Comparison of milk production from clover-based and fertilizer-N-based grassland

peer-reviewedFunding for this study was provided by the Irish National Development Plan and the Irish Dairy Levy.This study, conducted over four years (2003–2006), compared herbage production, nutritive value of herbage, the length of the grazing season and milk production per cow and per hectare from grassland systems based on (i) white clover (average 219 g/kg of herbage DM) (WC) receiving on average N application of 90 kg/ha (s.d. 6.4) in spring and successive 0.2 of the area over-seeded annually with white clover seed and (ii) fertilizer N (FN) input of 226 kg/ha (s.d. 9.7). The stocking density of Holstein- Friesian dairy cows on both systems was 2.0/ha 2003 and 2.2/ha in each of the following three years. There were 22 cows per system in 2003 and 24 cows per system in each of the following three years. Cows calved within a 12 week interval in spring with mean calving date in mid-February. Milk was produced until mid-December each year. Total annual herbage DM production was lower (P 0.05) differences in the in vitro organic matter digestibilities of pre-grazing herbage. The crude protein concentration in pre-grazing herbage DM was higher (P 0.05) differences in annual production of milk per cow (mean 6524 kg; s.e. 83.9 kg), live-weight or body condition score between the two systems. There were no (P < 0.05) differences in the lengths of the grazing season, which averaged 254 days (s.e. 0.9). Although there was no difference in performance per cow, the higher herbage production indicates that a higher stocking rate and milk output per hectare was possible from FN than WC. Nevertheless, the WC swards supported an annual stocking density of 2.15/ha and a milk output of 14 t/ha.National Development PlanIrish Dairy Levy Research Fun

Impact of Heart Rate Intensity on Shooting Accuracy during Games in NCAA Division I Women Basketball Players

Shooting accuracy in basketball is key to winning games. While there are various factors as to why a team either makes or misses their shots, the intensity of play is likely a contributing factor. A player who has played the majority of the game would likely have a higher, more intense heart rate (HR). Depending on the athlete, this could impact shooting accuracy. Examining the relationship between HR intensity and shooting accuracy has not been looked at in a real game setting before. Therefore, we set out to determine the impact heart rate intensity has on shooting accuracy in a game setting. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of heart rate intensity on shooting accuracy in a game setting in NCAA Division I female basketball players. Methods: We examined the team stats for shooting accuracy from overall attempts, three point attempts, and free throws during five games. During games players wore HR monitors that transmitted to a mobile app that displayed their HR in real time. Every time a shot was attempted, we recorded what kind of shot, where on the floor it came from, whether it was made or missed, and the HR zone that the athlete was at when it took place. The HR zones that were compared were 1) 70-80% HR max, 2) 80-90% HR max, and 3) 90-100% HR max. These data were input into a spreadsheet to calculate the average team shooting percentage across these three HR zones for overall shooting, free throws, and 3-pointers. Results: As indicated in the table, the team shooting percentage was highest for all types of shooting when players were at the lowest HR intensity. Shooting accuracy declined at higher HR intensities

Comparison of Heart Rate Intensity in Practice, Conditioning, and Games in NCAA Division I Women Basketball Players

Background: An athlete’s heart rate (HR) is an important variable in quantifying the intensity of exercise. Workouts that increase HR are an important stimulus for training adaptations and conditioning. At other times, workouts that do not overly stress the HR may be desired to allow for recovery. The principle of specificity emphasizes that athletes should train specific to the way they will need to perform in competition. Because of this, monitoring HR during training and competition can be a useful tool. While exercise intensity in endurance sports has been previously investigated, less is known regarding the HR response in team sports, particularly women’s basketball. Purpose: Compare the average HR response to basketball training and competition in: 1) open gym 5 on 5 scrimmage, 2) an actual basketball game against a different opponent, and 3) conditioning session. Methods: We had an NCAA Division I women’s basketball team wear heart rate monitors for open gym scrimmages, actual games, and conditioning practices. For the open gym sessions, the team scrimmaged against each other 5v5 for ~90 minutes and the average HR over 4 open gym sessions was determined. For the actual games against other opponents, the average HR response for the team was averaged over 3 games. The conditioning sessions consisted of repeated, intermittent short sprint efforts over the course of 30-60 minutes, and the average HR over 7 conditioning sessions was calculated. The data that was collected was added to a spreadsheet where we used it to find the team’s average for both the scrimmages, games, and conditioning. Results: During open gym scrimmages and conditioning sessions the women had a higher heart rate average as a whole team compared to the games. The games had the lowest HR out of all three conditions that were collected

