The Evaluation of Feed Additives on Reducing Enteric Methane Production from Cattle

Environmental sustainability can be positively impacted by the inclusion of feed additives to reduce enteric methane production from cattle. Methane production can be affected by feed additives that either alter the rumen environment or act as methanogenesis inhibitors. A reduction in methane from cattle can contribute to meeting carbon neutrality. A metabolism study was conducted to evaluate Alga 1.0, a product containing bromoform, fed to cattle to evaluate the effects on gas emissions. Treatments were (0, 69, or 103 g/d Alga 1.0) fed in a corn-based diet. Headbox-style indirect calorimeters were used to measure gas emissions. Feeding Alga 1.0 linearly decreased dry matter intake (P \u3c 0.01). There was a linear decrease in CH4 when expressed as g/d (P \u3c 0.01) and g/kg DMI (P \u3c 0.01). There was no effect on CO2 expressed as g/kg DMI (P \u3e 0.20). Diet digestibility (P ≥ 0.28) and digestible energy were not affected (P ≥ 0.38) when feeding Alga 1.0. Feeding Alga 1.0 reduced CH4 emissions from cattle. A finishing study was conducted to evaluate black seed oil plus acetic acid on beef cattle performance as well as enteric methane production. The diet consisted of Sweet Bran, high moisture corn, dry rolled corn, alfalfa hay, and supplement with the black seed oil plus acetic acid replacing 2.67% of diet DM of the corn blend. Cattle were rotated through a two-chamber emissions barn equipped with open-circuit indirect calorimeters to measure CH4 & CO2. There was no effect on CH4, or CO2 emissions (P ≥ 0.26) compared to the control diet. Body weight, dry matter intake, and ADG were not affected (P ≥ 0.34) by the inclusion of black seed oil plus acetic acid. There was a tendency for improved feed efficiency (P = 0.08) in the cattle consuming black seed oil plus acetic acid compared to control fed cattle. Feeding black seed oil plus acetic acid did not affect gas emissions. Advisor: Andrea K. Watso

The Forgotten Many: A Study of Poor Urban Whites

Being White in America is thought to ensure social and economic stability, but the lives of Whites who are poor run contrary to these assumptions. Members of this group, the focus group of this study, receive food stamps, public aid and general assistance payments on a monthly basis. And they rely on public health clinics and food pantries to get by-programs and services that are viewed by the larger society as being tapped only by Blacks. This paper examines the differences and similarities between the poverty experiences of Blacks and Whites. The research for this analysis consisted of participant observation and individual interviews performed in a predominantly White community of a major midwest city

Influence of goal attainment level and empowerment on motivation and work effort intensity of middle managers

A common challenge senior leaders face is how to keep their employees motivated. A tool often used to address this issue is a variable compensation program. Although historically this type of compensation was used primarily for executives and sales employees, it is now routinely used for all management levels, including middle managers (MM). This group of managers are critical to the organization’s success by ensuring that the tactical performance of the mid to low-level employees supports the corporate strategic financial goals. The MMs variable compensation is often tied to a corporate strategic financial goal. This study explores the relationship between the level of goal attainment for the corporate strategic financial goal and the MM’s resulting motivation and work effort intensity. I propose an inverted-U influence of goal attainment on MM’s work motivation, such that when goals are out of reach, motivation is low, when goals can still be attained, motivation is higher, and when goals have already been attained, motivation decreases. The influence of goal attainment level on work motivation is moderated, however, by the degree to which MMs are empowered to enact tactical changes in their work processes. As empowerment increases, the influence of goal attainment on work motivation decreases, in effect flattening the curvilinear influence of goal attainment level. The primary managerial contribution of this research is that organizations will recognize that knowledge of goal attainment level matters, but its effect on motivation is not linear. Understanding this will help mitigate the potential negative impact on the MM’s motivation level and work intensity, particularly if they do not feel empowered to adjust their activities to achieve the goal

Factor’s Affecting Giving Breast Feed at Public Health Centre Arso III Keerom Sub Province

