Implementing quality control : forms and sample documents, Revised 1990; Technical information for practitioners series, 4

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/1720/thumbnail.jp

Supervision, review, and report processing; Technical information for practitioners series, 5

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_guides/1721/thumbnail.jp

Longitudinal studies of intramammary infection in suckler ewes

Four longitudinal studies were conducted. The first study investigated the longitudinal pattern of udder half somatic cell count (HSCC) and intramammary infection (IMI) in 48 UK suckler ewes over the first 10 weeks of lactation. This was the first study to demonstrate that HSCC of suckler ewes followed a quadratic and cubic relationship with days in lactation over the first 10 weeks of lactation. Udder half somatic cell count was also explained by presence of bacteria. Ewes older than 6 years of age had significantly higher HSCC than younger ewes. The second study investigated the relationships between udder conformation, SCC and lamb weight. Whilst accounting for lamb age and birth weight, significantly lower lamb weight was associated with a ewe SCC of >400,000 cells/ml (-1.7 kg), a traumatic teat lesion (bite, tear or chapping) 2 weeks previously (-1.1 kg), and a ewe body condition score (BCS) of <2.5 before lambing (-1.3kg). Higher HSCCs were observed in ewes with a lower suspended udder, and older ewes in poorer body condition. The findings from this study make an important contribution to the knowledge of the impact of udder health of suckler ewes by demonstrating that udder conformation is associated with IMI and that IMI and teat damage are negatively associated with lamb weight. The third study investigated the effect of dry cow therapy (DCT) on subclinical mastitis in a lowland flock with a low incidence of clinical mastitis by recording HSCC and lamb weights in the following lactation. To the author’s knowledge, there are no published reports of the effect of broad spectrum DCT on subclinical mastitis in suckler ewes in the literature. No significant effect was found between the use of DCT and HSCC or lamb weight in the subsequent lactation. The fourth study was a randomised controlled trial to assess the effect of DCT on clinical mastitis in a suckler flock with a high level of clinical mastitis. Dry cow treatment significantly reduced the incidence of clinical mastitis over one year, with a 70% reduction of clinical mastitis in ewes that received treatment from 6.2% to 1.8%. This was the first field trial to investigate and demonstrate the clinical benefit of the use of a broad spectrum DCT in suckler ewes. These studies have enhanced our knowledge of longitudinal patterns of infection and demonstrated the importance of udder health for optimising production of suckler ewes. Factors to control for when using SCC as a tool to measure intramammary infection were described

Thermoluminescence Dating of Late Pleistocene Sediments, St. Lawrence Lowland, Québec

