Effects of daily herbage allowance and stage of lactation on the intake and performance of dairy cows in early summer

peer-reviewedThis research was part-funded by European Union Structural Funds (EAGGF).The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between daily herbage allowance (DHA) and the performance of dairy cows at two stages of lactation. Spring-calving (n=42, mean calving date 17 February) and autumn-calving (n=42, mean calving date 22 September) Friesian cows were divided into three equal groups and assigned to three levels of DHA (above a cutting height of 35 mm), 17 (L), 20 (M) and 23 (H) kg of dry matter (DM) per head, from late April to late June, 1996. The spring-calving cows grazed to sward heights (mm) of 47, 56 and 65 (s.e. 0.6) and residual herbage organic matter (OM) masses (above 35 mm) of 294, 408 and 528 (s.e. 12.1) kg/ha for L, M and H, respectively. The autumn-calving cows grazed to corresponding sward heights of 51, 60 and 69 (s.e. 1.1) mm and leftresidual herbage OM masses of 364, 445 and 555 (s.e. 12.9) kg/ha for L, M and H, respectively. Pastures were mechanically topped post grazing. Spring-calving cows consumed 13.3, 14.7 and 15.5 kg OM (s.e. 0.47) per day, and autumn-calving cows consumed 13.3, 13.8 and 14.9 kg OM (s.e. 0.43) per day for L, M and H, respectively. Mean daily solids-corrected milk yield was 23.1, 23.8 and 24.8 (s.e. 0.34) kg for the spring-calving cows, and 17.5, 18.4 and 18.7 (s.e. 0.35) kg for the autumncalving cows, for L, M and H, respectively. Milk yield could be predicted from preexperimental yield (PMY) and daily herbage organic matter allowance (DOMA, kg) according to the following equation: y = −1.13 + 0.76 (s.e. 0.030) PMY + 0.22 (s.e. 0.057) DOMA (r.s.d. 1.32, R2 0.89). The results indicate that high individual cow and herd production levels can be achieved from high quality herbage alone during early summer at a DHA of 23 kg DM for spring-calving cows and 20 kg DM for autumn-calving cows.European Unio

Accuracy of predicting milk yield from alternative milk recording schemes

peer-reviewedThe effect of reducing the frequency of official milk recording and the number of recorded samples per test-day on the accuracy of predicting daily yield and cumulative 305-day yield was investigated. A control data set consisting of 58 210 primiparous cows with milk test-day records every 4 weeks was used to investigate the influence of reduced milk recording frequencies. The accuracy of prediction of daily yield with one milk sample per test-day was investigated using 41 874 testday records from 683 cows. Results show that five or more test-day records taken at 8-weekly intervals (A8) predicted 305-day yield with a high level of accuracy. Correlations between 305-day yield predicted from 4-weekly recording intervals (A4) and from 8-weekly intervals were 0.99, 0.98 and 0.98 for milk, fat and protein, respectively. The mean error in estimating 305-day yield from the A8 scheme was 6.8 kg (s.d. 191 kg) for milk yield, 0.3 kg (s.d. 10 kg) for fat yield, and −0.3 kg (s.d. 7 kg) for protein yield, compared with the A4 scheme. Milk yield and composition taken during either morning (AM) or evening (PM) milking predicted 24-h yield with a high degree of accuracy. Alternating between AM and PM sampling every 4 weeks predicted 305-day yield with a higher degree of accuracy than either all AM or all PM sampling. Alternate AM-PM recording every 4 weeks and AM + PM recording every 8 weeks produced very similar accuracies in predicting 305-day yield compared with the official AM + PM recording every 4 weeks

Survey Of Bouldering Problems And Enhanced Documentation Of Native American Rock Imagery, Hueco Tanks State Park And Historic Site, El Paso County, Texas

