Use of accelerometry to investigate physical activity in dogs receiving chemotherapy

Objectives: To perform a preliminary study to assess whether single-agent palliative or adjuvant chemotherapy has an impact on objectively measured physical activity in dogs. Methods: Fifteen dogs with neoplasia (treatment group) wore ActiGraph™ accelerometers for 5-day periods before, during and after receiving single-agent adjuvant or palliative chemotherapy. Mean 5-day total physical activity and time spent in three different intensities of activity (sedentary, light-moderate and vigorous) before, during and after receiving chemotherapy were compared to a group of 15 healthy dogs (control group). Results were also compared within the treatment group across time. Results: Prior to chemotherapy, treated dogs tended to be less active than control dogs. Treatment group dogs were slightly more active at restaging than they were prior to treatment but had similar activity levels to control dogs. Marked effects of chemotherapy on physical activity were not detected. Physical activity was slightly lower in treated dogs during chemotherapy when compared to control dogs but there was a slight increase in physical activity of treated dogs during chemotherapy when compared with pretreatment recordings. There was little change in the mean 5-day total physical activity between treated dogs during chemotherapy and at restaging but a mild decrease in time spent sedentary and increase in time spent in light-moderate activity at this comparison of time points. Clinical Significance: Single-agent adjuvant or palliative chemotherapy had minimal impact on physical activity levels in dogs with neoplasia

Studies of hot B subdwarfs. Part 2: Energy distributions of three bright sdB/sdOB stars in the 950-5500 angstrom range

Voyager ultraviolet spectrometer observations of the subdwarf B or OB stars HD 205805, UV 1758+36 and Feige 66 are presented. All three objects display the H I Layman series in absorption. These observations are combined with low dispersion IUE spectrophotometry and with Stroemgren photometry to construct virtually complete energy distributions, which extend over the range 950-5500 angstroms. Effective temperatures based on model atmosphere calculations for high gravity, hydrogen rich stars are determined. Our analyses yield T Sub e 28,200 + or - 1300 K for HD 205805, T sub e 31, 800 + or - 1100 K for UV 1758+36, and T sub e 35,700 + or - 1500 K for Feige 66. The importance of far ultraviolet observations below L sub alpha in reducing the uncertainties associated with the interstellar extinction and the degradation of the IUE sensitivity is emphasized

Studies of the use of high-temperature nuclear heat from an HTGR for hydrogen production

The results of a study which surveyed various methods of hydrogen production using nuclear and fossil energy are presented. A description of these methods is provided, and efficiencies are calculated for each case. The process designs of systems that utilize the heat from a general atomic high temperature gas cooled reactor with a steam methane reformer and feed the reformer with substitute natural gas manufactured from coal, using reforming temperatures, are presented. The capital costs for these systems and the resultant hydrogen production price for these cases are discussed along with a research and development program

An Analysis of the Interactions Between Weather and Land Use on Midwestern Gamebird Populations Using Historical Data: A Preliminary Report

Concern surrounding species’ abilities to cope with a changing climate and variable land use presents opportunities to look forward toward solutions while investigating historical trends to assess the interaction of land use and weather. Uncertainty surrounding population responses to increased severity and frequency of severe weather associated with climate change presents challenges for making informed management decisions for a suite of already declining bird populations, including huntable populations of socially and economically important game birds, such as northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus). Historical data are a rich resource for developing a priori hypotheses and models predicting species’ responses to climate change and continued variation in land use. We are utilizing 30 years of historical data to model the responses of northern, ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), and wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) to land use change and weather within a gradient of land use and climate in Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri. Mixed models incorporating agricultural acreages, relative abundances of gallinaceous birds from the annual Breeding Bird Survey, and historical precipitation and temperature data built at the county-level will illuminate broad scale trends and enable us to draw conclusions about future population responses. We are finding expected differences in population trends between states within a climatic gradient, and varied responses to temperature and precipitation among gallinaceous species, where different annual periods are more or less crucial for different species despite similar life history characteristics. We expect that further modeling will continue to elucidate critical thresholds for birds in the Great Plains in terms of weather and habitat, allowing us to make strong recommendations to managers preparing to deal with the implications of climate change

Thermo-statistical description of gas mixtures from space partitions

The new mathematical framework based on the free energy of pure classical fluids presented in [R. D. Rohrmann, Physica A 347, 221 (2005)] is extended to multi-component systems to determine thermodynamic and structural properties of chemically complex fluids. Presently, the theory focuses on $D$-dimensional mixtures in the low-density limit (packing factor $\eta < 0.01$). The formalism combines the free-energy minimization technique with space partitions that assign an available volume $v$ to each particle. $v$ is related to the closeness of the nearest neighbor and provides an useful tool to evaluate the perturbations experimented by particles in a fluid. The theory shows a close relationship between statistical geometry and statistical mechanics. New, unconventional thermodynamic variables and mathematical identities are derived as a result of the space division. Thermodynamic potentials $\mu_{il}$, conjugate variable of the populations $N_{il}$ of particles class $i$ with the nearest neighbors of class $l$ are defined and their relationships with the usual chemical potentials $\mu_i$ are established. Systems of hard spheres are treated as illustrative examples and their thermodynamics functions are derived analytically. The low-density expressions obtained agree nicely with those of scaled-particle theory and Percus-Yevick approximation. Several pair distribution functions are introduced and evaluated. Analytical expressions are also presented for hard spheres with attractive forces due to K\^ac-tails and square-well potentials. Finally, we derive general chemical equilibrium conditions.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review

One Dimensional Oxygen Ordering in YBa2Cu3O(7-delta)

A model consisting of oxygen-occupied and -vacant chains is considered, with repulsive first and second nearest-neighbor interactions V1 and V2, respectively. The statistical mechanics and the diffraction spectrum of the model is solved exactly and analytically with the only assumption V1 >> V2. At temperatures T ~ V1 only a broad maximum at (1/2,0,0) is present, while for ABS(delta - 1/2) > 1/14 at low enough T, the peak splits into two. The simple expression for the diffraction intensity obtained for T << V1 represents in a more compact form previous results of Khachaturyan and Morris[1],extends them to all delta and T/V2 and leads to a good agreement with experiment. [1] A.G.Khachaturyan and J.W.Morris, Jr., Phys.Rev.Lett. 64,76(1990)Comment: 13 pages,Revtex,3 figures available upon request but can be plotted using simple analytical functions,CNEA-CAB 92/04

Self- and Other-Oriented Motivations Associated with Emotional Suppression of Internalized and Externalized Negative Emotions: A Multiethnic Self-Report Study in the Netherlands

We were interested in the motivations associated with emotional suppression, their relationship with negative emotions in self-reported emotional events, and their cross-cultural similarities and differences. Based on a framework of human values (Schwartz, 1994) and internalization-externalization (Krueger & Markon, 2006), we expected in the current study that self-reported motivations to suppress negative emotions are either self- or other-oriented. The sample consisted of 354 Dutch majority members, 319 immigrants from non-Western, and 368 from Western countries. The two-dimensional solution of self- and other-oriented motivations was confirmed. Non-Western immigrants scored higher on other-oriented motivation than Western immigrants, but no interethnic differences were found in self-oriented motivation. Non-Western immigrants scored higher on anxiety, compassion, guilt, and hate compared to Dutch group. Associations of negative emotions with self- and other- oriented motivation were the same in all groups. Sadness was positively related to self-oriented motivation, whereas anger was positively related to other-oriented motivation. We concluded that emotional suppression depends not only on self- or other-orientation but also on the type of emotions (internalized versus externalized) and the relationships are not influenced by ethnicity