ALBERT

Beschreibung: Festivals are experiential products heavily depending on the recommendations of previous visitors. With the power of social media growing, understanding the antecedents of positive electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) intentions of festival attendees is immensely beneficial for festival organizers to better promote their festivals and control negative publicity. However, there is still limited research regarding eWOM intentions in the festival context. Thus, this study aims to fill such a gap by investigating the relationships among festival attendees’ enjoyment seeking motivation, perceived value, visitor satisfaction, and eWOM intention in a local festival setting. Additionally, the moderating role of gender was tested as it is one of the most important demographic variables to show individual differences in behavioral intentions. The results of structural equation modeling showed a positive effect of enjoyment seeking motivation on perceived value, visitor satisfaction, and eWOM intention. Moreover, gender differences in eWOM intention and a full mediating effect of visitor satisfaction between perceived value and eWOM intention for female respondents were revealed. The findings of this study extend the existing festival literature and provide insights for strategically organizing and promoting festivals to generate more positive eWOM which can be utilized as an effective marketing tool and a feedback channel.

Beschreibung: Access and use of seed of improved varieties of groundnut among farmers can improve farmers’ livelihoods and contribute to the potential of crop production in Tanzania. This paper analyzes factors underpinning the adoption of improved groundnut varieties among farmers to pave the way for upscaling quality seed used for increased production and commodity business in farming communities. A four-stage stratified sampling was used to collect data from 300 groundnut farmers in seven agro-ecological zones through individual interviews. Secondary data were collected from the literature and the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute at Naliendele centre (TARI–Naliendele). Descriptive statistics and Probit regression model were used for data analysis. The empirical results showed that Johari 1985, Pendo 1998, Naliendele 2009, Mnanje 2009, Mangaka 2009 and Nachi 2015, are the main six improved groundnut varieties used by farmers, with Pendo 1998 having the highest adoption rate (17.1%). In the grain market, four varieties, namely Pendo 1998, Mnanje 2009, Nachi 2015 and Johari 1985, were observed to be highly preferred by grain off-takers. Furthermore, among the adopted improved varieties, Nachi 2015, is observed to be the most consistent high yielding variety, ranging from 1100 kg/ha to 1500 kg/ha in all agro-ecological zones. A farmer’s decision to adopt new varieties is affected by age and gender, farmer group membership, availability of improved seed and seed cost. Overall, male farmers are more likely to adopt improved varieties of groundnut than female farmers. The implications of these findings are also discussed, in particular in the area of policy support.

Beschreibung: Green bonds are similar to conventional bonds but are specifically earmarked to raise money to finance climate or environmental projects. There have been anecdotes of green bonds being priced tighter than similar conventional bonds by the same issuers. Our survey of academic literature indicates that most papers show the yield of a green bond is lower than that of the equivalent conventional bond at issuance (also known as green premium or greenium). However, green bond pricing studies by Climate Bonds Initiative produce mixed results. The conflicting results are likely explained by differences in sample selections, time periods, methodologies, and the properties of the respective issuing entity and the bond. In addition, we examine investment returns from select green bond funds and green bond indexes. The assets under management of those funds are still small and they underperform their benchmark indexes.

Beschreibung: Information and communication technologies transform modern education into a more available learning matrix. One of the unexplored aspects of open education is the constant communicative interaction within the student group by using social media. The aim of the study was to determine principal functions of student-led communication in the educational process, the method for assessing its strong points and the disadvantages disrupting traditional learning. For the primary study of the phenomenon, we used methods that made it possible to propose approaches to further analysis. Netnography is the main research method defining the essence and characteristics of the student-led peer-communication. In our research, we applied data visualization, analytical and quantitative methods and developed a set of quantitative indicators that can be used to assess various aspects of student communication in chats. The elaborated visual model can serve as a simple tool for diagnosing group communication processes. We revealed that online group chats perform a support function in learning. They provide constant informational resource on educational and organizational issues and create emotional comfort. Identified features serve to define shortcomings (e.g., lack of students’ readiness to freely exchange answers to assignments) and significant factors (e.g., underutilized opportunities for self-organization) that exist in the modern system of higher education.

