Effects of shear on eggs and larvae of striped bass, morone saxatilis, and white perch, M. americana

Shear stress, generated by water movement, can kill fish eggs and larvae by causing rotation or deformation. Through the use of an experimental apparatus, a series of shear (as dynes/cm2)-mortality equations for fixed time exposures were generated for striped bass and white perch eggs and larvae. Exposure of striped bass eggs to a shear level of 350 dynes/cm2 kills 36% of the eggs in 1 min; 69% in 2 min, and 88% in 4 min; exposure of larvae to 350 dynes/cm2 kills 9.3% in 1 min, 30.0% in 2 min, and 68.1% in 4 min. A shear level of 350 dynes/cm2 kills 38% of the white perch eggs in 1 min, 41% in 2 min, 89% in 5 min, 96% in 10 min, and 98% in 20 min. A shear level of 350 dynes/cm2 applied to white perch larvae destroys 38% of the larvae in 1 min, 52% in 2 min, and 75% in 4 min. Results are experimentally used in conjunction with the determination of shear levels in the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal and ship movement for the estimation of fish egg and larval mortalities in the field

The Functor Amin⁡A^{\min} for (p−1)(p-1)-cell Complexes and \EHP Sequences

Let $X$ be a co-$H$-space of $(p-1)$-cell complex with all cells in even dimensions. Then the loop space $\Omega X$ admits a retract $\bar A^{\min}(X)$ that is the evaluation of the functor $\bar A^{\min}$ on $X$. In this paper, we determine the homology $H_*(\bar A^{\min}(X))$ and give the \EHP sequence for the spaces $\bar A^{\min}(X)$.Comment: 32 page

Are physical performance and injury risk in a professional soccer team in match-play affected over a prolonged period of fixture congestion?

In this study, the effects of a prolonged period of fixture congestion (8 successive official matches in 26-days) on physical performance and injury risk and severity in a professional soccer team were investigated. Computerised motion-analysis was used to analyse the overall distance covered and that run at light- (0.0-11.0 km•h-1); low- (11.1-14.0 km•h-1); moderate- (14.1-19.7 km•h-1) and high-intensities (≥19.8 km•h-1) for the team as a whole. Distances were measured in metres per minute. Information on match injuries was recorded prospectively. The overall distance covered varied across successive matches (p<0.001) as more distance was run in games 4 and 7 compared to 2 and 3 respectively (126.6±12.3 m•min-1 and 125.0±13.2 m•min-1 vs. 116.0±8.0 m•min-1 and 115.5±11.0 m•min-1). Distance run in light-intensity exercise also varied (p<0.001) as more distance was covered in game 4 versus 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 (75.5±3.8 m•min-1 vs. 70.6±2.4 m•min-1, 71.8±3.4 m•min-1, 69.3±2.6 m•min-1, 71.5±3.1 m•min-1, and 70.3±2.8 m•min-1) and in game 8 versus game 3 (73.1±3.8 vs. 69.3±2.6 m•min-1) respectively. When comparing match halves, there were no differences across games in overall or high-intensity distance covered and performance in these measures was similar for matches played before, during and after this period. Globally, no difference over the 8 games combined was observed between the reference team and opponents in any of the performance measures whereas the overall distance covered and that in low- (both p<0.001) and high-intensity running (p=0.040) differed in individual games. The incidence of match injury during the congested fixture period was similar to rates reported outside this period but the mean layoff duration of injuries was substantially shorter during the former (p<0.05). In summary, while the overall distance run and that covered at lower intensities varied across games, high-intensity running performance and injury risk were generally unaffected during a prolonged period of fixture congestion. These results might be linked to squad rotation and post-match recovery strategies in place at the present club

Non-exercise equations to estimate fitness in white European and South Asian men

Cardiorespiratory fitness is a strong, independent predictor of health, whether it is measured in an exercise test or estimated in an equation. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate equations to estimate fitness in middle-aged white European and South Asian men.Multiple linear regression models (n=168, including 83 white European and 85 South Asian men) were created using variables that are thought to be important in predicting fitness (VO2 max, mL⋅kg⋅min): age (years); BMI (kg·m); resting heart rate (beats⋅min); smoking status (0=never smoked, 1=ex or current smoker); physical activity expressed as quintiles (0=quintile 1, 1=quintile 2, 2=quintile 3, 3=quintile 4, 4=quintile 5), categories of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (0=&lt;75 min⋅wk, 1=75-150 min⋅wk, 2=&gt;150-225 min⋅wk, 3=&gt;225-300 min⋅wk, 4=&gt;300 min⋅wk), or minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (min⋅wk); and, ethnicity (0=South Asian, 1=white). The leave-one-out-cross-validation procedure was used to assess the generalizability and the bootstrap and jackknife resampling techniques were used to estimate the variance and bias of the models.Around 70% of the variance in fitness was explained in models with an ethnicity variable, such as: VO2 max = 77.409 - (age*0.374) - (BMI*0.906) - (ex or current smoker*1.976) + (physical activity quintile coefficient) - (resting heart rate*0.066) + (white ethnicity*8.032), where physical activity quintile 1 is 1, 2 is 1.127, 3 is 1.869, 4 is 3.793, and 5 is 3.029. Only around 50% of the variance was explained in models without an ethnicity variable. All models with an ethnicity variable were generalizable and had low variance and bias.These data demonstrate the importance of incorporating ethnicity in non-exercise equations to estimate cardiorespiratory fitness in multi-ethnic populations

Effect of heating rate on gas emissions and properties of fired clay bricks and fired clay bricks incorporated with cigarette butts

