Lean Period Research Articles

Irradiation in Combination with Higher Storage Temperatures Maintains Chip‐Making Quality of Potato

Freshly harvested and well-suberized potato (Solanum tuberosum) of varieties Kufri Jyoti, Lady Rosata, Kufri Laukar, and Hermises were processed by radiation at 78/149 Gy (D(min)/D(max)) dose and stored at 12 +/- 2 degrees C for 8 mo from March to October for assessment of chip-making quality. The firmness of the tubers in all the varieties processed remained unchanged during the period of storage. Chips of the desirable quality could be prepared from 7-mo stored Lady Rosata, Hermises, and Kufri Jyoti varieties, whereas, in Kufri Laukar, the quality chips could be prepared with tubers stored not beyond 5 mo. In the present study, varietal differences were found to influence the chip-making quality of irradiated potato. Tubers with high reducing and total sugar (>2%) were found to be unsuitable for chip-making. The quality of chips, however, was not affected much by the change in internal color of the tuber during storage beyond 6 mo. The results suggested the efficacy of gamma irradiation for ensuring availability of the processing quality potato during lean periods from September to October.

Feeding over the 24-h cycle: dietary flexibility of cathemeral collared lemurs (Eulemur collaris)

Animals show specific morphological, physiological and behavioural adaptations to diurnal or nocturnal activity. Cathemeral species, i.e. animals with activities distributed over the 24-h period, have to compromise between these specific adaptations. The driving evolutionary forces and the proximate costs and benefits of cathemerality are still poorly understood. Our goal was to evaluate the role of predator avoidance, food availability and diet quality in shaping cathemeral activity of arboreal mammals using a lemur species as an example. For this, two groups of collared lemurs, Eulemur collaris, were studied for 14 months in the littoral forest of southeastern Madagascar. Data on feeding behaviour were collected during all-day and all-night follows by direct observation. A phenological transect containing 78 plant species was established and monitored every 2 weeks to evaluate food availability during the study period. Characteristics of food items and animal nutritional intake were determined via biochemical analyses. The ratio of diurnal to nocturnal feeding was used as response variable in the analyses. The effects of abiotic environmental variables were removed statistically before the analyses of the biotic variables. We found that diurnal feeding lasted longer during the hot–wet season (December–February), whereas nocturnal feeding peaked during the hot–dry and cool–wet seasons (March–August). Although the lemurs foraged mostly in lower forest strata during daylight and used emergent trees preferably at night, the variables which measured animal exposure to birds of prey failed to predict the variation of the ratio of diurnal/nocturnal feeding. Ripe fruit availability and fiber intake are the two variables which best predicted the annual variation of the lemur diurnality. The data indicate that feeding over the whole 24-h cycle is advantageous during lean periods when animals have a fibre-rich, low-quality diet.

Global Kinetic Modelling of a Supplier Barium- and Potassium-Containing Lean NOx Trap

Kinetic modeling, in combination with flow reactor experiments, was used in this study to simulate a supplier lean NOx trap (LNT). The LNT catalyst used is a commercial catalyst that contains barium and potassium as storage components. The results presented in this paper are a continuation of a previous study, where a global kinetic model for NOx storage was developed for a model Pt/Rh/BaO/Al2O3 catalyst. In this work, a simplified model is used, where NO oxidation, nitrite, and nitrate formation are lumped together into one reaction, and the model predicts the total NOx. In this model, only one reaction step must be tuned for each storage component: that is, in our case, one reaction for the formation of barium nitrate and one reaction for potassium nitrate. A broad range of experimental conditions was used when developing this model; five temperatures (200, 300, 400, 500, and 600 degrees C) and three different inlet NO concentrations (100, 200, and 300 ppm) were used. Water and CO2 were present in all experiments, because these can affect the storage behavior. The reductant used in the regeneration period was CO. Long lean and rich cycles were used to capture the kinetics of the reactions accurately. The model was able to describe all 15 experiments well and could adequately capture the amount of stored NOx during the lean period and the NOx conversion during the rich period, including the NOx breakthrough peak that occurred at the beginning of the rich period. The model was validated with short lean-rich cycling experiments, where the lean period was 30 s and the rich period was 2 s. The model could predict the outlet NOx concentration well, and the error for the average conversion was only 1%-2% in the validation simulations.

