A sensitive LC-MS/MS method for isomer separation and quantitative determination of 51 pyrrolizidine alkaloids and two tropane alkaloids in cow's milk

1,2-Unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA), their corresponding N-oxides (PANO), and tropane alkaloids (TA) are toxic secondary plant metabolites. Their possible transfer into the milk of dairy cows has been studied in feeding trials;however, only few data on the occurrence of these toxins in milk are available. In this study, the development of a sensitive analytical approach for the simultaneous detection and quantification of a broad range of 54 PA/PANO as well as of the TA atropine and scopolamine in milk of dairy cows is presented. The method optimisation focused on sensitivity and separation of PA/PANO isomers. Milk samples were extracted using liquid-liquid extraction with aqueous formic acid and n-hexane, followed by a cation-exchange solid-phase extraction for purification. Reversed phase liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis was performed using alkaline solvent conditions. Validation proved low limits of detection and quantification of 0.005 to 0.054 mu g/L and of 0.009 to 0.123 mu g/L, respectively. For 51 of the 54 tested PA/PANO and both TA, the recovery rates ranged from 64 to 127% with repeatability (RSDr) values below 15% at concentration levels of 0.05 and 0.50 mu g/L and below 8% at a concentration level of 3.00 mu g/L. Only three PANO did not match the validation criteria and were therefore regarded as semiquantitative. The final method was applied to 15 milk samples obtained from milk vending stations at farms and from local marketers in Bavaria, Germany. In three of the milk samples, traces of PA were detected

Stories from the Flood: Promoting Healing and Fostering Policy Change Through Storytelling, Community Literacy, and Community-based Learning

This profile features the authors\u27 shared work to co-create both a community literacy project, Stories from the Flood, and the undergraduate community-based learning courses that supported the effort. Stories from the Flood works to assist community members in southwestern Wisconsin to share their flood experiences, aiming to support community healing and serve as a resource for future conversations about flood recovery and resilience. Our collaboration on Stories from the Flood demonstrates the importance of non-university expertise and aims to daylight and correct structural asymmetries that render these rural watersheds both particularly vulnerable to flooding and absent of government intervention

Investigation of Body Development in Growing Holstein Heifers With Special Emphasis on Body Fat Development Using Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis

This study analyzed skeletal development, body condition, and total body fat development of growing heifers. A total of 144 female primiparous Holstein cattle from four commercial dairy farms with different degrees of stillbirth rates were examined during the rearing period. This included measurements in body condition, fat tissue, metabolic, and endocrine factors. Pelvic measurements and the sacrum height were analyzed to assess skeletal development. The body condition was classified via body condition scoring, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), back fat thickness measurements, and the body mass. For the first time, BIA was used as an appropriate method to evaluate the fat tissue content of cattle throughout the rearing period. This analysis technique can be performed on heifers aged 8–15 months. Throughout that period, the fat content decreased while the skeletal development increased. In addition, high free fatty acid concentrations in serum of the animals with high frame development were found, supporting our hypothesis that stored energy of body fat deposits is used for skeletal growth. Furthermore, we were able to demonstrate complex endocrine relationships between fat metabolism and skeletal growth by using specific markers, such as leptin, insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and estradiol (E2). Food analysis showed high crude protein (CP) levels in the total mixed ration above recommendation for daily protein intake of all farms. However, there was a positive correlation between CP and the body frame measurements in our study. In summary, we established a novel regression formula for BIA analysis (“BIA-Heine”) in heifers to evaluate the body composition throughout different ages and physiological stages in the development of heifers. This special formula allows the evaluation of fat tissue without a whole-body analysis and therefore provides an innovative technique for animal welfare support

T-cell receptor gene rearrangement and expression in human natural killer cells: natural killer activity is not dependent on the rearrangement and expression of T-cell receptor α , β , or γ genes

To test the hypothesis that the T-cell receptor ( Tcr ) λ gene encodes a natural killer (NK) cell receptor molecule, three human NK clones and fresh peripheral blood lymphocytes with NK activity from two patients with a CD16 + lymphocytosis were analyzed for rearrangements and expression of the human Tcr α, β , and λ genes. Two of the clones displayed distinct rearrangements of their Tcr β and λ genes and expressed mature Tcr α, β , and αl RNA. However, one of the clones and both patient samples displayed marked NK activity but failed to rearrange or express any of their Tcr genes. These findings demonstrate that human natural killer activity is not dependent on Tcr λ gene rearrangement and expression. In addition, they confirm previous findings concerning the lack of Tcr α and β gene expression in some natural killer cells. Thus, they suggest the existence of additional NK-specific recognition molecules.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46745/1/251_2004_Article_BF00376117.pd

