Wheat and Wheat By-Products for Laying Hens

Wheat is the second largest grain crop in South Dakota and is grown extensively in many parts of the state. It has long been recognized as being second only to yellow corn as an individual grain for poultry. Wheat bran and middlings have for many years been a recognized part of starting, growing, and laying mashes for chick and poultry feeding but definite experimental work on their actual individual values seems to be lacking. As wheat is grown on so many farms, particularly in certain sections in the state, and as poultry is kept on approximately 85 per cent of South Dakota farms, this study was undertaken to determine whether ground wheat could be substituted in laying mashes for the more commonly recommended bran and middlings

A Record of Atmospheric Co2 During the Last 40,000 Years from the Siple Dome, Antarctica Ice Core

We have measured the CO2 concentration of air occluded during the last 40,000 years in the deep Siple Dome A ( hereafter Siple Dome) ice core, Antarctica. The general trend of CO2 concentration from Siple Dome ice follows the temperature inferred from the isotopic composition of the ice and is mostly in agreement with other Antarctic ice core CO2 records. CO2 rose initially at similar to 17.5 kyr B. P. ( thousand years before 1950), decreased slowly during the Antarctic Cold Reversal, rose during the Younger Dryas, fell to a local minimum at around 8 kyr B. P., and rose continuously since then. The CO2 concentration never reached steady state during the Holocene, as also found in the Taylor Dome and EPICA Dome C ( hereafter Dome C) records. During the last glacial termination, a lag of CO2 versus Siple Dome isotopic temperature is probable. The Siple Dome CO2 concentrations during the last glacial termination and in the Holocene are at certain times greater than in other Antarctic ice cores by up to 20 ppm (mumol CO2/mol air). While in situ production of CO2 is one possible cause of the sporadic elevated levels, the mechanism leading to the enrichment is not yet clear

Finite element modelling of bilayer porous PZT structures with improved hydrostatic figures of merit

A finite element model is presented in which bilayer lead zirconate titanate (PZT) structures that are formed from a dense layer and a porous layer are investigated for their hydrostatic sensing properties. The model simulates the poling of the porous ferroelectric material to determine the distribution of poled material throughout the structure. The fraction of PZT successfully poled is found to be closely related to resulting piezoelectric and dielectric properties of the composite. Structures with high layer porosity (&gt;40 vol.%) and porous layer relative thickness (&gt;0.5) were found to have a significantly improved hydrostatic piezoelectric coefficient, dh, hydrostatic voltage coefficient, gh, and hydrostatic figure of merit, dh.gh. The highest dh.gh of 7.74 × 10-12 m2/N was observed in the structure with a porous layer relative thickness of 0.6 and porosity of 60 vol.%, which was more than 100 times higher than that for dense PZT (dh.gh = 0.067 × 10-12 m2/N) and over three times that of PZT with 60 vol.% porosity with 3-3 connectivity (dh.gh = 2.19 × 10-12 m2/N). The results demonstrate the potential for layered porous materials for use in hydrophones.</p

A Note on Classical Solution of Chaplygin-gas as D-brane

The classical solution of bosonic d-brane in (d+1,1) space-time is studied. We work with light-cone gauge and reduce the problem into Chaplygin gas problem. The static equation is equivalent to vanishing of extrinsic mean curvature, which is similar to Einstein equation in vacuum. We show that the d-brane problem in this gauge is closely related to Plateau problem, and we give some non-trivial solutions from minimal surfaces. The solutions of d-1,d,d+1 spatial dimensions are obtained from d-dimensional minimal surfaces as solutions of Plateau problem. In addition we discuss on the relation to Hamiltonian-BRST formalism for d-branes.Comment: 20 pages,No figures, Latex, Address change

A TRITERPENOID SAPONIN FROM SEEDS OF KOLOWE (<i>Chydenanthus excelsus</i>)

