EC1418 The Poultry Industry in Nebraska

Extension Circular 1418 is about the poultry industry in Nebraska and includes the cost of feed, egg production, and egg grades

A Mesolithic settlement site at Howick, Northumberland: a preliminary report

Excavations at a coastal site at Howick during 2000 and 2002 have revealed evidence for a substantial Mesolithic settlement and a Bronze Age cist cemetery. Twenty one radiocarbon determinations of the earlier eighth millennium BP (Cal.) indicate that the Mesolithic site is one of the earliest known in northern Britain. An 8m core of sediment was recovered from stream deposits adjacent to the archaeological site which provides information on local environmental conditions. Howick offers a unique opportunity to understand aspects of hunter-gatherer colonisation and settlement during a period of rapid palaeogeographical change around the margins of the North Sea basin, at a time when it was being progressively inundated by the final stages of the postglacial marine transgression. The cist cemetery will add to the picture of Bronze Age occupation of the coastal strip and again reveals a correlation between the location of Bronze Age and Mesolithic sites which has been observed elsewhere in the region

A re-examination of the Pliensbachian and Toarcian Ostracoda of Zambujal, west-central Portugal

Pliensbachian and Toarcian Ostracoda first described by Exton (Geological Paper, Carleton University, Ottawa, 79: 1–104 1979) from the Lusitanian Basin, west-central Portugal have been re-examined. As a result, a greater diversity in the Ostracoda (80 species) is now recognized. Two species are newly described (Eucytherura zambujalensis sp. nov., Ektyphocythere mediodepressa sp. nov.) from the marls and calcareous shales of the Maria Pares Hill section near the village of Zambujal. Poor preservation precludes a complete taxonomic review of the present material. Five ostracod zones are proposed; Gammacythere ubiquita–Ogmoconchella gruendeli Zone, Poly cope cerasia–Polycope cincinnata Zone, Liasina lanceolata–Ogmoconcha convexa Zone, Bairdiacypris rectangularis–Kinkelinella sermoisensis Zone, and Cytherella toarcensis-Kinkelinella costata Zone. Although the ostracod assemblages possess strong similarities to those described from Northwest Europe, some of the Zambujal assemblages are dominated by the genus Polycope. A marked faunal turnover, in association with the extinction of the Metacopina occurs in the lower Subzone of the tenuicostatum Zone of Lower Toarcian age. These faunal events are discussed in relation to changing environmental conditions

Lateralization of Simulated Sources and Echoes Differing in Frequency Based on Interaural Temporal Differences

This study examined listeners’ ability to process interaural temporal differences (ITDs) in one of two sequential sounds when the two differed in spectral content. A correlational analysis assessed weights given to ITDs of simulated source and echo pulses for echo delays of 8–128ms for conditions in which responses were based on the source or echo, a 3000-Hz Gaussian (target) pulse. The other (distractor) pulse was spectrally centered at 1500, 2000, 3000, 4000, or 5000 Hz. Also measured were proportion correct and proportion of responses predicted from the weights. Regardless of whether the echo or source pulse served as the target, target weight, and proportion correct increased with increasing distractor frequency, consistent with low-frequency dominance [Divenyi, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 91, 1078–1084 (1992)]. Effects of distractor frequency were observed at echo delays out to 128 ms when the source served as the target, but only out to 64 ms when the echo served as the target. At echo delays beyond 8 ms, recency effects were exhibited with higher proportions correct obtained for judgments based on the echo pulse than the source pulse

Downstream Approaches to Phosphorus Management in Agricultural Landscapes: Regional Applicability and Use

This review provides a critical overview of conservation practices that are aimed at improving water quality by retaining phosphorus (P) downstream of runoff genesis. The review is structured around specific downstream practices that are prevalent in various parts of the United States. Specific practices that we discuss include the use of controlled drainage, chemical treatment of waters and soils, receiving ditch management, and wetlands. The review also focuses on the specific hydrology and biogeochemistry associated with each of those practices. The practices are structured sequentially along flowpaths as you move through the landscape, from the edge-of-field, to adjacent aquatic systems, and ultimately to downstream P retention. Often practices are region specific based on geology, cropping practices, and specific P related problems and thus require a right practice, and right place mentality to management. Each practice has fundamental P transport and retention processes by systems that can be optimized bymanagementwith the goal of reducing downstream P loading after P has left agricultural fields. The management of P requires a system-wide assessment of the stability of P in different biogeochemical forms (particulate vs. dissolved, organic vs. inorganic), in different storage pools (soil, sediment, streams etc.), and under varying biogeochemical and hydrological conditions that act to convert P from one form to another and promote its retention in or transport out of different landscape components. There is significant potential of hierarchically placing practices in the agricultural landscape and enhancing the associated P mitigation. But an understanding is needed of short- and long-term P retention mechanisms within a certain practice and incorporating maintenance schedules if necessary to improve P retention times and minimize exceeding retention capacity

