Russian wildrye nutritive quality as affected by accession and environment

High-quality forage for spring and fall grazing is an important need of ranchers in the Northern Great Plains and Intermountain-West regions of the United States of America and in the prairie provinces of Canada. Russian wildrye [Psathyrostachys juncea (Fischer) Nevski] has been used to meet this grazing need, especially in Canada. However, its use has probably been limited by its reputation for seedling establishment difficulties and scattered reports of grass tetany. The purpose of this research was to characterize the variation in nutritive quality of Russian wildrye accessions used in a multi-location grass tetany project, to access the effect of environment on quality components, and to determine the relationship between forage nutritive quality components and entities associated with grass tetany. Sixty-seven Russian wildrye accessions from the US National Plant Germplasm System were established in spaced-plant nurseries at Logan,UT, Mandan, ND, and Swift Current, SI(, Canada. Plants were sampled at two stages of development over 2 yr. Location, year, and stage of development effects were significant (P < 0.01) for in vitro true dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), crude protein (CP), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF). At the early stages of development used in this study the range in nutritive quality traits among entries was rather narrow. Relatively high positive correlation coefficients between K and IVDMD, and K and CP suggest that breeding for higher nutritive quality may also produce a more tetany-prone forage, because high K concentration is usually associated with grass tetany. On the other hand, Mg concentrations were also highly correlated with IVDMD and CP, and higher Mg concentrations would be beneficial in preventing grass tetany. The K/(Mg + Ca) ratio, which has been suggested as an indicator of grass tetany, was only moderately related to IVDMD, CP, and NDF

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory is a second generation water Cherenkov detector designed to determine whether the currently observed solar neutrino deficit is a result of neutrino oscillations. The detector is unique in its use of D2O as a detection medium, permitting it to make a solar model-independent test of the neutrino oscillation hypothesis by comparison of the charged- and neutral-current interaction rates. In this paper the physical properties, construction, and preliminary operation of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory are described. Data and predicted operating parameters are provided whenever possible.Comment: 58 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Nucl. Inst. Meth. Uses elsart and epsf style files. For additional information about SNO see http://www.sno.phy.queensu.ca . This version has some new reference

Innovative Assets And Inter-Asset Linkages—A Resource-Based Approach To Innovation

The paper proposes a framework for analyzing assets and inter-asset linkages associated with technological innovation. The framework is consistent with a Penrosian view of the firm and draws on recent contributions from both the more general resource-based perspective and the innovation and technology perspective of the firm. Three broad categories of firm assets are distinguished: tradeable resources, technical/functional capabilities and managerial competences. Assets for technological innovation are defined as resources, technical capabilities and managerial competences for developing new products and processes. A taxonomy of generic innovative assets is proposed that distinguishes four generic categories of innovative assets: Scientific research assets, process innovative assets, product innovative application assets and aesthetic design assets. Critical inter-asset linkages are analyzed in terms of inter-asset specificity. It is argued that high degrees of inter-asset specificity provide greater scope for innovation and make higher demands on the innovative assets and their coordination than low degrees of inter-asset specificity. It is moreover suggested that complementary assets not only play the role of assuring proper commercialization of given innovations; they may also play a critical role as a 'focusing device' for directing the innovative process. Finally, some implications for strategy in innovative firms are indicated. Thus, the proposed inter-asset framework may help to specify the notion of core competences and provide a more differentiated perspective on innovation strategy and first-mover advantages.Innovative assets, inter-asset linkages,

Retirada do fósforo suplementar na estação seca para vacas Nelore em pastejo

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o desempenho reprodutivo de vacas Nelore em pastos de capim-marandu, após a retirada do fosfato bicálcico da mistura mineral, na estação seca. Sessenta matrizes receberam, durante seis anos, mistura mineral completa na estação chuvosa. Na estação seca, os tratamentos consistiram de: mistura mineral completa (MMC); MMC sem fosfato bicálcico (MM); e MM + concentrado. As pastagens foram manejadas de forma a não limitar a disponibilidade de matéria seca. A retirada do fosfato bicálcico do suplemento mineral, durante a estação seca, não prejudicou o desempenho reprodutivo de vacas, avaliado pela taxa de prenhez, intervalo de partos e retorno da atividade cíclica ovariana. Vacas que receberam concentrado na estação seca pariram em melhor condição corporal; vacas primíparas arraçoadas apresentaram menor número de dias vazios do que as vacas primíparas dos demais tratamentos. A retirada do fosfato bicálcico suplementar, fonte de fósforo e cálcio, na estação seca, não prejudica o desempenho de vacas multíparas em pastejo de capim-marandu