58 research outputs found
Ballistic study on the penetration potential and injury potential of different bullet types in the use of a newly developed bullet shooting stunner for adequate stunning of heavy cattle
IntroductionRecently, a special bullet shooting stunner for heavy cattle has been developed that fires a bullet instead of a bolt. In the search for a suitable ammunition, the following criteria must be met: First, the energy of the bullet must be sufficient to penetrate the thick frontal bones of heavy cattle. Second, the injury potential at the corresponding penetration depth should preferably be large in order to damage brain tissue relevant to stunning. Third, the bullet must not perforate the occipital bone (over-penetration).MethodsFour different bullet types [Hornady FTX, Hydra-Shok, Black Mamba, and a common full metal jacket (FMJ) bullet] were evaluated in a series of experiments on soap blocks and removed bone plates followed by computed tomography examinations. Penetration potential was evaluated in terms of kinetic energy relative to the caliber of the bullet, i.e., mean energy density (ED). Injury potential was evaluated by the mean extent of the cavity volume (e) at the relevant penetration depth of 5.5 to 7.5 cm in the soap block.ResultsAll four bullet types passed through the frontal bone plate. The ED was 17.50 J/mm (Hornady FTX), 17.46 J/mm (Hydra-Shok), 13.47 J/mm (Black Mamba), and 13.47 J/mm (FMJ). The Hornady FTX and the Hydra-Shok each fragmented heavily. The FMJ was excluded after three experiments due to over-penetrations. The e was e = 3.77 cm (Hornady FTX), 2.71 cm (Hydra-Shok), and 1.31 cm (Black Mamba), with a significant difference (p = 0.006) between the Hornady FTX and the Black Mamba.DiscussionFor use in heavy cattle, the Hornady FTX and the Hydra-Shok are recommended due to the larger e than the Black Mamba
Beneficial impact of lithium bis(oxalato)borate as electrolyte additive for highâvoltage nickelârich lithiumâbattery cathodes
High-voltage nickel-rich layered cathodes possess the requisite, such as excellent discharge capacity and high energy density, to realize lithium batteries with higher energy density. However, such materials suffer from structural and interfacial instability at high voltages (>4.3âV). To reinforce the stability of these cathode materials at elevated voltages, lithium borate salts are investigated as electrolyte additives to generate a superior cathode-electrolyte interphase. Specifically, the use of lithium bis(oxalato)borate (LiBOB) leads to an enhanced cycling stability with a capacity retention of 81.7%. Importantly, almost no voltage hysteresis is detected after 200âcycles at 1C. This outstanding electrochemical performance is attributed to an enhanced structural and interfacial stability, which is attained by suppressing the generation of micro-cracks and the superficial structural degradation upon cycling. The improved stability stems from the formation of a fortified borate-containing interphase which protects the highly reactive cathode from parasitic reactions with the electrolyte. Finally, the decomposition process of LiBOB and the possible adsorption routes to the cathode surface are deduced and elucidated
Glycation of Plant Proteins under Environmental Stress â Methodological Approaches, Potential Mechanisms and Biological Role
Environmental stress is one of the major factors reducing crop productivity. Due to the oncoming climate changes, the effects of drought and high light on plants play an increasing role in modern agriculture. These changes are accompanied with a progressing contamination of soils with heavy metals. Independent of their nature, environmental alterations result in development of oxidative stress, i.e. increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS) contents, and metabolic adjustment, i.e. accumulation of soluble primary metabolites (amino acids and sugars). However, a simultaneous increase of ROS and sugar concentrations ultimately results in protein glycation, i.e. non-enzymatic interaction of reducing sugars or their degradation products (α-dicarbonyls) with proteins. The eventually resulting advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) are known to be toxic and pro-inflammatory in mammals. Recently, their presence was unambiguously demonstrated in vivo in stressed Arabidopsis thaliana plants. Currently, information on protein targets, modification sites therein, mediators and mechanisms of plant glycation are being intensively studied. In this chapter, we comprehensively review the methodological approaches for plant glycation research and discuss potential mechanisms of AGE formation under stress conditions. On the basis of these patterns and additional in vitro experiments, the pathways and mechanisms of plant glycation can be proposed
Utility of spherical human liver microtissues for prediction of clinical drug-induced liver injury.
Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) continues to be a major source of clinical attrition, precautionary warnings, and post-market withdrawal of drugs. Accordingly, there is a need for more predictive tools to assess hepatotoxicity risk in drug discovery. Three-dimensional (3D) spheroid hepatic cultures have emerged as promising tools to assess mechanisms of hepatotoxicity, as they demonstrate enhanced liver phenotype, metabolic activity, and stability in culture not attainable with conventional two-dimensional hepatic models. Increased sensitivity of these models to drug-induced cytotoxicity has been demonstrated with relatively small panels of hepatotoxicants. However, a comprehensive evaluation of these models is lacking. Here, the predictive value of 3D human liver microtissues (hLiMT) to identify known hepatotoxicants using a panel of 110 drugs with and without clinical DILI has been assessed in comparison to plated two-dimensional primary human hepatocytes (PHH). Compounds were treated long-term (14 days) in hLiMT and acutely (2 days) in PHH to assess drug-induced cytotoxicity over an 8-point concentration range to generate IC50 values. Regardless of comparing IC50 values or exposure-corrected margin of safety values, hLiMT demonstrated increased sensitivity in identifying known hepatotoxicants than PHH, while specificity was consistent across both assays. In addition, hLiMT out performed PHH in correctly classifying hepatotoxicants from different pharmacological classes of molecules. The hLiMT demonstrated sufficient capability to warrant exploratory liver injury biomarker investigation (miR-122, HMGB1, α-GST) in the cell-culture media. Taken together, this study represents the most comprehensive evaluation of 3D spheroid hepatic cultures up to now and supports their utility for hepatotoxicity risk assessment in drug discovery
Global short-term mortality risk and burden associated with tropical cyclones from 1980 to 2019: a multi-country time-series study
Summary Background The global spatiotemporal pattern of mortality risk and burden attributable to tropical cyclones is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the global short-term mortality risk and burden associated with tropical cyclones from 1980 to 2019. Methods The wind speed associated with cyclones from 1980 to 2019 was estimated globally through a parametric wind field model at a grid resolution of 0·5°âĂâ0·5°. A total of 341 locations with daily mortality and temperature data from 14 countries that experienced at least one tropical cyclone day (a day with maximum sustained wind speed associated with cyclones â„17·5 m/s) during the study period were included. A conditional quasi-Poisson regression with distributed lag non-linear model was applied to assess the tropical cyclone-mortality association. A meta-regression model was fitted to evaluate potential contributing factors and estimate grid cell-specific tropical cyclone effects. Findings Tropical cyclone exposure was associated with an overall 6% (95% CI 4-8) increase in mortality in the first 2 weeks following exposure. Globally, an estimate of 97â430 excess deaths (95% empirical CI [eCI] 71â651-126â438) per decade were observed over the 2 weeks following exposure to tropical cyclones, accounting for 20·7 (95% eCI 15·2-26·9) excess deaths per 100â000 residents (excess death rate) and 3·3 (95% eCI 2·4-4·3) excess deaths per 1000 deaths (excess death ratio) over 1980-2019. The mortality burden exhibited substantial temporal and spatial variation. East Asia and south Asia had the highest number of excess deaths during 1980-2019: 28â744 (95% eCI 16â863-42â188) and 27â267 (21â157-34â058) excess deaths per decade, respectively. In contrast, the regions with the highest excess death ratios and rates were southeast Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. From 1980-99 to 2000-19, marked increases in tropical cyclone-related excess death numbers were observed globally, especially for Latin America and the Caribbean and south Asia. Grid cell-level and country-level results revealed further heterogeneous spatiotemporal patterns such as the high and increasing tropical cyclone-related mortality burden in Caribbean countries or regions. Interpretation Globally, short-term exposure to tropical cyclones was associated with a significant mortality burden, with highly heterogeneous spatiotemporal patterns. In-depth exploration of tropical cyclone epidemiology for those countries and regions estimated to have the highest and increasing tropical cyclone-related mortality burdens is urgently needed to help inform the development of targeted actions against the increasing adverse health impacts of tropical cyclones under a changing climate
The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment
The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in
operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from
this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release
Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first
two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14
is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all
data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14
is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation
Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the
Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2),
including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine
learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes
from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous
release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of
the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the
important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both
targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS
website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to
data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is
planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be
followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14
happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov
2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections
only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected
Leucine-enriched protein feeding does not impair exercise-induced free fatty acid availability and lipid oxidation: beneficial implications for training in carbohydrate-restricted states
Given that the enhanced oxidative adaptations observed when training in carbohydrate (CHO) restricted states are potentially regulated through free fatty acid (FFA) mediated signalling and that leucine rich protein elevates muscle protein synthesis, the present study aimed to test the hypothesis that leucine enriched protein feeding enhances circulating leucine concentration but does not impair FFA availability nor whole body lipid oxidation 56 during exercise. Nine males cycled for 2 h at 70% VO2peak when fasted (PLACEBO) or having consumed a whey protein solution (WHEY) or a leucine enriched whey protein gel (GEL), administered as 22 g 1 hour pre-exercise, 11 g/h during and 22 g thirty minutes post-exercise. Total leucine administration was 14.4 g and 6.3 in GEL and WHEY, respectively. Mean plasma leucine concentrations were elevated in GEL (P= 0.001) compared 60 with WHEY and PLACEBO (375 ± 100, 272 ± 51, 146 ± 14 Όmol.L-1 respectively). No differences (P= 0.153) in plasma FFA (WHEY 0.53 ± 0.30, GEL 0.45 ± 0.25, PLACEBO 0.65 ± 0.30, mmol.L-1) or whole body lipid oxidation during exercise (WHEY 0.37 ± 0.26, GEL 0.36 ± 0.24, PLACEBO 0.34 ± 0.24 g/min) were apparent between trials, despite elevated (P= 0.001) insulin in WHEY and GEL compared with PLACEBO (38 ± 16, 35 ± 16, 22 ± 11 pmol.L-1 respectively). We conclude that leucine enriched protein feeding does not impair FFA availability nor whole body lipid oxidation during exercise, thus having practical applications for athletes who deliberately train in CHO restricted states to promote skeletal muscle adaptations
AtlantECO Deliverable 2.1: AtlantECO-BASE1
This deliverable reports on Task 2.2 âAssembly of observations about microbiomes, plastics, the plastisphere and carbon fluxesâ. It used protocols established in task 2.1 âDefinition of common standards for the assembly of spatially explicit dataâ to compile, quality-control and grid existing high-quality observations into a knowledge base of observations (D2.1). Data included into AtlantECO-BASE1 consisted of contributions from the five following data sources and tasks: Task 2.2.1 âMicrobiome data from traditional microscopy (presence-absence, abundance and biomass)â, Task 2.2.2 âMicrobiome data from state-of-the-art optical/imaging analysisâ, Task 2.2.3 âMicrobiome and plastisphere data from state-of-the-art genetic analysesâ, Task 2.2.4 âNano-, micro and macroplastics data from state-of-the-art sampling methodsâ, and Task 2.2.5 âCarbon flux data from estimated from high resolution bio-optical sensorsâ. Additional data contributions and mapping efforts from other partners and work packages (Task 2.3) are also included. A comprehensive list and description of all data sets collected can be found in the Appendix Tables to this document
A soy-based phosphatidylserine/ phosphatidic acid complex (PAS) normalizes the stress reactivity of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal-axis in chronically stressed male subjects: a randomized, placebo-controlled study
The 13th Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-IV Survey Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory
The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) began observations in July 2014. It pursues three core programs: APOGEE-2,MaNGA, and eBOSS. In addition, eBOSS contains two major subprograms: TDSS and SPIDERS. This paper describes the first data release from SDSS-IV, Data Release 13 (DR13), which contains new data, reanalysis of existing data sets and, like all SDSS data releases, is inclusive of previously released data. DR13 makes publicly available 1390 spatially resolved integral field unit observations of nearby galaxies from MaNGA,the first data released from this survey. It includes new observations from eBOSS, completing SEQUELS. In addition to targeting galaxies and quasars, SEQUELS also targeted variability-selected objects from TDSS and X-ray selected objects from SPIDERS. DR13 includes new reductions ofthe SDSS-III BOSS data, improving the spectrophotometric calibration and redshift classification. DR13 releases new reductions of the APOGEE-1data from SDSS-III, with abundances of elements not previously included and improved stellar parameters for dwarf stars and cooler stars. For the SDSS imaging data, DR13 provides new, more robust and precise photometric calibrations. Several value-added catalogs are being released in tandem with DR13, in particular target catalogs relevant for eBOSS, TDSS, and SPIDERS, and an updated red-clump catalog for APOGEE.This paper describes the location and format of the data now publicly available, as well as providing references to the important technical papers that describe the targeting, observing, and data reduction. The SDSS website, http://www.sdss.org, provides links to the data, tutorials and examples of data access, and extensive documentation of the reduction and analysis procedures. DR13 is the first of a scheduled set that will contain new data and analyses from the planned ~6-year operations of SDSS-IV.PostprintPeer reviewe
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