Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

We have exploited {open_quotes}progeny testing{close_quotes} to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) underlying the genetic variation of milk production in a selected dairy cattle population. A total of 1,518 sires, with progeny tests based on the milking performances of >150,000 daughters jointly, was genotyped for 159 autosomal microsatellites bracketing 1645 centimorgan or approximately two thirds of the bovine genome. Using a maximum likelihood multilocus linkage analysis accounting for variance heterogeneity of the phenotypes, we identified five chromosomes giving very strong evidence (LOD score {ge} 3) for the presence of a QTL controlling milk production: chromosomes 1, 6, 9, 10 and 20. These findings demonstrate that loci with considerable effects on milk production are still segregating in highly selected populations and pave the way toward marker-assisted selection in dairy cattle ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The reproducibility of pulmonary mechanics measurements in dairy cattle was examined using two study designs. In design A measurements were made with six cows on two days, and in design B measurements...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection on production, reproduction and longevity in dairy cattle. The study population was a commercial Holstein...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundThe decline noticed in several fertility traits of dairy cattle over the past few decades is of major concern. Understanding of the genomic factors underlying fertility,...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Streptococcus agalactiae continues to be a major cause of subclinical mastitis in dairy cattle and a source of economic loss for the industry. Veterinarians are often asked to provide information on...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The aim of the present study was to identify specific behavioral patterns that contribute to diminished estrus expression in lame cows. Behavioral scan and focal sampling were used to examine...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A commercial blend of essential oil (EO) compounds was added to a grass, maize silage, and concentrate diet fed to dairy cattle in order to determine their influence on protein metabolism by ruminal...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

Eastern Oregon cattle distribution was studied with global positioning (GPS) collars for 2 years on the Zumwalt prairie in the spring and fall and Hells Canyon during the winter to determine distribution and habitat selection differences between Spanish bred (Corriente X Longhorn) and English bred c...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This study identifies new information on the recent distribution of an invasive bird species, the Cattle Egret Ardea ibis, in Algeria. Breeding and wintering distributions as well as breeding numbers were obtained from large-scale surveys in 1999 and 2007, and from historical data. Between 1999 and 2007, the total number of colonies found increased from 51 to 87, and most were located in the northern part of the country. The breeding distribution area, confined to the coastal areas in the 1970s, has shifted further south, and reached the northern part of the Sahara since the 2000s. Most colonies were established during the period 1980-1995. The oldest colonies were generally larger than the recent ones. The number of colonies increased by 83% between 1999 and 2007 in the 12 administrative ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

As a consequence of the close integration of cattle into the food chain of humans, forensically relevant cases involving cattle (Bos taurus) DNA analysis are common. However, scientific publications reporting the information content of the commonly used bovine short tandem repeat (STR) loci remains scarce. Population studies were performed for 16 polymorphic STR loci (BM1818, BM1824, BM2113, CSRM60, CSSM66, ETH3, ETH10, ETH225, HAUT27, ILSTS006, INRA023, SPS115, TGLA53, TGLA122, TGLA126, and TGLA227) including 4,162 randomly selected cattle representing 20 distinct breeds. The power of parental exclusion, expected and observed heterozygosity, probability of identity, and non-amplifying (?null?) allele frequencies were calculated. Major differences existed in the information content between...

Science.gov (United States)

In this article, we propose a model selection method, the Bayesian composite model space approach, to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) in a half-sib population for continuous and binary traits. In our method, the identity-by-descent-based variance component model is used. To demonstrate the performance of this model, the method was applied to map QTL underlying production traits on BTA6 in a Chinese half-sib dairy cattle population. A total of four QTLs were detected, whereas only one QTL was identified using the traditional least square (LS) method. We also conducted two simulation experiments to validate the efficiency of our method. The results suggest that the proposed method based on a multiple-QTL model is efficient in mapping multiple QTL for an outbred half-sib population and is more powerful than the LS method based on a single-QTL model. PMID:21487433

International Science & Technology Center (ISTC)

Creation of Meat and Fat Tail Breed Sheep and Production of Ecologically Pure Mutton and Lamb

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Irish dairy herd fertility has been declining since the 1980s. The extent, nature and causes of this decline in fertility and the current status of Irish dairy herd fertility were described....Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

No abstract prepared.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Riparian agricultural environments in eastern Australia are widely used for cattle grazing, but are also preferred habitat for native, soil-disturbing mammals such as the bare-nosed wombat (Vombatus ursinus). We examined the effects of mound construction by wombats, and track development by cattle and wombats, on soil displacement in a riparian landscape at high and low levels of cattle usage. Splash erosion was measured on mounds and inter-mounds with splashboards, and changes in the profiles of cattle-wombat tracks were assessed using a profilemeter. Twice as much soil was detached by splash erosion from mounds than inter-mounds, irrespective of cattle usage, and about three-times more coarse sand and 40% more fine sand was detached from mounds and inter-mounds at the high cattle sites. ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Pulmonary function tests were performed on seven adult dairy cows with an expanded lung field (ExLF) and the results were compared to the values from seven cows with normal lung fields. The cows with...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Peripartal serum alkaline phosphatase activity and lactate dehydrogenase activity were measured in 30 dairy cows in order to examine the association between retained fetal membranes and enzyme activity....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The presence of highly heat-resistant spores of Bacillus sporothermodurans in ultrahigh-temperature or sterilized consumer milk has emerged as an important item in the dairy industry....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

This study examines the results of bacterial culture from 159 endometrial biopsy samples from 97 commercial dairy cows and correlations between bacteriological and histological findings. Bacteria were...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The effects of gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) on the reproductive performance of dairy cows with retained placenta were studied. Three hundred and seventy-eight cows diagnosed as having retained...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Data from an epidemiological study in Ontario, involving 304 dairy herds, were used to identify associations between selected production indices and lipoarabinomannan antigen serological test results...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

... BEAN, KIDNEY X X X X 06 VEGETABLE, LEGUME, GROUP BEAN, KIDNEY, SEED ... CATTLE, KIDNEY X 99 NO GROUP NAME CATTLE, LIVER ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

AbstractThis study investigated the distribution of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in herds of cattle in Ireland over the years 1996 through 2000, prior to the introduction of...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

An epidemiological study about mastitis in French dairy herds, supported by an ecopathological survey is described. The aim of this work was to explain variations of the annual frequencies of...Full Text Available

Wastenet

The Commission also agreed on new guidelines for organic livestock production, supporting natural breeding methods and

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The Early Bronze Age barrows at Irthlingborough and Gayhurst in central England are notable for the large number of cattle (Bos taurus) remains associated with their human Beaker burials. Previous work using strontium isotope analysis has indicated that most of the cattle analysed, and one aurochs (Bos primigenius), were of local origin [Towers, J., Montgomery, J., Evans, J., Jay, M., Parker Pearson, M., 2010. An investigation of the origins of cattle and aurochs deposited in the Early Bronze Age barrows at Gayhurst and Irthlingborough. Journal of Archaeological Science 37, 508-515.]. In this study, stable isotope analysis of enamel and bone was carried out to investigate whether the mature cattle had experienced similar husbandry practices, climate and environment. Bulk carbon, nitrogen a...

Wastenet

... In spring, the marshes are filled with the atmospheric calls of lapwings and redshanks, all breeding on one of the UK's ...Butley river and Ore estuary, Boyton Marshes attracts breeding wading birds in spring and ducks, geese and swans in winter. It's also ... The moorland landscape looks especially colourful in late summer, while spring is the perfect time to come and see migrant birds like redstarts,...Valley This is a delightful oak woodland to walk through - especially in spring and early summer when lots of migrating birds come to breed ...

