Effect of Test Weight on the Feed Value of Corn to Feedlot Lambs

The objective of this trial was to evaluate the feeding value of corn with differing test weight in a growth study with lambs fed a finishing diet ab libitum

Climate bifurcations in a Schwarzschild equation model of the Arctic atmosphere

A column model of the Arctic atmosphere is developed including the nonlinear positive feedback responses of surface albedo and water vapour to temperature. The atmosphere is treated as a grey gas and the flux of longwave radiation is governed by the two-stream Schwarzschild equations. Water vapour concentration is determined by the Clausius–Clapeyron equation. Representative concentration pathways (RCPs) are used to model carbon dioxide concentrations into the future. The resulting 9D two-point boundary value problem is solved under various RCPs and the solutions analysed. The model predicts that under the highest carbon pathway, the Arctic climate will undergo an irreversible bifurcation to a warm steady state, which would correspond to annually ice-free conditions. Under the lowest carbon pathway, corresponding to very aggressive carbon emission reductions, the model exhibits only a mild increase in Arctic temperatures. Under the two intermediate carbon pathways, temperatures increase more substantially, and the system enters a region of bistability where external perturbations could possibly cause an irreversible switch to a warm, ice-free state.</p

Effects of replacing soybean meal with xylose-treated soybean meal on performance of nursing Awassi ewes and fattening lambs

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of replacing soybean meal with xylose-treated soybean meal (soypass meal; SPM) on performance of nursing Awassi ewes and fattening lambs. In Experiment 1, lasting for eight weeks, 39 Awassi ewes and their lambs were randomly assigned to three diets. Diets were formulated by replacing soybean meal from the basal diet (CON-SBM; n=13) with 50% (50% SPM; n=13) and 100% (100% SPM; n=13) SPM. Initial and final weights of the ewes were not different (P>0.55) among diets. Total gain and average daily gain (ADG) of lambs were similar (P=0.44) among diets. Ewes fed the CON-SBM diet tended (P<0.09) to have lower milk yields than those fed the 50% SPM and 100% SPM diets. No differences (P>0.38) in milk component percentages among diets were observed. In Experiment 2, lasting for 63 days, twenty weaned lambs were used to determine the effects of replacing soybean meal with SPM on growth performance. Diets were either soybean meal (SBM; n=10) or SPM (SPM; n=10). Nutrient intake and digestibility were not different between diets. However, rumen undegradable protein intake was greater (P<0.05) for the SPM diet than for the SBM diet. Final body weight, ADG and the feed conversion ratio were similar (P>0.05) between the diets. Results suggest that replacement of soybean meal with soypass meal is not likely to produce any production benefits in nursing Awassi ewes and fattening lambs except for the slight improvement of milk yield

Preservice Teachers\u27 Experiences of America Reads Research

This article has two purposes. First, we want to make visible the experiences of undergraduate preservice teacher researchers who collaborated with university faculty to conduct three research studies of an America Reads Literacy Tutoring Program. Our second purpose is to offer evidence from the preservice teachers\u27 research logs, comments and reflections that supports or challenges current discussions about the effects of preservice teacher research. The article begins with a brief discussion of the America Reads investigations in which the preservice teachers participated. Next, we discuss the preservice teachers\u27 thoughts about their research experiences. Finally, we explore implications raised by this research

How teachers' practices and students' attitudes towards technology affect mathematics achievement: results and insights from PISA 2012

The present work seeks to deepen the impact of factors linked to the characteristics of teaching practices and students' attitudes towards the use of technology on their performance in mathematics in the process of teaching-learning in the Spanish context. In this sense, this study is a secondary analysis of the PISA 2012 data. Therefore, it is an ex post facto design. Regarding the attitudes and the contextual variables, the results do coincide with the accumulated evidence. However, once these contextual effects have been controlled for, the negative relationship found between the pedagogic strategies used by the teachers and the mathematics score cannot but convey perplexity, since the results relative to student-oriented, formative assessment and teacher-directed instruction are clearly contradictory to the solid previous evidence. The data do not allow us to explain this paradoxical result. We dare to point to a conjecture that we find plausible. All these complex variables are informed through questionnaires responded to by students and require a great degree of inference in the answers. Future studies must consider the complexity of the measured variables as well as the students' perception and understanding of them

Solid Molecular Frustrated Lewis Pairs in a Polyamine Organic Framework for the Catalytic Metal‐free Hydrogenation of Alkenes

We report for the first time a metal-free heterogeneously catalyzed hydrogenation using a semi-solid frustrated Lewis pair (FLP). The catalyst consists of a solid polyamine organic framework and molecular tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane (BCF) that form a semi-immobilized FLP in situ in the catalytic hydrogenation of diethyl benzylidenemalonate. 11B NMR spectroscopy proves the successful hydrogen activation by the FLP. Furthermore, the B−N interactions between the polyamine and BCF are investigated by IR and solid state NMR spectroscopy. The FLP 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO)/BCF, which combines the features of a FLP and a classical Lewis adduct, functions as molecular reference in both, catalysis and characterization. Furthermore, computational studies enable a better insight into the hydrogen activation through DABCO/BCF and polyamine/BCF

Attitudes and behaviors of Japanese physicians concerning withholding and withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment for end-of-life patients: results from an Internet survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Evidence concerning how Japanese physicians think and behave in specific clinical situations that involve withholding or withdrawal of medical interventions for end-of-life or frail elderly patients is yet insufficient.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To analyze decisions and actions concerning the withholding/withdrawal of life-support care by Japanese physicians, we conducted cross-sectional web-based internet survey presenting three scenarios involving an elderly comatose patient following a severe stroke. Volunteer physicians were recruited for the survey through mailing lists and medical journals. The respondents answered questions concerning attitudes and behaviors regarding decision-making for the withholding/withdrawal of life-support care, namely, the initiation/withdrawal of tube feeding and respirator attachment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 304 responses analyzed, a majority felt that tube feeding should be initiated in these scenarios. Only 18% felt that a respirator should be attached when the patient had severe pneumonia and respiratory failure. Over half the respondents felt that tube feeding should not be withdrawn when the coma extended beyond 6 months. Only 11% responded that they actually withdrew tube feeding. Half the respondents perceived tube feeding in such a patient as a "life-sustaining treatment," whereas the other half disagreed. Physicians seeking clinical ethics consultation supported the withdrawal of tube feeding (OR, 6.4; 95% CI, 2.5–16.3; P < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Physicians tend to harbor greater negative attitudes toward the withdrawal of life-support care than its withholding. On the other hand, they favor withholding invasive life-sustaining treatments such as the attachment of a respirator over less invasive and long-term treatments such as tube feeding. Discrepancies were demonstrated between attitudes and actual behaviors. Physicians may need systematic support for appropriate decision-making for end-of-life care.</p