Confirmation of the Dietary Background of Beef from its Stable Isotope Signature

End of project reportConsumers are increasingly demanding information on the authenticity and source of the food they purchase. Molecular DNA-based technology allows animal identification, but without certification or a “paper-trail” but does not provide information about feed history or the production system under which the animal was reared. The stable isotopes of chemical elements (e.g.13C/12C, 15N/14N) are naturally present in animal tissue and reflect the isotopic composition of the diet. The overall aim of this project was to determine the feasibility of using the stable isotopic composition as an intrinsic, biochemical marker to gain information about feed components used in the production of beef. Factors likely to affect the isotopic signature such as source of tissue, duration of feeding and production systems were examined. It is expected that this highly innovative and original technique will permit the identification of country of origin and dietary history of beef and so greatly assist efforts to market Irish beef, particularly in lucrative European markets. Sequential sampling and stable isotope analysis of bovine tail hair and hoof revealed that the two tissues can provide a detailed and continuous record of animal dietary history. Because hair can be sampled repeatedly and noninvasively, we anticipate that this approach will also prove useful for the investigation of short-term wildlife movements and changes in dietary preferences

Catalytic oxidation of tritium in air at ambient temperature

Tritium/air oxidation kinetic data are derived from ambient-temperature measurements carried out with three precious-metal catalysts. Each catalyst consists of a high-surface-area substrate in pelletized form, onto which precious metal has been dispersed. The metal/substrate combinations investigated are platinum/alumina, palladium/kaolin, and palladium/zeolite. Electron-microprobe scans reveal that the dispersed metal is deposited in each case near the outer surface of the pellet, with metal concentration decreasing exponentially from the pellet surface. Kinetic oxidation measurements are made in a unique apparatus consisting of a large Lucite enclosure with an air atmosphere processed by a recirculating cleanup system. Dual-ionization chambers with an intermediate adsorption bed permit measurement of tritium gas and tritiated water vapor. Rate coefficients are determined from concentration decay following a spike injection of tritium into the enclosure. The catalytic reaction is first-order in tritium concentration in the range 10 to 10/sup 5/ ..mu..Ci/m/sup 3/. Addition of hydrogen carrier gas is unnecessary. Each of the dispersed-metal catalysts is extremely active in promoting tritium oxidation in comparison with self-catalyzed atmospheric conversion; equivalent first-order rate constants are higher by roughly 9 orders of magnitude. The platinum-based catalyst is more effective than the palladium catalysts on a surface-area basis by about a factor of 3. Catalytic activity for all three catalysts declines with time of exposure to air after activation, following a power-law decay with an exponent of -1/2. A model for optimization of the catalyst reactivation cycle is proposed, revealing that the optimum catalyst volume scales with flow rate to the 2/3 power. Ambient-temperature tritium oxidation is cost-effective for small- to intermediate-scale cleanup systems. A heated catalyst is desirable for large-scale systems

Confirmation of the Dietary Background of Beef from its Stable Isotope Signature

End of project reportConsumers are increasingly demanding information on the authenticity and source of the food they purchase. Molecular DNA-based technology allows animal identification, but without certification or a “paper-trail” but does not provide information about feed history or the production system under which the animal was reared. The stable isotopes of chemical elements (e.g.13C/12C, 15N/14N) are naturally present in animal tissue and reflect the isotopic composition of the diet. The overall aim of this project was to determine the feasibility of using the stable isotopic composition as an intrinsic, biochemical marker to gain information about feed components used in the production of beef. Factors likely to affect the isotopic signature such as source of tissue, duration of feeding and production systems were examined. It is expected that this highly innovative and original technique will permit the identification of country of origin and dietary history of beef and so greatly assist efforts to market Irish beef, particularly in lucrative European markets. Sequential sampling and stable isotope analysis of bovine tail hair and hoof revealed that the two tissues can provide a detailed and continuous record of animal dietary history. Because hair can be sampled repeatedly and noninvasively, we anticipate that this approach will also prove useful for the investigation of short-term wildlife movements and changes in dietary preferences

Prognostic variables for high titres in a fluorescent antibody test to diagnose tuberculosis.

Item does not contain fulltextSETTING: The four hospitals and a tuberculosis clinic in the province of Zeeland, The Netherlands. OBJECTIVE: To assess the usefulness of PPD antibody measurement in the diagnosis of tuberculosis in patients admitted to hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty-one patients presenting with active tuberculosis, and 215 control patients were included in the study. Initial serum PPD antibody titres were determined with a macrophage uptake Fluorescent antibody test (MuFat) to construct a discrimination model between Tuberculosis (TB) and non-TB. We also retrospectively collected clinical parameters of the TB patients at presentation. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression are used to identify variables predicting high antibody titres. Results : In TB patients, the presence of clinical symptoms (OR=10.63) and the presence of at least two concurrent non-lymph node disease localizations outside thorax and abdomen (OR=13.94) are necessary and sufficient to predict high titres. The logistic model shows a significant contribution of the 2log (titre) to the discrimination between TB and non-TB patients. At a cut-off value of 128, a specificity, sensitivity, and positive predictive and negative predictive values of 97%, 39%, 80% and 85%, respectively, are calculated in the study cohort. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest an application of the test at high cut-off values for timely diagnosis of difficult-to-diagnose TB patients. The results of this retrospective study will have to be confirmed in further prospective studies

Gas Transfer at Water Surfaces 2010

PrefaceSection 1: Interfacial Turbulence and Air-Water Scalar TransferJ. Hunt, S. Belcher, D. Stretch, S. Sajjadi, J. Clegg [1]S.A. Kitaigorodskii [13]S.A. Kitaigorodskii [29]Y. Toba [38]D. Turney, S. Banerjee [51]J.G. Janzen, H.E. Schulz, G.H. Jirka [65]S. Komori, R. Kurose, N. Takagaki, S. Ohtsubo, K. Iwano, K. Handa, S. Shimada [78]J. Beya, W. Peirson, M. Banner [90]S. Mizuno [104]M. Sanjou, I. Nezu, A. Toda [119]M. Sanjou, I. Nezu, Y. Akiya [129]K. Takehara, Y. Takano, T.G. Etoh [138]G. Caulliez [151]Section 2: Numerical Studies on Interfacial Turbulence and Scalar TransferL.-P. Hung, C.S. Garbe, W.-T. Tsai [165]A. E. Tejada-Martínez, C. Akan, C.E. Grosch [177]W.-T. Tsai, L.-P. Hung [193]P.G. Jayathilake, B.C. Khoo, Zhijun Tan [200]H.E. Schulz, A.L.A. Simões, J.G. Janzen [208]Section 3: Bubble-Mediated Scalar TransferD.P. Nicholson, S.R. Emerson, S. Khatiwala, R.C. Hamme [223]W. Mischler, R. Rocholz, B. Jähne [238]R. Patro, I. Leifer [249]K. Loh, K.B. Cheong, R. Uittenbogaard [262]N. Mori, S. Nakagawa [273]Section 4: Effects of Surfactants and Molecular Diffusivity on Turbulence and Scalar TransferA. Soloviev, S. Matt, M. Gilman, H. Hühnerfuss, B. Haus, D. Jeong, I. Savelyev, M. Donelan [285]S. Matt, A. Fujimura, A. Soloviev, S.H. Rhee [299]P. Vlahos, E.C. Monahan, B.J.Huebert, J.B. Edson [313]K.E. Richter, B. Jähne [322]X. Yan, W.L. Peirson, J.W. Walker, M.L. Banner [333]Section 5: Field MeasurementsP.M. Orton, C.J. Zappa, W.R. McGillis [343]U.Schimpf, L. Nagel, B. Jähne [358]C.L. McNeil, E.A. D'Asaro, J.A. Nystuen [368]D. Turk, B. Petelin, J.W. Book [377]M. Ribas-Ribas, A. Gómez-Parra, J.M. Forja [394]A. Rutgersson, A.-S. Smedman, E. Sahlée [406]H. Pettersson, K. K. Kahma, A. Rutgersson, M. Perttilä [420]Section 6: Global Air-Sea CO2 FluxesR. Wanninkhof, G.-H. Park, D.B. Chelton, C.M. Risien [431]N. Suzuki, S. Komori, M.A. Donelan [445]Y. Suzuki, Y. Toba [452]M.T. Johnson, C. Hughes, T.G. Bell, P.S. Liss [464]Section 7: Advanced Measuring TechniquesO. Tsukamoto, F. Kondo [485]R. Rocholz, S. Wanner, U. Schimpf, B. Jähne [496]B.C.G. Gonzalez, A.W. Lamon, J.G. Janzen, J.R. Campos, H.E. Schulz [507]E. Sahlée, K. Kahma, H. Pettersson, W.M. Drennan [516]D. Kiefhaber, R. Rocholz, G. Balschbach, B. Jähne [524]C.S. Garbe, A. Heinlein [535]Section 8: Environmental Problems Related to Air-Water Scalar TransferW.L. Peirson, G.A. Lee, C. Waite, P. Onesemo, G. Ninaus [545]Y.J. Choi, A. Abe, K. Takahashi [559]Y. Baba, K. Takahashi [571]R. Onishi, K. Takahashi, S. Komori [582][593]Turbulence and wave dynamics across gas-liquid interfacesThe calculation of the gas transfer between the ocean and atmosphereThe influence of wind wave breaking on the dissipation of the turbulent kinetic energy in the upper ocean and its dependence on the stage of wind wave developmentMarvellous self-consistency inherent in wind waves : Its origin and some items related to air-sea transfersNear surface turbulence and its relationship to air-water gas transfer ratesTurbulent gas flux measurements near the air-water interface in an oscillating-grid tankSensible and latent heat transfer across the air-water interface in wind-driven turbulenceRainfall-generated, near-surface turbulenceEffects of the mechanical wave propagating in the wind direction on currents and stresses across the air-water interfaceTurbulent transport in closed basin with wind-induced water wavesPIV measurements of Langumuir circulation generated by wind-induced water wavesStudy of vortices near wind wave surfaces using high-speed video camera and MLSWind wave breaking from micro to macroscaleValidation of Eddy-renewal model by numerical simulationMass transfer at the surface in LES of wind-driven shallow water flow with Langmuir circulationCharacteristics of gas-flux density distribution at the water surfacesNumerical simulation of interfacial mass transfer using the immersed interface methodStatistical approximations in gas-liquid mass transferAn inverse approach to estimate bubble-mediated air-sea gas flux from inert gas measurementsExperimental setup for the investigation of bubble mediated gas exchangeGas transfer velocity of single CO2 bubblesMass transfer across single bubblesAeration of surf zone breaking wavesModification of turbulence at the air-sea interface due to the presence of surfactants and implications for gas exchange. Part I: laboratory experimentModification of turbulence at the air-sea interface due to the presence of surfactants and implications for gas exchange. Part II: numerical simulationsWind-dependence of DMS transfer velocity: Comparison of model with recent southern ocean observationsA laboratory study of the Schmidt number dependency of air-water gas transferOn transitions in the Schmidt number dependency of low solubility gas transfer across air-water interfacesAn autonomous self-orienting catamaran (SOCa) for measuring air-water fluxes and forcingThe 2009 SOPRAN active thermography pilot experiment in the Baltic SeaObservations of air-sea exchange of N2 and O2 during the passage of Hurricane Gustav in the Gulf of Mexico during 2008The effect of high wind Bora events on water pCO2 and CO2 exchange in the coastal Northern AdriaticSeasonal sea-surface CO2 fugacity in the north-eastern shelf of the Gulf of Cádiz (southwest Iberian Peninsula)Including mixed layer convection when determining air-sea CO2 transfer velocityAir-sea carbon dioxide exchange during upwellingImpact of small-scale variability on air-sea CO2 fluxesThe effect of wind variability on the air-sea CO2 gas flux estimationFuture global mapping of air-sea CO2 flux by using wind and wind-wave distribution of CMIP3 multi-model ensembleA Rumsfeldian analysis of uncertainty in air-sea gas exchangeAccurate measurement of air-sea CO2 flux with open-path Eddy-CovarianceCombined Visualization of wind waves and water surface temperatureMicroscopic sensors for oxygen measurement at air-water interfaces and sediment biofilmsDamping of humidity fluctuations in a closed-path systemImproved Optical Instrument for the Measurement of Water Wave Statistics in the FieldFriction Velocity from Active Thermography and Shape AnalysisEvaporation mitigation by storage in rock and sandDevelopment of oil-spill simulation system based on the global ocean-atmosphere modelStructure variation dependence of tropical squall line on the tracer advection scheme in cloud-resolving modelHigh-resolution simulations for turbulent clouds developing over the oceAuthor Inde