Background: Breast feed is best food for baby age 0-6 months. Breast feed very required for the health of baby growing and develoipment baby to optimal. But the giving  breast feed exclusif to baby age 0 - 6 months still lower and not goald national,  even in Provinsi Papua, specially Sub-Province Keerom ofis including  public helath centre Arso III.  Goalds : To knowing Factor’s affecting Giving Breast Feed At Public Health Centre Arso Iii Sub Province Keerom. Research Method: This type is analytic descriptive with cross sectional study. Research conducted in August 2017 in Public health centre Arso III Sub-Province Keerom. Population is the overall of mother owning age baby 6 - 24 months. Data approach used questioner and analysed use chi  square test. Result of research : There is no corelation old age to giving of Breast feed exclusive in Public health centre Arso III Sub-Province Keerom ((p-value 0,639; RP = 0,801; CI95% (0,428– 1,499). There is no education corelation to giving breast feed exclusive  in Public health centre Arso III Sub-Province Keerom (p-valuep-value 0,585; RP = 1,190; CI95% (0,763 – 1,857). There is knowledge corelation to giving of Breast feed exclusive in Public health centre Arso III Sub-Province Keerom (p-value 0,004; RP = 1,861; CI95% (1,255 – 2,759). There is attitude corelation to giving of Breast feed exclusive in Public health centre Arso III Sub-Province Keerom (p-value 0,039; RP = 1,681; CI95% (1,1072 – 2,637). There is health officer support corelation to giving of Breast feed exclusive  in Public health centre Arso III Sub-Province Keerom p-value 0,001; RP = 2,281; CI95% (1,418 – 3,669).  There is family support corelation to giving of Breast feed exclusive  in Public health centre Arso III Sub-Province Keerom (p-value 0,000; RP = 4,076; CI95% (2,216– 7,497). There is cultur social  corelation to giving of Breast feed exclusive  in Public health centre Arso III Sub-Province Keerom (p-value 0,000; RP = 3,766; CI95% (1,968 – 7,210).

Potential impacts of finfish aquaculture on eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds and possible monitoring metrics for management: a case study in Atlantic Canada

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) has been designated an Ecologically Significant Species in Atlantic Canada. The development and rapid expansion of netpen finfish aquaculture into sensitive coastal habitats has raised concerns about the impacts of finfish aquaculture on eelgrass habitats. To date, no studies have been done in Atlantic Canada to examine these impacts or to identify potential monitoring variables that would aid in the development of specific conservation and management objectives. As a first step in addressing this gap, we examined differences in environmental variables, eelgrass bed structure and macroinfauna communities at increasing distances from a finfish farm in Port Mouton Bay, a reference site in adjacent Port Joli Bay, and published survey results from other sites without finfish farms along the Atlantic Coast of Nova Scotia. Drawing on research done elsewhere and our results, we then identified possible metrics for assessing and monitoring local impacts of finfish aquaculture on eelgrass habitats. Our results suggest some nutrient and organic enrichment, higher epiphyte loads, lower eelgrass cover and biomass, and lower macroinfauna biomass closer to the farm. Moreover, community structure significantly differed between sites with some species increasing and others decreasing closer to the farm. Changes in the macroinfauna community could be linked to observed differences in environmental and eelgrass bed variables. These results provide new insights into the potential impacts of finfish aquaculture on eelgrass habitats in Atlantic Canada. We recommend a suite of measures for assessment and monitoring that take into account response time to disturbance and account for different levels of eelgrass organizational response (from physiological to community)

Optical and UV Light Curves of the Accretion Disk Corona Source 4U 1822-371

The eclipsing low-mass X-ray binary 4U is the prototypical accretion disk corona (ADC) system. We have obtained new time-resolved UV spectrograms of 4U with the Hubble Space Telescope and new V- and J-band light curves with the 1.3-m SMARTS telescope at CTIO. We present an updated ephemeris for the times of the optical/UV eclipses. Model light curves do not give acceptable fits to the UV eclipses unless the models include an optically-thick ADC.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, from A Population Explosion: The Nature and Evolution of X-ray Binaries in Diverse Environment

Patterns and prevalence of disordered eating and weight control behaviors in women ages 25–45

The current study describes detailed eating behaviors, dieting behaviors, and attitudes about shape and weight in 4,023 women ages 25 to 45

Post-processed data and graphical tools for a CONUS-wide eddy flux evapotranspiration dataset

Large sample datasets of in situ evapotranspiration (ET) measurements with well documented data provenance and quality assurance are critical for water management and many fields of earth science research. We present a post-processed ET oriented dataset at daily and monthly timesteps, from 161 stations, including 148 eddy covariance flux towers, that were chosen based on their data quality from nearly 350 stations across the contiguous United States. In addition to ET, the data includes energy and heat fluxes, meteorological measurements, and reference ET downloaded from gridMET for each flux station. Data processing techniques were conducted in a reproducible manner using open-source software. Most data initially came from the public AmeriFlux network, however, several different networks (e.g., the USDA-Agricultural Research Service) and university partners provided data that was not yet public. Initial half-hourly energy balance data were gap-filled and aggregated to daily frequency, and turbulent fluxes were corrected for energy balance closure error using the FLUXNET2015/ONEFlux energy balance ratio approach. Metadata, diagnostics of energy balance, and interactive graphs of time series data are included for each station. Although the dataset was developed primarily to benchmark satellite-based remote sensing ET models of the OpenET initiative, there are many other potential uses, such as validation for a range of regional hydrologic and atmospheric models

Post-processed data and graphical tools for a CONUS-wide eddy flux evapotranspiration dataset

Large sample datasets of in situ evapotranspiration (ET) measurements with well documented data provenance and quality assurance are critical for water management and many fields of earth science research. We present a post-processed ET oriented dataset at daily and monthly timesteps, from 161 stations, including 148 eddy covariance flux towers, that were chosen based on their data quality from nearly 350 stations across the contiguous United States. In addition to ET, the data includes energy and heat fluxes, meteorological measurements, and reference ET downloaded from grid- MET for each flux station. Data processing techniques were conducted in a reproducible manner using open-source soft- ware. Most data initially came from the public AmeriFlux network, however, several different networks (e.g., the USDA- Agricultural Research Service) and university partners pro- vided data that was not yet public. Initial half-hourly energy balance data were gap-filled and aggregated to daily frequency, and turbulent fluxes were corrected for energy balance closure error using the FLUXNET2015/ONEFlux energy balance ratio approach. Metadata, diagnostics of energy balance, and interactive graphs of time series data are included for each station. Although the dataset was developed primarily to benchmark satellite-based remote sensing ET models of the OpenET initiative, there are many other potential uses, such as validation for a range of regional hydrologic and atmospheric models

Comparative analysis of different survey methods for monitoring fish assemblages in coastal habitats

Coastal ecosystems are among the most productive yet increasingly threatened marine ecosystems worldwide. Particularly vegetated habitats, such as eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds, play important roles in providing key spawning, nursery and foraging habitats for a wide range of fauna. To properly assess changes in coastal ecosystems and manage these critical habitats, it is essential to develop sound monitoring programs for foundation species and associated assemblages. Several survey methods exist, thus understanding how different methods perform is important for survey selection. We compared two common methods for surveying macrofaunal assemblages: beach seine netting and underwater visual census (UVC). We also tested whether assemblages in shallow nearshore habitats commonly sampled by beach seines are similar to those of nearby eelgrass beds often sampled by UVC. Among five estuaries along the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, our results suggest that the two survey methods yield comparable results for species richness, diversity and evenness, yet beach seines yield significantly higher abundance and different species composition. However, sampling nearshore assemblages does not represent those in eelgrass beds despite considerable overlap and close proximity. These results have important implications for how and where macrofaunal assemblages are monitored in coastal ecosystems. Ideally, multiple survey methods and locations should be combined to complement each other in assessing the entire assemblage and full range of changes in coastal ecosystems, thereby better informing coastal zone management