IDENTIFYING ECONOMIC RISK IN CATTLE FEEDING

Closeout data from two western Kansas commercial feedlots are examined to determine how cattle prices, feed costs, and animal performance impact the variability of cattle feeding profits. The relative impacts of these factors are studied across sex, placement weight, and placement month using standardized beta coefficients. Feeder cattle prices have a greater impact on profit variability for spring and fall placements. The effect of animal performance on variability of cattle feeding profits is greater for fall placements. Results suggest that fed cattle and feeder cattle prices should be emphasized in managing the overall risk in cattle feeding because they are the largest contributors to profit variability.cattle finishing profitability, cattle performance, feedlot closeouts, standardized beta coefficients, Livestock Production/Industries,

Strictly Anomaly Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking

We consider an MSSM extension with anomaly mediation as the source of supersymmetry-breaking, and a U(1) symmetry which solves the tachyonic slepton problem, and introduces both the see-saw mechanism for neutrino masses, and the Higgs mu-term. We compare its spectra with those from so-called minimal anomaly mediated supersymmetry breaking. We find a Standard Model-like Higgs of mass 125 GeV with a gravitino mass of 140 TeV and tan(beta)=16. However, the muon anomalous magnetic moment is 3 sigma away from the experimental value. The model naturally produces a period of hybrid inflation, which can exit to a false vacuum characterised by large Higgs vevs, reaching the true ground state after a period of thermal inflation. The scalar spectral index is reduced to approximately 0.975, and the correct abundance of neutralino dark matter can be produced by decays of thermally-produced gravitinos, provided the gravitino mass (and hence the Higgs mass) is high. Naturally light cosmic strings are produced, satisfying bounds from the Cosmic Microwave Background. The complementary pulsar timing and cosmic ray bounds require that strings decay primarily via loops into gravitational waves. Unless the loops are extremely small, the next generation pulsar timing array will rule out or detect the string-derived gravitational radiation background in this model.Comment: 38 pages, 1 figure. Discussion of 125GeV Higgs possibility, and of U(1) decoupling limi

Evidence for Possible Late Paleozoic Alleghenian Deformation Structures in the Devonian Rocks of Erie County, Ohio, USA

Partially exposed bedrock beneath Pleistocene glacial till in Erie County (north-central Ohio) displays unusual structural deformation in the Devonian Berea Sandstone, Bedford Shale, and Ohio Shale. These folded and faulted units are exposed in creeks as anticlines and synclines. Past studies of this area proposed Pleistocene ice movement and soft-sediment deformation during the Late Paleozoic as the deformation mechanisms, but these hypotheses cannot explain the extent of layer displacement or the contradiction between the southwest travel direction of the ice sheet and the structural sense of motion on the folded units. A new interpretation using field data and constructing geologic profiles explains the development of these structures. This study investigated 17 anticlines that trend in different directions. Four of these anticlines are tightly folded with steep or overturned flanks and thrust-faulted Ohio Shale in their cores. Structural analysis of these folds shows that the incompetent shaly units of the Plum Brook–Ohio–Bedford and competent Berea Sandstone were folded above the Delaware–Niagara carbonates as a result of the compressional stress during the Late Paleozoic. Development of these tight or overturned folds, and change in trend of the anticlines, is caused by unusual stratigraphic thickness variations in the Berea and Bedford units. Preserved and undeformed fine sedimentary structures, and sharply faulted beds, in the Berea and Bedford indicate that soft-sediment deformation was not the cause of the regional structural deformation. Finally, the absence of physical features of glacially deformed bedrock demonstrates that Pleistocene glacial ice shove was not the cause of deformed bedrock units in the study area

Introductory lecture: Mechanochemistry, a versatile synthesis strategy for new materials.

Mechanochemistry deals with reactions induced by the input of mechanical energy - for example by impacts within a vibratory ball mill. The technique has a long history with significant contributions from Ostwald, Carey Lea and, notably, Faraday. Mechanochemistry has subsequently seen application in a variety of areas of materials science including mechanical alloying in metallurgy, the synthesis of complex organic molecules and, more recently, the discovery and development of new solid forms of active pharmaceutical ingredients. This paper overviews the broad areas of application of mechanochemistry, some key features which make it a particularly attractive approach to materials synthesis and some mechanistic aspects highlighted within the literature. A significant part, however, will focus on recent applications in the area of pharmaceuticals and its important role in exploring the rich variety of solid forms available for small, drug-like, molecules.This is the final version. It was first published by RSC at http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2014/FD/C4FD00162A#!divAbstrac

