The Effect of Microwave Treatment on Germination and Health of Carrot (Daucus carota L.) Seeds

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of microwave treatment on seed germination and health of carrot seeds using two seed lots naturally infected with the pathogens Alternaria dauci and A. radicina. Seeds of cv. Amsterdam and cv. Berlikumer varied in seed germination at the final count (50% and 29%, respectively), and seed infestation with A. radicina (38% and 5%, respectively). For treatment, seeds were placed in a Petri dish (dry treatment) or in a beaker with distilled water (wet treatment) and irradiated at power output levels 500, 650 and 750 W for 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 s. Germination and health were determined in treated and untreated (control) seed samples. Wet treatment controlled seed-borne fungi more efficiently than dry treatment. However, the exposure duration longer than 60 s frequently resulted in deterioration of seed germination. The highest seed germination in cv. Amsterdam was observed after microwave wet treatment at power output levels of 500 W for 75 s (81%), 650 W for 45 s (85%), and 750 W for 60 s (77%), whereas in the case of cv. Berlikumer this occurred when wet seeds were treated at 500 and 650 W for 60 s (46% and 43% respectively). Treating seeds soaked in water with microwaves for a period longer than 30 s, regardless of the power output, significantly decreased seed infestation with Alternaria spp. in both samples.

Improving the estimation of the COVID-19 effective reproduction number using nowcasting

As the interactions between people increases, the impending menace of COVID-19 outbreaks materializes, and there is an inclination to apply lockdowns. In this context, it is essential to have easy-to-use indicators for people to employ as a reference. The effective reproduction number of confirmed positives, Rt, fulfills such a role. This document proposes a data-driven approach to nowcast Rt based on previous observations’ statistical behavior. As more information arrives, the method naturally becomes more precise about the final count of confirmed positives. Our method’s strength is that it is based on the self-reported onset of symptoms, in contrast to other methods that use the daily report’s count to infer this quantity. We show that our approach may be the foundation for determining useful epidemy tracking indicators.

Israeli parties will struggle to agree any coalition

Significance COVID-19 restrictions are slowing the final count, but seat projections suggest neither Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor his opponents have a clear path to a majority in the Knesset (parliament). The start of coalition talks will take longer than usual because of the Passover holiday that begins March 27. Impacts A successful vaccination campaign will likely free the authorities from focusing on health-related pandemic measures. Israel will continue its military campaign against Iran’s regional influence but could face more US pushback. If a coalition is achieved, the top priority will be the budget, which must by law be passed within three months.

Whither drifted “The Sailors of Marseilles” in 1917?

The article analyzes the history of lesser-known literary union “The Sailors of Marseilles” that existed in Petrograd in 1917. Mikhail Kuzmin was the central figure and the most popular writer in this union. Other “sailors” were young poets who wanted to reach out the audience and to get the opportunity for publication. Until now, this union has not been studied in the context of Kuzmin’s oeuvre, literary reputation and author’s strategies. Some conclusions have been made in the process of our research. First of all, Kuzmin’s attitude to literary unions has been specified. As we can see, he considered literary groups as a commonwealth of independent authors exploiting shared writing technics. On the other hand, he did not approve ideological unification within such unions. Denying hierarchy in literary groups, Kuzmin strove to create a literary union on an equal footing. He emphasized the individuality of each “sailor” to create to make it real, but in fact, this union was just adopting Kuzmin’s techniques, i.e., it followed the authoritative model. It should be mentioned, that the organization of the group was also the Kuzmin’s endeavour to assert his literary reputation that was in decline during 1917. Moreover, the whole concept of “The Sailors of Marseilles” was carried in accordance with the nautical symbolics developed by Kuzmin in 1917. The sea was the sign of power and war, and the sailors were the image of fraternity capable to contradict this power. “The Sailors of Marseilles” in the final count can be considered as creative-life Kuzmin’s project.

