Effect of supplementation with a by-product of molasses fermentation or a non-protein nitrogen/mineral mix on feed intake and microbial protein supply in sheep consuming chopped oat (Avena sativa) hay

Crossbred ewes, weighing 30-40 kg, were assigned to three groups of six animals. One group of sheep was fed chopped oat hay (control), the second group was fed the control diet plus 30 g per head per day spray dried residue from the fermentation of molasses and the third group was fed the control diet plus 30 g per head per day of a non-protein nitrogen/mineral mix. Voluntary feed intake, digestibility of DM, OM and nitrogen, nitrogen balance and microbial nitrogen flow to the intestines were significantly increased by supplementation but efficiency of microbial protein production was not affected. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved,

The Role of Non-Market Valuation in Forest Management and Recreation Policy

Forests, and particularly those where native and mixed species are gown, provide a variety of non-wood values, important among which are recreation and environmental services. Substantial progress has been made in recent years in estimating economic values on these services. A considerable amount of research on forest values has been carried out recently in tropical and sub-tropical eastern Australia, some of which is reported in the following papers. The need for estimates of non-wood forest benefits is apparent, and it is clear that further development of techniques and a greater understanding of the way these values can be integrated into public-sector decision making is required.

Profiling the Senior Traveler: An Australia Perspective

Recently, the behavior of senior travelers has become an important area of interest because of its market size and potential for growth. This study describes a study profiling senior travelers according to their demographic and psychographic characteristics. Six market segments were used to highlight the differences that exist in terms of holiday attractions, travel motivations, and information sources used among senior travelers when planning and choosing a holiday. Seniors are shown not to be a uniform conservative market, which has implications for marketing and product development.

Youth unemployment outflow rates and labor market programs: Australian evidence

A matching function methodology is used to investigate the macroeconomic effects of labor market program (LMP) commencements on youth unemployment outflows in Australia using unpublished data that classify commencements and outflows by duration of unemployment. The results indicate that LMPs have had significant effects on outflows from short-term unemployment. There is a net positive effect from LMP commencements on short-term unemployed female outflow rates. However; females experienced negative spillover effects from male LMP commencements. These spillover effects appear to be associated with wage subsidy programs and suggest the net impact Of such programs may have been overstated in previous studies.

The nexus of value chain integration and e-business applications on public sector agriculture R&D management

We examine the potential impact of interconnectivity of value chain partnerships through electronic means (e-business practices) on the management of Public Sector Agriculture R&D in Australia. We review the changing forms of managing research and development, the forces driving these changes, and R&D processes that are theoretically consistent with the move towards value chain involvement and the increase in active constituents in Public Sector Agriculture R&D. We then explore the potential of emerging e-business models to change the patterns of inter-connectivity, speed and omnipresence of partners in the value chain. Three e-business R&D management practices are identified that provide the prerequisite flexibility necessary to take advantage of opportunistic markets. These R&D business practices are: compressing R&D to reduce time to market, fostering co-development to enter a market at the last moment and building flexible products that allow adjustment at the last possible moment. Some fundamental reallocation of existing resources will be required to meet these markets. Implications of these e-business practices for R&D management are discussed.

Do female rainbowfish (Melanotaenia spp.) prefer to shoal with familiar individuals under predation pressure?

Shoaling with familiar individuals may have many benefits including enhanced escape responses or increased foraging efficiency. This study describes the results of two complimentary experiments. The first utilised a simple binary choice experiment to determine if rainbowfish (Melanotaenia spp.) preferred to shoal with familiar individuals or with strangers. The second experiment used a free range situation where familiar and unfamiliar individuals were free to intermingle and were then exposed to a predator threat. Like many other small species of fish, rainbowfish were capable of identifying and distinguishing between individuals and choose to preferentially associate with familiar individuals as opposed to strangers. Contrary to expectations. however. rainbowrish did not significantly increase their preference for familiar individuals in the presence of a stationary predator model. Griffiths [J Fish Biol (1997) 51:489-4951 conducted similar studies under semi-natural conditions examining, the shoaling preferences of European minnows and showed similar results. Both the current study and that of Griffiths were conducted using predator wary populations of fish. It is suggested that, in predator sympatric populations, the benefits of shoaling with familiar individuals are such that it always pays to stay close to familiar individuals even when the probability If predator attack is remote.

