Effect of Extended Light on Growth and Reproductive Performance of Ewe Lambs: Progress Report

Previous work at SDSU and numerous other locations report poor success when mating ewe lambs to lamb for their first time in the fall. This is true regardless of whether they are born the previous fall (7 to 8 months of age at exposure) or the previous spring (12 to 13 months of age at exposure). It appears that the triggering factor is a shift in the daily period of time they are exposed to light versus dark. Under natural conditions during the spring (April-May), day length is increasing which inhibits cyclic activity. It was hypothesized that, if the day length is extended artificially prior to the desired breeding season and allowed to return to a natural shorter day, cyclic activity might be improved. This study was initiated to evaluate the effect of an artificially extended photoperiod in mid winter on reproductive performance of April-born ewe lambs exposed at 12 to 13 months of age

Effect of Extended Light on Growth and Fall Reproductive Performance of Crossbred Ewe Lambs

Previous work at SDSU and numerous other stations has shown poor success in getting ewe lambs to lamb for their first time in the fall. Under natural conditions during the spring (April-May), day length is increasing which inhibits cyclic activity in the ewe. Exposure to short days has been shown to stimulate estrous activity. However, facilities necessary to achieve a light tight chamber on a large scale is not cost effective. It was hypothesized that if day length is artificially extended prior to the anticipated breeding season and allowed to return to a natural shorter day cyclic activity might be initiated in ewe lambs. This study was based on the hypothesis that ewe lambs need to experience a long day followed by a short day after they are old enough and big enough to initiate puberty

First Record of Graphoderus Liberus (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) in North Dakota

Graphoderus liberus is a moderate sized (11 to 12 mm) predaceous diving beetle (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae). Two species of Graphoderus have been recorded in North Dakota, G. perplexus, and G. occidentalis (Gordon and Post 1965, Hanson and Swanson 1989). Graphoderus liberus is transcontinental from New York to British Columbia, but it is more common along the coasts (Larson 1975). In Canada, G. liberus is uncommon; in Alberta only two specimens have been reported from woodland pools (Larson 1975). There have been no records of G. liberus occurring in North Dakota. Graphoderus liberus is easily distinguished from G. perplexus and G. occidentalis by the lack of anterior and posterior dark transverse bands on the pronotum (Fig. I). April 17,2000, we collected one male G. liberus at the Cottonwood Lake Study Area (Swanson 1987), Stutsman County, North Dakota. The specimen is archived in the aquatic invertebrate collection at the U. S. Geological Survey\u27s Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in Jamestown, North Dakota. We captured the specimen in a funnel trap (Swanson 1978) set in 64 cm deep water in the shallow marsh zone (open water phase) of a seasonal wetland (Stewart and Kantrud 1971)

ISR3: Communication and Data Storage for an Unmanned Ground Vehicle*

Computer vision researchers working in mobile robotics and other real-time domains are forced to con- front issues not normally addressed in the computer vision literature. Among these are communication, or how to get data from one process to another, data storage and retrieval, primarily for transient, image- based data, and database management, for maps, ob- ject models and other permanent (typically 3D) data. This paper reviews eorts at CMU, SRI and UMass to build real-time computer vision systems for mobile robotics, and presents a new tool, called ISR3, for com- munication, data storage/retrieval and database man- agement on the UMass Mobile Perception Laboratory (MPL), a NAVLAB-like autonomous vehicle

First Record of \u3ci\u3eCorisella inscripta\u3c/i\u3e (Uhler) (Heteroptera: Corixidae) from North Dakota

Corisella inscripta is a water boatman species that was reported in H. B. Hungerford\u27s (1948) seminal monograph as occurring throughout Mexico and nine western states of the United States. Subsequently, additional records of C. inscripta have been reported for British Columbia in Canada (Maw et al. 2000) and for Montana (Roemhild 1976), Arkansas (Cochran and Harp 1990), Missouri (Polhemus et al. 1988), Ohio (Chordas and Armitage 1998), and Michigan (Chordas et al. 2002) in the United States. There have been no published records of C. inscripta from North Dakota (Fig. I). We collected one male C. inscripta at the Cottonwood Lake Study Area in western Stutsman County, North Dakota in September 2005 and a second individual there in September 2006

