TEMPORAL COST ANALYSIS OF A NEW DEVELOPMENT IN CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE STORAGE: THE CASE OF VIDALIA ONIONS

Agribusiness,

Defining Failure of Passive Transfer in South Dakota Beef Calves

Failure of calves to ingest and absorb immunoglobulin from colostrum is a risk factor for illness and decreased performance. Blood samples were taken from 752 calves at three SDSU research units. Total protein in blood, closely correlated to colostral immunoglobulin absorption, was determined and calf health records were collected. Using this data, a classification table of sensitivity and specificity was constructed to determine the relationship between total protein and calf illness and to classify calves as having adequate colostral absorption or inadequate colostral absorption (failure of passive transfer). Along with sensitivity and specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios were calculated to identify a suitable cutoff point to separate calves that would become ill from those that would remain healthy. The cutoff point selected was a serum total protein level of 5.5 g/dL, which produced a sensitivity of 30% and specificity of 87%. Calves with total protein levels below 5.5 g1dL were 3.07 (95% CI 1.73-5.43, p=0.0002) times as likely to become ill as calves with total protein levels above 5.5 g/dL. In beef production situations similar to those in these herds, producers should be able to limit disease if calves\u27 total protein at 24 hours following birth is equal to or greater than 5.5 g/dL

IMPACT OF TARGET MATERIAL ACTIVATION ON PERSONNEL EXPOSURE AND RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATION IN THE NATIONAL IGNITION FACILITY

Detailed activation analyses are performed for the different materials under consideration for use in the target capsules and hohlraums used during the ignition campaign on the National Ignition Facility. Results of the target material activation were additionally used to estimate the levels of contamination within the NIF target chamber and the workplace controls necessary for safe operation. The analysis examined the impact of using Be-Cu and Ge-doped CH capsules on the external dose received by workers during maintenance activities. Five days following a 20 MJ shot, dose rates inside the Target Chamber (TC) due to the two proposed capsule materials are small ({approx} 1 {micro}rem/h). Gold and depleted-uranium (DU) are considered as potential hohlraum materials. Following a shot, gold will most probably get deposited on the TC first wall. On the other hand, while noble-gas precursors from the DU are expected to stay in the TC, most of the noble gases are pumped out of the chamber and end up on the cryopumps. The dose rates inside the TC due to activated gold or DU, at 5 days following a 20 MJ shot, are about 1 mrem/h. Dose rates in the vicinity of the cryo-pumps (containing noble 'fission' gases) drop-off to about 1 mrem/h during the first 12 hours following the shot. Contamination from activation of NIF targets will result in the NIF target chamber exceeding DOE surface contamination limits. Objects removed from the TC will need to be managed as radioactive material. However, the results suggest that airborne contamination from resuspension of surface contamination will not be significant and is at levels that can be managed by negative ventilation when accessing the TC attachments

Isolation-by-Distance and Outbreeding Depression Are Sufficient to Drive Parapatric Speciation in the Absence of Environmental Influences

A commonly held view in evolutionary biology is that speciation (the emergence of genetically distinct and reproductively incompatible subpopulations) is driven by external environmental constraints, such as localized barriers to dispersal or habitat-based variation in selection pressures. We have developed a spatially explicit model of a biological population to study the emergence of spatial and temporal patterns of genetic diversity in the absence of predetermined subpopulation boundaries. We propose a 2-D cellular automata model showing that an initially homogeneous population might spontaneously subdivide into reproductively incompatible species through sheer isolation-by-distance when the viability of offspring decreases as the genomes of parental gametes become increasingly different. This simple implementation of the Dobzhansky-Muller model provides the basis for assessing the process and completion of speciation, which is deemed to occur when there is complete postzygotic isolation between two subpopulations. The model shows an inherent tendency toward spatial self-organization, as has been the case with other spatially explicit models of evolution. A well-mixed version of the model exhibits a relatively stable and unimodal distribution of genetic differences as has been shown with previous models. A much more interesting pattern of temporal waves, however, emerges when the dispersal of individuals is limited to short distances. Each wave represents a subset of comparisons between members of emergent subpopulations diverging from one another, and a subset of these divergences proceeds to the point of speciation. The long-term persistence of diverging subpopulations is the essence of speciation in biological populations, so the rhythmic diversity waves that we have observed suggest an inherent disposition for a population experiencing isolation-by-distance to generate new species

Rapid-onset dystonia-parkinsonism associated with the I758S mutation of the ATP1A3 gene: a neuropathologic and neuroanatomical study of four siblings

Rapid-onset dystonia-parkinsonism (RDP) is a movement disorder associated with mutations in the ATP1A3 gene. Signs and symptoms of RDP commonly occur in adolescence or early adulthood and can be triggered by physical or psychological stress. Mutations in ATP1A3 are also associated with alternating hemiplegia of childhood (AHC). The neuropathologic substrate of these conditions is unknown. The central nervous system of four siblings, three affected by RDP and one asymptomatic, all carrying the I758S mutation in the ATP1A3 gene, was analyzed. This neuropathologic study is the first carried out in ATP1A3 mutation carriers, whether affected by RDP or AHC. Symptoms began in the third decade of life for two subjects and in the fifth for another. The present investigation aimed at identifying, in mutation carriers, anatomical areas potentially affected and contributing to RDP pathogenesis. Comorbid conditions, including cerebrovascular disease and Alzheimer disease, were evident in all subjects. We evaluated areas that may be relevant to RDP separately from those affected by the comorbid conditions. Anatomical areas identified as potential targets of I758S mutation were globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus, red nucleus, inferior olivary nucleus, cerebellar Purkinje and granule cell layers, and dentate nucleus. Involvement of subcortical white matter tracts was also evident. Furthermore, in the spinal cord, a loss of dorsal column fibers was noted. This study has identified RDP-associated pathology in neuronal populations, which are part of complex motor and sensory loops. Their involvement would cause an interruption of cerebral and cerebellar connections which are essential for maintenance of motor control. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00401-014-1279-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

