EFFECTS OF JOINT PRODUCT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ON E.COLI 0157:H7 AND FEEDLOT PROFITS

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of Escherichia coli 0157:H7 on feedlot profits. Fecal samples from 711 feedlot pens in 73 feedlots in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas were tested for E. coli 0157:H7. Average daily gain and feed-to-gain ratios were computed for each feedlot pen, and managers from each feedlot provided information on various feedlot management practices. Cattle performance and E. coli 0157:H7 prevalence are both affected by feedlot management practices. The indirect effect of E. coli 0157:H7 on potential feedlot profits was determined by measuring the effects of management practices on E. coli 0157:H7 levels and cattle performance. Management practices that affect cattle performance were identified using ordinary least squares regressions. A negative binomial regression was used to identify management practices that affect E. coli 0157:H7 prevalence. Certain feedlot management practices were identified that have a joint impact on cattle performance and E. coli 0157:H7 prevalence. Using predatory insects to control flies, controlling for stray dogs, foxes, and coyotes in feed areas, removing manure from pens during finishing, and including tallow in the ration were management strategies associated with higher feedlot profits and lower E. coli 0157:H7 prevalence. Using mobile sprinklers for dust control and including alfalfa or sorghum hay or silage in the ration were associated with lower E. coli 0157:H7 prevalence and lower feedlot profits. Increasing days between cleaning water tanks and restricting movement of horses were associated with higher feedlot profits and higher E. coli 0157:H7 levels. Controlling for stray cats in feed areas and including liquid protein in the ration were associated with lower feedlot profits and higher E. coli 0157:H7 levels. These specific management strategies, which were not robust through a sensitivity analysis, should be interpreted with caution. The general categories of management strategies, however, were robust and consistent with past researchLivestock Production/Industries,

Adult attachment style across individuals and role-relationships: Avoidance is relationship-specific, but anxiety shows greater generalizability

A generalisability study examined the hypotheses that avoidant attachment, reflecting the representation of others, should be more relationship-specific (vary across relationships more than across individuals), while attachment anxiety, reflecting self-representation, should be more generalisable across a person’s relationships. College students responded to 6-item questionnaire measures of these variables for 5 relationships (mother, father, best same-gender friend, romantic partner or best opposite-gender friend, other close person), on 3 (N = 120) or 2 (N = 77) occasions separated by a few weeks. Results supported the hypotheses, with the person variance component being larger than the relationship-specific component for anxiety, and the opposite happening for avoidance. Anxiety therefore seems not to be as relationship-specific as previous research suggested. Possible reasons for discrepancies between the current and previous studies are discussed

Coastal agricultural landscapes: Mapping and understanding grazing intensity on Welsh saltmarshes

Coastal wetlands such as saltmarshes support local communities and industries through ecosystem services and benefit the well-being of local communities in many regions of the world. Along sheltered temperate and sub-tropical coastlines, saltmarshes provide coastal protection, provision of recreational space and wildlife habitat. Those in northwest Europe provide a valuable resource for local agricultural communities through livestock grazing. Following the departure of the UK from the EU and the related potential changes to agricultural policies and markets, it is timely to evaluate the status of saltmarsh livestock grazing. In particular, knowledge of grazing patterns, policy futures and stakeholder perceptions are required to support traditional cultural practice and the ecological status of saltmarshes. This study focuses on the devolved UK nation of Wales, as it has a strong traditional agricultural and pastoral economy, and a landscape of significant conservation value. Yet there are substantial evidence and knowledge gaps regarding livestock grazing and its saltmarsh impact. We present the first map showing the spatial distribution of saltmarsh grazing practice in the UK. Drawing on insights gathered through an expert workshop and interviews with saltmarsh landowners and managers across Wales (N = 35), the paper discusses the challenges and benefits of coastal grazing on saltmarshes, highlighting the diverse values, personal connection and sense of identity associated with marshes. Interviews reveal deep rooted social and cultural values attributed to saltmarshes by the rural coastal community. The study illustrates the need for an integrated approach to management of saltmarshes, accounting for the social, cultural, economic, and environmental values within decision-making