Wastenet

...Project objectives to restore/create network of secure lapwing breeding sites to provide conservation management advice to planners, developers and land managers to raise awareness of lapwing conservation issues in the local areaKey dates so far First pair of lapwing breeding at Parc Bryn Bach, mitigation site for loss of a nearby large lapwing breeding colony, in May 2008Work planned or underway Continued working with developers and landowners to ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Veterinarians and farmers employing multivalent killed vaccines in lactating dairy cows have reported transient losses in milk production. Few studies have quantified this loss. In this report, effects...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Selected sera from cattle naturally infected with Brucella abortus precipitate water soluble antigens extracted by sonication from B. abortus. One of these antigens resembles antigen E (Baughn and Freeman)...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

The Belgian Malinois dog was introduced into the Department of Defense Military Working Dog Program in 1984. All dogs are purchased in Europe and have adapted well to the rigorous training requirements of the program. Most veterinary problems seen in this breed are related to kennel confinement and include traumatic dental disease, tail lesions, a variety of dermatologic conditions, and an inability to gain weight. Epilepsy is a breed problem and has been seen in this population, as has gastric dilatation/volvulus. Both elbow and hip dysplasia exist in the Malinois breed. PMID:1900116

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

We used a 13-year time series of abundance estimates of breeding Northern Saw-whet Owls (Aegolius acadicus), and of small mammals from central Ontario, Canada, to assess the numerical response of the owls to small-mammal prey species. We found that the finite rate of increase of breeding owls was directly related to estimates of red-backed vole (Myodes gapperi) abundance. Thus, it appeared that the owls were nomadic, and made decisions about where to breed based on vole supply. The owls showed a much weaker response to deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) abundance. Across all years, 55% of variation in owl rate of increase could be uniquely attributed to vole abundance, whereas only 3% could be attributed to mouse abundance. Consistent with the model of nomadism, there was only a weak rela...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Since it was introduced in the early 1940's, mutation breeding has been tested on many crops as modern plant breeding. Until now, more than seven hundred varieties have been developed by means of induced mutation, and many of them officially released and approved for registration. Hundreds of papers report the results of mutation breeding, and the characteristics of induced mutation in different kinds of crops were discussed for review purposes (Blixt and Gottschalk 1975, Gottschalk and Wolff 1983). Considering the results already obtained, it can be concluded that the kinds of induced mutation and their utilization vary from crop to crop. This paper summarizes and discusses the mutation characteristics and kinds on the induced mutants of leguminous plants that have been released.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Successfully using artificial insemination (AI) is defined as getting cows pregnant when the farmer wants them in-calf and making the best use of appropriate genetic potential. Over the past...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A total of 262 strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from the mammary gland of dairy cows were examined for the production of alpha-hemolysin. Strains were cultured in a liquid medium of casein...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

AbstractMilk residues and performance were evaluated in lactating cows that were fed up to 10 times the recommended dose of monensin. Following an acclimatization period of 14 d, during...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Path analysis was used to determine the interrelationships between postpartum administration of gonadotrophin releasing hormone and cloprostenol and the occurrence of reproductive disease and reproductive...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The objective of this experiment was to determine the effect of dietary grain on calcium homeostasis. Six rumen-fistulated dairy cows with 3 or more previous lactations and no history of parturient...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A randomized intervention study was conducted to determine if discontinuing use of calf milk replacer medicated with oxytetracycline results in increased tetracycline susceptibility in Salmonella...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Twenty-two cases of indigestion occurred in a 650-cow herd. Five cows had severe sand abomasal impaction, diagnosed by laparotomy. The pH of prepartum cows’ urine was < 6.0 and of sand...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

AbstractThe tick-borne protozoan parasite Theileria annulata causes a debilitating disease of cattle called Tropical Theileriosis. The parasite predominantly invades...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Clinical salmonellosis in cattle is infrequently recorded in Botswana, the majority of salmonella isolations being made from apparently healthy animals. A salmonella carrier rate of 6·7% was...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Brucella abortus is a facultative, intracellular zoonotic pathogen which can cause undulant fever in humans and abortions in cattle. A 14-kDa protein of B. abortus...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Seventy-nine Mycobacterium bovis isolates recovered from Mexican and Texas cattle were categorized into 16 and 25 distinct types on the basis of IS6110 and direct-repeat fingerprint patterns, respectively....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundRecently, the discovery of copy number variation (CNV) led researchers to think that there are more variations of genomic DNA than initially believed. Moreover, a certain...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Paratuberculosis (Johne's disease), an endemic mycobacteriosis of cattle that is caused by Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, is characterized by incoercible diarrhea and fecal shedding of bacteria. The...Full Text Available

Wastenet

... There are common woodland birds in spring and turtle doves in spring and summer. Havergate Island This small island in the River ...for its breeding avocets and terns, which can be seen throughout the spring and summer. Access is by boat only and the trip ... Visit in spring to hear a symphony of birdsong, especially the nightingales which breed here, and to see bluebells and primroses ... Spring is also an excellent time to visit. Loch na Muilne Loch na Muilne is a fantastic place to see a variety ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whooper swans habitat in the coastal regions of Denmark can be affected by wind turbine arrays on the coast. The planned array consists of 55 wind turbines very close to the swan breeding area. A possibility of moving the swans away from the windmill area would be to spread the preferred swan feeds (rape, potatoes) outside their present breeding ground. (EG) 14 refs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dairy products doubly labeled with 45Ca and 47Ca were used to evaluate an extrinsic labeling procedure for calcium bioavailability determination. Nonfat milk, yogurt, and fresh cheese curd were prepared from caprine milk that was intrinsically labeled with 45Ca. The products were then labeled extrinsically with 47Ca and administered to rats by gavage. The 47Ca to 45Ca ratio in bone and teeth averaged about 1.00 with either milk, yogurt, or CaCl2, but the ratio was about 1.04 when dosed with cheese curd. Ca absorption, determined by whole-body counting of 47Ca, was lower (P less than 0.05) in cheese curd (59%) than in either milk (69%), yogurt (72%), or CaCl2 (72%). Expressed as percent of dose, the absorption of 47Ca was highly correlated with bone 47Ca (r = 0.973) and with bone 45Ca (r = 0.946). Correlation between tibia 47Ca and tibia 45Ca was r = 0.923. For the dairy products tested, our results indicated that extrinsic 47Ca was absorbed ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract The importance of evaluating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from dairy cows within the whole farm setting is being realized as more important than evaluating these emissions in isolation. Current whole farm models aimed at evaluating GHG emissions make use of simple regression equations to predict enteric methane (CH4) production. The objective of the current paper is to evaluate the performance of nine CH4 prediction equations that are currently being used in whole farm GHG models. Data used to evaluate the prediction equations came from a collection of individual (IND) and treatment averaged (TRT) data. Equations were compared based on mean square prediction error (MSPE) and concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) analysis. In general, predictions were poor, with root MSPE (as...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

So how do we deal with biting dogs? To start with, we must remind ourselves that biting is a natural activity of all dogs, and that there is potential for injury. All dog owners must understand this...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

... biological effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) produced by high-voltage transmission lines have come under intense scrutiny, mostly with respect ... biological effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs...