Influence of Dry Season and Food Quality and Quantity on Behavior and Feeding Strategy of Propithecus verreauxi in Kirindy, Madagascar

According to optimal foraging theory, herbivores can base food choice mainly on the quality or the quantity of food, or both. Among herbivorous primates, folivorous lemurs living in the highly seasonal environment of Madagascar have to cope with the shortage of high-quality food during the dry season, at least in deciduous forests. We studied (Verreaux's sifaka) in Kirindy, western Madagascar, to understand the influence of dry season and food quality and quantity on behavioral patterns and feeding strategy (qualitative vs. quantitative dietary choice) of a folivorous lemur in a deciduous forest. We followed 7 groups (4 groups/period; 3 individuals/group/month) during 4 periods of the year (wet season: February–March; early/middle/late dry season: May–June; July–September; October–November). We collected samples of plants eaten and examined behavioral and feeding patterns, considering food quality (macronutrients, proteins/fibers ratio, and tannins) and abundance. We found 1) a significant reduction of home range, core area, and daily path length from the wet to the dry season, possibly related to dietary change and 2) a daily period of inactivity in the dry season for energy conservation. Regarding the feeding strategy, Kirindy sifakas showed 1) high variation and selection in choosing food items and 2) a dietary choice based mainly on quality: Kirindy sifakas fed on plant species/families independently from their abundance and tannins represented a feeding deterrent during the dry season. Overall, behavioral and dietary adaptations allow Kirindy sifakas to overcome the shortage of high-quality food in the lean period.

Relation among Blood Profiles and Goat Diets on Rangeland

Mellado, M., Olivares, L., Rodriguez, A. and Mellado, J. 2006. Relation among blood profiles and goat diets on rangeland. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 30: 93–98. In this study the hypothesis that botanical composition of goat diets are related to metabolites and mineral levels in blood serum was tested. Diet composition (microhistological analysis of fecal samples) was investigated among adult mixed-breed goats grazing on rangeland during the dry (n=20) and wet (n=20) periods. In the dry period levels of serum creatinine decreased with increasing proportions of Acacia farnesiana in goat diets. Serum levels of urea increased with the consumption of Parthenium incanum while goats consuming high levels of Larrea tridentata had decreased serum cholesterol level. Serum phosphorus showed a positive correlation with Atriplex canescens but a negative association with Buddleja scordioides. In the rainy season ascending levels of Croton dioicus in the diet were related to higher serum urea, Cu and Mg. Increased consumption of Buchloe dactyloides was positively related to serum urea and creatinine. The results of this study may help in evolving supplementary feeding strategies based on nutritional status of goats, particularly during the lean period.

Variation in brain size and ecology in Pongo

Numerous hypotheses have been advanced to explain relative increases in brain size in primates and other mammals. However, notably less attention has been directed towards addressing the biological limits to increasing brain size. Here we explore variation in brain size in orangutans. We evaluated both raw and size-adjusted cranial capacity (CC) in adult Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus ( n = 147), P. p. wurmbii ( n = 24), P. p. morio ( n = 14), and P. abelii ( n = 36). Results demonstrate significant variation in CC among orangutan taxa. Population differences in raw CC are significant for females ( p = 0.014) but not males. Post-hoc pairwise comparisons among females further reveal that raw CC is significantly smaller in P. p. morio compared to both P. abelii and P. p. pygmaeus. When evaluated for proportionality, geometric equivalence in CC is not maintained in orangutans, as P. p. morio has a significantly smaller CC when compared to one or more other orangutan groups. Even after statistically partitioning size and size-correlated shape, P. p. morio has a significantly smaller CC compared to most other orangutan groups. These observed differences in relative brain size are consistent with known variation in resource quality and life history amongst orangutan populations. Specifically, P. p. morio is characterized by the least productive habitat, the lowest energy intake during extended lean periods, and the shortest interbirth intervals. Our results, therefore, provide conditional support for the hypothesis that decreased brain size is related to prolonged episodes of food scarcity, and suggest a correlation between brain size, diet quality, and life history at the lowest macroevolutionary level. The association of a relatively small brain and poor diet quality in Pongo further suggests that ecological factors may plausibly account for such a reduction in brain size as observed in the recently recovered Homo floresiensis from Indonesia.

