Competitiveness of management-intensive grazing dairies in the mid-Atlantic region from 1995 to 2009.

This paper used farm income tax returns (Schedule F) data from 62 dairy farmers who milked 200 cows or fewer in western and central Maryland and southwestern Pennsylvania (hereafter, the mid-Atlantic region) to assess the relative financial performance of management-intensive grazing (MIG) and confinement dairy operations over the 15-yr period from 1995 through 2009. Data were not available from all farmers in all years; on average, the sample analyzed contained 11 MIG farms and 26 confinement farms. Management-intensive grazing operators were more profitable on a per hundredweight, per cow, and per acre basis, and no less profitable on a whole-farm basis. Even though the confinement operators had higher gross income than MIG operators, their expenses exceeded those of MIG operators. Profits of MIG operations were less variable as well, so that MIG operators faced less income risk. Increased reliance on grazing has other benefits as well. Grazing seems to be a much healthier practice for dairy cows. Veterinary, breeding, and medicine costs per cow are much less for cows that are pastured than those raised in confinement systems. Because they are healthier, cows that are grazed can be milked longer (or culled less frequently). As a result, MIG operators have a larger number of higher quality animals for sale (e.g., bred heifers). Management-intensive operations are also less labor intensive. Reductions in crop production and in the time cows spend in the barn led to significant reductions in field work and cleaning operations in the barn. Costs of hired labor were thus substantially lower in MIG operations than in confinement operations. Land requirements likely impose the principal limitation on the size of intensive grazing operations. In the mid-Atlantic, for instance, grazing operations need 1.5 to 2.0 acres of pasture for every dairy cow/calf equivalent to provide sufficient grass to support a dairy operation. Pasture land for MIG operators must be contiguous to the milking parlor and located no farther than a cow can walk to and from twice a day. That requirement likely limits the maximum size of an intensive grazing operation, especially in areas where land prices and rents are high, as they are in much of the mid-Atlantic.

Development of a deuterium-ice extruder for inertial confinement fusion experiments on the Z Facility.

A deuterium-ice extruder has been developed for inertial confinement fusion experiments on the Sandia National Laboratories Z Facility. The screw-driven extruder is filled via desublimation, where a slow flow of deuterium gas enters the extruder cavity and freezes to the walls without entering the liquid phase. Ice generated in this manner is optically clear, demonstrating its high uniformity. When the extruder cavity is filled with ice, the screw is driven downward, closing off the gas-fill line. With the ice cavity isolated, further screw rotation compresses the deuterium through a nozzle, extruding a fiber. Fiber diameters ranging from 200 to 500 µm have been extruded to lengths of 1.5 feet before hitting the vacuum chamber floor. The fiber straightness improves with the nozzle length-to-diameter aspect ratio. Deuterium-ice fibers can persist in high vacuum for more than 10 min before breaking free from the nozzle. The peripheral infrastructure required for Z experimental operations is under development. An in-vacuum stepper-motor-based drive system will allow remote operation, and a translating cathode will ensure proper placement of the fiber in the powerflow hardware.

Inverse CeO2/CuO catalyst as an alternative to classical direct configurations for preferential oxidation of CO in hydrogen-rich stream.

A novel inverse CeO(2)/CuO catalyst for preferential oxidation of CO in H(2)-rich stream (CO-PROX) has been developed on the basis of a hypothesis extracted from previous work of the group (JACS 2007, 129, 12064). Possible separation of the two competing oxidation reactions involved in the process (of CO and H(2), respectively) is the key to modulation of overall CO-PROX activity and is based on involvement of different sites as most active ones for each of the two reactions. Achievement of large size CuO particles and adequate CeO(2)-CuO interfacial configurations in the inverse catalyst apparently allows appreciable enhancement of the catalytic properties of this kind of system for CO-PROX, constituting an interesting alternative to classic direct configurations so far explored for this process. Reasons for such behavior are analyzed on the basis of operando-XRD, -XAFS, and -DRIFTS studies.

A quantitative method for analysis of in vitro neurite outgrowth.

The adult mammalian CNS is extremely limited in its ability to regenerate axons following injury. Glial scar, neuroinflammatory processes and molecules released from myelin impair axonal regrowth and contribute to the lack of neural regeneration. An in vitro assay that quantitates neurite outgrowth from cultured neurons as a model of neuronal regenerative potential is described. Specifically, the neurite outgrowth from primary neurons (rat cerebellar granule neurons; CGNs) and a neuronal cell line (NG108-15) were quantitatively measured after optimization of culture conditions. After cultures were fixed and immunostained to label neurons and nuclei, microscope images were captured and an image analysis algorithm was developed using Image-Pro Plus software to allow quantitative analysis. The algorithm allowed the determination of total neurite length, number of neurons, and number of neurons without neurites. The algorithm also allows for end-user control of thresholds for staining intensity and cell/nuclei size. This assay represents a useful tool for quantification of neurite outgrowth from a variety of neuronal sources with applications that include: (1) assessment of neurite outgrowth potential; (2) identification of molecules that can block or stimulate neurite outgrowth in conventional culture media; and (3) identification of agents that can overcome neurite outgrowth inhibition by inhibitory substrates.

