Greenhouse gases fluxes and soil thermal properties in a pasture in central Missouri.

Fluctuations of greenhouse gases emissions and soil properties occur at short spatial and temporal scales, however, results are often reported for larger scales studies. We monitored CO2, CH4, and N2O fluxes and soil temperature (T), thermal conductivity (K), resistivity (R) and thermal diffusivity (D) from 2004 to 2006 in a pasture. Soil air samples for determination of CO2, CH4 and N20 concentrations were collected from static and vented chambers and analyzed within two hours of collection with a gas chromatograph.

Romantic interest in obese college students.

This study compares romantic interest in obese and non-obese students. We surveyed 1217 college students on their demographic characteristics, self-perceptions (self-loathing and drive for thinness), and romantic selectivity. Obese people (especially women) showed strongly negative self-perceptions.

Further validation of the self-loathing subscale as a screening tool for eating disorders.

This study examines the reliability and validity of the Self Loathing Subscale (SLSS) of the Exercise Orientation Questionnaire (EOQ) as a screening tool for possible eating disorders. We administered the SLSS and two other eating disorder screening instruments to 160 college students. Results indicate that the SLSS shows high internal consistency, concurrent validity, and convergent validity.

Uterine contraction patterns and fertility in early postpartum ewes.

Three experiments were conducted to determine: (1) the direction of uterine contractions in Days 32 and 52 postpartum ewes (Experiment 1); (2) the effect of PGF(2alpha) on direction of uterine contractions (Experiment 2); and (3) the effect of PGF(2alpha) on fertility rates in Day 32 postpartum ewes (Experiment 3). In Experiment 1, non-lambing (>90 days postpartum) and lambing ewes (day of lambing=Day 0) received medroxyprogesterone acetate (MAP) vaginal sponges for 8 days and 500 IU of eCG at sponge withdrawal (Days 30 or 50 postpartum). At the time of eCG injection, ewes were divided into the following groups: (1) non-lambing (control; n=29); (2) Day 32 postpartum dry (n=15) and lactating (n=16); and (3) Day 52 postpartum dry (n=14) and lactating (n=16).

Classification of small type B/C follicles as primordial follicles in mature rats.

In the present study, follicles were classified according to the morphology of their granulosa cells. Type B follicles contained only flattened granulosa cells; type B/C follicles had a mixture of flattened and cuboidal granulosa cells in a single layer, and type C follicles had a single layer of cuboidal granulosa cells. The primary objectives of the study were to determine whether 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine incorporation into type B/C follicles was a marker for initiation of growth and how long type B/C follicles could remain at the same stage before transformation to type C follicles.

Long-term supplementation with melatonin delays reproductive senescence in rats, without an effect on number of primordial follicles.

The primary objective of the present experiment was to determine if lifelong supplementation with melatonin delayed reproductive senescence through decreased loss of ovarian primordial follicles. Holtzman rats were divided into three treatments on Day 10 after pupping (Day 0 = day of pupping). Treatment 1 pups had access to water, whereas Treatment 2 and 3 pups had access to water containing 10 microg/ml melatonin only at night (Treatment 2) or continuously (Treatment 3).

Single-section counting error when distinguishing between primordial and early primary follicles in sections of rat ovary of different thickness.

Unlabelled: The number of primordial follicles within an ovary is frequently determined by counting 5, 7 or 10 microns thick sections and multiplying by the fraction of sections counted and a correction factor to adjust for duplicate counts. The objectives of the present study were: (i) to evaluate the accuracy of the correction factor developed by Abercrombie (1946); (ii) to evaluate the accuracy of the classification of primordial follicles from single tissue sections; and (iii) to determine the incorporation rate of 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine into primordial follicles. In Expt 1, rat ovaries were sectioned at a thickness of 5, 7 or 10 microns.

Task and socioemotional behaviors of physicians: a test of reciprocity and social interaction theories in analogue physician-patient encounters.

