Impact of soaking cows housed in a tunnel-ventilated, evaporative-cooled barn in Thailand

Ten multiparous lactating Holstein cows were arranged in a replicated 5 x 5 Latin Square design to evaluate the effect of soaking frequency and volume of water per soaking on lactating cows housed in a tunnel-ventilated and evaporative-cooled freestall barn. Rectal temperature, respiration rate, and body surface temperatures were measured every 5 minutes. Treatments were: control (C); soaking every 5 minutes with 0.26 gallons (5L); soaking every 5 minutes with 0.53 gallons (5H); soaking every 10 minutes with 0.26 gallons (10L); or soaking every 10 minutes with 0.53 gallons (10H). Average ambient temperature and humidity were 86.5ºF and 68% outside the barn, and 80.4ºF at 86% inside the barn, respectively. Water having a temperature of 80.6ºF was applied manually from the shoulder to the tail. Treatments were applied after three initial measurements were assessed. Seventeen measurements were made during treatment application and five measurements after the treatments were stopped. Air velocity over the shoulder of the cows was 4 mph. Respiration rate and body surface temperature for all treatments were less than those of the control, except for rear udder surface temperature in the 10L treatment. Rectal temperature for 5L, 5H, and 10H were less than those of the control. Respiration rate for 5L and 5H were less than that of 10L. These data indicate that soaking can be used in combination with tunnel ventilation and evaporative pads to reduce heat stress.; Dairy Day, 2004, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 2004

Potential influence of a marine heatwave on range extensions of tropical fishes in the eastern Indian Ocean—Invaluable contributions from amateur observers

Global changes to fish distributions are expected to continue in coming decades with predicted increases in ocean temperatures and the frequency of extreme climatic events. In the eastern Indian Ocean during the 2010/11 summer, sea surface temperatures 4–5 °C above average and an unseasonal, anomalously strong, Leeuwin Current (LC) triggered a “marine heatwave” along the west coast of Australia, with elevated water temperatures persisting for a further two years. Peak LC flows in summer/autumn transported pelagic early life history stages of summer-spawning coastal subtropical and tropical fishes southwards. This study examined whether the heatwave enabled the arrival, persistence and reproduction of such species in waters View the MathML source≥∼32°S using a range of available datasets. Juveniles of Chaetodon assarius, Trachinotus botla, T. baillonii, Polydactylus plebeius, Psammoperca waigiensis and Siganus sp. recruited into nearshore waters at View the MathML source≥∼32°S in 2011. Polydactylus plebeius survived until the summer of 2012/13. Trachinotus spp., P. waigiensis and Siganus sp. survived over consecutive winters, with Siganus sp. establishing a self-recruiting, breeding population two years later. A return to more typical summer water temperatures by 2013/14 was associated with an apparent recruitment failure of Siganus sp. This is a rare example of a tropical vagrant surviving to breed in temperate regions. Confirmation of range extension beyond existing limits of this and other tropical species will be primarily dependent on either continuous or intermittent recruitment from this recently established southern breeding population. Commercial fisheries catch and effort data were of limited use in this study because they were not designed to record small catches of unusual and/or non-target species. In contrast, fisheries-independent recruitment surveys recorded tropical juveniles and validated amateur observations provided important information on unusual species. The study confirmed the emerging contribution of ‘citizen scientists’ working with researchers to document climate related impacts in the marine environment

Impact of frequency of feedline soaking combined with evaporative air cooling in a humid environment

Heat stress in hot and humid environments reduces milk production, decreases reproduction, and increases health-related problems. The summertime environment in north-central Florida is especially difficult because the combination of high relative humidity and high temperature results in a temperaturehumidity index (THI) above the critical value of 72 for significant portions of the day. Previous work at Kansas State University had shown that the combination of soaking and evaporative air cooling could effectively cool heat-stressed cattle. Effectiveness of this feedline soaking, either in the afternoon and at night, or only at night, in combination with evaporative cooling was evaluated on a commercial dairy located in north-central Florida. A high-pressure fogging system and feedline soakers were installed in a typical 4-row freestall barn equipped with tunnel ventilation creating a north to south airflow of 6 to 8 mph at the cow level. Eight lactating Holstein cows in each of two, 292-stall pens were selected and fitted with vaginal temperature probes. Data on vaginal temperature and respiration rate were used to evaluate two cooling treatments. Barn temperature averaged 74.8 ± 5.4ºF, relative humidity was 84.6 ± 15.4 %, and THI was 74.7 ± 5.3 during the study. The evaporative cooling system reduced average barn temperature by 0.9ºF and reduced afternoon temperatures by a maximum of 9.2ºF. Average respiration rates were less (58.5 vs. 66.9 breaths/min) in the afternoon and night soaking treatment, compared with the respiration rate of cattle in the night soaking treatment. Differences were greatest at the 10:00 p.m. observation (55.0 vs. 73.3 breaths/min). Average vaginal temperature was also less (102.0 vs. 102.6°F) in the afternoon and night soaking treatment. Our results indicate that the combination of cooling the air via a highpressure fogging system and feedline soaking reduced heat stress experienced by dairy cattle. Using feedline soaking during the afternoon and night was more effective than soaking only at night.; Dairy Day, 2005, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 2005; Dairy Research, 2005 is known as Dairy Day, 200

Probing Quantum Aspects of Gravity

We emphasize that a specific aspect of quantum gravity is the absence of a super-selection rule that prevents a linear superposition of different gravitational charges. As an immediate consequence, we obtain a tiny, but observable, violation of the equivalence principle, provided, inertial and gravitational masses are not assumed to be operationally identical objects. In this framework, the cosmic gravitational environment affects local experiments. A range of terrestrial experiments, from neutron interferometry to neutrino oscillations, can serve as possible probes to study the emergent quantum aspects of gravity.Comment: Phys. Lett. B (in press). S. Sarkar's name was inadvertently missed from the list of authors for "Nature 393 (1998) 763-765." This has been now correcte

Light-Cone Broadening and TeV Scale Extra Dimensions

We examine the effect of light-cone broadening induced by quantum-gravity foam in the context of theories with ``large'' extra dimensions stretching between two parallel brane worlds. We consider the propagation of photon probes on one of the branes, including the response to graviton fluctuations, from both field- and string-theoretical viewpoints. In the latter approach, the dominant source of light-cone broadening may be the recoil of the D-brane, which scales linearly with the string coupling. Astrophysical constraints then place strong restrictions on consistent string models of macroscopic extra dimensions. The broadening we find in the field-theoretical picture seems to be close to the current sensitivity of gravity-wave interferometers, and therefore could perhaps be tested experimentally in the foreseeable future.Comment: 12 pages REVTeX, 2 axodraw figures incorporate

Magnetoresistance of Two-Dimensional Fermions in a Random Magnetic Field

We perform a semiclassical calculation of the magnetoresistance of spinless two-dimensional fermions in a long-range correlated random magnetic field. In the regime relevant for the problem of the half filled Landau level the perturbative Born approximation fails and we develop a new method of solving the Boltzmann equation beyond the relaxation time approximation. In absence of interactions, electron density modulations, in-plane fields, and Fermi surface anisotropy we obtain a quadratic negative magnetoresistance in the weak field limit.Comment: 12 pages, Latex, no figures, Nordita repor

Considering Parental Hearing Status as a Social Determinant of Deaf Population Health: Insights from Experiences of the \ Dinner Table Syndrome\