Structure of a copper-isoniazid complex.

It is well-known that complex formation with copper ions increases the in vitro mycobactericidal action of the antituberculosis agent isoniazid. We report here the preparation and structure of a copper(II)-isoniazid complex. Unit cell parameters are a = 9.575, b = 14.855, and c = 7.056 A and space group P2(1)2(1)2(1). Copper bonding geometry is square planar with the isoniazid carbonyl oxygen and hydrazide amino nitrogen atoms and two chlorines occupying coordination positions. Complexing with copper(II) does not significantly alter the isoniazid molecular conformation.

Preparation, hydrolysis, and oral absorption of lactonyl esters of penicillins.

Lactonyl esters of ampicillin and other penicillins have been synthesized as prodrugs designed to improve the oral absorption of the parent penicillins. In general, the esters hydrolyzed rapidly in the presence of tissues including blood and certain of the esters were better absorbed than the parent penicillin. The phthalidyl ester of ampicillin [talampicillin (British Pharmacopoeia approved name), BRL 8988] was selected for extended studies. The compound was found to be well absorbed in various animal species and gave ampicillin serum concentrations in fasting human volunteers 2.5-3 times those obtained for ampicillin itself.

The linear energy transfer dependence of excited singlet-state lifetimes of hydrocarbon liquids exposed to X rays.

The absorption of X rays in liquids provides low-energy electrons in the energy range 2 to 20 keV when synchrotron radiation is used as the X ray source. Such low-energy electrons have short ranges and produce a dense track of ionization where dE/dx = 10(7) to 10(8) eV/cm. Fluorescent molecules provide a sensitive probe of the early-time structure of such tracks. From the extent of quenching of excited states and the consequent decrease in fluorescence lifetimes, the concentration of free radicals in the track can be inferred. Experiments done with the hydrocarbons cis-decalin and dodecane demonstrate this effect. In both hydrocarbons, the lifetimes (tau) are significantly smaller with excitation by X rays than with UV radiation, and tau-1 increases linearly with dE/dx.

Statistical aspects of quantitative image analysis of beta-amyloid in the APP(V717F) transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Cerebral beta-amyloidosis is a central part of the neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Quantitation of beta-amyloid plaques in the human AD brain, and in animal models of AD, is an important study endpoint in AD research. Methodologic approaches to the measurement of beta-amyloid in the brain vary between investigators, and these differences affect outcome measures. Here, one quantitative approach to the measurement of beta-amyloid plaques in brain sections was analyzed for sources of variability due to sampling. Brain tissue was from homozygous APP(V717F) transgenic male mice. Sampling variables were at the mouse and microscopic slide and field levels. Results indicated that phenotypic variability in the mouse sample population was the largest contributor to the standard error of the analyses. Within each mouse, variability between slides or between fields within slides had smaller effects on the error of the analyses. Therefore, when designing studies of adequate power, in this and in other similar models of cerebral beta-amyloidosis, sufficient numbers of mice per group must be included in order for change in mean plaque burden attributable to an experimental variable to outweigh phenotypic variability.

Crystallization in Nonaqueous Media of Co- and Mn-Substituted Microporous Aluminophosphates Investigated by in Situ Synchrotron X-ray Powder Diffraction.

In situ synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction was used to investigate the crystallization of microporous transition metal-substituted aluminophosphates from nonaqueous media. The gels contained ethylene glycol and triethylamine as the template and were heated in quartz glass capillaries at temperatures up to 200 degrees C. The following crystalline products were formed: MnAPO-5, [AFI], CoAPO-5, [AFI], and AlPO(4)-5, [AFI]. Three nonaqueous systems were investigated in situ, where the crystallization of MAPO-5-type materials were followed. Solvothermal crystallization of MnAPO-5 and CoAPO-5 was studied, and the effect of adding HF as a mineralizing agent was investigated. Time-resolved powder diffraction data were collected using a translating imaging plate (TIP) camera, and crystallization curves were extracted using integrated diffraction peaks. Kinetic analysis of the crystallization curves was performed using an Avrami-type expression, alpha(t) = exp(-(kt)(n)()). Apparent activation energies were determined from Arrhenius plots: MnAPO-5, 94 kJ/mol; MnAPO-5(HF), 68 kJ/mol; CoAPO-5, 61 kJ/mol. Crystallization of CoAPO-5 is faster than for MnAPO-5, and the values for n obtained by fitting with the Avrami-type expression were significantly lower for CoAPO-5 than for MnAPO-5.