The purpose of the present study is to assess social interaction and reciprocity theories as explanations for patient responses to a physician in a medical consultation. Social interaction theory predicts that patients mostly recognize and react to socioemotional behavior of their physicians due to a lack of understanding of physician task behaviors or a preoccupation with anxiety. Reciprocity theory predicts that patients recognize socioemotional and task behaviors of their physicians, and they respond to these behaviors in thematically similar ways.

Obsessionality and the attempted suppression of unpleasant personal intrusive thoughts.

To explore the role of the thought enhancement and thought rebound effects in obsessionality, the relationship between obsessional symptomology and responding during and after the attempted suppression of unpleasant personal intrusive thoughts was examined. Ss first completed the Maudsley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) [Rachman and Hodgson, 1980]. Later, Ss indicated their most frequent intrusive thought and then completed a thought suppression protocol in which they first expressed, then suppressed, and, again, expressed that thought.

Effect of infants on adult social relations in the squirrel monkey (Saimiri Sciureus).

7 groups of squirrel monkeys were observed to assess the effect of infants on social interactions and interanimal distances among adult members of their natal groups. Each group contained one or two infants, 5 to 7 months of age at the start of the study. Infants initiated affiliative and playful interactions with all adults, whereas adults directed few mostly antagonistic, interactions toward infants.

Predictors of thought rebound.

Individual differences in the paradoxical thought rebound effect (increased thought expression following attempted thought suppression) were examined in two studies. In these two studies, the majority of Ss did not evidence thought rebound and, in both studies, it was found that a measure of thought rebound was correlated with other variables. In Study 1, a four-factor regression model predicted thought rebound (R2 = 0.

Low-protein diet blocks development of hyperphagia and obesity in rats with hypothalamic knife cuts.

The objective of this study was to examine the influence of dietary protein levels on development of hyperphagia and obesity in rats that had been given surgical knife cuts between the ventromedial and lateral areas of the hypothalamus. Under normal conditions, rats with this type of surgery exhibit hyperphagia and become obese when given unlimited access to dietary energy. Earlier studies indicated impaired adaptive diet-induced thermogenesis in response to excess energy intake in this animal model of obesity.

Embryonic survival in the uterus of ewes inseminated at the uterotubal junction on Day 32 post partum.

Experiments were conducted to determine 1) if pregnancy initiated on Day 32 post partum would be maintained until lambing, 2) if there is a difference in the ability of the previously gravid or nongravid uterine horn to maintain pregnancy, and 3) if season has an effect on embryo loss. Estrus was induced in ewes on Day 32 post partum. At estrus, ewes were inseminated surgically at the uterotubal junction and assigned to the following groups: 1) inseminated at estrus and laparotomized on Day 3 to collect embryos for determination of fertilization rate (C), 2) inseminated in the previously gravid uterine horn (PG), 3) inseminated in the previously nongravid uterine horn (NG), and 4) inseminated when both horns were previously gravid (BG).

A procedure for successful nonsurgical embryo transfer in swine.

The current study was undertaken to develop a successful procedure for the nonsurgical transfer of pig embryos. A total of 663 embryos were surgically collected on Day 4 or 5 from 55 donors, of which 542 embryos of acceptable quality were nonsurgically transferred to 46 recipients. Nonsurgical recipient gilts were sedated 15 min prior to transfer with 20 mg im acepromazine maleate.

Cervical dilation, conception rate, and concentrations of progesterone and estradiol-17B in postpartum ewes treated with porcine relaxin.

Experiments were conducted to determine the effects of porcine relaxin (pRLX) on cervical dilation and conception rates in postpartum ewes. In Experiment 1, ewes received medroxyprogesterone acetate (MAP) sponge on day 16 (day 0 = lambing) and 750 IU pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) at sponge removal on day 30. Control ewes received saline and relaxin-treated (RLX) ewes received 0.