Beschreibung: Sugarcane is an important industrial crop because it is the major source of white sugar. It is also one of the crops for the alcohol and biofuel industries. Disease-causing organisms can significantly decrease the productivity of sugarcane plants and sugar quality. Among the disease-causing organisms, Colletotrichum falcatum Went causes the most significant economic loss (5–50%) in the sugarcane production due to red rot disease. This loss results in only 31% sugar recovery. It is reported that C. falcatum can kill sugarcane plants. Currently, there is no sustainable way of preventing red rot disease from spreading in sugarcane plantations. Many popular sugarcane varieties are no longer used in sugarcane cultivation because of their susceptibility to C. falcatum. The objectives of this manuscript were to: (i) summarize existing approaches for the early detection of red rot disease and controlling techniques of red rot disease in the field and laboratory and (ii) assess red rot disease control effectiveness so as to propose better methods for mitigating the spread C. falcatum. If our proposition is adopted or practiced, it could significantly contribute to the mitigation of C. falcatum infection in the sugarcane industry. This could enable achieving sustainable cultivation of sugarcanes to guarantee the sustainability of the sugar industry in the tropics and the subtropics.

Beschreibung: The transition from intensive conventional agriculture to sustainable agriculture has become a global priority. This is due to the need for environmentally friendly agriculture to ensure sufficient food for a rapidly growing population. The bioeconomy is essential to progress in the field of sustainable agriculture. It contributes to the conservation of biological resources through circular and comprehensive management. The bioeconomy prioritizes the reduction and reuse of materials and products. The focus of this study is the use of biodegradable/compostable raffia in protected horticultural crops in the Province of Almería (Spain). The analysis and evaluations, based on an extensive literature review and information given by stakeholders, determined that biodegradable raffia use significantly improves the management of residual biomass in Almería. However, biodegradable raffia is only used in a small percentage of crops even though it is a sustainable alternative and profitable for farmers. The economic analysis incorporates the higher cost of recycling non-biodegradable raffia.

Beschreibung: Sustainable agricultural production is endangered by several ecological factors, such as drought, extreme temperatures, excessive salts, parasitic ailments, and insect pest infestation. These challenging environmental factors may have adverse effects on future agriculture production in many countries. In modern agriculture, conventional crop-breeding techniques alone are inadequate for achieving the increasing population’s food demand on a sustainable basis. The advancement of molecular genetics and related technologies are promising tools for the selection of new crop species. Gene pyramiding through marker-assisted selection (MAS) and other techniques have accelerated the development of durable resistant/tolerant lines with high accuracy in the shortest period of time for agricultural sustainability. Gene stacking has not been fully utilized for biotic stress resistance development and quality improvement in most of the major cultivated crops. This review emphasizes on gene pyramiding techniques that are being successfully deployed in modern agriculture for improving crop tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses for sustainable crop improvement.

Beschreibung: The aim of the study was to evaluate the changes in glomalin-related soil proteins (GRSP) content, microbial diversity and soil physical quality depending on the type of soil measures of soil improvement and changes in soil health. The study was based on a 100-year stationary field microplot experiment where the soil profiles were collected with preserving the natural soil horizons. The microplot experiment was carried out on eight different soil types: Brunic Arenosol (Dystric I), Rendzic Leptosol, Fluvic Cambisol, Haplic Cambisol (Eutric), Gleyic Phaeozem, Brunic Arenosol (Dystric II), Haplic Cambisol (Eutric II) and Haplic Cambisol (Dystric). These soils are the most common types of agricultural soils in Poland. Relatively significant correlations with the soil quality, physical parameters and the glomalin-related soil proteins have been found. The study determined the total GRSP (T-GRSP) and easily extractable GRSP (EE-GRSP) levels in soils as well as the soil physical quality index and soil’s microbial biodiversity. The GRSP depended on the type of soil and correlated with S-Index and also was responsible for the unique chemical and physical properties of soils. Soils characterized by the highest T-GRSP content belonged to the group of very good and good soil physical quality characterized also by high biological activity, for which there were strong correlations with such parameters as dehydrogenase activity (DHA), microbial biomass content (MBC), microbial nitrogen content (MBN) and total bacteria number (B). The highest T-GRSP content and higher microbial diversity were found in Gleyic Phaeozem, Rendzic Leptosol and Fluvic Cambisol. The T-GRSP and EE-GRSP content were additionally correlated with the number of AMF spores. Very poor and poor soil physical quality according to S-Index characterized Brunic Arenosol (Dystric I) and Haplic Cambisol (Dystric). This research indicates that a specific edaphone of soil microorganisms and GRSP content may be of great importance when assessing a soil’s quality and improvements in soil health. The abundance of glomalin-producing fungi significantly affects the quality of the soil. This effect is particularly important for agricultural soils are threatened by ongoing land degradation.

