Reflux of bile acids from the duodenum into the rumen of cows with a reduced intestinal passage

The purpose of this study was to find out whether the concentration of bile acids in the rumen of healthy cows differs from that of cows with a reduced gastrointestinal passage. The investigations were performed on 277 heifers and cows of the Swiss Braunvieh, Simmental and Swiss Holstein breeds. Forty of these had traumatic reticuloperitonitis, 30 had right or left abomasal displacement, 14 had an ileus of the duodenum, 36 had an ileus of the jejunum and 54 had a caecal dilatation. The other 103 animals had disorders which did not affect the digestive system and were used as controls. The mean (+/- se) bile acid concentration in the rumen fluid of the control animals was 1.0 +/- 0.30 mumol/litre. The bile acid concentrations in the rumen fluid of the cows with a duodenal or jejunal ileus were significantly higher than those of the other groups, demonstrating that bile acids may reflux from the duodenum into the rumen of cows with an ileus in the small intestine

Clinical findings in cattle with dilatation and torsion of the caecum

Dilatation and torsion of the caecum is usually an acute illness with signs of ileus and this paper presents the clinical findings from 111 heifers and cows with the condition. On admission 61 per cent of the animals had been ill for less than 24 hours; the general condition was disturbed in 58 per cent of the animals, 39 per cent showed signs of colic; the rectal temperature was abnormal in 55 per cent, the heart rate in 40 per cent and the respiration rate in 52 per cent of the animals; rumen motility was reduced or absent in 85 per cent. One or more tests for foreign bodies were positive in 58 per cent, and swinging auscultation and percussion auscultation on the right side, either alone or in combination, were positive in 83 per cent of the animals. On rectal examination it was possible to palpate a pathologically distended, displaced or twisted caecum in 95 per cent of the animals. In 87 per cent defecation was reduced or absent. The most reliable diagnostic investigations were rectal examination and swinging and percussion auscultation on the right side

Synthetic diagnostic for the beam emission spectroscopy diagnostic using a full optical integration

The beam emission spectroscopy (BES) diagnostic is used to measure fluctuations of electron density in the edge and core of fusion plasmas, and is a key in understanding turbulence in a plasma reactor. A synthetic BES diagnostic for the turbulence simulation code XGC1 has been developed using a realistic neutral beam model and an optical system easily adaptable to different kinds of tokamaks. The beam is modeled using multiple beam energy components, each one with a fraction of the total energy and their own mass and energy (mono-energetic components). The optical system consists of a lens focusing a bundle of optical fibers and resulting in a 2D measurement. The synthetic diagnostic gives similar correlation functions and behaviour of the turbulences than the usual methods that do not take into account the full 3D optical effects. The results, based on a simulation of XGC1, contain an analysis of the correlation (in space and time), a comparison of different approximations possible and their importance in accurately modeling the BES diagnostic

Goals of care changes after acute ischaemic stroke: decision frequency and predictors.

Little is known about the factors leading to a change in goals of care (CGC) in patients with an acute ischaemic stroke (AIS). Our aim was to analyse the proportion and outcome of such patients and identify medical predictors of a CGC during acute hospitalisation. We retrospectively reviewed all patients who had an AIS over a 13-year period from the prospectively constructed Acute Stroke Registry and Analysis of Lausanne. We compared patients with a CGC during the acute hospital phase to all other patients and identified associated clinical and radiological variables using logistic regression analysis. A CGC decision was taken in 440/4264 (10.3%) consecutive patients who had an AIS. The most powerful acute phase predictors of a CGC were transit through the intensive care unit, older age, pre-existing disability, higher stroke severity and initial decreased level of consciousness. Adding subacute phase variables, we also identified active oncological disease, fever and poor recanalisation as predictors. 76.6% of the CGC patients died in the stroke unit and 1.0% of other patients, and 30.5% of patients with a CGC received a palliative care consultation. At 12 months, 93.6% of patients with CGC had died, compared with 10.1% of non-CGC patients. Over three-quarters of AIS patients with CGC died in hospital, but less than a third received a palliative care consultation. The identified clinical and radiological predictors of a CGC may allow physicians to initiate timely the decision-making process for a possible CGC

Kinetic simulations and reduced modeling of longitudinal sideband instabilities in non-linear electron plasma waves

Kinetic Vlasov simulations of one-dimensional finite amplitude Electron Plasma Waves are performed in a multi-wavelength long system. A systematic study of the most unstable linear sideband mode, in particular its growth rate gamma and quasi- wavenumber delta k, is carried out by scanning the amplitude and wavenumber of the initial wave. Simulation results are successfully compared against numerical and analytical solutions to the reduced model by Kruer et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 23, 838 (1969)] for the Trapped Particle Instability (TPI). A model recently suggested by Dodin et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 215006 (2013)], which in addition to the TPI accounts for the so-called Negative Mass Instability because of a more detailed representation of the trapped particle dynamics, is also studied and compared with simulations. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC