Designing and Conducting Experiments for Range Beef Cows

Designing and conducting effective research for range beef systems involves analysis of intended application of the results, identification of factors affecting variation, and selection of appropriate research methods so that precise inferences can be made. Variances associated with time, location, animal, and error in grazing research can be high. Variation due to treatment × location and treatment × time interactions is reduced by increasing the number of locations and periods tested. Random error is reduced by increasing the total number of observations. Animals, pastures, and weather are significant sources of variation in grazing studies. Factors that influence nutrient requirements or nutrient intake of cows are potential sources of variation. Amount and quality of herbage produced are highly variable within and among years and are closely related to the amount and pattern of precipitation. Vegetative measurements (e.g., cover or standing biomass) should be planned as a step in developing experimental designs and to aid in experimental layout and interpretation of the data. Vegetation sampling should be less intensive and largely descriptive in large study areas when the objectives are to measure a livestock production response and vegetation responses are considered incidental. As the priority of the objectives moves toward emphasizing plant response and the size of the study area declines, the intensity of sampling on a land unit basis increases and the need for precision increases. Generally, multiple years of study are required to address between-year variances. Experimental units and replication are key to effective experimentation. Without replication in space and(or) time, there would be no estimate of experimental error. In supplementation studies on range, experimental units are generally animals, pastures, or ranches. Animal, pasture, and ranch have advantages and disadvantages as experimental units. The advantages and disadvantages are related to hypothesis, objectives, inference, resources, number of animals, and number of treatments. When economic evaluations are part of systems research, economists should be involved in planning the experiment and formulating hypotheses. Hypotheses and interpretation of biological data may be different than for economic data. Costs need to be estimated for correct unit of output, and cost alone may be insufficient to properly rank the economic outcomes of the research

Litter Deposition and Nitrogen Return in Rotationally Stocked Smooth Bromegrass Pastures

Understanding how management systems impact nutrient cycling is important to pasture sustainability. From 2010 to 2011, we investigated how supplementation of beef cattle (Bos taurus) with corn (Zea mays L.) dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS) on unfertilized, rotationally stocked smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) pasture (SUPP) affected the litter pool, residual herbage mass, litter deposition, and litter quality relative to unsupplemented beef cattle rotationally stocked on unfertilized control (CONT) and N-fertilized (FERT) smooth bromegrass pastures. As hypothesized based on management for greater herbage mass and animal demand during the grazing season, litter deposition was 48% greater in FERT than CONT and SUPP. Management effects, however, depended on year and rotation. Differences in the litter pool, residual herbage mass, and litter deposition typically were greatest before and after the third and fourth rotations, time periods coinciding with peak herbage mass. Meanwhile, deposited litter contained 16.5, 18.1, and 18.9 g N kg–1 and returned 27, 30, and 46 kg N ha–1 through the 158-d grazing season, equivalent to 35, 23, and 34% of total N returning through litter and excreta in CONT, SUPP, and FERT, respectively. Trampling during the 4- to 6-d grazing periods and senescence of herbage contributed to litter deposition. Increase of litter deposition and N return during the grazing season in FERT indicated this system may maintain better soil quality than CONT and SUPP. More research is necessary to examine how changes in litter deposition and N return affect litter decomposition, N losses, and soil organic matter dynamics

Soil Organic Matter and Root and Rhizome Responses to Management Strategies in Smooth Bromegrass Pastures

Soil organic matter (SOM) is a key component of pasture production. This is study investigated how management strategies that varied amount and form of N input in a long-term experiment affected concentrations and stocks of total-soil organic C and N, particulate organic carbon (POC), particulate organic nitrogen (PON), root and rhizome mass, C and N contents in topsoil of smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) pastures with silty clay loam soils in a wet (2010) and dry (2012) year. Management strategies included: (i) unfertilized pasture grazed with unsupplemented beef cattle (CONT); (ii) unfertilized pasture grazed with dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS)-supplemented beef cattle (SUPP); and (iii) nitrogen-fertilized pasture grazed with unsupplemented beef cattle (FERT). After 8 yr, management strategies had similar concentrations and stocks of total-soil organic C and N, POC, and PON, and there were no management strategy × year interactions. From 2010 to 2012, total-soil organic C and N, POC, and PON stocks increased as soils dried and soil bulk density increased. The CONT and SUPP management strategies had less root and rhizome mass (concentrations and stocks) and greater soil bulk density than FERT. These belowground responses were consistent with earlier research conducted at the site demonstrating greater herbage accumulation and litter deposition in FERT. Management strategies that vary amount and form of N inputs into pasture appear to have low potential to affect total-soil organic C and N concentrations in the short-term, but long-term effects of less root and rhizome contents remain unknown

Litter Deposition and Nitrogen Return in Rotationally Stocked Smooth Bromegrass Pastures

Understanding how management systems impact nutrient cycling is important to pasture sustainability. From 2010 to 2011, we investigated how supplementation of beef cattle (Bos taurus) with corn (Zea mays L.) dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS) on unfertilized, rotationally stocked smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) pasture (SUPP) affected the litter pool, residual herbage mass, litter deposition, and litter quality relative to unsupplemented beef cattle rotationally stocked on unfertilized control (CONT) and N-fertilized (FERT) smooth bromegrass pastures. As hypothesized based on management for greater herbage mass and animal demand during the grazing season, litter deposition was 48% greater in FERT than CONT and SUPP. Management effects, however, depended on year and rotation. Differences in the litter pool, residual herbage mass, and litter deposition typically were greatest before and after the third and fourth rotations, time periods coinciding with peak herbage mass. Meanwhile, deposited litter contained 16.5, 18.1, and 18.9 g N kg–1 and returned 27, 30, and 46 kg N ha–1 through the 158-d grazing season, equivalent to 35, 23, and 34% of total N returning through litter and excreta in CONT, SUPP, and FERT, respectively. Trampling during the 4- to 6-d grazing periods and senescence of herbage contributed to litter deposition. Increase of litter deposition and N return during the grazing season in FERT indicated this system may maintain better soil quality than CONT and SUPP. More research is necessary to examine how changes in litter deposition and N return affect litter decomposition, N losses, and soil organic matter dynamics