R-matrices and the tensor product graph method

A systematic method for constructing trigonometric R-matrices corresponding to the (multiplicity-free) tensor product of any two affinizable representations of a quantum algebra or superalgebra has been developed by the Brisbane group and its collaborators. This method has been referred to as the Tensor Product Graph Method. Here we describe applications of this method to untwisted and twisted quantum affine superalgebras.

New product warranty: A literature review

Warranty is an important element of marketing new products as better warranty signals higher product quality and provides greater assurance to customers. Servicing warranty involves additional costs to the manufacturer and this cost depends on product reliability and warranty terms. Product reliability is influenced by the decisions made during the design and manufacturing of the product. As such warranty is very important in the context of new products. Product warranty has received the attention of researchers from many different disciplines and the literature on warranties is vast. This paper carries out a review of the literature that has appeared in the last ten years. It highlights issues of interest to manufacturers in the context of managing new products from an overall business perspective. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Calculation of resonances and product state distributions for the unimolecular dissociation of H2S

Resonance phenomena associated with the unimolecular dissociation of H2S --> SH + H have been investigated quantum mechanically by the Lanczos homogeneous filter diagonalization method using a newly developed potential energy surface (J. Chem. Phys. 2001, 114, 320). Resonance energies, widths (rates), and product state distributions have been obtained. Both dissociation rates and product state distributions of SH show, strong fluctuations, indicating that the dissociation of H2S is essentially irregular. Statistical analysis of neighboring level spacing and width distributions also confirms this behavior. The dissociation rates and product state distributions are compared to the predictions of quantum phase space theory.

Prediction of absolute rate coefficients and product branching ratios for the C(P-3) plus allene reaction system

Complex chemical reactions in the gas phase can be decomposed into a network of elementary (e.g., unimolecular and bimolecular) steps which may involve multiple reactant channels, multiple intermediates, and multiple products. The modeling of such reactions involves describing the molecular species and their transformation by reaction at a detailed level. Here we focus on a detailed modeling of the C(P-3)+allene (C3H4) reaction, for which molecular beam experiments and theoretical calculations have previously been performed. In our previous calculations, product branching ratios for a nonrotating isomerizing unimolecular system were predicted. We extend the previous calculations to predict absolute unimolecular rate coefficients and branching ratios using microcanonical variational transition state theory (mu-VTST) with full energy and angular momentum resolution. Our calculation of the initial capture rate is facilitated by systematic ab initio potential energy surface calculations that describe the interaction potential between carbon and allene as a function of the angle of attack. Furthermore, the chemical kinetic scheme is enhanced to explicitly treat the entrance channels in terms of a predicted overall input flux and also to allow for the possibility of redissociation via the entrance channels. Thus, the computation of total bimolecular reaction rates and partial capture rates is now possible. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.

A normative study of distortion product otoacoustic emissions in six-year-old school children

Evoked otoacoustic emissions have demonstrated potential for application in the community-based hearing screening of paediatric populations. Distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs), as opposed to transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs), have not been extensively researched in this regard. The current study aimed to describe the range of DPOAE values obtained in a large cohort (1576 ears) of 6-year-old children in school settings and to examine possible ear asymmetry, gender and history of ear infection effects on the data. Results indicated a variety of significant effects, particularly in the high frequencies, for DPOAE signal-to-noise ratio. The measurement parameter, DPOAE amplitude (DP-amp), was found to display potentially less clinical applicability due to large standard deviation values. Use of descriptive normative data, as derived in the present investigation, may contribute toward future improvements in the hearing screening of 6-year-old schoolchildren