Big Differences (big + difference)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Expression of resistance to Leptosphaeria maculans in Brassica napus double haploid lines in France and Australia is influenced by location

ANNALS OF APPLIED BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2008
R. Delourme
Abstract Blackleg, caused by Leptosphaeria maculans, is a major disease of oilseed rape (Brassica napus), worldwide, including Australia and France. The aims of these studies were first, to determine if higher levels of resistance to L. maculans could be generated in double haploid (DH) lines derived from spring-type B. napus cv. Grouse, which has a good level of field resistance to blackleg; and second, to determine whether the resistance to blackleg disease of individual DH lines responds differentially to different L. maculans field populations within and between the two countries. DH lines were extracted from cv. Grouse and tested in field experiments carried out in both France and Australia against natural L. maculans populations. Extracting and screening DH lines were an effective means to select individual lines with greatly improved expression of resistance to blackleg crown canker disease in comparison with the original parental population. However, relative disease resistance rankings for DH lines were not always consistent between sites. The higher level of resistance in France was shown to be because of a high expression level of quantitative resistance in the French growing conditions. Big differences were observed for some DH lines between the 2004 and the 2005 field sites in Australia where the L. maculans populations differed by their virulence on single dominant gene-based resistant lines derived from Brassica rapa ssp. sylvestris. This differential behaviour could not be clearly explained by the specific resistance genes until now identified in these DH lines. This investigation highlights the potential to derive DH lines with superior levels of resistance to L. maculans compared with parental populations. However, in locations with particularly high pathogen diversity, such as in southern Australia, multiyear and multisite evaluations should be performed to screen for the most efficient material in different situations. [source]


How you assess quit attempts for smoking makes a big difference to your results

ADDICTION, Issue 11 2008
JOHN A. CUNNINGHAM
No abstract is available for this article. [source]


Rotational motion of a discretized buckled beam

PROCEEDINGS IN APPLIED MATHEMATICS & MECHANICS, Issue 1 2006
H. Troger
We study a simple discretized model of a vertical cylindrical beam with circular cross-section which is clamped at its lower end and free at its upper end. If the beam is longer than a critical length the initially straight configuration will loose its stability and the beam will buckle due to its own weight. Now the base of the buckled beam is rotated about its vertical axis. Several different families of steady state motions are detected for the undamped system. Their stability is investigated. Moreover it is shown that there is a big difference in the behavior of the discretized model of the beam whether internal damping is included in the model or not. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Performance measurement in mental health care: present situation and future possibilities

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2010
Irma J. Baars
Abstract This paper describes performance measurement and its indicators for mental health care services. Performance measurement can serve several goals such as accountability, quality improvement and performance management. For all three purposes structure, process and outcome indicators should be measured. Literature was retrieved from Medline and PsychInfo in order to see which performance indicators were used for the three purposes of performance measurement in mental health care. The indicators were classified in structure, process and outcome indicators. The results show no big differences in the indicators used among studies. Performance management is the performance measurement purpose most referred to, followed by accountability, and quality improvement. Outcome and process indicators are used most, structure indicators are in the minority. Several levels of measurement, that is national or service level, came forward in the literature review. To overcome misinterpretation of data and to be able to improve quality and manage performances, performance indicator sets should refer to structure, process and outcome. Indicators should be chosen carefully with the aim of the measurement taken into mind. Based on this review, a conceptual framework is presented to support managers in their decisions about which indictors can best be used for performance measurement. Additionally, a model that provides an understanding of the use of information gained by performance measurement is given. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Occurrence of the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella L.) and its parasitoids in Ethiopia: influence of geographical region and agronomic traits

JOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 6-7 2006
G. Ayalew
Abstract:, Surveys were carried out in 2001 in brassica-producing areas of Ethiopia to determine the geographic distribution and severity of diamondback moth (DBM) and occurrence of indigenous parasitoids. Principal component analysis was used to analyse the importance of nine parameters , DBM density, parasitism by different parasitoid species (Oomyzus sokolowskii, Diadegma spp., Apanteles sp. and overall parasitism), cropping systems, pesticide use, frequency of pesticide application and altitude. A total of 194 brassica fields in 13 different areas were visited. Principal component analysis showed that the first two of the nine principal components (largely DBM density and pesticide use) accounted for 70% of the variation in the data set. Higher DBM numbers were associated with pesticide usage and higher overall parasitism with intercropping. Eight parasitoid species were recorded of which three species were important both in distribution and level of parasitism. These include Oomyzus sokolowskii (Hym., Eulophidae), Diadegma spp. (Hym., Ichneumonidae) and Apanteles sp. (Hym., Braconidae). Overall parasitism ranged from 3.6% to 79.5% with big differences between areas. Apanteles sp. and Diadegma spp. were largely confined to the south-western part of Ethiopia where insecticide use is minimal. Oomyzus sokolowskii is mainly distributed in areas of the Rift Valley and northern Ethiopia with relatively heavy insecticide use. This study indicated a huge impact of repeated insecticide treatment and agronomic practices on DBM severity and its parasitoids. [source]


Cosmological hydrogen recombination: populations of the high-level substates

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 4 2007
J. Chluba
ABSTRACT We present results for the spectral distortions of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) arising due to bound,bound transitions during the epoch of cosmological hydrogen recombination at frequencies down to ,,100 MHz. We extend our previous treatment of the recombination problem now including the main collisional processes and following the evolution of all the hydrogen angular momentum substates for up to 100 shells. We show that, due to the low baryon density of the Universe, even within the highest considered shell full statistical equilibrium (SE) is not reached and that at low frequencies the recombination spectrum is significantly different when assuming full SE for n > 2. We also directly compare our results for the ionization history to the output of the recfast code, showing that especially at low redshifts rather big differences arise. In the vicinity of the Thomson visibility function the electron fraction differs by roughly ,0.6 per cent which affects the temperature and polarization power spectra by , 1 per cent. Furthermore, we shortly discuss the influence of free,free absorption and line broadening due to electron scattering on the bound,bound recombination spectrum and the generation of CMB angular fluctuations due to scattering of photons within the high shells. [source]


The Effect of Trivalent Cations on the Performance of Mg-M-CO3 Layered Double Hydroxides for High-Temperature CO2 Capture

CHEMSUSCHEM CHEMISTRY AND SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY & MATERIALS, Issue 8 2010
Qiang Wang Dr.
Abstract The effect of trivalent cations on the performance of Mg-M-CO3 (M=Al, Fe, Ga, Mn) layered double hydroxides (LDHs) for high-temperature CO2 capture is systematically investigated for the first time. We demonstrate that the M3+ determines the structure evolution of LDH derivatives under thermal treatment, and finally influences the CO2 capture capacity. Very different calcination temperatures are required for the different LDHs to obtain their maximum CO2 capture capacities. To have a clear understanding of the reason behind these big differences the physicochemical properties, thermal stability, and memory effect of the LDHs were investigated. Both the thermal stability and the memory effect of LDHs are greatly influenced by the type of trivalent cation. The CO2 capture capacities were also evaluated under various conditions. Another important finding of this work is that the quasi-amorphous phase obtained by thermal treatment at the lowest possible temperature gives the highest CO2 capture capacity. [source]