Higher Absolute Weight Research Articles

Khorasan wheat population researching (Triticum turgidum, ssp. Turanicum (McKey) in the minimum tillage conditions

Khorasan wheat occupies a special place in the group of new-old cereals (Triticum turgidum, ssp. Turanicum McKey). It is an ancient species, native to eastern Persia, that is very close to durum wheat by morphological characteristics. Investigations were carried out in agro ecological conditions of the eastern Srem, with two wheat populations with dark and bright awns as objects of study. The following morphological and productive characteristics were investigated: plant height (PH), spike length (SH), number of spikelets per spike (NSS), absolute weight (AW) and grain weight per spike (GW), seed germination (G) and grains yield (YG). Field micro-experiments were set on the carbonate chernozem soil type on loess plateau in 2011 and 2012. Hand wheat sowing was conducted in early March with drill row spacing of 12 cm. The experiment was established as complete randomized block system with four replications. Tending crops measures were not applied during the growing season. Plants were grown without usage of NPK mineral nutrients. Chemical crop protection measures were not applied, although powdery mildew (Erysiphe graminis) was appeared before plants spike formation in a small extent. The results showed that both populations have a genetic yield potential. In general, both populations manifested a satisfactory tolerance on lodging and there was no seed dispersal. Plants from bright awns population were higher, had longer spikes and larger number of spikelet?s per spike. However, plants from dark awns population had higher absolute weight and grains weight per spike, as well as grain yield per plant. Strong correlation connections were identified among the investigated characteristics. The determination of correlations, as well as direct and indirect affects, enabled easier understanding of the mutual relationships and their balancing in order to improve the yield per unit area.

Hyperbranched Poly(ferrocenylene)s Containing Groups 14 and 15 Elements: Syntheses, Optical and Thermal Properties, and Pyrolytic Transformations into Nanostructured Magnetoceramics

A series of hyperbranched poly(ferrocenylene)s containing elements (E) of groups 14 [E=Si (hb-1), Ge (hb-2)] and 15 [E=P (hb-3), Sb (hb-4)] are prepared in good isolation yields (up to 82wt%) by the salt-eliminative polycoupling of dilithioferrocene with tri-(RECl3) or tetrachlorides of the elements (ECl4). While the polymers with no or small R groups are insoluble or partially soluble, those with long alkyl chains (R=C n H2n+1 with n ≥ 8) are completely soluble and film forming. The polymers exhibit solution properties characteristic of hyperbranched macromolecules: e.g. hb-1(18) shows a low intrinsic viscosity ([η]=0.02dL/g) despite its high absolute molecular weight (Mw=5 × 105). Spectroscopic analyses reveal that the polymers possess rigid skeleton structures with extended conjugations, with their absorption spectra tailing into the infrared region (>700nm). The polymers show good thermal stability with Td up to ~400°C and can be graphitized into iron-containing ceramics when pyrolyzed at high temperatures, with char yields up to ~60wt%. While calcinations of the Si-containing polymers (hb-1) at 1000°C under nitrogen give ceramics containing mostly α-Fe nanoparticles, those of Ge-(hb-2) and Sb-containing polymers (hb-4) are completely transformed into their iron-alloys. The ceramics from the P-containing polymers (hb-3) show diffraction patterns of iron phosphides. Iron silicide nanocrystals of “large” sizes are obtained when the pyrolysis of hb-1 is conducted at a high temperature of 1200°C under argon. This ceramic is highly magnetizable (Ms up to ~51emu/g) and shows near-zero remanence and coercivity; in other words, it is an outstanding soft ferromagnet with a high magnetic susceptibility and practically nil hysteresis loss.

Effect of the Age of Pregnant Females on Brain Development in the Offspring

We examined offspring of 9-10 and 3.5-4 month-old female rats. Female offspring (14, 21, 28, 35, and 40 days) of old rats had higher body weight than offspring of young animals. No intergroup differences were revealed in the body weight of male offspring. At the age of 40 days the offspring of old females differed from the offspring of young rats by higher absolute weight of the brain (females), lower size of ganglionic neurons in the parietal lobe (males and females), and lower blood testosterone concentration (males). Thirty-day-old offspring of old rats exhibited higher locomotor activity and lower degree of anxiety compared to the offspring of young animals.

