158 research outputs found
Effect of Pre-and Post-weaning Nutrition and Management on Performance of Weaned Pigs to circa 35 kg.
End of Project ReportThe objective of this project was to examine the factors
affecting performance (growth rate, appetite, feed conversion efficiency)
of pigs in the stage from weaning to 35 kg liveweight.
The study involved three stages, creep feeding during the suckling
period, management during the first weaner stage (c. 4 weeks
from weaning or 6 kg to 15 kg liveweight) and management during
the second weaner stage (c. 15 kg to 35 kg liveweight.
Creep feed intake before weaning was low c. 2.5 to 3.0 kg
per litter but where it was consumed the response in terms of feed
conversion efficiency was good with litter weight increasing in
weight by about 1.1 kg for each 1 kg creep consumed. Milk
replacer in liquid form was very readily consumed but its preparation
and feeding is very laborious. Weaning weight was poorly
related to post weaning performance and weaning age seemed to
be more critical which is probably a reflection of the greater
maturity of older animals.
In the first weaner stage, feeding of cooked cereal containing
diets was found to have little benefit in pig performance.
Acidification of feeds is likely to have only a minor influence on
pig performance. An experiment on choice feeding of starter and
link feeds did not confirm that smaller pigs require a higher quality
diet and, in a choice situation will eat a greater proportion of the
more nutrient dense diet.
In the second weaner stage, comparison of three commercial
weaner feeds with a cereal based control diet showed good performance
on all four diets. Pigs fed a high lysine weaner diet grew
better in the weaner stage but by slaughter those pigs fed the low
lysine weaner diet, after all pigs were fed a common finisher diet,
had overtaken them. The high lysine group did, however, have
leaner carcasses.
Residual effects of early nutrition need to be investigated in
more detail including the effect of pregnancy feeding on prenatal
development and the relationship between prenatal growth and
postnatal growth, in particular development of muscle.European Union Structural Funds (EAGGF
Local Evolutionary Debunking Arguments
Evolutionary debunking arguments in ethics aim to use facts about the evolutionary causes of ethical beliefs to undermine their justification. Global Evolutionary Debunking Arguments (GDAs) are arguments made in metaethics that aim to undermine the justification of all ethical beliefs. Local Evolutionary Debunking Arguments (LDAs) are arguments made in firstâorder normative ethics that aim to undermine the justification of only some of our ethical beliefs. Guy Kahane, Regina Rini, Folke Tersman, and Katia Vavova argue for skepticism about the possibility of LDAs. They argue that LDAs cannot be successful because they overâextend in a way that makes them selfâundermining and yield a form of moral skepticism. In this paper I argue that this skepticism about the possibility of LDAs is misplaced
Cosmological Constant, Gauge Hierarchy and Warped Geometry
It is suggested that the mechanism responsible for the resolution of the
gauge hierarchy problem within the warped geometry framework can be generalized
to provide a new explanation of the extremely tiny vacuum energy density rho_V
suggested by recent observations. We illustrate the mechanism with some 5D
examples in which the true vacuum energy is assumed to vanish, and rho_V is
associated with a false vacuum energy such that rho_V^{1/4} ~ TeV^2/M_{Pl} ~
10^{-3} eV, where M_{Pl} denotes the reduced Planck mass. We also consider a
quintessence-like solution to the dark energy problem.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX, 2 figures, section on quantum corrections added,
version to appear in Phys. Rev.
Re-Focusing - Building a Future for Entrepreneurial Education & Learning
The field of entrepreneurship has struggled with fundamental
questions concerning the subjectâs nature and purpose. To whom and to
what means are educational and training agendas ultimately directed?