Science.gov (United States)

Aluminium (Al3+) toxicity is the primary factor limiting crop production on acidic soils worldwide. In addition to an application of lime for soil amelioration, Al3+ resistant plant varieties have been deployed to raise productivity on such hostile soils. This has been possible due to the exploita...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundGlomerulonephritis in dogs has been associated with B. burgdorferi infections. In Bernese Mountain Dogs with glomerulonephritis antibodies against B....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundOncidium spp. produce commercially important orchid cut flowers. However, they are amenable to intergeneric and inter-specific crossing making phylogenetic...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Oculo-skeletal dysplasia segregates in two canine breeds, the Labrador retriever and samoyed, in which the causative loci have been termed drd1 and drd2, respectively....Full Text Available

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract Development of inhibitors and vaccines that mitigate rumen-derived methane by targeting methanogens relies on knowledge of the methanogens present. We investigated the composition of archaeal communities in the rumens of farmed sheep (Ovis aries), cattle (Bos taurus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) to generate fingerprints of archaeal 16S rRNA genes. The total archaeal communities were relatively constant across species and diets, and were less variable and less diverse than bacterial communities. There were diet- and ruminant-species-based differences in archaeal community structure, but the same dominant archaea were present in all rumens. These were members of three coherent clades: species related to Methanobrevibacter ruminan...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Analysis of the pattern of the chromosomal localization of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) is necessary for comprehensively understanding their functions. The chromosomal localization of QTLs controlling milk production traits has been studied in cattle chromosomes. The distribution of QTLs between chromosomes has proved to be binomial. Their distribution along each chromosome was, in general, uniform, except for the QTLs controlling the somatic cell score (SCS), which tended towards telomeric location. However, there are chromosomes either enriched with or particularly poor in QTLs. The QTL distribution patters are the most similar for the milk yield (M) and milk protein yield (P) and for milk fat yield (F) and milk fat content (%F). The pattern of the SCS QTLs stands out among those of ot...

Environmental Research Database

DescriptionThe switch from production-linked to environmental payments has focussed attention on the environmental impacts of farming. There is a growing awareness of the need to reduce the contamination of air with carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia and nitrogen gases (which contribute to the greenhouse effect) and to prevent the contamination of soil and water with excessive amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. As beef production moves to become more sustainable and fully integrated with the wide [continued...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cattle and pig wastes, orange peels, compost, and grain husks were hydrolyzed in an alkaline medium to investigate the CH4 generation capacity. The respective CH4 production capacities from pig wastes and rice hulls were approximately 1 and approximately 0.1 L/g. The CH4 produced can be used to supplement energy requirements of farms.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV), a retrovirus related to human T-cell leukemia virus types 1 and 2, can induce persistent nonneoplastic expansion of the CD5⁺ B-cell population, termed...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

In order to study the neurobiological basis of seasonal changes in hippocampal structure and function, the rate of cell proliferation was examined in male and female wild meadow voles captured during different seasons. We found that the number of [3H]thymidine-labeled cells varied across the seasons and across sex in the meadow vole. Non-breeding female meadow voles had a higher rate of cell proliferation and cell death than males captured during either season or breeding females. These seasonal changes in the female meadow vole were associated with both fluctuating levels of adrenal steroids and gonadal steroids. Estradiol level was highly correlated with both the number of [3H]thymidine-labeled cells and the number of pyknotic cells in female meadow voles, with high levels of estradiol being associated with low levels of cell proliferation and cell death. Corticosterone level was associated with the number of [3H]thymidine-labeled cells in ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

ABSTRACT. Flight-song displays usually include distinctive vocalizations and behaviors that are probably energetically expensive and also likely to attract the attention of aerial predators. We observed flight songs performed by Dusky Flycatchers (Empidonax oberholseri) in two breeding populations. During 15 yr at Tioga Pass, California, we observed the display twice and, during 9 yr at Steamboat Mountain, British Columbia, we observed 21 flight-song displays. These displays were generally observed later in the breeding season, suggesting that they were not used for courtship, mate attraction, or territory defense. However, for 83% of these displays, a raptor was observed to be present, usually either an American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) or a Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus). We h...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Most livestock farmers in the United States do not take advantage of anaerobic digester technology because of the high cost and large scale. These limitations therefore reduce the production of renewable energy from farmlands. In order to expand anaerobic digestion methods and improve environmental quality, affordable and smaller-scale digesters should be developed to enable most livestock farmers to convert manure to methane. Doing so would improve their economic efficiency and environmental sustainability. This paper provided an analogy to the development of the Model T to better explain the need and potential for this technology. A modified fixed-dome digester was installed on the Ohio State University dairy in Columbus, Ohio. The digester was unheated, buried, had a volume of 1 m{sup 3} and received diluted dairy manure as feedstock. Biogas was produced at digester temperatures as low 10 degrees C during colder ambient temperatures. Water ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper reported on a life cycle assessment (LCA) study that compared the environmental impacts of business-as-usual manure management with those of a manure management operation incorporating anaerobic digestion with combined heat and power generation. The case study was based on a medium sized dairy farm in northern New York State. The study identified the benefits resulting from the displacement of fossil fuels, and reduction of related emissions. Although anaerobic digestion of dairy manure with energy recovery through biogas combustion is viewed as a positive environmental approach to increase the use of renewable energy, there are potential negative impacts that can counteract the environmental benefits. The negative impacts are associated with emissions of methane and nitrogen species during digestion and after spreading of digester effluent. The environmental impacts and their causes should be evaluated in order to promote best ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Traditional farmers and harvesters of non-timber forest products in Peten treat the forest in ways that conserve and regenerate its resources. They believe no one owns the forest outright. Humans share it with other life forms and therefore no one has the right to monopolize or destroy forest resources. Traditional Peteneros find a use for almost everything in the forest, and believe it neither smart nor proper to use a given area for a single purpose, for example, to clear an area of all trees and devote it exclusively to a cattle pasture. In the traditional system most medicinal plants, basic foodstuffs, fuelwoods and construction materials are taken from the bosque (secondary forests within walking distance of human settlements). Peteneros` sustainable use of bosques eases pressure on the monte (primary forests). In the monte Peteneros` harvesting practices are protective of resources, causing minimal damage. Finding almost everything in the forest useful, ...

Science.gov (United States)

The goal of the present study was to describe the clinical, haematological and ultrasonographic findings and treatment of 17 cattle with pyelonephritis. Fifteen cattle had an abnormal general condition, which varied in severity; five animals had signs of colic. The urine was brownish-red in 11 animals and cloudy in 13. Clumps of purulent material were seen in the urine of nine animals and clots of blood in two. The specific gravity was lower than normal in 13 animals and ranged from 1.005 to 1.020. A urine test strip revealed protein in 16 animals, blood in 16 and leukocytes in 12. Bacteriological examination of urine yielded Corynebacterium renale in 11 animals, Arcanobacter pyogenes in two and Escherichia coli in one. Rectal examination revealed abnormalities of the urinary tract in 11 animals; there was dilatation of the left ureter and/or enlargement of the left kidney in eight cases, and dilatation of the right ureter and/or enlargement of ...

Wastenet

... Targeted fields of research Continuation of ongoing research - Finalising detailed design work on the ITER project; getting JET operational at full power; Improvement of the basic concepts of fusion devices - Fusion plasmas; theoretical studies; technology watch on research into inertial confinement; new experimental concepts and systems; etc.; Long-term technology - Preparations for building a demonstration reactor (development of tritium breeding blankets; prospective ...