Hyperbranched Organometallic Polymers: Synthesis and Properties of Poly(ferrocenylenesilyne)s

A series of hyperbranched poly(ferrocenylenesilyne)s, [(η5-C5H4)2FeSi(R)]n {R = CH3 [1(1)], CHCH2 [1(V)], n-C8H17 [1(8)], n-C12H25 [1(12)], n-C16H33 [1(16)], n-C18H37 [1(18)]}, was prepared in good isolation yields (up to 77 wt %) by one-pot coupling reactions of dilithioferrocene with trichlorosilanes. While the polymers with small R groups [1(1) and 1(V)] were partially soluble, those with long alkyl chains [1(m) with m ≥ 8] were completely soluble and readily film forming. The polymers exhibited diagnostic solution properties of hyperbranched macromolecules; for example, 1(18) had a high absolute molecular weight (Mw = 5 × 105 Da) but a low intrinsic viscosity ([η] = 0.02 dL/g). Spectroscopic analyses revealed that the polymers possessed rigid skeleton structures with extended conjugations, with their absorption spectra tailed into the infrared region (>700 nm). With an increase in the alkyl chain length, the polymer changed from glassy to rubbery state. The polymers lost little of their weights when heated to ∼400 °C but ceramized when pyrolyzed at higher temperatures, with ceramization yield increasing with a decrease in the alkyl chain length. Sintering 1(1) and 1(V) in 700−1200 °C produced ceramics in ∼50% yields. Higher temperature pyrolyses favored the formation of ceramics with bigger inorganic nanoclusters and better magnetic performances. The ceramic prepared from the calcination of 1(1) at 1200 °C contained large iron silicide nanocrystals and exhibited high magnetizability (up to ∼51 emu/g) but near-zero remanence and coercivity. This ceramic is thus an outstanding soft ferromagnet with a high magnetic susceptibility and practically nil hysteresis loss.

Five year changes in waist circumference, body mass index and obesity in Augsburg, Germany

To assess temporal changes in body fat distribution, body mass index and obesity in Augsburg, Germany. Waist circumference, weight and height were measured in two independent samples of 4804 and 4792, men and women, aged 25-74 years, in the MONICA Augsburg surveys 1989/90 and 1994/95. Abdominal obesity was defined as waist circumference greater than the 80th gender-specific percentile (men: 103, women: 92 cm) in the 1989/90 population. Obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMI) > or = 30 kg/m2. Age-standardized mean waist circumference increased by more than 1 cm (p-value < 0.00003) in both men and women while BMI increased by 0.3-0.4 kg/m2 (p-value < 0.01). We observed both a shift to higher values in the waist circumference distribution plus--particularly in women older than 45 years --a substantial right shift in the top of the distribution. Moreover, survey participants in 1994/95 who were at the higher end of the BMI distributions were disproportionately more obese than their respective peers in 1989/90. The prevalence of abdominal obesity rose by 3.3% in men and 3.6% in women, while the prevalence of obesity rose by 2% from 17% in men and by 2.5% from 19% in women. While changes in the Augsburg population may not be as alarming as in other countries, the secular increase in waist circumferences in both men and women occurring over a short time period indicates a need for prevention given the already high absolute weight, BMI and waist circumference levels in the population.

Influence of cultivar, fruit position and seed content on tomato fruit weight during a crop cycle under low and high competition for assimilates

SummaryThe control of tornato fruit weight during a crop cycle may be of commercial benefit. To assess the main causes of variability in the potential and actual fruit weight of mature fruit, both were measured together with the seed content on three tomato cultivars. Potential and actual weight were appraised on plants with single-fruit and seven-fruit trusses, respectively, until maturation of the fifteenth truss. Variability in the potential weight was mainly related to the cultivar, whereas differences between proximal and distal fruits were significant for beefsteak tomatoes only. In the long term, no truss effect on this potential could be detected. Under competitive growth conditions, the weight of distal fruits was reduced more than that of proximal fruits especially for the beefsteak cultivar. All trusses were not equally affected, inducing a large variability along the stem. The relation between fruit weight and seed number was closer as the range of variability in fruit weight was reduced, that is in increasing order: long life, round, beefsteak cultivars. The slope of the linear relation between fruit weight and seed number was reduced by the competition for assimilates, except for the long life cultivar. This was attributed to its smaller range of fruit weight, assuming that all sinks were affected in the same proportion by limiting assimilate supply, and hence bigger fruits lost a higher absolute weight than small fruits. Therefore a high residual variability in fruit weight is not explained either by the fruit potential or by its seed content, and may relate to internal regulations of the plant in response to the source-sink balance during crop development. Dynamic models able to simulate this pattern may help in developing approaches for the control of fruit weight variability.