Beschreibung: Leaf rust (LR) and stem rust (SR) pose serious challenges to wheat production in Kazakhstan. In recent years, the susceptibility of local wheat cultivars has substantially decreased grain yield and quality. Therefore, local breeding projects must be adjusted toward the improvement of LR and SR disease resistances, including genetic approaches. In this study, a spring wheat segregating population of Pamyati Azieva (PA) × Paragon (Par), consisting of 98 recombinant inbred lines (RILs), was analyzed for the resistance to LR and SR at the seedling and adult plant-growth stages. In total, 24 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for resistance to rust diseases at the seedling and adult plant stages were identified, including 11 QTLs for LR and 13 QTLs for SR resistances. Fourteen QTLs were in similar locations to QTLs and major genes detected in previous linkage mapping and genome-wide association studies. The remaining 10 QTLs are potentially new genetic factors for LR and SR resistance in wheat. Overall, the QTLs revealed in this study may play an important role in the improvement of wheat resistance to LR and SR per the marker-assisted selection approach.

Beschreibung: Due to the growing success of neural machine translation (NMT), many have started to question its applicability within the field of literary translation. In order to grasp the possibilities of NMT, we studied the output of the neural machine system of Google Translate (GNMT) and DeepL when applied to four classic novels translated from English into Dutch. The quality of the NMT systems is discussed by focusing on manual annotations, and we also employed various metrics in order to get an insight into lexical richness, local cohesion, syntactic, and stylistic difference. Firstly, we discovered that a large proportion of the translated sentences contained errors. We also observed a lower level of lexical richness and local cohesion in the NMTs compared to the human translations. In addition, NMTs are more likely to follow the syntactic structure of a source sentence, whereas human translations can differ. Lastly, the human translations deviate from the machine translations in style.

Beschreibung: The emergence and outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) had a devasting effect on global health, the economy, and individuals’ daily lives. Timely diagnosis of COVID-19 is a crucial task, as it reduces the risk of pandemic spread, and early treatment will save patients’ life. Due to the time-consuming, complex nature, and high false-negative rate of the gold-standard RT-PCR test used for the diagnosis of COVID-19, the need for an additional diagnosis method has increased. Studies have proved the significance of X-ray images for the diagnosis of COVID-19. The dissemination of deep-learning techniques on X-ray images can automate the diagnosis process and serve as an assistive tool for radiologists. In this study, we used four deep-learning models—DenseNet121, ResNet50, VGG16, and VGG19—using the transfer-learning concept for the diagnosis of X-ray images as COVID-19 or normal. In the proposed study, VGG16 and VGG19 outperformed the other two deep-learning models. The study achieved an overall classification accuracy of 99.3%.

Beschreibung: In this work, we demonstrate how the blockchain and the off-chain storage interact via Oracle-based mechanisms, which build an effective connection between a distributed database and real assets. For demonstration purposes, smart contracts were drawn up to deal with two different applications. Due to the characteristics of the blockchain, we may still encounter severe privacy issues, since the data stored on the blockchain are exposed to the public. The proposed scheme provides a general solution for resolving the above-mentioned privacy issue; that is, we try to protect the on-chain privacy of the sensitive data by using homomorphic encryption techniques. Specifically, we constructed a secure comparison protocol that can check the correctness of a logic function directly in the encrypted domain. By using the proposed access control contract and the secure comparison protocol, one can carry out sensitive data-dependent smart contract operations without revealing the data themselves.

Beschreibung: Healthcare facilities are constantly deteriorating due to tight budgets allocated to the upkeep of building assets. This entails the need for improved deterioration modeling of such buildings in order to enforce a predictive maintenance approach that decreases the unexpected occurrence of failures and the corresponding downtime elapsed to repair or replace the faulty asset components. Currently, hospitals utilize subjective deterioration prediction methodologies that mostly rely on age as the sole indicator of degradation to forecast the useful lives of the building components. Thus, this paper aims at formulating a more efficient stochastic deterioration prediction model that integrates the latest observed condition into the forecasting procedure to overcome the subjectivity and uncertainties associated with the currently employed methods. This is achieved by means of developing a hybrid genetic algorithm-based fuzzy Markovian model that simulates the deterioration process given the scarcity of available data demonstrating the condition assessment and evaluation for such critical facilities. A nonhomogeneous transition probability matrix (TPM) based on fuzzy membership functions representing the condition, age and relative deterioration rate of the hospital systems is utilized to address the inherited uncertainties. The TPM is further calibrated by means of a genetic algorithm to circumvent the drawbacks of the expert-based models. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to analyze the possible changes in the output resulting from predefined modifications to the input parameters in order to ensure the robustness of the model. The performance of the deterioration prediction model developed is then validated through a comparison with a state-of-art stochastic model in contrast to real hospital datasets, and the results obtained from the developed model significantly outperformed the long-established Weibull distribution-based deterioration prediction methodology with mean absolute errors of 1.405 and 9.852, respectively. Therefore, the developed model is expected to assist decision-makers in creating more efficient maintenance programs as well as more data-driven capital renewal plans.

Beschreibung: Organic amendments can reportedly sustain and increase lowland rice productivity in smallholder systems. Few studies have assessed locally-available substrates in hydrologically variable floodplain environments. We investigated the effects of green and farmyard manures on rice yields, and total soil C and N in the Kilombero floodplain, Tanzania. At both the fringe and the middle positions, five treatments were applied in 2016 and 2017, comprising (1) non-amended control, (2) farmyard manure, (3) pre-rice legumes, (4) post-rice legumes and (5) a combination of green and farmyard manures. Residual treatment effects were assessed in 2018 when rice plots were uniformly non-amended. Depending on the year and the position, organic amendments increased rice grain yields by 0.7–3.1 Mg ha–1 above the non-amended control. Sole green and farmyard manure applications had similar effects on grain yield, while a combination of green and farmyard manure led to a significant increase in grain yield above both the control and sole applications of organic amendments in both years. The contribution from biological N2 fixation by legumes ranged from 4 to 61 kg N ha–1. Despite partial N balances being mostly negative, we observed positive residual effects on the yield of the non-amended rice in the third year. Such effects reached up to 4 Mg ha−1 and were largest with post-rice legumes, sole or combined with farmyard manure. Irrespective of the position in the floodplain, manures significantly increased soil C and N contents after two years, hence enhancing soil fertility and resulting in increased rice grain yields. Comparable benefits may be obtained along the hydrological gradients of other large river floodplains of the region and beyond.

Beschreibung: The aim of this study was to analyse the genetic and phenotypic differentiation of bacteria isolated from root nodules of Trifolium rubens, a rare clover species. The symbiotic compatibility of selected isolates was investigated using two agronomically important plants, red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) and pea (Pisum sativum L.). A high genetic diversity of analysed strains was shown using the Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus Polymerase Chain Reaction (ERIC-PCR) method. Most of the strains showed a high similarity to R. leguminosarum in the 16S rRNA sequence. Two strains were identified as Agrobacterium spp. There was a strong positive correlation between fresh clover weight and the number of root nodules and a statistically significant increase in the number of the root nodules in selected strains compared to the negative control. Phenotypic tests and BIOLOG analysis showed the ability of the analysed strains to grow in different experimental conditions (pH = 6–10, 0.5–3% NaCl, different carbon and nitrogen sources), which makes them suitable for application as an agronomically important factor.