Cone and seed maturity indices in Cedrus deodara (D.Don, G.Don)

Cedrus deodara (Deodar) has a good seed cycle year, normally after an interval of 4-5 years and hence it becomes necessary to collect abundant quantity of seed during good seed year for their use during lean periods. Besides it, the problem of seed collection in the species also gets compounded by the fact that as soon as the cones mature they break up on the tree itself and the seeds being winged are flown away to long distances, thereby making their collection difficult from the identified mother trees. Under these circumstances it becomes necessary to know the exact time of cone ripening and seed maturity so that they are harvested from the trees itself before their dispersal. In order to understand these problems the present investigation was conducted in Jammu and Kashmir in three regions, i.e. North Kashmir, South Kashmir and Jammu. Seed collection clearly showed wide variation in maturity of cone and seeds amongst different sites depending upon the geographical features and climatic conditions at the time of maturity. Moist, humid and cold environmental conditions were found to delay cone maturation whereas hot and dry conditions hastened cone maturation and dispersal. Cone colour also served as an indicator of maturity because at all the locations, it was dark brown (chocolate colour) in colour with dark green patches at maturity. Another important aspect of maturity indices confirmed during the course of study was the decreasing cone weight and specific gravity with the advancement of maturity. Seed weight and seed germination percent increased with the ripening of seeds and maximum seed weight and germination was recorded prior to dispersal at maturity.

Effect of Obesity and Overweight on Cyclosporine Blood Levels and Renal Functions in Renal Adolescent Recipients

Introduction The impact of obesity, a frequent problem after renal transplantation, which has been associated with poor graft and patient survival, was evaluated on renal function and cyclosporine (CsA) blood levels. Patients We retrospectively evaluated the data of adolescent renal recipients between 1994 and 2004. Patients with serum creatinine ≥ 2.5 mg/dL were excluded. We grouped the data with regard to the body mass index (BMI) percentiles as group I (BMI > 95th), group II (BMI < 95th), group III (BMI > 85th), group IV (BMI < 85th). We compared the clinical and laboratory findings between groups I and II and between groups III and IV. Results We evaluated 778 visits of 27 patients (M/F: 19/8). There were 30 visits in the obesity period (group I) and 72 visits after the overweight periods were added (group III). Serum creatinine levels were significantly higher and glomerular filtration rate levels significantly lower among obese and/or overweight than lean periods ( P < .05). Proteinuria levels were similar in groups I and II, but significantly higher in group III than group IV ( P = .356 and .000, respectively). CsA mg/bw, CsA mg/bmi, and CsA mg/bsa levels were significantly lower in group I than group II and in group III than group IV ( P < .05), while C0 and C2 levels were similar ( P > .05). Conclusion Weight gain is associated with worse renal functions but not greater proteinuria in our patients. Smaller CsA doses were sufficient to maintain C0 and C2 levels similar to the lean patients, results that were parallel to those of adult renal recipients.

Quality of dried coriander leaves as affected by pretreatments and method of drying

Coriander (coriandrum sativum), an annual herb/spice crop is widely used for culinary purpose In India, fresh coriander is abundantly available during winters from December to March but has very short shelf life even under refrigerated conditions. This leads to a marked scarcity in availability and a sharp rise in price in the lean period. During peak period, most of the crop is lost/wasted due to lack of proper post harvest processing techniques. The fresh green coriander (soft stems and leaves) if properly dried, packaged and stored may help in increasing its availability during lean periods at a lower price. Different pretreatments and methods were studied and evaluated on the basis of quality and rehydration characteristics. The best pretreatment was found to be dipping for 15 min in solution of 0.1% Magnesium chloride, 0.1% Sodium bicarbonate and 2.0% KMS in water at room temperature and the best method was drying in mini multi rack solar dryer.

