Survival, movements and food habits of released pen-reared bobwhite quail in Tennessee

Research was conducted on the 3,035 ha Napier Game Farm, Lewis County, Tennessee. A total of 7,960 pen-reared bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) were banded and released as juveniles during the summer of 1975 and 7,400 during the summer of 1976. An additional 600 were released during December 1976. More than 50 percent of summer stocked quail were not available for harvest in October during both years. Population levels continued to decline rapidly during the early part of the hunting season but appeared to stabilize during late winter despite continued hunting pressure. Post-hunting season trends suggested almost a total loss of quail for both years. Breeding season population estimates were 88 birds in 1976 and 200 in 1977 for the 171 ha Reed Road Study area. These estimates were higher than those for March of 1976 and 1977. Pen-reared quail dispersed widely from initial release points. Band numbers indicated that coveys consisted of birds from several different release sites. Fall coveys were also composed of birds released throughout the summer. Movements from release to October, release to harvest, release to March and release to breeding season averaged 0.37, 0.40, 0.40 and 1.40 km respectively. Analysis of 532 quail crops indicated bicolor lespedeza (52.8 percent volume) and milo (28.3 percent volume) were the most important fall and winter foods during the 2-year period. Native foods were not abundant during the study period and unimportant in the total fall and winter diet. A total of 1,979 pen-reared quail was harvested on Napier during 136 party hunts. The harvest rate was 12.6 percent in 1975-76 and 11.3 percent in 1976-77. Release date and release method had no effect on recovery rates. However, release location, stocking density, heredity and environment may influence recovery rates. Midseason releases did not increase the number of birds encountered by hunters suggesting that midseason releases merely replaced quail already on the area. However, midseason releases did increase harvest rates, indicating these birds were more vulnerable to harvest than summer released birds. Wild-reared quail comprised less than 2 percent of the fall 1975 population, and no wild quail were in a sample of 154 quail captured in October 1976. The proportion of wild quail increased to 9.1 percent of the March estimate in 1977 and comprised 43 and 25 percent of the breeding season populations in 1976 and 1977. Wild-reared quail comprised 11.1 and 3.4 percent of the harvest in 1975-76 and 1976-77. This discrepancy suggests wild quail were not proportionally represented during sampling procedures

Postoffer Pre-Placement Screening for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Newly Hired Manufacturing Workers

OBJECTIVE: We determined the predictive validity of a post-offer pre-placement (POPP) screen using nerve conduction velocity studies (NCV) to identify future cases of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). METHODS: A cohort of 1648 newly hired manufacturing production workers underwent baseline NCS, and were followed for 5 years. RESULTS: There was no association between abnormal POPP NCV results and incident CTS. Varying NCV diagnostic cut-offs did not improve predictive validity. Workers in jobs with high hand/wrist exposure showed greater risk of CTS than those in low exposed jobs (Relative Risk 2.82; 95% CI 1.52, 5.22). CONCLUSIONS: POPP screening seems ineffective as a preventive strategy for CTS

Occurrence of \u3ci\u3eQuadrigyrus torquatus\u3c/i\u3e Van Cleave, 1920 \u3ci\u3e(Acanthocephala)\u3c/i\u3e in North-central Colombia, South America

During June and July of 1975 and 1976, fish of the Magdalena River basin in Colombia, South America, were examined for acanthocephalans, A total of 16 species of fish were collected from the departments of Caldas and Bolivar. Worms were fixed in AFA and stained in Mayer\u27s carmalum

Land-Based Exercise and Its Effect on Quality of Life Outcomes in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review

