Tennesseans Focused on How to Keep What Works, Fix What's Broken in Healthcare System

I have talked with providers, patients, healthcare administrators, seniors, veterans, small business owners, civic leaders and other families, those with health coverage and those without, about how our healthcare system works today.John Tanner, health care reform, healthcare reform, healthcare, health care, Tennessee, 8th District, insurance, blue dogs, blue dog democrats

Advances in contact algorithms and their application to tires

Currently used techniques for tire contact analysis are reviewed. Discussion focuses on the different techniques used in modeling frictional forces and the treatment of contact conditions. A status report is presented on a new computational strategy for the modeling and analysis of tires, including the solution of the contact problem. The key elements of the proposed strategy are: (1) use of semianalytic mixed finite elements in which the shell variables are represented by Fourier series in the circumferential direction and piecewise polynomials in the meridional direction; (2) use of perturbed Lagrangian formulation for the determination of the contact area and pressure; and (3) application of multilevel iterative procedures and reduction techniques to generate the response of the tire. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of a proposed procedure for generating the tire response associated with different Fourier harmonics

Influences Of Nesting Behaviors In Common Eiders (Somateria Mollissima Sedentaria) In The Western Hudson Bay

Reproductive decisions of birds are shaped by minimizing predation while meeting physiological needs of parents and offspring. As a result, birds must make decisions about investment in offspring that allows them to maximize their overall fitness. This often drives nesting behaviors and can provide insights into reproductive success. Common eiders (Somateria mollissima) are thought to have high nest attendance (time spent tending the nest) and use substantial energetic resources during breeding. However, the specific behaviors at the nest of these birds are not well studied, with even less known about the Hudson Bay common eider (S. m. sedentaria). The objectives of this study were to determine (1) if colony characteristics and nest age influence nest attendance patterns, (2) if these patterns influence the probability of predation from a specific predator, and (3) what invertebrate resources are available to eiders and what factors impact the availability of those resources. To address our first and second objectives we used data collected during the summers of 2014 to 2017 where we captured nest attendance patterns and their fates at 103 common eider nests using time-lapse imagery from trail cameras. We found eiders spend 95.65% of a day on the nest on average, take 1.4 recesses per day and are gone on recess for an average duration of 43.51 minutes. We did not find nest age or colony characteristics to be major drivers in attendance patterns. Common eider nest predators included arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), grizzly bears (Ursus arctos), polar bears (Ursus maritimus), sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis), herring gulls (Larus argentatus), and bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Annual variation was the most important factor driving nest success. When exploring what predator would consume a nest, we found the best predictor was timing within the breeding season. For our third objective, we collected aquatic invertebrates in June and July of 2016 and 2017 and compared our findings to data collected in 2003 and 2004. We created models and used AIC model selection to determine the factors that most simply and best explained abundance of individuals in each invertebrate. We found flow, season, substrate type and sediment depth appeared in most of our models. When comparing our findings to the initial collections in 2003 and 2004, we found increased sedimentation across our sampling sites. Finally, we used ANOVAs and discriminate analyses to investigate if stable isotope values of 13C and 15N collected from aquatic invertebrates were different among the four different water types they were collect in (Mast River freshwater, Wawao Creek freshwater, brackish, and marine). We found that no difference in 13C samples between our two freshwater sources, but did find variation in our 15N samples which are likely different from the proportions of different types of invertebrate categories collected. Our brackish samples to not be different from freshwater sources but did find marine samples to be unique from all other samples. Findings from this study provide important natural history information on the nesting ecology of the common eider and provide a foundation for future research exploring availability of invertebrate resources for breeding birds in the area

The effect of environmental temperature, electrolyte sources and dietary electrolyte balance on performance and blood parameters of weanling pigs