Wastenet

... The moorland landscape looks especially colourful in late summer, while spring is the perfect time to come and see migrant birds like redstarts,...Valley This is a delightful oak woodland to walk through - especially in spring and early summer when lots of migrating birds come to breed ... Fowlmere Fowlmere's reedbeds and pools are fed by natural chalk springs, and a chalk stream runs through the reserve. Special birds ... There are common woodland birds in spring and turtle doves in spring and summer. Haweswater If you want to see a golden ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juvenile trees of kalmia derived from shoot tip culture, and seedlings of kobus were irradiated with #gamma#-rays. In kalmia, two mutation lines were obtained which had narrowlong leaves. In kobus two mutation lines were obtained. One mutation line has flowers with 7 to 13 petals. Another mutation line has yellow-green variegated leaves. (author).

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundCotton, with a large genome, is an important crop throughout the world. A high-density genetic linkage map is the prerequisite for cotton genetics and breeding. A genetic...Full Text Available

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

This paper explores the potential of combining substance-flow modelling with water and wastewater sampling to trace consumption-related substances emitted through the urban wastewater. The method is exemplified on sucralose. Sucralose is a chemical sweetener that is 600 times sweeter than sucrose and has been on the European market since 2004. As a food additive, sucralose has recently increased in usage in a number of foods, such as soft drinks, dairy products, candy and several dietary products. In a field campaign, sucralose concentrations were measured in the inflow and outflow of the local wastewater treatment plant in Linkoping, Sweden, as well as upstream and downstream of the receiving stream and in Lake Roxen. This allows the loads emitted from the city to be estimated. A method c...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A critical issues study of a symmetric illumination, direct drive laser fusion reactor called SIRIUS has been conducted. In particular, the uniformity requirements for direct drive targets have been assessed and it is shown that respectable gains (more than 60) could be obtained at modest (2MJ) KrF laser energies. Previous ICF cavity designs have been examined for use in a symmetric illumination geometry and features from several designs have been combined into a dry wall cavity design with a radius of 8 meters. Neutronic and photonic analysis shows that the present SIRIUS cavity design can breed sufficient tritium (breeding ratio = 1.17) even with 32 laser ports penetrating the cavity. However, it was found that there are a few critical issues that remain to be solved before a self-consistent reactor design could be initiated. Radiation damage to final optics, thermal performance of SiC tiles on the SIRIUS cavity wall, and performance of ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The author have prepared a new, fusion-oriented library of multigroup neutron cross sections, scattering matrices, and covariances (uncertainties and correlations). The 74-group library, called COVFILS-2, has been used, or will be used, by neutronics groups at Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL) at the University of California at Los Angeles, and at the Swiss Federal Institute for Reactor Research in the sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of fusion-relevant integral experiments such as the Li_2O experiment performed at the Fast Neutron Source Facility in Japan and the Lithium breeding module experiment planned at the LOTUS facility in Lausanne, Switzerland. Another intended use of this library is in the estimation of the uncertainty in key performance parameters (such as the breeding ratio) of conceptual fusion reactors. The 14 materials included in the first version of COVFILS-2 are hydrogen, "6Li, "7Li, beryllium, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The maximum fissile fuel production capacity of three conceptual fusion breeder systems is examined on the basis of the dominant isotopic-balance processes. Compact relationships involving system power output, plasma and energy multiplication, and parameters which describe the fuel cycle and neutron spectrum in the blanket are established. It is found that the fusion breeder, as characterized herein, possesses a substantial fissile fuel breeding capacity the extent of which is governed primarily by the neutron spectrum in the conversion blanket and the break-even condition of the plasma. (author).

Wastenet

... For example, one study used aerial photographs and on-ground observation to determine that Kenai Peninsula in Alaska has been losing wetlands to a dryer, wooded landscape since at least 1950, which has also meant a reduction in habitat for migratory birds, many of which are favorites for birdwatchers (National Research Council of Canada, 2005). In the Arctic, important breeding and nesting areas for migratory birds may be lost, affecting bird watching opportunities at various latitudes in the U.S. (Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Within the APROS simulation environment we have built a thermo-hydraulic model of a conceptual fusion power plant which is water cooled and uses lithium-lead for tritium breeding. For the safety assessment of this design we have studied an accident sequence which starts from a loss or coolant flow then leads to first wall breach and pressurisation of the vacuum vessel. Simulations have revealed strong pressure transients which can be alleviated by design changes. One goal is to verify the adequacy of the containment design: it remains intact at least 14 h without any mitigating efforts. Estimates for radioactive releases are obtained. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The Bioenergy Feedstock Development Program, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory is developing poplars (Populus species and hybrids) as sources of renewable energy, i.e., ethanol. Notable increases in adaptability, volume productivity, and pest/stress resistance have been achieved via classical selection and breeding and intensified cultural practices. Significant advances have also been made in the efficiencies of harvesting and handling systems. Given these and anticipated accomplishments, program leaders are considering shifting some attention to genetically modifying feedstock physical and chemical properties, so as to improve the efficiency with which feedstocks can be converted to ethanol. This report provides an in-depth review and synthesis of opportunities for and feasibilities of genetically modifying feedstock qualities via classical selection and breeding, marker-aided selection and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A study is made of plant sensitivity to mutagens during the processing of seeds. An examination is made of problems concerned with modification mutability, the nature of plant restoration following irradiation. Particular attention is given to mutation changes. A presentation is made of several features of mutant changes initially selected by separate indicators. An examination is made of the possible study of mutant indicator genetics. General data on the forms and varieties produced by the mutagenesis method are given. The book is designed for breeding specialists and geneticists engaged in the study of mutagenesis. 439 references, 27 figures, 66 table.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Abstract The distribution and abundance of native ungulates were measured on commercially managed, semi arid rangeland in central Kenya over a 3 year period that encompassed severe drought and above average rainfall. Native ungulate biomass density averaged 5282 kg km 2 over the study and was dominated by elephant (Loxodonta africana), impala (Aepyceros melampus) and dik dik (Madoqua kirkii). Biomass density of domestic cattle (Bos taurus) averaged 2280 kg km 2 during the study. Responses of native ungulates to severe drought were variable. Impala densities were similar to or greater than densities for similar habitat in protected areas, and varied from 12 to 16 km 2 during and following the drought to 24 29 km 2 following above average rainfall. Dik dik densities were also greater than de...

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This paper reports the use of molecular methods to characterize the coprophilous fungal communities (CFC) that inhabit the dung of four species of mammalian herbivores at two sites, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR) in New Mexico and Wind Cave National Park (WCNP) in South Dakota. Results reveal that CFC from domesticated cattle (Bos taurus) at SNWR, and bison (Bison bison) and black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) at WCNP were diverse but dominated primarily by members within eight taxonomic orders, including the rarely cultured and anaerobic order Neocallimastigales. In addition, 7.7% (138 of 1,788) of the sequences obtained from all dung samples were at least 97% similar to root-associated fungal (RAF) sequences previously described from blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis...

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Poaching of wildlife animals for subsistence and commercial purposes has lead to population declines in Africa. In forensic cases, a need exists to identify the species of origin of carcasses, meat or blood. In the study presented here, the mitochondrial COI gene was sequenced to determine the species of unknown samples in three suspect South African forensic wildlife cases. In two cases the unknown samples were identified as originating from domestic cattle (Bos taurus) and in the third case the sample was identified as common reedbuck (Redunca arundinum). This is the first report of the COI sequence of common reedbuck. The study highlights the need for accurate wildlife reference material from each country in order to convict wildlife cases.

