Quantitative Physicochemical Analysis of Acid-Base Balance and Clinical Utility of Anion Gap and Strong Ion Gap in 806 Neonatal Calves with Diarrhea

BackgroundAcid-base abnormalities in neonatal diarrheic calves can be assessed by using the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation or the simplified strong ion approach which use the anion gap (AG) or the strong ion gap (SIG) to quantify the concentration of unmeasured strong anions such as d-lactate. Hypothesis/ObjectivesTo determine and compare the clinical utility of AG and SIG in quantifying the unmeasured strong anion charge in neonatal diarrheic calves, and to examine the associations between biochemical findings and acid-base variables by using the simplified strong ion approach. We hypothesized that the SIG provides a more accurate prediction of unmeasured strong anions than the AG. AnimalsEight hundred and six neonatal diarrheic calves admitted to a veterinary teaching hospital. MethodsRetrospective study utilizing clinicopathologic findings extracted from medical records. ResultsHyperphosphatemia was an important predictor of venous blood pH. Serum inorganic phosphorus and plasma d-lactate concentrations accounted for 58% of the variation in venous blood pH and 77% of the variation in AG and SIG. Plasma d- and total lactate concentrations were slightly better correlated with SIG (r(s)=-0.69;-0.78) than to AG (r(s)=0.63;0.74). Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceStrong ion gap is slightly better at quantifying the unmeasured strong anion concentration in neonatal diarrheic calves than AG. Phosphorus concentrations should be included as part of the calculation of A(tot) when applying the simplified strong ion approach to acid-base balance to critically ill animals with hyperphosphatemia

Quantitative Physicochemical Analysis of Acid-Base Balance and Clinical Utility of Anion Gap and Strong Ion Gap in 806 Neonatal Calves with Diarrhea

BackgroundAcid-base abnormalities in neonatal diarrheic calves can be assessed by using the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation or the simplified strong ion approach which use the anion gap (AG) or the strong ion gap (SIG) to quantify the concentration of unmeasured strong anions such as d-lactate. Hypothesis/ObjectivesTo determine and compare the clinical utility of AG and SIG in quantifying the unmeasured strong anion charge in neonatal diarrheic calves, and to examine the associations between biochemical findings and acid-base variables by using the simplified strong ion approach. We hypothesized that the SIG provides a more accurate prediction of unmeasured strong anions than the AG. AnimalsEight hundred and six neonatal diarrheic calves admitted to a veterinary teaching hospital. MethodsRetrospective study utilizing clinicopathologic findings extracted from medical records. ResultsHyperphosphatemia was an important predictor of venous blood pH. Serum inorganic phosphorus and plasma d-lactate concentrations accounted for 58% of the variation in venous blood pH and 77% of the variation in AG and SIG. Plasma d- and total lactate concentrations were slightly better correlated with SIG (r(s)=-0.69;-0.78) than to AG (r(s)=0.63;0.74). Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceStrong ion gap is slightly better at quantifying the unmeasured strong anion concentration in neonatal diarrheic calves than AG. Phosphorus concentrations should be included as part of the calculation of A(tot) when applying the simplified strong ion approach to acid-base balance to critically ill animals with hyperphosphatemia

Deciphering solar turbulence from sunspots records

It is generally believed that sunspots are the emergent part of magnetic flux tubes in the solar interior. These tubes are created at the base of the convection zone and rise to the surface due to their magnetic buoyancy. The motion of plasma in the convection zone being highly turbulent, the surface manifestation of sunspots may retain the signature of this turbulence, including its intermittency. From direct observations of sunspots, and indirect observations of the concentration of cosmogenic isotopes $^{14}$C in tree rings or $^{10}$Be in polar ice, power spectral densities in frequency are plotted. Two different frequency scalings emerge, depending on whether the Sun is quiescent or active. %magnetic activity is maximum or minimum. From direct observations we can also calculate scaling exponents. These testify to a strong intermittency, comparable with that observed in the solar wind.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter

The photopic negative response in autism spectrum disorder

Background: Visual function can be atypical in autism spectrum disorder and structural imaging of the ganglion cell layers has been reported to differ in these individuals. Therefore, we sought to investigate if the photopic negative response of the full field electroretinograms, a measure of ganglion cell function, could help explain the visual perceptual differences in autism spectrum disorder and support the structural changes observed. / Methods: Participants (n = 55 autism spectrum disorder, aged 5.4–26.7 years) and control (n = 87, aged 5.4–27.3 years) were recruited for the study. Full-field light-adapted electroretinograms using a Troland protocol with 10 flash strengths from −0.367 to 1.204 log photopic cd.s.m−2 were recorded in each eye. The photopic negative response amplitudes at Tmin and at t = 72 ms were compared between groups along with the a- and b-wave values. / Results: There were no significant interactions between groups for the Photopic Negative Response measures of amplitude or time (p > 0.30). There was a group interaction between groups and flash strengths for the b-wave amplitude as previously reported (p < 0.001). / Conclusion: The photopic negative response results suggest that there are no significant differences in the summed retinal ganglion cell responses produced by a full-field stimulus

PP-Wave / CFT_2 Duality

We investigate the pp-wave limit of the AdS_3\times S^3\times K3 compactification of Type IIB string theory from the point of view of the dual Sym_N(K3) CFT. It is proposed that a fundamental string in this pp-wave geometry is dual to the c=6 effective string of the Sym_N(K3) CFT, with the string bits of the latter being composed of twist operators. The massive fundamental string oscillators correspond to certain twisted Virasoro generators in the effective string. It is shown that both the ground states and the genus expansion parameter (at least in the orbifold limit of the CFT) coincide. Surprisingly the latter scales like J^2/N rather than the J^4/N^2 which might have been expected. We demonstrate a leading-order agreement between the pp-wave and CFT particle spectra. For a degenerate special case (one NS 5-brane) an intriguing complete agreement is found.Comment: JHEP3 LaTeX, 20 pages; discussion of WZW levels clarified, reference adde

Phytoplasmas in Australian grapevines - detection, differentiation and associated diseases

Phytoplasmas associated with Australian grapevine yellows (AGY) symptoms were detected using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). To optimise the diagnostic, nested PCRs were compared with single PCRs using different primer pairs. Grapevine DNA known to be AGY phytoplasma positive was serially diluted and subjected to nested and single round PCR tests to determine which was the most sensitive. Samples taken over two growing seasons were used to determine the optimum sampling time for phytoplasma detection. The specificity of primer pairs was determined using phytoplasmas detected in Australian grapevines and overseas reference grapevine phytoplasmas. DNA extracted from grapevine exhibiting a range of symptoms was screened for phytoplasmas. Two different phytoplasmas were amplified in the PCR and they were identified using specific PCR primers and by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the 16S rRNA gene and 16S rRNA/23S rRNA spacer region. RFLP analysis confirmed that one phytoplasma was the AGY phytoplasma and the other phytoplasma was indistinguishable from the tomato big bud (TBB) phytoplasma. The AGY phytoplasma was associated with AGY symptoms but was occasionally detected in asymptomatic vines and those with late season leaf curl (LSLC) and restricted growth (RG) symptoms. The TBB phytoplasma was detected in some vines with LSLC symptoms and very occasionally in vines with AGY symptoms. A 'variant' of the AGY phytoplasma was also detected in vines showing typical AGY symptoms

Exploring simple ancillary ligands in copper-based dye-sensitized solar cells: effects of a heteroatom switch and of co-sensitization

