Production of Lambs After the Transfer of Fresh and Cryopreserved in vitro Produced Embryos from Prepubertal Lamb Oocytes and Unsorted and Sex-sorted Frozen-thawed Spermatozoa

Cumulus-oocyte complexes from hormone-stimulated 3-4-week-old (n=43) and 6-7-week-old (n=12) prepubertal lambs were matured in vitro and incubated with unsorted, or X- or Y-spermatozoa separated with a high-speed cell sorter (SX MoFlo)frozen-thawed. Presumptive zygotes were then cultured to the blastocyst stage, and transferred to recipients fresh or after cryopreservation (frozen). Oocyte cleavage was higher (p <0.05) with unsorted (515/926, 55.6%) than X- or Y-spermatozoa (261/672, 38.8% and 229/651, 35.2%, respectively) and blastocyst formation (% zygotes) by Day 9 of in vitro culture was lower (p <0.05) for X- (102/261, 39.1%) than unsorted spermatozoa (249/515, 48.3%), but did not differ between Y-spermatozoa (103/229, 45.0%) and unsorted spermatozoa, or between X- and Y-spermatozoa (p >0.05). For fresh embryos, survival to term was 50.0% (3/6) for unsorted, 0.0% (0/6) for X- and 16.7% (1/6) for Y-spermatozoa-derived embryos (p >0.05), and for frozen embryos was 4.0% (2/50) for unsorted, 9.1% (2/22) for X- and 2.9% (1/34) Y-spermatozoa-derived embryos (p >0.05). Of the two lambs born from X-spermatozoa-derived embryos, one was female (50%), and from the two Y-spermatozoa-derived lambs, both were male (100%), demonstrating that lambs can be produced after the transfer of fresh and cryopreserved IVP embryos derived from prepubertal lamb oocytes and frozen-thawed sex-sorted sperm.     

Energy Boom and Gloom? Local Effects of Oil and Natural Gas Drilling on Subjective Well‐Being

Prior to the precipitous drop in oil prices in 2014, the U.S. had experienced a substantial increase in oil and natural gas extraction due to technological advancements including horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. This increased energy development likely created both benefits and costs, but the net effects for local residents are not well understood. This paper examines the effects of conventional and horizontal oil and natural gas drilling in Texas on subjective assessments of life‐satisfaction and bad mental health days for nearby residents. Horizontal drilling has statistically significant deleterious effects on well‐being, but the effects are driven by the Dallas‐Fort Worth (DFW) metropolitan area, an area with both very high levels of horizontal drilling and a large urban population.     

Seasonal interaction of serum vitamin D concentration and bone density in alpacas

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate temporal changes in bone mineral density associated with seasonal variation in serum vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus concentrations in alpacas. ANIMALS: 5 healthy mature neutered male alpacas. PROCEDURE: Metacarpal bone mineral density was measured at 4 times during a year. Each time alpacas were weighed, blood was collected for determination of serum calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D concentrations, and samples of feed were analyzed for nutrient content. Vitamin D status was determined by use of an assay that measured serum 25-hydroxycalciferol concentration. Effects of changes in serum vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus concentration and body weight with season on bone mineral density were determined. RESULTS: Bone mineral density, body weight, and serum vitamin D and phosphorus concentrations varied with season. Bone mineral density, serum vitamin D concentration, and body weight also varied among individual alpacas. Serum vitamin D concentration was lower in January than the previous October and increased from May to the following September. The decrease in bone mineral density lagged behind the decrease in serum vitamin D concentration and was lower in May, compared with the previous October. Body weight was lower in May than the previous October or following September. Solar radiation was highest in July and lowest in December. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Seasonal changes in bone mineral density are associated with changes in serum vitamin D concentrations in alpacas. Changes in bone mineral density associated with a decline in serum vitamin D concentration may predispose some alpacas to developing fractures minimal trauma.     

Pressure-induced Amorphization of R-Al5Li3Cu: A Structural Relation Among Amorphous Metals, Quasi-Crystals, and Curved Space

A central question in the study of amorphous materials is the extent to which they are ordered. When the crystalline intermetallic R-Al(5)Li(3)Cu is compressed to 23.2 gigapascals at ambient temperature, an amorphous phase is produced whose order can be described as defects in a curved-space crystal. This result supports a structural relation between quasi-crystals and amorphous metals based on icosahedral ordering. This result also shows that a metallic crystal can be made amorphous by compression.     

Device Applications of Side-Chain Ferroelectric Liquid Crystalline Polymer Films

Side-chain ferroelectric liquid crystalline polymers are currently used in a number of applications, including displays and electrical sensors. Comparisons with existing technologies and materials indicate that relative to ceramics, such polymers have lower figures of merit but offer greater durability in sensor applications.     

Distribution and seasonal prevalence of bovine lungworms in selected areas in western Montana.

