Nutritive value of forage legumes used for grazing and silage

peer-reviewedLegume forages have an important position in ruminant production in Western Europe and with further development can play an even larger role. Red clover for silage and white clover in grazed swards lead to enhanced growth rate and milk yield in comparison with pure grasses. Much of the production benefit of these legumes relates to enhanced intake since digestibilities are not markedly different to grasses. The higher intake of legume silages reflects differences in the cell structure of legume plants which combined with high fermentation rates means that they break down into small particles in the rumen, and leave the rumen more rapidly than perennial ryegrass. Ease of ingestion leads to high rates of intake, which explains higher intakes for grazed legumes. A further benefit of legumes is the reduced rate of decline in digestibility with advancing maturity. Whilst legumes have limited effects on gross milk composition or carcass characteristics, there are marked increases in levels of beneficial n−3 PUFA. Legumes have often led to a reduction in methane production from the rumen and again, this relates to both physical and chemical differences between forage species. The high rates of release of soluble protein and of breakdown to small particles from clovers and lucerne is associated with susceptibility to bloat, which is a limitation to further exploitation in grazing systems. The high concentration of rapidly degraded protein in legumes also leads to inefficient utilisation of dietary N and increased urinary N output. Research with tanniniferous forages, such as birdsfoot trefoil and sulla, demonstrates the potential for future legumes with reduced environmental and health effects, though these particular forage legumes are not well adapted to temperate regions of Western Europe that are the focus of this review

Modeling Harmonia axyridis interactions within the aphidophagous guild

The rapid spread of Harmonia axyridis across the British Isles is predicted to impact native coccinellids through direct competition and intra-guild predation. Additionally, the population dynamics and seasonal overlap of coccinellids with their aphid prey is likely to be affected by climate change. The combined effects of these two factors could alter relationships within the aphidophagous guild. Here we describe methods to quantify the impact of H. axyridis on temporally and spatially overlapping and non-overlapping native coccinellids, quantifying the relative role of top-down, bottom-up and abiotic factors in driving native coccinellid dynamics. Specifically, changes in coccinellid community composition and the functional responses of coccinellids to the abundance of different prey species will be investigated, and long-term datasets will be used to analyse coccinellid and aphid temporal-spatial dynamics in relation to climate, using climate envelope models to assess the role of climate change on coccinellid-prey interactions. The ultimate aim is to quantify responses of native coccinellids to H. axyridis, accounting for species’ differing specialisations

Vibronic coupling in the superoxide anion: The vibrational dependence of the photoelectron angular distribution

We present a comprehensive photoelectron imaging study of the O₂(X³Σg⁻,v′=0–6)←O₂⁻(X²Πg,v′′=0) and O₂(a¹Δg,v′=0–4)←O₂⁻(X²Πg,v′′=0)photodetachment bands at wavelengths between 900 and 455 nm, examining the effect of vibronic coupling on the photoelectron angular distribution (PAD). This work extends the v′=1–4 data for detachment into the ground electronic state, presented in a recent communication [R. Mabbs, F. Mbaiwa, J. Wei, M. Van Duzor, S. T. Gibson, S. J. Cavanagh, and B. R. Lewis, Phys. Rev. A82, 011401–R (2010)]. Measured vibronic intensities are compared to Franck–Condon predictions and used as supporting evidence of vibronic coupling. The results are analyzed within the context of the one-electron, zero core contribution (ZCC) model [R. M. Stehman and S. B. Woo, Phys. Rev. A23, 2866 (1981)]. For both bands, the photoelectron anisotropy parameter variation with electron kinetic energy,β(E), displays the characteristics of photodetachment from a d-like orbital, consistent with the π∗g 2p highest occupied molecular orbital of O₂⁻. However, differences exist between the β(E) trends for detachment into different vibrational levels of the X³Σg⁻ and a ¹Δg electronic states of O₂. The ZCC model invokes vibrational channel specific “detachment orbitals” and attributes this behavior to coupling of the electronic and nuclear motion in the parent anion. The spatial extent of the model detachment orbital is dependent on the final state of O₂: the higher the neutral vibrational excitation, the larger the electron binding energy. Although vibronic coupling is ignored in most theoretical treatments of PADs in the direct photodetachment of molecular anions, the present findings clearly show that it can be important. These results represent a benchmark data set for a relatively simple system, upon which to base rigorous tests of more sophisticated models.The authors gratefully acknowledge support by the National Science Foundation Grant No. CHE-0748738 and ANU ARC Discovery Projects under Grant Nos. DP0666267 and DP0880850

