APPLEBAUM SCHOLARSHIP PAPER: EXPORT BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDES OF AUSTRALASIA MEAT INDUSTRY FIRMS: A NORTH AMERICAN MARKET FOCUS

International Relations/Trade,

The Present Giver And Other Stories on Human Connections

The Present Giver and Other Stories on Human Connections is a collection of seven short stories dealing with individuals that struggle to connect to another person. However, the stories also explore that these characters still feel the need to connect, stories very indicative of my own struggles with apathy and relationships. The critical analysis takes on a creative non-fiction approach as a way to show my development as a writer and how these stories relate to what I\u27ve learned through the years from my love of reading

A study of carotene content of cow\u27s milk and natural butter color changes during transition from winter to summer feeding

A study was made of the color and carotene changes occurring in milk and butter during the period of transition from winter to summer pastures

Evaluation of Calcium Hydroxide-Treated Stover (Second Crop) in Receiving and Growing Diets and Effects on Cattle Performance

Production of ethanol from corn as an alternative fuel source has significantly affected the pricing landscape for corn as an energy source for livestock. As ethanol usage has become more prevalent, corn prices have become more volatile, especially in critical corn-growing areas that have been affected by drought. Consequently, many beef cattle feeders have become interested in alternative energy sources in an effort to control cost of gain. Second Crop (ADM Corp., Decatur, IL) is a process in which calcium hydroxide is added to fibrous crop residues, such as wheat straw and corn stover. When applied to low-quality roughages, calcium hydroxide disrupts the chemical bonds between lignin and hemicellulose, thus improving digestibility of the fiber by ruminal microbes. Treatment of low-quality forage with the Second Crop process could improve the energy value of forages, effectively decreasing reliance on cereal grains as sources of supplemental energy

Population Genetic Study of the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) Gene

Genetic variants in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene, predominantly the functional Val66Met polymorphism, have been associated with risk of bipolar disorder and other psychiatric disorders. However, not all studies support these findings, and overall the evidence for the association of BDNF with disease risk is weak. As differences in population genetic structure between patient samples could cause discrepant or spurious association results, we investigated this possibility by carrying out population genetic analyses of the BDNF genomic region. Substantial variation was detected in BDNF coding region single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) allele and haplotype frequencies between 58 global populations, with the derived Met allele of Val66Met ranging in frequency from 0 to 72% across populations. FST analyses to assess diversity in the HapMap populations determined that the Val66Met FST value was at the 99.8th percentile among all SNPs in the genome. As the BDNF population genetic differences may be due to local selection, we performed the long-range haplotype test for selection using 68 SNPs spanning the BDNF genomic region in 12 European-derived pedigrees. Evidence for positive selection was found for a high-frequency Val-carrying haplotype, with a relative extended haplotype homozygosity value above the 99th percentile compared with HapMap data $(P=4.6 \times 10^{−4})$. In conclusion, we observed considerable BDNF allele and haplotype diversity among global populations and evidence for positive selection at the BDNF locus. These phenomena can have a profound impact on the detection of disease susceptibility genes and must be considered in gene association studies of BDNF.Organismic and Evolutionary BiologyOther Research Uni

In situ generation of Mes2Mg as a non-nucleophilic carbon-centred base reagent for the efficient one-pot conversion of ketones to silyl enol ethers

Treatment of commercially available MesMgBr with 1,4-dioxane produces the key Mes2Mg reagent in situ which then mediates the deprotonation of ketones to deliver trimethylsilyl enol ethers, at readily accessible temperatures and without any nucleophilic addition, in an expedient and high yielding one-pot process

Phenotypic relationships between docility and reproduction in Angus heifers

Citation: White, K. L., Bormann, J. M., Olson, K. C., Jaeger, J. R., Johnson, S., Downey, B., . . . Weaber, R. L. (2016). Phenotypic relationships between docility and reproduction in Angus heifers. Journal of Animal Science, 94(2), 483-489. doi:10.2527/jas2015-9327The objective of this study was to elucidate the phenotypic relationships between docility and first-service AI conception rate in heifers. Data (n = 337) collected from 3 cooperator herds in Kansas at the start of synchronization protocol included exit velocity (EV), chute score (CS), fecal cortisol (FC), and blood serum cortisol (BC). Data were analyzed using logistic regression with 30-d pregnancy rate as the dependent variable. The model included the fixed effect of contemporary group and the covariates FC, BC, EV, CS, BW, and age. Correlation coefficients were calculated between all continuous traits. Pregnancy rate ranged from 34% to 60% between herds. Blood cortisol positively correlated with EV (r = 0.22, P < 0.01), negatively correlated with age (r = -0.12, P < 0.03), and tended to be negatively correlated with BW (r = -0.10, P = 0.09). Exit velocity was positively correlated with CS (r = 0.24, P < 0.01) and negatively correlated with BW (r = -0.15, P < 0.01) and age (r = -0.12, P < 0.03). Chute score negatively correlated with age (r = -0.14, P < 0.01), and age and BW were moderately positively correlated (r = 0.42, P < 0.01), as expected. Older, heavier animals generally had better temperament, as indicated by lower BC, EV, and CS. The power of our test could detect no significant predictors of 30-d pregnancy for the combined data from all ranches. When the data were divided by ranch, CS (P < 0.03) and BW (P < 0.01) were both significant predictors for 30-d pregnancy for ranch 1. The odds ratio estimate for CS has an inverse relationship with pregnancy, meaning that a 1-unit increase in average CS will reduce the probability of pregnancy at ranch 1 by 48.1%. Weight also has a negative impact on pregnancy because a 1-kg increase in BW will decrease the probability of pregnancy by 2.2%. Fertility is a complex trait that depends on many factors; our data suggest that docility is 1 factor that warrants further investigation