A long-snouted predatory dinosaur from africa and the evolution of spinosaurids

Fossils discovered in Lower Cretaceous (Aptian) rocks in the Tenere Desert of central Niger provide new information about spinosaurids, a peculiar group of piscivorous theropod dinosaurs. The remains, which represent a new genus and species, reveal the extreme elongation and transverse compression of the spinosaurid snout. The postcranial bones include blade-shaped vertebral spines that form a low sail over the hips. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that the enlarged thumb claw and robust forelimb evolved during the Jurassic, before the elongated snout and other fish-eating adaptations in the skull. The close phylogenetic relationship between the new African spinosaurid and Baryonyx from Europe provides evidence of dispersal across the Tethys seaway during the Early Cretaceous.     

Corpus Luteum Development and Function after Supplementation of Long‐Acting Progesterone During the Early Luteal Phase in Beef Cattle

Strategic supplementation of P4 may be used to increase conception rates in cattle, but timing of supplementation in relation to ovulation, mass of supplementary P4 and formulation of the P4‐containing supplement has not been determined for beef cattle. Effects of supplementation of long‐acting progesterone (P4) on Days 2 or 3 post‐ovulation on development, function and regression of corpus luteum (CL) were studied in beef cattle. Cows were synchronized with an oestradiol/P4‐based protocol and treated with 150 or 300 mg of long‐acting P4 on Day 2 or 3 post‐ovulation (6–7 cows/group). Colour‐doppler ultrasound scanning and blood sample collection were performed from Day 2–21.5. Plasma P4 concentrations were greater (p < 0.05) from Day 2.5–5.5 in the Day 2‐treated groups and from Day 3.5–5.5 in the Day 3‐treated cows than in the control group. CL area and blood flow during Day 2–8.5 did not differ (p > 0.05) among groups, suggesting no effect of P4 treatment on luteal development. The frequency of cows that began luteolysis before Day 15 was greater (p < 0.04) in cows treated with 300 mg than in the controls, but there were no differences between non‐treated and 150 mg‐treated cows. The interval from pre‐treatment ovulation to functional and structural luteolysis was shorter (p < 0.01) in the combined P4‐treated groups than in the control cows. In conclusion, was showed for the first time that long‐acting P4 supplementation on Day 2 or 3 post‐ovulation increases P4 concentrations for ≥3 day, has no effect on luteal development, but anticipates the beginning of luteolysis in beef cattle.     

Land-use allocation protects the Peruvian Amazon

Disturbance and deforestation have profound ecological and socioeconomic effects on tropical forests, but their diffuse patterns are difficult to detect and quantify at regional scales. We expanded the Carnegie forest damage detection system to show that, between 1999 and 2005, disturbance and deforestation rates throughout the Peruvian Amazon averaged 632 square kilometers per year and 645 square kilometers per year, respectively. However, only 1 to 2% occurred within natural protected areas, indigenous territories contained only 11% of the forest disturbances and 9% of the deforestation, and recent forest concessions effectively protected against clear-cutting. Although the region shows recent increases in disturbance and deforestation rates and leakage into forests surrounding concession areas, land-use policy and remoteness are serving to protect the Peruvian Amazon.     

Two Calorimetrically Distinct States of Liquid Water Below 150 Kelvin

Vapor-deposited amorphous solid and hyperquenched glassy water were found to irreversibly transform, on compression at 77 kelvin, to a high-density amorphous solid. On heating at atmospheric pressure, this solid became viscous water (water B), with a reversible glass-liquid transition onset at 129 +/- 2 kelvin. A different form of viscous water (water A) was formed by heating the uncompressed vapor-deposited amorphous solid and hyperquenched liquid water. On thermal cycling up to 148 kelvin, water B remained kinetically and thermodynamically distinct from water A. The occurrence of these two states, which do not interconvert, helps explain both the configurational relaxation of water and stress-induced amorphization.     

Linking vegetation patterns to environmental gradients and human impacts in a mediterranean-type island ecosystem

Vegetation patterns at the landscape scale are shaped by myriad processes and historical events, and understanding the relative importance of these processes aids in predicting current and future plant distributions. To quantify the influence of different environmental and anthropogenic patterns on observed vegetation patterns, we used simultaneous autoregressive modeling to analyze data collected by the Carnegie Airborne Observatory over Santa Cruz Island (SCI; California, USA). SCI is a large continental island, and its limited suite of species and well documented land use history allowed us to consider many potential determinants of vegetation patterns, such as topography, substrate, and historical grazing intensity. As a metric of vegetation heterogeneity, we used the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) stratified into three vegetation height classes using LiDAR (short, medium, and tall). In the SAR models topography and substrate type were important controls, together explaining 8–15 % of the total variation in NDVI, but historical grazing and spatial autocorrelation were also key components of the models, together explaining 17–21 % of the variation in NDVI. Optimal spatial autocorrelation distances in the short and medium height vegetation models (600–700 m) were similar to the home range sizes of two crucial seed dispersers on the island– the island fox (Urocyon littoralis santacruzae) and the island scrub-jay (Aphelocoma insularis)—suggesting that these animals may be important drivers of the island’s vegetation patterns. This study highlights the importance of dynamic processes like dispersal limitation and disturbance history in determining present-day vegetation patterns.     

Investigation of the association between the interval from internal teat sealant administration to calving and early lactation clinical mastitis in New Zealand dairy heifers

AIMS: To examine the association between the interval from internal teat sealant (ITS) administration to calving and the incidence of farmer-recorded clinical mastitis in the first 30 days of lactation in pasture-based dairy heifers.

METHODS: Heifers that were administered an ITS by a single veterinary business in the South Island of New Zealand over the winter of 2014 were enrolled in a cross-sectional observational study. ITS was administered to all heifers on each participating farm on a single calendar day. The dates of calving and farmer-diagnosed clinical mastitis were recorded by farm staff. The interval from ITS administration to calving was categorised into four approximately evenly sized groups: <35, 35–48, 49–69 and >69 days. The quartile of the farm’s calving period in which each heifer calved was also investigated as a potential confounding variable. A hierarchical logistic regression model was constructed to determine the association between the interval from ITS administration to calving with the odds of clinical mastitis in the first 30 days of lactation.

RESULTS: Analysis was performed on 7,126 eligible heifers from 31 farms, with ITS administered between 9 May and 11 July 2014. The mean interval from ITS administration to calving was 52.9 (SD 24.4, min 1, max 137) days. Clinical mastitis was diagnosed in 420/7,126 (5.9 (95% CI=5.4–6.5)%) heifers between calving and day 30 of lactation. In the final multivariable model, which included calving period quartile, interval from ITS administration to calving was not associated with the odds of clinical mastitis (p=0.516). Compared to an interval from ITS administration to calving of <35 days, the adjusted OR of clinical mastitis for intervals of 35–48, 49–69 and >69 days were 0.83 (95% CI=0.59–1.17), 0.71 (95% CI=0.45–1.11) and 0.68 (95% CI=0.36–1.29), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Within the range of intervals from ITS administration to calving observed in this study, there was no association with the odds of clinical mastitis in the first 30 days of lactation in dairy heifers. This study suggests that veterinary clinics may be able to extend their ITS administration service and treat dairy heifers earlier than the current recommendation of approximately 4 weeks before the planned start of calving.