Beschreibung: Ecuador Andean purple corn (Zea mays L.) was subjected to a germination process at 15–40 °C for 24–168 incubation hours. Purple corn protein concentrates (PCPCs) were obtained by alkaline extraction at pH 8.0 and pH 10.0, followed by an isoelectric precipitation process at pH 4.0, pH 5.0 and pH 6.0. Proteins and phenolic content of PCPCs was calculated. PCPC antioxidant properties were determined by the ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) in vitro method and by the 2,2-azinobis, 3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid, (ABTS) in vitro method. Andean purple corn seeds were able to germinate under the germination conditions tested in this study. The higher percentage of germination was of 63.33% at 168 h/25 °C. The PCPCs protein profile was characterized for the presence of six bands with molecular weights of 14.50 kDa, 20.12 kDa, 25.18 kDa, 41.85 kDa, 59.59 kDa, and 65.87 kDa. Germinated PCPC presented a high TPC content with ranges of 605.71–1820.00 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g PCPC dry weight (DW), germinated PCPC/72 h/25 °C presented a higher value of 1820.00 mg GAE/g PCPC, DW. All germinated PCPCs samples assayed presented strong antioxidant activity when measured by the ABTS and FRAP methods. Germinated PCPC/144 h/35 °C presented high antioxidant activity by ABTS with 804.35 µmol Trolox equivalents (TE)/g PCPC DW and germinated PCPC/144 h/30 °C presented a high value by the FRAP method, 987.83 µmol TE/g PCPC DW.

Beschreibung: Weedy rice is one of the most common weeds in rice cultivation in many rice areas throughout the world and it is able to cause significant yield reductions. Weedy rice is characterized by a high biological diversity that permits different populations to be identified on the basis of their morphological and physiological traits. This variability contributes to its success in different environments and allows different abiotic stresses, which are intensified by climate change, to be faced. Taller plants, enhanced tillering, seed shattering and the presence of red pericarp, variable hull coloration and awn morphology, linked to a deeper seed dormancy, are some of the traits that help weedy rice to spread in changing environments. The higher phenotypic plasticity and genetic variability of weedy rice make it more able to cope with temperature variations, intermittent water availability, soil salinity, drought conditions and increased CO2 concentrations than cultivated rice. As these abiotic stresses will become more frequent in the future, weedy rice competitiveness may be higher, with a spread of infestations. Thus, the control of weedy rice should be based on an integration of different preventive and agronomic techniques, a sensible use of herbicides and the use of suitable rice varieties.

Beschreibung: Testing Fusarium resistance to ear rots in maize requires a well-supported methodology and tests for toxin responses. In this study, commercial hybrids were tested for resistance to Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium culmorum, and Fusarium verticillioides (kernel and silk channel), as well as their toxin response. One third of the hybrids tested showed a similar resistance or susceptibility to the three pathogens and their toxin response, but there is no proof for their genetic background being the same or different. The performance of the remaining hybrids was highly variable and supports the idea of different genetic regulation. The mean ear rot severity of the kernel resistance was doubled compared with the silk channel resistance data. The ear rot and toxin tests displayed significant positive correlations, verifying the decisive role of resistance in toxin regulation. Several hybrids, termed toxigenic hybrids, showed significant extra toxin production, indicating an additional food safety risk. The toothpick method gave more reliable results and a better differentiation of genotypes. The resistance to different Fusarium spp. in a specific growing region should be analyzed separately in independent resistance tests. Through this, the food safety risks could be better identified. Susceptible hybrids should not be used for commercial production.

