Reproductive Characteristics of the Selected Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) Clones after Regenerated from the Somatic Embryogenesis Culture

This study was conducted to evaluate the reproductive characteristics of 4 elite cocoa clones (MCBC1, PBC230, KKM22 and KKM4) propagated via somatic embryogenesis culture. From the findings, all clones have similar reproductive characteristics with clones from conventional grafted. However, only KKM4 clone from immature zygotic embryo culture produced the shortest staminode to style distance of 1.83 mm. This consequently influenced flower stability by reducing the efficiency of pollination by insects. It was found that this clone also has the highest number of flowers drop after anthesis (5 flowers) and lowest production of cherelle (5 cherelles). Further observation revealed that floral development from first bud visible (BBCH51) to flower anthesis (BBCH68) of all clones took around 31 days. These cocoa flowers which remained receptive soon after anthesis at 10 am (day-31) until the next day (day-32) suggesting 2 days’ period of receptivity. HIGHLIGHTS It is crucial to assess the presence of off-type characteristics in the reproductive organ structure such as the distance between staminode to style, period of reproductive cycle and stigmatic receptivity of cocoa clones regenerated from somatic embryogenesis The converging and parallel type of staminode to style distances are the ideal flower spatial arrangements for the optimal pollination in cocoa plant compared to splay type Only KKM4 clone propagated from immature zygotic embryo culture showed variation in the distance between staminode to style distance and this caused pollination failure by insect which then consequently caused minimum cherelle production All regenerated cocoa clones observed with typical period of the reproductive cycle and stigmatic receptivity GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Impacts of Meteorology and Emissions on O3 Pollution during 2013–2018 and Corresponding Control Strategy for a Typical Industrial City of China

The air quality of Handan, a typical industrial city in China, has been significantly improved through atmospheric pollution control, except for ozone (O3) pollution. We found that, in summer, emissions of anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and NOx decreased yearly in Handan, but the O3 concentration significantly declined yearly during 2013–2015, whereas it experienced worsening O3 pollution after 2015. Therefore, we used the Weather Research and Forecasting Community Multiscale Air Quality (WRF–CMAQ) modeling system to simulate the influence of the meteorological conditions and emission changes in Handan during the typical period (June) of O3 pollution in 2013–2018. For benchmarked June 2013, the results showed that the reduction of the O3 concentration in June of 2014–2016 was mainly caused by emission reduction, while in June of 2017–2018, the combined effect of changes in emissions and meteorological conditions led to aggravated O3 pollution. Sensitivity analysis indicated that combined VOCs and NOx emission controls would effectively reduce incremental O3 formation when the abatement ratio of VOCs/NOx should be no less than 0.84, and we found that VOCs reduction would continusouly bring about O3 decreases under various NOx reductions, but its positive sensitivity to O3 would become smaller with NOx reduction. However, the positive influence of NOx reduction on O3 would happen until NOx reduction exceeding 45–60%. The findings will be helpful in formulating emission control strategies for coping with O3 pollution in an industrial city.

Enhanced biosurveillance of high-consequence invasive pests: southern cattle fever ticks, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, on livestock and wildlife

