Spring Grass Availability and Silage Supplementation Impact on Dry Matter Intake and Enteric Methane Emissions in Grazing Dairy Cattle

Enteric methane (CH4) emissions were measured in forty spring calving cows offered one of two (n=20) contrasting diets (High Grass; HG, Low Grass; LG) over 10 weeks in early lactation (8th February – 18th April 2021). All cows were blocked for breed and parity and balanced on milk production, economic breeding index (EBI), bodyweight and body condition score and randomly allocated to treatments. The HG grazing treatment cows were offered their full daily nutrient requirement from grazed grass and concentrate with no silage supplementation. The LG grazing treatment cows were offered a restricted (~60%) amount of their daily nutrient requirement from grazed grass with the deficit being supplied by 3 kg DM/cow of grass silage fed daily. Concentrate supplementation was the same for both treatments at 2.7 kg DM/cow/day. All forage samples were analysed using near – infrared spectrometry to evaluate quality parameters. Milk yield was recorded daily with milk composition determined weekly. Daily CH4 emissions were monitored using Greenfeed technology. Individual animal dry matter intake (DMI) was determined at five time points using the n-alkane technique. Over the 10 week experiment collected data was averaged fortnightly in 5 periods (period 1-5) prior to analysis. Milk yield and milk solids (fat plus protein) production were similar for both treatments. The HG treatment tended to have greater total DMI (TDMI) with a significant diet by period interaction evident. Daily CH4 emissions (g/d) were not effected by treatment, however there was a treatment by period interaction. This resulted in a significant treatment effect for CH4 yield (g/kg TDMI). This was complemented with a significant treatment by period interaction with the greatest difference in CH4 yield evident in period 4. Increasing the proportion of highly digestible grazed grass in the diet in early lactation can aid in reducing enteric CH4 emissions in pasture based dairy systems

Low-Frequency Radio Transients in the Galactic Center

We report the detection of a new radio transient source, GCRT J1746-2757, located only 1.1 degrees north of the Galactic center. Consistent with other radio transients toward the Galactic center, this source brightened and faded on a time scale of a few months. No X-ray counterpart was detected. We also report new 0.33 GHz measurements of the radio counterpart to the X-ray transient source, XTE J1748-288, previously detected and monitored at higher radio frequencies. We show that the spectrum of XTE J1748-288 steepened considerably during a period of a few months after its peak. We also discuss the need for a more efficient means of finding additional radio transients

The Cosmic Coincidence as a Temporal Selection Effect Produced by the Age Distribution of Terrestrial Planets in the Universe

The energy densities of matter and the vacuum are currently observed to be of the same order of magnitude: $(\Omega_{m 0} \approx 0.3) \sim (\Omega_{\Lambda 0} \approx 0.7)$. The cosmological window of time during which this occurs is relatively narrow. Thus, we are presented with the cosmological coincidence problem: Why, just now, do these energy densities happen to be of the same order? Here we show that this apparent coincidence can be explained as a temporal selection effect produced by the age distribution of terrestrial planets in the Universe. We find a large ($\sim 68$) probability that observations made from terrestrial planets will result in finding $\Omega_m$ at least as close to $\Omega_{\Lambda}$ as we observe today. Hence, we, and any observers in the Universe who have evolved on terrestrial planets, should not be surprised to find $\Omega_m \sim \Omega_{\Lambda}$. This result is relatively robust if the time it takes an observer to evolve on a terrestrial planet is less than $\sim 10$ Gyr.Comment: Submitted to Ap

Concerns and priorities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples regarding food and nutrition: a systematic review of qualitative evidence.

BACKGROUND: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians experience persistent health and social inequities. Chronic conditions, many of which are diet-related, are leading contributors to the burden of disease and health inequity in Australia. First Nations Peoples have the right to be involved in all policy decisions affecting them. This review aimed to synthesise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' concerns and priorities about food and nutrition in order to inform policies to improve health equity. METHODS: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Informit and Google Scholar were systematically searched to identify qualitative studies-published from January 2008-that included data from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples about their concerns and priorities related to food and nutrition. Data were extracted from included studies using a pre-determined template and study quality was assessed using the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Quality Appraisal Tool. Qualitative findings were synthesised using inductive thematic analysis and categorised based on an ecological model of health. RESULTS: Twenty-one studies were included. Key factors influencing food and nutrition were identified across all levels of the ecological framework. These included interpersonal and institutional racism, junk food availability and marketing, food accessibility and affordability, housing conditions, food knowledge and cooking skills, and connection to family and culture. CONCLUSIONS: Documenting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' lived experiences of the colonised food system is one step necessary for informing policy to tackle food and nutrition inequities. Based on existing qualitative research, food and nutrition policymakers should prioritise building a supportive food environment by focusing on self-determination; ensuring access to healthy, affordable food and safe housing; and by eliminating systemic racism

Effects of food policy actions on Indigenous Peoples' nutrition-related outcomes: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Indigenous Peoples worldwide endure unacceptable health disparities with undernutrition and food insecurity often coexisting with obesity and chronic diseases. Policy-level actions are required to eliminate malnutrition in all its forms. However, there has been no systematic synthesis of the evidence of effectiveness of food and nutrition policies for Indigenous Peoples around the world. This review fills that gap. METHODS: Eight databases were searched for peer-reviewed literature, published between 2000 and 2019. Relevant websites were searched for grey literature. Articles were included if they were original studies, published in English and included data from Indigenous Peoples from Western colonised countries, evaluated a food or nutrition policy (or intervention), and provided quantitative impact/outcome data. Study screening, data extraction and quality assessment were undertaken independently by two authors, at least one of whom was Indigenous. A narrative synthesis was undertaken with studies grouped according to the NOURISHING food policy framework. RESULTS: We identified 78 studies from Canada, Australia, Aotearoa/New Zealand and the USA. Most studies evaluated targeted interventions, focused on rural or remote Indigenous communities. The most effective interventions combined educational strategies with policies targeting food price, composition and/or availability, particularly in retail and school environments. Interventions to reduce exposure to unhealthy food advertising was the only area of the NOURISHING framework not represented in the literature. Few studies examined the impact of universal food policies on Indigenous Peoples' diets, health or well-being. CONCLUSION: Both targeted and universal policy action can be effective for Indigenous Peoples. Actions that modify the structures and systems governing food supply through improved availability, access and affordability of healthy foods should be prioritised. More high-quality evidence on the impact of universal food and nutrition policy actions for Indigenous Peoples is required, particularly in urban areas and in the area of food marketing

