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Forage News [2011-12], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• Heart of America Grazing Conference
• UK Forage Variety Tests
• Forage Dynamics and Calf Behavior in Two Creep Grazing Systems
• Testing and Feeding Tobacco-Brown Hay and Silage
• World Population Hits Seven Billion
• Farmers Use of Broadband Internet
• High Cattle Prices to Continue, Analysts Say

The Theory And Practice Of Genetically Engineered Crops And Agricultural Sustainability, David E. Ervin, Leland L. Glenna, Raymond Adelard Jussaume

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

The development of genetically engineered (GE) crops has focused predominantly on enhancing conventional pest control approaches. Scientific assessments show that these GE crops generally deliver significant economic and some environmental benefits over their conventional crop alternatives. However, emerging evidence indicates that current GE crops will not foster sustainable cropping systems unless the negative environmental and social feedback effects are properly addressed. Moreover, GE crop innovations that promote more sustainable agricultural systems will receive underinvestment by seed and chemical companies that must understandably focus on private returns for major crops. Opportunities to promote crops that convey multi-faceted benefits for the environment …

'The Purpose Of Poetry Is To Seem As Lifelike As Possible ...': Communicating The Alive Through Contemporary Poet Chelsey Minnis's Supplemental Language, Lindsay Niedringhaus

All Theses

Contemporary poet Chelsey Minnis has a style that is unlike any other poet of today. Throughout all three of Minnis‘s collections, the speaker is unpredictable in her tone, content, and approach, appearing quite random and flippant. Furthermore, Minnis‘s distinctive use of ellipses and ideograms also separate her poetry from any of that of her contemporaries, as they take such a prominent role within her poems, refusing to be ignored. When first reading a Minnis poem, many do not know how to even begin to analyze it, as the poetry does not adhere to any traditional codes, and no rules exist …

Spatio-Temporal Modeling Of Arthropod-Borne Zoonotic Diseases: A Proposed Methodology To Enhance Macro-Scale Analyses, Stephen Jones

All Dissertations

Zoonotic diseases are infectious diseases that can be transmitted from or through animals to humans, and arthropods often act as vectors for transmission. Emerging infectious diseases have been increasing both in prevalence and geographic range at alarming rates the last 30 years, and the majority of these diseases are zoonotic in nature. Many zoonotic diseases are considered notifiable by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, though state regulations or contractual obligations may require the reporting of certain diseases, significant underreporting is known to exist. Because of the rich volume of information captured in health insurance plan databases, …

Smith’S Longspur In Knox County, Nebraska, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

Smith's Longspur (Calcarius pictus) is considered to be an uncommon casual spring migrant and is limited in spring to the southeast comer of Nebraska (Sharpe et al. 2001). This note provides the only known record for Smith's Longspur for spring in northeast Nebraska.

Subscription And Organization Information [December 2011]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal, and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar-year basis only): $15 in the United States, $18 in Canada, and $30 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4 each, postpaid, in the United States, $5 in Canada, and $8 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0101.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active Household …

Kearney Fall Field Days

Nebraska Bird Review

The 2011 NOU Fall Field Days were held at the Iain Nicolson Center at the Audubon Rowe Sanctuary southeast of Kearney on September 23–25, and 55 members and friends were in attendance. The meeting was organized by Kent Skaggs.

Field trip destinations included Harlan County Reservoir, led by Kent Skaggs; the Rainwater Basin, led by Paul Dunbar; Bittern's Call WPA and Johnson Lake, led by John Murphy; and Sherman Reservoir, led by Robin Harding and Lanny Randolph. A final tally of 143 species was recorded Highlights included the Neotropic Cormorants at Harlan County Reservoir and Sherman Reservoir and the numerous …

First Discovery Of A Four-Egg Clutch For Mountain Plover (Charadrius Montanus) In Nebraska, Bartholomew L. Bly, Travis Wooten

Nebraska Bird Review

On 27 May 2010, the first documented Mountain Plover nest in Nebraska to contain a clutch of four eggs was documented in a fallow strip of a dryland crop field in southern Kimball County. Mountain Plover typically have a clutch size of 3 eggs, though clutches with 1 and 2 eggs are observed in approximately 15% of nesting attempts (Knopf and Wunder 2006). Clutches with 4 eggs are rare and have been reported to occur in less than 1% of the population (Knopf and Wunder 2006). Five 4-egg clutches have been reported in Colorado and one in Montana (see Knopf …

Nebraska Bird Review (December 2011) 79(4), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Fall Field Report, August–November 2011 ... 118