Beschreibung: The harmonic closeness centrality measure associates, to each node of a graph, the average of the inverse of its distances from all the other nodes (by assuming that unreachable nodes are at infinite distance). This notion has been adapted to temporal graphs (that is, graphs in which edges can appear and disappear during time) and in this paper we address the question of finding the top-k nodes for this metric. Computing the temporal closeness for one node can be done in O(m) time, where m is the number of temporal edges. Therefore computing exactly the closeness for all nodes, in order to find the ones with top closeness, would require O(nm) time, where n is the number of nodes. This time complexity is intractable for large temporal graphs. Instead, we show how this measure can be efficiently approximated by using a “backward” temporal breadth-first search algorithm and a classical sampling technique. Our experimental results show that the approximation is excellent for nodes with high closeness, allowing us to detect them in practice in a fraction of the time needed for computing the exact closeness of all nodes. We validate our approach with an extensive set of experiments.

Beschreibung: The study’s objective was to evaluate the influence of thinning on the quality and regularity of yield of ‘Regina’ cherries grown on a dwarf Gisela 5 rootstock. The experiments were conducted in the years 2009–2012 in Western Poland. Trees were thinned using a chemical agent, ammonium thiosulphate (ATS), at doses of 20 g ATS L−1, 30 g ATS L−1 and 40 g ATS L−1, and by hand, and the results of chemical and hand thinning were compared with those obtained for unthinned trees. The course of weather conditions in winter and during flowering had a significant impact on yield. Chemical thinning is known to be an effective method to regulate fruiting of pome trees, but it can also be successful if applied to cherry trees, as reflected by the alternate bearing index, which was the lowest after applying ATS at a dose of 40 g. ATS treatment improved fruit quality in full crop years. Thinning resulted in, among other things, larger and darker fruit and higher content of total soluble solids and titratable acidity. Treatment with 40 g ATS L−1 significantly stimulated the vegetative growth of trees.

Beschreibung: Computer programmers require various instructive information during coding and development. Such information is dispersed in different sources like language documentation, wikis, and forums. As an information exchange platform, programmers broadly utilize Stack Overflow, a Web-based Question Answering site. In this paper, we propose a recommender system which uses a supervised machine learning approach to investigate Stack Overflow posts to present instructive information for the programmers. This might be helpful for the programmers to solve programming problems that they confront with in their daily life. We analyzed posts related to two most popular programming languages—Python and PHP. We performed a few trials and found that the supervised approach could effectively manifold valuable information from our corpus. We validated the performance of our system from human perception which showed an accuracy of 71%. We also presented an interactive interface for the users that satisfied the users’ query with the matching sentences with most instructive information.

Beschreibung: Since 2006, an increasing number of French vineyards have chosen to convert to organic farming. One major change in vineyard practices includes replacing chemical pesticides with copper and sulfur-based products in line with Council Regulation (EC) No. 834/2007. This change can make overall management and pest and disease control more difficult and potentially lead to yield losses. From 2013 to 2016, a network of 48 vineyard plots, in southern France, under conventional management and in conversion to organic farming were monitored throughout the three-year conversion phase to investigate the grapevine phytosanitary management of four major pests and diseases and variations in control efficiency. The severity of downy and powdery mildew, grape berry moths, and Botrytis bunch rot were assessed and linked to the protection strategy. The findings showed that pests and diseases were controlled in the third year of conversion at similar efficiency levels as in conventional farming. However, the first two years of conversion were a transitional and less successful period during which higher incidences of cryptogamic diseases were observed. This demonstrates a need for winegrowers to receive more in-depth technical advice and support, especially on pest and disease control, during this critical transition period.

Beschreibung: The sugarcane (Saccharum spp. L.) mechanical harvesting system leaves a large amount of straw mulch on the soil surface. The straw mulch may affect soil conditions, root regrowth, and sugarcane yield. Thus, this study assessed the response of sugarcane root system growth and stalk yield to different rates of straw removal. An experiment was conducted in a Rhodic Kandiudox with sand clay loam texture to test the impact of four rates of straw removal: no removal (18.9 Mg ha−1 of dry mass); moderate removal (8.7 Mg ha−1); high removal (4.2 Mg ha−1) and total removal on sugarcane root system and stalk yield. Higher concentrations of roots (60%) were found in the first 40 cm of soil. Moderate straw removal resulted in higher root mass (3.6 Mg ha−1) and stalk production (23 Mg ha−1 of dry mass). However, no straw removal reduced root mass by 20% (105 Mg ha−1). Through regression analysis, it was estimated that retaining between 8.5 and 13 Mg ha−1 of straw resulted in the highest root mass and stalk yield. Managing straw removal to retain a moderate amount enables producers to sustain suitable soil conditions for sugarcane root growth and stalk production while providing straw for industrial use.

Beschreibung: Proximal sensing techniques can potentially survey soil and crop variables responsible for variations in crop yield. The full potential of these precision agriculture technologies may be exploited in combination with innovative methods of data processing such as machine learning (ML) algorithms for the extraction of useful information responsible for controlling crop yield. Four ML algorithms, namely linear regression (LR), elastic net (EN), k-nearest neighbor (k-NN), and support vector regression (SVR), were used to predict potato (Solanum tuberosum) tuber yield from data of soil and crop properties collected through proximal sensing. Six fields in Atlantic Canada including three fields in Prince Edward Island (PE) and three fields in New Brunswick (NB) were sampled, over two (2017 and 2018) growing seasons, for soil electrical conductivity, soil moisture content, soil slope, normalized-difference vegetative index (NDVI), and soil chemistry. Data were collected from 39–40 30 × 30 m2 locations in each field, four times throughout the growing season, and yield samples were collected manually at the end of the growing season. Four datasets, namely PE-2017, PE-2018, NB-2017, and NB-2018, were then formed by combing data points from three fields to represent the province data for the respective years. Modeling techniques were employed to generate yield predictions assessed with different statistical parameters. The SVR models outperformed all other models for NB-2017, NB-2018, PE-2017, and PE-2018 dataset with RMSE of 5.97, 4.62, 6.60, and 6.17 t/ha, respectively. The performance of k-NN remained poor in three out of four datasets, namely NB-2017, NB-2018, and PE-2017 with RMSE of 6.93, 5.23, and 6.91 t/ha, respectively. The study also showed that large datasets are required to generate useful results using either model. This information is needed for creating site-specific management zones for potatoes, which form a significant component for food security initiatives across the globe.

Beschreibung: Targeted genome editing using CRISPR-Cas9 has been widely adopted as a genetic engineering tool in various biological systems. This editing technology has been in the limelight due to its simplicity and versatility compared to other previously known genome editing platforms. Several modifications of this editing system have been established for adoption in a variety of plants, as well as for its improved efficiency and portability, bringing new opportunities for the development of transgene-free improved varieties of economically important crops. This review presents an overview of CRISPR-Cas9 and its application in plant genome editing. A catalog of the current and emerging approaches for the implementation of the system in plants is also presented with details on the existing gaps and limitations. Strategies for the establishment of the CRISPR-Cas9 molecular construct such as the selection of sgRNAs, PAM compatibility, choice of promoters, vector architecture, and multiplexing approaches are emphasized. Progress in the delivery and transgene detection methods, together with optimization approaches for improved on-target efficiency are also detailed in this review. The information laid out here will provide options useful for the effective and efficient exploitation of the system for plant genome editing and will serve as a baseline for further developments of the system. Future combinations and fine-tuning of the known parameters or factors that contribute to the editing efficiency, fidelity, and portability of CRISPR-Cas9 will indeed open avenues for new technological advancements of the system for targeted gene editing in plants.

