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In the developing-country context of Nepal, farmers often incur in seed losses of 15-30% due to improper storage. To evaluate the efficacy and costs of modern storage alternatives, experimental trials were set up among ten farmers each in two contrasting ecologies, i.e. Palpa (hills) and Rupandehi (terai plains) districts of Nepal in 2013. Several wheat seed storage options were contrasted including farmer practices (FP) such as reused fertilizer bags, polythene bags, household metal containers, and mud bins. Modern storage methods that were evaluated included plastic bags (with and without pesticide), metal bins, and hermetic ‘SuperGrainbag’ (SGB). Seed quality and losses were assessed after six months of storage (May-October) with parameters such as grain moisture content, insect damage, seed germination, and seedling vigor. The overall quality of seed with FPs was lower in the hills than in the terai plains. Among the treatments, SGBs were more effective in maintaining acceptable seed moisture levels, controlling insect damage (90% lab, >65% field), and promoting seedling vigor. Metal bins and plastic bags without pesticide had higher insect damage (7- 15%) compared to FP and plastic bags with pesticide (2-5%). In terms of storage costs, SGBs were comparable with the farmers’ storage methods ($5-6 per 100 kg seed storage). Our findings demonstrate that SGBs are better at maintaining seed quality and more economical than not only FP but also the other modern storage methods evaluated in this study across different production ecological regions in Nepal.

PURPOSE: To validate the association between body composition and mortality in men treated with radiation for localized prostate cancer (PCa). Secondarily, to integrate body composition as a factor to classify patients by risk of all-cause mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants of NRG/Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 9406 and NRG/RTOG 0126 with archived computed tomography were included. Muscle mass and muscle density were estimated by measuring the area and attenuation of the psoas muscles on a single slice at L4-L5. Bone density was estimated by measuring the attenuation of the vertebral body at mid-L5. Survival analyses, including Cox proportional hazards models, assessed the relationship between body composition and mortality. Recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) was used to create a classification tree to classify participants by risk of death. RESULTS: Data from 2066 men were included in this study. In the final multivariable model, psoas area, comorbidity score, baseline prostate serum antigen, and age were significantly associated with survival. The RPA yielded a classification tree with four prognostic groups determined by age, comorbidity, and psoas area. Notably, the classification among older (≥70 years) men into prognostic groups was determined by psoas area. CONCLUSIONS: This study strongly supports that body composition is related to mortality in men with localized PCa. The inclusion of psoas area in the RPA classification tree suggests that body composition provides additive information to age and comorbidity status for mortality prediction, particularly among older men. More research is needed to determine the clinical impact of body composition on prognostic models in men with PCa.

New material of three equids is described from the middle Miocene Cajon Valley Formation in San Bernardino National Forest, San Bernardino County, California. The material includes teeth of Archaeohippus mourningi, Scaphohippus sumani, and Parahippus brevidens. Scaphohippus intermontanus is considered a junior subjective synonym of S. sumani. Parahippus brevidens is identified from an upper molar that closely resembles the morphology of the holotype as well as referred specimens of Pa. brevidens from the Mascall Formation in Oregon and the Temblor Formation in California. The presence of Pa. brevidens in the Cajon Valley Formation represents a geographic range extension for the taxon of over 400 km. Interesting ecological implications emerge for the Cajon Valley Formation when compared to the nearby Barstow Formation, including the presence of chalicotheres and apparent lack of Hypohippus affinis and Megahippus mckennai.