Sequence organization of feline leukemis virus DNA in infected cells

A restriction site map has been deduced of unintegrated and integrated FeLV viral DNA found in human RD cells after experimental infection with the Gardner-Arnstein strain of FeLV. Restriction fragments were ordered by single and double enzyme digests followed by Southern transfer (1) and hybridization with 32P-labeled viral cDNA probes. The restriction map was oriented with respect to the 5' and 3' ends of viral RNA by using a 3' specific hybridization probe. The major form of unintegrated viral DNA found was a 8.7 kb linear DNA molecule bearing a 450 bp direct long terminal redundancy (LTR) derived from both 5' and 3' viral RNA sequences. Minor, circular forms, 8.7 kb and 8.2 kb in length were also detected, the larger one probably containing two adjacent copies of the LTR and the smaller one containing one copy of the LTR. Integrated copies of FeLV are colinear with the unintegrated linear form and contain the KpnI and SmaI sites found in each LTR

Redistribution by Insurance Market Regulation: Analyzing a Ban on Gender-Based Retirement Annuities

This paper shows how models of insurance markets with asymmetric information can be calibrated and solved to yield quantitative estimates of the consequences of government regulation. We estimate the impact of restricting gender-based pricing in the United Kingdom retirement annuity market, a market in which individuals are required to annuitize tax-preferred retirement savings but are allowed considerable choice over the annuity contract they purchase. After calibrating a lifecycle utility model and estimating a model of annuitant mortality that allows for unobserved heterogeneity, we solve for the range of equilibrium contract structures with and without gender-based pricing. Eliminating gender-based pricing is generally thought to redistribute resources from men to women, since women have longer life expectancies. We find that allowing insurers to offer a menu of contracts may reduce the amount of redistribution from men to women associated with gender-blind pricing requirements to half the level that would occur if insurers were required to sell a single pre-specified policy. The latter "one policy" scenario corresponds loosely to settings in which governments provide compulsory annuities as part of their Social Security program. Our findings suggest that recognizing the endogenous structure of insurance contracts is important for analyzing the economic effects of insurance market regulations. More generally, our results suggest that theoretical models of insurance market equilibrium can be used for quantitative policy analysis, not simply to derive qualitative findings.

La Revolución inglesa del siglo XVII

El conferenciante realiza un magistral recorrido por los principales hitos historiográficos de la Revolución Inglesa de 1640. Partiendo de la obra inicial de R. H. Tawney, vemos cómo influyó en Ch. Hill y L. Stone, quienes, a su vez, inauguran una época de revisión a la que sigue un post-revisionismo, demostrándonos, finalmente cómo no estd aún todo dicho al respecto.The lecturer makes a brilliant overhaul through the main goals of the 1640's English Revolution historiography. Starting from the initial work of R. H. Tawney, we can see how this historian has influenced Ch. Hill and L. Stone, who have inaugurated an age of revision, followed by a post-revisionism that shows us that the final word about this Revolution has not yet been said

Nation and State in Early Modern Europe

Este artículo examina los conceptos tradicionales de «nación» y «estado» en la Europa moderna y trata sobre hasta que punto la ley y la historia han sido factores más determinantes que la raza o el idioma. Se considera que la clave del surgimiento de la «nación-estado» se encuentra en la relación entre la «commonwealth» (república) autogobernada y el «estado» al que jura lealtad. Las mejores experiencias logran promover y construir una determinada idea de «commonwealth».Artikulu honetan "nazio" eta "estatu" tradiziozko kontzeptuek Europa modernoan izan duten esanahia aztertuko da, eta arraza edo hizkuntza baino legea eta historia faktore erabakigarriagoak izan direla ondorioztatuko da. Horregatik, autogobernatutako "commonwealth" edo errepublikaren, eta horren leialtasun zina jasotzen duen "estatuaren" arteko harremanean datza "nazio-estatua" sortzeko gakoa. Esperientzia onenetan, "commonwealth" errepublikaren ideia jakin bat sustatzea eta eraikitzea lortu dute.Cet article examine les concepts traditionnels de «Nation» et d'«État» dans l'Europe moderne, pour conclure que les lois et l'histoire ont été des facteurs bien plus déterminants que la race ou que la langue. La clé de l'apparition de la «Nation-État» réside ainsi dans la relation entre la «Commonwealth» (République) autogouvernée et l'«État» auquel elle a juré loyauté. Les meilleures expériences permettent de promouvoir et de construire une certaine idée de la «Commonwealth».This paper examines traditional concept s of "nation" and "state" in early modern Europe, suggesting that law and history were the determining factors rather than race or language. Hence the key to the rise of the "nation state" is to be found in the relationship between the self-governing commonwealth (república) and the "state" to which it owed allegiance. The more successful managed to foster and build on a certain idea of the commonwealth