Kris J. Mahoney, Robert E. Nurse, Peter H. Sikkema

University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus, Ridgetown, Canada.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Harrow, Canada.
University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus, Ridgetown, Canada.

Seven maize (Zea mays L.) and three soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] field experiments were conducted from 2006 to 2009 at various locations in southern Ontario, Canada to determine the tolerance of these crops to late applications of the maximum labeled herbicide dose. Single and sequential (simulating a spray overlap) applications were evaluated for visible injury, plant height, and crop yield in the absence of weed competition. Maize exhibited excellent tolerance to herbicides applied at the 9- to 10-leaf growth stage as visible injury levels for almost all tested herbicides was similar to the untreated control 7 days after treatment (DAT). However, the sequential application of dicamba/diflufenzopyr or foramsulfuron caused 6 and 8% injury 7 DAT and 8 and 14% reduction in maize height 28 DAT, respectively. The observed injury and stunting were transient as there were no differences in yield at harvest. Soybean displayed good tolerance to most herbicides applied at the 7^th trifoliate leaf growth stage as visible injury levels were similar to the untreated control. However, thifensulfuron-methyl was injurious regardless of application and imazethapyr was injurious with sequential applications. For example, single thifensulfuron-methyl, sequential thifensulfuron-methyl, and sequential imazethapyr application treatments caused 35, 48, and 25% injury 7 DAT, respectively. Sequential thifensulfuron-methyl treatments also caused a 28 and 17% reduction in soybean height 14 and 28 DAT, respectively. Visual injury continued to be detected up to 56 DAT for single thifensulfuron-methyl, sequential thifensulfuron-methyl, and sequential imazethapyr treatments. But, soybean yields were reduced by 10% for only sequential thifensulfuron-methyl application treatments. For all other herbicides tested, the yields at harvest were similar to the untreated control. This research demonstrated that maize had exceptional tolerance to all the herbicides used in this study whereas soybean was tolerant to most of the herbicides used in this study.

Critical Weed-Free Period, Injury, Yield

Mahoney, K. , Nurse, R. and Sikkema, P. (2014) Tolerance of Maize (Zea mays L.) and Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] to Late Applications of Postemergence Herbicides. Agricultural Sciences, 5, 1007-1014. doi: 10.4236/as.2014.511109.

Hydrological Service, Jerusalem, Israel.

Given a symmetric matrix X, we consider the problem of finding a low-rank positive approximant of X. That is, a symmetric positive semidefinite matrix, S, whose rank is smaller than a given positive integer, , which is nearest to X in a certain matrix norm. The problem is first solved with regard to four common norms: The Frobenius norm, the Schatten p-norm, the trace norm, and the spectral norm. Then the solution is extended to any unitarily invariant matrix norm. The proof is based on a subtle combination of Ky Fan dominance theorem, a modified pinching principle, and Mirsky minimum-norm theorem.

Low-Rank Positive Approximants, Unitarily Invariant Matrix Norms

Dax, A. (2014) Low-Rank Positive Approximants of Symmetric Matrices. Advances in Linear Algebra & Matrix Theory, 4, 172-185. doi: 10.4236/alamt.2014.43015.

USDA-ARS Grazinglands Research Laboratory, El Reno, OK, USA.

Using accumulated temperature measures to predict plant development may provide guidance on timing of management practices to minimize competition between warm and cool-season components of mixed pastures. However, temperature and plant development relationships for warm-season pasture grasses common in the southern Great Plains of the USA have not been extensively studied. Under controlled environment conditions, base temperature (T_base) values were determined for Big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman), Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans, (L.) Nash), Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx) Nash) and, Sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula (Michx) Torr). Measures of the accumulated temperature requirement for the phyllochron (leaf appearance interval) were made under a range of temperature regimes for these same species. Mean T_base was 8.1°C and differences among species were not significant (P > 0.05). Within temperature regimes mainstem leaf appearance was closely and linearly related to accumulated temperature above T_base. Increase of 7.5°C in night temperature increased phyllochron by a mean of 43%, but similar increase in day temperature only increased phyllochron by 16%. Phyllochron increased by 6.4°C leaf^-1 for each 1°C increase in daily mean temperature within the range of 15.0°C to 22.5°C. If accumulated temperature measures are to monitor reliably the development of warm-season grasses, allowance must be made for changes in phyllochron as the growing season progresses.