Game Theoretical Interactions of Moving Agents

Game theory has been one of the most successful quantitative concepts to describe social interactions, their strategical aspects, and outcomes. Among the payoff matrix quantifying the result of a social interaction, the interaction conditions have been varied, such as the number of repeated interactions, the number of interaction partners, the possibility to punish defective behavior etc. While an extension to spatial interactions has been considered early on such as in the "game of life", recent studies have focussed on effects of the structure of social interaction networks. However, the possibility of individuals to move and, thereby, evade areas with a high level of defection, and to seek areas with a high level of cooperation, has not been fully explored so far. This contribution presents a model combining game theoretical interactions with success-driven motion in space, and studies the consequences that this may have for the degree of cooperation and the spatio-temporal dynamics in the population. It is demonstrated that the combination of game theoretical interactions with motion gives rise to many self-organized behavioral patterns on an aggregate level, which can explain a variety of empirically observed social behaviors

Adiabatic Output Coupling of a Bose Gas at Finite Temperatures

We develop a general theory of adiabatic output coupling from trapped atomic Bose-Einstein Condensates at finite temperatures. For weak coupling, the output rate from the condensate, and the excited levels in the trap, settles in a time proportional to the inverse of the spectral width of the coupling to the output modes. We discuss the properties of the output atoms in the quasi-steady-state where the population in the trap is not appreciably depleted. We show how the composition of the output beam, containing condensate and thermal component, may be controlled by changing the frequency of the output coupler. This composition determines the first and second order coherence of the output beam. We discuss the changes in the composition of the bose gas left in the trap and show how nonresonant output coupling can stimulate either the evaporation of thermal excitations in the trap or the growth of non-thermal excitations, when pairs of correlated atoms leave the condensate.Comment: 22 pages, 6 Figs. To appear in Physical Review A All the typos from the previous submission have been fixe

Theory of output coupling for trapped fermionic atoms

We develop a dynamic theory of output coupling, for fermionic atoms initially confined in a magnetic trap. We consider an exactly soluble one-dimensional model, with a spatially localized delta-type coupling between the atoms in the trap and a continuum of free-particle external modes. Two important special cases are considered for the confinement potential: the infinite box and the harmonic oscillator. We establish that in both cases a bound state of the coupled system appears for any value of the coupling constant, implying that the trap population does not vanish in the infinite-time limit. For weak coupling, the energy spectrum of the outgoing beam exhibits peaks corresponding to the initially occupied energy levels in the trap; the height of these peaks increases with the energy. As the coupling gets stronger, the energy spectrum is displaced towards dressed energies of the fermions in the trap. The corresponding dressed states result from the coupling between the unperturbed fermionic states in the trap, mediated by the coupling between these states and the continuum. In the strong-coupling limit, there is a reinforcement of the lowest-energy dressed mode, which contributes to the energy spectrum of the outgoing beam more strongly than the other modes. This effect is especially pronounced for the one-dimensional box, which indicates that the efficiency of the mode-reinforcement mechanism depends on the steepness of the confinement potential. In this case, a quasi-monochromatic anti-bunched atomic beam is obtained. Results for a bosonic sample are also shown for comparison.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, added discussion on time-dependent spectral distribution and corresponding figur

EPO does not promote interaction between the erythropoietin and beta-common receptors

A direct interaction between the erythropoietin (EPOR) and the beta-common (βc) receptors to form an Innate Repair Receptor (IRR) is controversial. On one hand, studies have shown a functional link between EPOR and βc receptor in tissue protection while others have shown no involvement of the βc receptor in tissue repair. To date there is no biophysical evidence to confirm a direct association of the two receptors either in vitro or in vivo. We investigated the existence of an interaction between the extracellular regions of EPOR and the βc receptor in silico and in vitro (either in the presence or absence of EPO or EPO-derived peptide ARA290). Although a possible interaction between EPOR and βc was suggested by our computational and genomic studies, our in vitro biophysical analysis demonstrates that the extracellular regions of the two receptors do not specifically associate. We also explored the involvement of the βc receptor gene (Csf2rb) under anaemic stress conditions and found no requirement for the βc receptor in mice. In light of these studies, we conclude that the extracellular regions of the EPOR and the βc receptor do not directly interact and that the IRR is not involved in anaemic stress.Karen S. Cheung Tung Shing, Sophie E. Broughton, Tracy L. Nero, Kevin Gillinder, Melissa D. Ilsley, Hayley Ramshaw, Angel F. Lopez, Michael D. W. Griffin, Michael W. Parker, Andrew C. Perkins, Urmi Dhaga