Field Theory Entropy, the HH-theorem and the Renormalization Group

We consider entropy and relative entropy in Field theory and establish relevant monotonicity properties with respect to the couplings. The relative entropy in a field theory with a hierarchy of renormalization group fixed points ranks the fixed points, the lowest relative entropy being assigned to the highest multicritical point. We argue that as a consequence of a generalized $H$ theorem Wilsonian RG flows induce an increase in entropy and propose the relative entropy as the natural quantity which increases from one fixed point to another in more than two dimensions.Comment: 25 pages, plain TeX (macros included), 6 ps figures. Addition in title. Entropy of cutoff Gaussian model modified in section 4 to avoid a divergence. Therefore, last figure modified. Other minor changes to improve readability. Version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Team strategic philosophy: requiem for the infinite game

Deliberate accountability has arrived in the medical arena, producing an age of reward for measured performance, and belief in publicizing metrics to ensure clarity, with winning defined as hitting targets, whereby staff are incentivised by arbitrary objectives. Finite game theory declares that players are known, rules are fixed, and the objective agreed, but infinite game theory asserts that players are both known and unknown, rules are changeable, and the objective is to perpetuate the game; these standards are clearly at odds and risk real world chaos in global universal medical education and clinical outcomes and functioning. Five principles are necessary to lead an infinite game: first, a fair basis, such that sacrifices for its advancement are promoted; second, a trusting blame-free team culture and environment; third, competitors viewed as worthy rivals, rather than adversaries, promoting healthy competition; fourth, existential flexibility when faced with credible evidence; and finally, transformational leadership; including infinite game theory into healthcare planning may be difficult, but the potential rewards are surely worth the existential fight

Comparison of DC Bead-irinotecan and DC Bead-topotecan drug eluting beads for use in locoregional drug delivery to treat pancreatic cancer

DC Bead is a drug delivery embolisation system that can be loaded with doxorubicin or irinotecan for the treatment of a variety of liver cancers. In this study we demonstrate that the topoisomerase I inhibitor topotecan hydrochloride can be successfully loaded into the DC Bead sulfonate-modified polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel matrix, resulting in a sustained-release drug eluting bead (DEBTOP) useful for therapeutic purposes. The in vitro drug loading capacity, elution characteristics and the effects on mechanical properties of the beads are described with reference to our previous work with irinotecan hydrochloride (DEBIRI). Results showed that drug loading was faster when the solution was agitated compared to static loading and a maximum loading of ca. 40–45 mg topotecan in 1 ml hydrated beads was achievable. Loading the drug into the beads altered the size, compressibility moduli and colour of the bead. Elution was shown to be reliant on the presence of ions to perform the necessary exchange with the electrostatically bound topotecan molecules. Topotecan was shown by MTS assay to have an IC50 for human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells (PSN-1) of 0.22 and 0.27 lM compared to 28.1 and 19.2 lM for irinotecan at 48 and 72 h, respectively. The cytotoxic efficacy of DEBTOP on PSN-1 was compared to DEBIRI. DEPTOP loaded at 6 & 30 mg ml-1, like its free drug form, was shown to be more potent than DEBIRI of comparable doses at 24, 48 & 72 h using a slightly modified MTS assay. Using a PSN-1 mouse xenograft model, DEBIRI doses of 3.3–6.6 mg were shown to be well tolerated (even with repeat administration) and effective in reducing the tumour size. DEBTOP however, was lethal after 6 days at doses of 0.83–1.2 mg but demonstrated reasonable efficacy and tolerability (again with repeat injection possible) at 0.2–0.4 mg doses. Care must therefore be taken when selecting the dose of topotecan to be loaded into DC Bead given its greater potency and potential toxicity

Constraining holographic inflation with WMAP

In a class of recently proposed models, the early universe is strongly coupled and described holographically by a three-dimensional, weakly coupled, super-renormalizable quantum field theory. This scenario leads to a power spectrum of scalar perturbations that differs from the usual empirical LCDM form and the predictions of generic models of single field, slow roll inflation. This spectrum is characterized by two parameters: an amplitude, and a parameter g related to the coupling constant of the dual theory. We estimate these parameters, using WMAP and other astrophysical data. We compute Bayesian evidence for both the holographic model and standard LCDM and find that their difference is not significant, although LCDM provides a somewhat better fit to the data. However, it appears that Planck will permit a definitive test of this holographic scenario.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figs, published versio