IMPACT OF ALTERNATIVE GRID PRICING STRUCTURES ON CATTLE MARKETING DECISIONS

Quality grade, yield grade, and other feedlot performance factors explain much of the variation in profit under grid pricing. Thus, feedlot owners can change profits by adjusting time on feed to influence these performance factors. This research uses growth models, logistic regression, and an optimization process to determine how the optimal number of days on feed changes under different grid pricing structures. It was found that large quality or small yield discounts increases the optimal number of days on feed and small quality or large yield discounts result in fewer days on feed. Losses associated with a grid having large quality discounts are minimized as cattle fed for more days are able to obtain Choice premiums despite the discounts for more Yield Grade 4 and 5 carcasses. Given small quality discounts, cattle fed for a shorter length of time can obtain the Yield Grade 1 and 2 premiums without a large loss in revenue due to grading Select or Standard. Under cash pricing, cattle are fed for very long periods because there are no discounts applied to the carcasses and, therefore, the more weight they gain, the more revenue they generate. During periods of low feed prices, cattle can be fed longer so more cattle grade Prime but also have more Yield Grade 4 and 5 cattle.grid pricing, profits, animal growth, logistic regression, days on feed, Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,

Size-dependent activity of carbon dots for photocatalytic H2 generation in combination with a molecular Ni cocatalyst

Carbon dots (CDs) are low-cost light-absorbers in photocatalytic multicomponent systems, but their wide size distribution has hampered rational design and the identification of the factors that lead to their best performance. To address this challenge, we report herein the novel use of gel filtration size exclusion chromatography to separate amorphous, graphitic, and graphitic N-doped CDs depending on their lateral size to study the effect of their size on photocatalytic H2 evolution with a DuBois type Ni cocatalyst. Transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering confirm size-dependent separation, while UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy of the more monodisperse fractions show a distinct response which computational modelling attributed to a complex interplay between CD size and optical properties. A size-dependent effect on the photocatalytic H2 evolution performance of the CDs in combination with a molecular Ni cocatalyst is demonstrated with a maximum activity at approximately 2-3 nm CD diameter. Overall, size separation leads to a two-fold increase in the specific photocatalytic activity for H2 evolution using the monodisperse CDs compared to the as synthesized polydisperse samples, highlighting the size-dependent effect on photocatalytic activity towards H2 evolution

International genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new primary biliary cirrhosis risk loci and targetable pathogenic pathways.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a classical autoimmune liver disease for which effective immunomodulatory therapy is lacking. Here we perform meta-analyses of discovery data sets from genome-wide association studies of European subjects (n=2,764 cases and 10,475 controls) followed by validation genotyping in an independent cohort (n=3,716 cases and 4,261 controls). We discover and validate six previously unknown risk loci for PBC (Pcombined<5 × 10(-8)) and used pathway analysis to identify JAK-STAT/IL12/IL27 signalling and cytokine-cytokine pathways, for which relevant therapies exist

IMPACT OF ALTERNATIVE GRID PRICING STRUCTURES ON CATTLE MARKETING DECISIONS

Quality grade, yield grade, and other feedlot performance factors explain much of the variation in profit under grid pricing. Thus, feedlot owners can change profits by adjusting time on feed to influence these performance factors. This research uses growth models, logistic regression, and an optimization process to determine how the optimal number of days on feed changes under different grid pricing structures. It was found that large quality or small yield discounts increases the optimal number of days on feed and small quality or large yield discounts result in fewer days on feed. Losses associated with a grid having large quality discounts are minimized as cattle fed for more days are able to obtain Choice premiums despite the discounts for more Yield Grade 4 and 5 carcasses. Given small quality discounts, cattle fed for a shorter length of time can obtain the Yield Grade 1 and 2 premiums without a large loss in revenue due to grading Select or Standard. Under cash pricing, cattle are fed for very long periods because there are no discounts applied to the carcasses and, therefore, the more weight they gain, the more revenue they generate. During periods of low feed prices, cattle can be fed longer so more cattle grade Prime but also have more Yield Grade 4 and 5 cattle

The Origin of Amphipathic Nature of Short and Thin Pristine Carbon Nanotubes—Fully Recyclable 1D Water‐in‐Oil Emulsion Stabilizers

Abstract Short and thin pristine carbon nanotubes (CNTs) emerge as 1D emulsion stabilizers capable of replacing aquatoxic low‐molecular surfactants. However, inconsistencies in understanding of water–solid interfaces for realistic CNTs hamper their individualization‐driven functionalities, processability in benign media, and compatibility with a broad‐scale of matrices. Pristine CNT processing based on water and inexpensive n‐alkanes within a low energy regime would constitute an important step toward greener technologies. Therefore, structural CNT components are quantitatively assessed, placing various CNTs on the scale from hydrophobicity to hydrophilicity. This structural interweave can lead to amphipathicity enabling the formation of water‐in‐oil emulsions. Combining experiments with theoretical studies, CNTs and CNT emulsions are comprehensively characterized establishing descriptors of the emulsifying behavior of pristine and purified CNTs. They emerge as having hydrophilic open‐ends, small number of oxygen–functionalized/vacancy surface areas, and hydrophobic sidewalls and full caps. The interplay of these regions allows short and thin CNTs to be utilized as fully recyclable 1D surfactants stabilizing water/oil emulsions which, as demonstrated, can be applied as paints for flexible conductive coatings. It is also shown how the amphipathic strength depends on CNT size, the pristine‐to‐oxidized/vacancy domains and the oil‐to‐water ratios