Background Some tick species are invasive and of high consequence to public and veterinary health. Socioeconomic development of rural parts of the USA was enabled partly through the eradication by 1943 of cattle fever ticks (CFT, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus and R. (B.) microplus). The southern cattle fever ticks (SCFT, R. (B.) microplus) remain a real and present threat to the USA animal agriculture because they are established in Mexico. Livestock-wildlife interactions in the Permanent Quarantine Zone (PQZ) established by the century-old Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Programme (CFTEP) in south Texas endanger its operations. Methods We describe a spatially-explicit, individual-based model that simulates interactions between cattle, white-tailed deer (WTD, Odocoileus virginianus), and nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) to assess the risk for SCFT infestations across the pathogenic landscape in the PQZ and beyond. We also investigate the potential role of nilgai in sustaining SCFT populations by simulating various hypothetical infestation and eradication scenarios. Results All infestation scenarios resulted in a phase transition from a relatively small proportion of the ranch infested to almost the entire ranch infested coinciding with the typical period of autumn increases in off-host tick larvae. Results of eradication scenarios suggest that elimination of all on-host ticks on cattle, WTD, or nilgai would have virtually no effect on the proportion of the ranch infested or on the proportions of different tick habitat types infested; the entire ranch would remain infested. If all on-host ticks were eliminated on cattle and WTD, WTD and nilgai, or cattle and nilgai, the proportions of the ranch infested occasionally would drop to 0.6, 0.6 and 0.2, respectively. Differences in proportions of the ranch infested from year to year were due to primarily to differences in winter weather conditions, whereas infestation differences among tick habitat types were due primarily to habitat use preferences of hosts. Conclusions Infestations in nilgai augment SCFT refugia enabled by WTD and promote pest persistence across the landscape and cattle parasitism. Our study documented the utility of enhanced biosurveillance using simulation tools to mitigate risk and enhance operations of area-wide tick management programmes like the CFTEP through integrated tactics for SCFT suppression.

Qualitative Study on Electricity Consumption of Urban and Rural Households in Chiang Rai, Thailand, with a Focus on Ownership and Use of Air Conditioners

This study investigated the differences in household energy consumption between urban and rural households in northern Thailand, with a particular focus on air-conditioner ownership and use. In-depth visits to 32 households in Chiang Rai were undertaken in 2016 and 2017. The data collection covered six aspects: household attributes, ownership of electric appliances, use of air conditioners (ACs), intentions to conserve electricity, desire to purchase electric appliances in the future, and prospects for a future lifestyle. Traditional stilt houses can still be found in rural areas, but ACs have been introduced as rural houses have modernized. The typical period of AC use in rural areas was 2 to 4 months during summer. In urban households, ACs were used for a longer period, from 3 to 12 months each year. In addition, rural households usually used ACs for only a few hours each day before sleeping, whereas urban households often used them while they slept and some used them throughout the day. Households with children and grandchildren tended to use the AC for longer periods. These results suggest that promotion of environmentally friendly lifestyles for younger adults to control overuse of ACs would be key to reducing energy consumption in the future.

Variability of Kuroshio Surface Axis Northeast of Taiwan Island Derived from Satellite Altimeter Data

The spatial and temporal variability of the Kuroshio surface axis northeast of Taiwan Island is investigated using 24 years of surface geostrophic currents derived from satellite altimeter data from 1993 to 2016. The Kuroshio surface axis is derived by an extraction method with three selected parameters, including the length of the subsidiary line, the intervals between two adjacent points, and the distance between the two adjacent subsidiary lines. The empirical mode decomposition analysis on the 24-year Kuroshio axes reveals that the mean periods of intra-seasonal and inter-annual variability, which are the two dominant components, are about 3.2 months and 1.3 years, respectively. The self-organizing map analysis reveals that the variation of Kuroshio axis northeast of Taiwan Island has four best matching unit (BMU) patterns: straight-path (BMUS), meandering-path (BMUM) and two transition stages (BMUT1 and BMUT2). The straight-path pattern shows strong seasonality: more likely occurring in summer. The meandering-path pattern is less frequent than straight-path pattern. During a typical period from November 26, 2012 to January 27, 2013, which is chosen as an independent example, the analysis on the satellite altimeter and sea surface temperature data shows that the patterns of the Kuroshio axis change successively in order of BMUT1→BMUM→BMUT2→BMUS, i.e., the Kuroshio axis migrates from the meandering-path to the straight-path pattern. During the typical period the warm water intrusion and a mesoscale eddy occur at the second stage corresponding to BMUM and migrate northwestward gradually at the last two stages corresponding to BMUT2 and BMUS. The transient order appears only during this typical period but it is not common for the whole study period. The monthly mean relatively vorticity is calculated and analyzed to evaluate the impact of the eddies on the Kuroshio surface axis variability, the results show that the anticyclonic (cyclonic) eddies can promote the Kuroshio surface axis to present the meandering-path (straight-path) pattern because of the potential vorticity conservation. The impacts of the anticyclonic eddies and the cyclonic eddies on the variability of the Kuroshio surface axis are opposite. The long-term day-to-day detection contributes to improving understanding the variability of Kuroshio surface axis northeast of Taiwan Island.