Estimates of Elk Summer Range Nutritional Carrying Capacity Constrained by Probabilities of Habitat Selection

We used habitat-selection data from a reintroduced population of elk (Cervus elaphus) in northeastern Nevada, USA, to develop a resource-selection function to adjust nutritional carrying capacity estimates. Constrained estimates provide population levels that minimize overuse of key foraging communities. We estimated economic nutritional carrying capacity (INCC) for 236-kg lactating cow elk in autumn 1999 and 2000 to reflect expected animal performance under maintenance (2,550 kcal/kg DM) and good (2,750 kcal/kg DM) levels of standing digestible energy. We used our resource-selection function to redistribute INCC densities (RSFD) for aspen (Populus tremuloides), conifer, curl-leaf mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius), sagebrush (Artemisia spp.)–herb, and snowbrush ceanothus (Ceanothus velutinus) cover types across the summer range and then adjusted original INCC estimates according to these RSFD when expected densities exceeded original INCC estimates. Maintenance performance INCC estimates were 2,533 cow elk (95% CI: 1,327–3,739) in 1999 and 1,655 (95% CI: 886–2,424) in 2000. Good performance INCC estimates were 2,264 cow elk (95% CI: 1,150–3,378) in 1999 and 1,100 (95% CI: 384–1,816) in 2000. The best habitat model provided evidence that forage availability and distance to water influenced habitat selection. Adjustments in INCC for 1999 and 2000 and at both performance levels corresponded to decreases of 18–35% in original INCC estimates. Decreases were attributed to more cow elk predicted by RSFD to be in aspen, conifer, and sagebrush–herb cover types than predicted by INCC. Each year, RSFD predicted that fewer elk would use mahogany and snowbrush cover types than original INCC models. The adjusted carrying capacity estimates provided population levels that should avoid appreciable alteration of aspen, conifer, and sagebrush–herb communities while ensuring nutritious resources during lean periods. Our paper provides a critical refinement for nutritional carrying capacity models through incorporating prediction of animal selection of nutritional resources.

Global Retail Chains and Poor Farmers: Evidence from Madagascar

Global retail companies (supermarkets) have an increasing influence on developing countries, through foreign investments and/or through the imposition of their private standards. The impact on developing countries and poverty is often assessed as negative. In this paper we show the opposite, based on an analysis of primary data collected to measure the impact of supermarkets on small contract farmers in Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world. Almost 10,000 farmers in the Highlands of Madagascar produce vegetables for supermarkets in Europe. In this global supply chain, small farmers' micro-contracts are combined with extensive farm assistance and supervision programs to fulfill complex quality requirements and phyto-sanitary standards of supermarkets. Small farmers that participate in these contracts have higher welfare, more income stability and shorter lean periods. We also find significant effects on improved technology adoption, better resource management and spillovers on the productivity of the staple crop rice. The small but emerging modern retail sector in Madagascar does not (yet) deliver these benefits as they do not (yet) request the same high standards for their supplies.

Lean Nox Trap Storage Model for Diesel Engine Aftertreatment Control and Diagnosis

NOx emissions are a great concern to the environment. One major NOx emission source is from off-road and highway vehicles powered with diesel engines. Diesel engines offer significant benefits in fuel economy and low-speed torque performance. However, these benefits come at the expense of increased aftertreatment complexity. A lean NOx trap (LNT) is one effective way to reduce emissions to meet strict EPA regulations. Based on the chemical kinetics analysis of the LNT adsorption mechanism and mass transfer process, a storage model was proposed to estimate the mass of NOx adsorbed inside an LNT during lean periods based on other available signals. The model includes exhaust gas mass flow rate, in-bed temperature, inflow NOx concentrations, and NOx adsorption capacity of the LNT. Model validation shows close agreement between predictions and experimental data. This storage model can be used for LNT regeneration control and fault detection.