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We show that the HACCP system is not fully applicable at the primary production level, and that food safety is obtained through the careful implementation of good hygiene practice (GHP) at the farm. Guides to GHP intended at primary productions cover one activity, such as cattle rearing or corn production. Yet most farms have more than one activity. Hazards from one activity can be transferred to another activity, and in general this is not considered in one-activity guides. There is a need therefore for farmers to be able to detect and control such transfers. We suggest a horizontal complement to the Guides to GHP that would consider only the application of the Step 6 and Principle 1 of the HACCP system amended as follows: ''List all potential hazards transferred from one activity to anot...

Science.gov (United States)

The population of U.S. Department of Defense military working dogs provides an opportunity to study the lifetime occurrence of neoplasia in 2 breeds of dogs--the German Shepherd Dog and the Belgian Malinois. Medical records were reviewed for all dogs that died or were euthanized in 1992 (135 German Shepherd Dogs and 106 Belgian Malinois). Histologically confirmed neoplasms were recorded. More than 30% of both breeds (41 German Shepherd Dogs and 33 Belgian Malinois) developed at least 1 primary neoplasm during their lives, with 10% developing more than 1 neoplasm. Nearly 57% of the neoplasms were benign, and approximately 43% were malignant. German Shepherd Dogs lived 9.7 years, on average, and Belgian Malinois lived 7.9 years, on average. Of the dogs that developed any neoplasm, Belgian Malinois had a mean age at 1st diagnosis that was 1.1 years younger and a mean age at 1st diagnosis of malignancy that was 1.7 years younger than those in ...

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The design of solid breeder blankets is strongly affected by the low values of thermal conductivity and density of ceramic breeder pebble beds. A significant rise of both quantities would enhance the thermal performance and lead to an increased tritium breeding ratio. In order to improve these quantities pretreated lithium orthosilicate pebble material was dry pressed and subsequently sintered. The thermal conductivity of cylindrical pellets was determined by the heat pulse method using a laser flash device. A pebble bed characteristic sample was also investigated in order to check the measurement accuracy in comparison with previous results. Furthermore, two samples of low density cellular ceramics were also prepared by infiltration of polymer foams with a ceramic slurry. The thermal cond...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Globodera rostochiensis and Globodera pallida are parasitic root cyst nematodes of potato (PCN), which significantly reduce yield and quality. The genetics and available molecular markers should make resistance to nematodes an excellent candidate for marker assisted selection. The study presents results of testing the suitability of known molecular markers for detection of resistance in a set of cultivars. We revealed some inconsistencies in genealogical data of the cultivars and showed inconsistent usefulness in detecting resistant cultivars. The marker TG689 was identified in almost all cultivars resistant to G. rostochiensis and together with other markers was used for verifying the resistance in a group of breeding lines. The marker TG689 was the most effective. However, the efficiency...

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We collected female greater scaup (Aythya marila) on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska during two breeding seasons to determine if concentrations of 18 trace elements in livers and eggs were elevated and if hepatic concentrations correlated with body condition or affected reproductive status. Fifty-six percent, 5%, and 42% of females, respectively, had elevated hepatic cadmium (Cd: >3mgg-1 dry weight [dw]), mercury (Hg: >3mgg-1dw), and selenium (Se: >10mgg-1dw). Somatic protein and lipid reserves were not correlated with hepatic Cd or Hg, but there was a weak negative correlation between protein and Se. Hepatic Cd, Hg, and Se were similar in females that had and had not initiated egg production. In a sample of six eggs, 33% and 100%, respectively, contained Se and Hg, but concentrations we...

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LLNL is developing the nuclear fusion based Laser Inertial Fusion Energy (LIFE) power plant concept. The baseline design uses a depleted uranium (DU) fission fuel blanket with a flowing molten salt coolant (flibe) that also breeds the tritium needed to sustain the fusion energy source. Indirect drive targets, similar to those that will be demonstrated on the National Ignition Facility (NIF), are ignited at 13Hz providing a 500MW fusion source. The DU is in the form of a uranium oxycarbide kernel in modified TRISO-like fuel particles distributed in a carbon matrix forming 2-cm-diameter pebbles. The thermal power is held at 2000MW by continuously varying the 6Li enrichment in the coolants. There are many options to be considered in the engine design including target yield, U-to-C ratio in th...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The irradiation behavior of Li_2TiO_3 under a fusion reactor environment was simulated by simultaneous irradiation of Li_2TiO_3 by the triple ion beams and the respective single ion beams of O"2"+, He"+ and H"+. The microstructural changes in Li_2TiO_3 caused by the irradiation were measured by Raman spectroscopy and FT-IR photoacoustic spectroscopy. The results suggest that the formation of TiO_2 due to displacements by irradiation occurs, and the irradiation defects generated by irradiation trap hydrogen and increase the amount of hydroxyl near the surface. Such phenomena are believed to significantly affect the chemical form of the released tritium and the tritium inventory in the breeding materials of a fusion reactor.

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Numerous studies have shown that large, herbivorous waterfowl can reduce quantity of aquatic plants during the breeding or wintering season, but relatively few document herbivory effects at staging areas. This study was done to determine if feeding activities of tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus columbianus) and Canada geese (Branta canadensis) had a measurable additive influence on the amount of aquatic plants, primarily muskgrass (Chara vulgaris), wild celery (Vallisneria americana), and sago pondweed (Potamogeton pectinatus), removed during the fall migration period at Long Point, Lake Erie, Ontario. Exclosure experiments done in fall 1998 and 1999 showed that, as compared to ducks and abiotic factors, these two large herbivorous waterfowl did not have any additional impact on above or b...

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The molten salt reactor (MSR), which is one of the generation IV reactors, can meet the demand of transmutation and breeding. The thermodynamic properties of the molten salt system like LiF-NaF-BeF2 influence the design and construction of the fuel salt and coolant in the MSR for the new generation. In this paper, the equation of state of the ternary system 15%LiF-58%NaF-27%BeF2, over the temperature range from 873.15 to 1 073.15 K at one atmosphere pressure, is described using a modified Peng-Robinson (PR) equation. The densities of the ternary system and its components are estimated by this equation directly, and compared with the experimental data. Based on the equation of state, the other thermodynamic properties such as the enthalpy, entropy and heat capacity at constant pressure are ...

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Sorghum is a good candidate crop for breeding to increase provitamin A, i.e., biofortification. Yellow endosperm sorghums contain carotenoids, including precursors of vitamin A, and sorghum is a major staple crop in areas of Asia and Africa where vitamin A deficiency is prevalent. Our objective was to collect and characterize yellow endosperm sorghums as a potential new source of genetic diversity to increase provitamin A content. A set of 164 landraces were collected from southern Niger and northern Nigeria. The most important use of these cultivars was as food. The endosperm exhibited a significant variation in yellow intensity. Lutein, zeaxanthin and ?-carotene were the most abundant carotenoids in the ten landraces with the most intense yellow color. Cluster analysis, principal coordin...

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The Baobab tree (Adansonia digitata L.) is a key multipurpose species for the African region. In the recent years there has been an extended commercial interest for different A. digitata products. As a spectacular African key species there has been a growing interest from NGO?s and various research groups. A research group, focussing on the following countries Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, has participated in a concerted research action with cross counter disciplinary cooperation between plant physiology, population genetics, tree breeding, food science, and socioeconomics. This paper presents a review and the way knowledge gaps are being addressed using the above mentioned approach. The overall work was initiated in 2005?2006 when a large collection of A. digitata seeds was carried out in...

