Barriers to Management Intensive Grazing by Southern Dairy Farmers

Abstract Interest in Management Intensive Grazing (MIG) [a situation where grazing animals are moved to a fresh pasture every few days in order to have access to adequate forage] practices by farmers have increased steadily over the years. Many research publications on grazing advocate the financial and environmental benefits of grazing. Understanding the challenges of MIG can be an important piece of information for a dairy farmer. A survey was conducted to determine how farmers in the southeastern region perceive the barriers to the adoption of MIG. A greater percentage of MIG southeastern farmers were satisfied or very satisfied with their farm profit level compared to other practices. However, the amount of work to start pasture management, and the lack of on-farm technical assistance were barriers for many MIG operations. Keywords: Management Intensive Grazing, Grazing Systems, Southern Dairy Farmers, Dairy Farmer

Chloroplast genome resources and molecular markers differentiate rubber dandelion species from weedy relatives

Rubisco large subunit genes (rbcL) from the Asteraceae. (DOCX 29 kb

Molecular identification and characterization of two rubber dandelion amalgaviruses

The Amalgaviridae family is composed of persistent viruses that share the genome architecture of Totiviridae and gene evolutionary resemblance to Partitiviridae. A single Amalgavirus genus has been assigned to this family, presenting only four recognized species, corresponding to plant infecting viruses with dsRNA monopartite genomes of ca. 3.4 kb. Here, we present the genomic identification and characterization of two novel viruses detected in rubber dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz). The sequenced isolates presented genomes of 3,409 and 3,413 nt long, including two partially overlapping ORFs encoding a putative coat protein and an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP). Phylogenetic insights based on the detected virus sequences suggest them to be members of two new species within the Amalgavirus genus. Multiple independent RNAseq data suggest that the identified viruses have a dynamic distribution and low relative RNA levels in infected plants. Virus presence was not associated with any apparent symptoms on the plant hosts. We propose the names rubber dandelion latent virus 1 & 2 to the detected amalgaviruses; the first viruses to be associated to this emergent and sustainable natural rubber crop.Fil: Debat, Humberto Julio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Zinan Luo. Ohio State University. Department of Horticulture and Crop Science; Estados UnidosFil: Iaffaldano, Brian J. Ohio State University. Department of Horticulture and Crop Science; Estados UnidosFil: Xiaofeng Zhuang. Ohio State University. Department of Horticulture and Crop Science; Estados UnidosFil: Cornish, Katrina. Ohio State University. Department of Horticulture and Crop Science; Estados Unido

Arginine metabolism in Trichomonas vaginalis infected with Mycoplasma hominis

Both Mycoplasma hominis and Trichomonas vaginalis utilize arginine as an energy source via the arginine dihydrolase (ADH) pathway. It has been previously demonstrated that M. hominis forms a stable intracellular relationship with T. vaginalis; hence, in this study we examined the interaction of two localized ADH pathways by comparing T. vaginalis strain SS22 with the laboratory-generated T. vaginalis strain SS22-MOZ2 infected with M. hominis MOZ2. The presence of M. hominis resulted in an approximately 16-fold increase in intracellular ornithine and a threefold increase in putrescine, compared with control T. vaginalis cultures. No change in the activity of enzymes of the ADH pathway could be demonstrated in SS22-MOZ2 compared with the parent SS22, and the increased production of ornithine could be attributed to the presence of M. hominis. Using metabolic flow analysis it was determined that the elasticity of enzymes of the ADH pathway in SS22-MOZ2 was unchanged compared with the parent SS22; however, the elasticity of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) in SS22 was small, and it was doubled in SS22-MOZ2 cells. The potential benefit of this relationship to both T. vaginalis and M. hominis is discussed