The Analysis of Association Between Traits When Differences Between Trait States Matter

Because of their elementary significance in almost all fields of science, measures of association between two variables or traits are abundant and multiform. One aspect of association that is of considerable interest, especially in population genetics and ecology, seems to be widely ignored. This aspect concerns association between complex traits that show variable and arbitrarily defined state differences. Among such traits are genetic characters controlled by many and potentially polyploid loci, species characteristics, and environmental variables, all of which may be mutually and asymmetrically associated. A concept of directed association of one trait with another is developed here that relies solely on difference measures between the states of a trait. Associations are considered at three levels: between individual states of two variables, between an individual state of one variable and the totality of the other variable, and between two variables. Relations to known concepts of association are identified. In particular, measures at the latter two levels turn out to be interpretable as measures of differentiation. Examples are given for areas of application (search for functional relationships, distribution of variation over populations, genomic associations, spatiogenetic structure)

Measurement of inclusive D*+- and associated dijet cross sections in photoproduction at HERA

Inclusive photoproduction of D*+- mesons has been measured for photon-proton centre-of-mass energies in the range 130 < W < 280 GeV and a photon virtuality Q^2 < 1 GeV^2. The data sample used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 37 pb^-1. Total and differential cross sections as functions of the D* transverse momentum and pseudorapidity are presented in restricted kinematical regions and the data are compared with next-to-leading order (NLO) perturbative QCD calculations using the "massive charm" and "massless charm" schemes. The measured cross sections are generally above the NLO calculations, in particular in the forward (proton) direction. The large data sample also allows the study of dijet production associated with charm. A significant resolved as well as a direct photon component contribute to the cross section. Leading order QCD Monte Carlo calculations indicate that the resolved contribution arises from a significant charm component in the photon. A massive charm NLO parton level calculation yields lower cross sections compared to the measured results in a kinematic region where the resolved photon contribution is significant.Comment: 32 pages including 6 figure

Measurement of Jet Shapes in Photoproduction at HERA

The shape of jets produced in quasi-real photon-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies in the range $134-277$ GeV has been measured using the hadronic energy flow. The measurement was done with the ZEUS detector at HERA. Jets are identified using a cone algorithm in the $\eta - \phi$ plane with a cone radius of one unit. Measured jet shapes both in inclusive jet and dijet production with transverse energies $E^{jet}_T>14$ GeV are presented. The jet shape broadens as the jet pseudorapidity ($\eta^{jet}$) increases and narrows as $E^{jet}_T$ increases. In dijet photoproduction, the jet shapes have been measured separately for samples dominated by resolved and by direct processes. Leading-logarithm parton-shower Monte Carlo calculations of resolved and direct processes describe well the measured jet shapes except for the inclusive production of jets with high $\eta^{jet}$ and low $E^{jet}_T$. The observed broadening of the jet shape as $\eta^{jet}$ increases is consistent with the predicted increase in the fraction of final state gluon jets.Comment: 29 pages including 9 figure

Angular and Current-Target Correlations in Deep Inelastic Scattering at HERA

Correlations between charged particles in deep inelastic ep scattering have been studied in the Breit frame with the ZEUS detector at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 6.4 pb-1. Short-range correlations are analysed in terms of the angular separation between current-region particles within a cone centred around the virtual photon axis. Long-range correlations between the current and target regions have also been measured. The data support predictions for the scaling behaviour of the angular correlations at high Q2 and for anti-correlations between the current and target regions over a large range in Q2 and in the Bjorken scaling variable x. Analytic QCD calculations and Monte Carlo models correctly describe the trends of the data at high Q2, but show quantitative discrepancies. The data show differences between the correlations in deep inelastic scattering and e+e- annihilation.Comment: 26 pages including 10 figures (submitted to Eur. J. Phys. C

Dissociation of virtual photons in events with a leading proton at HERA

The ZEUS detector has been used to study dissociation of virtual photons in events with a leading proton, gamma^* p -> X p, in e^+p collisions at HERA. The data cover photon virtualities in two ranges, 0.03<Q^2<0.60 GeV^2 and 2<Q^2<100 GeV^2, with M_X>1.5 GeV, where M_X is the mass of the hadronic final state, X. Events were required to have a leading proton, detected in the ZEUS leading proton spectrometer, carrying at least 90% of the incoming proton energy. The cross section is presented as a function of t, the squared four-momentum transfer at the proton vertex, Phi, the azimuthal angle between the positron scattering plane and the proton scattering plane, and Q^2. The data are presented in terms of the diffractive structure function, F_2^D(3). A next-to-leading-order QCD fit to the higher-Q^2 data set and to previously published diffractive charm production data is presented