The southern muriqui, &lt;i&gt;Brachyteles arachnoides&lt;/i&gt;: ecology of a population in a semideciduous forest fragment

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; Southern muriquis (Brachyteles arachnoides) inhabit evergreen and semideciduous forest fragments in southeastern Brazil. Contrary to the broadleaf evergreen forests, the seasonal mesophytic forests experience a relatively severe dry season, which affects the muriquis’ diet. Through behavioral sampling of feeding activity, I determined the diet of a group of muriquis in a semideciduous forest fragment. Leaves represented 55.3% of feeding records, flowers 16.1%, fruits 12.1%, and seeds 16.5%. Muriquis included 47 plant species in their diet. Leaf consumption was significantly higher in the dry season, but there was no evident difference between seasons in their feeding on either flowers, fruits, or seeds. Muriquis in this study shared only 11 taxa with groups in evergreen forests. The study group made consistent use of immature seeds. Dietary flex- ibility and the consumption of alternative resources may likely be advantageous where there are repeated lean periods and anthropogenic interference.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

Supermarkets, International Trade and Farmers in Developing Countries: Evidence from Madagascar

Global retail companies (supermarkets) have an increasing influence on developing countries, through foreign investments and/or through the imposition of their private standards. The impact on developing countries and poverty is often assessed as negative. In this paper we show the opposite, based on an analysis of primary data collected to measure the impact of supermarkets on small contract farmers in Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world. Almost 10,000 farmers in the Highlands of Madagascar produce vegetables for supermarkets in Europe. In this global supply chain, small farmers' micro-contracts are combined with extensive farm assistance and supervision programs to fulfill complex quality requirements and phyto-sanitary standards of supermarkets. Small farmers that participate in these contracts have higher welfare, more income stability and shorter lean periods. We also find significant effects on improved technology adoption, better resource management and spillovers on the productivity of the staple crop rice. The small but emerging modern retail sector in Madagascar does not (yet) deliver these benefits as they do not (yet) request the same high standards for their supplies.

The behavioral ecology of sympatric African apes: implications for understanding fossil hominoid ecology

The behavioral ecology of the great apes is key evidence used in the reconstruction of the behavior of extinct ape and hominid taxa. Chimpanzees and gorillas have been studied in detail in the wild, and some studies of their behavioral ecology in sympatry have also been been carried out. Although the two ape species have divergent behavior and ecology in important respects, recent studies have shown that the interspecific differences are not as stark as previously thought and subsequently urge new consideration of how they share forest resources when sympatric. These new data require re-examination of assumptions about key aspects of chimpanzee-gorilla ecological divergence, such as diet, ranging and nesting patterns, and the mating system. Diet is a key component of the species' adaptive complexes that facilitates avoidance of direct competition from the other. While the nutritional basis for chimpanzee food choice remains unclear and no doubt varies from site to site, this species is a ripe fruit specialist and ranges farther during periods of ripe fruit scarcity. Gorillas in the same habitat also feed on ripe fruit when widely available, but fall back onto fibrous plant foods during lean periods. The inclusion of animal protein in the diet of the chimpanzees and its absence in that of the gorillas also distinguish the species ecologically. It may also offer clues to aspects of ecological divergence among early members of the hominid phylogeny. The paper concludes by suggesting likely characteristics of sympatric associations of Pliocene hominids, based on field data from extant sympatric apes.

Mountain Production System Analysis–A Case Study from Chalumthang, South Sikkim, India

ABSTRACT Encompassing an area of 7096 km2, Sikkim is located between East 88° 03′ 40″ to 88° 57′ 19″ longitude and North 27° 03′ 47″ to 28° 07′ 34″ latitude in the Eastern Himalayas on the eastern side of India. This entirely mountainous state has altitude range from 300 m to 8598 m above mean sea level (amsl) with variations in climate from tropical to arctic. The study area, Chalumthang, a micro-watershed encompassing 198 ha is located between 88° 28′ 08″ to 88° 29′ 07″ E longitude and 27° 12′ 40″ to 27° 13′ 19″ N latitude in the district of South Sikkim, India. This study was undertaken with the objectives of assessing the socioeconomics, production system functioning, and identification of merits, constraints and future potential of Chalumthang in the district of South Sikkim, India. Chalum Thang was chosen as a representative example of a micro-watershed of the mountain sub-tropical agro-ecosystems. All 134 households were surveyed to document information on the various components of the production system. The acidic soils were well supplied with macro and micronutrients. The production system was characterized by soil instability, loss of topsoil, degradation of good agricultural land, shrinking of catchments of river systems, use of traditional cultivars of crops under low input situations, absence of winter irrigation and bank credit facilities, rearing of low yielding livestock, good homesteads and a cropping intensity of 115 percent. Collection of wild edibles and forage during the lean period (December to March) was observed. Stall-feeding was common and required 32,200 quintals ha−1 of fresh forage per annum and 7000 q annum−1 of firewood extracted from the nearby forests as the only source of energy generated considerable pressure on the natural resources. Only about 25 percent of the residents earned more than Rs. 15,000/(US$300) per annum. The low input production system was ecologically healthy and provided opportunities for conversion to organic farming.