A triterpenoid saponin have been isolated from n-butanol fraction of the seeds of kolowe (Chydenanthus excelsus). The structure was determined as 3-O-[β-D-glucopyranosyl(1→3)-β-D-xylopyranosyl(1→3)- β - D-glucuronopyranosyloxy]- 22α -O-(2-methylbutiroyloxyolean-12-en-15α,16α,28-tri-hydroxy. Structure elucidation was accomplished by NMR (HMBC, HMQC/HSQC, ROE, ROESY, TOCSY) methods, ESIMS, and IR spectroscopic.   Keywords: Chydenanthus excelsus, Lecythidaceae, Triterpenoid saponi

Darkness visible: reflections on underground ecology

1 Soil science and ecology have developed independently, making it difficult for ecologists to contribute to urgent current debates on the destruction of the global soil resource and its key role in the global carbon cycle. Soils are believed to be exceptionally biodiverse parts of ecosystems, a view confirmed by recent data from the UK Soil Biodiversity Programme at Sourhope, Scotland, where high diversity was a characteristic of small organisms, but not of larger ones. Explaining this difference requires knowledge that we currently lack about the basic biology and biogeography of micro-organisms. 2 It seems inherently plausible that the high levels of biological diversity in soil play some part in determining the ability of soils to undertake ecosystem-level processes, such as carbon and mineral cycling. However, we lack conceptual models to address this issue, and debate about the role of biodiversity in ecosystem processes has centred around the concept of functional redundancy, and has consequently been largely semantic. More precise construction of our experimental questions is needed to advance understanding. 3 These issues are well illustrated by the fungi that form arbuscular mycorrhizas, the Glomeromycota. This ancient symbiosis of plants and fungi is responsible for phosphate uptake in most land plants, and the phylum is generally held to be species-poor and non-specific, with most members readily colonizing any plant species. Molecular techniques have shown both those assumptions to be unsafe, raising questions about what factors have promoted diversification in these fungi. One source of this genetic diversity may be functional diversity. 4 Specificity of the mycorrhizal interaction between plants and fungi would have important ecosystem consequences. One example would be in the control of invasiveness in introduced plant species: surprisingly, naturalized plant species in Britain are disproportionately from mycorrhizal families, suggesting that these fungi may play a role in assisting invasion. 5 What emerges from an attempt to relate biodiversity and ecosystem processes in soil is our extraordinary ignorance about the organisms involved. There are fundamental questions that are now answerable with new techniques and sufficient will, such as how biodiverse are natural soils? Do microbes have biogeography? Are there rare or even endangered microbes

Study protocol for "Moving bright, eating smart"- a phase 2 clinical trial on the acceptability and feasibility of a diet and physical activity intervention to prevent recurrence in colorectal cancer survivors

Background: Colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer and cancer-killer in Hong Kong with an&nbsp;alarming increasing incidence in recent years. The latest World Cancer Research Fund report concluded that foods&nbsp;low in fibre, and high in red and processed meat cause colorectal cancer whereas physical activity protects againstcolon cancer. Yet, the influence of these lifestyle factors on cancer outcome is largely unknown even though&nbsp;cancer survivors are eager for lifestyle modifications. Observational studies suggested that low intake of a&nbsp;Western-pattern diet and high physical activity level reduced colorectal cancer mortality. The Theory of PlannedBehaviour and the Health Action Process Approach have guided the design of intervention models targeting a&nbsp;wide range of health-related behaviours.Methods/design: We aim to demonstrate the feasibility of two behavioural interventions intended to improve&nbsp;colorectal cancer outcome and which are designed to increase physical activity level and reduce consumption of a&nbsp;Western-pattern diet. This three year study will be a multicentre, randomised controlled trial in a 2x2 factorialdesign comparing the &ldquo;Moving Bright, Eating Smart&rdquo; (physical activity and diet) programme against usual care.&nbsp;Subjects will be recruited over a 12-month period, undertake intervention for 12 months and followed up for a&nbsp;further 12 months. Baseline, interim and three post-intervention assessments will be conducted.&nbsp;Two hundred and twenty-two colorectal cancer patients who completed curative treatment without evidence of&nbsp;recurrence will be recruited into the study. Primary outcome measure will be whether physical activity and dietary&nbsp;targets are met at the end of the 12-month intervention. Secondary outcome measures include the magnitude andmechanism of behavioural change, the degree and determinants of compliance, and the additional health benefits&nbsp;and side effects of the intervention.Discussion: The results of this study will establish the feasibility of targeting the two behaviours (diet and physical activity) and demonstrate the magnitude of behaviour change. The information will facilitate the design of a further&nbsp;larger phase III randomised controlled trial with colorectal cancer outcome as the study endpoint to determine&nbsp;whether this intervention model would reduce colorectal cancer recurrence and mortality

