Interim results are presented from the project designed to characterize, quantify, and determine the commercial feasibility of Alaska North Slope (ANS) gas-hydrate and associated free-gas resources in the Prudhoe Bay Unit (PBU), Kuparuk River Unit (KRU), and Milne Point Unit (MPU) areas. This collaborative research will provide practical input to reservoir and economic models, determine the technical feasibility of gas hydrate production, and influence future exploration and field extension of this potential ANS resource. The large magnitude of unconventional in-place gas (40-100 TCF) and conventional ANS gas commercialization evaluation creates industry-DOE alignment to assess this potential resource. This region uniquely combines known gas hydrate presence and existing production infrastructure. Many technical, economical, environmental, and safety issues require resolution before enabling gas hydrate commercial production. Gas hydrate energy resource potential has been studied for nearly three decades. However, this knowledge has not been applied to practical ANS gas hydrate resource development. ANS gas hydrate and associated free gas reservoirs are being studied to determine reservoir extent, stratigraphy, structure, continuity, quality, variability, and geophysical and petrophysical property distribution. Phase 1 will characterize reservoirs, lead to recoverable reserve and commercial potential estimates, and define procedures for gas hydrate drilling, data acquisition, completion, and production. Phases 2 and 3 will integrate well, core, log, and long-term production test data from additional wells, if justified by results from prior phases. The project could lead to future ANS gas hydrate pilot development. This project will help solve technical and economic issues to enable government and industry to make informed decisions regarding future commercialization of unconventional gas-hydrate resources.
It has been stated that in new gene pools, several generations of random mating should precede artificial selection. The effects of such an approach were studied in four maize (Zea mays L.) gene pools which differed in degree of diversity, adaptation, and number of previous cycles of recombination. The gene pools were developed for several generations under open pollination and high plant densities. Seed was bulked from standing plants which were bordered, disease-free, and produced a well-filled, normally developed ear; this included 0.5–3% of the total plant stand. Various generations of each gene pool were compared to determine any changes in plant characteristics and extent of genetic variability. The major phenotypic changes occurred during the first one or two generations of random mating and were those that allowed the population to make maximum use of the available growing season: the earliest maturing population became later and larger in stature; conversely, the least adapted population became earlier and smaller in stature. The general tendency in all gene pools was a decrease in estimates of genetic variability from early to later generations. Estimates of genetic variability tended to be highest in populations containing exotic materials.
International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants is an organization which serves as the international forum for countries interested in plant variety protection. Its primary objective is to provide a framework for the protection of the intellectual property of plant breeders. In order to have a workable approach to the protection of intellectual property, it is necessary to have some concept of how unique an invention should be to constitute as a new protectable entity. The International Association of Plant Breeders for the Protection of Plant Varieties (ASSINSEL), an international organization of commercial plant breeders, have been a major force in promoting and providing input into the implementation of the new principle of ‘Essentially Derived.’ ASSINSEL has stated that an “Essentially Derived” variety (EDV) must meet the criteria relative to the Initial Variety while retaining the expression of its essential characteristics: clear distinction, predominate derivation, and genetic conformity.
Differences in inherent resistance to Gibberella ear mold were found among 13 maize hybrids. Upright ears and ears with tight husk coverage at harvest were found to have more ear mold than corresponding pendant ears and ears with loose husks.
Abstract Five short‐season maize ( Zea mays L.) hybrids were grown in 91‐cm and 46‐cm rows at populations of 48,000, 62,000 and 72,000 plants per hectare. The five hybrids responded similarly to changes in population density and distribution. All hybrids increased in grain yield with each increase in population and gave small but significant yield increases to narrowing the row width. Leaf area index (LAI) increased with increasing plant population or decreasing row width. The LAI values, even at the highest population, were much lower than those usually reported as giving maximum grain yield. This suggests that for short‐season hybrids the plant densities presently being used under standard production practices are too low to give maximum grain yields or to detect hybrid by population interactions for yield.
Summary There has been little pharmacological advance in the treatment of schizophrenia since the introduction of chlorpromazine in the 1950s. This may be set to change as recent advances in molecular biology offer the prospect of a better understanding of the pathophysiology of the disorder and allow investigation of the complex interplay of genetic and environmental risk factors. In this review I discuss future approaches to antipsychotic drug development, highlighting the need to better define symptom areas and develop drugs based on an understanding of neurobiological mechanisms. The development of biomarkers has the potential in future to improve differential diagnosis and help predict response to treatment. These developments herald the possibility of a more integrated drug discovery approach and the subsequent provision of more stratified healthcare, and hopefully significant improvements in patient care and improved long-term outcomes.
This collaborative effort to compare the world’s leading gas hydrate reservoir simulators is designed primarily to exchange information and insight that will lead to the improvement in simulation capability of experimental and naturally occurring gas hydrate accumulations. The initial phase of the code comparison activity achieved the simulation of five problems of increasing complexity by five different reservoir simulators: CMG STARS, HydrateResSim, MH21 HYDRES, STOMP-HYD, and TOUGH+HYDRATE. The cases run, the results obtained, and an analysis of those results is available to the gas hydrates community through the DOE/NETL website[1]. Results of the Problem 1 (non-isothermal multi-fluid transition to equilibrium (no hydrate); and Problem 2 (closed-domain gas hydrate dissociation) indicated very close agreement among the simulators. This agreement suggests that all had consistently captured the basics of mass and heat transfer, as well as overall process of gas hydrate dissociation. Problem 3 (dissociation in a one
A single-cross maize (Zea mays L.) hybrid was grown under two photoperiods (10 and 20 h) at two constant temperatures (20 and 30 C). Rate of development was characterized by the number of days from planting to tassel initiation, tassel initiation to silking, and silking to maturity. Long photoperiod and low temperature independently increased the number of days between planting and tassel initiation. The interval between tassel initiation and silking was not affected by photoperiod, but was increased significantly by the low temperature treatment. During the grain filling period (silking to maturity), temperature had the principal effect, but a photoperiod by temperature interaction did occur. Although plants grown at 20 C required more days to reach maturity than those grown at 30 C, the filling period at 20 C was shorter under the 10-h photoperiod than under the 20-h photoperiod, but at 30 C, the 10-h photoperiod treatment had the longer filling period. The delay in development at the low temperature, although apparent at all three stages of development, was not of the same magnitude. When the delay in development at 20 C is expressed as a percent of time required at 30 C, the 20 C treatment took 28% longer between planting and tassel initiation than the 30 C treatment. The corresponding figures for days between tassel initiation and silking and between silking and maturity were 58 and 46%, respectively.
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