Analysis of milling of dry compacted ribbons by distinct element method

Fine cohesive powders are often dry granulated to improve their flowability. Roller compaction is commonly used to produce dense ribbons which are then milled. The material properties of the powder and the conditions in the roller compactor affect the strength of the ribbons, however there is no method in the literature to predict the size distribution of the product of ribbon milling. Here we introduce a method, by using the Distinct Element Method (DEM) to determine the prevailing impact velocities and stresses in the mill, with bonded spheres representing the ribbons. The bond strength is calibrated by matching experimental results of three point bend measurements and predictions from numerical simulations. The ribbons are then exposed to the dynamic conditions predicted by the DEM, by dropping them from a controlled height to cause fragmentation, and subsequently stressing them in a shear cell under the conditions again predicted by the DEM. The fragments are sheared under these conditions to represent repeated passage of bars over the fragments at the mill base. Sieve analysis is used here to determine the particle size distribution under given mill conditions. The predicted size distribution of the mill product compares well with the plant data. It is found that the mill speed and length of ribbons fed to the mill have no significant influence on the product size distribution for the range tested

How does money influence health?

Why do people in poverty tend to have poorer health? This study looks at hundreds of theories to consider how income influences health. There is a graded association between money and health ? increased income equates to better health. But the reasons are debated. Researchers have reviewed theories from 272 wide-ranging papers, most of which examined the complex interactions between people?s income and their health throughout their lives. Key points This research identifies four main ways money affects people?s wellbeing: Material: Money buys goods and services that improve health. The more money families have, the better the goods they can buy. Psychosocial: Managing on a low income is stressful. Comparing oneself to others and feeling at the bottom of the social ladder can be distressing, which can lead to biochemical changes in the body, eventually causing ill health. Behavioural: For various reasons, people on low incomes are more likely to adopt unhealthy behaviours ? smoking and drinking, for example ? while those on higher incomes are more able to afford healthier lifestyles. Reverse causation (poor health leads to low income): Health may affect income by preventing people from taking paid employment. Childhood health may also affect educational outcomes, limiting job opportunities and potential earnings. The research is part of our programme of work on poverty in the UK

The development of absorptive capacity-based innovation in a construction SME

Traditionally, construction has been a transaction-oriented industry. However, it is changing from the design-bid-build process into a business based on innovation capability and performance management, in which contracts are awarded on the basis of factors such as knowledge, intellectual capital and skills. This change presents a challenge to construction-sector SMEs with scarce resources, which must find ways to innovate based on those attributes to ensure their future competitiveness. This paper explores how dynamic capability, using an absorptive capacity framework in response to these challenges, has been developed in a construction-based SME. The paper also contributes to the literature on absorptive capacity and innovation by showing how the construct can be operationalized within an organization. The company studied formed a Knowledge Transfer Partnership using action research over a two-year period with a local university. The aim was to increase its absorptive capacity and hence its ability to meet the changing market challenges. The findings show that absorptive capacity can be operationalized into a change management approach for improving capability-based competitiveness. Moreover, it is important for absorptive capacity constructs and language to be contextualized within a given organizational setting (as in the case of the construction-based SME in the present study)

Cognitive Computation sans Representation

The Computational Theory of Mind (CTM) holds that cognitive processes are essentially computational, and hence computation provides the scientific key to explaining mentality. The Representational Theory of Mind (RTM) holds that representational content is the key feature in distinguishing mental from non-mental systems. I argue that there is a deep incompatibility between these two theoretical frameworks, and that the acceptance of CTM provides strong grounds for rejecting RTM. The focal point of the incompatibility is the fact that representational content is extrinsic to formal procedures as such, and the intended interpretation of syntax makes no difference to the execution of an algorithm. So the unique 'content' postulated by RTM is superfluous to the formal procedures of CTM. And once these procedures are implemented in a physical mechanism, it is exclusively the causal properties of the physical mechanism that are responsible for all aspects of the system's behaviour. So once again, postulated content is rendered superfluous. To the extent that semantic content may appear to play a role in behaviour, it must be syntactically encoded within the system, and just as in a standard computational artefact, so too with the human mind/brain - it's pure syntax all the way down to the level of physical implementation. Hence 'content' is at most a convenient meta-level gloss, projected from the outside by human theorists, which itself can play no role in cognitive processing

Thinking strategically about assessment

Drawing upon the literature on strategy formulation in organisations, this paper argues for a focus on strategy as process. It relates this to the need to think strategically about assessment, a need engendered by resource pressures, developments in learning and the demands of external stakeholders. It is argued that in practice assessment strategies are often formed at the level of practice, but that this produces contradiction and confusion at higher levels. Such tensions cannot be managed away, but they can be reflected on and mitigated. The paper suggests a framework for the construction of assessment strategies at different levels of an institution. However, the main conclusion is that the process of constructing such strategies should be an opportunity for learning and reflection, rather than one of compliance