Phytochemicals in Animal Health; diet selection and trade-offs between costs and benefits

Many plant tissues contain plant secondary compounds (PSC), which have long been recognised as defensive chemicals that deter herbivory via their toxic effects. However, herbivores may also benefit from including PSC into their diets. Plant-derived phenolics, terpenes and alkaloids have antiparasitic properties and sesquiterpene lactones have antibacterial, antifungal and antiparasitic properties. These actions are in part a consequence of the negative actions that PSC exert across several trophic levels, including the bacteria, parasites and fungi that inhabit herbivores’ bodies. Given the dual action, toxin and medicine, it is possible to hypothesise that self-selection of PSC by herbivores should occur when the benefits outweigh the costs of PSC ingestion. Recent research suggests that sheep and goats self-medicate against parasitic infections. They increase preference for condensed tannin-containing foods when experiencing a parasitic burden. This behaviour improves health; it is triggered by parasitism and weakens when parasitism subsides. However, the causes underlying these responses are not straightforward when viewed under a unidimensional cost–benefit analysis. This is because the intensity of antinutritional/toxic and medicinal effects of PSC is not static or just dependent upon the isolated post-ingestive effects of single PSC. Nutrient–PSC and PSC–PSC interactions, social models, as well as feeding patterns, all influence the perceived net benefit of incorporating medicines into a diet. A better understanding of the net benefit of self-medication in complex feeding environments will allow for the development of innovative managing strategies aimed at providing the food alternatives and conditions for improving the nutrition, health and welfare of grazing animals. Copyright © The Authors 201

Oxydation humide des polluants organiques par l'oxygène moléculaire activée par le couple H²O²/Fe²+: Optimisation des paramètres opératoires

L'oxydation humide par l'oxygène moléculaire (procédé WAO) activée par le couple (H202/Fe2+) a été mise en oeuvre pour l'oxydation de la pollution organique aqueuse à travers deux composés modèles: l'acide succinique, normalement oxydable, et l'acide acétique, réputé réfractaire. L'influence des différents facteurs a été étudiée par la planification d'expériences. Après leur recensement, une étape préliminaire de criblage a été menée à bien en utilisant une matrice de Plackett et Burman. Seuls les paramètres les plus influents ont été gardés pour l'étape ultérieure d'établissement de modèles prévisionnels à partir d'une matrice composite centrée orthogonale. Les modèles établis ont été validés et ont permis de déterminer les conditions optimales de fonctionnement. L'effet de la température fait apparaître un optimum, à environ 200 °C, au-delà duquel la décomposition du peroxyde devient trop rapide. L'effet de la quantité de peroxyde d'hydrogène introduit est déterminant et l'ajout de moins de 20 % de la quantité stoechiomé- trique permet d'obtenir à 200 °C, avec environ 10 ppm de sels de fer, une efficacité de traitement d'environ 70% pour un composé normalement oxydable. Dans des conditions analogues, le procédé conventionnel sans promoteur conduit à une efficacité inférieure à 5 %.Wet air oxidation (WAO) is a liquid phase oxidation process using molecular oxygen at high temperature (250-300°C) and high pressure (50-150 bar). It can help treating toxic organic aqueous wastes from chemical industries with efficiencies up to 98% after 1 hour. The process can also help treating sludges from domestic sewage treatment facilities. It is usually very cost effective because of the very high operating pressure.This paper deals with the promoted wet air oxidation of acetic acid, rnodel compound for refractory wastes, and succinic acid, model for readily oxidized wastes. The study was conducted in order to determine the promoting effect when adding small dosages of hydrogen peroxide (with iron salts) during oxidation by molecular oxygen. It was previously shown that the initiating step is very temperature dependent (Reaction I) and limits the overall oxidation process The addition of small amounts of H2O2/Fe2+ (Fenton's reagent) can promote the forrnation of very reactive OH• radicals able to develop R• radicals (Reaction IV), even at a low temperature. Then, the oxidation (Reactions VI and VII) continues using molecular oxygen, but the peroxide should be added continuously during a batch test in order to maintain the initiating step.An optimal design methodology was used in order to assess the dependency of the oxidation effrciency on the various parameters and mainly on the promotors. At frrst, a Plackett and Burman design of experiments (PE1) was used to screen the most important variables among those likely to have an effect. The design of experiments, the conditions of the runs and the results (tables 1 to 3) allowed the determination of a new experimental domain and the selection of the four most important variables for the further design of experiments. At the same time, the effect of an addition of phenol (able to reduce iron to the ferrous species, more efficient) was considered. For succinic acid oxidation, a central composite optimal design (PE2) was used (tables 4 and 5). The results allowed us to establish a predictive model (Relationship lX, table 6 and figure 2) and typical results are presented in figures 3 and 4. Approximately 50% oxidation efficiencies could be obtained at 200°C; without peroxide addition, only 5% efficiency is obtained under similar conditions. Moreover, it was observed that the optimum temperature is around 205°C and that phenol is not compatible with peroxide as a promotor. A third optimal design (PE3) was used to predict the efficiency of the method for the treatrnent of acetic acid, a model for a refractory waste. It is composed only of a fractional factorial design (table 7 and 8) and the bias corresponds to the main quadratic effect of temperature (Relationship XIII and table 10). The optimum temperâture is also 205°C and greater than 20% oxidation efficiencies are obtained; at such a temperature, acetic acid cannot be oxidized with the conventional process.The results obtained for the two model compounds validate this oxidation technique. The addition of about 10 ppm of ferrous iron and of less than 20% of the stoichiometric amount in hydrogen peroxide can turn a high pressure WAO process into a medium pressure one