In a survey (Oct, 1967, through Aug, 1969) of the distribution and seasonal prevalence of bovine lungworms in beef herds in 3 western Montana counties (Park, Gallatin, and Ravalli), infected cattle were detected in 27 of 35 herds. Results of 2,125 fecal examinations indicated that 7.8% of all cattle were infected with Dictyocaulus viviparus. Lungworms were found in 6.6% of 1,038 calves (less than 12 months old), 11.5% of 755 yearlings (1 to 2 years old), and 3.3% of 332 cows (more than 2 years old). A distinct seasonal pattern existed in calf infections, with initial passage of larvae beginning in late July or August and persisting until November or December. Exposure of calves in 1 portion of the study area apparently was delayed until November, with patent infections continuing through March. Spontaneous loss of infections normally occurred after 3 to 4 months of patency. The mean rate of larval excretion in the feces of all infected cattle was 0.37 larvae per gram of feces (l/g). Larval output was relatively uniform within each geographic area regardless of host age, but varied considerably from one portion of the study area to another. The potential role of wild ruminants (deer, elk, and moose) in the epizootiology of D viviparus is discussed with respect to western range utilization practices.     

Latent and active polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in red clover (Trifolium pratense) and use of a low PPO mutant to study the role of PPO in proteolysis reduction

Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity in leaf extracts of wild type (WT) red clover and a mutant line expressing greatly reduced levels of PPO (LP red clover) has been characterized. Both latent and active forms of PPO were present, with the latent being the predominant form. PPO enzyme and substrate (phaselic acid) levels fluctuated over a growing season and were not correlated. Protease activation of latent PPO was demonstrated; however, the rate was too low to have an immediate effect following extraction. A novel, more rapid PPO activation mechanism by the enzyme's own substrate was identified. Rates of protein breakdown and amino acid release were significantly higher in LP red clover extracts compared with WT extracts, with 20 versus 6% breakdown of total protein and 1.9 versus 0.4 mg/g FW of free amino acids released over 24 h, respectively. Inclusion of ascorbic acid increased the extent of protein breakdown. Free phenol content decreased during a 24 h incubation of WT red clover extracts, whereas protein-bound phenol increased and high molecular weight protein species were formed. Inhibition of proteolysis occurred during wilting and ensilage of WT compared with LP forage (1.9 vs 5 and 17 vs 21 g/kg of DM free amino acids for 24 h wilted forage and 90 day silage, respectively). This study shows that whereas constitutive red clover PPO occurs predominantly in the latent form, this fraction can contribute to reducing protein breakdown in crude extracts and during ensilage.     

Ranking Authors and Institutions by Publications in Regional Science Journals: 2010–2014

In this paper, authors and institutions are ranked based on the number of publications in 10 core regional science journals during the period 2010–2014. Alternative rankings are constructed by considering only publications in the top four of the 10 journals and also by adjusting for journal impact factors. Two impact factors are calculated for each regional science journal. The first is based on citations by the other nine core regional science journals, and the second by citations from all journals in the database Scopus. Discussion is included regarding the patterns and consistency of the rankings across alternative criteria. Comparisons also are made to previous regional science publication rankings of authors and institutions.     

Multiple measurements constrain estimates of net carbon exchange by a Eucalyptus forest

Net ecosystem exchange of carbon (F_NEE) was estimated for a temperate broadleaf, evergreen eucalypt forest ecosystem at Tumbarumba in south-eastern Australia to investigate the processes controlling forest carbon sinks and their response to climate. Measurements at a range of temporal and spatial scales were used to make three different estimates of F_NEE based on: (1) the difference between fluxes of carbon input by photosynthesis and output by autotrophic plus heterotrophic respiration, (2) changes over time in the carbon pools in the above- and below-ground biomass, soil and litter, and (3) micrometeorological flux measurements that provide a continuous estimate of the net exchange. A rigorous comparison of aggregated component fluxes and the net eddy fluxes within a flux tower source area was achieved based on an inventory of the site and a detailed sampling strategy. Measurements replicated in space and time provided mean values, confidence limits and patterns of variation of carbon pools and fluxes that allowed comparisons within known limits of uncertainty. As a result of comparisons between nighttime eddy flux and chamber measurements of respiration, a revised micrometeorological method was developed for estimating nighttime carbon flux using flux tower measurements. Uncertainty in the final estimate of F_NEE was reduced through mutual constraints of each of these measurement approaches. F_NEE for the period October 2001–September 2002, with average rainfall, was an uptake of 6.7 (5.1–8.3) tC ha^?1 yr^?1 estimated from component fluxes, and 5.4 (3.0–7.5) tC ha^?1 yr^?1 estimated from the revised eddy flux method. Biomass increment was 4.5 (3.7–5.4) tC ha^?1 yr^?1 and the remaining 0.9–2.2 tC ha^?1 yr^?1 could represent a carbon sink in the soil and litter pools or lie within the confidence limits of the measured fluxes. F_NEE was reduced to ?0.1 to 2.4 tC ha^?1 yr^?1 during a period of drought and insect disturbance in October 2002–September 2003, with biomass increment being the main component reduced. The forest is a large carbon sink compared with other forest ecosystems, but this is subject to high-annual variability in response to climate variability and disturbance.