Feeding value of pastures for horses

The feeding value of fresh pasture grazed in situ is determined by animal performance or productivity and could be relatively easily established for growing and lactating horses. Despite this, there is a lack of published information on the relative feeding value of different pastures and forages grazed by horses in New Zealand and the world. In addition, for adult breeding or non-breeding and young or adult sport or performance horses, the definition of feeding value and its determination remain problematic. Limited information suggests that the feeding value of perennial ryegrass-based pasture in New Zealand for young growing horses is high, and growth rates for Thoroughbred horses fed solely on pasture in New Zealand are similar to those reported from the Northern Hemisphere where grain-based supplements are fed in addition to pasture or other forages. Attempts to assess the ability of fresh pastures to meet the nutrient requirements of horses are hampered by problems associated with determination of feed intake by grazing horses and lack of knowledge of the digestibility and utilisation of digested nutrients, including the relative bioavailability of macro- and micro-minerals in pasture. A further challenge for future research is to determine the effect of herbage allowance and grazing behaviour, including pasture species preferences, on voluntary feed intake by grazing horses. Grazing pasture has benefits for equine health and well-being including reduced risk of some nutrition-related disorders and reduced prevalence of stereotypic behaviour. Pastured horses have greater freedom for expression of natural behaviours including social interaction and exercise. However, grazing pasture is also associated with animal health problems, particularly parasitism and diseases related to pasture-associated toxins.     

The effect of high correlated colour temperature office lighting on employee wellbeing and work performance

Background  

The effects of lighting on the human circadian system are well-established. The recent discovery of 'non-visual' retinal receptors has confirmed an anatomical basis for the non-image forming, biological effects of light and has stimulated interest in the use of light to enhance wellbeing in the corporate setting.     

Spatial Variability of Turbulent Mixing in the Abyssal Ocean

Ocean microstructure data show that turbulent mixing in the deep Brazil Basin of the South Atlantic Ocean is weak at all depths above smooth abyssal plains and the South American Continental Rise. The diapycnal diffusivity there was estimated to be less than or approximately equal to 0.1 x 10(-4) meters squared per second. In contrast, mixing rates are large throughout the water column above the rough Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and the diffusivity deduced for the bottom-most 150 meters exceeds 5 x 10(-4) meters squared per second. Such patterns in vertical mixing imply that abyssal circulations have complex spatial structures that are linked to the underlying bathymetry.     

Near extinction of a large, widely distributed fish

Are extinctions of marine vertebrates as rare and unlikely as current data indicate? Long-term research surveys on the continental shelf between the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and southern New England reveal that one of the largest skates in the northwest Atlantic, the barndoor skate (Raja laevis), is close to extinction. Forty-five years ago, research surveys on St. Pierre Bank (off southern Newfoundland) recorded barndoor skates in 10% of their tows; in the last 20 years, none has been caught, and this pattern of decline is similar throughout the range of the species.     

Ordering of ruthenium cluster carbonyls in mesoporous silica

The anionic ruthenium cluster carbonylates [Ru6C(CO)16]2- or [H2Ru10(CO)25]2- interspersed with bis(triphenylphosphino)iminium counterions (PPN+) are incorporated from solution into the pores of MCM-41 mesoporous silica (3 nanometers in diameter), where they form tightly packed arrays. These arrays were shown by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform optical diffraction, and computer simulations to be well ordered both along and perpendicular to the axis of the cylindrical pores. In their denuded state produced by gentle thermolysis, the cluster carbonylates yield nanoparticles of ruthenium that are less well ordered than their assimilated precursors but show good activity as hydrogenation catalysts for hexene and cyclooctene. In both their as-prepared and denuded states, these encapsulated clusters are likely to exhibit interesting electronic and other properties.