Palaeontology, the biogeohistory of Victoria

The broad-scale distribution of fossils within Victoria is controlled by general global patterns in the biological evolution of life on Earth, the local development and environmental evolution of habitats, and the occurrence of geological processes conducive to the preservation of fossil floras and faunas. Early Palaeozoic fossils are mostly marine in origin because of the predominance of marine sedimentary rocks in Victoria and because life on land was not significant during most of this time interval. Middle Palaeozoic sequences have both terrestrial and marine fossil records. Within Victoria, marine rocks are only very minor components of strata deposited during the late Palaeozoic, so that few marine fossils are known from this time period. A similar situation existed during most of the Mesozoic except towards the end of this era when marine conditions began to prevail in the Bass Strait region. During long intervals in the Cainozoic, large areas of Victoria were flooded by shallow-marine seas, particularly in the southern basins of Bass Strait, as well as in the northwest of the State (Murray Basin). Cainozoic sediments contain an extraordinary range of animal and plant fossils. During the Quaternary, the landscape of Victoria became, and continues to be, dominated by continental environments including, at times, extensive freshwater lake systems. Fossil floras and faunas from sediments deposited in these lake systems and from other continental sediments, as well as from Quaternary sediments deposited in marginal marine environments, collectively record a history of rapid fluctuations in climate and sea level.<br /

Exploring cosmic origins with CORE: Cosmological parameters

We forecast the main cosmological parameter constraints achievable with the CORE space mission which is dedicated to mapping the polarisation of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). CORE was recently submitted in response to ESA’s fifth call for mediumsized mission proposals (M5). Here we report the results from our pre-submission study of the impact of various instrumental options, in particular the telescope size and sensitivity level, and review the great, transformative potential of the mission as proposed. Specifically, we assess the impact on a broad range of fundamental parameters of our Universe as a function of the expected CMB characteristics, with other papers in the series focusing on controlling astrophysical and instrumental residual systematics. In this paper, we assume that only a few central CORE frequency channels are usable for our purpose, all others being devoted to the cleaning of astrophysical contaminants. On the theoretical side, we assume ΛCDM as our general framework and quantify the improvement provided by CORE over the current constraints from the Planck 2015 release. We also study the joint sensitivity of CORE and of future Baryon Acoustic Oscillation and Large Scale Structure experiments like DESI and Euclid. Specific constraints on the physics of inflation are presented in another paper of the series. In addition to the six parameters of the base ΛCDM, which describe the matter content of a spatially flat universe with adiabatic and scalar primordial fluctuations from inflation, we derive the precision achievable on parameters like those describing curvature, neutrino physics, extra light relics, primordial helium abundance, dark matter annihilation, recombination physics, variation of fundamental constants, dark energy, modified gravity, reionization and cosmic birefringence. In addition to assessing the improvement on the precision of individual parameters, we also forecast the post-CORE overall reduction of the allowed parameter space with figures of merit for various models increasing by as much as ∼ 107 as compared to Planck 2015, and 105 with respect to Planck 2015 + future BAO measurements

True ileal amino acid digestibility of goat and cow milk infant formulas

Goat milk is used as an alternative to cow milk for the production of infant formulas. However, little is known about the protein quality and, specifically, about the digestible AA pattern of goat milk formulas compared with their cow milk counterparts. In this study, the true ileal AA digestibility of a goat milk infant formula was compared with a premium cow milk infant formula. The 3-wk-old piglet was used as a model for the 3-mo-old infant. Both milk formulas were prepared as described by the manufacturer, with titanium dioxide added as an indigestible marker. The formulas were fed to the piglets over a 2-wk trial period. Digesta from the terminal ileum were collected post euthanasia and analyzed for AA content, along with samples of the formulas. True AA digestibility was determined after correcting for endogenous AA loss at the terminal ileum of pigs fed an enzyme-hydrolyzed casein-based diet, followed by ultrafiltration (5,000 Da) of the digesta. Total urine and feces collection was also undertaken to determine the nitrogen retention from the diets. The true ileal AA digestibility was similar between the goat and cow milk infant formulas for all AA except Gly and Trp. There was no significant difference in the nitrogen retention of piglets fed the two different formulas. The goat milk infant formula and the premium cow milk infant formula were similar in terms of protein qualit

Mineral retention in three-week-old piglets fed goat and cow milk infant formulas

