Tolerance of nine rice varieties to clomazone at 1.12 kg ai/ha was evaluated from 2000 to 2002. Rice injury was 27 to 51% at 14 d after treatment (DAT) and reduced to 5 to 30% at 42 DAT with long-grain ‘Drew’ having less injury compared with all medium-grain varieties. Medium- grain ‘Earl’ and ‘LL-401’ were injured most compared with all other varieties at 42 DAT. Plant height was reduced by clomazone with all varieties except Drew at 34 DAT. Clomazone also reduced plant population of Earl, LL-401, and ‘Wells’, but other varieties were not affected at 34 DAT. However, rice grain yield reduction was only observed with LL-401. These results indicate that differential tolerance to clomazone exists among rice varieties.

Effect of weed interference duration and weed-free period on glufosinate-resistant rice was evaluated in 1998 and 1999. Weed interference for more than 2 wk reduced plant height 12 wk after emergence compared with the season-long weed-free treatment. Grain yield loss of 1,090 to 4,880 kg/ha was observed when weeds were allowed to interfere with rice from 2 wk to season-long. The weed-free period study indicated that early control of weeds could sustain rice growth and yield potential. This research suggests that effective weed control from 1 to 6 wk after rice emergence is important in fields with high weed densities for maximizing yield potential of glufosinate-resistant rice.

At 14 d after treatment (DAT), glufosinate-resistant CPRS PB-13 rice was injured with early- and late-season glufosinate applications in 1998 and 1999. At 35 DAT, injury was less than 5%. Glufosinate delayed CPRS PB-13 heading by 7 to 15 d and reduced plant height at harvest but did not affect grain moisture and yield compared with the nontreated CPRS PB-13. But yield was reduced compared with conventional Cypress. At 14 DAT, glufosinate-resistant BNGL HC-11/62 rice was injured with early- and late-season applications. Treated BNGL HC-11/62 reached 50% heading 3 to 5 d later than did the nontreated. An application of glufosinate reduced plant height and increased grain moisture compared with the nontreated. Rice treated at the three- to five-leaf, preboot, and boot timings resulted in reduced yields compared with the nontreated BNGL HC-11/62.

Imazethapyr-based weed control treatments were evaluated in water-seeded imidazolinone-resistant (IR) rice in Louisiana in 2000 and 2001. Treatments included imazethapyr applied to soil before seedling flood (surface [SURF] applied) or no soil application (no SURF), followed by imazethapyr applied postemergence (POST). Averaged over SURF application treatments (SURF, no SURF), all imazethapyr mixtures increased control of barnyardgrass at 14 and 42 d after POST treatment (DAT) compared with imazethapyr alone. Treatments containing imazethapyr-applied SURF followed by POST treatments controlled red rice 90 to 96% at 21 DAT. Alligatorweed and hemp sesbania control increased with POST mixtures compared with imazethapyr-only treatments at 35 DAT. Rice yield increased with imazethapyr applied SURF compared with no SURF application, averaged over POST applications. Other herbicides will be required to control troublesome weeds such as hemp sesbania and alligatorweed in an IR rice production system.

The efficacy of imazethapyr in drill-seeded imidazolinone-resistant rice was evaluated in Louisiana in 2000 and 2001. Imazethapyr was applied preemergence (PRE), or no PRE, followed by a postemergence (POST) application of imazethapyr alone, or in a mixture with bensulfuron, bentazon plus aciflurofen, carfentrazone, halosulfuron, propanil plus molinate, triclopyr, or V-10029. Imazethapyr applied PRE followed by a POST application of imazethapyr controlled barnyardgrass equivalent to or higher than other treatments evaluated. Red rice control at 35 days after postemergence treatment (DAT) was 66 to 81% with imazethapyr applied PRE followed by any POST application, but a reduction in control was observed with a POST application of imazethapyr. Although alligatorweed control increased with POST applications, these treatments suggested only suppression. Hemp sesbania control never exceeded 10% with imazethapyr-only treatments and at 35 DAT, all POST applications, except bensulfuron, increased control above 84%. Rice yield increased with treatments receiving a PRE application of imazethapyr compared with no imazethapyr applied PRE.

A study was conducted in 2000 and 2001 to evaluate interaction of fenoxaprop with other herbicides for barnyardgrass control in rice. Changes in herbicide interaction over time were also evaluated, and herbicide combinations were ranked on the basis of compatibility. Fenoxaprop at 0.075 kg/ha plus bentazon or propanil plus molinate resulted in an additive response for barnyardgrass control at 10, 20, and 30 d after treatment (DAT); however, when the rate of fenoxaprop increased to 0.089 kg/ha, an antagonistic effect was found. Carfentrazone and halosulfuron consistently antagonized the activity of fenoxaprop at both rates on barnyardgrass. Bensulfuron at 10 and 20 DAT and triclopyr at 20 DAT were antagonistic to fenoxaprop. An increase in interaction over time was detected when fenoxaprop at 0.089 kg/ha was applied in mixture with carfentrazone at 0.04 kg/ha or halosulfuron at 0.05 kg/ha. These results indicate that propanil plus molinate and bentazon are more compatible with fenoxaprop at 0.075 kg/ha for barnyardgrass control, whereas bensulfuron, carfentrazone, halosulfuron, and triclopyr can antagonize fenoxaprop activity on barnyardgrass.

Seeds were collected from field-grown glufosinate-resistant rice treated at various growth stages from the one-leaf through the boot stage with glufosinate at 0.84 kg ai/ha. The collected seeds were evaluated for 100-count seed weights, germination, and seedling vigor. Germination of the long-grain transformant CPRS PB-13 at five temperatures was unaffected by glufosinate treatment or temperature. At 14 d after initiation, germination of the medium-grain transformant BNGL HC-11/62 was reduced at 22 C when treated at the preboot timing. One hundred–count seed weights and seedling vigor were not affected for either glufosinate-resistant line.

A laboratory study was conducted in 2003 at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA, to evaluate the interactive effects of bensulfuron or halosulfuron on clomazone in terms of rice foliar bleaching and chlorophyll content. Clomazone was applied alone at 0 and 1.227 μg/ml (672 g/ha) or in combination with bensulfuron at 0.0276 μg ai/ml (42 g ai/ha) or halosulfuron at 0.0345 μg ai/ml (53 g ai/ha) in a hydroponic solution. Bensulfuron and halosulfuron were also applied alone. Rice cultivars evaluated included short-grain ‘Pirogue’, medium-grain ‘Bengal’, and long-grain ‘Cocodrie’. Bensulfuron and halosulfuron, applied in a hydroponic solution, safened medium-grain Bengal, long-grain Cocodrie, and short-grain Pirogue at 21 d after treatment (DAT) from foliar bleaching caused by clomazone. Chlorophyll a and b and total chlorophyll content of all three rice cultivars decreased when treated with clomazone treatment. Only chlorophyll content of Cocodrie was increased by the addition of bensulfuron and halosulfuron compared with a single application of clomazone.

A study was conducted to evaluate weed control with imazethapyr applied at different timings or a combination of timings with or without an early POST application of bensulfuron, bentazon plus aciflurofen, bispyribac, carfentrazone, halosulfuron, propanil plus molinate, or triclopyr in drill-seeded imidazolinone-resistant rice. Control of barnyardgrass, red rice, and alligatorweed was insufficient with imazethapyr at 87 g/ha PRE or at 53 g/ha late POST alone. Imazethapyr at 87 g/ha PRE followed by imazethapyr at 53 g/ha late POST controlled red rice 86% or greater but did not control hemp sesbania. The imazethapyr PRE followed by late POST combination was also weak on barnyardgrass and alligatorweed early in the season. The addition of an early POST application of the other herbicides to the imazethapyr combination improved overall weed control, especially hemp sesbania control. Among the early POST herbicides, bispyribac, carfentrazone, or propanil plus molinate were more effective in helping improve the overall weed control, resulting in better rice grain yield.

The response of rice and barnyardgrass to clomazone rates (0.22, 0.45, 0.67, 0.9, and 1.12 kg ai/ha) and application timings of preplant incorporated, preemergence (PRE), and delayed PRE (DPRE) were evaluated from 1997 to 1999. Rice bleaching at 14 d after planting (DAP) increased from 5 to 35% as the clomazone rate increased. At 14 and 49 DAP, barnyardgrass control decreased with clomazone at 0.22 kg/ha compared with control at higher rates. Clomazone at 0.22 kg/ha resulted in lower grain yield. Clomazone PRE caused less rice bleaching and lower grain yield compared with DPRE timings. These results indicate that initial bleaching by high clomazone rates may not translate into yield loss. Higher clomazone rates may increase rice yield by improving weed control.

When herbicides are applied in mixture, and infestation by weeds is less than expected compared with when herbicides are applied alone, a synergistic effect is said to exist. The inverse response is described as being antagonistic. However, if the expected response is defined as a multiplicative, nonlinear function of the means for the herbicides when applied alone, then standard linear model methodology for tests of hypotheses does not apply directly. Consequently, nonlinear mixed-model methodology was explored using the nonlinear mixed-model procedure (PROC NLMIXED) of SAS System®. Generality of the methodology is illustrated using data from a randomized block design with repeated measures in time. Nonlinear mixed-model estimates and tests of synergistic and antagonistic effects were more sensitive in detecting significance, and PROC NLMIXED was a versatile tool for implementation.

