Factors associated with student grades in Animal Physiology I

Students and faculty alike would like to know what factors are related to success in college courses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate factors that relate to a student’s success in Animal Physiology I (Phys I), an upper-level animal science course at the University of Arkansas. Student data were confidentially collected and coded. Data collected were student high school grade point average (HSGPA); composite ACT score; English, reading, math, and science subscores on the ACT; and student grades in English composition I and II, college algebra, chemistry, biology, microbiology, animal physiology II, and reproductive physiology. Prematriculation performance confirmed that students with higher HSGPA and (or) ACT scores had better grades in animal physiology I. However, ACT subscores were not more informative than the ACT composite score. Performance in prerequisite courses (chemistry and biology) was significantly related to student grades in Animal Physiology I. Student grades in related courses indicated the same results, that is, students that do well in high school tend to have better grades in college, including in Animal Physiology I

Armed to Farm: Developing Training Programs For Military Veterans in Agriculture

Farming offers a viable avenue for returning veterans to transition into society and capitalizes on skills that made them successful in the military. However, these opportunities may be missed due to a lack of targeted training programs, guidance, and information for the veteran community. Programs directed toward educating beginning farmers, along with increased awareness and demand for local food production, have provided an opportunity for individuals interested in farming. However, few programs have focused on the needs of veterans interested in agriculture. Since 2007, our team has directly supported approximately 300 veterans interested in farming through workshops, internships, research, and training opportunities and an additional 650 veterans nationally through the Farmer Veteran Coalition. As more programs develop for veterans in agricultural disciplines, we believe lessons learned from our partnership with veterans may be beneficial to those working with this population of farmers

Meat goat management wheel (2011)

This article contains a guide that begins with setting the kidding time first to determine approximate dates of other management steps. Following that are suggested dates for actions through the meat goat management process

Prevalence and characteristics of choroidal nevi: The multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis

10.1016/j.ophtha.2011.05.007Ophthalmology118122468-2473OPHT

Variability of bioaccessibility results using seventeen different methods on a standard reference material, NIST 2710

Bioaccessibility is a measurement of a substance's solubility in the human gastro-intestinal system, and is often used in the risk assessment of soils. The present study was designed to determine the variability among laboratories using different methods to measure the bioaccessibility of 24 inorganic contaminants in one standardized soil sample, the standard reference material NIST 2710. Fourteen laboratories used a total of 17 bioaccessibility extraction methods. The variability between methods was assessed by calculating the reproducibility relative standard deviations (RSDs), where reproducibility is the sum of within-laboratory and between-laboratory variability. Whereas within-laboratory repeatability was usually better than (<) 15% for most elements, reproducibility RSDs were much higher, indicating more variability, although for many elements they were comparable to typical uncertainties (e.g., 30% in commercial laboratories). For five trace elements of interest, reproducibility RSDs were: arsenic (As), 22–44%; cadmium (Cd), 11–41%; Cu, 15–30%; lead (Pb), 45–83%; and Zn, 18–56%. Only one method variable, pH, was found to correlate significantly with bioaccessibility for aluminum (Al), Cd, copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), Pb and zinc (Zn) but other method variables could not be examined systematically because of the study design. When bioaccessibility results were directly compared with bioavailability results for As (swine and mouse) and Pb (swine), four methods returned results within uncertainty ranges for both elements: two that were defined as simpler (gastric phase only, limited chemicals) and two were more complex (gastric + intestinal phases, with a mixture of chemicals)