Early casualty estimates and medical help management after the M7.3 Kermanshah earthquake of November 12, 2017 in Iran

Medical responses to fatal earthquakes have to be rapid to save lives. Here we report the QLARM alert that was issued less than an hour after the magnitude 7.3 Kermanshah, Iran, earthquake of 2017 and the following medical response. The near-real-time estimates of fatalities were 520, on average, and it took official and news reports about 2 days to settle on a minimum of 630 fatalities as a final count. The response of various Iranian agencies was rapid and effective, facilitated by the relatively small area of the disaster (radius of about 50 km). Although this disaster was not large enough to require international first responders to rush to the scene, it is clear that in very large earthquake disasters, a fast, accurately informed response saves lives. For international teams to be of optimal use, the locations and functionality levels of health facilities should be known. This information could be included in the earthquake alerts, but the necessary worldwide data on hospitals are currently not available.

Performing in Crisis Mode: the Munich National Theater, the Great Exhibition and the Cholera Epidemic in 1854

In 1854, the city of Munich had arranged for the “First General German Industrial Exhibition” to promote German industry to the world and invited a global audience to the event. At the same time, Franz Dingelstedt, director of the National Theater, organized a festival displaying the finest actors from Germany. Right after the opening of the festival, cholera started raging in the city and leaving 3,000 deaths in the final count. The author sketches out the role of the theatre in this crisis, when Dingelstedt was ordered by the king to keep the theatre open at any cost. This appears awkward, in regard to the current global pandemic crisis where theaters have been identified as risk zones for infection and consequently closed down. Why was the theatre at the time considered a safe and appropriate place even helping to counter the disease?

Effects of varieties and boron on growth and yield of summer tomato

A study was conducted to investigate the effects of varieties and boron (B) levels on growth and yield of summer tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) at the Germplasm Centre in the Department of Horticulture, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali during the period from May, 2018 to September, 2018. Fifteen treatments were comprising (i) three summer tomato varieties (BARI hybrid tomato 4, 8 and 10) and (ii) five levels of boron as boric acid (0, 1, 2, 3 and 5 kg B ha-1) in all combinations. Randomized complete block design with three replications was used in the earthen pot (0.79 ft3) experimentation. The effects of varieties and boron levels showed significant variations (p <0.05) on growth and yield of summer tomato at different days after transplanting. Among the varieties at final count plant-1, delayed flowering (32.6 days), the highest plant height (93.8 cm), number of leaves (99.93), no. of branches (26.27), no. of flower clusters (18.53), no. of flowers (82.73), no. of fruits (51.87), longest fruit length (41.87 mm) and maximum fruit width (48.0 mm), weight of individual fruit (55.71 g) and total weight of fruits (2892.88 g) were observed in BARI hybrid tomato 8. In contrast, the lowest plant height (87.3 cm), no. of leaves (86.47), no. of branches (24.06), no. of flower clusters (15.87), no. of flowers (66.07), no. of fruits (37.33), weight of individual fruit (43.60 g) and total weight of fruits (1630.57 g) were found in BARI hybrid tomato 4; and early flowering (31.93 days), shortest fruit length (33.07 mm) and maximum fruit width (34.60 mm) were noticed in BARI hybrid tomato 10. Among the boron levels at final count plant-1, early flowering (29.67 days), the maximum no. of flower clusters (18.44), no. of flowers (89.11), no. of fruits (46.22) and total weight of fruits (2364.29 g) were recorded in 2 kg B ha-1 treatment; the maximum plant height (96.50 cm), no. of leaves (102.89), no. of branches (28.11), longest fruit length (42.89 mm) and maximum fruit width (46.78 mm) and weight of individual fruit (51.74 g) were obtained in 3 kg B ha-1 treatment. Conversely, delayed flowering (34.67 days), minimum plant height (83.50 cm), no. of leaves (87.56), no. of branches (21.78), no. of flower clusters (15.89), no. of flowers (63.56), no. of fruits (40.33), shortest fruit length (31.78 mm) and minimum fruit width (34.67 mm), weight of individual fruit (47.47 g) and total weight of fruits (1936.00 g) were recorded in control (0 kg B ha-1) treatment. Our results suggest that the inclusion of B (2–3 kg ha-1) with the current fertilization practice will enhance the growth and yield of summer tomato grown at AEZ (agro-ecological zone) 13 while BARI hybrid tomato 8 could be recommended as one of the promising varieties.

