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Tactile stimulation has been shown to increase auditory loudness judgments in listeners. This bias could be utilized to enhance perception for people with deficiencies in auditory intensity perception, such as cochlear implant users. However, several aspects of this enhancement remain uncertain. For instance, does the tactile stimulation need to be applied to the hand or body, or can it be applied to the wrist? Furthermore, can the tactile stimulation both amplify and attenuate the perceived auditory loudness? To address these questions, two loudness-matching experiments were conducted. Participants matched a comparison auditory stimulus with an auditory reference, either with or without spectro-temporally identical tactile stimulation. In the first experiment, fixed-level tactile stimulation was administered to the wrist during the comparison stimulus to assess whether perceived auditory loudness increased. The second experiment replicated the same conditions but introduced tactile stimulation to both the reference and comparison, aiming to investigate the potential decrease in perceived auditory loudness when the two tactile accompaniments were incongruent between the reference and comparison. The results provide evidence supporting the existence of the tactile loudness bias in each experiment and are a step towards wrist-based haptic devices that modulate the auditory dynamic range for a user. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study sites and simulated grain yield of local winter wheat cv. Claire in the baseline- (CL Base) and 2050-climate (HadGEM2 , RCP8.5) (CL 2050), and wheat ideotypes designed for raising genetic yield potentials under 2050-climate in water-limited (IW 2050) and potential (IP 2050) conditions. The box plots show the 5-, 25-, 50-, 75- and 95-percentiles including mean. UK: ED - Edinburgh, LE- Leeds, RR-Rothamsted; NZ: GO-Gore, LI-Lincoln, PU-Pukekohe. • Wheat ideotypes were designed to increase genetic yield potential in 2050-climate. • Ideotypes were optimized for two high productive countries viz. UK and New Zealand. • A 43–62% greater genetic yield potential was achieved for wheat ideotypes. • Yield potentials were 16–31% greater in New Zealand than in the UK. • Ideotype designs provide a road map for raising genetic yield potential in wheat. Designing crop ideotype is an important step to raise genetic yield potential in a target environment. In the present study, we designed wheat ideotypes based on the state-of-the-art knowledge in crop physiology to increase genetic yield potential for the 2050-climate, as projected by the HadGEM2 global climate model for the RCP8.5 emission scenario, in two high-wheat-productive countries, viz. the United Kingdom (UK) and New Zealand (NZ). Wheat ideotypes were optimized to maximize yield potential for both water-limited (IW 2050) and potential (IP 2050) conditions by using Sirius model and exploring the full range of cultivar parameters. On average, a 43–51% greater yield potential over the present winter wheat cv. Claire was achieved for IW 2050 in the UK and NZ, whereas a 51–62% increase was obtained for IP 2050. Yield benefits due to the potential condition over water-limitation were small in the UK, but 13% in NZ. The yield potentials of wheat were 16% (2.6 t ha−1) and 31% (5 t ha−1) greater in NZ than in the UK under 2050-climate in water-limited and potential conditions respectively. Modelling predicts the possibility of substantial increase in genetic yield potential of winter wheat under climate change in high productive countries. Wheat ideotypes optimized for future climate could provide plant scientists and breeders with a road map for selection of the target traits and their optimal combinations for wheat improvement and genetic adaptation to raise the yield potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of the increasing expectation for process-based crop modelling to capture genotype (G) by environment (E) by management (M) interactions to support breeding selections, it remains a challenge to use current crop models to accurately predict phenotypes from genotypes or from candidate genes. We use wheat as a target crop and the APSIM farming systems model (Holzworth et al. 2014) as an example to analyse the current status of process-based crop models with a major focus on need to improve simulation of specific eco-physiological processes and their linkage to underlying genetic controls. For challenging production environments in Australia, we examine the potential opportunities to capture physiological traits, and to integrate genetic and molecular approaches for future model development and applications. Model improvement will require both reducing the uncertainty in simulating key physiological processes and enhancing the capture of key observable traits and underlying genetic control of key physiological responses to environment. An approach consisting of three interactive stages is outlined to (i) improve modelling of crop physiology, (ii) develop linkage from model parameter to genotypes and further to loci or alleles, and (iii) further link to gene expression pathways. This helps to facilitate the integration of modelling, phenotyping, and functional gene detection and to effectively advance modelling of G×E×M interactions. While gene-based modelling is not always needed to simulate G×E×M, including well-understood gene effects can improve the estimation of genotype effects and prediction of phenotypes. Specific examples are given for enhanced modelling of wheat in the APSIM framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate predictions of the timing of physiological stages and the development rate are crucial for predicting crop performance under field conditions. Plant development