Previous research has shown that glufosinate and nicosulfuron at low rates can cause yield loss to grain sorghum. However, research has not been conducted to pinpoint the growth stage at which these herbicides are most injurious to grain sorghum. Therefore, field tests were conducted in 2016 and 2017 to determine the most sensitive growth stage for grain sorghum exposure to both glufosinate and nicosulfuron. Field test were designed with factor A being the herbicide applied (glufosinate or nicosulfuron). Factor B consisted of timing of herbicide application including V3, V8, flagleaf, heading, and soft dough stages. Factor C was glufosinate or nicosulfuron rate where a proportional rate of 656 g ai ha−1 of glufosinate and 35 g ai ha−1 of nicosulfuron was applied at 1/10×, 1/50×, and 1/250×. Visible injury, crop canopy heights (cm), and yield were reported as a percent of the nontreated. At the V3 growth stage visible injury of 32% from the 1/10× rate of glufosinate and 51% from the 1/10× rate of nicosulfuron was observed. This injury was reduced by 4 wk after application (WAA) and no yield loss occurred. Nicosulfuron was more injurious than glufosinate at a 1/10× and 1/50× rate when applied at the V8 and flagleaf growth stages resulting in death of the shoot, reduced heading, and yield. Yield losses from the 1/10× rate of nicosulfuron were observed from V8 through early heading and ranged from 41% to 96%. Yield losses from the 1/50× rate of nicosulfuron were 14% to 16% at the flagleaf and V8 growth stages respectively. The 1/10× rate of glufosinate caused 36% visible injury 2 WAA when applied at the flagleaf stage, which resulted in a 16% yield reduction. By 4 WAA visible injury from either herbicide at less than the 1/10× rate was not greater than 4%. Results indicate that injury can occur, but yield losses are more probable from low rates of nicosulfuron at V8 and flagleaf growth stages.

A non-GMO trait called Inzen™ was recently commercialized in grain sorghum to combat weedy grasses, allowing the use of nicosulfuron POST in the crop. Inzen™ grain sorghum carries a double mutation in the acetolactate synthase (ALS) gene Val560Ile and Trp574Leu, which potentially results in cross-resistance to a wide assortment of ALS-inhibiting herbicides. To evaluate the scope of cross-resistance to Weed Science Society of America Group 2 herbicides in addition to nicosulfuron, tests were conducted in 2016 and 2017 at the Lon Mann Cotton Research Station near Marianna, AR, the Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Fayetteville, AR, and in 2016 at the Pine Tree Research Station near Colt, AR. The tests included ALS-inhibiting herbicides from all five families: sulfonylureas, imidazolinones, pyrimidinylthiobenzoics, triazolinones, and triazolopyrimidines. Treatments were made PRE or POST to grain sorghum at a 1× rate for crops in which each herbicide is labeled. Grain sorghum planted in the PRE trial were Inzen™ and a conventional cultivar. Visible estimates of injury and sorghum heights were recorded at 2 and 4 wk after herbicide application, and yield data were collected at crop maturity. In the PRE trial, no visible injury, sorghum height reduction, or yield loss were observed in plots containing the Inzen™ cultivar. Applications made POST to the Inzen™ grain sorghum caused visible injury, sorghum height reduction, and yield loss of 20%, 13%, and 35%, respectively, only in plots where bispyribac-Na was applied. There was no impact on the crop from other POST-applied ALS-inhibiting herbicides. These results demonstrate that the Inzen™ trait confers cross-resistance to most ALS-inhibiting herbicides and could offer promising new alternatives for weed control and protection from carryover of residual ALS-inhibiting herbicides in grain sorghum.

The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is an open access telescope dedicated to studying the low-frequency (80–300 MHz) southern sky. Since beginning operations in mid-2013, the MWA has opened a new observational window in the southern hemisphere enabling many science areas. The driving science objectives of the original design were to observe 21 cm radiation from the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR), explore the radio time domain, perform Galactic and extragalactic surveys, and monitor solar, heliospheric, and ionospheric phenomena. All together $60+$ programs recorded 20 000 h producing 146 papers to date. In 2016, the telescope underwent a major upgrade resulting in alternating compact and extended configurations. Other upgrades, including digital back-ends and a rapid-response triggering system, have been developed since the original array was commissioned. In this paper, we review the major results from the prior operation of the MWA and then discuss the new science paths enabled by the improved capabilities. We group these science opportunities by the four original science themes but also include ideas for directions outside these categories.

Stratigraphic records extending to Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 (57,000–29,000 cal yr BP) or older in Beringia are extremely rare. Three stratigraphic sections in interior western Alaska show near continuous sedimentological and environmental progressions extending from at least MIS 3, if not older, through MIS 1 (14,000 cal yr BP–present). The Kolmakof, Sue Creek, and VABM (vertical angle bench mark) Kuskokwim sections along the central Kuskokwim River, once a highland landscape at the fringe of central and eastern Beringia, contain aeolian deposition and soil sequences dating beyond 50,000 14C yr BP. Thick peaty soil, shallow lacustrine, and tephra deposits represent the MIS 3 interstade (or older). Sand sheet and loess deposits, wedge cast development, and very thin soil development mark the later MIS 3 period and the transition into the MIS 2 stade (29,000–14,000 cal yr BP). Loess accumulation with thicker soil development occurred between ~16,000–13,500 cal yr BP at the MIS 2 and MIS 1 transition. After ~13,500 cal yr BP, loess accumulation waned and peat development increased throughout MIS 1. These stratigraphic sequences represent transitions between a warm and moist period during MIS 3, to a cooler and more arid period during MIS 2, then a return to warmer and moister climates in MIS 1.

Diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of vector-borne disease (VBD) in pets is one cornerstone of companion animal practices. Veterinarians are facing new challenges associated with the emergence, reemergence, and rising incidence of VBD, including heartworm disease, Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and ehrlichiosis. Increases in the observed prevalence of these diseases have been attributed to a multitude of factors, including diagnostic tests with improved sensitivity, expanded annual testing practices, climatologic and ecological changes enhancing vector survival and expansion, emergence or recognition of novel pathogens, and increased movement of pets as travel companions. Veterinarians have the additional responsibility of providing information about zoonotic pathogen transmission from pets, especially to vulnerable human populations: the immunocompromised, children, and the elderly. Hindering efforts to protect pets and people is the dynamic and ever-changing nature of VBD prevalence and distribution. To address this deficit in understanding, the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) began efforts to annually forecast VBD prevalence in 2011. These forecasts provide veterinarians and pet owners with expected disease prevalence in advance of potential changes. This review summarizes the fidelity of VBD forecasts and illustrates the practical use of CAPC pathogen prevalence maps and forecast data in the practice of veterinary medicine and client education.

We have compiled a catalogue of H ii regions detected with the Murchison Widefield Array between 72 and 231 MHz. The multiple frequency bands provided by the Murchison Widefield Array allow us identify the characteristic spectrum generated by the thermal Bremsstrahlung process in H ii regions. We detect 306 H ii regions between 260° < l < 340° and report on the positions, sizes, peak, integrated flux density, and spectral indices of these H ii regions. By identifying the point at which H ii regions transition from the optically thin to thick regime, we derive the physical properties including the electron density, ionised gas mass, and ionising photon flux, towards 61 H ii regions. This catalogue of H ii regions represents the most extensive and uniform low frequency survey of H ii regions in the Galaxy to date.

Premunition is the state in a disease where an existing infection protects the host from reinfection with the same species. The cause of premunition is not clearly understood. In this study, we hypothesized that kin-selection might be a contributing factor in premunition. To test this theory, sheep were infected either once with a linguiform or smooth vulval morphotype of Haemonchos contortus, twice with the same morphotype or twice with different morphotypes. All infections resulted in a similar number of adult parasites. However, there were differences in the morphotypes recovered providing potential evidence of kin selection. Negative interference competition might also contribute to the reduction of the incoming population. Allelopathic or physical interactions between the parasites may be the mechanism behind the observed phenomena.

We compare first-order (refractive) ionospheric effects seen by the MWA with the ionosphere as inferred from GPS data. The first-order ionosphere manifests itself as a bulk position shift of the observed sources across an MWA field of view. These effects can be computed from global ionosphere maps provided by GPS analysis centres, namely the CODE. However, for precision radio astronomy applications, data from local GPS networks needs to be incorporated into ionospheric modelling. For GPS observations, the ionospheric parameters are biased by GPS receiver instrument delays, among other effects, also known as receiver DCBs. The receiver DCBs need to be estimated for any non-CODE GPS station used for ionosphere modelling. In this work, single GPS station-based ionospheric modelling is performed at a time resolution of 10 min. Also the receiver DCBs are estimated for selected Geoscience Australia GPS receivers, located at Murchison Radio Observatory, Yarragadee, Mount Magnet and Wiluna. The ionospheric gradients estimated from GPS are compared with that inferred from MWA. The ionospheric gradients at all the GPS stations show a correlation with the gradients observed with the MWA. The ionosphere estimates obtained using GPS measurements show promise in terms of providing calibration information for the MWA.

GLEAM, the GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky MWA survey, is a survey of the entire radio sky south of declination + 25° at frequencies between 72 and 231 MHz, made with the MWA using a drift scan method that makes efficient use of the MWA’s very large field-of-view. We present the observation details, imaging strategies, and theoretical sensitivity for GLEAM. The survey ran for two years, the first year using 40-kHz frequency resolution and 0.5-s time resolution; the second year using 10-kHz frequency resolution and 2 s time resolution. The resulting image resolution and sensitivity depends on observing frequency, sky pointing, and image weighting scheme. At 154 MHz, the image resolution is approximately 2.5 × 2.2/cos (δ + 26.7°) arcmin with sensitivity to structures up to ~ 10° in angular size. We provide tables to calculate the expected thermal noise for GLEAM mosaics depending on pointing and frequency and discuss limitations to achieving theoretical noise in Stokes I images. We discuss challenges, and their solutions, that arise for GLEAM including ionospheric effects on source positions and linearly polarised emission, and the instrumental polarisation effects inherent to the MWA’s primary beam.

