Crop scientists break down barriers at ames meeting

For years, crop science has been balkanized, with specialists in rice, corn, and soybeans, for example, working on their own commodities and attending their own meetings. But at the First International Crop Science Congress, held in July in Ames, Iowa-an 8-day event 3 years in the making-the discipline displayed a newfound hybrid vigor. More than 1000 researchers of various persuasions, including plant molecular biology, classical plant breeding, agronomy, and soil science, representing 85 countries, shared their expertise in basic and applied studies. Here are a couple of proposals for expanding world food production and another that shows the diverse roles crops can play.     

Preliminary observations on the training of Burmese elephants using xylazine

A traditional elephant training method was chosen to be modified by the use of xylazine as a sedative and muscle relaxant. Three elephant calves with different degrees of tameness were trained using xylazine. The drug was helpful in the training process. Xylazine made restraint of the elephants much easier and safer. During training, repeated doses of xylazine were used to prevent beatings, the wounds worsening and to pacify the elephants. The tamest elephant calf was punished less and took less time to be trained than the others. It is important to play with elephant calves to win their acceptance of man. A tame calf still needs training to learn about fettering, walking, sitting, etc. Elephants need to be considered man's working companions, and deserve sympathy and humane treatment.     

The legitimacy of single and group housing of breeding sows]

Current German law on animal rights requires protection and appropriate treatment of animals. However, information on breeding and raising swine is incomplete, and comparison studies of alternative housing systems are needed. Therefore, the effects of single and group housing of pregnant sows on piglet production was investigated in the 120-sow herd of the Institute for Animal Breeding and Husbandry of the University of Kiel. Reproductive traits, general health and behaviour studies were evaluated over one year. Type of housing system was found to have no effect on number of piglets born alive or dead or on days open. Daily gain was influenced. Daily gain of single-housed sows increased but without any difference in feed intake. General health was measured by nutritional condition, soiling, callosity, and injuries at time of evaluation. Single-housed sows had more calluses and were more soiled compared with group-housed sows. Injuries occurred more often in group housing, especially when new animals were integrated into the group. However, injuries were not serious. Animal behaviour was recorded on video during one pregnancy period of 60 sows. The housing system effected "sitting" and "lying" behaviour. Behaviour also is influenced by pregnancy in both housing systems. Equal incidences of abnormal behaviour, considered as sham-chewing, were found in both housing systems.     

Growth and erosion of thin solid films

Thin films that are grown by the process of sputtering are, by and large, quite unlike the smooth, featureless structures that one might expect. In general, these films have a complicated surface morphology and an extended network of grooves and voids in their interiors. Such features can have a profound effect on the physical properties of a thin film. The surface irregularities and the bulk defects are the result of a growth instability due to competitive shadowing, an effect that also plays a role in geological processes such as erosion. For amorphous thin films, the shadow instability can be described by a remarkably simple model, which can be shown to reproduce many important observed characteristics of thin film morphology.