Effects of Creatine Supplementation on Brain Function and Health

While the vast majority of research involving creatine supplementation has focused on skeletal muscle, there is a small body of accumulating research that has focused on creatine and the brain. Preliminary studies indicate that creatine supplementation (and guanidinoacetic acid; GAA) has the ability to increase brain creatine content in humans. Furthermore, creatine has shown some promise for attenuating symptoms of concussion, mild traumatic brain injury and depression but its effect on neurodegenerative diseases appears to be lacking. The purpose of this narrative review is to summarize the current body of research pertaining to creatine supplementation on total creatine and phophorylcreatine (PCr) content, explore GAA as an alternative or adjunct to creatine supplementation on brain creatine uptake, assess the impact of creatine on cognition with a focus on sleep deprivation, discuss the effects of creatine supplementation on a variety of neurological and mental health conditions, and outline recent advances on creatine supplementation as a neuroprotective supplement following traumatic brain injury or concussion

The NANOGrav 11-year Data Set: High-precision Timing of 45 Millisecond Pulsars

We present high-precision timing data over time spans of up to 11 years for 45 millisecond pulsars observed as part of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) project, aimed at detecting and characterizing low-frequency gravitational waves. The pulsars were observed with the Arecibo Observatory and/or the Green Bank Telescope at frequencies ranging from 327 MHz to 2.3 GHz. Most pulsars were observed with approximately monthly cadence, and six high-timing-precision pulsars were observed weekly. All were observed at widely separated frequencies at each observing epoch in order to fit for time-variable dispersion delays. We describe our methods for data processing, time-of-arrival (TOA) calculation, and the implementation of a new, automated method for removing outlier TOAs. We fit a timing model for each pulsar that includes spin, astrometric, and (for binary pulsars) orbital parameters; time-variable dispersion delays; and parameters that quantify pulse-profile evolution with frequency. The timing solutions provide three new parallax measurements, two new Shapiro delay measurements, and two new measurements of significant orbital-period variations. We fit models that characterize sources of noise for each pulsar. We find that 11 pulsars show significant red noise, with generally smaller spectral indices than typically measured for non-recycled pulsars, possibly suggesting a different origin. A companion paper uses these data to constrain the strength of the gravitational-wave background

Transient Astrophysics Probe: White Paper

The Transient Astrophysics Probe (TAP) is a wide-field multi-wavelength transient mission proposed for flight starting in the late 2020s. The mission instruments include unique ``Lobster-eye'' imaging soft X-ray optics that allow an approximately 1600-degrees-squared Field of View (FoV); a high sensitivity, 1-degree-squared FoV soft X-ray telescope; a 1-degree-squared FoV Infrared telescope with bandpass 0.6 to 3 microns; and a set of 8 NaI gamma-ray detectors. TAP's most exciting capability will be the observation of tens per year of X-ray and Infrared counterparts of gravitational waves (GWs) involving stellar-mass black holes and neutron stars detected by LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory ) / Virgo / KAGRA (Kamioka (Japan) Gravitational Wave Detector) / LIGO-India, and possibly several per year X-ray counterparts of GWs from supermassive black holes, detected by LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) and Pulsar Timing Arrays. TAP will also discover hundreds of X-ray transients related to compact objects, including tidal disruption events, supernova shock breakouts, and Gamma-Ray Bursts from the epoch of reionization

The NANOGrav 11-year Data Set: High-precision Timing of 45 Millisecond Pulsars

We present high-precision timing data over time spans of up to 11 years for 45 millisecond pulsars observed as part of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) project, aimed at detecting and characterizing low-frequency gravitational waves. The pulsars were observed with the Arecibo Observatory and/or the Green Bank Telescope at frequencies ranging from 327 MHz to 2.3 GHz. Most pulsars were observed with approximately monthly cadence, and six high-timing-precision pulsars were observed weekly. All were observed at widely separated frequencies at each observing epoch in order to fit for time-variable dispersion delays. We describe our methods for data processing, time-of-arrival (TOA) calculation, and the implementation of a new, automated method for removing outlier TOAs. We fit a timing model for each pulsar that includes spin, astrometric, and (for binary pulsars) orbital parameters; time-variable dispersion delays; and parameters that quantify pulse-profile evolution with frequency. The timing solutions provide three new parallax measurements, two new Shapiro delay measurements, and two new measurements of significant orbital-period variations. We fit models that characterize sources of noise for each pulsar. We find that 11 pulsars show significant red noise, with generally smaller spectral indices than typically measured for non-recycled pulsars, possibly suggesting a different origin. A companion paper uses these data to constrain the strength of the gravitational-wave background