TESS observations of pulsating subdwarf B stars: extraordinarily short-period gravity modes in CD−28° 1974

ABSTRACT Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) observations show CD−28° 1974 to be a gravity(g)-mode-dominated hybrid pulsating subdwarf B (sdBV) star. It shows 13 secure periods that form an ℓ = 1 asymptotic sequence near the typical period spacing. Extraordinarily, these periods lie between 1500 and 3300 s, whereas typical $\ell = 1\, g$ modes in sdBV stars occur between 3300 and 10 000 s. This indicates a structure somewhat different from typical sdBV stars. CD−28° 1974 has a visually close F/G main-sequence companion 1.33 arcsec away, which may be a physical companion. Gaia proper motions indicate a comoving pair with the same distance. A reanalysis of Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) spectra failed to detect any orbital motion and the light curve shows no reflection effect or ellipsoidal variability, making an unseen close companion unlikely. The implication is that CD−28° 1974 has become a hot subdwarf via single star or post-merger evolution.

Effect of Diet on Bloom Time of Beef

ObjectivesThe objective of the study was to assess the evolution of the bloom color in beef aged for 8 d to establish the moment of measurement in which values of L*, a* and b* stabilize and are representative of the characteristic color of the meat from beef fed different diets.Materials and MethodsIn the current study, eight young Pirenaica bulls were used. The bulls were born and reared on a private commercial Protected Denomination Origin (PDO)-approved farm located in the region of Navarra (Northern Spain). After weaning at approximately 4 mo of age, the calves were administered the same diet until month 12. The bulls were separated in two groups and each of group was fed a different energy level diet (High energy, H: 2914.2 kcal/kg vs. Low energy, L: 2548.4kcal/kg) until slaughter at 18 mo of age. Diet was based on barley (H: 26% vs. L: 22%), corn (H: 50% vs. L: 45%) and soja (H: 17% and L: 17%). The research was conducted under the highest standards of humane care and use of animals in accordance with European guidelines (EU). Longissimus dorsi muscle was removed after 24 h. post-mortem from the left side of the carcasses, pH was measured, and the meat was transported to the Meat Science Laboratory at the Public University of Navarra (Pamplona, Spain) under refrigeration. Steaks were aged in vacuum for 8 d post-mortem, which is the typical period for this type of meat under the PDO Ternera de Navarra. After aging, L*, a*, and b*were recorded every 3 min (5 repetitions per sample) for 102 min with a Minolta CM 2002 Spectrophotocolorimeter. Data were analyzed using the Linear General Model procedure with the IBM SPSS Statistics 24, and significance was determined at P < 0.05.ResultsThe pH values were 5.56 (H) and 5.50 (L) (P < 0.05) thus, no DFD meat was observed. Color differed depending on diet (L*H: 28.88 vs. L*L: 34.26, P < 0.01; a*H: 26.33 vs. a*L: 18.11, P < 0.001; b*H: 11.58 vs. b*L: 7.94, P < 0.001) even if the initial pigment content was not statistically different (H: 5.34 mg/g vs. L: 4.74 g/g; P = 0.107). In fact, beef from the H diet showed higher a* and b* values, and lower L* values than beef from the L diet (P < 0.05). Nonetheless, the time of stabilization for a practical color measurement did not differ between diets.ConclusionIn conclusion, despite the effect of diet on the initial beef color differences, the results of the current study showed that 15 min of meat exposure to oxygen is the minimum in either cases prior to taking measurements of color on beef aged 8 d.

