The Timing of Deformation in the Four Peaks Area, central Arizona, and relevance for the Mazatzal Orogeny

The Mazatzal orogeny (1.66-1.60 Ga) is a key element of the tectonic evolution of the North American continent during the Proterozoic (Whitmeyer and Karlstrom, 2007). Recently, Mesoproterozoic detrital zircon grains (1.55-1.45 Ga) have been found in metasedimentary rocks that were thought to have been deformed during the Paleoproterozoic Mazatzal orogeny (Jones et al. 2011; Doe et al. 2012, 2013; Daniel et al. 2013). Some type examples Mazatzal deformation now seem to be too young to have been deformed in the accepted time of that orogeny (1.66-1.60 Ga) and may have been deformed in the younger, newly defined, Picuris orogeny. This leads to questions regarding the timing and nature of the Mazatzal orogeny and its importance in the evolution of the North American continent. The object of this research is to constrain the timing of deformation related to the Mazatzal and Picuris orogenies and clarify the Proterozoic history of the North American continent. The Four Peaks area in central Arizona has been selected as an ideal location to tightly constrain the timing of deformation. The area hosts a package of Proterozoic metasedimentary rocks that are folded into a kilometer-scale syncline, surrounded by vi Mesoproterozoic to Paleoproterozoic granitoids. The Four Peaks syncline has been considered a type example of Mazatzal-age deformation (Karlstrom and Bowring, 1988). Zircon and monazite geochronology are presented along with structural and petrologic data in order to understand the geologic history of the Four Peaks area. The evidence suggests that three deformation events occurred at ~1675 Ma, 1665-1655 Ma and 1490-1450 Ma. Sedimentary deposition occurred 1665-1655 Ma and 1520-1490 Ma with a significant disconformity in between these episodes. Both the Mazatzal and Picuris orogenies can be associated with periods of deformation, sedimentary deposition and pluton emplacement. The most significant shortening event, which formed the Four Peaks syncline, occurred during Mesoproterozoic time and was related to the Picuris orogeny

Evaluation of nutrient content and in Vitro gas fermentation of some crop residues as feed supplements for ruminants

The objective of this study was to evaluate the nutritive value of Yam peel (YP), Maize chaff (MC) and Rice straw (RS). Evaluation of the nutrient and anti-nutrient content of the crop residues involved determination of the proximate, mineral and phytochemical contents of YP, MC and RS. In vitro gas production (IVGP) of crop residues was carried out over a period of 24 hr incubation to predict Metabolizable energy (ME), organic matter digestibility (OMD) and short chain fatty acids (SCFA). Methane (CH4) was measured by introducing 10 M NaOH into the inoculums after incubation. Result revealed significant (p<0.05) differences in the values of the proximate composition. The dry matter ranged between 85.55 and 92.18 g/100 g in YP and MC respectively. The highest crude protein (5.01 g/100 g) was obtained in MC, while the lowest (4.00 g/100 g) was recorded for YP. The crude fibre ranged between 25.05 g/100g and 41.49 g/100g (YP). The mineral content of YP, MC and RS were not significantly different from each other, but within acceptable limit for optimum metabolism. YP, MC and RS were implicated for anti-nutrients, though no significant. The IVGP varied significantly (p< 0.05) with the MC recording the highest (30.10ml) value, while the lowest (23.96ml) value was obtained in YP. Same trend was observed for ME, OMD, SCFA and CH4 ranging from 5.32– 11.12 MJ/Kg DM; 35.13 – 64.14 %; 0.50- 1.12 μmol and 9.05 – 11.00ml respectively. It can be concluded that YP, MC and RS has potential in livestock nutrition. Also the problem associated with disposal of crop residues can be conveniently reduced by incorporating them into ruminant feed. &nbsp

The Replacement of Maize with graded level of Brewer’s Dried Grain (BDG) in the diet of weaner grasscutters

A 40 Day feeding trial was conducted to determine the effect of replacing maize with brewer’s dried grain (BDG) in the diet of grass cutter. 20 growing grass cutter (males) with an average initial weight of 599 g were used for the experiment. Four grass cutter were allotted to each treatment in a completely randomized design. The body weight gain, feed efficiency ratio and protein efficiency ratio were recorded weekly. The result of the experiment showed that the control with 0% level of BDG had the highest feed conversion (1.51) and efficiency (0.66) ratios while the least feed conversion (3.95) and efficiency (0.25) ratios were recorded for treatment 5 (100% BDG inclusion). There was not significant difference (P < 0.05) in feed intake among the treatments means. However the body weight gain differed significantly (P < 0.05). It was concluded that BDG can be used to replace maize in the diet of grass cutters up to 75% level of inclusion without negative effect on the performance of grass cutters. Key words: Protein efficiency, feed efficiency, grass cutters, Brewer’s Dry Grain (BDG)

PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF GROWING PULLETS FED CASSAVA ROOT-BASED DIETS

A 13-week study was carried out to investigate the potentials of peeled and unpeeled cassava roots as a substitute for maize in layers ration. Unpeeled cassava root meal was used at 3 levels of inclusion (25%, 50% and 100%) while the peeled cassava meal was used only at 25% level of inclusion in the diet. A total of 140 black harco pullets were randomly allotted to 5 experimental diets in line with cassava root meal inclusion as diet 1 (control diet without cassava root), diet 2 (25% unpeeled cassava root meal), diet 3 (50% unpeeled cassava root meal), diet 4 (100% unpeeled cassava root meal) and diet 5 (25% peeled cassava root meal). The study lasted for 13 weeks. No significant difference (p<0.05) were observed in the values obtained across the treatment groups for feed intake. Birds that were fed with 100% unpeeled cassava meal (diet 4) had significantly lowered body weight gain when compared with birds that were fed with diets 1, 2, 3 and 5 which had similar values. No significant difference was observed in the feed conversion ratio of birds fed with diets 1,2,3 and 5 but these values were significantly lower that the value for diet 4. Other performance indices like age at first egg and hen day production at 24 weeks were not affected by cassava root meal inclusion in the diets. The cost of producing feed using cassava root meal was however cheaper than maize based diet

Studies on nutritional potentials of Anacardium occidentale (Cashew) leaf as off season feed for ruminants in the humid tropics

This study was designed to investigate the nutritional potential of Anarcardium occidentale leaf (AOL) as off season feed for ruminants. Two studies were conducted; the first study involves evaluation of the nutrient, mineral and anti-nutrient content of green, yellow and brown AOL while the second study involves the in vitro gas production (IVGP) of AOL which was carried out over a period of 24 hr incubation to predict Metabolizable energy (ME), organic matter digestibility (OMD) and short chain fatty acids (SCFA). Methane (CH4) was measured by introducing 10 M NaOH into the inoculums after incubation. Results revealed significant (p<0.05) differences in the values of the nutrient composition. The dry matter ranged between 89.68% and 90.91% in green and brown leaf respectively. The highest crude protein (17.44%) was obtained in green leaf, while the lowest (16.06%) was recorded for brown leaf. The mineral and anti-nutrient content of AOL were not significantly different from each other, but within acceptable limit for optimum metabolism. The total IVGP varied significantly (p< 0.05) with the green leaf recording the highest (16.00ml) value, while the lowest (7.00ml) value was obtained in brown leaf. Same trend was observed for IVGP parameter and characteristics, with green leaf recording the highest values, while the lowest values were obtain from brown leaf for all parameters measured). It can be concluded that AOL has potential in livestock nutrition. Also the problem associated with disposal of falling brown leaf can be conveniently reduced by incorporating them into ruminant feed

NASA Kennedy Space Center: Contributions to Sea Turtle Science and Conservation

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is a United States (US) federal agency that oversees US space exploration and aeronautical research. NASA's primary launch site, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is located along the east coast of Florida, on Cape Canaveral and the western Atlantic Ocean. The natural environment within KSC's large land boundaries, not only functions as an extensive safety buffer-area, it performs simultaneously as a wildlife refuge and a national seashore. In the early 1960s, NASA was developing KSC for rocket launches and the US was establishing an awareness of, and commitment to protecting the environment. The US began creating regulations that required the consideration of the environment when taking action on federal land or with federal funds. The timing of the US Endangered Species Act (1973), the US National Environmental Policy Act (1972), coincided with the planning and implementation of the US Space Shuttle Program. This resulted in the first efforts to evaluate the impacts of space launch operation operations on waterways, air quality, habitats, and wildlife. The first KSC fauna and flora baseline studies were predominantly performed by University of Central Florida (then Florida Technological University). Numerous species of relative importance were observed and sea turtles were receiving regulatory review and protection as surveys by Dr. L Ehrhart (UCF) from 1973-1978 described turtles nesting along the KSC beaches and foraging in the KSC lagoon systems. These data were used in the first NASA Environmental Impact Statement for the Space Transportation System (shuttle program) in 1980. In 1982, NASA began a long term ecological monitoring program with contracted scientists on site. This included efforts to track sea turtle status and trends at KSC and maintain protective measures for these species. Many studies and collaborations have occurred on KSC over these last 45 years with agencies (USFWS, NOAA, NAVY), students, and universities (UCF, University of Toronto, Texas A&M, UF). This presentation will review the various studies and collaborations on sea turtles at KSC that include: nest distributions and success, stranding network development, aerial survey testing for nest counts, predator control assessments, the earliest baseline blood chemistry health determinations on nesting females, stress hormones in nesting females, multi-year study of hatchling sex ratios, genetics, species composition, abundance and distribution of in-water juveniles, turtle cold stun response, exterior lighting impacts and control, and satellite tag tracking of post-nesting turtles in the vicinity of near shore shoals and sand mining sites. Through these studies, monitoring, and recommendations, KSC has provided excellent stewardship and protection of the local environment. While conducting its space program mission, KSC has also made significant contributions of information for agencies charged with the conservation and management of these specie