In general, the firing process of clay bricks generates a range of gas emissions into the atmosphere. At high concentrations, these volatile emissions can be a serious source of environmental pollutions. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different heating rates on gas emissions and properties during the firing of clay bricks and clay bricks incorporated with cigarette butts (CBs). In this investigation, four different heating rates were used: 0.7 °C min−1−1, 2 °C min−1, 5 °C min−1 and 10 °C min. The samples were fired in solid form from room temperature to 1050 °C. During the firing cycles, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides,hydrogen cyanide and chlorine emissions were measured at different heating rates. All bricks were also tested for their physical and mechanical properties including dry density, compressive strength, tensile strength, water absorption and initial rate of absorption. Results show that gas emissions were reduced significantly with higher heating rates (10 °C min) followed by 5 °C min−1−1 and 2 °C min for both types of brick samples. Higher heating rates also decrease the compressive strength and tensile strength value but demonstrate an insignificant effect on the water absorption properties respectively. In conclusion, a higher heating rate is preferable in terms of decreasing gas emissions and it is also able to produce adequate physical and mechanical properties especially for the CB brick

Degree Sequences and Long Cycles in Graphs

Let $G$ be a graph on $n$ vertices with degree sequence $\delta=d_1\le d_2\le...\le d_n$. Let $c$ be the circumference - the order of a longest cycle and $p$ the order of a longest path in $G$. In 1952, Dirac proved: (i) every graph with $2d_1\ge n$ is hamiltonian; (ii) in every 2-connected graph, $c\ge \min\{p,2d_1\}$. Recently, the bounds $2d_1\ge n$ and $c\ge \min\{p,2d_1\}$ in (i) and (ii) are improved to $2d_\delta\ge n$ and $c\ge \min\{p,2d_\delta\}$, respectively, by Koulakzian, Mosesyan and Nikoghosyan. In this paper we present two new sharp bounds $d_\delta+d_{\delta+1}\ge n$ and $\min\{2d_{\delta+1},d_\delta+d_{\delta+2}\}\ge n$ instead of $2d_\delta\ge n$, as well as two new sharp bounds $c\ge \min\{p,d_\delta+d_{\delta+1}\}$ and $c\ge \min\{p,2d_{\delta+1},d_\delta+d_{\delta+2}\}$ instead of $c\ge \min\{p,2d_\delta\}$.Comment: 9 page

Comparison of Post-injection Site Pain Between Technetium Sulfur Colloid and Technetium Tilmanocept in Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy.

BackgroundNo prior studies have examined injection pain associated with Technetium-99m Tilmanocept (TcTM).MethodsThis was a randomized, double-blinded study comparing postinjection site pain between filtered Technetium Sulfur Colloid (fTcSC) and TcTM in breast cancer lymphoscintigraphy. Pain was evaluated with a visual analogue scale (VAS) (0-100 mm) and the short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ). The primary endpoint was mean difference in VAS scores at 1-min postinjection between fTcSC and TcTM. Secondary endpoints included a comparison of SF-MPQ scores between the groups at 5 min postinjection and construction of a linear mixed effects model to evaluate the changes in pain during the 5-min postinjection period.ResultsFifty-two patients underwent injection (27-fTcSC, 25-TcTM). At 1-min postinjection, patients who received fTcSC experienced a mean change in pain of 16.8 mm (standard deviation (SD) 19.5) compared with 0.2 mm (SD 7.3) in TcTM (p = 0.0002). At 5 min postinjection, the mean total score on the SF-MPQ was 2.8 (SD 3.0) for fTcSC versus 2.1 (SD 2.5) for TcTM (p = 0.36). In the mixed effects model, injection agent (p &lt; 0.001), time (p &lt; 0.001) and their interaction (p &lt; 0.001) were associated with change in pain during the 5-min postinjection period. The model found fTcSC resulted in significantly more pain of 15.2 mm (p &lt; 0.001), 11.3 mm (p = 0.001), and 7.5 mm (p = 0.013) at 1, 2, and 3 min postinjection, respectively.ConclusionsInjection with fTcSC causes significantly more pain during the first 3 min postinjection compared with TcTM in women undergoing lymphoscintigraphy for breast cancer

The minimum width condition for neutrino conversion in matter

We find that for small vacuum mixing angle $\theta$ and low energies ($s\ll M^2_Z$) the width of matter, $d_{1/2}$, needed to have conversion probability $P\geq 1/2$ should be larger than $d_{min}= \pi/(2\sqrt{2} G_{F} \tan 2 \theta)$: $d_{1/2}\geq d_{min}$. Here $G_F$ is the Fermi constant, $s$ is the total energy squared in the center of mass and $M_Z$ is the mass of the $Z$ boson. The absolute minimum $d_{1/2}=d_{min}$ is realized for oscillations in a uniform medium with resonance density. For all the other density distributions (monotonically varying density, castle wall profile, etc.) the required width $d_{1/2}$ is larger than $d_{min}$. The width $d_{min}$ depends on $s$, and for $Z$-resonance channels at $s\sim M^2_Z$ we get that $d_{min}(s)$ is 20 times smaller than the low energy value. We apply the minimum width condition, $d\geq d_{min}$, to high energy neutrinos in matter as well as in neutrino background. Using this condition, we conclude that the matter effect is negligible for neutrinos propagating in AGN and GRBs environments. Significant conversion can be expected for neutrinos crossing dark matter halos of clusters of galaxies and for neutrinos produced by cosmologically distant sources and propagating in the universe.Comment: 35 pages, latex, 5 figures, structure of the paper is slightly changed, typos correcte