Rice was planted at 78 kg/ha with different densities of creeping rivergrass. Creeping rivergrass at stand densities (SD) of 10,000 to 70,000 stolon segments/ha produced 5.4 to 6 stolons per introduced segment; however, 130,000 through 520,000 SD produced 1.4 to 2.1 stolons per segment. Stolon production was 60,000 plants/ha and increased to 760,000 stolons/ha at planting densities of 10,000 to 520,000/ha, respectively. The 260,000 and 520,000 SD produced similar stolon lengths of 217 and 318 km/ha; however, stolon length was less at lower SD. Total node production was 290,000 nodes per ha with an average of 29 nodes per segment in the 10,000 SD and 5.4 to 9.8 nodes per segment with 70,000 or greater SD. Total biomass increased as SD increased. Creeping rivergrass shoot emergence from soil was 31, 63, 44, and 25% for segments planted at 0, 1.3, 2.5, and 5 cm deep, respectively. In a greenhouse study, glyphosate at 1,260 g ai/ha controlled creeping rivergrass 91% and biomass production was 19% of the nontreated creeping rivergrass. Bispyribac, cyhalofop, fenoxaprop/s, fenoxaprop/s plus fenoxaprop, glufosinate, imazethapyr, penoxsulam, propanil, and quinclorac were less effective than glyphosate.

At 14 d after treatment (DAT), glufosinate at 0.42 kg ai/ha controlled barnyardgrass and broadleaf signalgrass 85 and 86%, respectively. Antagonism occurred for barnyardgrass control with all mixtures of glufosinate at 0.42 kg/ha. At 14 DAT, no herbicide was superior to glufosinate at either rate when applied in mixture for the control of broadleaf signalgrass. Rice flatsedge control 7 DAT was 68 and 82% with glufosinate at 0.42 and 0.84 kg/ha alone, respectively. The addition of propanil and triclopyr enhanced rice flatsedge control over that with glufosinate alone at 0.42 or 0.84 kg/ha. At 7 DAT, all herbicide mixtures increased spreading dayflower control compared with a single treatment of glufosinate at 0.42 kg/ha. By 28 DAT, spreading dayflower control was less than 80% with all treatments. Rice injury was less than 15% with all treatments.

Single doses of resveratrol have previously been shown to increase cerebral blood flow (CBF) with no clear effect on cognitive function or mood in healthy adults. Chronic resveratrol consumption may increase the poor bioavailability of resveratrol or otherwise potentiate its psychological effects. In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-groups study, a total of sixty adults aged between 18 and 30 years received either placebo or resveratrol for 28 d. On the 1st and 28th day of treatment, the performance of cognitively demanding tasks (serial subtractions, rapid visual information processing and 3-Back) (n 41 complete data sets) was assessed, alongside blood pressure (n 26) and acute (near-IR spectroscopy (NIRS)) and chronic (transcranial Doppler) measures of CBF (n 46). Subjective mood, sleep quality and health questionnaires were completed at weekly intervals (n 53/54). The results showed that the cognitive effects of resveratrol on day 1 were restricted to more accurate but slower serial subtraction task performance. The only cognitive finding on day 28 was a beneficial effect of resveratrol on the accuracy of the 3-Back task before treatment consumption. Subjective ratings of ‘fatigue’ were significantly lower across the entire 28 d in the resveratrol condition. Resveratrol also resulted in modulation of CBF parameters on day 1, as assessed by NIRS, and significantly increased diastolic blood pressure on day 28. Levels of resveratrol metabolites were significantly higher both before and after the day’s treatment on day 28, in comparison with day 1. These results confirm the acute CBF effects of resveratrol and the lack of interpretable cognitive effects.

To examine how task demands influence bilingual advantage in executive control over monolinguals, we tested 32 Chinese monolinguals and 32 Chinese–English bilinguals with four versions of a color-shape switching task. During switching trials, the task required participants to suppress one set of conflicting (or non-conflicting) responses and simultaneously to activate another set of conflicting (or non-conflicting) responses. The results showed that compared to monolinguals, (i) when suppressing conflicting responses or (ii) activating non-conflicting responses, bilinguals had significantly smaller switching costs though similar mixing costs; (iii) when suppressing one set of conflicting responses and simultaneously activating another set of conflicting responses, bilinguals had significantly smaller switching costs though larger mixing costs; and (iv) when suppressing one set of non-conflicting responses and simultaneously activating another set of non-conflicting responses, bilinguals had similar switching costs and mixing costs. These findings indicate that task demands affect bilingual advantage in executive control.

Al2O3 films are grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using trimethylaluminum and water as precursors on HF-last and NH3 plasma pretreatment Si substrates. The thickness, surface roughness, and density of Al2O3 films as well as the nature of their interlayers with Si substrates are characterized by x-ray reflectivity and spectroscopic ellipsometry techniques. The growth rates of Al2O3 films are 1.1 Å/cycle and 1.3 Å/cycle, respectively, on HF-last and NH3-plasma-nitrided surfaces. Al2O3 layer densities are rather independent of the number of growth cycles in all cases. The interfacial film thickness increases with the number of ALD cycles when deposited on an HF-last Si substrate. However, because SiOxNy inhibits oxygen diffusion, the interfacial film thickness is independent of the number of ALD cycles on the nitrided Si substrate.