The Hippoboscidae are ectoparasites of birds and mammals, which, as a group, are known to vector multiple diseases. Avipoxvirus (APV) is mechanically vectored by various arthropods and causes seasonal disease in wild birds in the United Kingdom (UK). Signs of APV and the presence of louse flies (Hippoboscidae) on Dunnocks Prunella modularis were recorded over a 16·5-year period in a rural garden in Somerset, UK. Louse flies collected from this site and other sites in England were tested for the presence of APV DNA and RNA sequences. Louse flies on Dunnocks were seen to peak seasonally three weeks prior to the peak of APV lesions, an interval consistent with the previously estimated incubation period of APV in Dunnocks. APV DNA was detected on 13/25 louse flies, Ornithomya avicularia and Ornithomya fringillina, taken from Dunnocks, both with and without lesions consistent with APV, at multiple sites in England. Collectively these data support the premise that louse flies may vector APV. The detection of APV in louse flies, from apparently healthy birds, and from sites where disease has not been observed in any host species, suggests that the Hippoboscidae could provide a non-invasive and relatively cheap method of monitoring avian diseases. This could provide advanced warnings of disease, including zoonoses, before they become clinically apparent.

Adsorption of uranyl to SWy-1 montmorillonite was evaluated experimentally and results were modeled to identify likely surface complexation reactions responsible for removal of uranyl from solution. Uranyl was contacted with SWy-1 montmorillonite in a NaCIO4 electrolyte solution at three ionic strengths (I = 0.001, 0.01, 0.1), at pH 4 to 8.5, in a N2(g) atmosphere. At low ionic strength, adsorption decreased from 95% at pH 4 to 75% at pH 6.8. At higher ionic strength, adsorption increased with pH from initial values less than 75%; adsorption edges for all ionic strengths coalesced above a pH of 7. A site-binding model was applied that treated SWy-1 as an aggregate of fixed-charge sites and edge sites analogous to gibbsite and silica. The concentration of fixed-charge sites was estimated as the cation exchange capacity, and non-preference exchange was assumed in calculating the contribution of fixed-charge sites to total uranyl adsorption. The concentration of edge sites was estimated by image analysis of transmission electron photomicrographs. Adsorption constants for uranyl binding to gibbsite and silica were determined by fitting to experimental data, and these adsorption constants were then used to simulate SWy-1 adsorption results. The best simulations were obtained with an ionization model in which AlOH2+ was the dominant aluminol surface species throughout the experimental range in pH. The pH-dependent aqueous speciation of uranyl was an important factor determining the magnitude of uranyl adsorption. At low ionic strength and low pH, adsorption by fixed-charge sites was predominant. The decrease in adsorption with increasing pH was caused by the formation of monovalent aqueous uranyl species, which were weakly bound to fixed-charge sites. At higher ionic strengths, competition with Na+ decreased the adsorption of UO22+ to fixed-charge sites. At higher pH, the most significant adsorption reactions were the binding of UO22+ to AlOH and of (UO2)3(OH)5+ to SiOH edge sites. Near-saturation of AlOH sites by UO22+ allowed significant contributions of SiOH sites to uranyl adsorption.

The modern Black Studies movement, in its present form, appeared in the 1960s as an emergent academic field and a self-conscious component part of the larger social and political movement for Black liberation. In contrast to the 1950s, which had been labeled “the silent generation” by some scholars, the 1960s were times of widespread political unrest and social movements. These currents were enlivened and precipitated by the Black liberation movement in its current stage of struggle for democratic rights, commonly referred to during that period as the “civil rights movement.” The Black college campuses were the source of leadership for this movement by young (though not exclusively) activist-intellectuals. The general social climate of self-assertion and political protest released an intellectual ferment that stimulated some Black students and Black scholars in their demand for “Black Studies” as a vanguard opposition to an entrenched intellectualism in American society.

