Horse preference for alfalfa-grass hay harvested in the afternoon or morning

Cattle, sheep, and goats, prefer forage cut in the afternoon to that cut in the morning. This preference has been attributed to the presence of more sugar in the afternoon than morning forage. However, no quantitative studies have been reported for horse responses. We chose to test horses' preference for afternoon (PM) vs. morning (AM) cut alfalfa-grass hay grown in southeastern Montana. Mixed alfalfa-grass (alfalfa = 15 % bloom) was cut on 5 July 2002 at 1900 hr and again the next morning at 0700 hr using a swather with conditioner. Hay was air dried for 24 h and baled into 300 kg round bales. Bales were placed on palettes, tarped, and stored in a metal hay shed. Hay consisted of 70% Grimm alfalfa and 30% Fairway crested wheatgrass. Five kg of both hays (AM- and PM - cut) were offered ad libitum to each of five American Quarter horses for 10 minutes during the morning and afternoon. Both feeding order and position of feed buckets were randomized at each feeding. Dry matter intake was determined by weighing before and after feeding. Four samples of each bale were dried in a convection oven (60° C) and ground into a fine powder. One gram of powdered hay was combined with nine milliliters of distilled water, boiled for five minutes, and vacuum filtered through Whatman #1 qualitative paper. Sugars in the filtrate were determined using a hand held Bausch and Lomb 400SD refractometer having range of 0 - 60% . Data were tested with analysis of variance. Horses preferred the PM-cut hay by eating twice as much of the PM - as of the AM -cut hay (P = 0.001). The sugar concentration was 170 mg/g greater in the extract from the PM -cut than from AM-cut hay (P = 0.04). Horses are able to identify forage having greater sugar concentrations and will eat larger quantities of this hay

The Origin, Early Evolution and Predictability of Solar Eruptions

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were discovered in the early 1970s when space-borne coronagraphs revealed that eruptions of plasma are ejected from the Sun. Today, it is known that the Sun produces eruptive flares, filament eruptions, coronal mass ejections and failed eruptions; all thought to be due to a release of energy stored in the coronal magnetic field during its drastic reconfiguration. This review discusses the observations and physical mechanisms behind this eruptive activity, with a view to making an assessment of the current capability of forecasting these events for space weather risk and impact mitigation. Whilst a wealth of observations exist, and detailed models have been developed, there still exists a need to draw these approaches together. In particular more realistic models are encouraged in order to asses the full range of complexity of the solar atmosphere and the criteria for which an eruption is formed. From the observational side, a more detailed understanding of the role of photospheric flows and reconnection is needed in order to identify the evolutionary path that ultimately means a magnetic structure will erupt

Horse preference for alfalfa-grass hay harvested in the afternoon or morning

Cattle, sheep, and goats, prefer forage cut in the afternoon to that cut in the morning. This preference has been attributed to the presence of more sugar in the afternoon than morning forage. However, no quantitative studies have been reported for horse responses. We chose to test horses' preference for afternoon (PM) vs. morning (AM) cut alfalfa-grass hay grown in southeastern Montana. Mixed alfalfa-grass (alfalfa = 15 % bloom) was cut on 5 July 2002 at 1900 hr and again the next morning at 0700 hr using a swather with conditioner. Hay was air dried for 24 h and baled into 300 kg round bales. Bales were placed on palettes, tarped, and stored in a metal hay shed. Hay consisted of 70% Grimm alfalfa and 30% Fairway crested wheatgrass. Five kg of both hays (AM- and PM - cut) were offered ad libitum to each of five American Quarter horses for 10 minutes during the morning and afternoon. Both feeding order and position of feed buckets were randomized at each feeding. Dry matter intake was determined by weighing before and after feeding. Four samples of each bale were dried in a convection oven (60° C) and ground into a fine powder. One gram of powdered hay was combined with nine milliliters of distilled water, boiled for five minutes, and vacuum filtered through Whatman #1 qualitative paper. Sugars in the filtrate were determined using a hand held Bausch and Lomb 400SD refractometer having range of 0 - 60% . Data were tested with analysis of variance. Horses preferred the PM-cut hay by eating twice as much of the PM - as of the AM -cut hay (P = 0.001). The sugar concentration was 170 mg/g greater in the extract from the PM -cut than from AM-cut hay (P = 0.04). Horses are able to identify forage having greater sugar concentrations and will eat larger quantities of this hay

A new species of harvester ant of the genus Pogonomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from México [Una especie nueva de la hormiga cosechadora del género Pogonomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de México]

We describe a new species of harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex humerotumidus from the state of Michoacán, México. The worker of this species is easily recognized, as the psammophore is poorly developed, the mandibles have only 5 teeth, the pronotal shoulders are swollen into protuberances, and the propodeum lacks teeth. The worker is ferrugineous red. The female and male are unknown. It also differs from similar North American species such as P. huachucanus Wheeler, 1914, P. imberbiculus Wheeler, 1902 and P. pima Wheeler, 1909 in lacking propodeal spines. It can be distinguished from P. laevinodis Snelling, 1982, which also lacks spines on the propodeum, as the side of the petiolar node is sculptured, not smooth as in the latter species. It is similar to P. guatemaltecus Wheeler, 1914, which also lacks propodeal spines, but differs in being larger (total length ∼ 8 mm, vs. ∼ 6 mm in P. guatemaltecus). The pronotal angles of P. guatemaltecus are slightly swollen, but do not form protuberances as they do in P. humerotumidus. In morphology this species is closely related to the Argentinean P. inermis Forel, 1914, which can be distinguished as it has 6 mandibular teeth, and lacks the angulate subpeduncular process

A new species of harvester ant of the genus Pogonomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from M�xico [Una especie nueva de la hormiga cosechadora del g�nero Pogonomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de M�xico]

We describe a new species of harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex humerotumidus from the state of Michoac�n, M�xico. The worker of this species is easily recognized, as the psammophore is poorly developed, the mandibles have only 5 teeth, the pronotal shoulders are swollen into protuberances, and the propodeum lacks teeth. The worker is ferrugineous red. The female and male are unknown. It also differs from similar North American species such as P. huachucanus Wheeler, 1914, P. imberbiculus Wheeler, 1902 and P. pima Wheeler, 1909 in lacking propodeal spines. It can be distinguished from P. laevinodis Snelling, 1982, which also lacks spines on the propodeum, as the side of the petiolar node is sculptured, not smooth as in the latter species. It is similar to P. guatemaltecus Wheeler, 1914, which also lacks propodeal spines, but differs in being larger (total length ? 8 mm, vs. ? 6 mm in P. guatemaltecus). The pronotal angles of P. guatemaltecus are slightly swollen, but do not form protuberances as they do in P. humerotumidus. In morphology this species is closely related to the Argentinean P. inermis Forel, 1914, which can be distinguished as it has 6 mandibular teeth, and lacks the angulate subpeduncular process

Assessing the Impact of Residential Design on Crime: A Guide to Conducting Case Studies

This briefing note aims to guide the reader through the task of conducting a case study to assess the impact of residential design on crime. It is part of a series of themed papers which report the findings from a collaborative project funded by the Home Office and managed by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE). The project set out to strengthen and update the evidence base on the impact of residential design on a range of crime types – with a specific focus on housing developments acclaimed for their innovative design and award winning architecture