Background: The purpose of this systematic review was to examine effectiveness of land-based exercise interventions for improving quality of life (QOL) of individuals with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. Methods: A systematic search included PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Academic Search Premier, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Inclusion criteria included land-based exercise interventions aimed to improve lower extremity strength and QOL, published since 2000. Exclusion criteria included OA of joints other than the knee, and aquatic-based and surgical interventions. Studies were evaluated using a modified version of the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) methodology score. Results: Level of evidence for 11 studies ranged from I strong (I-S) to IV. There were 1200 total participants 57.5 to 69.8 years of age with a mean of 64.5. Three common treatment groups were used; exercise, yoga, and education. Twenty outcome measures were used with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC), Short Form 36 (SF-36) and strength being most common. Discussion: Inconsistencies in reporting outcome measures and their subgroups, data, and statistical analyses prevented further data analysis to compare individual intervention effectiveness. However, many articles reported significant improvements in varying QOL subgroups and strength measurements. Conclusions: This review suggests treatment approaches involving physical activity will be beneficial across all levels of the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF), including QOL

Expertise reduces neural cost but does not modulate repetition suppression

The extent to which repetition suppression is modulated by expertise is currently unknown. We used event-related fMRI to test whether architecture students would respond faster to buildings and would exhibit stronger repetition suppression in the fusiform gyrus (FG) and parahippocampa cortex (PHC) than students from other disciplines. Behaviorally, we found shorter response latencies with target repetition in all subjects. Moreover, the repetition of targets and distracters was associated with decreased neural responses in the FG and PHC in all subjects. In control, but not in architecture students, reaction times during the first repetition of the target were correlated with activation in the cuneus, lingual gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, insula, and anterior cingulate cortex, indicating that the non-experts had to recruit additional regions in order to perform the task. Our findings suggest that due to their expertise, architects were able to encode and detect building stimuli at a lower neural cost

Plutonium Disposition Now!

A means for use of existing processing facilities and reactors for plutonium disposition is described which requires a minimum capital investment and allows rapid implementation. The scenario includes interim storage and processing under IAEA control, and fabrication into MOX fuel in existing or planned facilities in Europe for use in operating reactors in the two home countries. Conceptual studies indicate that existing Westinghouse four-loop designs can safety dispose of 0.94 MT of plutonium per calendar year. Thus, it would be possible to consume the expected US excess stockpile of about 50 MT in two to three units of this type, and it is highly likely that a comparable amount of the FSU excess plutonium could be deposed of in a few VVER-1000`s. The only major capital project for this mode of plutonium disposition would be the weapons-grade plutonium processing which could be done in a dedicated international facility or using existing facilities in the US and FSU under IAEA control. This option offers the potential for quick implementation at a very low cost to the governments of the two countries

Punctate vascular expression1 is a novel maize gene required for leaf pattern formation that functions downstream of the trans-acting small interfering RNA pathway

The maize (Zea mays) gene RAGGED SEEDLING2-R (RGD2-R) encodes an ARGONAUTE7-like protein required for the biogenesis of trans-acting small interfering RNA, which regulates the accumulation of AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR3A transcripts in shoots. Although dorsiventral polarity is established in the narrow and cylindrical leaves of rgd2-R mutant plants, swapping of adaxial/abaxial epidermal identity occurs and suggests a model wherein RGD2 is required to coordinate dorsiventral and mediolateral patterning in maize leaves. Laser microdissection-microarray analyses of the rgd2-R mutant shoot apical meristem identified a novel gene, PUNCTATE VASCULAR EXPRESSION1 (PVE1), that is down-regulated in rgd2-R mutant apices. Transcripts of PVE1 provide an early molecular marker for vascular morphogenesis. Reverse genetic analyses suggest that PVE1 functions during vascular development and in mediolateral and dorsiventral patterning of maize leaves. Molecular genetic analyses of PVE1 and of rgd2-R;pve1-M2 double mutants suggest a model wherein PVE1 functions downstream of RGD2 in a pathway that intersects and interacts with the trans-acting small interfering RNA pathway

Cattle CODE: An Economic Model for Determining Byproduct Returns for Feedlot Cattle

Cattle CODE — Coproduct Optimizer Decision Evaluator — is a model developed to predict performance and economic returns when byproducts are fed to finishing cattle. Four scenarios were evaluated to illustrate how the model works and to show sensitivity to corn price and distance from the ethanol plant, which resulted in positive returns for feeding WDGS, Sweet Bran, or DDGS up to 50% of diet DM and under 100 miles distance from the ethanol plant to the feedlot