MICROCOMPUTER BUDGET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The enterprise budget, whole farm cash flow, and income statement are fundamental tools of farm and ranch management. The "Microcomputer Budget Management System" (MBMS) is a microcomputer software package that facilitates the storage and use of information for crop and livestock budgeting. It performs the calculations for several enterprise budgeting formats and for preparation of whole farm resource use reports and financial statements. The MBMS also includes internal machinery and irrigation cost calculation routines. MBMS was developed for use by extension staff, researchers, lenders, consultants, and operators of diversified farms and ranches with many enterprises that use enterprise and whole farm budgeting for analysis and planning activities. The flexibility and detailed nature of the program requires the user to have knowledge of enterprise budgeting and operation of complex computer programs. This paper presents a discussion of the features and capabilities of the software and the computational procedures used in the cost calculations.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Analytic Approximation of Invasion Wave Amplitude Predicts Severity of Insect Outbreaks

Outbreaks of phytophagous forest insects are largely driven by host demographics and spatial effects of dispersal. We develop a structured integrodifference equation (IDE) outbreak model that tracks the demographics of sedentary hosts under insect infestation pressure. The model is appropriate for a spectrum of pests attacking the later age classes of long-lived hosts, including mountain pine beetle (MPB), spruce budworm, and spruce beetle, which, among them are responsible for more forest damage than fire. The model generates a train of periodic waves of infestation. We approximate the IDE with a partial differential equation and search for traveling wave solutions. The resulting ordinary differential equation predicts the shape of an outbreak wave profile and peak infestation as functions of wavefront speed, which can be calculated analytically. This culminates in the derivation of an explicit approximation of invasion wave amplitude based on net reproductive rate of the infesting insect and its host searching efficiency. Results are compared with observations taken during a recent MPB outbreak in the northern US Rocky Mountains

A potassium crown ether complex with dichloroaurate(I)

This is the published version, also available here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1107/S1600536803000813.The title compound, (1,4,7,10,13,16-hexaoxa­cyclo­octane)­potassium di­chloro­aurate(I), [K(C12H24O6)][AuCl2], consists of potassium ion encapsulated by the 18-membered crown ether 1,4,7,10,13,16-hexaoxa­cyclo­octane and a linear di­chloro­aurate(I) monoanion. The potassium occupies a crystallographic center of symmetry with a ring coordination number of six, and two chlorides in axial sites at a distance of 3.2306 (5) Å. The linear anionic species sits on another crystallographic center of symmetry

Diamicton from the Vale of Pickering and Tabular Hills, north-east Yorkshire: evidence for a Middle Pleistocene (MIS 8) glaciation?

Diamicton deposits (up to 6.90 m thick) in the Vale of Pickering and the Tabular Hills (North York Moors) have been confirmed by cored boreholes. The diamicton is interpreted as glacial till with a matrix consisting predominantly of grey-brown, yellow-brown and dark grey, stiff to very stiff clay and sandy clay with occasional thin beds of laminated sand and clay. Sub-rounded to sub-angular erratic clasts were sourced predominantly from local Upper Jurassic Corallian Group bedrock exposed in the southern part of the North York Moors. Clasts include well-rounded, pebbles of Jurassic sandstone, mudstone and sparse Jurassic coal derived from outcrops on the North York Moors. Fragments of underlying Upper Jurassic mudstone bedrock form the predominant clasts in the lower part of the till. The paucity of exotic clasts and a local derivation suggests a relatively small glacier – perhaps a temperate-plateau ice-field, was established on the Tabular Hills. The glacier subsequently advanced southwards to the Vale of Pickering depositing locally derived subglacial traction till at the base, passing up to lodgement till. Local preservation of the degraded till outcrops in the Vale of Pickering, the overconsolidated nature of the clay till matrix, striated pebbles and the presence of sub-rounded pebbles suggests deposition during a glacial cold stage post-MIS 12 (Anglian) and pre-MIS 2 (Devensian). A tentative Middle Pleistocene MIS8 age is proposed, possibly coeval, but not coincident, with the Basement Till (Bridlington Member) of the Holderness coast and the Wragby Till of central and eastern England

British guideline on the management of asthma: SIGN Clinical Guideline 141, 2014

Overview of national asthma guidance for paediatric

The Effect of Turfgrass Maintenance on Surface-Water Quality in a Suburban Watershed, Inner Blue Grass, Kentucky

Nutrients and pesticides applied during routine maintenance or establishment of turfgrass could result in nonpoint-source pollution. Nutrient and pesticide concentrations in water exiting a turfgrass management area in the Sinking Creek watershed, a suburban watershed in the Inner Blue Grass Region of central Kentucky, were monitored. This watershed was selected because it contains multiple land uses: agricultural, residential, and recreational (golf course). A survey was conducted to determine the extent to which lawn-care products are used in the residential sector of the watershed. For the golf-course portion, the golf-course superintendent recorded chemical application daily. Runoff from the golf course was sampled in 1993 where the stream exits the golf-course property. Sinking Creek was sampled upstream and downstream of the Tashamingo subdivision from April through October 1996 and January through February 1997. Weekly grab samples and three storm sample sequences (spring, summer, and fall) were analyzed to determine pesticide and nutrient concentrations. The analysis results revealed that few instances of pesticide concentrations in Sinking Creek exceeded minimum detectable levels and none exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drinking-water limits during the sampling period. The herbicide 2,4-D was detected in Sinking Creek at both sample locations. In addition to 2,4-D, the insecticide chlorpyrifos was detected at the golf-course exit. Increases in pesticides and nutrients in Sinking Creek coincided with spring application of turfgrass chemicals in the suburban portion of the watershed. Concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus were low and similar to what would be expected for the land use

Phylogenetic placement and generic re-circumscriptions of the multilocular genera Arenifera, Octopoma and Schlechteranthus (Aizoaceae: Ruschieae): Evidence from anatomical, morphological and plastid DNA data

"Ruschieae is the largest tribe in the highly speciose subfamily Ruschioideae (Aizoaceae). A generic-level phylogeny for the tribe was recently produced, providing new insights into relationships between the taxa. Octopoma and Arenifera are woody shrubs with multilocular capsules and are distributed across the Succulent Karoo. Octopoma was shown to be polyphyletic in the tribal phylogeny, but comprehensive sampling is required to confirm its polyphyly. Arenifera has not previously been sampled and therefore its phylogenetic placement in the tribe is uncertain. In this study, phylogenetic sampling for nine plastid regions (atpB-rbcL, matK, psbJ-petA, rpl16, rps16, trnD-trnT, trnL-F, trnQUUG-rps16, trnS-trnG) was expanded to include all species of Octopoma and Arenifera, to assess phylogenetic placement and relationships of these genera. Three phylogenetic analyses were carried out, maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. Leaf anatomical sections were studied to further inform generic circumscriptions. The phylogenies showed Octopoma to be polyphyletic, with the type, O. octojuge, and the related O. nanum, resolved as sister to Zeuktophyllum and Smicrostigma, while the other species were placed in the Conophytum-clade. Arenifera was also shown to be polyphyletic, with the type, A. pillansii, placed in the xeromorphic-clade, and the remainder of the species recovered among the Octopoma species in the Conophytum-clade (forming the Octopoma subglobosum-Arenifera spinescens subclade). Generic affinities of the O. subglobosum-A. spinescens subclade were assessed in relation to the sister taxon Schlechteranthus. The leaf anatomy was found to be informative within the study group. Bladder cells were observed in Arenifera pillansii, a hypodermis in Little Karoo Octopoma (O. octojuge, O. nanum, O. quadrisepalum) and epidermal cells forming blunt papillae in Schlechteranthus and the O. subglobosum-A. spinescens subclade. Upon assessment of the anatomical, morphological and phylogenetic data, Schlechteranthus is here expanded to include the species in the O. subglobosum-A. spinescens subclade. Eight new combinations are made in Schlechteranthus. As a result, Arenifera is again monotypic and the circumscription of Octopoma is refined to include three species restricted to the Little Karoo. Two subgenera within Schlechteranthus s.l. (subg. Schlechteranthus, subg. Microphyllus) are erected to accommodate differences in leaf size, capsule size, closing body size and locule number."Web of Scienc