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Biogas, produced from anaerobic digestion of organic matter in domestic, industrial and rural wastewaters and residuals, represent an alternative and renewable source of energy, with growing use worldwide. In Brazil, high population and its spatial concentration and expressive agricultural and agricultural-industrial production indicate a substantial potential of biogas production. The results presented in this work show a potential of biogas production of almost 2 billion cubic feet a day of CH{sub 4}. Viability of biogas production and use depends substantially on project scale. Generally, biogas projects are viable from landfills and domestic wastewater treatment for populations higher than 50,000 inhabitants and swine and dairy farms with at least 5,000 and 1,000 animals, respectively. Biogas is also competitive when compared to fossil fuels used in industry and transport. Despite incentive mechanisms for biogas production and use, like Clean Development ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reproductive parameters were monitored in 50 post-partum Bos indicus x Bos taurus animals located on four farms in two ecological zones of Panama. Progesterone (P_4) concentrations were measured in four of these animals twice a week and their reproductive organs palpated per rectum once a week until 60 days post-artificial-insemination or post-natural-service. The other 46 cows were palpated for early pregnancy between days 45 and 60 post-service. The mean P_4 concentration in cows with palpable corpora lutea (CL) was 10.3#+-#4.0 nmol/L; when no Cl were detected, the mean P_4 level was 2.2#+-#1.6 nmol/L. Of the 46 animals palpated for early pregnancy, 36 (70%) were found to be pregnant, one (2%) exhibited early embryonic death and one (2%) aborted; the other eight cows (17%) were anoestrous. The mean P_4 concentration in pregnant cows was 11.9#+-#4.0 nmol/L and the calving to conception interval was 148 days. (author). 13 refs, 7 figs, 4 tabs.

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This study is part of a greater project from IPT (Sao Paulo's Institute of Technology), which foresaw an energetic use for elephant-grass (Pennisetum purpureum). Biomass gasification is an sustainable option for energy supply, which presents low pollutants emission rate and allows - through the global cycle of growing and consumption of feedstock (vegetables), a balance between consumption and production of carbonic gas, preventing an increase of the carbonic gas levels in the atmosphere. A gasifier was built with internal diameter of 400 mm and total height of 4600 mm . The equipment was tested for gasification of elephant-grass (Pennisetum purpureum) at a 100 kg/h rate. The equipment was tested and some constructive faults were detected. In the countryside, this biomass is commonly used for cattle feeding It was evaluated an adequate diesel-electric-generator. to work at hybrid regime, using 70% biomass gas and 30% diesel. With the equipment's ...

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An increase in forest production will be necessary in the future when wood becomes a major renewable source of energy and chemicals along with its traditional role of fibre source. This increase could eventually by achieved be proper selection and breeding of trees. Clonal forestry by vegetative propagation of cuttings is becoming a viable alternative to a seedling-based forestry with many advantages, and cutting could be used to quickly propagate large numbers of clones of control-pollinated seedlings. Most forest trees are propagated sexually and seed orchards were started in the US and Canada in the last 40-50 years for breeding purposes. Forests could ultimately be established with improved seedlings instead of from seed with unknown genetic potential, or by natural regeneration. Micropropagation is the term used to refer to the propagation of plants raised by tissue culture methods rather than from seeds or cuttings. Many clonal plantlets ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The research work carried out on mutation breeding in Egypt during the 1980s is summarized. Several mutations have been developed in bread wheat, maize, rice and barley. A higher yield, tolerance to salinity, shorter types and earliness were obtained after use of different mutagens and growth regulators. Great attention has been paid to the fababean and chickpea, particularly in improving their quality and quantity of protein, and their resistance to insect weevils such as Callosobruchus sp. Tolerance or resistance to broom rape has also been reported. Various grain legumes such as lentil, pea, cowpea, bean, fenugreek and lupin received some attention. Mutation work on fibre crops such as cotton, kenaf and flax has led to some promising results. Zero type, glandless and early maturing mutants were obtained in cotton, and early flowering, high yielding (fibre or oil) mutants in flax. Some attention has been given to oil crops such as sesame, rapeseed, peanuts, ...

Science.gov (United States)

Studies on nonseasonally breeding males have demonstrated that high titers of testosterone (T) stimulate reproduction, whereas high titers of prolactin (PRL) inhibit it. Recent evidence, however, suggests that for seasonally breeding males high titers of both PRL and T stimulate behaviors that support reproduction and mating. Thus, we hypothesized that high titers of both PRL and T are necessary and sufficient for male meadow voles to show a preference for the odor of long-photoperiod (LP) females. We tested this hypothesis by treating castrated LP males with bromocriptine and/or T, and by treating castrated short-photoperiod (SP) males with PRL and/or T. The data showed that high titers of both PRL and T are necessary for LP male meadow voles to maintain a preference for the odor of LP female meadow voles, but high titers of both hormones are not sufficient to induce SP males to show such a preference. Only SP males with high T and low PRL ...

Science.gov (United States)

Free-living male meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) emit odours that are attractive to females at the beginning, but not at the end, of the breeding season. The effect of gonadal hormones on female-attractant cues was examined in males born and reared in long (14 h light day-1) and short (10 h light day-1) photoperiods that simulate daylengths in the breeding and nonbreeding seasons, respectively. Gonadectomy affected the attractant properties of odours emitted by long photoperiod, but not short photoperiod, males. Long photoperiod females preferred odours of intact rather than those of gonadectomized long photoperiod males, and odours of gonadectomized long photoperiod males rather than those of intact short photoperiod males. Females did not show a preference between the odours of intact and castrated short photoperiod males. Gonadal hormone replacement in males affected female responses to the odours emitted by long photoperiod, but not ...

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The activation aspects of pure fusion and hybrid fusion technology is studied to assess the radioactive safety of various fusion concepts including tokamak pure fusion, fissile fuel producing hybrid and radio waste transmuting hybrid. The activation properties of breeding, coolant and structural materials in fusion reactors might be quite different from those in fission reactors because of the high energy D-T fusion neutrons from the fusion cores. A study on the involved activation reactions and the uncertainties of the associated nuclear cross-sections is carried. The activation properties of various first wall concepts and blanket concepts are discussed. The radioactive inventory during the operation lifetime and the potential hazard of the radioactive nuclides with respect to near term (reprocessing) and long term (waste disposal) aspects are calculated, with reference to ITER/NET (International Thermonuclear Experiment Reactor/Next European Torus), STARFIRE (a ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sesame varieties/genotypes showed a good response to radiation with gamma rays and treatments with EMS. In M_1 both gamma rays and EMS influenced germination, seedling height, survival of plants and pollen fertility/sterility, producing deleterious effects on these characters. Compared to black seeded genotypes, white seeded ones are more susceptible to radiation. Both gamma rays and EMS produced various types of morphological variations in M_2 generation. These were dwarf plant mutants, mottled and fleshy leaved mutants (sterile), fasciated stem, flower colour, altered phyllotaxy, early, uniculm, capsule size variations, multiple capsule/leaf axil, seed coat colour variations, indehiscent and semi-indehiscent type mutants. Moreover, studies on quantitative characters including seed yield revealed the induction of mutants in both positive and negative directions for such traits which made a good scope of selection of desirable mutants in M_2 generation. Mutants selected in M_2 were ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The design of solid breeder blankets is strongly affected by the low values of thermal conductivity and density of ceramic breeder pebble beds. A significant rise of both quantities would enhance the thermal performance and lead to an increased tritium breeding ratio. In order to improve these quantities pretreated lithium orthosilicate pebble material was dry pressed and subsequently sintered. The thermal conductivity of cylindrical pellets was determined by the heat pulse method using a laser flash device. A pebble bed characteristic sample was also investigated in order to check the measurement accuracy in comparison with previous results. Furthermore, two samples of low density cellular ceramics were also prepared by infiltration of polymer foams with a ceramic slurry. The thermal conductivity results show that the values are affected both by the particle size and the sample density. Thermal conductivity values of higher than 2 W/m K were obtained using large ...