Tectonic Transport Directions, Shear Senses and Deformation Temperatures Indicated by Quartz c‐Axis Fabrics and Microstructures in a NW‐SE Transect across the Moine and Sgurr Beag Thrust Sheets, Caledonian Orogen of Northern Scotland

Moine metasedimentary rocks of northern Scotland are characterized by arcuate map patterns of mineral lineations that swing progressively clockwise from orogen‐perpendicular E‐trend-ing lineations in greenschist facies mylonites above the Moine thrust on the foreland edge of the Caledonian Orogen, to S‐trending lineations at higher structural levels and metamorphic grades in the hinterland. Quartz c‐axis fabrics measured on a west to east coast transect demonstrate that the lineations developed parallel to the maximum principal extension direction and therefore track the local tectonic transport direction. Microstructures and c‐axis fabrics document a progressive change from top to the N shearing in the hinterland to top to the W shearing on the foreland edge. Field relationships indicate that the domain of top to the N shearing was at least 55 km wide before later horizontal shortening on km‐scale W‐vergent folds that detach on the underlying Moine thrust. Previously published data from the Moine thrust mylonites demonstrate that top to the W shearing had largely ceased by 430 Ma, while preliminary isotopic age data suggest top to the N shearing occurred at ~470–450 Ma. In addition, data from the east coast end of our transect indicate normal-sense top down‐SE shearing at close to peak temperatures at ~420 Ma that may be related to the closing stages of Scandian deformation, metamorphism and cooling/exhumation

Theory of laser ion acceleration from a foil target of nanometers

A theory for laser ion acceleration is presented to evaluate the maximum ion energy in the interaction of ultrahigh contrast (UHC) intense laser with a nanometer-scale foil. In this regime the energy of ions may be directly related to the laser intensity and subsequent electron dynamics. This leads to a simple analytical expression for the ion energy gain under the laser irradiation of thin targets. Significantly, higher energies for thin targets than for thicker targets are predicted. Theory is concretized to the details of recent experiments which may find its way to compare with these results.Comment: 22 pages 7 figures. will be submitted to NJ

European HYdropedological Data Inventory (EU-HYDI)

There is a common need for reliable hydropedological information in Europe. In the last decades research institutes, universities and government agencies have developed local, regional and national datasets containing soil physical, chemical, hydrological and taxonomic information often combined with land use and landform data. A hydrological database for western European soils was also created in the mid-1990s. However, a comprehensive European hydropedological database, with possible additional information on chemical parameters and land use is still missing. A comprehensive joint European hydropedological inventory can serve multiple purposes, including scientific research, modelling and application of models on different geographical scales. The objective of the joint effort of the participants is to establish the European Hydropedological Data Inventory (EU-HYDI). This database holds data from European soils focusing on soil physical, chemical and hydrological properties. It also contains information on geographical location, soil classification and land use/cover at the time of sampling. It was assembled with the aim of encompassing the soil variability in Europe. It contains data from 18 countries with contributions from 29 institutions. This report presents an overview of the database, details the individual contributed datasets and explains the quality assurance and harmonization process that lead to the final database

Social Network, Social Support, and Risk of Incident Stroke: Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

Having a small social network and lack of social support have been associated with incident coronary heart disease, however epidemiologic evidence for incident stroke is limited. We assessed the longitudinal association of a small social network and lack of social support with risk of incident stroke, and evaluated whether the association was partly mediated by vital exhaustion and inflammation