The influence of early language and communication experiences on lifelong health outcomes is receiving increased public health attention. Most deaf children have non-signing hearing parents, and are at risk for not experiencing fully accessible language environments, a possible factor underlying known deaf population health disparities. Childhood indirect family communication-such as spontaneous conversations and listening in the routine family environment (e.g. family meals, recreation, car rides)-is an important source of health-related contextual learning opportunities. The goal of this study was to assess the influence of parental hearing status on deaf people\u27s recalled access to childhood indirect family communication. We analyzed data from the Rochester Deaf Health Survey-2013 (n = 211 deaf adults) for associations between sociodemographic factors including parental hearing status, and recalled access to childhood indirect family communication. Parental hearing status predicted deaf adults\u27 recalled access to childhood indirect family communication (χ2 = 31.939, p \u3c .001). The likelihood of deaf adults reporting sometimes to never for recalled comprehension of childhood family indirect communication increased by 17.6 times for those with hearing parents. No other sociodemographic or deaf-specific factors in this study predicted deaf adults\u27 access to childhood indirect family communication. This study finds that deaf people who have hearing parents were more likely to report limited access to contextual learning opportunities during childhood. Parental hearing status and early childhood language experiences, therefore, require further investigation as possible social determinants of health to develop interventions that improve lifelong health and social outcomes of the underserved deaf population

Standardisation of RTS beverage from reconstituted cashew apple-based blended juice powder along with Sugandi

Cashew has commercial value for its nut and peduncle (false fruit), known as cashew apple. Requirements of consumers considering convenience, food safety, health benefits and sensory quality have increased demand for fruit juices, but most consumers don’t get time for the ready to use products. Instant juice powders can meet consumer requirements being cheap to transport and with prolonged shelf life. Then the blended juice was mixed with maltodextrin @15 per cent, i.e., 15 g for 100 mL of blended juice by proper homogenisation. The roots of the sugandi (Swallow root - Decalepsis hamiltonii) were collected, cleaned thoroughly and discarded the central white portion of the roots. Among the blended juice treatment combinations, the highest pH of 3.45 was recorded in B3 (75% cashew apple juice + 25% pineapple juice powder at 150°C inlet temperature with a flow rate of 10 mL min-1). The ready-to-serve (RTS) beverage, along with sugandi stored under refrigerated condition, were free from microbial proliferation till the end of the storage period (60th day of storage), indicating its fitness for consumption with maximum flavour, taste and overall acceptability

Distributed expertise: Qualitative study of a British network of multidisciplinary teams supporting parents of children with chronic kidney disease

© 2014 The Authors. Background: Long-term childhood conditions are often managed by hospital-based multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) of professionals with discipline specific expertise of a condition, in partnership with parents. However, little evidence exists on professional-parent interactions in this context. An exploration of professionals' accounts of the way they individually and collectively teach parents to manage their child's clinical care at home is, therefore, important for meeting parents' needs, informing policy and educating novice professionals. Using chronic kidney disease as an exemplar this paper reports on one aspect of a study of interactions between professionals and parents in a network of 12 children's kidney units in Britain. Methods: We conducted semi-structured, qualitative interviews with a convenience sample of 112 professionals (clinical-psychologists, dietitians, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, play-workers, therapists and social workers), exploring accounts of their parent-educative activity. We analysed data using framework and the concept of distributed expertise. Results: Four themes emerged that related to the way expertise was distributed within and across teams: (i) recognizing each other's' expertise, (ii) sharing expertise within the MDT, (iii) language interpretation, and (iv) acting as brokers. Two different professional identifications were also seen to co-exist within MDTs, with participants using the term 'we' both as the intra-professional 'we' (relating to the professional identity) when describing expertise within a disciplinary group (for example: 'As dietitians we aim to give tailored advice to optimize children's growth'), and the inter-professional 'we' (a 'team-identification'), when discussing expertise within the team (for example: 'We work as a team and make sure we're all happy with every aspect of their training before they go home'). Conclusions: This study highlights the dual identifications implicit in 'being professional' in this context (to the team and to one's profession) as well as the unique role that each member of a team contributes to children's care. Our methodology and results have the potential to be transferred to teams managing other conditions

Time Delay Correlations in Chaotic Scattering: Random Matrix Approach

We study the correlations of time delays in a model of chaotic resonance scattering based on the random matrix approach. Analytical formulae which are valid for arbitrary number of open channels and arbitrary coupling strength between resonances and channels are obtained by the supersymmetry method. We demonstrate that the time delay correlation function, though being not a Lorentzian, is characterized, similar to that of the scattering matrix, by the gap between the cloud of complex poles of the $S$-matrix and the real energy axis.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX, 4 figures availible upon reques