First Documented Nebraska Sighting of Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla) ... 136

First Discovery of a Four-Egg Clutch for Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus) in Nebraska ... 139

Smith's Longspur in Knox County, Nebraska ... 141

Fall 2011 Bird Banding at Wildcat Hills Nature Center ... 142

Kearney Fall Field Days ... 143

Index to Volume 79 ... 148

Subscription and Organization Information ... 159

Index To Volume 79

Nebraska Bird Review

Ahlschwede, Carla 71

Allen, Edward 83

Allison, Scott 32

Alsop, FJ 36

American Ornithologists' Union 109–110

Anderson, BW 36

Arkansas Audubon Society 36

Avocet, American 55, 68, 73, 89, 125

First Documented Nebraska Sighting Of Brown-Headed Nuthatch (Sitta Pusilla), Larry Einemann

Nebraska Bird Review

Monday, November 8, 2010, was an unusually warm (upper 70s) autumn day for Lincoln, Nebraska, with no clouds and a wind from the southwest. I went to Holmes Lake Park in southeast Lincoln to scan for late migrating waterfowl and then to check the stand of conifers for the arrival of winter migrants. Around 11 A.M. I was attracted to a feeding group of six Black-capped Chickadees and three Red-breasted Nuthatches in the 30- to 40-year-old pines and Douglas firs north of Hyde Observatory. I noticed a differently patterned nuthatch in the group. I had seen a Pygmy Nuthatch several …

Genetic Structure Of Grass Carp Populations In The Missouri And Mississippi River Basins, Usa, Bobbi M. Adams, Katie N. Bertrand, Michael L. Brown, Donald Auger

The Prairie Naturalist

We provided an early characterization of the genetic structure of the grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) population as it expands its distribution in both the Missouri and Mississippi River basins. Further, we provided initial comparisons of allelic richness at 17 polymorphic microsatellite markers between 56 grass carp from the USA, and six from the Yangtze River in China. The number of alleles per locus ranged from two to eight and size ranges of alleles for fish collected from the invaded and native ranges were similar (P ≤ 0.001; 107–226 bp) to those previously reported in the literature. Distance-based clustering …

Notes On The Distribution Of Eastern Woodrats And Hispid Cotton Rats In South-Central Nebraska, Heather D. Wills, Keith Geluso, Eric J. Smits, Joseph T. Springer, Wesley E. Newton

The Prairie Naturalist

The eastern woodrat (Neotoma floridana) and hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) reach distributional limits in southern Nebraska (Jones 1964, Farney 1975). In the last half-century, both species have expanded their distributional ranges in the region (Kugler and Geluso 2009, Wright et al. 2010). Herein, we report new localities of occurrence for both species that extend known distributional boundaries in south-central Nebraska beyond those reported by Kugler and Geluso (2009) and Wright et al. (2010).

Associated with other studies, we captured small mammals in Sherman live-traps in south-central Nebraska. Voucher specimens were deposited in collections at the …

Northern Harrier Hatches Mallard Nest, Jeffery W. Stackhouse, Benjamin A. Geaumont

The Prairie Naturalist

The northern harrier (Circus cyaneus) is a widespread raptor commonly found nesting throughout the Northern Great Plains. Northern harriers forage primarily on small mammals and passerines with the males providing the majority of prey to nestlings until 14–28 days of age (Redpath et al. 2006, Vukovich and Ritchison 2006). Although the genus Circus is known to predate eggs from nest of many nesting birds (Hiraldo et al. 1975, Donaszar et al. 1996, Opermanis et al. 2000), few have been recorded commandeering nests of different species (Laine 1928, Fleskes 1992). In June 2010, we observed a northern harrier that …

Late Seasonal Captures Of The Plains Pocket Mouse (Perognathus Flavescens) In Iowa, Hans W. Otto, Jeremy A. White

The Prairie Naturalist

The plains pocket mouse, Perognathus flavescens, is a nocturnal granivore that inhabits friable soils in sparsely vegetated areas (Monk and Jones 1996). In the United States, the distribution of the plains pocket mouse extends from Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas through the Great Plains to North Dakota and Minnesota (Hall 1981). This species reaches its easternmost limits in Iowa, where it has been documented from a limited number of grassland sites in eastern, central, and western parts of the state (Bowles 1975, Wilson et al. 1996). Due to loss of grassland habitat, the plains pocket mouse is currently listed …

Rainbow: An R Package For Visualizing Functional Time Series, Han Lin Shang

The R Journal

Recent advances in computer technology have tremendously increased the use of functional data, whose graphical representation can be infinite-dimensional curves, images or shapes. This article describes four methods for visualizing functional time series using an R add-on package. These methods are demonstrated using age-specific Australian fertility data from 1921 to 2006 and monthly sea surface temperatures from January 1950 to December 2006.

Using The Google Visualisation Api With R, Markus Gesmann, Diego De Castillo

The R Journal

The googleVis package provides an interface between R and the Google Visualisation API to create interactive charts which can be embedded into web pages. The best known of these charts is probably the Motion Chart, popularised by Hans Rosling in his TED talks. With the googleVis package users can easily create web pages with interactive charts based on R data frames and display them either via the local R HTTPhelp server or within their own sites.

Inventing Norms, William Hubbard

All Faculty Scholarship

Patent law strives to promote the progress of technology by encouraging invention. Traditionally, scholars contend that patent law achieves this goal by creating financial incentives to invent in the form of exclusive rights to new technology. This traditional view of invention, however, fails to recognize that inventors are motivated by more than money. Like most people, inventors are also motivated by social norms, that is, shared normative beliefs favoring certain actions while disfavoring others. This Article argues that many Americans embrace social norms that favor and encourage successful invention. Because of these "inventing norms" inventors enjoy enhanced personal satisfaction and …

Government By Contract And The Structural Constitution, Kimberly L. Wehle

All Faculty Scholarship

Although private parties have performed government functions throughout most of Western history, mainstream administrative law scholarship is dotted with concerns over the extent to which modern federal government activities are outsourced to private contractors. Federal contractors routinely exercise authority that is classically “executive” in nature. They write regulations, interpret laws, administer foreign aid, manage nuclear weapons sites and intelligence operations, interrogate detainees, control borders, design surveillance systems, and provide military support in combat zones. Administrative law places few constraints on private contractors, and prevailing constitutional principles — the state action and private delegation doctrines, in particular — are either inept …

Doing It Right: Collaboration, Shared Workspaces, Syndication And Broadcasting At The Animated Tutorial Sharing Project, Carmen Kazakoff-Lane, Paul Betty

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2009

In Information Literacy, collaboration is a catch phrase for librarians working together with others within their institutions - but important collaboration must occur across institutions as well, if we are to meet increasing user demands for 24/7, point-of-need, instruction.

Learn how the ANimated Tutorial Sharing Project (ANTS) facilitates inter-institutional collaboration and enables libraries to build a critical mass of open source tutorials (aka Open Educational Resources) that can be uploaded, downloaded, customized, subscribed to, embedded, or syndicated via sites like Facebook, iTunes or Libguides. Also learn:

- How ANTS works to eliminate duplication of effort across institutions,

- How ANTS …

Fall Field Report, August–November 2011, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Overall, this fall migration was routine (waterfowl, warblers, sparrows), but there were a few unexpected highlights. The flooded Missouri River Valley provided habitat that led to some amazing fall counts: 3000 pelicans, 5700 coots, 338 American Golden-Plovers, and 1200 Pectoral Sandpipers. The 10,000 cormorants at Harlan County Reservoir may not have been affected by the Missouri River flooding, and were a record count also. While we're talking numbers, the martin roost in Omaha topped out at 50,000–55,000, and seasonal totals of 4 Red-necked Grebes and 15 Philadelphia Vireos for the state, 34 Mississippi Kites over Ogallala (it's often hard to …

Fall 2011 Bird Banding At Wildcat Hills Nature Center, Colin Woolley

Nebraska Bird Review

Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory has been operating a fall migration bird banding station at the Wildcat Hills Nature Center in Scotts Bluff Co. since 2007. In 2011, during our fifth year of banding, we captured a few new species, had new high totals for other species, and had a record number new high total of recaptures. Weather permitting, we banded on weekdays from August 31 through October 10 for five hours per day beginning soon after sunrise. We caught and banded 735 individual birds of 32 species. We banded two new species for the station in 2011: one Red-eyed Vireo …

Least Sine Squares And Robust Compound Regression Analysis, Hao Han

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The errors-in-variables (EIV) regression model, being more realistic by accounting for measurement errors in both the dependent and the independent variables, is widely used in econometrics, chemistry, medical, and environmental sciences, etc. The traditional EIV model estimators, however, can be highly biased by outliers and other departures from the underlying assumptions. In this work, we propose two novel nonparametric estimation approaches - the least sine squares (LSS) and the robust compound regression (RCR) analysis methods for the robust estimation of EIV models. The RCR method, as a natural extension and combination of the new LSS method and the compound regression …