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This document contains summary reports of stream habitat surveys, conducted in the Cowlitz River basin, by the Bureau of Fisheries (BOF, now National Marine Fisheries Service) from 1938-1942. These surveys were part of a larger project to survey streams in the Columbia River basin that provided, or had provided, spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead. The purpose of the survey was, as described by Rich, [open quotes]to determine the present condition of the various tributaries with respect to their availability and usefulness for the migration, breeding, and rearing of migratory fishes[close quotes]. Current estimates of the loss of anadromous fish habitat in the Columbia River Basin are based on a series of reports published from 1949-1952 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The reports were brief, qualitative accounts of over 5000 miles of stream surveys conducted by the BOF from 1934-1946. Despite their brevity, these BOF reports have formed ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

When a nuclear power station was installed on the Meuse in central Belgium, the impact of thermal, radioactive, and chemical waste on the water of the Neuse and on its biocenoses was studied. Three successive periods of development of the channel bed and the flood plain in Belgium have occurred, and their hydrological, physicochemical, and ecological consequences have been examined. Since the last century, the ecosystem of the Meuse has undergone, due to the increasing activity of man, modifications of increasing importance: marked reduction of the water flow, a drastic increase in the suspended material being transported, a degree of eutrophication of the water, and the disturbance of the original floral and faunal communities. The causes of this evolution of the Meuse can be itemized as different types of human interference in descending order of importance: (1) occupation of the catchment area; (2) encroachment on the flood plain; (3) encroachment on the channel bed; (4) destruction ...

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A 1,200 bird solar chicken brooder was indigenously designed and operated by the Indian scientists for the first time in the country as a Project under funding by the Ministry of Non Conventional Energy Sources to the All India Women`s Conference. This multi disciplinary project was taken up on the International Sun Day, May 3, 1993 and completed on May, 1994. Data has been collected for the first nine months of operation. Its successful operation has justified multi disciplinary approach. The solar chicken brooder incorporates modern poultry concepts of breeding under controlled temperatures. In view of the mixed climate of Delhi, provision was made for heating and cooling both to take care of the 24 hour cycle. Comfort conditions have been identified and maintained (as is done in the their genetic characteristics) at different temperatures for a period of 8--10 weeks to grow them to a uniform weight of 2.0 kg. Growing them under controlled temperature for the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Protocols were standardized for in vitro propagation of several elite and diverse banana accessions using shoot tip explants. Tissue culture raised plants were field planted at multiple locations. Studies were undertaken for the induction of mutations using multiple shoot cultures of six selected cultivars, Shreemanti (AAA), Basrai (AAA), Lal Kela (AAA), Rasthali (AAB), Karibale Monthan (ABB) and a wild diploid (BB). These shoot cultures were irradiated at different doses of gamma rays (0-100 Gy) and subcultured thrice (up to M_1V_3) to separate shimeras, followed by induction of rooting (M_1V_4). In general, the rate of multiplication had a negative association with the dose of gamma rays. Enhanced multiplication of shoots was noticed at lower doses. The proliferation of shoots was arrested beyond 50 Gy and a dose of 70 Gy was completely lethal for all the genotypes studied. The rooted plantlets were hardened in the green house and in the early stages of field growth, a few ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Multiplex PCR is practically a reasonable choice for molecular marker-assisted selection in potato breeding. We had developed and were using a multiplex PCR method for selection of resistance genes to cyst nematode (H1), Potato virus X (Rx1) and late blight (R1 and R2). Since then, more reliable and tightly linked markers for H1 and R2, and a new marker for resistance to Potato virus Y (Ry chc ) were developed. In this article, all these superior markers, including a positive marker to eliminate PCR-failed samples, were incorporated into one multiplex PCR assay. Using the newly developed multiplex PCR technique, five plants potentially harboring all five resistance genes were selected from 96 hybrid plants approximately 5?h after DNA extraction, which is a third of the operation time compa...

Science.gov (United States)

Global meat and milk consumption is exponentially increasing due to population growth, urbanization and changes in lifestyle in the developing world. This is an excellent opportunity for developing countries to improve the livestock sector by using technological advances. Biotechnology is one of the avenues for improved production in the "Livestock revolution". Biotechnology developments applied to livestock health, nutrition, breeding and reproduction are improving with a reasonable pace in developing countries. Simple bio-techniques such as artificial insemination have been well implemented in many parts of the developing world. However, advanced technologies including transgenic plant vaccines, marker assisted selection, solid state fermentation for the production of fibrolytic enzymes, transgenic fodders, embryo transfer and animal cloning are confined largely to research organizations. Some developing countries such as Taiwan, China and Brazil have considered ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The general development of variational methods for fusion reactor blanket studies is given. Important quantities such as tritium breeding ratio and total nuclear heating are linear functionals of the solutions to the Boltzmann transport equation. To estimate a neutronic quantity by variational methods is, in general, to carry out the scalar product formulation of the Roussopoulos variational principle, or the Schwinger variational principle, with the help of the associated adjoint transport equation where the appropriate response function for the estimate is taken as the source. A multipoint interpolation method based on the above variational principles has been developed and compared to other variational approaches. The method of variational interpolation removes the need to compute both forward and adjoint solutions while the error has the characteristic of cancellation of errors between interpolation reference points. Finally, the practical computational ...

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Producing nuclear energy in order to reduce anthropic CO{sub 2} emission and to meet high energy demand, implies three conditions to the nuclear plants of the IV. generation: safety improvements, radioactive waste minimization, and fuel breeding for a sustainable use of the resources. The Thorium fuel cycle used in Molten Salt Reactors seems promising. Many numerical studies based on probabilistic codes are carried out in order to analyse the behaviour of such reactors. Nevertheless, one of the most important parameters is badly known: the alpha ratio of {sup 233}U, ratio of the neutron capture cross section to fission one for {sup 233}U. This key-parameter is necessary to calculate the breeding ratio and thus, the deployment capacities of those reactors. This Ph-D thesis was intended to prepare a precise measurement of the alpha ratio of {sup 233}U between 1 eV and 10 keV. Preliminary measurements have been performed on the experimental ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nitrogen metabolism and protozoa production rate using "1"4C-choline as marker were studied on 9 adult male crossbred (Tharparker x Brown Swiss) rumen fistulated animals divided into 3 groups (A, B and C). All the animals were fed concentrate mixture and wheatstraw. However, groundnut cake (GNC) in concentrate mixture was untreated in group A, 50 per cent formaldehyde treated in group B and 100 per cent formaldehyde treated in group C. Although, DM intake was similar in these groups but water intake was significantly (P<0.05) higher in control group. Total-N, ammonia-N and blood urea were significantly lower in group B and C as compared to group A. Apparent CP digestibility was not affected by addition of formaldehyde treated GNC at 50 and 100 per cent levels. However, N balances increased significantly (P<0.05) due to addition of protected protein in diet. Protozoal pool as well as production rate were significantly (P<0.01) decreased due to formaldehyde treatment of GNC ...