The CloudSME Simulation Platform and its Applications: A Generic Multi-cloud Platform for Developing and Executing Commercial Cloud-based Simulations

Simulation is used in industry to study a large variety of problems ranging from increasing the productivity of a manufacturing system to optimizing the design of a wind turbine. However, some simulation models can be computationally demanding and some simulation projects require time consuming experimentation. High performance computing infrastructures such as clusters can be used to speed up the execution of large models or multiple experiments but at a cost that is often too much for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Cloud computing presents an attractive, lower cost alternative. However, developing a cloud-based simulation application can again be costly for an SME due to training and development needs, especially if software vendors need to use resources of different heterogeneous clouds to avoid being locked-in to one particular cloud provider. In an attempt to reduce the cost of development of commercial cloud-based simulations, the CloudSME Simulation Platform (CSSP) has been developed as a generic approach that combines an AppCenter with the workflow of the WS-PGRADE/gUSE science gateway framework and the multi-cloud-based capabilities of the CloudBroker Platform. The paper presents the CSSP and two representative case studies from distinctly different areas that illustrate how commercial multi-cloud-based simulations can be created

Enabling Cloud-based Computational Fluid Dynamics with a Platform-as-a-Service Solution

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is widely used in manufacturing and engineering from product design to testing. CFD requires intensive computational power and typically needs high performance computing to reduce potentially long experimentation times. Dedicated high performance computing systems are often expensive for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). Cloud computing claims to enable low cost access to high performance computing without the need for capital investment. The CloudSME Simulation Platform aims to provide a flexible and easy to use cloud-based Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) technology that can enable SMEs to realize the benefits of high performance computing. Our Platform incorporates workflow management and multi-cloud implementation across various cloud resources. Here we present the components of our technology and experiences in using it to create a cloud-based version of the TransAT CFD software. Three case studies favourably compare the performance of a local cluster and two different clouds and demonstrate the viability of our cloud-based approach

Impaired exercise training-induced muscle fiber hypertrophy and Akt/mTOR pathway activation in hypoxemic patients with COPD

Exercise training (ExTr) is largely used to improve functional capacity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. However, ExTr partially restores muscle function in COPD patients, suggesting that confounding factors may limit the efficiency of ExTr. In the present study, we hypothesized that skeletal muscle adaptations triggered by ExTr could be compromised in hypoxemic COPD patients. Vastus lateralis muscle biopsies were obtained from normoxemic (n = 15; resting arterial PO2 = 68.5 +/- 1.5 mm Hg) and hypoxemic (n = 8; resting arterial PO2 = 57.0 +/- 1.0 mm Hg) COPD patients before and after a 2 month-ExTr program. ExTr induced a significant increase in exercise capacity both in normoxemic and hypoxemic COPD patients. However, ExTr increased citrate synthase and lactate dehydrogenase enzyme activities only in skeletal muscle of normoxemic patients. Similarly, muscle fiber cross-sectional area and capillary-to-fiber ratio were only increased in normoxemic patients. Expression of atrogenes (MuRF1, MAFbx/Atrogin-1) and autophagy-related genes (Beclin, LC3, Bnip, Gabarapl) remained unchanged in both groups. The phosphorylation level of Akt (Ser473), GSK-3beta (Ser9) and p70S6k (Thr389), which was non-significantly increased in normoxemic patients in response to ExTr, was significantly decreased in hypoxemic patients. We further showed on C2C12 myotubes that hypoxia completely prevented IGF-1-induced phosphorylation of Akt, GSK-3beta and p70S6K. Together, our observations suggest a role for hypoxemia in the adaptive response of skeletal muscle of COPD patients to ExTr

Radiation shielding and patient organ dose study for an accelerator- based BNCT Facility at LBNL

This study considers the radiation safety aspects of several designs discussed in a previous report of an accelerator-based source of neutrons, based on the [sup 7]Li(p,n) reaction, for a Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) Facility at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). determines the optimal radiation shield thicknesses for the patient treatment room. Since this is an experimental facility no moderator or reflector is considered in the bulk wall shield design. This will allow the flexibility of using any postulated moderator/reflector design and assumes sufficient shielding even in the absence of a moderator/reflector. In addition the accelerator is assumed to be capable of producing 100 mA of 2.5 MeV proton beam current. The addition of 1% and 2% [sup 10]B (by weight) to the concrete is also investigated. The second part of this paper determines the radiation dose to the major organs of a patient during a treatment. Simulations use the MIRD 5 anthropomorphic phantom to calculate organ doses from a 20 mA proton beam assuming various envisioned moderator/reflector in place. Doses are tabulated by component and for a given uniform [sup 10]B loading in all organs. These are presented in for a BeO moderator and for an Al/AlF[sub 3] moderator. Dose estimates for different [sup 10]B loadings may be scaled

Pigeon circovirus: baculovirus expression of the capsid protein gene, specific antibody and viral load measured by real time polymerase chain reaction

peer reviewe

Black Adolescentsâ Critical Reflection Development: Parentsâ Racial Socialization and Attributions About Race Achievement Gaps

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154280/1/jora12485_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154280/2/jora12485.pd

Time Correlation Functions of Three Classical Heisenberg Spins on an Isosceles Triangle and on a Chain: Strong Effects of Broken Symmetry

At arbitrary temperature $T$, we solve for the dynamics of single molecule magnets composed of three classical Heisenberg spins either on a chain with two equal exchange constants $J_1$, or on an isosceles triangle with a third, different exchange constant $J_2$. As T\rightrarrow\infty, the Fourier transforms and long-time asymptotic behaviors of the two-spin time correlation functions are evaluated exactly. The lack of translational symmetry on a chain or an isosceles triangle yields time correlation functions that differ strikingly from those on an equilateral trinagle with $J_1=J_2$. At low $T$, the Fourier transforms of the two autocorrelation functions with $J_1\ne J_2$ show one and four modes, respectively. For a semi-infinite $J_2/J_1$ range, one mode is a central peak. At the origin of this range, this mode has a novel scaling form.Comment: 9 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Magnetic and thermal properties of 4f-3d ladder-type molecular compounds

We report on the low-temperature magnetic susceptibilities and specific heats of the isostructural spin-ladder molecular complexes L$_{2}$[M(opba)]_{3\cdot xDMSO$\cdot y$H$_{2}$O, hereafter abbreviated with L$_{2}$M$_{3}$ (where L = La, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho and M = Cu, Zn). The results show that the Cu containing complexes (with the exception of La$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$) undergo long range magnetic order at temperatures below 2 K, and that for Gd$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$ this ordering is ferromagnetic, whereas for Tb$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$ and Dy$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$ it is probably antiferromagnetic. The susceptibilities and specific heats of Tb$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$ and Dy$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$ above $T_{C}$ have been explained by means of a model taking into account nearest as well as next-nearest neighbor magnetic interactions. We show that the intraladder L--Cu interaction is the predominant one and that it is ferromagnetic for L = Gd, Tb and Dy. For the cases of Tb, Dy and Ho containing complexes, strong crystal field effects on the magnetic and thermal properties have to be taken into account. The magnetic coupling between the (ferromagnetic) ladders is found to be very weak and is probably of dipolar origin.Comment: 13 pages, 15 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.