Search

Vietnamese smallholder dairy cows (VDC) are the result of crossbreeding between different zebu (ZEB) and taurine dairy breeds through many undefined generations. Thus, the predominant breed composition of VDC is currently unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the level of genetic diversity and breed composition of VDC. The SNP data of 344 animals from 32 farms located across four dairy regions of Vietnam were collected and merged with genomic reference data, which included three ZEB breeds: Red Sindhi, Sahiwal and Brahman, three taurine breeds: Holstein (HOL), Jersey (JER) and Brown Swiss (BSW), and a composite breed: Chinese Yellow cattle. Diversity and admixture analyses were applied to the merged data set. The VDC were not excessively inbred, as indicated by very low inbreeding coefficients (Wright's FIS ranged from −0.017 to 0.003). The genetic fractions in the test herds suggested that the VDC are primarily composed of HOL (85.0%); however, JER (6.0%), BSW 5.3%) and ZEB (4.5%) had also contributed. Furthermore, major genotype groupings in the test herds were pure HOL (48%), B3:15/16HOL_1/16ZEB (22%) and B2:7/8HOL_1/8ZEB (12%). The genetic makeup of the VDC is mainly components of various dairy breeds but also has a small percentage of ZEB; thus, the VDC could be a good genetic base for selecting high milk‐producing cows with some degree of adaptation to tropical conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In smallholder crop–livestock systems where maize (Zea mays L.) is a staple cereal, the stover is usually an important but low‐quality ruminant feed. Maize stover has various competing uses, and optimal allocation of stover, particularly for forage and mulch, is essential for improving whole‐farm productivity and sustainability. Knowledge that feed quality increases with height in maize stover provides opportunities. An experiment investigated the effects of a high cutting height of stover at grain harvest (cut at two internodes below the lowest ear) on the yields and feed quality of the upper and lower stover (stubble) fractions. Measurements were made on six maize genotypes at two sites during two cropping seasons in Ethiopia. The upper stover fraction (USF) on average comprised 674 g kg–1 of the entire stover and was also substantially higher (P <.001) than the lower stover fraction (LSF) in in vitro dry matter digestibility (527 vs. 450 g kg−1 dry matter [DM]) and total N concentrations (8.8 vs. 6.2 g kg−1 DM) and was lower in fiber. Stems (including leaf sheath and tassel), husks (including shank), and leaf blade comprised 484, 310, and 206 g kg−1 of the USF, respectively. Yields and feed quality of stover varied among genotypes and environments. Use of an USF can provide a feedstuff of increased nutritional quality for ruminants, but the efficacy of the LSF for mulch requires investigation. In conclusion, a simple management change to harvest maize stover at higher stubble height combined with use of appropriate genotypes can provide higher‐quality feed while leaving stubble for conservation agriculture. Core Ideas: Harvesting maize stover at high stubble height provides an upper fraction with improved feed quality.Maize genotypes with higher yields of both grain and stover fractions were identified.High stubble height and genotype choice enhance optimal allocation of stover fractions for feed and mulch.Partitioning of maize stover into fractions is valuable to optimize demands for feed and mulch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies have reported significant differences in baseline characteristics and outcomes of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients when managed in private versus public hospitals. Aims: To compare disease, treatment and survival outcomes of patients with mCRC in public versus private hospitals in South Australia (SA). Methods: Analysis of prospectively collected data from the SA mCRC Registry. Patterns of care and outcome data according to location of care and socioeconomic status based on Index of Relative Socio‐Economic Advantage and Disadvantage were analysed. Results: A total of 3470 patients' data was analysed during February 2006–January 2015. The majority (70%) of patients received treatment in public hospitals. Patients in the upper 50% for Index of Relative Socio‐Economic Advantage and Disadvantage score were more likely to receive treatment at a private hospital (41.2% vs 21.56%) compared to <50%. Public patients had higher burden of disease (10.49% vs 7.41%, P = 0.005). Public patients received less treatment compared to the private patients (odds ratio = 0.48 (0.38–0.61), P = 0.01) and rates of surgical resections were lower in public patients. After adjusting for the covariates, public patients survive 1.33 months (P = 0.025) shorter than private patients with follow‐up time of 5 years. Patients receiving metastasectomy and more than three lines of treatment were shown to have the greatest survival benefit. Conclusion: Public patients have a higher burden of disease and in comparison are less likely to receive systemic therapy and have lower survival than patients treated in private hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I argue that genuine ethical deliberation, and hence ethical agency, is incompatible in principle with the possession of determinate practical prescriptions concerning how best to act in a concrete ethical situation. I make this argument principally by way of an analogy between gameplay and ethical deliberation. I argue that trivially solved games of perfect information (the example I use is tic‐tac‐toe) are, or become, in some sense unplayable for the individual for whom the game is trivially solved. The reason for this, I suggest, is that there ceases to be space within the game for the distinction between that individual being a better and being a worse player of the game. I then use this example as an occasion to reflect on the kind of epistemic indeterminacy that appears to be a condition of genuine ethical deliberation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional use of Scotch tape for exfoliating layers of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) has been compared with a gel-assisted mechanical exfoliation technique, using MoS2 as a representative TMD. The gel-assisted exfoliation process, which makes use of both Scotch tape and a gel film, is superior to the use of Scotch tape alone, as it gives a higher probability of obtaining larger surface area few-layer flakes. A quantitative analysis has been made between the samples prepared by the two techniques. The total density of flakes transferred onto a sample by Scotch tape alone was much higher than when using the gel film. However, most of the transferred flakes were several microns in thickness with lateral dimensions <10 µm. Therefore, the higher percentage of few-layer flakes with large lateral dimensions (> 20 µm) transferred using gel film is very advantageous. Since samples prepared using gel film have fewer flakes, the contacting of potential thin flakes on the sample can be done conveniently. Also, unlike Scotch tape, the gel film does not leave adhesive residue on the substrate. Optical microscopy, contrast difference measurements and Raman spectroscopy were used for identification of the few-layer MoS2 flakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blindness might be described as a biological condition, and thus remedies could be in the realm of biotechnology. However, the convergence of information technology and cognitive science offers great opportunities for understanding and helping blind children as they learn mathematics, the crosscutting discipline most important for all branches of science and engineering. This article outlines our logic and approach for providing blind students with awareness of the embodiment of their teachers to maintain situated communication. First, we shall show that math discourse is inherently spatiotemporal, and that this information is carried by gesticulation in conjunction with speech. Second, we shall explore the capacity of those who are blind for the imagism necessary for mathematics reasoning. Third, we shall advance a set of augmentative devices suggested by our analysis. Finally, we shall outline our ongoing experiments to validate our rationale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the integration of speech and gesture in children. Role of gesture in the analysis of language systems; Manifestation in modes of speech-gesture combination; Difference between conventional and nonconventional gestures.

Presents information on a study which re-examined the relation of linearity of body build to adolescent maturation rate in women. Suggestion of the failure of ectomorphy to make a unique contribution to the relation of body build and maturational rate; General statements made about female physique in relation to maturation; Relation of linearity of build in preadolescence with subsequent menarcheal age; Index of maturation rate.

Examines the relation between physique and maturation rate in male adolescents. Somatotype components of body growth; Distinctions between mesomorphic and ectomorphic built; Implications of the average age of reaching full height on maturation.