Evaluation of wheat or corn dried distillers' grains with solubles on performance and carcass characteristics of feedlot steers

[EN]A study was conducted on crossbred steers (n=275; 376±924 kg) to evaluate performance and carcass quality of cattle fed wheat or corn dried distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS). The control ration contained 86.6% rolled barley grain, 5.7% supplement and 7.7% barley silage (DM basis). The four treatments included replacement of barley grain at 20 or 40% of the diet (DM basis) with wheat or corn DDGS. Steers were slaughtered at a common end weight of 645 kg with 100 steers randomly (n=20 per treatment) selected for determination of the retail yield of sub-primal boneless boxed beef (SPBBB). Data were analyzed as a completely randomized design using pen as the experimental unit. Feeding increasing levels of wheat DDGS led to a quadratic increase in dry matter intake (DMI) (P<0.01), whereas increasing levels of corn DDGS led to a quadratic decrease in DMI (P=0.01). Average daily gain was not influenced (P=0.13) by feeding wheat or corn DDGS, but cattle fed corn DDGS exhibited a quadratic increase (P=0.01) in gain:feed. As a result, a quadratic increase (P<0.01) in calculated NEg of the diet was observed as corn DDGS levels increased. A linear decrease (P=0.04) in days on feed (169, 166 and 154 d) was noted when increasing levels of wheat DDGS (0, 20 and 40%) were fed. Dressing percentage increased in a linear fashion with wheat DDGS (P<0.01) inclusion level and in a quadratic fashion (P=0.01) as corn DDGS inclusion level increased although other carcass traits were not affected (P=0.10) by treatment. The results indicate that replacement of barley grain with corn or wheat DDGS up to 40% of the diet (DM) can lead to superior performance (improved gain:feed or reduced days on feed, respectively) with no detrimental effect on quality grade or carcass SPBBB yield.

Company financial performance: Does board size matter? Case of the EUROSTOXX50 index

[EN] This study analyzes the relationship between board size and economic-financial performance in a sample of European firms that constitute the EUROSTOXX50 Index. Based on previous literature, resource dependency and agency theories, and considering regulation developed by the OECD and European Union on the normative of corporate governance for each country in the sample, the authors propose the hypotheses of both positive linear and quadratic relationships between the researched parameters. Using ROA as a benchmark of financial performance and the number of members of the board as measurement of the board size, two OLS estimations are performed. To confirm the robustness of the results the empirical study is tested with two other similar financial ratios, ROE and Tobin s Q. Due to the absence of significant results, an additional factor, firm size, is employed in order to check if it affects firm performance. Delving further into the nature of this relationship, it is revealed that there exists a strong and negative relation between firm size and financial performance. Consequently, it can be asseverated that the generic recommendation one size fits all cannot be applied in this case; which conforms to the Recommendations of the European Union that dissuade using generic models for all countries.

On Nonnegative Solutions of Fractional q-Linear Time-Varying Dynamic Systems with Delayed Dynamics

This paper is devoted to the investigation of nonnegative solutions and the stability and asymptotic properties of the solutions of fractional differential dynamic linear time-varying systems involving delayed dynamics with delays. The dynamic systems are described based on q-calculus and Caputo fractional derivatives on any order.

Double layers in gravity theories

Gravitational double layers, unlike their classical electromagnetic counterparts, are thought to be forbidden in gravity theories. It has been recently shown, however, that they are feasible in, for instance, gravity theories with a Lagrangian quadratic in the curvature. This is surprising with many potential consequences and the possibility of new physical behaviours. While a clear interpretation seems elusive, several lines of research are open. I present the field equations for double layers, the new physical quantities arising, and several explicit examples