Incorporation of Nitrogen into Organics Produced by Fischer-Tropsch Type Chemistry

Laboratory simulations have demonstrated that hydrothermal systems have the potential to produce a range of organic compounds through Fischer-Tropsch type (FTT) chemistry. The distribution of products depends on several factors, including the abundance and composition of feed-stock molecules, reaction temperature, and the physical and chemical characteristics of catalytic materials included in the reactions. The majority of studies per-formed to date have focused solely on inclusion of CO2 or CO and H2 as the carbon, oxygen and hydrogen sources, which limits the possible products to hydro-carbons, alcohols and carboxylic acids. A few studies have included nitrogen in the form of ammonia, which led to the production of amino acids and nitrogenous bases; and a separate suite of studies included sulfur as sulfide minerals or H2S, which yielded products such as thiols and amino acids. Although these demonstrations provide compelling evidence that FTT reactions can produce compounds of interest for the origins of life, such reactions have been conducted under a very limited range of conditions and the synthetic reaction mechanisms have generally not been well-characterized. As a consequence, it is difficult to extrapolate these results to geologic systems or to evaluate how variations in reactant compositions would affect the distribution of products over time. We have begun a series of laboratory experiments that will incorporate a range of precursor molecules in varying compositions to determine how these variables affect the relative amounts and speciation of life-essential elements in organic molecules produced under FTT conditions. In the present work, we focus on systems containing C, H, O and N

A preliminary study into the use of infrared thermography as a means of assessing the horse's response to different training methods

Infrared thermography (IRT) has been used as a non-invasive means of assessing stress responses in animals. Changes in surface temperature that relate to redirected blood flow have been associated with emotional responses in a range of species. For example, when horses were subjected to a sham clipping procedure, increases in eye temperature were found to correlate significantly with increases in salivary cortisol. The Pessoa Training Aid is claimed to enhance the physical development of the horse but may also increase the psychological stress associated with training. The aim of the current study was to use IRT to evaluate whether the use of this training device affected the stress response of horses during a lunge session. Riding school horses (n = 8) were used for the study. All had previously been lunged in the Pessoa. Each horse was lunged for two sessions of approximately 15 minutes, once with and once without the Pessoa using a cross-over design. In each session the horse was lunged on both reins at walk, trot, canter, trot and walk. With the Pessoa the horse was lunged initially with the device fitted loosely and it was only tightened for the second trot. Thermal images were taken from a distance of one metre after each gait and from each side of the horse using a Mobir GuidIR M4 thermal camera. Ambient temperature was also recorded. A digital rectal thermometer was used to measure core temperature. Thermal images were analysed using Guide IR analyser software. The same area around the eye, on the neck and around the ear was circled on each image and the maximum temperature recorded. Mean temperatures (eye, ear, neck and core) were calculated for each gait with and without the Pessoa. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA was carried out on the mean temperatures to assess the effects of Pessoa and gait. Significantly higher eye temperatures were recorded with the Pessoa (30.59 ± 0.58°C) than without it (28.7 ± 0.83°C) (p < 0.05). There was also a significant effect of gait (p < 0.01), with the highest eye temperature being recorded following the second trot when the Pessoa was worn (32.34 ± 2.61°C) and the lowest at halt (27.5 ± 0.95°C). There was no significant effect of either gadget or gait on ear or neck temperature. Significantly higher core temperatures were found when the Pessoa was used (with: 37.11 ± 0.2°C; without: 36.7 ± 0.17°C) although this was not affected by gait. No correlation between ambient temperature and eye, ear or neck temperature was found. The results of this preliminary study indicate that the horses experienced more stress when lunged with the Pessoa than without it. The increased eye temperature that occurred in relation to gait and was highest after the second trot was accentuated by the use of the Pessoa following tightening of the device. The use of IRT offers an objective non-invasive method of assessing the horse's response to other training methods and a means of improving the welfare of the ridden horse

A qualitative study of primary care professionals’ views of case finding for depression in patients with diabetes or coronary heart disease in the UK

&lt;p&gt;Background Routinely conducting case finding (also commonly referred to as screening) in patients with chronic illness for depression in primary care appears to have little impact. We explored the views and experiences of primary care nurses, doctors and managers to understand how the implementation of case finding/screening might impact on its effectiveness.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Methods Two complementary qualitative focus group studies of primary care professionals including nurses, doctors and managers, in five primary care practices and five Community Health Partnerships, were conducted in Scotland.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Results We identified several features of the way case finding/screening was implemented that may lead to systematic under-detection of depression. These included obstacles to incorporating case finding/screening into a clinical review consultation; a perception of replacing individualised care with mechanistic assessment, and a disconnection for nurses between management of physical and mental health. Far from being a standardised process that encouraged detection of depression, participants described case finding/screening as being conducted in a way which biased it towards negative responses, and for nurses, it was an uncomfortable task for which they lacked the necessary skills to provide immediate support to patients at the time of diagnosis.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Conclusion The introduction of case finding/screening for depression into routine chronic illness management is not straightforward. Routinized case finding/screening for depression can be implemented in ways that may be counterproductive to engagement (particularly by nurses), with the mental health needs of patients living with long term conditions. If case finding/screening or engagement with mental health problems is to be promoted, primary care nurses require more training to increase their confidence in raising and dealing with mental health issues and GPs and nurses need to work collectively to develop the relational work required to promote cognitive participation in case finding/screening.&lt;/p&gt

A Review of Load Forecasting Methodologies

In response to increasing criticisms of their load forecasts and forecasting methods, Iowa\u27s electric utilities sponsored an independent review of past and present load forecasting methodologies. The review was conducted by an Iowa research team and followed two approaches. One was to evaluate various energy and peak demand models used by United States\u27 electrical utilities, with emphasis on models developed during the period 1973 through 1979. The second approach involved construction of econometric energy demand models for an Iowa utility. Historical energy and peak demand models were classified by methodology (statistical, econometric-end use analysis) and demand class (residential, commercial, and industrial). Statistical and econometric models were examined for forecast and backcast accuracy and parameter stability over time. Econometric-end use simulation models were observed for parameter sensitivity and, when possible, accuracy. The energy demand models were constructed for the residential and commercial classes with the purpose of incorporating variables considered relevant by economic theory and available literature. These variables, and their various combinations, were tested for statistical significance and logical applicability to Iowa. The results of this study will provide a foundation on which to begin construction of a comprehensive set of load forecasting models for use by Iowa utilities and legislators

A Large Mass of H2 in the Brightest Cluster Galaxy in Zwicky 3146

We present the Spitzer/IRS mid-infrared spectrum of the infrared-luminous (L_{IR}=4e11 L_sun) brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) in the X-ray-luminous cluster Z3146 (z=0.29). The spectrum shows strong aromatic emission features, indicating that the dominant source of the infrared luminosity is star formation. The most striking feature of the spectrum, however, is the exceptionally strong molecular hydrogen (H2) emission lines, which seem to be shock-excited. The line luminosities and inferred warm H2 gas mass (~1e10 M_sun) are 6 times larger than those of NGC 6240, the most H2-luminous galaxy at z <~ 0.1. Together with the large amount of cold H2 detected previously (~1e11 M_sun), this indicates that the Z3146 BCG contains disproportionately large amounts of both warm and cold H2 gas for its infrared luminosity, which may be related to the intracluster gas cooling process in the cluster core.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; Accepted for publication in ApJ

Nonlinear stabilitty for steady vortex pairs

In this article, we prove nonlinear orbital stability for steadily translating vortex pairs, a family of nonlinear waves that are exact solutions of the incompressible, two-dimensional Euler equations. We use an adaptation of Kelvin's variational principle, maximizing kinetic energy penalised by a multiple of momentum among mirror-symmetric isovortical rearrangements. This formulation has the advantage that the functional to be maximized and the constraint set are both invariant under the flow of the time-dependent Euler equations, and this observation is used strongly in the analysis. Previous work on existence yields a wide class of examples to which our result applies.Comment: 25 page

Chronic acceleration studies - Physiological responses to artificial alterations in weight Progress report

Influence of chronic acceleration on energy metabolism of chickens and animals, as indicated by maintenance feed requiremen

Giant Molecular Clouds are More Concentrated to Spiral Arms than Smaller Clouds

From our catalog of Milky Way molecular clouds, created using a temperature thresholding algorithm on the Bell Laboratories 13CO Survey, we have extracted two subsets:(1) Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs), clouds that are definitely larger than 10^5 solar masses, even if they are at their `near distance', and (2) clouds that are definitely smaller than 10^5 solar masses, even if they are at their `far distance'. The positions and velocities of these clouds are compared to the loci of spiral arms in (l, v) space. The velocity separation of each cloud from the nearest spiral arm is introduced as a `concentration statistic'. Almost all of the GMCs are found near spiral arms. The density of smaller clouds is enhanced near spiral arms, but some clouds (~10%) are unassociated with any spiral arm. The median velocity separation between a GMC and the nearest spiral arm is 3.4+-0.6 km/s, whereas the median separation between smaller clouds and the nearest spiral arm is 5.5+-0.2 km/s.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure