Feed intake is controlled through a combination of long- and short-term mechanisms. Homeorhetic mechanisms allow adaptation to changes in physiological states in the long term, whereas homeostatic mechanisms are important to maintain physiological equilibrium in the short term. Feed intake is a function of meal size and meal frequency that are controlled by short-term mechanisms over the timeframe of minutes that are modulated by homeorhetic signals to adapt to changes in the physiological state. Control of feed intake by hepatic oxidation likely integrates these mechanisms. Signals from the liver are transmitted to brain feeding centers via vagal afferents and are affected by the hepatic oxidation of fuels. Because fuels oxidized in the liver are derived from both the diet and tissues, the liver is able to integrate long- and short-term controls. Whereas multiple signals are integrated in brain feeding centers to ultimately determine feeding behavior, the liver is likely a primary sensor of energy status.

A range of herbicide treatments was evaluated for long-term control of rush skeletonweed, a perennial weed of crops and pastures in North and South America, the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and Australia. Clopyralid (75 to 300 g ai/ha) and clopyralid mixtures with 2,4-D, MCPA, or dicamba were effective, resulting in survival rates of 0 to 4% for the most successful treatments applied for three consecutive seasons. Metsulfuron (9 g ai/ha) and 2,4-D (850 g ai/ha) significantly reduced survival when applied at high rates for three years. Barley yield in the season following control was increased by up to 195 to 199% of yield from untreated plots. Evidence was found for differences in herbicide susceptibility between narrowleaf and broadleaf forms of rush skeletonweed.

Five field experiments were conducted to evaluate effectiveness of postemergence herbicidal treatments. Amitrole (3-amino-s-triazole) at 1.1 kg ai/ha and picloram (4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid) at 0.6 kg ai/ha reduced stands of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) for a 4-yr period. Glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] at 2.2 kg ai/ha reduced stands of milkweed for two to three growing seasons. Glyphosate or amitrole applied in June (early bud stage) more effectively reduced milkweed stands in the second year than did the herbicides when applied in August (post-flowering stage). Treatments of 2,4-D [(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid], 2,4,5-T [(2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)acetic acid], and dicamba (3,6-dichloro-o-anisic acid) did not reduce stands of common milkweed.