The COllaborative project of Development of Anthropometrical measures in Twins (CODATwins) project is a large international collaborative effort to analyze individual-level phenotype data from twins in multiple cohorts from different environments. The main objective is to study factors that modify genetic and environmental variation of height, body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) and size at birth, and additionally to address other research questions such as long-term consequences of birth size. The project started in 2013 and is open to all twin projects in the world having height and weight measures on twins with information on zygosity. Thus far, 54 twin projects from 24 countries have provided individual-level data. The CODATwins database includes 489,981 twin individuals (228,635 complete twin pairs). Since many twin cohorts have collected longitudinal data, there is a total of 1,049,785 height and weight observations. For many cohorts, we also have information on birth weight and length, own smoking behavior and own or parental education. We found that the heritability estimates of height and BMI systematically changed from infancy to old age. Remarkably, only minor differences in the heritability estimates were found across cultural–geographic regions, measurement time and birth cohort for height and BMI. In addition to genetic epidemiological studies, we looked at associations of height and BMI with education, birth weight and smoking status. Within-family analyses examined differences within same-sex and opposite-sex dizygotic twins in birth size and later development. The CODATwins project demonstrates the feasibility and value of international collaboration to address gene-by-exposure interactions that require large sample sizes and address the effects of different exposures across time, geographical regions and socioeconomic status.

Milking cows once a day (OAD) is a herd management practice that may help to reduce working effort and labour demand in dairy farms. However, a decrease in milk yield per cow occurs in OAD systems compared with twice a day (TAD) systems and this may affect profitability of dairy systems. The objective of this study was to assess productive and economic impact and risk of reducing milking frequency from TAD to OAD for grazing dairy systems, using a whole-farm model. Five scenarios were evaluated by deterministic and stochastic simulations: one scenario under TAD milking (TADAR) and four scenarios under OAD milking. The OAD scenarios assumed that milk yield per cow decreased by 30% (OAD30), 24% (OAD24), 19% (OAD19) and 10% (OAD10), compared with TADAR scenario, based on experimental and commercial farms data. Stocking rate (SR) was increased in all OAD scenarios compared to TADAR and two levels of reduction in labour cost were tested, namely 15% and 30%. Milk and concentrate feeds prices, and pasture and crop yields, were allowed to behave stochastically to account for market and climate variations, respectively, to perform risk analyses. Scenario OAD10 showed similar milk yield per ha compared with TADAR, as the increased SR compensated for the reduction in milk yield per cow. For scenarios OAD30, OAD24 and OAD19 the greater number of cows per ha partially compensated for the reduction of milk yield per cow and milk yield per ha decreased 21%, 15% and 10%, respectively, compared with TADAR. Farm operating profit per ha per year also decreased in all OAD scenarios compared with TADAR, and were US$684, US$161, US$ 303, US$424 and US$598 for TADAR, OAD30, OAD24, OAD19, OAD10, respectively, when labour cost was reduced 15% in OAD scenarios. When labour cost was reduced 30% in OAD scenarios, only OAD10 showed higher profit (US$706) than TADAR. Stochastic simulations showed that exposure to risk would be higher in OAD scenarios compared with TADAR. Results showed that OAD milking systems might be an attractive alternative for farmers who can either afford a reduction in profit to gain better and more flexible working conditions or can minimise milk yield loss and greatly reduce labour cost.

We present an indentation-scope that interfaces with confocal microscopy, enabling direct observation of the three-dimensional (3D) microstructural response of coatings on substrates. Using this method, we compared microns-thick polymer coatings on glass with and without silica nanoparticle filler. Bulk force data confirmed the >30% modulus difference, while microstructural data further revealed slip at the glass-coating interface. Filled coatings slipped more and about two times faster, as reflected in 3D displacement and von Mises strain fields. Overall, these data indicate that silica-doping of coatings can dramatically alter adhesion. Moreover, this method compliments existing theoretical and modeling approaches for studying indentation in layered systems.

Whether monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins differ from each other in a variety of phenotypes is important for genetic twin modeling and for inferences made from twin studies in general. We analyzed whether there were differences in individual, maternal and paternal education between MZ and DZ twins in a large pooled dataset. Information was gathered on individual education for 218,362 adult twins from 27 twin cohorts (53% females; 39% MZ twins), and on maternal and paternal education for 147,315 and 143,056 twins respectively, from 28 twin cohorts (52% females; 38% MZ twins). Together, we had information on individual or parental education from 42 twin cohorts representing 19 countries. The original education classifications were transformed to education years and analyzed using linear regression models. Overall, MZ males had 0.26 (95% CI [0.21, 0.31]) years and MZ females 0.17 (95% CI [0.12, 0.21]) years longer education than DZ twins. The zygosity difference became smaller in more recent birth cohorts for both males and females. Parental education was somewhat longer for fathers of DZ twins in cohorts born in 1990–1999 (0.16 years, 95% CI [0.08, 0.25]) and 2000 or later (0.11 years, 95% CI [0.00, 0.22]), compared with fathers of MZ twins. The results show that the years of both individual and parental education are largely similar in MZ and DZ twins. We suggest that the socio-economic differences between MZ and DZ twins are so small that inferences based upon genetic modeling of twin data are not affected.

