In studies of insect cold-hardiness, the supercooling point (SCP) is defined as the temperature at which spontaneous nucleation of body fluids occurs. Despite having an SCP of -20 degrees C, adults of Drosophila melanogaster did not survive exposure to -5 degrees C, which suggests that cold shock causes lethal injury that is not associated with freezing. If, however, flies were chilled at 5 deg...

This Technology Installation Review describes the installation of a wireless temperature sensor network at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory in Duluth, MN. The objective of the wireless sensor demonstration was to showcase the technology so the experiences with the technology and benefits of the project may be replicated...

Layer and Breeder rations are still evaluated, as a rule, on the basis of their protein content, expressed as "percent protein". This is the easiest and most practical criterion, but unfortunately it is a relative measure, depending on general feed consumption. The latter hardly relates to the productive traits of the hen, being dependent primarily on the energy content of the feed and on the e...

The effects of environmental temperature on growth and feed:gain were studied in three trials each for male and female broilers. Chicks were reared in a common environment to 21 d of age. At 21 d, they were randomly allocated to 10 environmental chambers. Each chamber was maintained at a constant temperature; the chambers ranged from 12 to 30 C in two-degree increments. The dewpoint was maintai...

Global climate change poses one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. Most analyses of the potential biological impacts have focused on changes in mean temperature, but changes in thermal variance will also impact organisms and populations. We assessed the combined effects of the mean and variance of temperature on thermal tolerances, organismal survival, and population growth in Drosophila ...

Mammals normally maintain their core body temperature (CBT) despite changes in environmental temperature. Exceptions to this norm include suspended animation-like states such as hibernation, torpor, and estivation. These states are all characterized by marked decreases in metabolic rate, followed by a loss of homeothermic control in which the animal's CBT approaches that of the environment. We ...

Advanced interferometric gravitational-wave detectors use optical cavities to resonantly enhance their shot-noise-limited sensitivity. Because of positive dispersion of these cavities-signals at different frequencies pick up different phases, there is a tradeoff between the detector bandwidth and peak sensitivity, which is a universal feature for quantum measurement devices having resonant cavi...

During the past several decades, philosophers of science and scientists themselves have become increasingly aware of the complex ways in which scientific knowledge is shaped by its social context. This awareness has called into question traditional notions of objectivity. Working scientists need an understanding of their own practice that avoids the naïve myth that science can become objective ...

The goal of this study was to identify risk factors associated with increased fecal shedding of Salmonella enterica (SE) in groups of market swine reared in large three-site production units. We conducted an intensive, long-term investigation of potential management and environmental risk factors operating during the growing phase of pig production. Data regarding finisher site characteristics,...