Ferrotorryweiserite, Rh5Fe10S16, occurs as small grains (≤20 μm) among droplet-like inclusions (up to 50 μm in diameter) of platinum-group minerals (PGM), in association with oberthürite or Rh-bearing pentlandite, laurite, and a Pt-Pd-Fe alloy (likely isoferroplatinum and Fe-Pd-enriched platinum), hosted by placer grains of Os-Ir alloy (≤0.5 mm) in the River Ko deposit. The latter is a part of the Sisim placer zone, which is likely derived from ultramafic units of the Lysanskiy layered complex, southern Krasnoyarskiy kray, Russia. The mineral is opaque, gray to brownish gray in reflected light, very weakly bireflectant, not pleochroic to weakly pleochroic (grayish to light brown tints), and weakly anisotropic. The calculated density is 5.93 g∙cm–3. Mean results (and ranges) of four WDS analyses are: Ir 18.68 (15.55–21.96), Rh 18.34 (16.32–20.32), Pt 0.64 (0.19–1.14), Ru 0.03 (0.00–0.13), Os 0.07 (0.02–0.17), Fe 14.14 (13.63–14.64), Ni 13.63 (12.58–14.66), Cu 4.97 (3.42–6.41), Co 0.09 (0.07–0.11), S 29.06 (28.48–29.44), and total 99.66 wt. %. They correspond to the following formula calculated for a total of 31 atoms per formula unit: (Rh3.16Ir1.72Pt0.06Ru0.01Os0.01)Σ4.95(Fe4.48Ni4.11Cu1.38Co0.03)Σ10.00S16.05. The results of synchrotron micro-Laue diffraction studies indicate that ferrotorryweiserite is trigonal; its probable space group is R3 m (#166) based on its Ni-analog, torryweiserite. The unit-cell parameters refined from 177 reflections are a = 7.069 (2) Å, c = 34.286 (11) Å, V = 1484 (1) Å3, and Z = 3. The c:a ratio is 4.8502. The strongest eight peaks in the X-ray diffraction pattern derived from results of micro-Laue diffraction study [d in Å(hkil)(I)] are 2.7950 (2025) (100); 5.7143 (0006) (60); 1.7671 (2240) (44.4); 3.0486 (2021) (39.4); 5.7650 (1012) (38.6); 2.5956 (2027) (37.8); 3.0058 (1126) (36.5); and 1.5029 (42 212) (35.3). Ferrotorry-weiserite and the associated PGM crystallized from microvolumes of residual melt at late stages of crystallization of grains of Os- and Ir-dominant alloys occurred in lode zones of chromitites of the Lysanskiy layered complex. In a particular case, the residual melt is disposed peripherally around a core containing a disequilibrium association of magnesian olivine (Fo72.9–75.6) and albite (Ab81.6–86.4), with the development of skeletal crystals of titaniferous augite: Wo40.8–43.2En26.5–29.3Fs20.3–22.6Aeg6.9–9.5 (2.82–3.12 wt. % TiO2). Ferrotorryweiserite represents the Fe-dominant analog of torryweiserite. We also report occurrences of ferrotorryweiserite in the Marathon deposit, Coldwell Complex, Ontario, Canada, and infer the existence of the torryweiserite–ferrotorryweiserite solid solution in other deposits and complexes.

Agriculture’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals requires climate-smart and profitable farm innovations. In the past decade, attention has been given to conservation agriculture as a ‘sustainable intensification’ strategy, although a lack of evidence-based consensus on the merits of conservation agriculture prevails in the context of intensive smallholder farming in South Asia. A meta-analysis using 9,686 paired site–year comparisons representing different indicators of cropping-system performance suggest significant (P < 0.05) benefits when conservation-agriculture component practices are implemented either separately or in tandem. For example, zero tillage with residue retention had a mean yield advantage of 5.8%, a water use efficiency increase of 12.6%, an increase in net economic return of 25.9% and a reduction of 12–33% in global warming potential, with more-favourable responses on loamy soils and in maize–wheat systems. Results suggest that there are opportunities to maximize expected benefits, and policymakers and development practitioners should continue to be appraised of the potential of CA for contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals in South Asia.

Indoor surfaces are often coated with organic compounds yet a molecular understanding of what drives these interactions is poorly understood. Herein, the adsorption and desorption of limonene, an organic compound found in indoor environments, on hydroxylated silica (SiO2) surfaces, used to mimic indoor glass surfaces, is investigated by combining vibrational spectroscopy, atomistic computer simulations and kinetic modeling. Infrared spectroscopy shows the interaction involves hydrogen-bonding between limonene and surface O-H groups. Atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations confirm the existence of π-hydrogen bonding interactions, with one or two hydrogen bonds between the silica O-H groups and the carbon-carbon double bonds, roughly one third of the time. The concentration and temperature dependent adsorption/desorption kinetics as measured by infrared spectroscopy were reproduced with a kinetic model, yielding the adsorption enthalpy of ∼55 kJ mol-1, which is consistent with the value derived from the MD simulations. Importantly, this integrated experimental, theoretical and kinetic modeling study constitutes a conceptual framework for understanding the interaction of organic compounds with indoor relevant surfaces and thus provides important insights into our understanding of indoor air chemistry and indoor air quality.