Prediction of 24-hour milk yield and composition in dairy cows from a single part-day yield and sample

peer-reviewedTeagasc PublicationIrish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research | Volume 58: Issue 1 Prediction of 24-hour milk yield and composition in dairy cows from a single part-day yield and sample S. McParlandemail , B. Coughlan , B. Enright , M. O’Keeffe , R. O’Connor , L. Feeney and D.P. Berry DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijafr-2019-0007 | Published online: 09 Aug 2019 PDF Abstract Article PDF References Recommendations Abstract The objective was to evaluate the accuracy of predicting 24-hour milk yield and composition from a single morning (AM) or evening (PM) milk weight and composition. A calibration dataset of 37,481 test-day records with both AM and PM yields and composition was used to generate the prediction equations; equations were validated using 4,644 test-day records. Prediction models were developed within stage of lactation and parity while accounting for the inter-milking time interval. The mean correlation between the predicted 24-hour yields and composition of milk, fat and protein and the respective actual values was 0.97 when based on just an AM milk yield and composition with a mean correlation of 0.95 when based on just a PM milk yield and composition. The regression of predicted 24-hour yield and composition on the respective actual values varied from 0.97 to 1.01 with the exception of 24-hour fat percentage predicted from a PM sample (1.06). A single AM sample is useful to predict 24-hour milk yield and composition when the milking interval is known

An Examination of the Negotiability Concept of the Uniform Commercial Code

The aim of this undertaking is to examine the impact, if any, that the new Uniform Commercial Code may have on our concept of negotiability as it has evolved to the present time. Analysis will be confined to this one broad topic, but our considerations are not limited to one section of the Code. Although analytical thought about the negotiability concept has been applied to its many segments, which we call rules, apparently nothing has been written on the Code that has emphasized the expansion of the concept itself which is now possible. The inspiration for this article stems from the ostensibly innocent words “within this article” found in Section 3-104 of the Uniform Commercial Code. It is contended that these words could completely change the historical policy of the courts and launch us into an entirely new era for the negotiability concept. A full understanding of this position can only be gained by an inquiry into the historical development of negotiability

First Observational Tests of Eternal Inflation: Analysis Methods and WMAP 7-Year Results

In the picture of eternal inflation, our observable universe resides inside a single bubble nucleated from an inflating false vacuum. Many of the theories giving rise to eternal inflation predict that we have causal access to collisions with other bubble universes, providing an opportunity to confront these theories with observation. We present the results from the first observational search for the effects of bubble collisions, using cosmic microwave background data from the WMAP satellite. Our search targets a generic set of properties associated with a bubble collision spacetime, which we describe in detail. We use a modular algorithm that is designed to avoid a posteriori selection effects, automatically picking out the most promising signals, performing a search for causal boundaries, and conducting a full Bayesian parameter estimation and model selection analysis. We outline each component of this algorithm, describing its response to simulated CMB skies with and without bubble collisions. Comparing the results for simulated bubble collisions to the results from an analysis of the WMAP 7-year data, we rule out bubble collisions over a range of parameter space. Our model selection results based on WMAP 7-year data do not warrant augmenting LCDM with bubble collisions. Data from the Planck satellite can be used to more definitively test the bubble collision hypothesis.Comment: Companion to arXiv:1012.1995. 41 pages, 23 figures. v2: replaced with version accepted by PRD. Significant extensions to the Bayesian pipeline to do the full-sky non-Gaussian source detection problem (previously restricted to patches). Note that this has changed the normalization of evidence values reported previously, as full-sky priors are now employed, but the conclusions remain unchange

Feasibility and initial efficacy of project-based treatment for people with ABI

Background: Communication impairments are common and pervasive for people a long time following acquired brain injury (ABI). These impairments have a significant impact on a person's quality of life (QOL) post‐injury. Project‐based treatment is a treatment approach that could have an impact on communication skills and QOL for people with ABI a long‐term post‐injury. This treatment is embedded in a context of meaningful activities chosen by people with ABI, whereby, as a group, they work collaboratively to achieve a tangible end product. Aims: To evaluate the feasibility and initial efficacy of project‐based treatment on improving the communication skills and QOL for people with ABI. Methods & Procedures: An exploratory controlled trial with alternate allocation of groups, and follow‐up at 6–8 weeks, was completed. Twenty‐one people with chronic ABI were recruited in groups of two to three from community settings, allocated to either a TREATMENT (n = 11) or WAITLIST group (n = 10). Participants attended a 20‐h group‐based treatment over 6 weeks where they worked towards achieving a project that helped others. To determine feasibility, four criteria were used: demand, implementation, practicality and acceptability. A range of communication and QOL outcomes was used to determine a fifth feasibility criterion, initial efficacy. Some of these criteria were additionally used to evaluate the feasibility of the outcomes. Outcomes & Results: All participants received the treatment as allocated with high attendance and no dropouts. The treatment was feasible to deliver as intended and was highly acceptable to participants. Medium and large effect sizes were found from pre‐ to post‐treatment, and from pre‐treatment to follow‐up for measures of conversation, perceived communicative ability and QOL. Conclusions & Implications: Project‐based treatment is feasible with indications of initial efficacy for both communication skills and QOL. The treatment provides a promising new approach for improving communication skills and QOL in people with chronic acquired brain injuries in the community setting

Alcohol consumption in young adults: the role of multisensory imagery.

