The Effects of Temperature and Precipitation on Growth in Beef Cattle for the Southern Illinois Region

The demand for beef around the United States has been growing exponentially over the years because of our growing population. This means that producers must maximize the growth and development of their cattle and herds in total so that they can meet that growing demand. Many factors come into consideration when making decisions on increasing the turnover rate on the farm, but one of those big decisions is weather, especially temperature and precipitation. These two variables can have a direct effect on the growth and development of cattle. If conditions are harsh, their feed intake could decrease because of sickness, and then take longer to meet the weight requirement for slaughter. This costs producers time and money because of having to keep them longer, feed them more, and pay for certain vaccinations in order to nurse them back to health. This research takes a closer look at temperature and precipitation and how they affect the average daily gain of cattle. The region that I decided to focus on is Southern Illinois, because of the availability of data provided by the Bull Test Facility at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. My other source of information about weather variable is from the National Centers for Environmental Information. During the Fall of 2019, I started compiling all necessary information to complete the research project. The data I used was from 2001 through 2009. My hope for this project is to find valuable information that will help producers manage their herds better and maximize their profits. Weather can be a very important factor when growing livestock and this could lead to a very important discovery. If the research is linked to lower average daily gains, then producers could justify building additional buildings or cover for animals to get under in order to escape the weather. This will help them increase their turnover rate for cattle and also maximize their overall profits

Identification and characterization of <i>Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus</i> pro-viral factors as a source for durable resistance

Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) and related tospoviruses are plant pathogenic viruses that cause extensive crop losses worldwide. Unfortunately, dominant resistance loci against TSWV appear to be (1) scarce, (2) absent in many plant species, and (3) rapidly overcome by resistance breaking isolates of the virus. Therefore, there is an urgent need for growers and our society to discover alternative forms of TSWV resistance. One approach in achieving this is to remove or mutagenize host factors that are essential in the viral infection cycle, which in turn, can convert an otherwise susceptibility host into a non-host for TSWV. Such a pro-viral host factor is also referred to as susceptibility (S)-gene and, hence, applied mutant alleles of S-genes can render durable resistance to TSWV in crops. To identify S-genes for TSWV, a detailed understanding is needed of the host factors hijacked by the virus during its infection cycle. The research presented in this PhD thesis describes different efforts to identify and characterize novel host factors required for the infection cycle of TSWV in order to better understand the molecular interaction between the plant and the virus. These findings can ultimately be applied as a resource of recessive viral resistance in breeding programs. In total, four methods are here presented by which host factors were identified and their role during viral infection in plants was investigated. The pros and cons of the methods applied are discussed together with the applicability of the identified host factors as a novel source for viral resistance

On the pathological remodeling of large arteries

Vonk Noordegraaf, A. [Promotor]Krams, R. [Promotor

Improvement of Soil Spring Model for the Analysis of Buried Arch Structures

The University of Maine has developed concrete filled fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) tubes (CFFTs) for use in bridge construction. A finite element model was previously developed to analyze these buried arch structures during construction, service live load, and ultimate load. Two shortcomings in that model include how the load distribution method and the soil reaction due to construction and service loads are modeled. There were two objectives to this research: to make a user-friendly software package to analyze a variety of buried arch structures and to improve the existing model to better predict the soil-structure interaction. Prototype software was developed complete with a graphical user interface using the existing model to allow engineers a tool to analyze a variety of materials, arch geometries, and soil conditions to predict the effect of diverse load cases. Changes to the model were planned to improve the model’s ability to capture the response of the soil due to arch deformation and produce more efficient arch designs. A Boussinesq stress distribution was used in the model to predict the dispersal of the load through the soil. Load distribution was investigated and compared to a previous experimental work and soil-continuum models to gain insight on the shortcomings of the existing load distribution model used in the analysis. The existing model used a horizontal soil-spring configuration with a nonlinear load-deflection relationship. Three changes to the soil-springs in the existing model were considered: radial soil-springs, friction angle soil-springs, and a three spring system. These alternative soil-spring models were implemented in place of the existing horizontal soil-springs and the arch internal moments and deflections were compared to the existing model and experimental results

Regelmatig en zorgvuldig tandenpoetsen met fluoridetandpasta is de basis van preventie

Voor de gebitsverzorging door ouder en kind worden in Nederland veelal de adviezen van het Ivoren Kruis gehanteerd. De basis van dit advies is plaqueverwijdering met fluoridetandpasta. Wanneer dit onvoldoende bescherming biedt, is er meestal sprake van onregelmatig en onzorgvuldig gebruik. Voorlichting en instructie over dagelijkse en zorgvuldige mondhygiëne dient een eerste prioriteit te zijn bij de zorgverlener. Als zelfzorg niet of niet meteen op peil kan worden gebracht, kan (tijdelijke) ondersteuning plaatsvinden met professionele preventieve behandelingen. Alleen professionele preventieve behandeling zonder aandacht voor verbetering van zelfzorg is onvoldoende en moet als een kunstfout in de behandelingsstrategie worden gezien