This paper presents the results of a thermoluminescence (TL) dating program applied to waterlaid sediments of Late Pleistocene age, collected in the central St. Lawrence Lowland, in eastern Canada. The apparent TL ages were obtained using a partial bleach method (R-Gamma) in which the TL from light-sensitive traps is separated from the total TL. Fluvial (modern), marine (late-glacial) lacustrine (interstadial) and glacio-lacustrine (stadial) sediments yielded apparent ages ranging from 4 to 135 ka, and in general, these ages agreed with available stratigraphic evidence. Whilst testing the zeroing assumption, apparent TL ages obtained from modern fluvial and late glacial sediments suggest that laboratory overbleaching or insufficient natural bleaching may result in over-estimation of the apparent TL ages by 4-5 ka. All samples display anomalous fading, a problem that can be overcome by introducing a three month delay between artificial irradiation and glowing. Future research should focus on sediments for which the age as well as the sedimentology are well documented, such as the late glacial Champlain Sea sediments.Cet article présente les résultats d'un projet de datation par thermoluminescence (TL) de sédiments des basses terres du Saint-Laurent datant du Pléistocène supérieur. Les âges TL apparents ont été obtenus en utilisant une méthode de lessivage partiel (R-Gamma) par laquelle la TL émanant de pièges cristallins sensibles à la lumière a pu être séparée de la TL totale. Les sédiments, d'origines fluviatile (modernes), marine (tardiglaciaires), lacustre (interstadiaires) et glaciolacustre (stadiaires) ont livré des âges entre 4 et 135 ka et, erï général, les âges obtenus correspondent aux données stratigraphiques. Des expériences menées sur le phénomène de « remise à zéro » ont été menées sur des sédiments fluviatiles modernes et marins tardiglaciaires. Elles démontrent que, dans les cas où le lessivage solaire a pu être insuffisant ou le lessivage simulé en laboratoire trop intense, les âges TL apparents peuvent être surestimés de 4 à 5 ka. Tous les échantillons montrent un affaiblissement anormal du signal de thermoluminescence. Ce problème peut être résolu par l'introduction d'un délai de trois mois entre l'irradiation artificielle et la mesure de l'échantillon. À l'avenir la recherche devrait se faire sur des sédiments dont la chronologie et la sédimentologie sont bien connues, tels les sédiments tardiglaciaires champlainiens.Dieser Artikel stellt die Ergebnisse eines Datierungsprojekts mittles Thermoluminiszenz (TL) dar, angewandt auf angeschwemmte Sedimente aus dem spaten Pleistozàn, die in Ostkanada, in der zentralen Sankt-Lorenz Tiefebene gesammelt wurden. Die offensichtlichen TL-Alter wurden mittels einer partiellen Bleichmethode (R-Gamma) gewonnen, in welcher die TL der lichtempfindlichen Fallen von der totalen TL getrennt wurde. Die Sedimente von FIuB (modem), Meer (Spâtglazial), See (Interstadial) und Glazio-See (Stadial) lieferten offensichtliche Alter zwischen 4 bis 135 ka, und im allgemeinene stimmten dièse Alter mit den verfùgbaren stratigraphischen Zeugnissen ùberein. Wohingegen beim Testen mittels der 'NuII-Annahme' die offensichtlichen TL-Alter, die aus modernen FluBsedimenten und spaten glazialen Sedimenten gewonnen wurden, vermuten lassen, daB zu intensives Bleichen im Labor oder ungenùgendes Bleichen in der Natur zu einer Ùberschàtzung der offensichtlichen TL-Alter von 4 bis 5 ka fuhren. Allé Proben weisen eine anormale Abschwâchung des TL-Signals auf. Dies Problem kann durch die Einfùhrung eines Aufschubs von drei Monaten zwischen der kùnstlichen Bestrahlung und dem Messen der Probe gelôstwerden. Die kùnftige Forschung sollte sich auf Sedimente konzentrieren, deren Alter als auch Sédimentologie gut dokumentiert sind, wie z.B. die spàtglazialenChamplain-Meer-Sedimente

Parasitism and host behavior in the context of a changing environment: The Holocene record of the commercially important bivalve Chamelea gallina, northern Italy

Rapid warming and sea-level rise are predicted to be major driving forces in shaping coastal ecosystems and their services in the next century. Though forecasts of the multiple and complex effects of temperature and sea-level rise on ecological interactions suggest negative impacts on parasite diversity, the effect of long term climate change on parasite dynamics is complex and unresolved. Digenean trematodes are complex life cycle parasites that can induce characteristic traces on their bivalve hosts and hold potential to infer parasite host-dynamics through time and space. Previous work has demonstrated a consistent association between sea level rise and increasing prevalence of trematode traces, but a number of fundamental questions remain unanswered about this paleoecological proxy. Here we examine the relationships of host size, shape, and functional morphology with parasite prevalence and abundance, how parasites are distributed across hosts, and how all of these relationships vary through time, using the bivalve Chamelea gallina from a Holocene shallow marine succession in the Po coastal plain. Trematode prevalence increased and decreased in association with the transition from a wave-influenced estuarine system to a wave-dominated deltaic setting. Prevalence and abundance of trematode pits are associated with large host body size, reflecting ontogenetic accumulation of parasites, but temporal trends in median host size do not explain prevalence trends. Ongoing work will test the roles of temperature, salinity, and nutrient availability on trematode parasitism. Parasitized bivalves in one sample were shallower burrowers than their non-parasitized counterparts, suggesting that hosts of trematodes can be more susceptible to their predators, though the effect is ephemeral. Like in living parasite-host systems, trematode-induced malformations are strongly aggregated among hosts, wherein most host individuals harbor very few parasites while a few hosts have many. We interpret trace aggregation to support the assumption that traces are a reliable proxy for trematode parasitism in the fossil record

Asymptotic behavior of, small eigenvalues, short geodesics and period matrices on degenerating hyperbolic Riemann surfaces