The remnant phase of a radio galaxy begins when the jets launched from an active galactic nucleus are switched off. To study the fraction of radio galaxies in a remnant phase, we take advantage of a $8.31$ deg$^2$ subregion of the GAMA 23 field which comprises of surveys covering the frequency range 0.1–9 GHz. We present a sample of 104 radio galaxies compiled from observations conducted by the Murchison Widefield Array (216 MHz), the Australia Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (887 MHz), and the Australia Telescope Compact Array (5.5 GHz). We adopt an ‘absent radio core’ criterion to identify 10 radio galaxies showing no evidence for an active nucleus. We classify these as new candidate remnant radio galaxies. Seven of these objects still display compact emitting regions within the lobes at 5.5 GHz; at this frequency the emission is short-lived, implying a recent jet switch off. On the other hand, only three show evidence of aged lobe plasma by the presence of an ultra-steep-spectrum ($\alpha<-1.2$) and a diffuse, low surface brightness radio morphology. The predominant fraction of young remnants is consistent with a rapid fading during the remnant phase. Within our sample of radio galaxies, our observations constrain the remnant fraction to $4\%\lesssim f_{\mathrm{rem}} \lesssim 10\%$; the lower limit comes from the limiting case in which all remnant candidates with hotspots are simply active radio galaxies with faint, undetected radio cores. Finally, we model the synchrotron spectrum arising from a hotspot to show they can persist for 5–10 Myr at 5.5 GHz after the jets switch of—radio emission arising from such hotspots can therefore be expected in an appreciable fraction of genuine remnants.

Older adults represent the highest proportion of gamblers (Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation [OLG], 2012). Unpartnered older adults may be more socially isolated and lonely (Dykstra & de Jong Gierveld, 2004), thus more likely to be at risk for problem gambling (McQuade & Gill, 2012). We examined whether gambling to socialize or from loneliness and going to the casino with friends/family mediate the relation between marital status and problem gambling. Data from a random sample of older adults at gambling venues across Southwestern Ontario indicated that gambling with family/friends and gambling due to loneliness mediated the relationship between marital status and problem gambling. Relative to those married, unpartnered older adults were less likely to gamble with family/friends, more likely to gamble due to loneliness, and had higher problem gambling. Prevention and treatment initiatives should examine ways to decrease loneliness and social isolation among older adults and offer alternative social activities.

In many parts of the U.S., beef cattle production is a large sector of the agricultural economy, yet few of the cattle are stockered; instead the production is focused on cow-calf operations only. Restricting their Operation to only the first phase of beef production may be limiting the cattle owners’ profit potential. This paper examines the opportunities for Operators to earn additional profit from stockering cattle. Using a representative risk-averse producer, a decision set with seven possible marketing strategies is evaluated for the optimal decision in a Bayesian framework which allows for price and production risk. We find that in many instances retaining the cattle for stockering is a superior decision when done in conjunction with specific hedging strategies utilizing options and futures contracts.

An assessment is presented of the extent and variability of Antarctic sea ice in the non-flux-corrected version of the Hadley Centre’s coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (HadCM3). The results are based on a 100 year segment of a long control run of the model with the sea ice being compared to ice extents and concentrations derived from passive microwave satellite data. Over the year as a whole, the model ice extent (the area with >15% ice concentration) is 91% of that determined from satellite imagery, but, not surprisingly, the regional-scale distribution differs from the observed. Throughout the year there is too much ice near 90° E, which is believed to be present as a result of incorrect ocean currents near Kerguelen. In contrast to the satellite data, there is too little ice to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula as a result of anomalously northerly atmospheric flow, compared to observations. During the winter the sea-ice concentrations in the model are too high, possibly as a result of the simple representation of the sea ice, which does not simulate complex dynamical interactions within the pack. The annual cycle of sea-ice advance/retreat in the model has a phase error, with the winter sea-ice maximum extent being too late by about 1 month.

Control of tall larkspur on mountain rangelands would substantially reduce cattle poisoning. Several herbicides were evaluated for their control of tall larkspur in subalpine and aspen vegetation types. Glyphosate (2.2 kg ai ha−1) and picloram (2.2 kg ae ha−1) killed more than 88% of larkspur plants in both vegetation types. Clopyralid and triclopyr were ineffective at comparable rates. Metsulfuron (88 and 138 g ai ha−1) provided variable control. Glyphosate is nonselective and killed all perennial vegetation, except for Thurbers fescue and mountain brome in the aspen type. Picloram applied at 4.5 kg ha−1 suppressed grasses on the subalpine site, but allowed grasses to increase at lower rates. All herbicides reduced forb cover.

Several herbicides were evaluated for their ability to control duncecap larkspur, a serious poisonous plant on mountain rangelands in the western U.S. Duncecap larkspur density was reduced from 33 to 93% by triclopyr applied at 2.2, 4.5, and 9.0 kg ae/ha. Picloram applied at 2.2 and 4.5 kg ae/ha reduced density from 33 to 99%. Metsulfuron applied at 86 and 138 g ai/ha reduced density from 50 to 98%. Glyphosate was the most effective herbicide, reducing density by 90 to 100% when applied at 2.2 kg ai/ha. Glyphosate reduced the cover of grasses and perennial forbs but increased cover of annual forbs. All rates of picloram and metsulfuron reduced forb cover. Grass cover increased in most plots where duncecap larkspur and forbs were reduced.

