Orbiting passive microwave sensor simulation applied to soil moisture estimation

A sensor/scene simulation program was developed and used to determine the effects of scene heterogeneity, resolution, frequency, look angle, and surface and temperature relations on the performance of a spaceborne passive microwave system designed to estimate soil water information. The ground scene is based on classified LANDSAT images which provide realistic ground classes, as well as geometries. It was determined that the average sensitivity of antenna temperature to soil moisture improves as the antenna footprint size increased. Also, the precision (or variability) of the sensitivity changes as a function of resolution

Genetics of seam fat in cattle

The document attached has been archived with permission from the World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production.As far as most consumers are concerned, a good steak is a steak with visibly desirable colour (doneness), a large portion of muscle and a small amount of fat, especially the seam fat located between the muscles. During the intensive growth to commercial slaughter weights in feedlots, there is a distinct change in the composition of the body with the amount of fat increasing and the musculature remaining reasonably constant (Pitchford and Bottema, 2000). Cattle breeds deposit fat at different rates and in different locations (subcutaneous, intermuscular or intramuscular). For example, early maturing Jersey cattle deposit more fat intramuscularly than late maturing Limousin cattle (Pitchford and Bottema, 2000). These differences suggest that there is a genetic basis for fat distribution. The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic variation in seam fat distribution within loin muscles of Jersey and Limousin cross cattle, independent from carcass size and fatness

QTL for feed intake and associated traits

The document attached has been archived with permission from the World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production.In typical beef cattle production systems, the breeding herd accounts for 65-85% of the total feed requirements (Ferrell and Jenkins, 1984 ; Montaldo-Bermudez et al., 1990) and 65-75% of this is used for maintenance. Primarily, the very large maintenance requirement is because cattle are a large, slowly maturing species with a low annual reproductive rate. Furthermore, only a single product is harvested (meat). Any improvement in the efficiency with which breeding cows maintain body weight, will result in an increase in total meat production for a given amount of feed. The key to selection for increased efficiency is to be able to accurately measure feed intake, a trait that is both difficult and expensive to measure. A less expensive alternative would be to use a DNA test for markers of genes affecting intake. This approach has the potential to significantly reduce the generation interval. The aim of this project is to locate regions (quantitative trait loci, QTL) in the cattle genome that contain genes affecting intake.W.S. Pitchford, M.L. Fenton, A.J. Kister and C.D.K. Bottem

Low‐energy electrons (5–50 keV) in the inner magnetosphere

Transport and acceleration of the 5–50 keV electrons from the plasma sheet to geostationary orbit were investigated. These electrons constitute the low‐energy part of the seed population for the high‐energy MeV particles in the radiation belts and are responsible for surface charging. We modeled one nonstorm event on 24–30 November 2011, when the presence of isolated substorms was seen in the AE index. We used the Inner Magnetosphere Particle Transport and Acceleration Model (IMPTAM) with the boundary at 10 R E with moment values for the electrons in the plasma sheet. The output of the IMPTAM modeling was compared to the observed electron fluxes in 10 energy channels (from 5 to 50 keV) measured on board the AMC 12 geostationary spacecraft by the Compact Environmental Anomaly Sensor II with electrostatic analyzer instrument. The behavior of the fluxes depends on the electron energy. The IMPTAM model, driven by the observed parameters such as Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF) B y and B z , solar wind velocity, number density, dynamic pressure, and the Dst index, was not able to reproduce the observed peaks in the electron fluxes when no significant variations are present in those parameters. We launched several substorm‐associated electromagnetic pulses at the substorm onsets during the modeled period. The observed increases in the fluxes can be captured by IMPTAM when substorm‐associated electromagnetic fields are taken into account. Modifications of the pulse front velocity and arrival time are needed to exactly match the observed enhancements. Key Points Electron flux peaks due to substorm activity Solar wind driven inner magnetosphere model does not work for quiet times Substorm‐associated fields to explain electron flux peaksPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106068/1/jgra50735.pd

Breed variation and genetic parameters for growth and body development in diverse beef cattle genotypes