Accepted 19.11.2013Little is known about the subjective experience of alcohol desire and craving in young people. Descriptions of alcohol urges continue to be extensively used in the everyday lexicon of young, non-dependent drinkers. Elaborated Intrusion (EI) Theory contends that imagery is central to craving and desires, and predicts that alcohol-related imagery will be associated with greater frequency and amount of drinking. This study involved 1,535 age stratified 18- 25 year olds who completed an alcohol–related survey that included the Imagery scale of the Alcohol Craving Experience (ACE) questionnaire. Imagery items predicted 12-16% of the variance in concurrent alcohol consumption. Higher total Imagery subscale scores were linearly associated with greater drinking frequency and lower self-efficacy for moderate drinking. Interference with alcohol imagery may have promise as a preventive or early intervention target in young people

Alleviation of Brain Injury-Induced Cerebral Metabolic Depression by Amphetamine: A Cytochrome Oxidase Histochemistry Study

Measurements of oxidative metabolic capacity following the ablation of rat sensorimotor cortex and ,he administration of amphetamine were examined to determine their effects on the metabolic dysfunction that follows brain injury. Twenty-four hours after surgery, rats sustaining either sham operations or unilateral cortical ablation were administered a single injection of D-amphetamine (2 mg/kg; i.p.) or saline and then sacrificed 24 h later. Brain tissue was processed for cytochrome oxidase histochemistry, and 12 bilateral cerebral areas were measured, using optical density as an index of the relative amounts of the enzyme. Compared with that of the control groups, cytochrome oxidase in the injured animals was significantly reduced throughout the cerebral cortex and in 5 of II subcortical structures. This injury-induced depression of oxidative capacity was most pronounced in regions of the hemisphere ipsilateral to the ablation. Animals given D-amphetamine had less depression of oxidative capacity, which was most pronounced bilaterally in the cerebral cortex, red nucleus, and superior colliculus; and in the nucleus accumbens, caudateputamen, and globus pallidus ipsilaterai to the ablation. The ability of D-amphetamine to alleviate depressed cerebral oxidative metabolism following cortical injury may be one mechanism by which drugs increasing noradrenaline release accelerate functional recovery in both animals and humans

Identifying Otosclerosis with Aural Acoustical Tests of Absorbance, Group Delay, Acoustic Reflex Threshold, and Otoacoustic Emissions

Background: Otosclerosis is a progressive middle-ear disease that affects conductive transmission through the middle ear. Ear-canal acoustic tests may be useful in the diagnosis of conductive disorders. This study addressed the degree to which results from a battery of ear-canal tests, which include wideband reflectance, acoustic stapedius muscle reflex threshold (ASRT), and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs), were effective in quantifying a risk of otosclerosis and in evaluating middle-ear function in ears after surgical intervention for otosclerosis. Purpose: To evaluate the ability of the test battery to classify ears as normal or otosclerotic, measure the accuracy of reflectance in classifying ears as normal or otosclerotic, and evaluate the similarity of responses in normal ears compared with ears after surgical intervention for otosclerosis. Research Design: A quasi-experimental cross-sectional study incorporating case control was used. Three groups were studied: one diagnosed with otosclerosis before corrective surgery, a group that received corrective surgery for otosclerosis, and a control group. Study Sample: The test groups included 23 ears (13 right and 10 left) with normal hearing from 16 participants (4 male and 12 female), 12 ears (7 right and 5 left) diagnosed with otosclerosis from 9 participants (3 male and 6 female), and 13 ears (4 right and 9 left) after surgical intervention from 10 participants (2 male and 8 female). Data Collection and Analysis: Participants received audiometric evaluations and clinical immittance testing. Experimental tests performed included ASRT tests with wideband reference signal (0.25–8 kHz), reflectance tests (0.25–8 kHz), which were parameterized by absorbance and group delay at ambient pressure and at swept tympanometric pressures, and TEOAE tests using chirp stimuli (1–8 kHz). ASRTs were measured in ipsilateral and contralateral conditions using tonal and broadband noise activators. Experimental ASRT tests were based on the difference in wideband-absorbed sound power before and after presenting the activator. Diagnostic accuracy to classify ears as otosclerotic or normal was quantified by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for univariate and multivariate reflectance tests. The multivariate predictor used a small number of input reflectance variables, each having a large AUC, in a principal components analysis to create independent variables and followed by a logistic regression procedure to classify the test ears. Results:Relative to the results in normal ears, diagnosed otosclerosis earsmore frequently showed absent TEOAEs and ASRTs, reduced ambient absorbance at 4 kHz, and a different pattern of tympanometric absorbance and group delay (absorbance increased at 2.8 kHz at the positive-pressure tail and decreased at 0.7–1 kHz at the peak pressure, whereas group delay decreased at positive and negative-pressure tails from 0.35–0.7 kHz, and at 2.8–4 kHz at positive-pressure tail). Using a multivariate predictor with three reflectance variables, tympanometric reflectance (AUC 5 0.95) was more accurate than ambient reflectance (AUC 5 0.88) in classifying ears as normal or otosclerotic. Conclusions: Reflectance provides a middle-ear test that is sensitive to classifying ears as otosclerotic or normal, which may be useful in clinical applications

