1,383 research outputs found
Novel genetic engineering technology which increases leaf lipid content modifies the ensiling properties of perennial ryegrass : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Agricultural Science at Massey University, Palmerston North
A novel strategy to increase the metabolisable energy (ME) yield of pastures has been the development of a genetic engineering technology which increases the leaf lipid content and biomass production of perennial ryegrass (PRG). Outdoor plot/feeding trials of genetically engineered crops are prohibited under the current New Zealand (NZ) regulatory framework. However, this high lipid PRG may become available to farmers and eventually be used to make silage, which could fulfill an important role as a high ME, inexpensive, supplementary feed for livestock. Ensiling preserves a crop’s nutrients at a high moisture content and at a low pH, by microbial fermentation of plant sugars into lactic acid under anaerobic conditions.
In a preliminary investigation into the ensiling biochemistry of this high lipid PRG, glasshouse-grown materials were wilted and inoculated, and then ensiled on a miniature scale. A series of method development ensiling experiments revealed that non-transgenic PRG grown in glasshouse conditions during the NZ spring/summer was very difficult to ensile naturally, due to its low water soluble sugar to buffering capacity ratio. In order to generate well-preserved silage in the main experiment, glucose was added (post-harvest) to a non-transgenic PRG genotype (WT) and two transgenic PRG genotypes containing ‘medium’ and ‘high’ leaf lipid levels (ML and HL).
The HL plants produced 51% more dry biomass than WT during the regrowth period. Pre-ensiled HL had 31% higher fatty acid content, 70% higher nitrate content and a 17% lower water soluble sugar to crude protein ratio than WT. ML was intermediate. The glasshouse growth environment resulted in an atypical overall PRG nutritional composition. WT, ML and HL underwent a similar fermentation, and nutrients were well-preserved. The nutritional differences in the ensiled material largely reflected those in their fresh counterparts, although a longer wilt caused greater overall digestible nutrient losses in HL. In an in vitro rumen incubation experiment the fatty acids in HL silage exhibited less complete biohydrogenation than in fresh and ensiled WT. Experiments using a range of high lipid PRG lines grown in a range of environments will be needed to validate these results
Sobre el patriarcat
En aquest article Veronica Beechey planteja l’examen d’una selecció de textos feministes sobre el patriarcat (entre altres les contribucions de Kate Millett, Sheila Jeffreys, McKenzie, etc.) i analitza també la conceptualització dualista de la societat implÃcita en aquests textos (sistema classe econòmica versus sistema classe sexual; mode de producció familiar versus mode de producció industrial, etc.). Beechey fa també referència als problemes que es presenten quan el patriarcat i el capitalisme són tractats com a estructures diferents (per exemple, ús de diferents conceptes de reproducció; separació del patriarcat d’altres aspectes del mode de producció; el fet que tot mode de producció suposa producció i reproducció; etc.). Després d’una extensa i profunda anà lisi crÃtica dels diferents usos que del concepte patriarcal han fet diferents teòrics (Mitchell i els sistemes de parentiu; Hartman i la dominació masclista; Eisenstein i la jerarquia sexual; etcètera), l’autora apunta que caldria concretar una teoria especÃfica del patriarcat i investigar les formes de patriarcat que existeixen en les institucions socials concretes
Eureka! Women and birthing on the Ballarat goldfields in the 1850s
The Ballarat goldfields were a raucous, noisy, exhilarating place that was a tent home for thousands of men, women and children in the 1850s. The Ballarat goldrush and the Eureka Rebellion are among the most significant events in the history of Australia. They set the scene for this study titled Eureka! Women and birthing on the Ballarat goldfields in the 1850s. This qualitative study utilised and historical research method informed by a feminist perspective.
This account reveals the story of women’s lives and their birthing at this time as found in historical documents. These documents revealed that the women birthed in their tents with a female friend, relative or lay midwife present. Trained midwives were rare and doctors were too expensive for the majority of poor diggers with no guarantee they were genuine. While most women birthed safely the appalling conditions, infection and birth complications all contributed to high rates of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity.
