Evaluation of suicide awareness programmes delivered to veterinary undergraduates and academic staff

In an effort to increase suicide awareness skills among veterinary undergraduates, a three-hour suicide awareness workshop (safeTALK) was delivered to third-year Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies undergraduates as part of their professional development curriculum. Students were able to opt out of the session by contacting the course organisers. A total of 26 of 151 (17 per cent) third-year students attended the workshop, and 17 completed a feedback questionnaire. The vast majority of the students reported that after completing the workshop they were more likely or much more likely to recognise the signs of a person at risk of suicide, approach a person at risk of suicide, ask a person about suicide, and connect a person at risk of suicide with help. Five veterinary academics attended a two-day Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) course, and all reported that the course was effective in improving suicide awareness and intervention skills.     

Comparative growth of two peach seedling rootstocks under alkaline soil conditions

An almond X peach seed line, ‘Titan’ X Nemaguard (T X NG), which is tolerant to lime‐induced chlorosis, was compared to a susceptible seedling rootstock, Nemared, under alkaline conditions. The tolerant rootstock's growth was not affected by Fe stress, whereas the susceptible rootstock showed chlorosis which corresponded to approximately a 20% chlorophyll loss in the new foliage during the 18‐week stress period, a 62% decrease in shoot dry weight and a 22% decrease in plant height.     

Iron chlorosis development and growth response of peach rootstocks to bicarbonate 1

For dicots, bicarbonate (HCO₃‐) is regarded as a main factor in the induction of iron (Fe) chlorosis in calcareous soils, and sand and solution culture. In sand culture experiments, peach [Prunus persica (Batsch) L.] rootstock developed chlorosis only when HCO₃‐ levels were equal to or higher than 6 mM. Above this level, chlorosis increaeed as HCO3‐ level was increased. In spite of the lack of chlorosis at to or below 6 mM of HCO₃‐, large growth reductions (40–60% reduction in fresh shoot weight) were seen in all rootstocks, although the tolerant rootstock had less reduction than the more susceptible rootstocks. Shoot growth was affected by HCO₃‐ more than was root growth.     

Effect of buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) on soil‐phosphorus availability and organic acids

As a cover crop, buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) may increase soil‐P availability. Buckwheat was grown in low‐P and P‐fertilized field plots, and organic anions were measured in rhizosphere soil. Soil‐P availability was not affected by buckwheat, but the concentration of rhizosphere tartrate^2– was significantly higher (p < 0.005) in low‐P vs. P‐fertilized plots. This suggests that organic‐anion root exudation may have a role in buckwheat‐rhizosphere P dynamics.     

Comparison of water trap pans and leaf counts as sampling techniques for green peach aphids on potatoes

Green peach aphid populations were monitored by using water trap pans and by taking leaf samples in 38 southwestern Idaho potato fields from 1972 to 1975. Numbers of winged aphids in trap pans were correlated with populations of aphids developing in adjacent fields but were not predictive of future population trends. Trap pan data are, however, useful in alerting growers to the possibility of damaging field populations which exist in a field at the time of sampling.     

Association analysis reveals effects of wheat glutenin alleles and rye translocations on dough-mixing properties

The glutenin loci of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) are important determinants of bread-making quality, although the effects of alleles at those loci are incompletely understood. We applied an association analysis method to assess the effects of glutenin alleles and 1RS wheat–rye (Secale cereale L.) translocations on dough-mixing properties in 96 wheat cultivars and advanced lines grown at three Colorado locations while accounting for population structure and relatedness of individuals in the population. The results indicated that (1) in the majority of cases, controlling relatedness of individuals reduced the significance of associations between glutenin loci and Mixograph traits; (2) the Glu-D1 and Glu-B3 loci and 1RS translocations had greater impacts on dough-mixing properties compared to other glutenin loci; (3) Glu-B1w, Glu-D1d, and Glu-B3b were consistently associated with greater (more favorable) Mixograph peak time (MPT) than other alleles at the respective loci, whereas Glu-B1e, Glu-D1a, and Glu-B3c were associated with reduced MPT; (4) the 1BL.1RS translocation was associated with a decrease in Mixograph properties. Our results indicate that taking multiple-level relatedness of individuals into account can improve the results of association analysis for wheat-quality traits.     

In vivo inhibition of esterase and acetylcholinesterase activities by profenofos treatments in the tobacco whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Genn.): Implications for routine biochemical monitoring of these enzymes

Insecticide-resistant populations of the tobacco whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Genn.), lost over 90% of esterase activity and approximately 20% of acetylcholinesterase activity after treatment with 500 g/ha profenofos under field-simulated conditions. A more detailed study showed that esterase activity was completely inhibited within 2 days in insects confined on single cotton leaves treated with 50 g/ha profenofos (LD10) thereby preventing their discrimination from susceptibles which normally have low activity. However, esterase activity recovered sufficiently within 3 days when insects were transferred from the treated to untreated cotton leaves, thus enabling their correct classification as resistant. The inhibition/recovery profile for acetylcholinesterase closely followed that of the esterase system.