A Case Study of Fall versus Spring Calving for the Rocky Mountain West

Feeder cattle prices are generally lower in the fall, when the volume of calves for sale is highest. Most ranches in the Rocky Mountains calve in March or April, which results in the sale of weaned calves in October, when feeder cattle prices tend to be lowest. This study was initiated with the idea that a rancher might improve profitability by switching to fall calving, which would enable them to sell calves in April at a higher price. In this study, fall calving generated both higher and less variable profit, but mainly because of cost savings.Livestock Production/Industries,

Evidence for Δ(2200)7/2−\Delta(2200)7/2^- from photoproduction and consequence for chiral-symmetry restoration at high mass

We report a partial-wave analysis of new data on the double-polarization variable $E$ for the reactions $\gamma p\to \pi^+ n$ and $\gamma p\to \pi^0 p$ and of further data published earlier. The analysis within the Bonn-Gatchina (BnGa) formalism reveals evidence for a poorly known baryon resonance, the one-star $\Delta(2200)7/2^-$. This is the lowest-mass $\Delta^*$ resonance with spin-parity $J^P=7/2^-$. Its mass is significantly higher than the mass of its parity partner $\Delta(1950)7/2^+$ which is the lowest-mass $\Delta^*$ resonance with spin-parity $J^P=7/2^+$. It has been suggested that chiral symmetry might be restored in the high-mass region of hadron excitations, and that these two resonances should be degenerate in mass. Our findings are in conflict with this prediction.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures; Physics Letters B in pres

Taking Oaths and Giving Thanks: Ritual and Religion In Revolutionary America

This dissertation examines the early modern ritual traditions of oaths, thanksgivings, and fast days in Revolutionary America and argues that American politicians and citizens negotiated the meanings of these rituals for American citizenship throughout the Revolutionary era. Oaths of office and allegiance, thanksgivings and fast days were tools for creating a united nation, but they also posed significant challenges because of the religious and political associations inherent in such rituals. These rituals came out of early modern Europe\u27s religious and political culture which was useful for establishing America as a legitimate European nation. As colonials on the edge of the European world, grounding the nation in European tradition was an important step in presenting themselves as a nation on equal footing with Britain, France, and Spain. These same rituals, however, presented problems for unifying a society with as much religious and political variety as appeared in the American colonies. Thus, for the thirty years between the first Continental Congress in 1774 and the third peaceful exchange of presidential power in 1801, Americans negotiated what constraints the state and federal governments could place on American citizens\u27 religious and political beliefs while simultaneously searching for rituals which would draw the v nation together in religious worship and public duty. This negotiation was often not the product of debates over political philosophy, but was enacted by groups and individuals petitioning for more religious freedom or who were viewed as loyal citizens with religious scruples. Early modern nation states typically established a particular version of Christianity while allowing varying levels of dissent from this norm and while some Americans advocated for this type of established religion in America the reality was that such uniformity of behavior was unlikely to be tolerated in the new nation. Instead, politicians and citizens alike searched for a compromise between an established denomination and total religious freedom which many feared would lead to widespread immorality and poor civic virtue

Phonons in the beta-tin, Imma, and sh phases of Silicon from ab initio calculations

We present a new interpretation of measured Raman frequencies of a high-pressure structure of Silicon which was assigned previously to the beta-tin phase. Our results show that the beta-tin->Imma->sh phase transitions have been already indicated in this experiment which was performed before the discovery of the Imma phase. We have calculated phonon-dispersion curves for the beta-tin, Imma, and sh phases of silicon using the plane-wave pseudopotential approach to the density-functional theory and the density-functional perturbation theory within the local density approximation. With the new assignment, the calculated phonon frequencies display an excellent agreement with the experimental data, and can be also used to determine precisely the transition pressure for the Imma->beta-tin phase transition. The sh->Imma transition is accompanied by soft modes.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Nucleon Spectroscopy with CLAS

Meson photoproduction is an important tool in the study of nucleon resonances. The spectrum of broad and overlapping nucleon excitations can be greatly clarified by use of polarization observables. The N* program at Jefferson Lab with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) includes experimental studies with linearly- and circularly-polarized tagged-photon beams, longitudinally- and transversely-polarized nucleon targets, and recoil polarizations. Selected results from these experimental studies will be presented

Polarization Observables in γN→KKˉN\gamma N\to K\bar{K}N

We explore some of the rich structure of the polarization observables recently developed for processes like $\gamma N\to\pi\pi N$ and $\gamma N\to K \bar{K} N$ in the framework of a specific model for the latter process. Emphasis is placed on observables that may be accesible at existing facilities in the near future. The sensitivity of the observables to the details of the model indicate that they will be a very useful tool in differentiating between different models for reactions like these. In the framework of a model for $\gamma N\to K \bar{K} N$, we examine the sensitivity of the observables to coupling constants of the $\phi$, to the properties of the $\Lambda(1405)$, and to the existence of the $\Theta^+$.Comment: 21 pages, latex, 17 figures, 1 style file include

Assessment of the Mobilizable Vector Plasmids pSUP202 and pSUP404.2 as Genetic Tools for the Predatory Bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus

Bdellovibrio and like organisms (BALOs) form the group of predatory bacteria which require Gram-negative bacteria as prey. Genetic studies with Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus can be performed with vectors which are introduced into the predator via conjugation. The usefulness of the two vectors pSUP202 and pSUP404.2 as genetic tools were assessed. Both vectors were transferable into B. bacteriovorus by conjugative matings with an Escherichia coli K12 strain as donor. The transfer frequency was higher for vector pSUP404.2 (approx. 10−1–10−4) as for pSUP202 (approx. 10−5–10−6). Vector pSUP202 with a pMB1 origin is unstable in the predatory bacterium, whereas pSUP404.2 is stably maintained in the absence of selective antibiotics. pSUP404.2 harbors two plasmid replicons, the p15A ori and the RSF1010 replication region The copy number of pSUP404.2 was determined by quantitative PCR in B. bacteriovorus and averages seven copies per genome. pSUP404.2 harbors two resistance genes (chloramphenicol and kanamycin) which can be used for cloning either by selection for transconjugants or by insertional inactivation