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Sex difference and intra-operative tidal volume: Insights from the LAS VEGAS study

BACKGROUND: One key element of lung-protective ventilation is the use of a low tidal volume (VT). A sex difference in use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) has been described in critically ill ICU patients.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether a sex difference in use of LTVV also exists in operating room patients, and if present what factors drive this difference.DESIGN, PATIENTS AND SETTING: This is a posthoc analysis of LAS VEGAS, a 1-week worldwide observational study in adults requiring intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery in 146 hospitals in 29 countries.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Women and men were compared with respect to use of LTVV, defined as VT of 8 ml kg-1 or less predicted bodyweight (PBW). A VT was deemed 'default' if the set VT was a round number. A mediation analysis assessed which factors may explain the sex difference in use of LTVV during intra-operative ventilation.RESULTS: This analysis includes 9864 patients, of whom 5425 (55%) were women. A default VT was often set, both in women and men; mode VT was 500 ml. Median [IQR] VT was higher in women than in men (8.6 [7.7 to 9.6] vs. 7.6 [6.8 to 8.4] ml kg-1 PBW, P < 0.001). Compared with men, women were twice as likely not to receive LTVV [68.8 vs. 36.0%; relative risk ratio 2.1 (95% CI 1.9 to 2.1), P < 0.001]. In the mediation analysis, patients' height and actual body weight (ABW) explained 81 and 18% of the sex difference in use of LTVV, respectively; it was not explained by the use of a default VT.CONCLUSION: In this worldwide cohort of patients receiving intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery, women received a higher VT than men during intra-operative ventilation. The risk for a female not to receive LTVV during surgery was double that of males. Height and ABW were the two mediators of the sex difference in use of LTVV.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01601223

Search for heavy resonances decaying to two Higgs bosons in final states containing four b quarks

A search is presented for narrow heavy resonances X decaying into pairs of Higgs bosons (H) in proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at root s = 8 TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1). The search considers HH resonances with masses between 1 and 3 TeV, having final states of two b quark pairs. Each Higgs boson is produced with large momentum, and the hadronization products of the pair of b quarks can usually be reconstructed as single large jets. The background from multijet and t (t) over bar events is significantly reduced by applying requirements related to the flavor of the jet, its mass, and its substructure. The signal would be identified as a peak on top of the dijet invariant mass spectrum of the remaining background events. No evidence is observed for such a signal. Upper limits obtained at 95 confidence level for the product of the production cross section and branching fraction sigma(gg -> X) B(X -> HH -> b (b) over barb (b) over bar) range from 10 to 1.5 fb for the mass of X from 1.15 to 2.0 TeV, significantly extending previous searches. For a warped extra dimension theory with amass scale Lambda(R) = 1 TeV, the data exclude radion scalar masses between 1.15 and 1.55 TeV

Measurement of the top quark forward-backward production asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric and chromomagnetic moments in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV

Abstract The parton-level top quark (t) forward-backward asymmetry and the anomalous chromoelectric (d̂ t) and chromomagnetic (μ̂ t) moments have been measured using LHC pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected in the CMS detector in a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb−1. The linearized variable AFB(1) is used to approximate the asymmetry. Candidate t t ¯ events decaying to a muon or electron and jets in final states with low and high Lorentz boosts are selected and reconstructed using a fit of the kinematic distributions of the decay products to those expected for t t ¯ final states. The values found for the parameters are AFB(1)=0.048−0.087+0.095(stat)−0.029+0.020(syst),μ̂t=−0.024−0.009+0.013(stat)−0.011+0.016(syst), and a limit is placed on the magnitude of | d̂ t| < 0.03 at 95% confidence level. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Measurement of t(t)over-bar normalised multi-differential cross sections in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV, and simultaneous determination of the strong coupling strength, top quark pole mass, and parton distribution functions

Peer reviewe