Goat milk and cow milk are commonly used in infant formula preparations and, as such, understanding the nutritional characteristics of infant formulas made from these milks is important. In this study, a goat milk infant formula was compared with an adapted (whey-enhanced) cow milk infant formula with respect to mineral absorption and deposition using the 3-wk-old piglet as a model for the 3-mo-old infant. Equal numbers of piglets (n = 8) were fed either the goat milk formula or the cow milk formula. The mineral composition of the prepared goat milk formula was higher than that of the prepared cow milk formula for most minerals, including calcium (75.1 vs. 56.7 mg/100 mL) but excluding iron, which was higher in the prepared cow milk formula (0.92 vs. 0.74 mg/100 mL). The amounts of calcium, phosphorus, and manganese absorbed by the piglets were significantly higher for the goat milk formula, whereas the amounts of zinc, iron, and magnesium absorbed were significantly higher for the cow milk formula. Apparent mineral absorption, relative to intake, was statistically higher in the cow milk formula for calcium and phosphorus, although the actual differences were very small ( less than 1.3%). For copper, zinc, iron, and magnesium there was no significant difference between treatments in apparent mineral absorption, whereas for manganese, absorption was higher for the goat milk infant formula. The absolute mineral deposition was higher in piglets fed the goat milk formula for calcium, phosphorus, and manganese, whereas iron deposition was higher in the piglets fed cow milk formula. For all other minerals tested, there were no significant differences between treatments. The goat milk infant formula provided a pattern of mineral retention in the 3-wk-old piglet very similar to that of the adapted cow milk infant formula. The minor differences observed between the 2 appeared to be due to the different mineral contents of the 2 formulas

Amino Acid Analysis

Amino acid analysis is used to determine the amino acid content of amino acid–, peptide- and protein-containing samples. With minor exceptions, proteins are long linear polymers of amino acids connected to each other via peptide bonds. The first step of amino acid analysis involves hydrolyzing these peptide bonds. The liberated amino acids are then separated, detected, and quantified. The method was first developed by Moore, Stein and coworkers in the 1950s using HCl acid hydrolysis, and, despite considerable effort by many workers, the basic methodology remains relatively unchanged. This unit provides an overview and strategic planning for amino acid analysis, discussing a range of methodologies and issues. In addition, several common methods used for analysis of l-amino acids are described in detail, including: HCl acid hydrolysis, performic acid oxidation for methionine and cysteine analysis, base hydrolysis for tryptophan analysis, analysis of free amino acids, and analysis of reactive lysine

Nonradial pulsation of the unevolved hot (gamma) scuti star cd-24 7599 discovered with the whole earth telescope

We report a frequency analysis of the δ Scuti star CD-24°7599 and the discovery that it pulsates nonradially with at least 7 frequencies between 27.01 and 38.11 cycles per day (312 to 441 μHz). These results are based on 116.7 hours of photometric data obtained with the Whole Earth Telescope network. New uvbyβ photometry implies that the star is unevolved and located near the observed hot border of the classical instability strip. We give arguments for interpreting the pulsation periods in terms of low-order low-degree nonradial p-modes. Rotational m-mode splitting is likely. Few radial modes could also be present. The rich modal content and unevolved state of CD-24°7599 emphasize its importance for δ Scuti star asteroseismology. We detect linear combination frequencies of the pulsation modes with the highest photometric amplitudes and suggest they are not normal modes excited by resonance

Nonradial pulsation of the unevolved hot (gamma) scuti star cd-24 7599 discovered with the whole earth telescope

We report a frequency analysis of the δ Scuti star CD-24°7599 and the discovery that it pulsates nonradially with at least 7 frequencies between 27.01 and 38.11 cycles per day (312 to 441 μHz). These results are based on 116.7 hours of photometric data obtained with the Whole Earth Telescope network. New uvbyβ photometry implies that the star is unevolved and located near the observed hot border of the classical instability strip. We give arguments for interpreting the pulsation periods in terms of low-order low-degree nonradial p-modes. Rotational m-mode splitting is likely. Few radial modes could also be present. The rich modal content and unevolved state of CD-24°7599 emphasize its importance for δ Scuti star asteroseismology. We detect linear combination frequencies of the pulsation modes with the highest photometric amplitudes and suggest they are not normal modes excited by resonance