Domestication via the commensal pathway in a fish-invertebrate mutualism.

Domesticator-domesticate relationships are specialized mutualisms where one species provides multigenerational support to another in exchange for a resource or service, and through which both partners gain an advantage over individuals outside the relationship. While this ecological innovation has profoundly reshaped the world's landscapes and biodiversity, the ecological circumstances that facilitate domestication remain uncertain. Here, we show that longfin damselfish (Stegastes diencaeus) aggressively defend algae farms on which they feed, and this protective refuge selects a domesticator-domesticate relationship with planktonic mysid shrimps (Mysidium integrum). Mysids passively excrete nutrients onto farms, which is associated with enriched algal composition, and damselfish that host mysids exhibit better body condition compared to those without. Our results suggest that the refuge damselfish create as a byproduct of algal tending and the mutual habituation that damselfish and mysids exhibit towards one another were instrumental in subsequent mysid domestication. These results are consistent with domestication via the commensal pathway, by which many common examples of animal domestication are hypothesized to have evolved

U–Pb Zircon Ages, Mapping, and Biostratigraphy of the Payette Formation and Idaho Group North of the Western Snake River Plain, Idaho: Implications for Hydrocarbon System Correlation

Sedimentary deposits north of the western Snake River Plain host Idaho’s first and only producing oil and gas field. They consist of the lower to middle Miocene Payette Formation, the middle to upper Miocene Poison Creek and Chalk Hills Formations, and the Pliocene to lower Pleistocene Glenns Ferry Formation. Using new geochronology, palynomorph biostratigraphy, and geologic mapping, we connect updip surface features to subsurface petroleum play elements. The Payette Formation is a likely main source of the hydrocarbons, and acts as one of the reservoirs in the unnamed basin. Here, we redefine the Payette Formation as 0 to ~3,500 ft (0 to ~1,000 m) of mudstone, with lesser amounts of sandstone overlying and interbedded with the Columbia River Basalt Group and Weiser volcanic field. Index palynomorphs, including Liquidambar and Pterocarya, present in Idaho during and immediately after the middle Miocene climatic optimum, and new U–Pb ages of 16.39 and 15.88 Ma, help establish the thickness and extent of the formation. For the first time, these biostratigraphic markers have been defined for the oil and gas wells. The Poison Creek Formation is sandstone interbedded with mudstone that is ~800–1,800 ft (250–550 m) thick. The Chalk Hills Formation is a tuffaceous siltstone, claystone, and sandstone that is as much as ~4,200 ft (1,280 m) thick. New U–Pb ages are 10.1, 9.04, and 9.00 for the Poison Creek Formation, along with maximum depositional ages of 10.7 to 9.9 Ma for four samples from the Poison Creek Formation. A single U–Pb age of 7.78 Ma was determined from pumice low in the Chalk Hills Formation. Like the Payette Formation, the Poison Creek Formation can be a reservoir, whereas the Chalk Hills Formation acts as a sealing mudstone facies. The overlying sandstone, siltstone, and conglomerate of the Glenns Ferry Formation act as the overburden to the petroleum system in the subsurface, and were important for burial and hydrocarbon maturation. The Glenns Ferry Formation is up to 500 ft (150 m) thick in the study area, as much has been eroded. Whereas the Payette and Poison Creek Formations were deposited during the mid-Miocene climatic optimum amongst and above volcanic flows, the Chalk Hills and Glenns Ferry Formations were deposited within ancient Lake Idaho during an overall increase in aridity and cooling after the mid-Miocene climatic optimum