This study has implications for both women and midwives. Hearing voices through this story of their lives and birthing will expand the understanding of issues specific to women. The sharing of the story of birthing in the 1850s will raise awareness of the connections between midwifery history and the twenty-first century giving midwives an appreciation of the past along with different perspectives and greater understanding of women and birthing so their midwifery practice in the future will be enhanced
Evidence-based Decision-making in Canada’s Protected Areas Organizations: Implications for Management Effectiveness
Aichi Biodiversity Target 19 calls on Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to improve, share, transfer, and apply knowledge. In this study, we provide an initial assessment of the state of evidence-based decision-making in Canada’s protected areas organizations by examining (1) the value and use of various forms of evidence by managers and (2) the extent to which institutional conditions enable or inhibit the use of evidence in decision-making. Results revealed that although managers value and use many forms of evidence in their decision-making, information produced by staff and their organizations are given priority. Other forms of evidence, such as Indigenous knowledge and peer-reviewed information, are valued and used less. The most significant barriers to evidence-based decision-making were limited financial resources, lack of staff, inadequate timeframes for decision-making, a lack of monitoring programs, and a disconnect between researchers and decision-makers. Overall, our results suggest that the potential benefits of evidence-based approaches are not being maximized in Canada’s protected areas organizations. We propose several recommendations to introduce or improve the use of diverse forms of evidence to enhance management effectiveness of Canada’s protected areas and by extension conservation outcomes
Evidence for the Existence of a Channel in the Glucose-Specific Carrier EIIGlc of the Salmonella typhimurium Phosphoenolpyruvate-Dependent Phosphotransferase System
The effect of membrane-impermeable sulfhydryl reagents on glucose-specific enzyme II (EIIGlc) activity has been studied in Salmonella typhimurium whole cells and in properly sealed inverted cytoplasmic membrane vesicles. Glutathione N-hexylmaleimide and N-polymethylenecarboxymaleimides inactivate methyl α-D-glucopyranoside (α-MeGlc) transport and phosphorylation in whole cell preparations at a dithiol that can be protected by oxidizing reagents, trivalent arsenicals, or phosphorylation of EIIGlc. Accessibility to this activity-linked site is restricted to small apolar reagents or to polar reagents with a hydrophobic spacer between the polar group and the reactive maleimide moiety. These same reagents inactivate α-MeGlc phosphorylation in inverted cytoplasmic membrane vesicles. Inhibition results from reaction at a dithiol that can be protected by nonpermeant mercurials, oxidants, and arsenicals as well as by phosphorylation of EII. The characteristics of this site are virtually identical with those of the activity-linked dithiol elucidated in intact cells. No evidence could be found for a second activity-linked site on the other side of the membrane when the permeable reagent N-ethylmaleimide was used. Since only one activity-linked dithiol can be detected with sealed inverted membrane vesicles or intact cells and it is accessible to membrane-impermeable sulfhydryl reagents from both sides of the cytoplasmic membrane, we suggest that it is located in a channel constructured by the carrier and that the channel spans the membrane. A second dithiol, not essential for activity, is located near the outer surface of the cytoplasmic membrane
The significance of role definition and specificity on performance-based compensation: the case of accounting partnerships
Presented to the Oxford Business and Economics Conference, June 2007The objective of this research is to explore the impact of the failure of provision of clear and stable role definitions on performance-based compensation arrangements. A recent historical perspective on compensation agreements in CA partnerships revealed an unexpected instability, diversity, and a range in the roles undertaken by partners in CA firms. This report provides documentation of this instability, and suggests partnerships adopted performance-
based compensation systems without consideration of the extent to which the success of such systems depended on stable role specificity. This research has implications for corporations where the interests of the entity may be best served when top management undertake diverse
or previously unspecified roles and activities, on an ad-hoc or opportunistic basis
Explaining Reinforcement Learning with Shapley Values
For reinforcement learning systems to be widely adopted, their users must
understand and trust them. We present a theoretical analysis of explaining
reinforcement learning using Shapley values, following a principled approach
from game theory for identifying the contribution of individual players to the
outcome of a cooperative game. We call this general framework Shapley Values
for Explaining Reinforcement Learning (SVERL). Our analysis exposes the
limitations of earlier uses of Shapley values in reinforcement learning. We
then develop an approach that uses Shapley values to explain agent performance.
In a variety of domains, SVERL produces meaningful explanations that match and
supplement human intuition.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures. Accepted at ICML 202
Explaining Reinforcement Learning with Shapley Values
For reinforcement learning systems to be widely adopted, their users must understand and trust them. We present a theoretical analysis of explaining reinforcement learning using Shapley values, following a principled approach from game theory for identifying the contribution of individual players to the outcome of a cooperative game. We call this general framework Shapley Values for Explaining Reinforcement Learning (SVERL). Our analysis exposes the limitations of earlier uses of Shapley values in reinforcement learning. We then develop an approach that uses Shapley values to explain agent performance. In a variety of domains, SVERL produces meaningful explanations that match and supplement human intuition
Explaining Reinforcement Learning with Shapley Values
For reinforcement learning systems to be widely adopted, their users must understand and trust them. We present a theoretical analysis of explaining reinforcement learning using Shapley values, following a principled approach from game theory for identifying the contribution of individual players to the outcome of a cooperative game. We call this general framework Shapley Values for Explaining Reinforcement Learning (SVERL). Our analysis exposes the limitations of earlier uses of Shapley values in reinforcement learning. We then develop an approach that uses Shapley values to explain agent performance. In a variety of domains, SVERL produces meaningful explanations that match and supplement human intuition
Consumption of a Natural High-Intensity Sweetener Enhances Activity and Expression of Rabbit Intestinal Na+/Glucose Cotransporter 1 (SGLT1) and Improves Colibacillosis-Induced Enteric Disorders
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