Evaluation of lighter density fraction from dried distillers grains with solubles as a feedstuff for ruminants

The objective of this study was to evaluate the lighter fraction of DDGS as a possible feedstuff for cattle. To accomplish this, a digestion trial was performed to determine nutrient digestibility and crude protein retention by steers consuming the lighter fraction of DDGS. Steers received L, a diet containing the lighter fraction of DDGS, D, a diet containing whole DDGS, or C, a control diet. Steers receiving L consumed less DM than steers receiving D and C. CP retention and digestibilities of DM, OM, ash, NDF, ADF, HC, and energy did not differ among steers in different treatment groups. Fat digestibility was greatest for steers consuming L and D. Steers consuming L digested more CP than steers receiving C, with steers consuming D being in between. These data suggest that the lighter fraction of DDGS can be effectively fed to cattle without adversely affecting digestibility

Secondary-School Department Chairpersons’ Perceptions of Pedagogical Content Knowledge

The concept of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) provides a framework for understanding the professional demands of secondary-school teachers in facilitating student learning. Teachers develop their PCK both formally in preservice and inservice education and informally with their colleagues. Teacher leaders, such as the secondary-school department chairs, can work with colleagues to promote professional growth. The purpose of this study was to understand how secondary-school department chairs understood PCK and perceived their role in promoting the PCK growth of their department colleagues. A qualitative research design using in-depth, semi-structured interviews involved 15 participants from one school district in the southeast of the U.S. Data analysis used Eisner’s (1998) four-part approach to criticism—description, interpretation, evaluation, and thematics—as the overall framework, with Hatch’s (2002) typological analysis facilitating the description and interpretation phases. The two dimensions of description and interpretation occurred simultaneously, with six typologies organizing the discussion; how participants understood and defined PCK; knowledge of context within PCK; participants’ understanding of the importance of content knowledge; growth of the teacher; development of PCK in professional learning communities; and department chair leadership in developing PCK. The evaluation dimension revealed that these chairs did indeed work with their colleagues in developing PCK that, in turn, facilitated student learning. Three major themes based on the data were developed: experienced teachers in leadership positions possess key elements of PCK; department chairs can lead as teachers; and teacher leaders bring their tacit PCK into the explicit. Implications for leadership include the need for district and school-based administrators to support the role that department chairpersons play in the professional growth of their colleagues, to provide developmental opportunities for teachers designed to focus on PCK and how PCK furthers student learning and to take advantage of the leadership offered by department chairs in promoting teachers’ professional growth. Further study might examine how department chairs work directly with their colleagues to develop PCK, how such development of PCK operates in contexts with different demographics than those of the present study, and how department chairs at different points in their careers assist their colleagues in their PCK growth

Gaining the competitive advantage: Ontario universities and the global economy

Using a radical political economy approach, this thesis examines how changing global economic and political pressures have forced the Ontario government to reconsider their policies toward higher education. Specifically, this thesis describes and analyses provincial government initiatives toward universities in the period 1985 and 1995, and assesses what these changes mean for understanding the functions of Ontario universities in the present era of global economic change. The thesis argues that Ontario universities historically have served three primary functions: ideological, vocational, and research. In the period under study the Ontario government established an industrial strategy that focused on those industries that could be internationally competitive in high-technology sectors of the economy. As a result, the research function gained in importance, as the Ontario government sought to induce universities to increase their linkages with industry. The vocational function remained an integral component of the universities’ mission, receiving increased attention from government to insure that students were properly trained for the post-Fordist world of work. Finally, the university continued to operate as a site of ideological reproduction for a capitalist and patriarchal society

Scale-dependent bias of galaxies and mu-type distortion of the cosmic microwave background spectrum from single-field inflation with a modified initial state

We investigate the phenomenological consequences of a modification of the initial state of a single inflationary field. While single-field inflation with the standard Bunch-Davies initial vacuum state does not generally produce a measurable three-point function (bispectrum) in the squeezed configuration, allowing for a non-standard initial state produces an exception. Here, we calculate the signature of an initial state modification in single-field slow-roll inflation in both the scale-dependent bias of the large-scale structure (LSS) and mu-type distortion in the black-body spectrum of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We parametrize the initial state modifications and identify certain choices of parameters as natural, though we also note some fine-tuned choices that can yield a larger bispectrum. In both cases, we observe a distinctive k^-3 signature in LSS (as opposed to k^-2 for the local-form). As a non-zero bispectrum in the squeezed configuration correlates a long-wavelength mode with two short-wavelength modes, it induces a correlation between the CMB temperature anisotropy on large scales with the temperature-anisotropy-squared on very small scales; this correlation persists as the small-scale anisotropy-squared is processed into mu-type distortions. While the local-form mu-distortion turns out to be too small to detect in the near future, a modified initial vacuum state enhances the signal by a large factor owing to an extra factor of k_1/k. For example, a proposed absolutely-calibrated experiment, PIXIE, is expected to detect this correlation with a signal-to-noise ratio greater than 10, for an occupation number of about 0.5 in the observable modes. Relatively calibrated experiments such as Planck and LiteBIRD should also be able to measure this effect, provided that the relative calibration between different frequencies meets the required precision. (Abridged)Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures. Matches version in PRD. Improved explanation in Sec. IV; added references and corrected typo

Water Clouds in Y Dwarfs and Exoplanets

The formation of clouds affects brown dwarf and planetary atmospheres of nearly all effective temperatures. Iron and silicate condense in L dwarf atmospheres and dissipate at the L/T transition. Minor species such as sulfides and salts condense in mid-late T dwarfs. For brown dwarfs below Teff=450 K, water condenses in the upper atmosphere to form ice clouds. Currently over a dozen objects in this temperature range have been discovered, and few previous theoretical studies have addressed the effect of water clouds on brown dwarf or exoplanetary spectra. Here we present a new grid of models that include the effect of water cloud opacity. We find that they become optically thick in objects below Teff=350-375 K. Unlike refractory cloud materials, water ice particles are significantly non-gray absorbers; they predominantly scatter at optical wavelengths through J band and absorb in the infrared with prominent features, the strongest of which is at 2.8 microns. H2O, NH3, CH4, and H2 CIA are dominant opacity sources; less abundant species such as may also be detectable, including the alkalis, H2S, and PH3. PH3, which has been detected in Jupiter, is expected to have a strong signature in the mid-infrared at 4.3 microns in Y dwarfs around Teff=450 K; if disequilibrium chemistry increases the abundance of PH3, it may be detectable over a wider effective temperature range than models predict. We show results incorporating disequilibrium nitrogen and carbon chemistry and predict signatures of low gravity in planetary- mass objects. Lastly, we make predictions for the observability of Y dwarfs and planets with existing and future instruments including the James Webb Space Telescope and Gemini Planet Imager.Comment: 23 pages, 20 figures, Revised for Ap