice groups. HIIT was the most efficacious for improving cardiorespiratory fitness compared with the other interventions; however, cardiometabolic biomarkers and visceral/subcutaneous adipose tissue did not change meaningfully in any group over the 12 weeks. Attrition rates from both HIIT and moderate-intensity continuous training groups reduce the validity of the exercise training comparison, yet this still provides a solid platform for future research comparisons using HIIT in young people.

Untangling Neural Nets

2004 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 371-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
SCOTT DE MARCHI ◽  
CHRISTOPHER GELPI ◽  
JEFFREY D. GRYNAVISKI
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Neural Networks ◽  
Logit Model ◽  
Model Building ◽  
Neural Nets ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Linear Discriminant ◽  
Nonparametric Approach ◽  
Traditional Approaches

Beck, King, and Zeng (2000) offer both a sweeping critique of the quantitative security studies field and a bold new direction for future research. Despite important strengths in their work, we take issue with three aspects of their research: (1) the substance of the logit model they compare to their neural network, (2) the standards they use for assessing forecasts, and (3) the theoretical and model-building implications of the nonparametric approach represented by neural networks. We replicate and extend their analysis by estimating a more complete logit model and comparing it both to a neural network and to a linear discriminant analysis. Our work reveals that neural networks do not perform substantially better than either the logit or the linear discriminant estimators. Given this result, we argue that more traditional approaches should be relied upon due to their enhanced ability to test hypotheses.

EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT IN CONSTRUCTION: A REVIEW OF ISSUES

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alazzaz Faisal ◽  
Andrew Whyte
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
Employee Empowerment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Independent Contractor ◽  
Work Systems ◽  
Traditional Approaches

The construction industry is a high-risk commercial sector. As such, concerns regarding performance, waste, health and safety, insurance, legal/budgetary and cost compliances, and client satisfaction levels are an ongoing challenge. An increasing area of focus is human resources and, in particular, productivity. In place of traditional approaches to dealing with employee performance concerns, better job design and work systems are increasingly being seen as essential in alleviating poor employee/ independent-contractor performance. Academic research on employee empowerment in the construction industry has so far been limited and/or haphazard, despite advocates presenting it as a means to deal with worker dissatisfaction, absenteeism, turnover, poor quality work, and sabotage. This paper reviews the literature concerning the utility of employee empowerment in the construction industry, with particular emphasis on its practical benefits. The aim is to provide direction for future research and development in the construction and civil engineering fields.

scholarly journals Grey literature – grey sources? Nuancing the view on professional documentation

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 1158-1182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Börjesson
Keyword(s):  
Grey Literature ◽  
Field Evaluation ◽  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Archaeological Work ◽  
Statistical Frequency ◽  
Source Use

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to nuance the perception about professional documentation (a.k.a. “grey literature”), assuming perception of documentation being a cultural aspect of accessibility. Design/methodology/approach – The study explores variations within the archaeological report genre through a bibliometric analysis of source use. Source characteristics are explored as well as correlations between report authors and source originators. Statistical frequency distribution is complemented by a correspondence analysis and a k-means cluster analysis to explore patterns. The patterns are interpreted as “frames of references” and related to circumstances for archaeological work. The study also discusses source representations. Findings – The source use patterns reveal a latent variation, not visible in the general analysis: a professional/academic frame of reference (mainly among authors affiliated with incorporated businesses and sole proprietorships) and an administrative frame of reference (mainly among authors affiliated with government agencies, foundations, and member associations) emerge. Research limitations/implications – The study focuses on Swedish field evaluation reports. Future research could test the results in relation to other types of reports and go beyond the document perspective to explore source use in documentation practices. Social implications – The results on variations in frames of references among report writers have implication for report readers and user. The results should also be considered in archaeology management and policy-making. On the level of source representation the results call for clarifications of vague representations and possibly omitted sources. Originality/value – This study contextualizes archaeological information use and focuses on variations in professional archaeology which has received little previous research attention. The bibliometric approach complements previous qualitative studies of archaeological information.

scholarly journals Deep Learning for Big Data Analytics

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Priti Srinivas Sajja ◽  
Rajendra Akerkar
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Big Data ◽  
Deep Learning ◽  
Data Analytics ◽  
Big Data Analytics ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cognitive Computing ◽  
Intelligent Support ◽  
Artificial Neural ◽  
Traditional Approaches