is controlled by the leaf appearance rate (LAR) and our understanding of how LAR responds to environmental factors is still limited. Here, we tested the hypothesis that carbon availability may account for the effects of irradiance, photoperiod, atmospheric CO2 concentration, and ontogeny on LAR. We conducted three experiments in growth chambers to quantify and disentangle these effects for both winter and spring wheat cultivars. Variations of LAR observed between environmental scenarios were well explained by the supply/demand ratio for carbon, quantified using the photothermal quotient. We therefore developed an ecophysiological model based on the photothermal quotient that accounts for the effects of temperature, irradiance, photoperiod, and ontogeny on LAR. Comparisons of observed leaf stages and LAR with simulations from our model, from a linear thermal-time model, and from a segmented linear thermal-time model corrected for sowing date showed that our model can simulate the observed changes in LAR in the field with the lowest error. Our findings demonstrate that a hypothesis-driven approach that incorporates more physiology in specific processes of crop models can increase their predictive power under variable environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cochlear implant (CI) users often report being unsatisfied by music listening through their hearing device. Vibrotactile stimulation could help alleviate those challenges. Previous research has shown that musical stimuli was given higher preference ratings by normal-hearing listeners when concurrent vibrotactile stimulation was congruent in intensity and timing with the corresponding auditory signal compared to incongruent. However, it is not known whether this is also the case for CI users. Therefore, in this experiment, we presented 18 CI users and 24 normal-hearing listeners with five melodies and five different audio-to-tactile maps. Each map varied the congruence between the audio and tactile signals related to intensity, fundamental frequency, and timing. Participants were asked to rate the maps from zero to 100, based on preference. It was shown that almost all normal-hearing listeners, as well as a subset of the CI users, preferred tactile stimulation, which was congruent with the audio in intensity and timing. However, many CI users had no difference in preference between timing aligned and timing unaligned stimuli. The results provide evidence that vibrotactile music enjoyment enhancement could be a solution for some CI users; however, more research is needed to understand which CI users can benefit from it most. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sound intensity is a key feature of auditory signals. A profound understanding of cortical processing of this feature is therefore highly desirable. This study investigates whether cortical functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) signals reflect sound intensity changes and where on the brain cortex maximal intensity-dependent activations are located. The fNIRS technique is particularly suitable for this kind of hearing study, as it runs silently. Twenty-three normal hearing subjects were included and actively participated in a counterbalanced block design task. Four intensity levels of a modulated noise stimulus with long-term spectrum and modulation characteristics similar to speech were applied, evenly spaced from 15 to 90 dB SPL. Signals from auditory processing cortical fields were derived from a montage of 16 optodes on each side of the head. Results showed that fNIRS responses originating from auditory processing areas are highly dependent on sound intensity level: higher stimulation levels led to higher concentration changes. Caudal and rostral channels showed different waveform morphologies, reflecting specific cortical signal processing of the stimulus. Channels overlying the supramarginal and caudal superior temporal gyrus evoked a phasic response, whereas channels over Broca's area showed a broad tonic pattern. This data set can serve as a foundation for future auditory fNIRS research to develop the technique as a hearing assessment tool in the normal hearing and hearing-impaired populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Lucerne ( Medicago sativa L.) is often grown under water-limited production conditions due to its capacity to extract water from deep soil layers through an extensive taproot system. These soils often contain stones which cause the roots to become unevenly distributed due to displacement by rock fragments. To improve the estimation of water use by lucerne grown in stony soils, we investigated the temporal pattern of water supply and demand, and how this influences crop growth. Methods: Naturally occurring stones in the silt loam soil profile were used to reduce the plant available water capacity for three lucerne crops. The Monteith model was fitted against observed soil water to obtain estimates of the extraction rate constant ( kl, day) and extraction front velocity (EFV, mm day) of lucerne roots. Crop water demand was represented by transpiration losses driven by intercepted solar radiation based on the 'canopy conductance' approach. Results: The Monteith model described the pattern of water extraction for lucerne grown on stony soils. However, a single, constant kl and EFV were inappropriate for characterising water extraction. The main physiological responses to water stress were (i) a reduction in canopy conductance, (ii) a reduction in canopy expansion and (iii) the rearrangement of leaves into a more vertical position. Conclusion: This study validated frameworks to quantify lucerne water extraction and transpiration demand which can be used to improve the estimation of water use by lucerne crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]