Consider {M-t} a semi-stable family of compact, connected algebraic curves which degenerate to a stable, noded curve M-0. The uniformization theorem allows us to endow each curve M-t in the family, as well as the limit curve M-0 (after its nodes have been removed), with its natural complete hyperbolic metric (i.e. constant negative curvature equal to -1), so that we are considering a degenerating family of compact hyperbolic Riemann surfaces. Assume that M-0 has k components and n nodes, so there are n families of geodesics whose lengths approach zero under degeneration and k - 1 families of eigenvalues of the Laplacian which approach zero under degeneration. A problem which has received considerable attention is to compare the rate at which the eigenvalues and the lengths of geodesics approach zero. In this paper, we will use results from complex algebraic geometry and from heat kernel analysis to obtain a precise relation involving the small eigenvalues, the short geodesics, and the period matrix of the underlying complex curve M-t. Our method leads naturally to a general conjecture in the setting of an arbitrary degenerating family of hyperbolic Riemann surfaces of finite volume

STR-997: INSTRUMENTATION AND LONG-TERM MONITORING OF AN INTEGRAL-ABUTMENT BRIDGE SUPERSTRUCTURE

Strain gauges were installed in the girders and deck of an integral abutment bridge to determine the behaviour of the superstructure to daily and seasonal thermal fluctuations. The two-span, 76 m-long bridge has no expansion joints; rather, the prestressed-concrete girders are cast directly into the abutments which are in turn supported by flexible pile foundations. Details of field instrumentation along with monitored data over a period of eight years are presented in this paper. Gauges measured the longitudinal strain in the girders and deck and were positioned at different elevations to provide a strain distribution across the superstructure depth. From the strain data, moments were computed at each of the installation locations. Data indicate that the superstructure responds to thermal fluctuations as expected with midspan moments smaller in magnitude when compared to the moments measured at the abutment and pier locations. Furthermore, data confirm that the level of sun exposure affects the thermally-induced moments measured in the girders

Self-awareness in Dementia: a Taxonomy of Processes, Overview of Findings, and Integrative Framework

Purpose of Review: Self-awareness, the capacity of becoming the object of one’s own awareness, has been a frontier of knowledge, but only recently scientific approaches to the theme have advanced. Self-awareness has important clinical implications, and a finer understanding of this concept may improve the clinical management of people with dementia. The current article aims to explore self-awareness, from a neurobiological perspective, in dementia. Recent Findings: A taxonomy of self-awareness processes is presented, discussing how these can be structured across different levels of cognitive complexity. Findings on self-awareness in dementia are reviewed, indicating the relative preservation of capacities such as body ownership and agency, despite impairments in higher-level cognitive processes, such as autobiographical memory and emotional regulation. Summary: An integrative framework, based on predictive coding and compensatory abilities linked to the resilience of self-awareness in dementia, is discussed, highlighting possible avenues for future research into the topic

Ambipolar Nernst effect in NbSe2_2

The first study of Nernst effect in NbSe$_2$ reveals a large quasi-particle contribution with a magnitude comparable and a sign opposite to the vortex signal. Comparing the effect of the Charge Density Wave(CDW) transition on Hall and Nernst coefficients, we argue that this large Nernst signal originates from the thermally-induced counterflow of electrons and holes and indicates a drastic change in the electron scattering rate in the CDW state. The results provide new input for the debate on the origin of the anomalous Nernst signal in high-T$_c$ cuprates.Comment: 5 pages including 4 figure

The Association Between Impaired Awareness and Depression, Anxiety, and Apathy in Mild to Moderate Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review

Objectives: Impaired awareness of cognitive and functional deficits is a common feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although a lack of awareness has been suggested to be a protective factor against experiencing affective symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, and apathy which are common in AD, there is conflicting evidence about the links between them. This systematic review examines the evidence for an association between impaired awareness and depressive, anxiety, and apathy symptoms in mild to moderate AD. / Method: We searched four databases (OvidMedline, Embase, PsycInfo, and PsycArticles) using terms encompassing awareness, apathy, depression, anxiety, and mild-moderate AD. We included studies that assessed the relationship between awareness and depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, or apathy. We assessed included papers for quality and report results using a narrative approach, prioritizing high quality studies. / Results: We identified 1,544 articles, and twenty-seven studies fulfilled inclusion criteria (high-quality = 15; moderate-quality = 12). Most high-quality studies reported that impaired awareness in early-stage AD is cross-sectionally linked with fewer depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms (correlation ranged from −0.3 to −0.7), but with more apathy. / Conclusions: High-quality studies suggested that in people with early AD, impaired awareness is related to fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms and to more apathy. Future research should focus on elucidating causality among impaired awareness and these symptoms in AD