This report presents the results of an extensive photographic survey of recreational boulder climbing routes (i.e., bouldering problems) and enhanced documentation of Native American rock imagery at Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site in El Paso County, Texas, by Versar, Inc., for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Fieldwork for this project was conducted between March and June 2016. Based on the two most comprehensive bouldering guidebooks available for Hueco Tanks, approximately 1,901 published bouldering problems exist within the park. Of these, 172 bouldering problems are within areas indicated as closed as of June 2015 by the Public Use Plan and park administration for erosion control, rock art protection, or other resource conflicts and therefore were not part of the survey scope; however, 18 of these closed bouldering problems were documented during training exercises for this survey. An additional 122 previously unpublished bouldering problems were identified and documented during this survey. In total, 1,869 bouldering problems were documented by this project. During this survey, the rock surface along each boulder problem was systematically photographed. A digital image enhancement algorithm (DStretch) was applied to each survey photograph, which were then reviewed for the presence of Native American rock art imagery or pigment remnants. Native American imagery or pigment remnants were identified and documented at 31 locations within or near currently open bouldering problems and at three locations adjacent to currently closed problems. Native American rock imagery identified and documented during this effort range from sparse pigment remnants to identifiable stylistic elements and patterns characteristic of the Jornada Mogollon prehistoric cultural region

Effect of liner design, pulsator setting, and vacuum level on bovine teat tissue changes and milking characteristics as measured by ultrasonography

peer-reviewedFriesian-type dairy cows were milked with different machine settings to determine the effect of these settings on teat tissue reaction and on milking characteristics. Three teat-cup liner designs were used with varying upper barrel dimensions (wide-bore WB = 31.6 mm; narrow-bore NB = 21.0 mm; narrow-bore NB1 = 25.0 mm). These liners were tested with alternate and simultaneous pulsation patterns, pulsator ratios (60:40 and 67:33) and three system vacuum levels (40, 44 and 50 kPa). Teat tissue was measured using ultrasonography, before milking and directly after milking. The measurements recorded were teat canal length (TCL), teat diameter (TD), cistern diameter (CD) and teat wall thickness (TWT). Teat tissue changes were similar with a system vacuum level of either 50 kPa (mid-level) or 40 kPa (low-level). Widening the liner upper barrel bore dimension from 21.0 mm (P < 0.01) or 25.0 mm (P < 0.001) to 31.6 mm increased the magnitude of changes in TD and TWT after machine milking. Milk yield per cow was significantly (P < 0.05) higher and cluster-on time was reduced (P < 0.01) with the WB cluster as compared to the NB1 cluster. Minimum changes in teat tissue parameters were achieved with system vacuum level of 40 kPa and 50 kPa using NB and WB clusters, respectively. Similar changes in teat tissue and milk yield per cow were observed with alternate and simultaneous pulsation patterns. Widening pulsator ratio from 60:40 to 67:33 did not have negative effects on changes in teat tissue and had a positive effect on milk yield and milking time. Milk liner design had a bigger effect on teat tissue changes and milking characteristics than pulsation settings

Sustainability and professional sales: a review and future research agenda

Sustainability has become a consideration for every firm operating in today’s business landscape. Scholars are tasked with uncovering bridges and barriers to successfully implement sustainability strategies, and the academic community has largely responded. However, while sustainability research has proliferated across business disciplines, it is conspicuously missing from professional selling and sales management. This is partly due to conceptual ambiguity, but also because sustainability generally involves firm-level policies and programs, and therefore domains like consumer behavior, marketing strategy, and supply chain management have occupied the space. This is problematic because while executives develop sustainability strategies, the sales force is responsible for conveying those priorities to external stakeholders. Therefore, the goals of our manuscript are to: 1) organize and refine the definition of sustainability in a professional selling context, 2) review relevant literature that examines sustainability in that context, 3) explore emergent themes from this review that 4) reveal gaps in our understanding, and 5) present a research agenda for sales scholars to bridge these gaps and advance our understanding of the role of sustainability in sales and vice versa

Worst Case Resistance Testing: A Nonresponse Bias Solution for Today's Behavioral Research Realities

