Utilizing cow-calf producer information to increase profits in retained ownership of beef cattle

Retained ownership has been found to be a profitable endeavor, yet many cow-calf producers choose not to retain their calves. While this paper does not directly explore the reasons producers might have for not retaining ownership, which may include uncertainty, it does explore innovative use of asymmetrical information that might reduce some of the uncertainty. Results are summarized in a regression analysis similar to a Hedonic price model where birth weight, weaning weight, and weaning age are found to be important factors to consider when selecting animals to retain.Asymmetrical Information, Hedonic Price Model, Beef, Retained Ownership, Producer Profitability, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, D82, M31, Q13,

Online open neuroimaging mass meta-analysis

We describe a system for meta-analysis where a wiki stores numerical data in a simple format and a web service performs the numerical computation. We initially apply the system on multiple meta-analyses of structural neuroimaging data results. The described system allows for mass meta-analysis, e.g., meta-analysis across multiple brain regions and multiple mental disorders.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures SePublica 2012, ESWC 2012 Workshop, 28 May 2012, Heraklion, Greec

Ligand-receptor binding kinetics in surface plasmon resonance cells: A Monte Carlo analysis

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) chips are widely used to measure association and dissociation rates for the binding kinetics between two species of chemicals, e.g., cell receptors and ligands. It is commonly assumed that ligands are spatially well mixed in the SPR region, and hence a mean-field rate equation description is appropriate. This approximation however ignores the spatial fluctuations as well as temporal correlations induced by multiple local rebinding events, which become prominent for slow diffusion rates and high binding affinities. We report detailed Monte Carlo simulations of ligand binding kinetics in an SPR cell subject to laminar flow. We extract the binding and dissociation rates by means of the techniques frequently employed in experimental analysis that are motivated by the mean-field approximation. We find major discrepancies in a wide parameter regime between the thus extracted rates and the known input simulation values. These results underscore the crucial quantitative importance of spatio-temporal correlations in binary reaction kinetics in SPR cell geometries, and demonstrate the failure of a mean-field analysis of SPR cells in the regime of high Damk\"ohler number Da > 0.1, where the spatio-temporal correlations due to diffusive transport and ligand-receptor rebinding events dominate the dynamics of SPR systems.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figure

Frost Heaving of Container Hardwood Seedlings Planted in an Abandoned Agriculitural Field in Sharkey County, Mississippi

The use of container hardwood seedlings is an alternative to bareroot planting stock. In January 1996, 1,485 container seedlings of Nuttall oak (Quercus nuttallii Palmer), willow oak (Q. phellos L.). overcup oak (Q. lyrata Walter), and water oak (Q. nigra L.) were planted in Sharkey clay on an abandoned agricultural field situated in the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley. Beginning with the passage of a cold front on January 31, daily minimum temperatures dipped as low as 6 °F. For 5 days, dally high temperatures did not climb above 32 °F. This cold period caused 33.7 percent of all seedlings to frost heave and an overall survival of 0.5 percent. Our observations suggest that container seedlings should not be planted on shrink-swell clay soils until after the threat of hard freezing has passed. Seedling root morphology combined with soil conditions at the time of planting may have contributed to the frost heaving

Effect of heat stress on sow fertility and health

Abstract only availableHigh summer temperatures increase the chance that sow herds will be exposed to heat stress. Heat stress in sows causes a longer weaning to estrus interval, decreased farrowing rates and failure to maintain pregnancy. Conception rates of sows are also particularly lower in the summer than any other breeding season. When sows are bred in the summer, they farrow smaller litters and the average piglet weaning weight is significantly smaller than other seasons. The purpose of this research project is to directly test the effect of heat stress on sow health and fertility at the South Farm Complex in coordination with the Animal Science Research Center (ASRC) at the University of Missouri. Thermal temperatures were taken at the ear, shoulder, rump, tail and rectum for a group of sixteen sows on alternating days for two months. Sow body weight, loin muscle area (LMA) and backfat (BF) measurements were taken at three specific points during the study: the first day of the trial, the day the sows were moved into farrowing, and the day sows were moved into breeding .Once parturition occurred, information regarding the number, health and weight of each piglet was recorded. The results from this project will be compared to a previous heat stress study performed at the Brody Environmental Center within the ASRC. The study concludes that heat stress affects the sow's reproductive efficiency and health, but when and where the elevated temperatures specifically affect each sow and her offspring will be further discussed.F.B. Miller Undergraduate Research Program in Animal Science

Climate-driven regime shifts in a mangrove-salt marsh ecotone over the past 250 years.