Three experiments were conducted utilizing weanling pigs to evaluate: 1) the effect of different dietary electrolyte balance (dEB) levels; 2) different dEB levels and high environmental temperature; and 3) different electrolyte sources and dEB levels on performance and blood parameters. Experiment 1. Forty-nine crossbred weanling pigs averaging 11.8 kg were randomly assigned seven experimental diets for 21 d to determine the effect of different dEB levels on performance and blood parameters. Average daily gain, feed intake and gain/feed were not significantly affected by an increase in dEB above 224 mEg/kg of feed with the addition of either NaHCO3 or KHCO3. Inspection of the data indicated that initial pig weight affected response to dEB (P\u3c.05) as illustrated by a greater feed intake and body weight gain of pigs fed NaHC03 versus KHCO3. Blood gases were not significantly affected by treatment. Subsequent statistical analysis with electrolyte source using initial weight as a covariate indicated that supplementation of NaHCO3 resulted in increased body weight gain, feed consumption, and gain/feed. Experiment 2. Twenty-four crossbred weanling pigs averaging 17.3 kg were allotted to six dietary treatments which were blocked by initial weight. The treatments were fed for 19 d to evaluate the effect of different dEB levels (177, 205 and 347 mEq/kg of feed) and low (19.3 to 21.9°C) and high (27.7 to 32.3°C) environmental temperatures. Pigs housed under the low temperature gained an average of 77 g more per day and consumed an average of 320 g more feed per day than pigs housed under the high temperature (P\u3c.05); however, the high temperature treated pigs had improved (P\u3c.05) gain/feed. Increasing the dEB level did not significantly affect performance or blood parameters. High temperature lowered performance of pigs in this experiment. Experiment 3. Fifty-four crossbred weanling pigs averaging 12.4 kg were allotted to nine treatments for 27 d to determine the effect of electrolyte source and dEB level on performance and blood parameters. Pigs were blocked by initial weight. Average daily gain of pigs fed the higher level (417 mEq/kg) was depressed by an average of 54 g (P\u3c.05). Pigs fed 417 mEq/kg tended to have a reduced intake of feed. Blood gases and plasma mineral levels were not significantly affected by electrolyte balance in this experiment. Sodium sources improved blood buffering capacity of pigs when compared to potassium sources

Integrated optical motion detection

Two systems for detecting the motion of a scene are described. For both, an image is projected directly onto an integrated circuit that contains photosensors and computing circuitry to extract the motion. The first system, which has been reported earlier, correlates the analog image with a digitized version of the image stored from the previous cycle. The chip reports the motion that corresponds to the maximum analog correlation value. This system represents an advance from previous designs but exhibits some shortcomings. A second completely analog design surpasses the first. The mathematical foundation is derived and the CMOS circuits used in the implementation are given. Test results and characterization of the working chips are reported. The new motion detector is not clocked and exhibits collective behavior. The extensive use of local information avoids the correspondence problem. The system can be thought of as a Hopfield neural net with one important extension--input-driven synapses. The motion detector also meshes nicely with the existing computational vision work. Extensions to handle more complex motions are proposed. The suitability of the motion-extraction algorithm as a biological vision model is explored

Far Above The Rolling Campus

https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/student_scholarship_posters/1057/thumbnail.jp

The effect of form and level of fat and supplemental lysine on the performance of weanling pigs