This study proposes a method of nonresponse assessment based on meta-analytical file-drawer techniques, also known as worst-case resistance testing (WCRT), and suitable for a wide range of data collection scenarios. A general method is devised to estimate the number of significantly different nonrespondents it would take to significantly alter the results of an analysis. Estimates of nonrespondents can be plotted against effect sizes using "n-curves", with similar interpretation to p-curves or power curves. Variants of the general method are derived for tests of means and correlations. A sample using a well-established survey instrument from previous behavioral research is used to test the method. The results suggest that employing worst-case resistance testing can be used on its own or in conjunction with wave analysis to precisely flag nonresponse risks

Superficial Venous Pathology in the Asian Population of South West London – A Prospective Study

ObjectivesThe Asian population of our hospital catchment area represents 6.2% of the total, which is 3.2% higher than the national average, compared to the Caucasian population which comprises 70.2% and is 21.9% lower than the national average. This study aimed to analyse the prevalence and presentation of superficial venous disease (SVD) in the Asian population of South West London.MethodsA prospectively gathered database of all 481 patients referred by local general practitioners (GP) to the varicose veins nurse specialist over a 24 month period was analyzed. Information was collected on demographics, presenting features, clinical signs, and whether surgical referral was made.ResultsAsians presented significantly younger than Caucasians (p<0.0001; unpaired t-test). Caucasians had a significantly higher positive family history than Asians (p≤0.05; chi-squared test). SVD severity was graded using the CEAP (clinical, etiological, anatomical, pathophysiological) classification. Asians had significantly more severe disease than Caucasians (p≤0.01; chi-squared test). There were no differences in sex distribution.ConclusionAsians presented younger with more severe disease than their Caucasian counterparts. The reasons for these findings are unclear, but probably represent a combination of genetic, environmental and social factors. Further research is in progress to investigate this

Phase Transition Induced Fission in Lipid Vesicles

In this work we demonstrate how the first order phase transition in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) can function as a trigger for membrane fission. When driven through their gel-fluid phase transition GUVs exhibit budding or pearl formation. These buds remain connected to the mother vesicle presumably by a small neck. Cooling these vesicles from the fluid phase (T>Tm) through the phase transition into the gel state (T<Tm), leads to complete rupture and fission of the neck, while the mother vesicle remains intact. Pearling tubes which formed upon heating break-up and decay into multiple individual vesicles which then diffuse freely. Finally we demonstrate that mimicking the intracellular bulk viscosity by increasing the bulk viscosity to 40cP does not affect the overall fission process, but leads to a significant decrease in size of the released vesicles

Wood consumption and pellet production by Azorean Kalotermitidae: Kalotermes flavicollis and Cryptotermes brevis

Existem nos Açores duas espécies de térmitas da família Kalotermitidae: a Kalotermes flavicollis é uma térmita de madeira verde e é uma praga urbana menor. A Cryptotermes brevis é uma térmita de madeira seca e é uma importante praga para mobiliário e estruturas. São analisadas as espécies de madeira consumidas por cada espécie nos Açores sendo descritas diferenças na cor, tamanho, forma, e modo de despejo das partículas fecais. A taxa de consumo de madeira e a produção de partículas fecais para a espécie Cryptotermes brevis foram estudadas em 49 tipos diferentes de madeiras. Verificou-se que duas espécies de madeira produzidas localmente e muito usadas na construção, Cryptomeria japonica e Eucalyptus sp., foram das mais consumidas, indicando a importância do desenvolvimento de um sistema local para tratamento por pressão em autoclave das madeiras. Entre as madeiras menos consumidas (mais resistentes) encontram-se espécies tropicais, como o Jatobá e a Maçaranduba. As partículas fecais que são expulsas das galerias pelas térmitas são a forma mais conspícua de detectar infestações por Cryptotermes brevis, dando bons meios para monitorizar a localização de térmitas, o tamanho da colónia e a sua actividade. Foi verificado que a expulsão de partículas fecais é descontínua. Contudo, alguns períodos de expulsão de partículas fecais são contínuos por alguns dias, com taxas de expulsões de 274 partículas fecais, por hora, com acumulações de até 7,8 gramas num período de duas semanas.ABSTRACT: Two termite species of the family Kalotermitidae occur in the Azores: Kalotermes flavicollis is a dampwood termite and minor house pest. Cryptotermes brevis is a dry wood termite and a major pest of furniture and structures. Records of wood species consumed by each species in the Azores are reviewed. Differences in the color, size, shape, disposal of fecal pellets of each species are described. Rates of wood consumption, pellet production were experimentally studied for Cryptotermes brevis on 49 different wood species. Two wood species that are locally produced and widely utilized for construction, Cryptomeria japonica and Eucalyptus sp., were found to be among the most preferred woods for termite consumption indicating an important need for the development of an effective local pressure treatment system for preserving these woods. Least preferred (most resistant woods) included tropical hardwood species such as Jatobá and Maçaranduba. Fecal pellets expelled from galleries by termites are the most conspicuous evidence of Cryptotermes brevis infestations and provide a potential means of monitoring termite location, colony size and activity. Pellet expulsion was found to be discontinuous. However some bouts of pellet dumping were observed to be continuous for at least several days with rates of pellet expulsion of up to 274 pellets per hour, with pellet accumulations of as much as 7.8 grams over a two-week period