Calf pre-weaning traits and immunoglobulin response to bovine viral diarrhea virus vaccination

Calfhood vaccination for bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is a relatively new concept, and protocols are evolving. Our objective was to determine effects of BVDV type I vaccination protocol, calf behavior (chute score, and chute exit velocity), and gender on calf gain and immunoglobulin (Ig) response. Crossbred calves (n = 64) were randomly allotted to one of two vaccination protocols. In protocol 1, calves were vaccinated at 60 d of age (d 0) and at weaning (d 147). Calves assigned to protocol 2 were vaccinated against BVDV type I at 21 d prior to (d 126) and at weaning (d 147). Blood samples were collected from half of the calves in each protocol group on d 0 (60 days of age), d 21, d 126 (21 days prior to weaning), and d 147 (at weaning); serum was harvested and Ig titers were determined. Titers for BVDV type I were transformed (log base 2) and analyzed using a mixed model procedure. Calves vaccinated at d 0 and weaning had larger (P \u3c 0.0001) titers than calves vaccinated at d 126 and weaning (7.5 ± 0.36 and 5.1 ± 0.36, respectively). Mean BVDV titers were larger (P \u3c 0.0001) on d 147 when compared with d 126, d 21, and d 0 (8.3 ± 0.39, 5.1 ± 0.40, 5.9 ± 0.39 and 5.7 ± 0.39, respectively). A treatment × day interaction (P \u3c 0.0001) also affected BVDV titers. However, BVDV titers were not affected (P \u3e 0.05) by calf gender, chute score, or chute exit velocity. Weaning weight and pre-weaning average daily gain (ADG) were not related to BVDV type I titers. This study indicated that vaccinating beef calves against BVDV was effective in triggering an Ig response. Furthermore, our results suggest that calves should be vaccinated against BVDV type I at 60 d of age for greater disease resistance

Analysis of Congestion Control

Agents must work. Given the trends in elec- tronic models, programmers particularly note the construction of the lookaside buffer, which embodies the theoretical principles of dis- tributed systems. In order to overcome this chal- lenge, we consider how the Turing machine can be applied to the simulation of the UNIVAC computer

Quality determination and the repair of poor quality spots in array experiments.

BACKGROUND: A common feature of microarray experiments is the occurrence of missing gene expression data. These missing values occur for a variety of reasons, in particular, because of the filtering of poor quality spots and the removal of undefined values when a logarithmic transformation is applied to negative background-corrected intensities. The efficiency and power of an analysis performed can be substantially reduced by having an incomplete matrix of gene intensities. Additionally, most statistical methods require a complete intensity matrix. Furthermore, biases may be introduced into analyses through missing information on some genes. Thus methods for appropriately replacing (imputing) missing data and/or weighting poor quality spots are required. RESULTS: We present a likelihood-based method for imputing missing data or weighting poor quality spots that requires a number of biological or technical replicates. This likelihood-based approach assumes that the data for a given spot arising from each channel of a two-dye (two-channel) cDNA microarray comparison experiment independently come from a three-component mixture distribution--the parameters of which are estimated through use of a constrained E-M algorithm. Posterior probabilities of belonging to each component of the mixture distributions are calculated and used to decide whether imputation is required. These posterior probabilities may also be used to construct quality weights that can down-weight poor quality spots in any analysis performed afterwards. The approach is illustrated using data obtained from an experiment to observe gene expression changes with 24 hr paclitaxel (Taxol) treatment on a human cervical cancer derived cell line (HeLa). CONCLUSION: As the quality of microarray experiments affect downstream processes, it is important to have a reliable and automatic method of identifying poor quality spots and arrays. We propose a method of identifying poor quality spots, and suggest a method of repairing the arrays by either imputation or assigning quality weights to the spots. This repaired data set would be less biased and can be analysed using any of the appropriate statistical methods found in the microarray literature.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are