Incentive practices in the US automobile industry

Automobile salespersons have long been viewed by the general public as cunning and cold. They only fare better than murderers. The bad perception that the public has can be traced to the compensation system in the industry. This compensation system has also contributed to the high turnover rates of salespersons in dealerships. High turnover rates are costing the dealerships training cost and lost sales from returning customers. Dealerships have to start changing how they compensate their sales force. Replacing the at risk pay with salary and bonus will greatly change the salespeople’s selling attitude for the better. Salary based will also reduce the turnover rate especially during a lean period. It will also give a chance for a novice to enter the industry without them downgrading their lifestyle. Financial hardship during the learning period has been the main deterrent for newcomers to enter the industry. Other non‐cash incentives, such as free demonstrator, profit sharing and pension plans will help to retain the sales force. Another important factor is to hire the right salespeople from the beginning.

FOOD SEASONALITY AND SOCIOECOLOGY IN PAN : ARE WEST AFRICAN CHIMPANZEES ANOTHER BONOBO?

Comparative feeding ecology of African apes has recently been intensively in- vestigated principally for testing the THV (terrestrial herbaceous vegetation) hypothesis. The hypothesis argues that peaceful behavioral nature observed in bonobo (Pan paniscus) com- pared to chimpanzee (P. troglodytes) is derived from presence of suffi cient THV as fallback foods during lean periods, resulting from habitat segregation from more herbivorous gorillas. There was some supportive evidence for the hypothesis such as presence of feeding competi- tion for fi brous foods between chimpanzees and gorillas in sympatry. However, many cast doubt on the function of THV to maintain female cohesiveness. Overall, the ecological and social causality theorized in the THV hypothesis appears sound, but THV itself unlikely plays a major role, although critical data, bonobo ecology in particular, are still missing. Observed behavioral variation among chimpanzee subspecies suggests that West African chimpanzees are behaviorally more peaceful than East African subspecies. Intensive comparison of some socio-ecological parameters between Bossou and Kibale chimpanzees supported this idea. Data suggested that, also in this case, THV consumption is unlikely a key factor. Because West African chimpanzees, like bonobos, have probably been segregated from gorilla habi- tat for considerable amount of time in their evolutionary history, collective infl uence from coexisting with gorillas, not a competition over a single food source, must be responsible for socio-ecological differentiation observed among bonobo, Western chimpanzees, and Eastern chimpanzees.

Influence of platinum and rhodium composition on the NOx storage and sulphur tolerance of a barium based NOx storage catalyst

In the present work the influence of the type of noble metals present in barium oxide based NOx storage catalysts was investigated regarding the NOx storage performance, NO oxidation, NO reduction, sulphur deactivation and sulphur regenerability. Monolith samples with combinations of platinum and rhodium, were prepared, tested in a flow-reactor, and characterised by XPS measurements. The flow-reactor experiments simulated NOx storage and reduction cycles at 400°C in synthetic gas mixtures with oxygen, propene and nitric oxide. For the sulphur deactivation and regenerability investigations 25ppm (v/v) SO2 was added to the feed gas stream.From the experiments, it was concluded that a combination of platinum and rhodium is required to achieve good NOx storage and reduction performance. The NOx storage capacity was, however, found higher for catalysts containing only platinum compared to catalysts including rhodium. When exposed to SO2 the NOx storage capacity also seemed to deactivate faster for the samples containing rhodium than for samples with platinum as the sole noble metal. Additionally, it was observed that platinum gives high NO oxidation activity during the lean periods both with and without SO2 present in the gas feed. During the rich periods, rhodium showed high activity for NO reduction in sulphur free gas feed as well as in the presence of SO2. Finally, the results implied that to provide good sulphur regeneration ability of the NOx storage catalyst, a combination of platinum and rhodium is necessary.

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