There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF EXPERIMENTS. By Oscar Kempthorne. New York, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1952. 631 pp. $8.50. This book by a teacher of statistics (as well as a consultant for \"experimenters\") is a comprehensive study of the philosophical background for the statistical design of experiment. It is necessary to have some facility with algebraic notation and manipulation to be able to use the volume intelligently. The problems are presented from the theoretical point of view, without such practical examples as would be helpful for those not acquainted with mathematics. The mathematical justification for the techniques is given. As a somewhat advanced treatment of the design and analysis of experiments, this volume will be interesting and helpful for many who approach statistics theoretically as well as practically. With emphasis on the \"why,\" and with description given broadly, the author relates the subject matter to the general theory of statistics and to the general problem of experimental inference. MARGARET J. ROBERTSON

The Design and Analysis of Experiments

Nature And Properties Of Soils

What makes a leader

A 21st century technique for food control: Electronic noses

A study was performed to assess nutrient release from biochar inoculated with solid vermicast (SVB), vermicast tea (VTB), deionized water (DWB), uninoculated biochar (Bioc), and Promix-BX (Pro-BX). The growth response of Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris) cv. Rhubarb chard was also assessed. Comparatively, nutrients were released slowly from treatments SVB and VTB compared to the other treatments. The rate of nutrient release determined by total dissolved solids and electric conductivity from the Pro-BX was the highest. The trend for the plant growth components, total leaf surface area and leaf fresh weight at first harvest, was Pro-BX > Bioc > DWB = SVB > VTB. The only treatment that increased total leaf area and leaf fresh weight at the second harvest by approximately 1.02- and 1.88-fold was VTB. Leaf fresh weight was significantly reduced by approximately 0.33-fold for DWB, 0.28-fold for Bioc, and 0.70-fold for Pro-BX but was not altered by SVB at the second harvest as compared to the first harvest. A 2-dimensional principal component analysis (PCA) biplot confirmed that treatment Pro-BX increased plant growth components at the first harvest only. The locations of SVB and VTB on the PCA biplot confirmed their efficacies, which led to increases in the plant growth components at the second harvest. Overall, the VTB adsorbed more nutrients onto its surface that were slowly released to enhance the Swiss chard cv. Rhubarb chard plant growth at the second harvest. Further studies should consider microbial activities.

https://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ija/2020/7852187.pdf

Nutrient Release Pattern and Greenhouse-Grown Swiss Chard Response to Biochar Inoculated with Vermicast

Plants are sessile, and their ability to reprogram their metabolism to adapt to fluctuations in soil water level is crucial but not clearly understood. A study was performed to determine alterations in intermediate metabolites involved in central carbon metabolism (CCM) following exposure of Mexican mint (Plectranthus amboinicus) to varying watering regimes. The water treatments were regular watering (RW), drought (DR), flooding (FL), and resumption of regular watering after flooding (DHFL) or after drought (RH). Leaf cluster formation and leaf greening were swift following the resumption of regular watering. A total of 68 key metabolites from the CCM routes were found to be significantly (p < 0.01) impacted by water stress. Calvin cycle metabolites in FL plants, glycolytic metabolites in DR plants, total tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle metabolites in DR and DHFL plants, and nucleotide biosynthetic molecules in FL and RH plants were significantly (p < 0.05) increased. Pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) metabolites were equally high in all the plants except DR plants. Total Calvin cycle metabolites had a significantly (p < 0.001) strong positive association with TCA cycle (r = 0.81) and PPP (r = 0.75) metabolites. Total PPP metabolites had a moderately positive association with total TCA cycle metabolites (r = 0.68; p < 0.01) and a negative correlation with total glycolytic metabolites (r = −0.70; p < 0.005). In conclusion, the metabolic alterations of Mexican mint plants under different watering regimes were revealed. Future studies will use transcriptomic and proteomic approaches to identify genes and proteins that regulate the CCM route.

/pdf/how-central-carbon-metabolites-of-mexican-mint-plectranthus-1sjp33t2.pdf

How Central Carbon Metabolites of Mexican Mint (Plectranthus amboinicus) Plants Are Impacted under Different Watering Regimes

In temperate climatic regions where severe winter conditions persist, the winter hardiness and fruit yield of strawberry cultivars vary greatly in perennial production systems. A 4-year study was c...

Wintering Index and Yield Traits for Early, Mid, and Late Season Strawberry for Colder Climates

The tree fruit industry in Nova Scotia, Canada, is dominated by the apple (Malus domestica) sector. However, the sector is faced with numerous challenges, including apple replant disease (ARD), which is a well-known problem in areas with intensive apple cultivation. A study was performed using 16S rRNA/18S rRNA and 16S rRNA/ITS2 amplicon sequencing to assess soil- and root-associated microbiomes, respectively, from mature apple orchards and soil microbiomes alone from uncultivated soil. The results indicated significant (p < 0.05) differences in soil microbial community structure and composition between uncultivated soil and cultivated apple orchard soil. We identified an increase in the number of potential pathogens in the orchard soil compared to uncultivated soil. At the same time, we detected a significant (p < 0.05) increase in relative abundances of several potential plant-growth-promoting or biocontrol microorganisms and non-fungal eukaryotes capable of promoting the proliferation of bacterial biocontrol agents in orchard soils. Additionally, the apple roots accumulated several potential PGP bacteria from Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria phyla, while the relative abundances of fungal taxa with the potential to contribute to ARD, such as Nectriaceae and plant pathogenic Fusarium spp., were decreased in the apple root microbiome compared to the soil microbiome. The results suggest that the health of a mature apple tree can be ascribed to a complex interaction between potential pathogenic and plant growth-promoting microorganisms in the soil and on apple roots.

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/6/1372/pdf?version=1684907779

Lord Abbey

Papers

Nutrient Release Pattern and Greenhouse-Grown Swiss Chard Response to Biochar Inoculated with Vermicast

How Central Carbon Metabolites of Mexican Mint (Plectranthus amboinicus) Plants Are Impacted under Different Watering Regimes

Wintering Index and Yield Traits for Early, Mid, and Late Season Strawberry for Colder Climates

Apple Root Microbiome as Indicator of Plant Adaptation to Apple Replant Diseased Soils

Characterization and Applications of Biocarbon Materials Produced from Spent Coffee Grounds Using Dry and Wet Methods