The Murchison Widefield Array is a Square Kilometre Array Precursor. The telescope is located at the Murchison Radio–astronomy Observatory in Western Australia. The MWA consists of 4 096 dipoles arranged into 128 dual polarisation aperture arrays forming a connected element interferometer that cross-correlates signals from all 256 inputs. A hybrid approach to the correlation task is employed, with some processing stages being performed by bespoke hardware, based on Field Programmable Gate Arrays, and others by Graphics Processing Units housed in general purpose rack mounted servers. The correlation capability required is approximately 8 tera floating point operations per second. The MWA has commenced operations and the correlator is generating 8.3 TB day−1 of correlation products, that are subsequently transferred 700 km from the MRO to Perth (WA) in real-time for storage and offline processing. In this paper, we outline the correlator design, signal path, and processing elements and present the data format for the internal and external interfaces.

The Murchison Widefield Array is a new low-frequency interferometric radio telescope built in Western Australia at one of the locations of the future Square Kilometre Array. We describe the automated radio-frequency interference detection strategy implemented for the Murchison Widefield Array, which is based on the aoflagger platform, and present 72–231 MHz radio-frequency interference statistics from 10 observing nights. Radio-frequency interference detection removes 1.1% of the data. Radio-frequency interference from digital TV is observed 3% of the time due to occasional ionospheric or atmospheric propagation. After radio-frequency interference detection and excision, almost all data can be calibrated and imaged without further radio-frequency interference mitigation efforts, including observations within the FM and digital TV bands. The results are compared to a previously published Low-Frequency Array radio-frequency interference survey. The remote location of the Murchison Widefield Array results in a substantially cleaner radio-frequency interference environment compared to Low-Frequency Array’s radio environment, but adequate detection of radio-frequency interference is still required before data can be analysed. We include specific recommendations designed to make the Square Kilometre Array more robust to radio-frequency interference, including: the availability of sufficient computing power for radio-frequency interference detection; accounting for radio-frequency interference in the receiver design; a smooth band-pass response; and the capability of radio-frequency interference detection at high time and frequency resolution (second and kHz-scale respectively).

The science cases for incorporating high time resolution capabilities into modern radio telescopes are as numerous as they are compelling. Science targets range from exotic sources such as pulsars, to our Sun, to recently detected possible extragalactic bursts of radio emission, the so-called fast radio bursts (FRBs). Originally conceived purely as an imaging telescope, the initial design of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) did not include the ability to access high time and frequency resolution voltage data. However, the flexibility of the MWA’s software correlator allowed an off-the-shelf solution for adding this capability. This paper describes the system that records the 100 μs and 10 kHz resolution voltage data from the MWA. Example science applications, where this capability is critical, are presented, as well as accompanying commissioning results from this mode to demonstrate verification.

We present the results of an approximately 6 100 deg2 104–196 MHz radio sky survey performed with the Murchison Widefield Array during instrument commissioning between 2012 September and 2012 December: the MWACS. The data were taken as meridian drift scans with two different 32-antenna sub-arrays that were available during the commissioning period. The survey covers approximately 20.5 h < RA < 8.5 h, − 58° < Dec < −14°over three frequency bands centred on 119, 150 and 180 MHz, with image resolutions of 6–3 arcmin. The catalogue has 3 arcmin angular resolution and a typical noise level of 40 mJy beam− 1, with reduced sensitivity near the field boundaries and bright sources. We describe the data reduction strategy, based upon mosaicked snapshots, flux density calibration, and source-finding method. We present a catalogue of flux density and spectral index measurements for 14 110 sources, extracted from the mosaic, 1 247 of which are sub-components of complexes of sources.

Significant new opportunities for astrophysics and cosmology have been identified at low radio frequencies. The Murchison Widefield Array is the first telescope in the southern hemisphere designed specifically to explore the low-frequency astronomical sky between 80 and 300 MHz with arcminute angular resolution and high survey efficiency. The telescope will enable new advances along four key science themes, including searching for redshifted 21-cm emission from the EoR in the early Universe; Galactic and extragalactic all-sky southern hemisphere surveys; time-domain astrophysics; and solar, heliospheric, and ionospheric science and space weather. The Murchison Widefield Array is located in Western Australia at the site of the planned Square Kilometre Array (SKA) low-band telescope and is the only low-frequency SKA precursor facility. In this paper, we review the performance properties of the Murchison Widefield Array and describe its primary scientific objectives.

The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is one of three Square Kilometre Array Precursor telescopes and is located at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in the Murchison Shire of the mid-west of Western Australia, a location chosen for its extremely low levels of radio frequency interference. The MWA operates at low radio frequencies, 80–300 MHz, with a processed bandwidth of 30.72 MHz for both linear polarisations, and consists of 128 aperture arrays (known as tiles) distributed over a ~3-km diameter area. Novel hybrid hardware/software correlation and a real-time imaging and calibration systems comprise the MWA signal processing backend. In this paper, the as-built MWA is described both at a system and sub-system level, the expected performance of the array is presented, and the science goals of the instrument are summarised.