Phyllochron, Base Temperature, Warm-Season Grass

Bartholomew, P. (2014) Effect of Varying Temperature Regime on Phyllochron in Four Warm-Season Pasture Grasses. Agricultural Sciences, 5, 1000-1006. doi: 10.4236/as.2014.511108.

Norwegian Drug Control and Drug Discovery Institute (NDCDDI) AS, Ski, Norway.

In 2012, the first paper in the series Analytical Methods in Quality Control of Scientific Publications was published in the American Journal of Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 3, No. 6, 2012, pp. 443-447. This paper was mainly based on evidence presented in the 2011 in book Historical Overview of Chromatography and Related Techniques in Analysis of Antimalarial Drug Primaquine (editor Ilia Brondz, Nova Science Publishers, Inc., ISSN 978-1-61761-944-1). The first paper in this series di- scussed issues of obvious falsification and plagiarism contained in paper published by Dongre et al., Applications of GC-EI-MS for the Identification and Investigation of Positional Isomer in Primaquine, an Antimalarial Drug. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, Vol. 39, No. 1-2, 2005, pp. 111-116. Dongre et al. copied their publication from an original research manuscript submitted for consideration by other authors. This paper was published in the Asian Journal of Chemistry, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2005, pp. 1678-1688. Conclusive arguments against the publication of Dongre et al. were presented in the American Journal of Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 3, No. 6, 2012, pp. 443-447. Further cases of general plagiarism and incompetence relating to authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers were presented in Part II in Analytical Methods in Quality Control of Scientific Publications Part II: The Authors’, Reviewers’, Editors’ Responsibility and the Publishers’ Authority in the International Journal of Analytical Mass Spectrometry and Chromatography, Vol. 1, No. 2, 2013, pp. 81-89. The present paper will discuss the following issues: the obvious neglect of the rights of authors by some publishers and editors; how original research manuscripts are exposed to mediocre researchers, and possibly sold, by editors to these “scientists” to boost the image of these particular “scientists”; how the order of authors’ names in published articles are changed to satisfy the commercial interests of companies; and how copyright is breached in an appalling way by well-established publishers. The documents presented here concern research publications in the fields of chromatography, chromatography-mass spectrometry, and mass spectrometry.

Publishers’ Ethics, Editors’ Complicity, Breach of Copyright, Plagiarism, Falsification, Fraud, Chromatography, Mass Spectrometry

Brondz, I. (2014) Analytical Methods in the Quality Control of Scientific Publications Part III: Publishers’ Ethics and Editors’ Complicity. International Journal of Analytical Mass Spectrometry and Chromatography, 2, 77-102. doi: 10.4236/ijamsc.2014.23008.

Pengcheng Li, Helin Dong, Aizhong Liu, Jingran Liu, Miao Sun, Guoping Wang, Siping Zhang, Yabing Li, Shuchun Mao

Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Anyang, China.
Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Anyang, China.
Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Anyang, China.
Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Anyang, China.
Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Anyang, China.
Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Anyang, China.
Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Anyang, China.
Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Anyang, China.
Institute of Cotton Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, Anyang, China.

Field experiments were conducted in 2011 on an experimental farm at the Cotton Research Insti-tute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Anyang, China. We conducted experiments with a “SPAD-502” meter to quickly measure the relative value of chlorophyll content in the leaf blades of field cotton. Our goal was to seek a suitable leaf on a cotton plant to diagnose senescence status of crop plants at later stages of growth. We began by studying the dynamic change rule of the dis-tal-most four leaves of the cotton plant during the entire growth period with two early-maturing cultivars (CCRI 36, CCRI 50) and two mid-maturing cultivars (CCRI 41, SCRC 28). We also examined the effect of different nitrogen and potassium fertilizer rates on SPAD values of the leaves of SCRC 28. Our results suggest that SPAD values of the 1st distal stem leaves from two early cultivars can act as good indicators of senescence status in the plants, if they are measured between 10 d before the boll-opening stage and 10 d after boll opening stage. Differences of SPAD values of the 3rd distal stem leaves of two mid-maturing cultivars measured between about 15 d before the boll opening stage and 15 d after the boll opening stage can also be used to measure senescence status in these cotton cultivars. The conclusion can be used for cotton producer to manage N fertilizer better at later growth stage.

Diagnosis, Premature Senescence, Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), SPAD Values

Li, P. , Dong, H. , Liu, A. , Liu, J. , Sun, M. , Wang, G. , Zhang, S. , Li, Y. and Mao, S. (2014) Diagnosis of Premature Senescence of Cotton Using SPAD Value. Agricultural Sciences, 5, 992-999. doi: 10.4236/as.2014.511107.

Manel Monteiro, Victor Svet, Donald Sandilands

International Tank Services (Asia Pacific) PTE Ltd., Singapore City, Singapore.
International Tank Services (Asia Pacific) PTE Ltd., Singapore City, Singapore.
International Tank Services (Asia Pacific) PTE Ltd., Singapore City, Singapore.

The article considers peculiarities of underwater monitoring of moving objects in the shallow water areas, particularly seaports. These areas are characterized by a multitude of factors influencing the efficiency of detection. Nonstationarity conditions of sound propagation and specific interference caused by shipping are the major factors. The various algorithms for the space-time signal processing have been tested and some experimental results are presented. It has been shown that the use of clipped mode in conjunction with the correlation processing of wideband signals and subsequent speckle tracking allow realizing high efficiency of monitoring.

Acoustical Underwater Monitoring, Shallow Water Areas, Multi-Ray Propagation, Correlation Processing, Speckle-Tracking

Monteiro, M. , Svet, V. and Sandilands, D. (2014) The Peculiarities of Acoustical Monitoring of Moving Objects in Shallow Water Areas. Open Journal of Acoustics, 4, 145-154. doi: 10.4236/oja.2014.43015.

Fidel O. Okopi, Joshua Pindar

National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos, Nigeria.
National Open University of Nigeria, Lagos, Nigeria.

This study determines students’ persistence on distance learning programmes despite ethno-religious crisis in twelve Northern States in Nigeria. States selected for the study are Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Taraba, Gombe, Bauchi, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Niger, Kogi and Sokoto states that have suffered the worst ethno-religious crisis from 2009 to date. A survey design via ex post facto was adopted for the study. Samples for the study were distance learners, (200 to 400 levels) who registered for the 2012/2013 examination, and 480 were selected from the 12 Study Centres through purposeful, and stratified random sampling techniques. Data for the study were collected through a rating scale which was administered and collected on the spot by the research assistants. Participants were asked to rate the shortlisted factors—(Intrinsic–Personal and Extrinsic–support network factors) according to their levels of perceived significant influence on why they persisted on their programmes of study, despite the ethno-religious crisis. Experts in the Directorate of Learner Support Services were used to validate the content and face validities of the instrument while test-retest reliability method was used and Cronbach Alfa 0.78 was established. Descriptive statistics and Pearson Moment Correlations Coefficient analyses were used to determine the relative rating of each motivator. The findings were intrinsic motivators like: desire to complete the programme was rated highest followed by desire for personal growth and faith in God. The least motivator was, study centre learning environment, followed by security provided at the centre and Tutorial facilitators’ responses or feedback. The Pearson Moment Correlations Coefficient analysis indicated 0.83 level of relationship between extrinsic and extrinsic motivators. Recommendations were proffered at the end of the study and implications for counselling were discussed.

Motivators, Persistence, Distance, Learning, Ethno-Religious, Crisis, Counselling

Okopi, F. & Pindar, J. (2014). Motivators of Students’ Persistence on Distance Learning Programmes in Ethno-Religious Crisis States in Nigeria: Implications for Counselling. Psychology, 5, 1550-1556. doi: 10.4236/psych.2014.513165.

Hannah A. Joharchi, M. Diane Clark

Department of Psychology, Gallaudet University, Washington DC, USA.
Department of Education, Gallaudet University, Washington DC, USA.

Research regarding Deaf and hard of hearing individuals and their sexual satisfaction is almost nonexistent. Available research focuses on negative sexual behaviors and misinformation, as opposed to sexual satisfaction and well-being. Researchers used a model of generativity—what Erikson describes as success—a feeling of accomplishment, to explore positive aspects of Deaf sexuality. Someone experiencing generativity contributes to society in a meaningful and collaborative manner (Hamachek, 1990). The current study explored Deaf women, their generativity, and their sexuality. Five Deaf women were administered the revised Sexual Satisfaction Scale for Women (SSS-W) and discussed their sexual satisfaction in a semi-structured interview. Not only did participants display resiliency and generativity, but also they shared unique and positive aspects to Deaf sexuality.

Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Older, Sexual Satisfaction, Well-Being, Sexuality

Joharchi, H. & Clark, M. (2014). A Glimpse at American Deaf Women’s Sexuality. Psychology, 5, 1536-1549. doi: 10.4236/psych.2014.513164.

Everton Vinicius Zambiazzi, Adriano Teodoro Bruzi, Maria Laene Moreira de Carvalho, Igor Oliveri Soares, Alan Mario Zuffo, Pedro Milanez de Rezende, Diego Henrique Miranda

Department of Agriculture, Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Brazil.
Department of Agriculture, Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Brazil.
Department of Agriculture, Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Brazil.
Department of Agriculture, Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Brazil.
Department of Agriculture, Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Brazil.
Department of Agriculture, Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Brazil.
Department of Agriculture, Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Brazil.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of increased application rates of potassium on the physiological quality of seeds from different soybean cultivars. Seeds from two locations (São Gotardo, MG and Lavras, MG, Brazil) were used. After harvest, the seeds were sent to the Central Seed Analysis Laboratory of the Federal University of Lavras. We used a randomized design in a 4 × 6 factorial arrangement of four cultivars and six doses of potassium. All tests were performed with two replicates of 50 seeds (300 seeds per treatment). Germination, emergence under controlled conditions, accelerated aging, electrical conductivity, and tetrazolium tests were performed. Data were subjected to analysis of variance. In soybean seed production fields with high potassium content in the soil, higher application rates of potassium do not increase the physiological quality of seeds.

Glycine max L., Seed Vigor, Seed Production

Zambiazzi, E. , Bruzi, A. , Carvalho, M. , Soares, I. , Zuffo, A. , Rezende, P. and Miranda, D. (2014) Potassium Fertilization and Physiological Soybean Seed Quality. Agricultural Sciences, 5, 984-991. doi: 10.4236/as.2014.511106.

Nicole Mölders, Cindy L. Bruyère, Scott Gende, Michael A. Pirhalla

Geophysical Institute, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, College of Natural Science and Mathematics, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, USA.
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, USA.
National Park Service, Glacier Bay Field Station, Juneau, USA.
Geophysical Institute, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, College of Natural Science and Mathematics, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, USA.
Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa.

This case study examined how well downscaling of Community Earth System Model (CESM) data can reproduce climatological conditions relevant for summer (JJA) air quality in Glacier Bay National Park. Climatology was determined from the meteorological results obtained by the Weather Research and Forecasting model inline coupled with chemistry (WRF-chem) when driven with CESM data of 2006-2012. The climatology of this experiment (EXP) was evaluated by climatology from gridded blended sea-wind speeds, CRU data, and 42 surface meteorology sites. The quality relative to known perfo<span “=””>rmance was assessed by comparison to climatology determined from WRF-chem control simulations driven with FNL analysis data (CON) in forecast mode. Compared to observations, the thermodynamic and dynamic performances of EXP showed similar shortcomings (dampened diurnal temperature range, overestimation of wind speed over land) as CON. Over water EXP wind-speed climatology JJA bias (simulated minus observed) was -<span “=””>0.7 m/s. With respect to the CRU data EXP biases in JJA 2m temperature, diurnal temperature range, relative humidity and accumulated precipitation were -<span “=””>1.1 K, -<span “=””>4.9 K, 13%, and 110 mm, respectively. The slightly warmer atmosphere in EXP compensated for deficiencies in the cloud schemes leading to better results for the number of wet days and accumulated precipitation than in CON. Downscaling captured known mesoscale responses important for regional climate in a similar way as CON. When using CESM forcing, lateral boundary effects expanded spatially f<span “=””>arther into the domain than known for forcing by analysis data. Overall, climatologies obtained from downscaling for Southeast Alaska had similar skill than those derived from forecasts driven by analysis data.

Evaluation, Regional Climate Modeling, Downscaling, Southeast Alaska, WRF-Chem, CESM

Mölders, N. , Bruyère, C. , Gende, S. and Pirhalla, M. (2014) Assessment of the 2006-2012 Climatological Fields and Mesoscale Features from Regional Downscaling of CESM Data by WRF-Chem over Southeast Alaska. Atmospheric and Climate Sciences, 4, 589-613. doi: 10.4236/acs.2014.44053.