Estimation of singly transiting K2 planet periods with Gaia parallaxes

ABSTRACT When a planet is only observed to transit once, direct measurement of its period is impossible. It is possible, however, to constrain the periods of single transiters, and this is desirable as they are likely to represent the cold and far extremes of the planet population observed by any particular survey. Improving the accuracy with which the period of single transiters can be constrained is therefore critical to enhance the long-period planet yield of surveys. Here, we combine Gaia parallaxes with stellar models and broad-band photometry to estimate the stellar densities of K2 planet host stars, then use that stellar density information to model individual planet transits and infer the posterior period distribution. We show that the densities we infer are reliable by comparing with densities derived through asteroseismology, and apply our method to 27 validation planets of known (directly measured) period, treating each transit as if it were the only one, as well as to 12 true single transiters. When we treat eccentricity as a free parameter, we achieve a fractional period uncertainty over the true single transits of $94^{+87}_{-58}{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$, and when we fix e = 0, we achieve fractional period uncertainty $15^{+30}_{-6}{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$, a roughly threefold improvement over typical period uncertainties of previous studies.

Seasonality of the reproduction of wild boars in the Lublin Upland and weight characteristics of their carcasses

The purpose of the study was to assess the seasonality of wild boar reproduction and the weight of wild boar carcasses obtained in the hunting district of Lublin in the years 2012-2017. The study was based on the measurement of the weight of wild boar carcasses obtained by hunting and delivered to collection centres or kept by hunters for their own use. The animals were weighed upon evisceration. After determining the weight of the carcass, the age of the animal was determined on the basis of the growth and replacement of particular groups of deciduous teeth by permanent teeth as well as changes in the permanent dentition of the mandible. The seasonality of reproduction was then assessed on the basis of the estimated age and the length of pregnancy. The results show clear disturbances in reproductive seasonality. Less than 40% of farrowings occurred in the hitherto typical period, that is, in March and April. In fact, the farrowings took place in all months of the year, with the fewest in January and September. Body mass increased in the individual's life, thus the highest growth rate of over 400% occurred in the youngest wild boars. The carcass weights in particular age groups (piglets, yearlings, 2-year-olds and older) were significantly higher than those recorded elsewhere in Poland. The piglets weighed on average 37.0 kg, yearlings 65.5 kg, and the oldest group 100.3 kg. The results show that the improvement in habitat conditions, combined with progressive climate changes, results in an earlier somatic and sexual maturation. This, in turn, results in higher reproduction rates and a dynamic population growth, leading to greater damage caused by this species in field crops. .

Rank Structured Approximation Method for Quasi-Periodic Elliptic Problems

We consider an iteration method for solving an elliptic type boundary value problem {\mathcal{A}u=f}, where a positive definite operator {\mathcal{A}} is generated by a quasi-periodic structure with rapidly changing coefficients (a typical period is characterized by a small parameter ϵ). The method is based on using a simpler operator {\mathcal{A}_{0}} (inversion of {\mathcal{A}_{0}} is much simpler than inversion of {\mathcal{A}}), which can be viewed as a preconditioner for {\mathcal{A}}. We prove contraction of the iteration method and establish explicit estimates of the contraction factor q. Certainly the value of q depends on the difference between {\mathcal{A}} and {\mathcal{A}_{0}}. For typical quasi-periodic structures, we establish simple relations that suggest an optimal {\mathcal{A}_{0}} (in a selected set of “simple” structures) and compute the corresponding contraction factor. Further, this allows us to deduce fully computable two-sided a posteriori estimates able to control numerical solutions on any iteration. The method is especially efficient if the coefficients of {\mathcal{A}} admit low-rank representations and if algebraic operations are performed in tensor structured formats. Under moderate assumptions the storage and solution complexity of our approach depends only weakly (merely linear-logarithmically) on the frequency parameter \frac{1}{\epsilon}.