The copper( I ) complexes [Cu(1) 2 ][PF 6 ], [Cu(2) 2 ][PF 6 ], [Cu(3) 2 ][PF 6 ] and [Cu(4) 2 ][PF 6 ] (1 . 2-(1H-imidazol-2-yl)- 6-methylpyridine, 2 . 2-(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)oxazole, 3 . 2-(6-methylpyridin-2-yl)thiazole and 4 . 2- methyl-6-(1-methyl-1H-imidazol-2-yl)pyridine) are reported. The crystal structures of [Cu(2) 2 ][PF 6 ]$ 0.5CH 2 Cl 2 and [Cu(3) 2 ][PF 6 ] confirm N,N 0 -chelation modes for 2 and 3, and tetrahedral copper( I ). In the solution absorption spectra, the MLCT band shifts to lower energy with a change in heteroatom (O, 424 nm; NH, 435 nm; NMe, 446 nm; S, 465 nm). [Cu(1) 2 ][PF 6 ] and [Cu(4) 2 ][PF 6 ] undergo copper-centred oxidative processes at lower potential than the complexes with O or S heteroatoms. Heteroleptic complexes [Cu(5)(L)] + (5 . ((6,6 0 -dimethyl-[2,2 0 -bipyridine]-4,4 0 -diyl)bis(4,1-phenylene)bis(phosphonic acid)), L . 1–4) were assembled on FTO/TiO 2 electrodes. The shift in the MLCT band (O NH &lt; NMe &lt; S) in the solid-state absorption spectra of the dye-functionalized electrodes parallels that of solution. The photoconversion efficiencies (h) of masked, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) containing [Cu(5)(L)] + (L . 1– 4) dyes and an I/I 3 redox shuttle follow the order [Cu(5)(1)] + (3.03%) &gt; [Cu(5)(3)] + (2.88%) &gt; [Cu(5)(4)] + (2.71%) &gt; [Cu(5)(2)] + (2.62%) relative to 7.55% for N719. Ancillary ligand 1 (with NH) leads to the highest open-circuit voltage (V OC . 608 mV) whilst 3 (S-heteroatom) gives the highest short-circuit current density (J SC . 7.76 mA cm 2 ). The performances of [Cu(5)(1)] + and [Cu(5)(3)] + are understood with the aid of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The DSC with [Cu(5)(1)] + exhibits a high chemical capacitance (C m ) and a low recombination resistance (R rec ); since the latter is offset by a low transport resistance (R tr ), a high J SC and V OC are observed for [Cu(5)(1)] + . DSCs with [Cu(5)(3)] + have the lowest R tr of all four devices. The performance of DSCs sensitized by a combination of [Cu(5)(1)] + and [Cu(5)(3)] + were assessed in order to capitalize upon the high V OC of [Cu(5)(1)] + and the high J SC of [Cu(5)(3)] + . After FTO/ TiO 2 functionalization with anchor 5, the electrodes were treated with a 1 : 1 mix of [Cu(5)(1)] + and [Cu(5)(3)] + or sequentially with [Cu(5)(3)] + then [Cu(5)(1)] + , or [Cu(5)(1)] + then [Cu(5)(3)] + . The DSC performances and the EIS parameters are consistent with competition between 1 and 3 for surface binding-sites; 1 dominates over 3, both in binding and in contribution to the overall photoresponse

A new grapevine yellows phytoplasma from the Buckland Valley of Victoria, Australia

A new phytoplasma detected in grapevines with grapevine yellows disease from the Buckland Valley of Victoria, Australia was characterized. Buckland Valley grapevine yellows phytoplasma (BVGYp) could not be amplified by PCR using primers specific for the stolbur (STOL, 16SrXII) group of phytoplasmas indicating that it was unlikely to be a STOL group phytoplasma. BVGYp was amplified by PCR using primers specific for both the aster yellows (AV, 16Sr I) and STOL phytoplasma groups, indicating that it may be more closely related to the AY group phytoplasmas. Sequence analysis of 16SrRNA gene sequences showed that BVGYp clustered with AY and STOL groups of phytoplasmas. Sequence similarities were determined by pairwise comparisons of the 16S rDNA sequence of BVGYp WAY and STOL group phytoplasmas and BVGYp was more closely related to the AY group phytoplasmas. Although the data indicate BVGYp may form a newAY subgroup, the similarity coefficients between BVGYp and phytoplasmas from the AY, STOL and Mexican periwinkle virescence groups, derived from putative RFLP patterns, were less than 90%, so BVGYp may actually form a new phytoplasma group.