CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE OF BEEF PRODUCED UNDER ALTERNATIVE FEEDING SYSTEMS

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Modelización de la inundación química de yacimientos petrolíferos

Se desarrollan dos modelos que predicen el petróleo recuperable mediante la inyección de sustancias químicas. Ambos consideran dos fases (acuosa u oleosa) y tres componentes (agua, petróleo y especie química). El flujo es horizontal, unidimensional e incompresible. La roca tiene propiedades uniformes y puede adsorber la sustancia química. Se supone equilibrio termodinámico a través de las fases. La dispersión y los gradientes de presión capilar son despreciables y además la composición de inyección es constante. Los modelos están gobernados por un sistema de ecuaciones diferenciales parciales no lineales: la ecuación de continuidad de cada componente y la ecuación de Darcy para el flujo bifásico. En el modelo más riguroso se resuelve el sistema de ecuaciones aplicando una técnica en diferencias finitas. En el modelo más simple se adicionan restricciones con el objeto de hallar soluciones analíticas. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la utilidad y las limitaciones del modelo simple. Se concluye que si bien las restricciones adicionadas no responden a la realidad, el modelo simple es capaz de representar los mecanismos físicos de desplazamientos más importantes y permite obtener una primera aproximación del petróleo recuperable que es el valor máximo de la recuperación verdadera.Peer Reviewe

Modelización de la inundación química de yacimientos petrolíferos

Se desarrollan dos modelos que predicen el petróleo recuperable mediante la inyección de sustancias químicas. Ambos consideran dos fases (acuosa u oleosa) y tres componentes (agua, petróleo y especie química). El flujo es horizontal, unidimensional e incompresible. La roca tiene propiedades uniformes y puede adsorber la sustancia química. Se supone equilibrio termodinámico a través de las fases. La dispersión y los gradientes de presión capilar son despreciables y además la composición de inyección es constante. Los modelos están gobernados por un sistema de ecuaciones diferenciales parciales no lineales: la ecuación de continuidad de cada componente y la ecuación de Darcy para el flujo bifásico. En el modelo más riguroso se resuelve el sistema de ecuaciones aplicando una técnica en diferencias finitas. En el modelo más simple se adicionan restricciones con el objeto de hallar soluciones analíticas. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar la utilidad y las limitaciones del modelo simple. Se concluye que si bien las restricciones adicionadas no responden a la realidad, el modelo simple es capaz de representar los mecanismos físicos de desplazamientos más importantes y permite obtener una primera aproximación del petróleo recuperable que es el valor máximo de la recuperación verdadera.Peer Reviewe

Effects of body size on estimation of mammalian area requirements.

Accurately quantifying species' area requirements is a prerequisite for effective area-based conservation. This typically involves collecting tracking data on species of interest and then conducting home range analyses. Problematically, autocorrelation in tracking data can result in space needs being severely underestimated. Based on the previous work, we hypothesized the magnitude of underestimation varies with body mass, a relationship that could have serious conservation implications. To evaluate this hypothesis for terrestrial mammals, we estimated home-range areas with global positioning system (GPS) locations from 757 individuals across 61 globally distributed mammalian species with body masses ranging from 0.4 to 4000 kg. We then applied blockcross validation to quantify bias in empirical home range estimates. Area requirements of mammals 1, meaning the scaling of the relationship changedsubstantially at the upper end of the mass spectrum

Moving in the anthropocene: global reductions in terrestrial mammalian movements

Animal movement is fundamental for ecosystem functioning and species survival, yet the effects of the anthropogenic footprint on animal movements have not been estimated across species. Using a unique GPS-tracking database of 803 individuals across 57 species, we found that movements of mammals in areas with a comparatively high human footprint were on average one-half to one-third the extent of their movements in areas with a low human footprint. We attribute this reduction to behavioral changes of individual animals and to the exclusion of species with long-range movements from areas with higher human impact. Global loss of vagility alters a key ecological trait of animals that affects not only population persistence but also ecosystem processes such as predator-prey interactions, nutrient cycling, and disease transmission

ROCK-ALS: Protocol for a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Phase IIa Trial of Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of the Rho Kinase (ROCK) Inhibitor Fasudil in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Objectives: Disease-modifying therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are still not satisfactory. The Rho kinase (ROCK) inhibitor fasudil has demonstrated beneficial effects in cell culture and animal models of ALS. For many years, fasudil has been approved in Japan for the treatment of vasospasm in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage with a favorable safety profile. Here we describe a clinical trial protocol to repurpose fasudil as a disease-modifying therapy for ALS patients.Methods: ROCK-ALS is a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase IIa trial of fasudil in ALS patients (EudraCT: 2017-003676-31, NCT: 03792490). Safety and tolerability are the primary endpoints. Efficacy is a secondary endpoint and will be assessed by the change in ALSFRS-R, ALSAQ-5, slow vital capacity (SVC), ECAS, and the motor unit number index (MUNIX), as well as survival. Efficacy measures will be assessed before (baseline) and immediately after the infusion therapy as well as on days 90 and 180. Patients will receive a daily dose of either 30 or 60 mg fasudil, or placebo in two intravenous applications for a total of 20 days. Regular assessments of safety will be performed throughout the treatment period, and in the follow-up period until day 180. Additionally, we will collect biological fluids to assess target engagement and evaluate potential biomarkers for disease progression. A total of 120 patients with probable or definite ALS (revised El Escorial criteria) and within 6–18 months of the onset of weakness shall be included in 16 centers in Germany, Switzerland and France.Results and conclusions: The ROCK-ALS trial is a phase IIa trial to evaluate the ROCK-inhibitor fasudil in early-stage ALS-patients that started patient recruitment in 2019

Effects of body size on estimation of mammalian area requirements

Accurately quantifying species’ area requirements is a prerequisite for effective area‐based conservation. This typically involves collecting tracking data on species of interest and then conducting home‐range analyses. Problematically, autocorrelation in tracking data can result in space needs being severely underestimated. Based on previous work, we hypothesized the magnitude of underestimation varies with body mass, a relationship that could have serious conservation implications. To evaluate this hypothesis for terrestrial mammals, we estimated home‐range areas with GPS locations from 757 individuals across 61 globally distributed mammalian species with body masses ranging from 0.4 to 4,000 kg. We then applied block cross‐validation to quantify bias in empirical home‐range estimates. Area requirements of mammals 1, meaning the scaling of the relationship changed substantially at the upper end of the mass spectrum

One-Dimensional Modelling of Polymer Flood Performance. Analytical and Graphical Solutions

A graphical method for simulating linear polymer flooding is proposed. The method is based upon the analytical solution of Darcy's law and continuity equation which describe the two-phase, one-dimensional, incompressible flow of oil and polymer solution through the reservoir rock. Continuous polymer injection and polymer slug injection are considered. Several physical mechanisms determining microscopic displacement efficiency are taken into account: resistance factor, residual resistance factor, retention composed by adsorption and mechanical entrapment, and inaccessible pore volume. Other properties are not considered: mixing and dispersion, shear and thermal degradation. This analytical-graphical model closely reproduces linear laboratory oil displacement experiments. Consequently, it can be used by the Field Engineer to rapidly estimate the additional oil recoverable by a linear polymer flood