Treatment of Cryptotermes brevis infestations in furniture with heat, solid fumigants and inert gases

A Cryptotermes brevis é uma térmita extraordinária na sua capacidade única de atacar madeira extremamente seca. É, igualmente, extraordinária na capacidade de atacar uma grande variedade de tipos de madeira, o que nos leva a concluir como sendo a única espécie de térmitas que é facilmente encontrada em mobílias. Como tal, é muito fácil a sua dispersão aquando do transporte de mobílias infestadas, de lugar para lugar, e esta é uma das principais razões pela qual esta térmita consegue ter uma distribuição tão ampla em áreas urbanas, em praticamente todo mundo. É muito provável que a sua introdução nos Açores tenha sido através de mobília infestada e que a dispersão contínua que se tem verificado de cidade para cidade seja devido a essa razão. Ou seja, o tratamento de mobílias é uma componente importante de um programa integrado para lidar com o controlo e contenção desta espécie de térmita. O objectivo deste trabalho é apresentar os resultados obtidos de três tipos de experiências para tratamento de mobílias infestadas com a Cryptotermis brevis. A primeira experiência consistiu num método muito simples, envolvendo o selar de um objecto infestado dentro de um saco de plástico preto, sendo este colocado num local fora do laboratório, a fim de se encontrar em plena exposição solar durante o mês de Agosto. O método seguinte consistiu em selar um objecto infestado num recipiente com um de três tipos de fumigantes sólidos: bolas de naftalina, para-dichlorobenzeno ou dichlorvos (Vapona®). O último método envolveu um teste de anóxia, em que um de três tipos de gases inertes, azoto (N2), dióxido de carbono (CO2) ou árgon (Ar), foi usado para substituir o ar existente dentro de um saco plástico (bolha) selado, contendo um objecto infestado.ABSTRACT: Cryptotermis brevis is an extraordinary termite in its unique ability to attack extremely dry wood. It is also unique in its ability to attack a wide variety of wood species. This leads to it being one of the only termites in the world which is commonly found attacking furniture. As such, it is easily moved when people move their furniture from place to place and this is one of the reasons why this termite has become widely dispersed to urban areas around the world. It is very likely it was first introduced into the Azores with furniture and that its continued dispersal from island to island and town to town will be by the further movement of infested furniture. Therefore furniture treatment is an important component of an integrated program for dealing with the control and containment of this pest species. The objective of this presentation is to explain the results of three types of experimental furniture treatment that we conducted. The first of these was a simple method involving the sealing of an infested item inside a black plastic bag which was then placed in full sun exposure outdoors during the month of August. The next method involved sealing an infested item in a container with one of three solid fumigants: naphthalene (moth balls), para-dichlorobenzene (PDB moth balls), or dichlorvos (Vapona®). The final method involved anoxia test in which one of three inert gases, either nitrogen (N2), carbon dioxide (CO2), or argon (Air) gases were used to displace the air in a sealed bag holding an infested item