Such questions have become of central importance to policy makers,
practitioners and academics alike. There are suggestions that university
business schools should engage more critically with the lived experiences
of practising entrepreneurs through alternative pedagogical approaches
and methods, seeking to account for and highlighting the social, political
and moral aspects of entrepreneurial practice. In the UK, where funding in
higher education has become increasingly dependent on student fees,
there are renewed pressures to educate students for entrepreneurial
practice as opposed to educating them about the nature and effects of
entrepreneurship. Government and EU policies are calling on business
schools to develop and enhance entrepreneurial growth and skill sets, to
make their education and training programmes more proactive in
providing innovative educational practices which help and facilitate life
experiences and experiential learning. This paper makes the case for
critical frameworks to be applied so that complex social processes
become a source of learning for educators and entrepreneurs and so that
innovative pedagogical approaches can be developed in terms both of
context (curriculum design) and process (delivery methods)
In situ measurement of fluid flow from cold seeps at active continental margins
In situ measurement of fluid flow rates from active margins is an important parameter in evaluating dissolved mass fluxes and global geochemical balances as well as tectonic dewatering during developments of accretionary prisms. We have constructed and deployed various devices that allow for the direct measurement of this parameter. An open bottom barrel with an exhaust port at the top and equipped with a mechanical flowmeter was initially used to measure flow rates in the Cascadia accretionary margin during an Alvin dive program in 1988. Sequentially activated water bottles inside the barrel sampled the increase of venting methane in the enclosed body of water. Subsequently, a thermistor flowmeter was developed to measure flow velocities from cold seeps. It can be used to measure velocities between 0.01 and 50 cm sâ1, with a response time of 200 ms. It was deployed again by the submersible Alvin in visits to the Cascadia margin seeps (1990) and in conjunction with sequentially activated water bottles inside the barrel. We report the values for the flow rates based on the thermistor flowmeter and estimated from methane flux calculations. These results are then compared with the first measurement at Cascadia margin employing the mechanical flowmeter. The similarity between water flow and methane expulsion rates over more than one order of magnitude at these sites suggests that the mass fluxes obtained by our in situ devices may be reasonably realistic values for accretionary margins. These values also indicate an enormous variability in the rates of fluid expulsion within the same accretionary prism.
Finally, during a cruise to the active margin off Peru, another version of the same instrument was deployed via a TV-controlled frame within an acoustic transponder net from a surface ship, the R.V. Sonne. The venting rates obtained with the thermistor flowmeter used in this configuration yielded a value of 4411 mâ2 dayâ1 at an active seep on the Peru slope. The ability for deployment of deep-sea instruments capable of measuring fluid flow rates and dissolved mass fluxes from conventional research vessels will allow easier access to these seep sites and a more widespread collection of the data needed to evaluate geochemical processes resulting from venting at cold seeps on a global basis. Comparison of the in situ flow rates from steady-state compactive dewatering models differ by more than 4 orders of magnitude. This implies that only a small area of the margin is venting and that there must be recharge zones associated with venting at convergent margin
Ultrafast carrier relaxation in GaN, In_(0.05)Ga_(0.95)N and an In_(0.05)Ga_(0.95)/In_(0.15)Ga_(0.85)N Multiple Quantum Well
Room temperature, wavelength non-degenerate ultrafast pump/probe measurements
were performed on GaN and InGaN epilayers and an InGaN multiple quantum well
structure. Carrier relaxation dynamics were investigated as a function of
excitation wavelength and intensity. Spectrally-resolved sub-picosecond
relaxation due to carrier redistribution and QW capture was found to depend
sensitively on the wavelength of pump excitation. Moreover, for pump
intensities above a threshold of 100 microJ/cm2, all samples demonstrated an
additional emission feature arising from stimulated emission (SE). SE is
evidenced as accelerated relaxation (< 10 ps) in the pump-probe data,
fundamentally altering the re-distribution of carriers. Once SE and carrier
redistribution is completed, a slower relaxation of up to 1 ns for GaN and
InGaN epilayers, and 660 ps for the MQW sample, indicates carrier recombination
through spontaneous emission.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.
