The genotype × environment (GE) interaction analysis is fundamental in crop breeding programs to guide selection and for recommendation of high performing and stable genotypes for breeding objectives. This study aimed at quantifying the GE interaction effects and determines grain yield stability among winter bread wheat genotypes under rainfed conditions of Iran. Twenty-four winter wheat genotypes were evaluated under nine test locations using a randomized complete blocks design with four replications during three cropping seasons (2019–21). The additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model and several parametric and nonparametric stability statistics were applied for analysis of grain yield data collected from the experiments. AMMI analysis of variance for grain yield revealed significant effects (p < 0.01) for genotype, environment, and GE interaction. The environment was the main source of variation and accounted for 83.5% of the total yield variation, followed by GE (6.5%) and genotype (1.0%) effects. The AMMI biplot analysis indicated the genotypes G3, G23, G22, G10, and G19 as high yielding with stability performance across environments. Genotypes G14, G13, G20, and G9 showed large positive interaction with the environments featuring the highest rainfall during growing season, while genotypes G7, G6, and G21 had a large positive interaction with environments with low rainfall. Spearman’s rank correlation analysis revealed that the AMMI stability value, Shukla’s stability variance (σ2i), Wricke’s ecovalence (W2i), coefficient of determination (R2i), variance in regression deviations (S2di), and nonparametric statistic of S2(i) were not correlated with mean yield in tested genotypes, showing they are related to static/biological concept of stability. In contrast, the genotypic superiority index (Pi) and regression coefficient (bi) were significantly correlated (p < 0.01) with mean yield and corresponded to dynamic/agronomic concept of stability. These findings suggest that selection of genotypes should be considered based on selection objectives of using the various stability parameters described here. In conclusion, the selected genotypes in this study should be recommended as new cultivars or parental lines for grain yield and stability improvement under rainfed conditions of Iran or similar agro-ecologies.

For an optimal performance, soccer players and referees need to consume a high-quality diet. The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) is a tool that can estimate diet quality and has been shown to be associated with body composition. The aims of the present study were first to determine the HEI-2015 score of the diets consumed by athletes and second its association with different body composition parameters of athletes. We conducted a cross-sectional study on 198 soccer players and referees. Dietary intakes were recorded using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and HEI scores were calculated. Body composition parameters were measured using the bioelectrical impedance analysis. The mean score for the HEI-2015 was 65⋅04. A multiple linear regression model showed significant associations of the HEI-2015 score with percent body fat (PBF), percent muscle mass (PMM), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) in male soccer players aged <18 years, body mass index (BMI) in male soccer players aged ≥18 years and BMI and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) in male soccer referees after adjustment for covariates (P < 0⋅05). The mean overall score for the HEI-2015 shows that Iranian soccer players and referees have an acceptable quality of diet. We also found significant associations between the HEI-2015 score and different body composition parameters in male soccer players and referees but we did not find any significant association in female athletes (P > 0⋅05).

Plasma incineration might be a promising technique for the conditioning of various radioactive waste streams. Assessing the long-term durability of the plasma slag is essential to predict its performance during long-term disposal. In this paper, the stability of six plasma treated surrogate cemented concentrates or resins in a high pH environment is investigated. The slags were crushed (2 different granulometries) and immobilized in a cement matrix, after which samples were submitted to long-term durability tests (stability under water at 20 °C; stability in a high relative humidity environment at 38 °C) and to an accelerated Alkali-Silica-Reaction (ASR) test (1 M NaOH at 80 °C). The first results show that the expansion and strength loss of the cement-slag mixtures remain limited in the test conditions, although differences between the different materials and granulometries could be perceived. No visual damage was observed. Some tests are still ongoing and will last 2 years.

OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Approximately 1.6 million Americans suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease. It is a challenge for both physicians and patients alike to manage the disease, primarily due to lack of disease specific biomarkers. Endoscopy remains the gold standard to diagnose and evaluate IBD activity. Current biomarkers or their combinations cannot adequately predict IBD progression or relapse, and response to therapy. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: In total, 97 IBD patients recruited at University of Kentucky undergoing endoscopy. Patients medical information was collected from electronic database including C-reactive protein (CRP), fecal calprotectin (FC), endoscopy/pathology report. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The mean CRP and FC levels were 1.3 (normal <1) and 679 (normal <162), respectively. FC (sensitivity 74%) was more reliable to predict mucosal inflammation compare to CRP (sensitivity 36%). However, 52% of patients did not have FC performed (vs. CRP only 4%), and 45% of these patients failed to submit stool sample for analysis. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Our data suggests FC is the most promising noninvasive marker for disease monitoring in IBD. It correlates well with endoscopic activity and mucosal inflammation. However, further analysis must be done to evaluate barriers to testing and issues with compliance from patients. We feel strongly that a blood biomarker for disease activity is vital for disease monitoring and response to therapy in IBD.

A kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) model for the simulation of the coarsening of nanoporous metals is developed and demonstrated. The model treats surface evolution through the mechanism of surface diffusion by following atoms hopping between sites on an FCC lattice. Using a generic model for event energy barriers, we are able to demonstrate trends in the simulation and show that at high temperatures, coarsening follows approximately the scaling law predicted by continuum surface diffusion theory; the behavior is less clear at low temperatures. By selecting event energies to model palladium we show that we are able to reach temperatures and time scales that have relevance to experiments and applications.

It is emerging that benefits of new innovations in agricultural biotechnology may not be realised without appropriate biosafety regulatory mechanisms. The Kenyan regulatory experiences related to regulation of genetically engineered (GE) agricultural activities are explored to provide some basis for defining the challenges involved in biosafety regulation. The various shortcomings in the way the Kenyan biosafety process has been implemented are consistent with the way regulatory systems have been evolving in Africa. The proposed adoption of a “smart regulation” provides the basis for a learning process through which subsequent biotechnology policy initiatives can be improved.

The TRISO fuel that is intended to be used for the generation IV nuclear reactor design consists of a fuel kernel of Uranium Oxide (UOx) coated in several layers of materials with different functions. One consideration for some of these layers is Silicon Carbide (SiC) [1]. The design, manufacture and fabrication of SiC are done at the Center for Irradiation of Materials (CIM). This light weight material can maintain dimensional and chemical stability in adverse environments and very high temperatures. The characterization of the elemental makeup of the SiC material used is done using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Nano-indentation is used to determine the hardness, stiffness and Young's Modulus of the material. Raman Spectroscopy is used to characterize the chemical bonding for different sample preparation temperatures.

The TRISO fuel has been used in some of the Generation IV nuclear reactor designs [1,2]. It consists of a fuel kernel of UOx coated with several layers of materials with different functions. Pyrolytic carbon (PyC) is one of the materials in the layers. In this study we investigate the possibility of using Glassy Polymeric Carbon (GPC) as an alternative to PyC. In this work, we are comparing the changes in physical and microstructure properties of GPC after exposure to irradiation fluence of 5 MeV Au equivalent to a 1 displacement per atom (dpa) at samples prepared at 1000, 1500 and 2000°C. The GPC material is manufactured and tested at the Center for Irradiation Materials (CIM) at Alabama A&M University. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy were used for the analysis.

This paper reports on preparation and characterization of Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate (KDP) crystals doped with Potassium Dichromate (PD). The crystals were grown at room temperature by solution evaporation technique. The grown crystals were polished, sliced, and analyzed using UV-Spectrophotometer, which showed high concentration of PD impurities in KDP crystals at 200-280 nanometer. These concentrations were then verified using ICP measurements to determine specific amount in ppm of chromium ions in KDP crystals. In additional to that, the UV-transmittance data of these crystals were then converted to absorbance per thickness, and used to calculate absorption coefficients, extinction coefficients, and refractive index as a function of wavelength. The results showed that the presence of PD impurities in the crystal matrix of KDP has played a key reformative role in the UV sensing of Potassium Diphosphate crystals.

Given a first order elliptic partial differential equation we construct a solution which solves a given Riemann–Hilbert boundary value problem whose coefficients have singularities of the first kind at a finite number of some prescribed isolated points and are Holder–continuous outside those points while the free term has a finite number of integrable power singularities at some prescribed points. It is shown that the solution belongs to some weighted Sobolev space $W_{1, p}(D; \rho)$, where the weight function $\rho = \rho(z; \partial D)$ is the distance of the variable point $z$ from the boundary $\partial D$ raised to a certain power. The problem is solved by first reducing it to an analogous problem for holomorphic functions. The latter is then solved.