Traditional approaches like artificial neural networks, in spite of their intelligent support such as learning from large amount of data, are not useful for big data analytics for many reasons. The chapter discusses the difficulties while analyzing big data and introduces deep learning as a solution. This chapter discusses various deep learning techniques and models for big data analytics. The chapter presents necessary fundamentals of an artificial neural network, deep learning, and big data analytics. Different deep models such as autoencoders, deep belief nets, convolutional neural networks, recurrent neural networks, reinforcement learning neural networks, multi model approach, parallelization, and cognitive computing are discussed here, with the latest research and applications. The chapter concludes with discussion on future research and application areas.

scholarly journals Evidence for the Application of Emerging Technologies to Accelerate Crop Improvement – A Collaborative Pipeline to Introgress Herbicide Tolerance Into Chickpea

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janine Croser ◽  
Dili Mao ◽  
Nicole Dron ◽  
Simon Michelmore ◽  
Larn McMurray ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Gain ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Herbicide Tolerance ◽  
Field Evaluation ◽  
Single Amino Acid ◽  
Acetohydroxyacid Synthase ◽  
Single Seed Descent ◽  
Inhibitor Tolerance ◽  
Single Seed

Accelerating genetic gain in crop improvement is required to ensure improved yield and yield stability under increasingly challenging climatic conditions. This case study demonstrates the effective confluence of innovative breeding technologies within a collaborative breeding framework to develop and rapidly introgress imidazolinone Group 2 herbicide tolerance into an adapted Australian chickpea genetic background. A well-adapted, high-yielding desi cultivar PBA HatTrick was treated with ethyl methanesulfonate to generate mutations in the ACETOHYDROXYACID SYNTHASE 1 (CaAHAS1) gene. After 2 years of field screening with imidazolinone herbicide across >20 ha and controlled environment progeny screening, two selections were identified which exhibited putative herbicide tolerance. Both selections contained the same single amino acid substitution, from alanine to valine at position 205 (A205V) in the AHAS1 protein, and KASP™ markers were developed to discriminate between tolerant and intolerant genotypes. A pipeline combining conventional crossing and F2 production with accelerated single seed descent from F2:4 and marker-assisted selection at F2 rapidly introgressed the herbicide tolerance trait from one of the mutant selections, D15PAHI002, into PBA Seamer, a desi cultivar adapted to Australian cropping areas. Field evaluation of the derivatives of the D15PAHI002 × PBA Seamer cross was analyzed using a factor analytic mixed model statistical approach designed to accommodate low seed numbers resulting from accelerated single seed descent. To further accelerate trait introgression, field evaluation trials were undertaken concurrent with crop safety testing trials. In 2020, 4 years after the initial cross, an advanced line selection CBA2061, bearing acetohydroxyacid synthase (AHAS) inhibitor tolerance and agronomic and disease resistance traits comparable to parent PBA Seamer, was entered into Australian National Variety Trials as a precursor to cultivar registration. The combination of cross-institutional collaboration and the application of novel pre-breeding platforms and statistical technologies facilitated a 3-year saving compared to a traditional breeding approach. This breeding pipeline can be used as a model to accelerate genetic gain in other self-pollinating species, particularly food legumes.

scholarly journals The Lexical Approach as Known and Utilized by Thai EFL Teachers

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Dentisak Dorkchandra
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Moderate Level ◽  
State Universities ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Level Of Knowledge ◽  
Lexical Approach ◽  
Traditional Approaches

<p>This exploratory research was conducted to investigate the knowledge and utilization of the Lexical Approach (LA) of Thai university EFL teachers in the higher educational institutes in the upper North-eastern parts of Thailand. Specifically, it explored to what extent the teachers know about the LA and utilize it in their classroom practices. The samples were 140 EFL teachers selected by convenient sampling from 9 state universities located in 8 provinces in the region. A close-ended questionnaire with a 5-point-Likert scale was used to collect the data which were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings showed that the teachers possessed a moderate level of knowledge about the LA and they utilized the LA in terms of exercises and activities also at a moderate level. The findings were discussed in relation to the LA being unpopular in Thailand due to some factors that might hold back the teachers' interest in utilizing the LA exercises and activities, including other traditional approaches embedded in commercial ELT books and some LA exercises and activities as time-consuming and daunting tasks. Pedagogical implications for the use of the LA in EFL classroom practices and recommendations for future research were provided.</p>

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