The Square Kilometre Array will be an amazing instrument for pulsar astronomy. While the full SKA will be sensitive enough to detect all pulsars in the Galaxy visible from Earth, already with SKA1, pulsar searches will discover enough pulsars to increase the currently known population by a factor of four, no doubt including a range of amazing unknown sources. Real time processing is needed to deal with the 60 PB of pulsar search data collected per day, using a signal processing pipeline required to perform more than 10 POps. Here we present the suggested design of the pulsar search engine for the SKA and discuss challenges and solutions to the pulsar search venture.

The response of oat, foxtail millet, proso millet, and sunflower to atrazine and clomazone applied the previous fall was investigated two years in field studies near Akron, CO and Sidney, NE. Foxtail millet biomass, and proso millet and sunflower grain yields were not reduced when these crops were seeded into soil that had been treated the previous fall with atrazine and/or clomazone at rates of 0.6 or 1.1 kg ai/ha. Forage yield of oat was reduced 11 to 18% by some treatments, but this effect was not consistent over years or sites. Treatments containing 1.1 kg/ha of atrazine provided 1 to 5 wk of residual weed control in foxtail millet, proso millet, and sunflower. The study indicated that producers have flexibility in crop selection when using atrazine and clomazone in reduced- and no-till production systems.

When glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] was fed through the transpiration stream of excised bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. ‘Red Kidney’) shoots, it was readily absorbed and transported to the leaves where it inhibited transpiration. Maximum inhibition (40 to 50%) resulted from tissue concentrations of 50 to 3000 nmoles glyphosate/g fresh weight, while transpiration was significantly inhibited (20%) by as little as 15 nmoles/g fresh weight. A combination of 5 X 10-4M tyrosine (Tyr) and 5 x 10-4M phenylalanine (Phe) supplied continuously through the transpiration stream prevented the inhibition of transpiration by glyphosate during the course of 8-h experiments. Tyrosine (10-3M) alone delayed the transpiration response to glyphosate by 2 to 3 h but 10-3M Phe alone did not affect the inhibition by glyphosate. Levels of endogenous Tyr and Phe were about 50% lower in glyphosate-treated leaves than in the controls 6 h after treatment.

Crop yield loss–weed density relationships critically influence calculation of economic thresholds and the resulting management recommendations made by a bioeconomic model. To examine site-to-site and year-to-year variation in winter Triticum aestivum L. (winter wheat)–Aegilops cylindrica Host. (jointed goatgrass) interference relationships, the rectangular hyperbolic yield loss function was fit to data sets from multiyear field experiments conducted at Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The model was fit to three measures of A. cylindrica density: fall seedling, spring seedling, and reproductive tiller densities. Two parameters: i, the slope of the yield loss curve as A. cylindrica density approaches zero, and a, the maximum percentage yield loss as A. cylindrica density becomes very large, were estimated for each data set using nonlinear regression. Fit of the model to the data was better using spring seedling densities than fall seedling densities, but it was similar for spring seedling and reproductive tiller densities based on the residual mean square (RMS) values. Yield loss functions were less variable among years within a site than among sites for all measures of weed density. For the one site where year-to-year variation was observed (Archer, WY), parameter a varied significantly among years, but parameter i did not. Yield loss functions differed significantly among sites for 7 of 10 comparisons. Site-to-site statistical differences were generally due to variation in estimates of parameter i. Site-to-site and year-to-year variation in winter T. aestivum–A. cylindrica yield loss parameter estimates indicated that management recommendations made by a bioeconomic model cannot be based on a single yield loss function with the same parameter values for the winter T. aestivum-producing region. The predictive ability of a bioeconomic model is likely to be improved when yield loss functions incorporating time of emergence and crop density are built into the model's structure.

We compared applications of trifluralin or ethalfluralin granules incorporated with a sweep plow or pendimethalin (ec) applied without incorporation to incorporating trifluralin (ec) by tandem-disk harrowing for sunflower production. The study was established in winter wheat stubble at three sites in the northern and central Great Plains. Crop residues on the soil surface following sunflower planting was greater than 30% (level required to protect soil from erosion) with all conservation-tillage strategies, but not with disk incorporation. Weed control and sunflower seed yield with conservation-tillage strategies were similar to the disk incorporation practice, demonstrating that producers can use these strategies for sunflower production and to protect soil from erosion.

Spray and granular forms of isopropyl N-(3-chlorophenyl)-carbamate (CIPC, ethyl N,N-dipropylthiocarbamate (EPTC), a,a,a-trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-p-toluidine (trifluralin) and 2,4-bis(isopropylamino) -6-methylmercapto-s-triazine (prometryne) were incorporated preemergence to barnyardgrass Echinochloa crusgalli (1.) Beauv.) and broadleaf weeds with a rotary tiller, wheel hoe, rotary spike, or row wheel into pre-irrigated or dry soil at three locations. The locations varied in type of soil, climatic conditions, and the species of broadleaf weeds. Rotary tiller incorporation generally resulted in best weed control with both spray and granular forms under all conditions. Herbicides usually performed best in pre-irrigated soil. Sprays and granules were equal in performance at coastal and intermediate locations; granules were more effective in the desert location. Herbicidal effectiveness was influenced by method of incorporation, form of treatment, soil moisture, environmental location, and weed type.