Conformation scores can account for more than 20% of cattle price variation at Australian livestock sales. However, there are limited available references which define genetic factors relating objective live developmental traits to carcass composition. Weaning and post-weaning weight, height, length, girth, muscle (ratio of stifle to hip width) and fat depth of 1202 progeny from mature Hereford cows (637) mated to seven sire breeds (Jersey, Wagyu, Angus, Hereford, South Devon, Limousin and Belgian Blue) were examined for growth and development across ages. Crossbred Wagyu and Jersey were both lighter in weight and smaller in size (height, length and girth) than purebred Hereford and crossbred Angus, South Devon, Limousin and Belgian Blue. Within the five larger crossbreds, there were significant changes in relative weight from weaning to 600 days. Sire breeds differed in fat depth, with Angus being the fattest (9% on average fatter than Hereford and Wagyu), and Jersey 5% less fat than Hereford, followed by South Devon and Limousin (19% lower than Hereford) and Belgian Blue (39% lower than Hereford). Direct heritability ranged from 19 to 42% and was higher than the proportion of total phenotypic variance accounted for by maternal effects (which ranged from 0 to 17%) for most body measurement traits except for weight (38 v. 18%) and girth (36 v. 9%) traits at weaning, an indication of maternal effect on some body conformation traits at early ages. Muscularity (19 to 44%) and fat depth (26 to 43%) were moderately to highly heritable across ages. There were large differences for growth and the objective measures of body development between crossbreds with a degree of overlap among the progeny of the seven sire breeds. The variation between genetic (positive) and environmental (negative) correlations for dry versus wet season average daily gains in weight and fat, suggested the potential use of live-animal conformation traits for within breed selection of genetically superior animal in these traits across seasons.R. A. Afolayan, W. S. Pitchford, M. P. B. Deland and W. A. McKierna

Optimal liability sharing and court errors: an exploratory analysis

We focus in this paper on the effects of court errors on the optimal sharing of liability between firms and financiers, as an environmental policy instrument. Using a structural model of the interactions between firms, financial institutions, governments and courts we show, through numerical simulations, the distortions in liability sharing between firms and financiers that the imperfect implementation of government policies implies. We consider in particular the role played by the efficiency of the courts in avoiding Type I (finding an innocent firm guilty of inappropriate care) and Type II (finding a guilty firm innocent of inappropriate care) errors. This role is considered in a context where liability sharing is already distorted (when compared with first best values) due not only to the courts' own imperfect assessment of safety care levels exerted by firm but also to the presence of moral hazard and adverse selection in financial contracting, as well as of noncongruence of objectives between firms and financiers on the one hand and social welfare maximization on the other. Our results indicate that an increase in the efficiency of the court system in avoiding errors raises safety care levels, thereby reducing the probability of accident, and allowing the social welfare maximizing government to impose a lower liability [higher] share for firms [financiers] as well as a lower standard level of care

Development of a Kemp\u27s Ridley Sea Turtle Stock Assessment Model

We developed a Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) stock assessment model to evaluate the relative contributions of conservation efforts and other factors toward this critically endangered species’ recovery. The Kemp’s ridley demographic model developed by the Turtle Expert Working Group (TEWG) in 1998 and 2000 and updated for the binational recovery plan in 2011 was modified for use as our base model. The TEWG model uses indices of the annual reproductive population (number of nests) and hatchling recruitment to predict future annual numbers of nests on the basis of a series of assumptions regarding age and maturity, remigration interval, sex ratios, nests per female, juvenile mortality, and a putative ‘‘turtle excluder device effect’’ multiplier starting in 1990. This multiplier was necessary to fit the number of nests observed in 1990 and later. We added the effects of shrimping effort directly, modified by habitat weightings, as a proxy for all sources of anthropogenic mortality. Additional data included in our model were incremental growth of Kemp’s ridleys marked and recaptured in the Gulf of Mexico, and the length frequency of stranded Kemp’s ridleys. We also added a 2010 mortality factor that was necessary to fit the number of nests for 2010 and later (2011 and 2012). Last, we used an empirical basis for estimating natural mortality, on the basis of a Lorenzen mortality curve and growth estimates. Although our model generated reasonable estimates of annual total turtle deaths attributable to shrimp trawling, as well as additional deaths due to undetermined anthropogenic causes in 2010, we were unable to provide a clear explanation for the observed increase in the number of stranded Kemp’s ridleys in recent years, and subsequent disruption of the species’ exponential growth since the 2009 nesting season. Our consensus is that expanded data collection at the nesting beaches is needed and of high priority, and that 2015 be targeted for the next stock assessment to evaluate the 2010 event using more recent nesting and in-water data