Climate change is driving the tropicalization of temperate ecosystems by shifting the range edges of numerous species poleward. Over the past few decades, mangroves have rapidly displaced salt marshes near multiple poleward mangrove range limits, including in northeast Florida. It is uncertain whether such mangrove expansions are due to anthropogenic climate change or natural climate variability. We combined historical accounts from books, personal journals, scientific articles, logbooks, photographs, and maps with climate data to show that the current ecotone between mangroves and salt marshes in northeast Florida has shifted between mangrove and salt marsh dominance at least 6 times between the late 1700s and 2017 due to decadal-scale fluctuations in the frequency and intensity of extreme cold events. Model projections of daily minimum temperature from 2000 through 2100 indicate an increase in annual minimum temperature by 0.5 °C/decade. Thus, although recent mangrove range expansion should indeed be placed into a broader historical context of an oscillating system, climate projections suggest that the recent trend may represent a more permanent regime shift due to the effects of climate change

Nickel-Catalyzed Intramolecular Alkene Difunctionalization by Ball-Milling

A mechanochemical nickel-catalyzed intramolecular difunctionalization reaction of alkene tethered aryl halides with alkyl halides is herein described. This method allows for synthesis of 3,3-disubstituted heterocycles, namely oxindoles, with shorter reaction times than solution-phase counterparts. Additionally, this process is solvent minimized, with DMA used in liquid-assisted grinding (LAG) quantities and circumvents the need for chemical activation of the terminal reductant (manganese) through mechanical grinding. The process can be scaled up to yield over a gram of product and modest enantioinduction is possible by utilizing a chiral PyrOx ligand. (Figure presented.)

Counting Rotational Sets for Laminations of the Unit Disk from First Principles

By studying laminations of the unit disk, we can gain insight into the structure of Julia sets of polynomials and their dynamics in the complex plane. The polynomials of a given degree, $d$, have a parameter space. The hyperbolic components of such parameter spaces are in correspondence to rotational polygons, or classes of "rotational sets", which we study in this paper. By studying the count of such rotational sets, and therefore the underlying structure behind these rotational sets and polygons, we can gain insight into the interrelationship among hyperbolic components of the parameter space of these polynomials. These rotational sets are created by uniting rotational orbits, as we define in this paper. The number of such sets for a given degree $d$, rotation number $\frac pq$, and cardinality $k$ can be determined by analyzing the potential placements of pre-images of zero on the unit circle with respect to the rotational set under the $d$-tupling map. We obtain a closed-form formula for the count. Though this count is already known based upon some sophisticated results, our count is based upon elementary geometric and combinatorial principles, and provides an intuitive explanation.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

Updates in the chronic kidney disease-mineral bone disorder show the role of osteocytic proteins, a potential mechanism of the bone-vascular paradox, a therapeutic target, and a biomarker

The chronic kidney disease-mineral bone disorder (CKD-MBD) is a complex multi-component syndrome occurring during kidney disease and its progression. Here, we update progress in the components of the syndrome, and synthesize recent investigations, which suggest a potential mechanism of the bone-vascular paradox. The discovery that calcified arteries in chronic kidney disease inhibit bone remodeling lead to the identification of factors produced by the vasculature that inhibit the skeleton, thus providing a potential explanation for the bone-vascular paradox. Among the factors produced by calcifying arteries, sclerostin secretion is especially enlightening. Sclerostin is a potent inhibitor of bone remodeling and an osteocyte specific protein. Its production by the vasculature in chronic kidney disease identifies the key role of vascular cell osteoblastic/osteocytic transdifferentiation in vascular calcification and renal osteodystrophy. Subsequent studies showing that inhibition of sclerostin activity by a monoclonal antibody improved bone remodeling as expected, but stimulated vascular calcification, demonstrate that vascular sclerostin functions to brake the Wnt stimulation of the calcification milieu. Thus, the target of therapy in the chronic kidney disease-mineral bone disorder is not inhibition of sclerostin function, which would intensify vascular calcification. Rather, decreasing sclerostin production by decreasing the vascular osteoblastic/osteocytic transdifferentiation is the goal. This might decrease vascular calcification, decrease vascular stiffness, decrease cardiac hypertrophy, decrease sclerostin production, reduce serum sclerostin and improve skeletal remodeling. Thus, the therapeutic target of the chronic kidney disease-mineral bone disorder may be vascular osteoblastic transdifferentiation, and sclerostin levels may be a useful biomarker for the diagnosis of the chronic kidney disease-mineral bone disorder and the progress of its therapy

Suicide Screening in Primary Care: Use of an Electronic Screener to Assess Suicidality and Improve Provider Follow-Up for Adolescents

Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of using an existing computer decision support system to screen adolescent patients for suicidality and provide follow-up guidance to clinicians in a primary care setting. Predictors of patient endorsement of suicidality and provider documentation of follow-up were examined. Methods A prospective cohort study was conducted to examine the implementation of a CDSS that screened adolescent patients for suicidality and provided follow-up recommendations to providers. The intervention was implemented for patients aged 12–20 years in two primary care clinics in Indianapolis, Indiana. Results The sample included 2,134 adolescent patients (51% female; 60% black; mean age = 14.6 years [standard deviation = 2.1]). Just over 6% of patients screened positive for suicidality. A positive endorsement of suicidality was more common among patients who were female, depressed, and seen by an adolescent−medicine board-certified provider as opposed to general pediatric provider. Providers documented follow-up action for 83% of patients who screened positive for suicidality. Documentation of follow-up action was correlated with clinic site and Hispanic race. The majority of patients who endorsed suicidality (71%) were deemed not actively suicidal after assessment by their provider. Conclusions Incorporating adolescent suicide screening and provider follow-up guidance into an existing computer decision support system in primary care is feasible and well utilized by providers. Female gender and depressive symptoms are consistently associated with suicidality among adolescents, although not all suicidal adolescents are depressed. Universal use of a multi-item suicide screener that assesses recency might more effectively identify suicidal adolescents