Investigation Of Materials Surface Chemistry On Osteoblast Proliferation, Migration And Differentiation, Xia Lu

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

Osteoporosis, a bone disease caused by the decreased mass and impaired structure of bone, is becoming an increasing threat to the health of the elderly population. To treat and prevent this kind of suffering, understanding of the bone formation and regeneration is of significant importance, during which bone cell-biomaterial interaction plays a critical role, especially osteoblasts. In this work, we report an in situ investigation of osteoblast proliferation, migration and differentiation on a series of substrates with variable surface chemistry as a result of coating fabrication. Primary investigation indicated that cells migrated faster on sulfonated polystyrene (SPS)-coated MirrIR slides than …

Behavioral And Environmental Correlates Of Parasite Burden In Eulemur Cinereiceps From Southeastern Madagascar, Sara Katharine Martin

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The grey-headed lemur, Eulemur cinereiceps, is among the top 25 most endangered primates. This work investigated behavioral and environmental correlates of parasite exposure through the evaluation of parasite burden in two wild metapopulations of E. cinereiceps in southeastern Madagascar. Understanding the relationship between primate behavior, environment and primate disease risk is critical for the conservation of primates and their ecosystems. The presence and distribution of parasites among primate populations is the result of primate exposure to parasites through both behavioral and environmental variables. Primate exposure to parasites is often the result of either host social behaviors or habitat use behaviors. …

The Effects Of Dietary Immunostimulation On Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar) Immune Response To Sea Lice (Lepeophtheirus Salmonis) Infection, Sarah Ellen Friend

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

The ectoparasitic copepod, Lepeophtheius salmonis, is considered to be the most economically damaging parasite in commercial Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) culture, causing serious disease outbreaks which cost the industry nearly half a billion dollars annually. While other salmonid species show some resistance to this parasite, Atlantic salmon have previously shown very little in the way of inflammatory response to sea lice infection. The objective of this study was to enhance the immune response of Atlantic salmon to sea lice infection through the administration of in-feed immunostimulants. The efficacy of dietary additives to stimulate the immune response of Atlantic salmon against …

The Evolution Of Milton's Satan Through Paradise Lost And Paradise Regained And Milton's Establishment Of The Hero, Nicole Cammareri

Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions)

One of the most imposing themes of John Milton's Paradise Lost (1667) is the depiction of Satan as heroic. Although deplorable and malevolent, the Satan of Paradise Lost appeals to the reader, and his actions and thoughts are easily agreed upon. Embodying the classification of tragic hero, Satan has both made an error in judgment and was overcome by a tragic flaw that brought about a devastating calamity. Moving onto Milton's second epic, Paradise Regained (1671), presents a new problem for the reader as the Satan that he became close to in Paradise Lost is non-existent. Satan is no longer …

Defining Conservation Priorities For Freshwater Fishes According To Taxonomic, Functional, And Phylogenetic Diversity, Angela L. Strecker, Julian D. Olden, Joanna B. Whittier, Craig Patrick Paukert

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

To date, the predominant use of systematic conservation planning has been to evaluate and conserve areas of high terrestrial biodiversity. Although studies in freshwater ecosystems have received recent attention, research has rarely considered the potential trade-offs between protecting different dimensions of biodiversity and the ecological processes that maintain diversity. We provide the first systematic prioritization for freshwaters (focusing on the highly threatened and globally distinct fish fauna of the Lower Colorado River Basin, USA) simultaneously considering scenarios of: taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity; contemporary threats to biodiversity (including interactions with nonnative species); and future climate change and human population growth. …

Complex Dynamics Of Discrete Seis Models With Simple Demography, Hui Cao, Yicang Zhou, Baojun Song

Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We investigate bifurcations and dynamical behaviors of discrete SEIS models with exogenous reinfections and a variety of treatment strategies. Bifurcations identified from the models include period doubling, backward, forward-backward, and multiple backward bifurcations. Multiple attractors, such as bistability and tristability, are observed. We also estimate the ultimate boundary of the infected regardless of initial status. Our rigorously mathematical analysis together with numerical simulations show that epidemiological factors alone can generate complex dynamics, though demographic factors only support simple equilibrium dynamics. Our model analysis supports and urges to treat a fixed percentage of exposed individuals.

Tracking Costs Of Alternatively Fueled Buses In Florida, Cutr

Research Reports

No abstract provided.