Structured Decision-Making and Rapid Prototyping to Plan a Management Response to an Invasive Species

We developed components of a decision structure that could be used in an adaptive management framework for responding to invasion of hemlock woolly adelgid Adeleges tsugae on the Cumberland Plateau of northern Tennessee. Hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive forest pest, was first detected in this area in 2007. We used a structured decision-making process to identify and refine the management problem, objectives, and alternative management actions, and to assess consequences and tradeoffs among selected management alternatives. We identified four fundamental objectives: 1) conserve the aquatic and terrestrial riparian conservation targets, 2) protect and preserve hemlock, 3) develop and maintain adequate budget, and 4) address public concerns. We designed two prototype responses using an iterative process. By rapidly prototyping a first solution, insights were gained and shortcomings were identified, and some of these shortcomings were incorporated and corrected in the second prototype. We found that objectives were best met when management focused on early treatment of lightly to moderately infested but relatively healthy hemlock stands with biological control agent predator beetles and insect-killing fungi. Also, depending on the cost constraint, early treatment should be coupled with silvicultural management of moderately to severely infested and declining hemlock stands to accelerate conversion to nonhemlock mature forest cover. The two most valuable contributions of the structured decision-making process were 1) clarification and expansion of our objectives, and 2) application of tools to assess tradeoffs and predict consequences of alternative actions. Predicting consequences allowed us to evaluate the influence of uncertainty on the decision. For example, we found that the expected number of mature forest stands over 30 y would be increased by 4% by resolving the uncertainty regarding predator beetle effectiveness. The adaptive management framework requires further development including identifying and evaluating uncertainty, formalizing other competing predictive models, designing a monitoring program to update the predictive models, developing a process for re-evaluating the predictive models and incorporating new management technologies, and generating support for planning and implementation

Community structure and function of high-temperature chlorophototrophic microbial mats inhabiting diverse geothermal environments

Six phototrophic microbial mat communities from different geothermal springs (YNP) were studied using metagenome sequencing and geochemical analyses. The primary goals of this work were to determine differences in community composition of high-temperature phototrophic mats distributed across the Yellowstone geothermal ecosystem, and to identify metabolic attributes of predominant organisms present in these communities that may correlate with environmental attributes important in niche differentiation. Random shotgun metagenome sequences from six phototrophic communities (average~ 53 Mbp/site) were subjected to multiple taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional analyses. All methods, including G+C content distribution, MEGAN analyses and oligonucleotide frequency-based clustering, provided strong support for the dominant community members present in each site. Cyanobacteria were only observed in non-sulfidic sites; de novo assemblies were obtained for Synechococcus-like populations at Chocolate Pots (CP_7) and Fischerella-like populations at White Creek (WC_6). Chloroflexi-like sequences (esp. Roseiflexus and/or Chloroflexus spp.) were observed in all six samples and contained genes involved in bacteriochlorophyll biosynthesis and the 3-hydroxypropionate carbon fixation pathway. Other major sequence assemblies were obtained for a Chlorobiales population from CP_7 (proposed family Thermochlorobacteriaceae), and an anoxygenic, sulfur-oxidizing Thermochromatium-like (Gamma-proteobacteria) population from Bath Lake Vista Annex (BLVA_20). Additional sequence coverage is necessary to establish more complete assemblies of other novel bacteria in these sites (e.g., Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes); however, current assemblies suggested that several of these organisms play important roles in heterotrophic and fermentative metabolisms. Definitive linkages were established between several of the dominant phylotypes present in these habitats and important functional processes such a

Hanford Double-Shell Tank Extent-of-Condition Construction Review - 14174

During routine visual inspections of Hanford double-shell waste tank 241-AY-102 (AY-102), anomalies were identified on the annulus floor which resulted in further evaluations. Following a formal leak assessment in October 2012, Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC (WRPS) determined that the primary tank of AY-102 was leaking. The formal leak assessment, documented in RPP-ASMT-53793,Tank 241-AY-102 Leak Assessment Report, identified first-of-a-kind construction difficulties and trial-and-error repairs as major contributing factors to tank failure. To determine if improvements in double-shell tank (DST) construction occurred after construction of tank AY-102, a detailed review and evaluation of historical construction records were performed for the first three DST tank farms constructed, which included tanks 241-AY-101, 241-AZ-101, 241-AZ-102, 241-SY-101, 241-SY-102, and 241-SY-103. The review for these six tanks involved research and review of dozens of boxes of historical project documentation. These reviews form a basis to better understand the current condition of the three oldest Hanford DST farms. They provide a basis for changes to the current tank inspection program and also provide valuable insight into future tank use decisions. If new tanks are constructed in the future, these reviews provide valuable �lessons-learned� information about expected difficulties as well as construction practices and techniques that are likely to be successful