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of lysine and form and level of fat on weanling pig performance. In experiment 1, 56 weanling pigs were housed individually and eight pigs were fed each of the seven different diets, a basal and six others containing 1, 2 or 3% added liquid or added dry fat. The pigs were fed twice daily an ad libitum level for two weeks. Pigs fed the dry fat diets had lower average daily gains during the experiment, than did pigs fed liquid fat diets (p \u3c .05). Initial weight affected feed efficiency (p \u3c .05) and feed consumption. Metabolizable energy consumption was not affected by diet (p \u3e .05). Lysine consumption per day was affected by fat source (p \u3c .05). In experiment 2, 54 weanling pigs were housed individually and each pig was fed one of the following diets designed in a 3 X 3 factorial arrangement utilizing 3 levels of lysine (.80, .95 and 1.10) and 3 levels of fat (0, 5% dry or 5% liquid). The pigs were fed their respective diets ad libitum twice daily for three weeks. Pigs fed the control diets had a higher average daily gain (ADG) during the second week (p \u3c .05) than pigs fed either the dry fat or liquid fat diets. Initial weight had an effect on pig gain (p \u3c .05). An increase in lysine level from .80 to .95% in diets with no added fat decreased ADG during the second and third week and overall compared to that of week 1 but increased ADG from .95 to 1.10% (p \u3c .05). For pigs fed the dry fat diets, ADG during week 2,3 and overall increased up to the .95% level of added lysine, and then it decreased (p \u3c .05). Pigs fed the liquid fat diets tended to have (p = .05) a linear decrease in ADG during week 2,3 and overall, as lysine level increased from .80 to .95 to 1.10%. Feed efficiency was improved for pigs fed the control diets compared to pigs fed either of the fat diets during week 2 (p \u3c .05). Animals fed the control diets during the third week consumed less feed (p \u3c .05). There was no diet effect on lysine consumption during week 1, 2 or 3 (p \u3e .05), lysine consumption per kilogram of gain during week 1, metabolizable energy (ME) consumption during week 1, 2 or 3 or ME consumption per gram of gain during all three weeks. Based on these experiments, feeding a level of added fat of 2 or 3%, seems to be the optimum added level to improve performance of weanling pigs. If fat is fed at higher levels than this then the essential amino acids need to be added to the diet in order to compensate for the lack of available nutrients. Key Words: Weanling pigs, Lysine, Metabolizable energy. Fat, Performance

The effect of form and level of fat and supplemental lysine on the performance of weanling pigs

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of lysine and form and level of fat on weanling pig performance. In experiment 1, 56 weanling pigs were housed individually and eight pigs were fed each of the seven different diets, a basal and six others containing 1, 2 or 3% added liquid or added dry fat. The pigs were fed twice daily an ad libitum level for two weeks. Pigs fed the dry fat diets had lower average daily gains during the experiment, than did pigs fed liquid fat diets (p \u3c .05). Initial weight affected feed efficiency (p \u3c .05) and feed consumption. Metabolizable energy consumption was not affected by diet (p \u3e .05). Lysine consumption per day was affected by fat source (p \u3c .05). In experiment 2, 54 weanling pigs were housed individually and each pig was fed one of the following diets designed in a 3 X 3 factorial arrangement utilizing 3 levels of lysine (.80, .95 and 1.10) and 3 levels of fat (0, 5% dry or 5% liquid). The pigs were fed their respective diets ad libitum twice daily for three weeks. Pigs fed the control diets had a higher average daily gain (ADG) during the second week (p \u3c .05) than pigs fed either the dry fat or liquid fat diets. Initial weight had an effect on pig gain (p \u3c .05). An increase in lysine level from .80 to .95% in diets with no added fat decreased ADG during the second and third week and overall compared to that of week 1 but increased ADG from .95 to 1.10% (p \u3c .05). For pigs fed the dry fat diets, ADG during week 2,3 and overall increased up to the .95% level of added lysine, and then it decreased (p \u3c .05). Pigs fed the liquid fat diets tended to have (p = .05) a linear decrease in ADG during week 2,3 and overall, as lysine level increased from .80 to .95 to 1.10%. Feed efficiency was improved for pigs fed the control diets compared to pigs fed either of the fat diets during week 2 (p \u3c .05). Animals fed the control diets during the third week consumed less feed (p \u3c .05). There was no diet effect on lysine consumption during week 1, 2 or 3 (p \u3e .05), lysine consumption per kilogram of gain during week 1, metabolizable energy (ME) consumption during week 1, 2 or 3 or ME consumption per gram of gain during all three weeks. Based on these experiments, feeding a level of added fat of 2 or 3%, seems to be the optimum added level to improve performance of weanling pigs. If fat is fed at higher levels than this then the essential amino acids need to be added to the diet in order to compensate for the lack of available nutrients. Key Words: Weanling pigs, Lysine, Metabolizable energy. Fat, Performance