Endogenous Risks and Learning in Climate Change Decision Analysis
We analyze the effects of risks and learning on climate change decisions. A two-stage, dynamic, climate change stabilization problem is formulated. The explicit incorporation of ex-post learning induces risk aversion among ex-ante decisions, which is characterized in linear models by VaR- and CVaR-type risk measures. Combined with explicit introduction of "safety" constraints, it creates a "hit-or-miss" type decision-making situation and shows that, even in linear models, learning may lead to either less-or more restrictive ex-ante emission reductions. We analyze stylized elements of the model in order to identify the key factors driving outcomes, in particular, the critical role of quantiles of probability distributions characterizing key uncertainties
From Household Size to the Life Course
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66696/2/10.1177_000276427702100207.pd
Mismatches in scale between highly mobile marine megafauna and marine protected areas
Marine protected areas (MPAs), particularly large MPAs, are increasing in number and size around the globe in part to facilitate the conservation of marine megafauna under the assumption that large-scale MPAs better align with vagile life histories; however, this alignment is not well established. Using a global tracking dataset from 36 species across five taxa, chosen to reflect the span of home range size in highly mobile marine megafauna, we show most MPAs are too small to encompass complete home ranges of most species. Based on size alone, 40% of existing MPAs could encompass the home ranges of the smallest ranged species, while only < 1% of existing MPAs could encompass those of the largest ranged species. Further, where home ranges and MPAs overlapped in real geographic space, MPAs encompassed < 5% of core areas used by all species. Despite most home ranges of mobile marine megafauna being much larger than existing MPAs, we demonstrate how benefits from MPAs are still likely to accrue by targeting seasonal aggregations and critical life history stages and through other management techniques.Fil: Conners, Melinda G.. University of Washington; Estados Unidos. State University of New York. Stony Brook University; Estados UnidosFil: Sisson, Nicholas B.. Old Dominion University; Estados UnidosFil: Agamboue, Pierre D.. Wildlife Conservation Society; GabĂłnFil: Atkinson, Philip W.. British Trust For Ornithology; Reino UnidoFil: Baylis, Alastair M. M.. Macquarie University; Australia. South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute; Reino UnidoFil: Benson, Scott R.. Noaa National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Regional Office; Estados Unidos. Moss Landing Marine Laboratories; Estados UnidosFil: Block, Barbara A.. University of Stanford; Estados UnidosFil: Bograd, Steven J.. Noaa National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Regional Office; Estados UnidosFil: Bordino, Pablo. Mote Marine Laboratory; Estados UnidosFil: Bowen, W.D.. Bedford Institute Of Oceanography, Fisheries And Oceans Canada; CanadĂĄ. Dalhousie University Halifax; CanadĂĄFil: Brickle, Paul. South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute; Reino Unido. University of Aberdeen; Reino Unido. University Of Aberdeeen; Reino UnidoFil: Bruno, Ignacio Matias. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones y Desarrollo Pesquero; ArgentinaFil: GonzĂĄlez Carman, Victoria. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones y Desarrollo Pesquero; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Centro CientĂfico TecnolĂłgico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Champagne, Cory D.. University of Washington; Estados UnidosFil: Crocker, Daniel E.. Sonoma State University; Estados UnidosFil: Costa, Daniel P.. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Dawson, Tiffany M.. University Of Central Florida; Estados Unidos. Old Dominion University; Estados UnidosFil: Deguchi, Tomohiro. Yamashina Institute For Ornithology; JapĂłnFil: Dewar, Heidi. Noaa National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Regional Office; Estados UnidosFil: Doherty, Philip D.. University of Exeter; Reino UnidoFil: Eguchi, Tomo. Noaa National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Regional Office; Estados UnidosFil: Formia, Angela. Wildlife Conservation Society; GabĂłn. African Aquatic Conservation Fund; Estados UnidosFil: Godley, Brendan J.. University of Exeter; Reino UnidoFil: Graham, Rachel T.. Maralliance; PanamĂĄFil: Gredzens, Christian. Padre Island National Seashore; Estados UnidosFil: Hart, Kristen M.. United States Geological Survey; Estados UnidosFil: Hawkes, Lucy A.. University of Exeter; Reino UnidoFil: Henderson, Suzanne. Scottish Natural Heritage; Reino UnidoFil: Henry, Robert William. Groundswell Coastal Ecology; Estados UnidosFil: HĂŒckstĂ€dt, Luis A.. University of Exeter; Reino Unido. University of California; Estados Unido
Optical control of the ?2-adrenergic receptor with opto-prop-2: A cis-active azobenzene analog of propranolol
In this study, we synthesized and evaluated new photoswitchable ligands for the beta-adrenergic receptors ?1-AR and ?2-AR, applying an azologization strategy to the first-generation beta-blocker propranolol. The resulting compounds (Opto-prop-1, -2, -3) have good photochemical properties with high levels of light-induced trans-cis isomerization (>94%) and good thermal stability (t1/2 > 10 days) of the resulting cis-isomer in an aqueous buffer. Upon illumination with 360-nm light to PSScis, large differences in binding affinities were observed for photoswitchable compounds at ?1-AR as well as ?2-AR. Notably, Opto-prop-2 (VUF17062) showed one of the largest optical shifts in binding affinities at the ?2-AR (587-fold, cis-active), as recorded so far for photoswitches of G protein-coupled receptors. We finally show the broad utility of Opto-prop-2 as a light-dependent competitive antagonist of the ?2-AR as shown with a conformational ?2-AR sensor, by the recruitment of downstream effector proteins and functional modulation of isolated adult rat cardiomyocytes
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