Science.gov (United States)

Self-grooming in response to the odors of conspecifics is a form of olfactory communication among meadow voles. The amount of time meadow voles spend self-grooming when they encounter the odors of conspecifics varies seasonally, with males targeting the odors of reproductively active females only during the breeding season. Other odor related behaviors in male voles such as odor preferences for conspecifics and the attractiveness of their odors to conspecifics vary seasonally as well. For male meadow voles, these behaviors are mediated by seasonal variations in testosterone (T) and prolactin (PRL) titers. The objective of this study was to determine whether seasonal differences in the amount of time male meadow voles self-groom in response to odors of conspecifics are mediated by seasonal rhythms in their circulating T and PRL titers. We tested the hypothesis that high titers of both T and PRL are necessary for reproductively active (long-photoperiod; LP) males and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spontaneous mutation has been discovered and utilized in domestication of narrow-leafed lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.). As the result of the domestication, lupin has become a dominant grain legume crop in Western Australia. Facing the new challenge of developing herbicide tolerance cultivars, chemical mutagenesis has been used to create new tolerance to herbicide. This paper reports the characterization of two lupin mutants (Tanjil-AZ-33 and Tanjil-AZ-55) that are highly tolerant to metribuzin herbicide. A dose response study over 8 doses revealed that Tanjil-AZ-33 was 6 times more tolerant to metribuzin than the original parental cultivar Tanjil by measure of LD50. This mutant Tanjil-AZ-33 is the most tolerant germplasm in narrow-leafed lupin. Both mutants also maintain the high resistance to the disease anthracnose as cv Tanjil. Seed yield based on small field plots (3.6 m"2) under irrigation was 4.2 t/ha for Tanjil-AZ-33 and 1.9 t/ha for Tanjil when the seedlings subject to ...

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High oleic acid sunflower oils have been commercially available for some years now. Due to their high content of monounsaturated fatty acids these oils have a number of potential applications in the oleochemical industry, especially where technical oleic acids and their derivatives are used. Whereas conventional sunflower oil contains approx. 68% linoleic acid (C{sub 1}8:2), it is now possible through breeding measures to obtain ''new sunflower oils'' (NSb oils) with oleic acid levels of 70-95% oleic acid (C{sub 1}8:1). The oil itself is of interest for technical applications: it is light-coloured, has a neutral odour and is relatively resistant to oxidation. Plant oils, especially those with a low content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, are increasingly gaining interest as ester oils in technical application areas, e.g. as lubricants. However, there are limits to the technical applicability of triglycerides due to their ...

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Sufficient genetic diversity exists in Indian tree species to give large genetic gains. Improvement potential, using wild gene resources for selection and breeding is vast as there are over 244 genera and 400 forest tree species in India. Of these over 30 species and 22 genera are of outstanding forestry value. Selective genetic-variation can be lifted from wild populations, multiplied vegetatively or by seed, and planted with controlled germplasm sources. Among the Indian species no less than 74 reproduce by cutting, 11 by layers, 9 by grafting and buding and 104 by root suckers. More than 161 species coppice vigorously. Afforestation techniques of over 170 species have been worked out. Tree genetic approach of survey of natural variability, quick evaluation, selection, conservation multiplication and planting superior variability directly in the field can give immediate genetic gains. This article discusses genetic information on indigenous species for use of ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The objective of the study is to measure the neutron cross sections for the "5"9 Co (n, 2n) "5"8 Co reaction around the 14 MeV energy region. Neutron activation cross section for almost all the nuclei, mostly in the medium energy region e.g., 7 to 20 MeV are reported in literature. Neutron cross section data around 14 MeV is of immense importance for the design of D + T fusion reactors. The accuracy of the cross section data at this energy region is a requirement for correct prediction of reactor parameters e.g., tritium breeding, nuclear heating, induced activity, etc. In order to perform the experiment, the Co-sample sandwiched in Ni foils was irradiated employing the J-25 Neutron Generator at the AERE, Savar, Dhaka. After irradiation, the counting was done by the activation technique using a high resolution Hp Ge gamma ray spectrometer. The gamma ray spectra was analyzed in a Canberra series-40 Multi-channel Analyzer. Calculations for cross sections were done at ...

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Recent investigations have identified elevated concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (dioxins) in marine sediments and wildlife of Queensland, Australia. While it has been demonstrated that the contamination is widespread and predominantly land-based, limited information exists on the pathways and fate of these compounds within the near-shore marine system. This environment supports unique and threatened species including green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas). Adult green turtles are predominantly herbivorous, feeding on seagrass and algae. Apart from initial migration to feeding grounds (at {proportional_to}10 years of age) and intermittent migrations to breeding grounds (at {proportional_to}30-50 years and thereafter), green turtles remain and feed within relatively small home ranges. Long life-span (50 years or more), near-shore feeding grounds and highly specialized food requirements render green turtles potentially vulnerable to contaminant ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In June 1997, the US Navy plans to close its Naval Air Facility on Sand Island and transfer the atoll to the US Fish and Wildlife Service for use as a National Wildlife Refuge. Midway provides breeding and feeding habitat for migratory seabirds, terrestrial and marine mammals, sea turtles and other reptiles, and a variety of reef fishes and invertebrates. As part of the base closure and transfer process, 36 sites of potential environmental concern were identified on Sand and Eastern islands. These sites include landfills and uncontrolled disposal areas, hazardous materials storage areas, abandoned transformers, sewer outfalls, and other potential hazardous waste sites. Potential contaminants include pesticides, PAHs, PCBs, and heavy metals. A screening ecological risk assessment was performed at each site with a goal of determining whether contaminants could pose any current or future risks to protected migratory bird or marine mammal wildlife species. Specific ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The `biotechnology 2000` project is supervised by the project sponsor `biology, energy, ecology` at Forschungszentrum Juelich on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Research and Technology. The project activities cover the development of techniques and methods, cell biology, gene structure and gene regulation, photosynthetic production processes, biological hydrogen production, synthetic biology, protein design, neurobiological research, biosystems, plant breeding, phytomedicine and plant protection, the biology of waste disposal methods, research into methods which replace animal experiments, biological safety research, technology risk assessment, and ethical aspects. A general survey introduces the promoted projects, and standardized data sheets briefly introduce the individual activities. The appendix gives the project indices, the indices of joint projects, a list of the supported companies and institutions, and the project sponsor flowsheet. (orig.) [Deutsch] ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The existence of problems with wild pigs (Sus scrofa) is nothing new to the Western Hemisphere. Damage by these introduced animals was reported as far back as 1505 by the early Spanish colonies in the Caribbean, where wild pigs were killing the colonists cattle. Droves of these animals also ravaged cultivated crops of maize and sugarcane on islands in the West Indies during this same time period. These wild pigs reportedly were very aggressive and often attacked Spanish soldiers hunting rebellious Indians or escaped slaves on these islands, especially when these animals were cornered. The documentation of such impacts by introduced populations of this species in the United States has subsequently increased in recent years, and continued up through the present (Towne and Wentworth. 1950, Wood and Barrett 1979, Mayer and Brisbin 1991, Dickson et al. 2001). In spite of a fairly constant history in this country since the early 1900s, wild pigs have had a dramatic ...