Some Factors affecting the weights of dairy cattle

The purpose of this investigation is to study some of the factors which affect the weights of dairy cattle. The weight of an animal is very important in that weight is a measure for determining breed standards; it is used to derive feeding formulas; weight is involved in most feeding trials, growth-size studies, gestation experiments and in other dairy research

Self-Efficacy

The study of self-efficacy is concerned with understanding this important aspect of self and identity—people\u27s beliefs about their personal capabilities and how these beliefs influence what they try to accomplish, how they try to accomplish it, and how they react to successes and setbacks along the way

Where did the handshake go?: a legal analysis of college coaching contract litigation

The current culture of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) driven by commercial and professional movements has experienced increasing trends in big-time coaching salaries and media attention of coaching contracts. The purpose of this study was to identify the legal issues and clauses that were presented in head coach litigation involving NCAA Division I football and basketball coaches. The study set out to answer the following questions: 1) What general contract issues are being litigated in breach of contract cases involving coaches?, 2) Are there certain clause that are frequently covered in contract lawsuits?, 3) What contract clauses protect head coaches in contract formation?, and 4) What contract clauses protect institutions in contract formation? The study found the importance of a thoughtful negotiation process and concluded with 19 recommendations for drafting Division I college coaching contracts that will help minimize the costly consequences of premature termination

Quantifying Long‐Term Seasonal and Regional Impacts of North American Fire Activity on Continental Boundary Layer Aerosols and Cloud Condensation Nuclei

An intimate knowledge of aerosol transport is essential in reducing the uncertainty of the impacts of aerosols on cloud development. Data sets from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement platform in the Southern Great Plains region (ARM‐SGP) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Modern‐Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA‐2), showed seasonal increases in aerosol loading and total carbon concentration during the spring and summer months (2008–2016) which was attributed to fire activity and smoke transport within North America. The monthly mean MERRA‐2 surface carbonaceous aerosol mass concentration and ARM‐SGP total carbon products were strongly correlated (R = 0.82, p < 0.01) along with a moderate correlation with the ARM‐SGP cloud condensation nuclei (NCCN) product (0.5, p ~ 0.1). The monthly mean ARM‐SGP total carbon and N_(CCN) products were strongly correlated (0.7, p ~ 0.01). An additional product denoting fire number and coverage taken from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) showed a moderate correlation with the MERRA‐2 carbonaceous product (0.45, p < 0.01) during the 1981–2016 warm season months (March–September). With respect to meteorological conditions, the correlation between the NIFC fire product and MERRA‐2 850‐hPa isobaric height anomalies was lower (0.26, p ~ 0.13) due to the variability in the frequency, intensity, and number of fires in North America. An observed increase in the isobaric height anomaly during the past decade may lead to frequent synoptic ridging and drier conditions with more fires, thereby potentially impacting cloud/precipitation processes and decreasing air quality

Quantifying Long‐Term Seasonal and Regional Impacts of North American Fire Activity on Continental Boundary Layer Aerosols and Cloud Condensation Nuclei

An intimate knowledge of aerosol transport is essential in reducing the uncertainty of the impacts of aerosols on cloud development. Data sets from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement platform in the Southern Great Plains region (ARM‐SGP) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Modern‐Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA‐2), showed seasonal increases in aerosol loading and total carbon concentration during the spring and summer months (2008–2016) which was attributed to fire activity and smoke transport within North America. The monthly mean MERRA‐2 surface carbonaceous aerosol mass concentration and ARM‐SGP total carbon products were strongly correlated (R = 0.82, p < 0.01) along with a moderate correlation with the ARM‐SGP cloud condensation nuclei (NCCN) product (0.5, p ~ 0.1). The monthly mean ARM‐SGP total carbon and N_(CCN) products were strongly correlated (0.7, p ~ 0.01). An additional product denoting fire number and coverage taken from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) showed a moderate correlation with the MERRA‐2 carbonaceous product (0.45, p < 0.01) during the 1981–2016 warm season months (March–September). With respect to meteorological conditions, the correlation between the NIFC fire product and MERRA‐2 850‐hPa isobaric height anomalies was lower (0.26, p ~ 0.13) due to the variability in the frequency, intensity, and number of fires in North America. An observed increase in the isobaric height anomaly during the past decade may lead to frequent synoptic ridging and drier conditions with more fires, thereby potentially impacting cloud/precipitation processes and decreasing air quality

Randomized Comparison of Everolimus- and Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents 2-Year Follow-Up From the SPIRIT (Clinical Evaluation of the XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System) IV Trial

ObjectivesWe sought to determine whether the differences in outcomes present between everolimus-eluting stents (EES) and paclitaxel-eluting stents (PES) in the SPIRIT (Clinical Evaluation of the XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System) IV trial at 1 year were sustained with longer-term follow-up.BackgroundIn the SPIRIT IV trial, patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention who were randomized to EES compared with PES experienced lower 1-year rates of target lesion failure (cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction [MI], or ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization [TLR]), with significant reductions in the individual rates of MI, TLR, and stent thrombosis.MethodsWe prospectively randomized 3,687 patients with up to 3 noncomplex previously untreated native coronary artery lesions to EES versus PES at 66 U.S. sites. Follow-up through 2 years is complete in 3,578 patents (97.0%).ResultsTreatment with EES compared with PES reduced the 2-year rates of TLF (6.9% vs. 9.9%, p = 0.003), all MI (2.5% vs. 3.9%, p = 0.02), Q-wave MI (0.1% vs. 0.8%, p = 0.002), stent thrombosis (0.4% vs. 1.2%, p = 0.008), and ischemia-driven TLR (4.5% vs. 6.9%, p = 0.004), with nonsignificantly different rates of all-cause and cardiac mortality. Between 1 year and 2 years, there were no significant differences in adverse event rates between the 2 stent types.ConclusionsIn the large-scale, prospective, multicenter, randomized SPIRIT IV trial, the benefits of EES compared with those of PES present at 1 year were sustained at 2 years. (Clinical Evaluation of the XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System; NCT01016041

Enhanced mitochondrial superoxide scavenging does not Improve muscle insulin action in the high fat-fed mouse

Improving mitochondrial oxidant scavenging may be a viable strategy for the treatment of insulin resistance and diabetes. Mice overexpressing the mitochondrial matrix isoform of superoxide dismutase (sod2(tg) mice) and/or transgenically expressing catalase within the mitochondrial matrix (mcat(tg) mice) have increased scavenging of O2(˙-) and H2O2, respectively. Furthermore, muscle insulin action is partially preserved in high fat (HF)-fed mcat(tg) mice. The goal of the current study was to test the hypothesis that increased O2(˙-) scavenging alone or in combination with increased H2O2 scavenging (mtAO mice) enhances in vivo muscle insulin action in the HF-fed mouse. Insulin action was examined in conscious, unrestrained and unstressed wild type (WT), sod2(tg), mcat(tg) and mtAO mice using hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps (insulin clamps) combined with radioactive glucose tracers following sixteen weeks of normal chow or HF (60% calories from fat) feeding. Glucose infusion rates, whole body glucose disappearance, and muscle glucose uptake during the insulin clamp were similar in chow- and HF-fed WT and sod2(tg) mice. Consistent with our previous work, HF-fed mcat(tg) mice had improved muscle insulin action, however, an additive effect was not seen in mtAO mice. Insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation in muscle from clamped mice was consistent with glucose flux measurements. These results demonstrate that increased O2(˙-) scavenging does not improve muscle insulin action in the HF-fed mouse alone or when coupled to increased H2O2 scavenging

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes