How should the respiration rate be counted in cattle?

Respiration rate (RR) is a proficient indicator to measure the health status of cattle. The common method of measurement is to count the number of respiratory cycles each minute based on flank movements. However, there is no consistent method of execution. In previous studies, various methods have been described, including counting flank movements for 15 s, 30 s or 60 s as well as stopping the time for 5 or 10 breaths. We assume that the accuracy of the aforementioned methods differs. Therefore, we compared their precision with an RR sensor, which was used as the reference method in this study. Five scientists from the fields of agricultural science and veterinary medicine quantified the flank movement according to each of the five methods mentioned above. The results showed that with an average RR of 30 breaths per minute (bpm), all methods showed a high correlation to the values of the RR sensor. However, counting breaths for 60 s had the highest level of conformity with the RR sensor (Lin`s concordance correlation coefficient: 0.96) regardless of the level of RR. With rising RR, the inaccuracy increased significantly for the other four investigated methods, especially when counting 5 and 10 breaths. Therefore, we would recommend that counting for 60 s should be used as the standard method for future studies due to its high precision regardless of the level of RR

Local Order in Liquid Gallium-Indium Alloys

Liquid metals such as eutectic Ga–In alloys have low melting points and low toxicity and are used in catalysis and micro-robotics. This study investigates the local atomic structure of liquid gallium-indium alloys by a combination of density measurements, diffraction data, and Monte-Carlo simulation via the empirical potential structure refinement approach. A high-Q shoulder observed in liquid Ga is related to structural rearrangements in the second coordination shell. Structure analysis found coordination environments close to a random distribution for eutectic Ga–In alloy, while electronic effects appear to dominate the mixing enthalpy

Anaerobic digestion of whole-crop winter wheat silage for renewable energy production

With biogas production expanding across Europe in response to renewable energy incentives, a wider variety of crops need to be considered as feedstock. Maize, the most commonly used crop at present, is not ideal in cooler, wetter regions, where higher energy yields per hectare might be achieved with other cereals. Winter wheat is a possible candidate because, under these conditions, it has a good biomass yield, can be ensiled, and can be used as a whole crop material. The results showed that, when harvested at the medium milk stage, the specific methane yield was 0.32 m3 CH4 kg–1 volatile solids added, equal to 73% of the measured calorific value. Using crop yield values for the north of England, a net energy yield of 146–155 GJ ha–1 year–1 could be achieved after taking into account both direct and indirect energy consumption in cultivation, processing through anaerobic digestion, and spreading digestate back to the land. The process showed some limitations, however: the relatively low density of the substrate made it difficult to mix the digester, and there was a buildup of soluble chemical oxygen demand, which represented a loss in methane potential and may also have led to biofoaming. The high nitrogen content of the wheat initially caused problems, but these could be overcome by acclimatization. A combination of these factors is likely to limit the loading that can be applied to the digester when using winter wheat as a substrat

Registration and local production of essential medicines in Uganda

Universal access to high quality essential medicines is critical to sustainable development (SDG 3.8). However low- and middle-income countries struggle to ensure access to all medicines on their national essential medicines lists (EML). Market registration is the first step in determining both access and availability yet the extent to which essential medicines are registered for use at country level is not known. Companies apply for a marketing authorisation, however low price or lack of a market is a disincentive. Local production has been promoted to ensure availability of essential medicines but research in this area is also limited.; The study took place between 2011 and 2015. We systematically examined the registration status of medicines and vaccines listed in the Ugandan 2012 EML and conducted 20 interviews with regulators, ministry of health representatives, donors, and pharmaceutical producers and analysed quality assurance issues affecting registration, procurement, and local production of medicines in Uganda. In 2017 we conducted a further three interviews to clarify issues around non-registration of essential medicines highlighted by our analysis.; Of the 566 essential medicines and vaccines nearly half (49%; 275/566) had no registered product in 2012. Of the 3130 registered products, just over a quarter (28%; 880/3130) were listed on the EML. Six local producers had registered 138 products of which 40 corresponded to 32 unique essential medicines. Interviews highlighted alternative routes to availability other than registration. Local producers faced considerable barriers to achieving international quality standards required for international procurement of medicines for the domestic market.; Monitoring and audit of the registration of essential and non-essential medicines should be a priority nationally and, regionally through harmonisation of registration requirements in the East African Community. National and regional manufacturing plans should consider local production of unregistered essential medicines

Cruise Report: EX-17-11 Gulf of Mexico 2017 (ROV and Mapping)

From November 29, 2017 to December 21, 2017, the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) and partners conducted a telepresence-enabled ocean exploration expedition on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to collect critical baseline data and information and to improve knowledge about unexplored and poorly understood deepwater areas of the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico 2017 (EX-17-11) expedition was part of a series of expeditions between 2017 and 2018 that explored deepwater areas in the Gulf of Mexico. During 23 days at sea, 17 remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives were completed off the Western Florida Escarpment and in the central and western Gulf of Mexico. Over 93 hours of ROV bottom time were logged at depths between 300 and 2,321 meters. Over 20,000 square kilometers of seafloor were mapped. A total of 138 biological and 11 geological samples were collected. The expedition gathered over 280,000 live video views worldwide and the OER website received over 35,600 views. A core onshore science team of over 80 participants from around the world collaborated and supported real-time ocean exploration science. The data associated with this expedition have been archived and are publicly available through the NOAA Archives

Topological signature of deterministic chaos in short nonstationary signals from an optical parametric oscillator

Although deterministic chaos has been predicted to occur in the triply resonant optical parametric oscillator (TROPO) fifteen years ago, experimental evidence of chaotic behavior in this system has been lacking so far, in marked contrast with most nonlinear systems, where chaos has been actively tracked and found. This situation is probably linked to the high sensitivity of the TROPO to perturbations, which adversely affects stationary operation at high power. We report the experimental observation in this system of a burst of irregular behavior of duration 80 microseconds. Although the system is highly nonstationary over this time interval, a topological analysis allows us to extract a clearcut signature of deterministic chaos from a time series segment of only 9 base cycles (3 microseconds). This result suggests that nonstationarity is not necessarily an obstacle to the characterization of chaos

Sublingual misoprostol versus intramuscular oxytocin for prevention of postpartum hemorrhage in Uganda: a double-blind randomized non-inferiority trial

Background: Postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a leading cause of maternal death in sub-Saharan Africa. Although the World Health Organization recommends use of oxytocin for prevention of PPH, misoprostol use is increasingly common owing to advantages in shelf life and potential for sublingual administration. There is a lack of data about the comparative efficacy of oxytocin and sublingual misoprostol, particularly at the recommended dose of 600 mu g, for prevention of PPH during active management of labor. Methods and Findings: We performed a double-blind, double-dummy randomized controlled non-inferiority trial between 23 September 2012 and 9 September 2013 at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda. We randomized 1,140 women to receive 600 mu g of misoprostol sublingually or 10 IU of oxytocin intramuscularly, along with matching placebos for the treatment they did not receive. Our primary outcome of interest was PPH, defined as measured blood loss >= 500 ml within 24 h of delivery. Secondary outcomes included measured blood loss >= 1,000 ml; mean measured blood loss at 1, 2, and 24 h after delivery; death; requirement for blood transfusion; hemoglobin changes; and use of additional uterotonics. At 24 h postpartum, primary PPH occurred in 163 (28.6%) participants in the misoprostol group and 99 (17.4%) participants in the oxytocin group (relative risk [RR] 1.64, 95% CI 1.32 to 2.05, p<0.001; absolute risk difference 11.2%, 95% CI 6.44 to 16.1). Severe PPH occurred in 20 (3.6%) and 15 (2.7%) participants in the misoprostol and oxytocin groups, respectively (RR 1.33, 95% CI 0.69 to 2.58, p = 0.391; absolute risk difference 0.9%, 95% CI -1.12 to 2.88). Mean measured blood loss was 341.5 ml (standard deviation [SD] 206.2) and 304.2 ml (SD 190.8, p = 0.002) at 2 h and 484.7 ml (SD 213.3) and 432.8 ml (SD 203.5, p<0.001) at 24 h in the misoprostol and oxytocin groups, respectively. There were no significant differences between the two groups in any other secondary outcomes. Women in the misoprostol group more commonly experienced shivering (RR 1.91, 95% CI 1.65 to 2.21, p<0.001) and fevers (RR 5.20, 95% CI 3.15 to 7.21, p = 0.005). This study was conducted at a regional referral hospital with capacity for emergency surgery and blood transfusion. High-risk women were excluded from participation. Conclusions: Misoprostol 600 mu g is inferior to oxytocin 10 IU for prevention of primary PPH in active management of labor. These data support use of oxytocin in settings where it is available. While not powered to do so, the study found no significant differences in rate of severe PPH, need for blood transfusion, postpartum hemoglobin, change in hemoglobin, or use of additional uterotonics between study groups. Further research should focus on clarifying whether and in which sub-populations use of oxytocin would be preferred over sublingual misoprostol

Criminal Justice Reform as HIV and TB Prevention in African Prisons

Katherine Todrys and Joseph Amon argue for criminal justice system reforms in sub-Saharan Africa to reduce HIV and TB transmission in prisons and to guarantee detainees' human rights and health