Beschreibung: The use of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights in microscale vegetable production is more and more widespread. In this context, the effect of light spectrum on photosynthesis, growth, shoot yield, pigment content, and nutritional status of einkorn seedlings (Triticum monococcum L. ssp. monococcum), germinated and grown in a nutrient solution, was investigated. Plants were subjected to six different LED light treatments, all having a photon flux density (PFD) of 200 μmol m−2 s−1. Two light treatments were monochromatic (red or blue), three dichromatic (blue and red in the proportion), and one of a wider spectrum (selected as a control). All the light treatments affected the morphological, biochemical, and nutritional status of einkorn seedlings. Overall, the dichromatic treatments were the most effective in stimulating biomass production, CO2 assimilation, and evapotranspiration, as well as contents in chlorophyll a and b and carotenoids, and additionally nitrogen, phosphorous, manganese, iron, and zinc. These results are of relevance for the beneficial effects of dichromatic LED treatments in maximizing einkorn shoot yield and nutritional values, and in limiting energy consumption in indoor cultivation.

Beschreibung: Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) is one of the most important cool season food legume crops grown in many countries. Seeds are typically rich in protein, fiber, prebiotic carbohydrates and minerals, such as iron and zinc. With changing climate and variability, the lentil crop faces frequent droughts and heat stress of varying intensity in its major production zones. In the present study, a set of 162 lentil accessions selected through the Focused Identification of Germplasm Strategy (FIGS) were screened for tolerance to heat stress and combined heat-drought stresses under field conditions at two contrasting locations, namely Marchouch and Tessaout in Morocco. The results showed a significant genotypic variation for heat tolerance and combined heat-drought tolerance among the accessions at both locations. Based on the heat tolerance index (HTI), accessions, namely ILL 7833, ILL 6338 and ILL 6104, were selected as potential sources of heat tolerance at Marchouch, and ILL 7814 and ILL 8029 at Tessaout. Using the stress tolerance index (STI), ILL 7835, ILL 6075 and ILL 6362 were identified as the most tolerant lines (STI 〉 1) at Marchouch, and ILL 7814, ILL 7835 and ILL 7804 (STI 〉 1) at Tessaout, under the combined heat-drought stress conditions. Accession ILL 7835 was identified as a good source of stable tolerance to heat stress and combined heat-drought stress at both locations.

Beschreibung: Background: Health benefits from physical activity (PA) can be achieved by following the WHO recommendation for PA. To increase PA in inactive individuals, digital interventions can provide cost-effective and low-threshold access. Moreover, gamification elements can raise the motivation for PA. This study analyzed which factors (personality traits, app features, gamification) are relevant to increasing PA within this target group. Methods: N = 808 inactive participants (f = 480; m = 321; age = 48 ± 6) were integrated into the analysis of the desire for PA, the appearance of personality traits and resulting interest in app features and gamification. The statistical analysis included chi-squared tests, one-way ANOVA and regression analysis. Results: The main interests in PA were fitness (97%) and outdoor activities (75%). No significant interaction between personality traits, interest in PA goals, app features and gamification were found. The interest in gamification was determined by the PA goal. Participants’ requirements for features included feedback and suggestions for activities. Monetary incentives were reported as relevant gamification aspects. Conclusion: Inactive people can be reached by outdoor activities, interventions to increase an active lifestyle, fitness and health sports. The study highlighted the interest in specific app features and gamification to increase PA in inactive people through an app.

Beschreibung: This paper studies the effect of variance swap in hedging volatility risk under the mean-variance criterion. We consider two mean-variance portfolio selection problems under Heston’s stochastic volatility model. In the first problem, the financial market is complete and contains three primitive assets: a bank account, a stock and a variance swap, where the variance swap can be used to hedge against the volatility risk. In the second problem, only the bank account and the stock can be traded in the market, which is incomplete since the idiosyncratic volatility risk is unhedgeable. Under an exponential integrability assumption, we use a linear-quadratic control approach in conjunction with backward stochastic differential equations to solve the two problems. Efficient portfolio strategies and efficient frontiers are derived in closed-form and represented in terms of the unique solutions to backward stochastic differential equations. Numerical examples are provided to compare the solutions to the two problems. It is found that adding the variance swap in the portfolio can remarkably reduce the portfolio risk.