Soybean oil meal as a protein supplement for baby chicks

Publication authorized September 14, 1945.Digitized 2007 AES.Includes bibliographical references (page 19)

Critical vitamins in rations for baby chicks

Publication authorized May 10, 1945.Includes bibliographical references (page 12)

The role and contribution of women in UK farm businesses

The global empowerment of women has been, and remains to be, a continuing issue, especially within the workplace. The agribusiness industry is no exception, where continuation of gender bias and stereotypes positions women as under-represented. Whilst the significance of women in farm businesses is evidenced, their relative invisibility in policy discourse is clear, despite the number of women developing careers in the industry increasing. This qualitative study examines the self-identified roles of women in United Kingdom (UK) farm businesses through interviewing individual participants in the sector (n=8). The literature highlights four roles: the farmer, farm manager, off-farm income careerist and entrepreneur with an on-farm diversified business which forms a theoretical framework to structure the interviews. Findings show five emergent self-identification of role characterisations as being the mother, a decision-maker, a supporter, a labourer and an entrepreneur within a personal role profile. Thus, while externally identified roles consider women’s status and contribution in a siloed job role structure, the multiplicity of roles that women undertake are much more nuanced and contiguous. The research contribution is an understanding of the variance and multiplicity of tasks undertaken which indicate the extensive work and contributory efforts that women instinctively provide to the farming business and the farm household structure. Findings contribute by establishing a new conceptualisation of the contributions of women to farm businesses informing rural policymakers, to consider the roles of women at farm household level rather than simply focussing on the gender characteristics of the principal farmer

How Close is too Close? The Effect of a Non-Lethal Electric Shark Deterrent on White Shark Behaviour

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Sharks play a vital role in the health of marine ecosystems, but the potential threat that sharks pose to humans is a reminder of our vulnerability when entering the ocean. Personal shark deterrents are being marketed as the solution to mitigate the threat that sharks pose. However, the effectiveness claims of many personal deterrents are based on our knowledge of shark sensory biology rather than robust testing of the devices themselves, as most have not been subjected to independent scientific studies. Therefore, there is a clear need for thorough testing of commercially available shark deterrents to provide the public with recommendations of their effectiveness. Using a modified stereo-camera system, we quantified behavioural interactions between white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) and a baited target in the presence of a commercially available, personal electric shark deterrent (Shark Shield Freedom7™). The stereo-camera system enabled an accurate assessment of the behavioural responses of C. carcharias when encountering a non-lethal electric field many times stronger than what they would naturally experience. Upon their first observed encounter, all C. carcharias were repelled at a mean (± std. error) proximity of 131 (± 10.3) cm, which corresponded to a mean voltage gradient of 9.7 (± 0.9) V/m. With each subsequent encounter, their proximity decreased by an average of 11.6 cm, which corresponded to an increase in tolerance to the electric field by an average of 2.6 (± 0.5) V/m per encounter. Despite the increase in tolerance, sharks continued to be deterred from interacting for the duration of each trial when in the presence of an active Shark Shield™. Furthermore, the findings provide no support to the theory that electric deterrents attract sharks. The results of this study provide quantitative evidence of the effectiveness of a non-lethal electric shark deterrent, its influence on the behaviour of C. carcharias, and an accurate method for testing other shark deterrent technologies

Managerial Work in a Practice-Embodying Institution - The role of calling, the virtue of constancy

What can be learned from a small scale study of managerial work in a highly marginal and under-researched working community? This paper uses the ‘goods-virtues-practices-institutions’ framework to examine the managerial work of owner-directors of traditional circuses. Inspired by MacIntyre’s arguments for the necessity of a narrative understanding of the virtues, interviews explored how British and Irish circus directors accounted for their working lives. A purposive sample was used to select subjects who had owned and managed traditional touring circuses for at least 15 years, a period in which the economic and reputational fortunes of traditional circuses have suffered badly. This sample enabled the research to examine the self-understanding of people who had, at least on the face of it, exhibited the virtue of constancy. The research contributes to our understanding of the role of the virtues in organizations by presenting evidence of an intimate relationship between the virtue of constancy and a ‘calling’ work orientation. This enhances our understanding of the virtues that are required if management is exercised as a domain-related practice

Transcriptional characterization of human megakaryocyte polyploidization and lineage commitment

BACKGROUND: Megakaryocytes (MKs) originate from cells immuno-phenotypically indistinguishable from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), bypassing intermediate progenitors. They mature within the adult bone marrow and release platelets into the circulation. Until now, there have been no transcriptional studies of primary human bone marrow MKs. OBJECTIVES: To characterize MKs and HSCs from human bone marrow using single-cell RNA sequencing, to investigate MK lineage commitment, maturation steps, and thrombopoiesis. RESULTS: We show that MKs at different levels of polyploidization exhibit distinct transcriptional states. Although high levels of platelet-specific gene expression occur in the lower ploidy classes, as polyploidization increases, gene expression is redirected toward translation and posttranslational processing transcriptional programs, in preparation for thrombopoiesis. Our findings are in keeping with studies of MK ultrastructure and supersede evidence generated using in vitro cultured MKs. Additionally, by analyzing transcriptional signatures of a single HSC, we identify two MK-biased HSC subpopulations exhibiting unique differentiation kinetics. We show that human bone marrow MKs originate from these HSC subpopulations, supporting the notion that they display priming for MK differentiation. Finally, to investigate transcriptional changes in MKs associated with stress thrombopoiesis, we analyzed bone marrow MKs from individuals with recent myocardial infarction and found a specific gene expression signature. Our data support the modulation of MK differentiation in this thrombotic state. CONCLUSIONS: Here, we use single-cell sequencing for the first time to characterize the human bone marrow MK transcriptome at different levels of polyploidization and investigate their differentiation from the HSC

Developmental Expression and Glucocorticoid Control of the Leptin Receptor in Fetal Ovine Lung.

The effects of endogenous and synthetic glucocorticoids on fetal lung maturation are well-established, although the role of leptin in lung development before birth is unclear. This study examined mRNA and protein levels of the signalling long-form leptin receptor (Ob-Rb) in fetal ovine lungs towards term, and after experimental manipulation of glucocorticoid levels in utero by fetal cortisol infusion or maternal dexamethasone treatment. In fetal ovine lungs, Ob-Rb protein was localised to bronchiolar epithelium, bronchial cartilage, vascular endothelium, alveolar macrophages and type II pneumocytes. Pulmonary Ob-Rb mRNA abundance increased between 100 (0.69 fractional gestational age) and 144 days (0.99) of gestation, and by 2-4-fold in response to fetal cortisol infusion and maternal dexamethasone treatment. In contrast, pulmonary Ob-Rb protein levels decreased near term and were halved by glucocorticoid treatment, without any significant change in phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (pSTAT3) at Ser727, total STAT3 or the pulmonary pSTAT3:STAT3 ratio. Leptin mRNA was undetectable in fetal ovine lungs at the gestational ages studied. These findings demonstrate differential control of pulmonary Ob-Rb transcript abundance and protein translation, and/or post-translational processing, by glucocorticoids in utero. Localisation of Ob-Rb in the fetal ovine lungs, including alveolar type II pneumocytes, suggests a role for leptin signalling in the control of lung growth and maturation before birth.This work was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (grant numbers S18103 and BB/H01697X/1).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from PLoS via http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.013611