Aircraft/island/ship/satellite intercomparison: Preliminary results from July 16, 1987

The First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) objective of validating and improving satellite algorithms for inferring cloud properties from satellite radiances was one of the central motivating factors in the design of the specific field experimental strategies used in the July, 1987 marine stratocumulus intensive field observations (IFO). The in situ measuring platforms were deployed to take maximum advantage of redundant measurements (for intercomparison of the in situ sensors) and to provide optimal coverage within satellite images. One of the most ambitious of these strategies was the attempt to coordinate measurements from San Nicolas Island (SNI), the R/V Pt. Sur, the meteorological aircraft, and the satellites. For the most part, this attempt was frustrated by flight restrictions in the vicinity of SNI. The exception was the mission of July 16, 1987, which achieved remarkable success in the coordination of the platforms. This presentation concerns operations conducted by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Electra and how data from the Electra can be integrated with and compared to data from the Pt. Sur, SNI, and the satellites. The focus is on the large-scale, integrated picture of the conditions on July 16 from the perspective of the Electra's flight operations

IRAC Full-Scale Flight Testbed Capabilities

Overview: Provide validation of adaptive control law concepts through full scale flight evaluation in a representative avionics architecture. Develop an understanding of aircraft dynamics of current vehicles in damaged and upset conditions Real-world conditions include: a) Turbulence, sensor noise, feedback biases; and b) Coupling between pilot and adaptive system. Simulated damage includes 1) "B" matrix (surface) failures; and 2) "A" matrix failures. Evaluate robustness of control systems to anticipated and unanticipated failures

A multi-lake comparative analysis of the General Lake Model (GLM): Stress-testing across a global observatory network

The modelling community has identified challenges for the integration and assessment of lake models due to the diversity of modelling approaches and lakes. In this study, we develop and assess a one-dimensional lake model and apply it to 32 lakes from a global observatory network. The data set included lakes over broad ranges in latitude, climatic zones, size, residence time, mixing regime and trophic level. Model performance was evaluated using several error assessment metrics, and a sensitivity analysis was conducted for nine parameters that governed the surface heat exchange and mixing efficiency. There was low correlation between input data uncertainty and model performance and predictions of temperature were less sensitive to model parameters than prediction of thermocline depth and Schmidt stability. The study provides guidance to where the general model approach and associated assumptions work, and cases where adjustments to model parameterisations and/or structure are required

Identification of robust cardiac reference genes in a mouse model of cardiometabolic disease

Cardiovascular disease is linked to obesity, the metabolic syndrome, and altered 24hour (circadian) rhythms. Although the underlying mechanisms remain undefined, transcriptome analysis in the heart is beginning to provide important insights into the cardiometabolic pathogenesis. The reliability and accuracy of real-time quantitative PCR generated gene expression data is largely dependent on the selection of suitable reference genes (RG), which must be constitutively expressed regardless of cardio-metabolic disease state and time of day. However, many studies do not employ the appropriate selections strategies. In this study we determined the expression stability of seven candidate RGs (GAPDH, YWHAZ, B2M, EIF4A2, ATP5?, ACTB and CYC1) in a mouse model of diet-induced metabolic syndrome in both the day and night, using geNorm qBasePLUS software. RG expression varied in hearts of normal fed versus high fat fed mice, and was also dependant on the time of day. When all experimental variables were considered YWHAZ and ACTB were ranked the most stable and therefore the most suitable genes for generating comparative gene expression data in heart tissue from murine models of cardiometabolic disease. This study provides important information for reference gene selection, and will aid further transcriptome investigations into heart organ functio