Daily precipitation fields and annual means from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts re-analysis exercise are used to examine the distribution and variability of precipitation across the Antarctic Peninsula. The annual mean precipitation field from the model agrees well with the available ice-core data and suggests that the maximum accumulation for the area is on the western side of the barrier at about the 200 m level where the annual total is close to 1.3 m w.e. The Peninsula is shown to be a very effective barrier to the zonal movement of precipitating weather systems, which results in quite different atmospheric flow regimes being responsible for significant precipitation events on other side of the divide. Frontal depressions are the primary source of large daily snowfall totals on both sides of the Peninsula. On the southern coast of the Bellingshausen Sea, major snowfall events are often linked to strong northerly flow when the atmospheric circulation is blocked. Predominantly northerly flow is also responsible for significant snowfall on the Ronne Ice Shelf, which often occurs in association with lee cyclogenesis events to the east of the- Peninsula.

Merchandisers of landscape plants can increase the effectiveness of their marketing strategies by identifying target markets. Using a full information maximum likelihood tobit procedure on a system of three equations, target markets for different types of retail outlets in Georgia were identified. The results lend support and empirical evidence to the premise that different retail outlet types have different target markets and thus should develop different market strategies. The estimated target markets are identified and possible marketing strategies suitable for each type of retail outlet are suggested.

Three Georgia feeder cattle teleauction markets were analyzed from 1977 to 1988 to estimate the impacts of cattle characteristics and market conditions on prices. Cattle characteristic price impacts were similar to those in previous studies. The impact of feeder cattle futures price on teleauction price was positive but varied across markets. Optimal lot size ranged from 143 to 276 head. In one market, 14 lots were necessary to generate positive price impacts. Additional buyers were estimated to have a $.30/cwt per buyer impact on price.

The ornamental horticultural industry continues to be one of the most rapidly expanding sectors in agriculture. This study examined a decision model for landscape plant production based on portfolio analysis. A quadratic programming model was developed to generate an optimal crop portfolio for a selected southeastern nursery. Empirical results indicate opportunities exist for modest diversification to offset income variability in landscape plant production and marketing.

Perceived characteristics of thin markets are described and approaches to furthering their study are suggested. Design features of a laboratory thin market, patterned after a typical livestock marketing situation, are described. Price bias and variation from a “thick” private negotiation market with 22 traders is compared to that from a “thin” auction market with 8 traders. No systematic price bias was found in any of the markets. Price variation was actually lower in the thin auction market.

An expected-utility model and a chance-constrained linear programming model were used to analyze four marketing strategies and seven crop insurance alternatives for cotton marketing in Georgia. The results suggest that existing marketing tools and insurance alternatives can be used to reduce cotton producers' revenue risk. The optimal level of yield and price insurance coverage depends on an individual producer's risk aversion.

Maternal nutritional status during pregnancy has been reported to be associated with childhood asthma and atopic disease. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children has reported associations between reduced umbilical cord Fe status and childhood wheeze and eczema; however, follow-up was short and lung function was not measured. In the present study, the associations between maternal Fe status during pregnancy and childhood outcomes in the first 10 years of life were investigated in a subgroup of 157 mother–child pairs from a birth cohort with complete maternal, fetal ultrasound, blood and child follow-up data. Maternal Fe intake was assessed using FFQ at 32 weeks of gestation and Hb concentrations and serum Fe status (ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor and TfR-F (transferrin receptor:ferritin) index) were measured at 11 weeks of gestation and at delivery. Maternal Fe intake, Hb concentrations and serum Fe status were found to be not associated with fetal or birth measurements. Unit increases in first-trimester maternal serum TfR concentrations (OR 1·44, 95 % CI 1·05, 1·99) and TfR-F index (OR 1·42, 95 % CI 1·10, 1·82) (i.e. decreasing Fe status) were found to be associated with an increased risk of wheeze, while unit increases in serum ferritin concentrations (i.e. increasing Fe status) were found to be associated with increases in standardised mean peak expiratory flow (PEF) (β 0·25, 95 % CI 0·09, 0·42) and forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) (β 0·20, 95 % CI 0·08, 0·32) up to 10 years of age. Increasing maternal serum TfR-F index at delivery was found to be associated with an increased risk of atopic sensitisation (OR 1·35, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·79). The results of the present study suggest that reduced maternal Fe status during pregnancy is adversely associated with childhood wheeze, lung function and atopic sensitisation, justifying further studies on maternal Fe status and childhood asthma and atopic disease.