CHARACTERISTICS EVALUTION OF FIELD EMERGENCE IN PRIMED SEED OF SORGHUM VARAITIES SALT STRESS CONDITIONS

An experiment conducted in pots under field conditions in the fall seasons of 2017 and 2018 at the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Baghdad, to improve the field emergence in sorghum, in which three factors were studied. 1st factor was the variety (three varieties: Inqath, Rabeh and Buhoth70). 2nd factor was priming treatment (unprimed seed and primed seed soaked for 12 hours in a solution containing 300 + 70 ml L-1 of gibberellic and salicylic acids, respectively). 3rd factor was saline stress (tap water as control (1.26), 6, 9 and 12 dS m-1). RCBD design was used with four replicates. The results showed that Buhoth70 cultivar exceeded the others; also the primed seed exceeded the unprimed seed in the traits of the first and final count of emergence, daily emergence rate, emergence energy, emergence rate index and emergence index in both seasons. The control treatment was superior in the above traits, while the values of these traits decreased as the saline increased, and no emergence accrued at the highest concentration (12 dS m-1) in both seasons. The cultivars varied in their ability to withstand salt stress at the same stress level, and that the seed priming treatment has improved their performance to withstand salt stress compared to the unprimed in both seasons. It can conclude that there is a role for genotype and seed priming in improving seedling performance to tolerate salt stress.

The Metronome Counting Task for Measuring Meta-awareness

How can we measure the absence of awareness? Attention research has developed tools for measuring self-caught meta-awareness restoration and behavioural mind-wandering, but we lack a way to dynamically track the loss of meta-awareness. The present pre-registered study sought to bring together three extant paradigms into one tool designed to dynamically measure meta-awareness: the Metronome Counting Task (MCT). The MCT is a continuous performance task wherein participants tap along to a steady beat while counting to twenty, indicating the final count by a special button press. This sample (N = 74) provides evidence that participants could self-catch their failures in the task, that a response variability metric measuring mind-wandering depth was successfully recreated in this new tool, and that dynamic performance changes may be useful for detecting meta-awareness loss before participants become internally aware of the loss or are caught by external errors. The MCT was conceived as a tool that will support neuroimaging models of dynamic fluctuations during sustained attention, providing a link between the phenomenology of meta-awareness, the behaviour measured by a replicable index of task engagement, and a continuous performance task on time-scales relevant for MRI. We discuss the possibility that meta-awareness may exist on a continuum and that conceptions of mind-wandering as attention failures may plausibly be reconceived as changes in goal priority manifesting as shifting task engagement.

Unintentional firearm deaths in the United States 2005–2015

Background Unintentional gun death occurs four times more often in the United States than other high-income countries. Research on these deaths typically has a narrow scope. We believe this is the first study describing the circumstances of these deaths in the United States that covers more than a single state or municipality. Methods We use data on all unintentional firearm fatalities in the sixteen states reporting to the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) for all years 2005–2015. Our final count of unintentional firearm deaths in these states and years is 1260. The detailed nature of the data allows us to categorize and compare the circumstances of the incident. Results We estimate 430 unintentional firearm fatalities in the United States per year. The rate is highest for older children to young adults, ages 10 to 29, and the vast majority of the victims are male. Common circumstances include playing with the gun (28.3% of incidents), thinking the gun was unloaded (17.2%), and hunting (13.8%). The victim is suspected to have consumed alcohol in nearly a quarter of the deaths and in 46.8% of deaths among those aged 20–29. Conclusions Certain circumstances, such as consuming alcohol, playing with the gun, and hunting, are common settings for unintentional firearm deaths. Firearm safety instructors, firearm manufacturers, and firearm owners can all contribute to preventing these deaths.