Proposed low-energy absolute calibration of nuclear recoils in a dual-phase noble element TPC using D-D neutron scattering kinematics

We propose a new technique for the calibration of nuclear recoils in large noble element dual-phase time projection chambers used to search for WIMP dark matter in the local galactic halo. This technique provides an $\textit{in situ}$ measurement of the low-energy nuclear recoil response of the target media using the measured scattering angle between multiple neutron interactions within the detector volume. The low-energy reach and reduced systematics of this calibration have particular significance for the low-mass WIMP sensitivity of several leading dark matter experiments. Multiple strategies for improving this calibration technique are discussed, including the creation of a new type of quasi-monoenergetic 272 keV neutron source. We report results from a time-of-flight based measurement of the neutron energy spectrum produced by an Adelphi Technology, Inc. DD108 neutron generator, confirming its suitability for the proposed nuclear recoil calibration.Peer Reviewe

Freeze cast porous barium titanate for enhanced piezoelectric energy harvesting

Energy harvesting is an important developing technology for a new generation of self-powered sensor networks. This paper demonstrates the significant improvement in the piezoelectric energy harvesting performance of barium titanate by forming highly aligned porosity using freeze casting. Firstly, a finite element model demonstrating the effect of pore morphology and angle with respect to poling field on the poling behaviour of porous ferroelectrics was developed. A second model was then developed to understand the influence of microstructure-property relationships on the poling behaviour of porous freeze cast ferroelectric materials and their resultant piezoelectric and energy harvesting properties. To compare with model predictions, porous barium titanate was fabricated using freeze casting to form highly aligned microstructures with excellent longitudinal piezoelectric strain coefficients, d 33. Both model and experimental data indicated that introducing porosity provides a large reduction in the permittivity () of barium titanate, which leads to a substantial increase in energy harvesting figure of merit, , with a maximum of 3.79 pm2 N-1 for barium titanate with 45 vol.% porosity, compared to only 1.40 pm2 N-1 for dense barium titanate. Dense and porous barium titanate materials were then used to harvest energy from a mechanical excitation by rectification and storage of the piezoelectric charge on a capacitor. The porous barium titanate charged the capacitor to a voltage of 234 mV compared to 96 mV for the dense material, indicating a 2.4-fold increase that was similar to that predicted by the energy harvesting figures of merit

Can a CPT Violating Ether Solve ALL Electron (Anti)Neutrino Puzzles?

Assuming that CPT is violated in the neutrino sector seems to be a viable alternative to sterile neutrinos when it comes to reconciling the LSND anomaly with the remainder of the neutrino data. There are different (distinguishable) ways of incorporating CPT violation into the standard model, including postulating m different from \bar{m}. Here, I investigate the possibility of introducing CPT violation via Lorentz-invariance violating effective operators (``Ether'' potentials) which modify neutrino oscillation patterns like ordinary matter effects. I argue that, within a simplified two-flavor like oscillation analysis, one cannot solve the solar neutrino puzzle and LSND anomaly while still respecting constraints imposed by other neutrino experiments, and comment on whether significant improvements should be expected from a three-flavor analysis. If one turns the picture upside down, some of the most severe constrains on such CPT violating terms can already be obtained from the current neutrino data, while much more severe constraints can arise from future neutrino oscillation experiments.Comment: 10 pages, 1 eps figure; version to appear in PRD. Comment added, mistake corrected, results and conclusions unchange