Soil Organic Matter and Root and Rhizome Responses to Management Strategies in Smooth Bromegrass Pastures

Soil organic matter (SOM) is a key component of pasture production. This is study investigated how management strategies that varied amount and form of N input in a long-term experiment affected concentrations and stocks of total-soil organic C and N, particulate organic carbon (POC), particulate organic nitrogen (PON), root and rhizome mass, C and N contents in topsoil of smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) pastures with silty clay loam soils in a wet (2010) and dry (2012) year. Management strategies included: (i) unfertilized pasture grazed with unsupplemented beef cattle (CONT); (ii) unfertilized pasture grazed with dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS)-supplemented beef cattle (SUPP); and (iii) nitrogen-fertilized pasture grazed with unsupplemented beef cattle (FERT). After 8 yr, management strategies had similar concentrations and stocks of total-soil organic C and N, POC, and PON, and there were no management strategy × year interactions. From 2010 to 2012, total-soil organic C and N, POC, and PON stocks increased as soils dried and soil bulk density increased. The CONT and SUPP management strategies had less root and rhizome mass (concentrations and stocks) and greater soil bulk density than FERT. These belowground responses were consistent with earlier research conducted at the site demonstrating greater herbage accumulation and litter deposition in FERT. Management strategies that vary amount and form of N inputs into pasture appear to have low potential to affect total-soil organic C and N concentrations in the short-term, but long-term effects of less root and rhizome contents remain unknown

Inefficiencies in markets for intellectual property rights: experiences of academic and public research institutions

The formal use of such intellectual property rights (IPR) as patents and registered copyright by universities has increased steadily in the last two decades. Mainstream arguments, embedded in economic theory and policy, advocating the use of IPR to protect academic research results are based on the view that IPR marketplaces work well and allow universities to reap significant benefits. However, there is a lack of evidence-based research to justify or critically evaluate these claims. Building upon an original survey of 46 universities and public research organizations in the United Kingdom, this study analyses the quality of the institutions underpinning the markets for patents and copyright, investigating potential inefficiencies that could lead to underperformance of the IPR system. These include ‘IPR market failures’ with respect to search processes and transparency; price negotiation processes; uncertainties in the perception of the economic value of IRP and the relationship with R&D cost. Further sources of underperformance may include ‘institutional failures’ with respect to enforcement and regulation. Particular attention is paid to the role of governance forms (e.g. alternative types of licensing agreements) through which IPR exchanges take place. We find that a high share of universities report market failures in IPR transactions and that the choice of IPR governance forms matter for the obstacles that are encountered. Given the importance of widely disseminating university research outcomes to foster innovation and economic development, the presence of inefficiencies in IPR markets suggests that such objectives could best be achieved by encouraging open distribution of knowledge, rather than privatization of academic knowledge

Characterization of three \u3ci\u3eChlorella sorokiniana\u3c/i\u3e strains in anaerobic digested effluent from cattle manure

Chlorella sorokiniana CS-01, UTEX 1230 and UTEX 2714 were maintained in 10% anaerobic digester effluent (ADE) from cattle manure digestion and compared with algal cultivation in Bold’s Basal Medium (BBM). Biomass of CS-01 and UTEX 1230 in ADE produced similar or greater than 280 mg/L after 21 days in BBM, however, UTEX 2714 growth in ADE was suppressed by more than 50% demonstrating a significant species bias to synthetic compared to organic waste-based media. The highest accumulation of protein and starch was exhibited in UTEX 1230 in ADE yielding 34% and 23% ash free dry weight (AFDW), respectively, though fatty acid methyl ester total lipid measured less than 12% AFDW. Results suggest that biomass from UTEX 1230 in ADE may serve as a candidate alga and growth system combination sustainable for animal feed production considering high yields of protein, starch and low lipid accumulation

Drivers and outcomes of work alienation: reviving a concept

This article sheds new light on an understudied construct in mainstream management theory, namely, work alienation. This is an important area of study because previous research indicates that work alienation is associated with important individual and organizational outcomes. We tested four antecedents of work alienation: decision-making autonomy, task variety, task identity, and social support. Moreover, we examined two outcomes of alienation: deviance and performance, the former measured 1 year after the independent variables were measured, and the latter as rated by supervisors. We present evidence from a sample of 283 employees employed at a construction and consultancy organization in the United Kingdom. The results supported the majority of our hypotheses, indicating that alienation is a worthy concept of exploration in the management sciences

Optimum ground states for spin-32\frac{3}{2} chains

We present a set of {\em optimum ground states} for a large class of spin-$\frac{3}{2}$ chains. Such global ground states are simultaneously ground states of the local Hamiltonian, i.e. the nearest neighbour interaction in the present case. They are constructed in the form of a matrix product. We find three types of phases, namely a {\em weak antiferromagnet}, a {\em weak ferromagnet}, and a {\em dimerized antiferromagnet}. The main physical properties of these phases are calculated exactly by using a transfer matrix technique, in particular magnetization and two spin correlations. Depending on the model parameters, they show a surprisingly rich structure.Comment: LaTeX, 22 pages, 6 embedded Postscript figure