Growth-induced mass flows in fungal networks

Cord-forming fungi form extensive networks that continuously adapt to maintain an efficient transport system. As osmotically driven water uptake is often distal from the tips, and aqueous fluids are incompressible, we propose that growth induces mass flows across the mycelium, whether or not there are intrahyphal concentration gradients. We imaged the temporal evolution of networks formed by Phanerochaete velutina, and at each stage calculated the unique set of currents that account for the observed changes in cord volume, while minimising the work required to overcome viscous drag. Predicted speeds were in reasonable agreement with experimental data, and the pressure gradients needed to produce these flows are small. Furthermore, cords that were predicted to carry fast-moving or large currents were significantly more likely to increase in size than cords with slow-moving or small currents. The incompressibility of the fluids within fungi means there is a rapid global response to local fluid movements. Hence velocity of fluid flow is a local signal that conveys quasi-global information about the role of a cord within the mycelium. We suggest that fluid incompressibility and the coupling of growth and mass flow are critical physical features that enable the development of efficient, adaptive, biological transport networks.Comment: To be published in PRSB. 20 pages, plus 8 pages of supplementary information, and 3 page bibliograph

Freshwater flux from ice sheet melting and iceberg calving in the Southern Ocean

This dataset is a multiyear mean Southern Ocean freshwater flux field that uses recently compiled measurements of ice sheet melting, iceberg calving, iceberg tracking, and river runoff. It has a horizontal resolution of 1/6° and uses BEDMAP2 for identifying and placing individual ice sheets. The aim of this work is to improve the representation of Antarctic freshwater input in Southern Ocean models

Comparison of Anesthesia for Dental/Oral Surgery by Office-based Dentist Anesthesiologists versus Operating Room-based Physician Anesthesiologists

Few studies have examined the practice characteristics of dentist anesthesiologists and compared them to other anesthesia providers. Using outcomes from the National Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry and the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia Clinical Outcomes Registry for dental/oral surgery procedures, we compared 7133 predominantly office-based anesthetics by dentist anesthesiologists to 106,420 predominantly operating room anesthetics performed by physician anesthesia providers. These encounters were contrasted with 34,191 previously published encounters from the practices of oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Children younger than 6 years received the greatest proportion of general anesthetic services rendered by both dentist anesthesiologists and hospital-based anesthesia providers. These general anesthesia services were primarily provided for complete dental rehabilitation for early childhood caries. Overall treatment time for complete dental rehabilitation in the office-based setting by dentist anesthesiologists was significantly shorter than comparable care provided in the hospital operating room and surgery centers. The anesthesia care provided by dentist anesthesiologists was found to be separate and distinct from anesthesia care provided by oral and maxillofacial surgeons, which was primarily administered to adults for very brief surgical procedures. Cases performed by dentist anesthesiologists and hospital-based anesthesia providers were for much younger patients and of significantly longer duration when compared with anesthesia administered by oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Despite the limited descriptive power of the current registries, office-based anesthesia rendered by dentist anesthesiologists is clearly a unique and efficient mode of anesthesia care for dentistry

An overview of the research evidence on ethnicity and communication in healthcare

• The aim of the present study was to identify and review the available research evidence on 'ethnicity and communication' in areas relevant to ensuring effective provision of mainstream services (e.g. via interpreter, advocacy and translation services); provision of services targeted on communication (e.g. speech and language therapy, counselling, psychotherapy); consensual/ participatory activities (e.g. consent to interventions), and; procedures for managing and planning for linguistic diversity

Performance of UK wastewater treatment works with respect to trace contaminants

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Science of Total Environment. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2013 Elsevier B.V.This study examined the performance of 16 wastewater treatment works to provide an overview of trace substance removal in relation to meeting the objectives of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Collection and analysis of over 2400 samples including sewage influent, process samples at different stages in the treatment process and final effluent has provided data on the performance of current wastewater treatment processes and made it possible to evaluate the need for improved effluent quality. Results for 55 substances, including metals, industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals are reported. Data for sanitary parameters are also provided. A wide range of removal efficiencies was observed. Removal was not clearly related to the generic process type, indicating that other operational factors tend to be important. Nonetheless, removals for many substances of current concern were high. Despite this, current proposals for stringent water quality standards mean that further improvements in effluent quality are likely to be required

Multidecadal increase in plastic particles in coastal ocean sediments.

We analyzed coastal sediments of the Santa Barbara Basin, California, for historical changes in microplastic deposition using a box core that spanned 1834-2009. The sediment was visually sorted for plastic, and a subset was confirmed as plastic polymers via FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectroscopy. After correcting for contamination introduced during sample processing, we found an exponential increase in plastic deposition from 1945 to 2009 with a doubling time of 15 years. This increase correlated closely with worldwide plastic production and southern California coastal population increases over the same period. Increased plastic loading in sediments has unknown consequences for deposit-feeding benthic organisms. This increase in plastic deposition in the post-World War II years can be used as a geological proxy for the Great Acceleration of the Anthropocene in the sedimentary record