The Influence of Management on Health Status of \u3cem\u3eFestuca Rubra\u3c/em\u3e in Mountain Meadows

Snijders & Winkelhorst (1996) investigated swards in West Europe and showed that it was not the snow mould (Microdochium nivale) but other species of the genus Fusarium (F. cerealis (Cooke) Sacc., F. graminearum Schwabe, F. culmorum (Wm. G. Sm.) Sacc. and F. acuminatum Ellis & Everh.) that caused serious damage to grasslands where Lolium perenne L. and Festuca rubra L. were dominant components. In this study the spread and harmfulness of pathogeneous fungi involved in damage to and death of some species (Festuca rubra L., Holcus mollis L.) in grass swards was examined

Hepatoprotective Effects of Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum) Seed Cakes during the Chicken Broiler Fattening

The objective of this work was to verify the hepatoprotective effects of Silybum marianum seed cakes in feed mixtures used for the fattening of chicken broilers to heavier weights. Part of the experiment was to verify the preventive effect of such modified feed mixtures with the use of chlortetracycline medication. The experiment was carried out on 180 ROSS 308 broiler chickens. The chickens were fed complete feed mixtures containing 0.0% (K), 0.2% (P1 and 1.0% (P2) of Silybum marianum seed cakes. The cakes used contained 2.95% of silymarin. On the 44th day of fattening half of the chickens from every group were supplied with chlortetracycline medicated water at a dose of 2 g kg1 live weight. The selected biochemical indices were observed: cholesterol (Chol), glutamyl transferase (GMT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). On the 52nd day of the test, six chickens from each group were euthanized and their liver was taken for histological examination. Adding Silybum marianum seed cakes resulted in a non-significant decrease in the chickens' live weight and in the feed conversion in both experimental groups compared to the control group. The cholesterol levels were highly significantly lower (p p p p p p p < 0.01) the content of lipids and increased the content of glycogen in the liver of both experimental groups

RADIOLUCENT COMPOSITES PROVIDING HIGH RESISTANCE AGAINST STERILIZATION DECOMPOSITION

We present a study of radiolucent composite materials for use in medicine, providing suitable mechanical properties and high resistance against sterilization decomposition. The composites are composed of carbon (C), aramid or glass (R-glass) fabrics embedded in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polyetheretherketone (PEEK) or polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) matrix. The effect of multiple steam sterilization processes on degrading the mechanical properties, structural integrity and hydrolytic decomposition of the composites was verified. The radiolucency of the composites was also investigated. The mechanical performance of ARAMID/PDMS composite is strongly influenced by the sterilization technique that is applied. The mechanical behavior of R-glass/PDMS composite during steam sterilization is negatively influenced by its porosity. The relatively high porosity of C/PDMS composite may lead to lower ultimate bending strength values, but in general its mechanical behavior is influenced only at a low rate by steam sterilization. On the basis of our analyses, we can state that both C/PEEK and C/PPS composites are good candidates for application as radiolucent materials providing resistance against sterilization decomposition

Lipolytic and Hypolipidemic Properties of Newly Synthesized Aryloxypropanolamine Derivatives

In this study, the lipolytic effect of two newly synthesized potential β3-adrenergic agonists A482 and B496 in active acid forms was tested using isolated sliced epididymal adipose tissue of Wistar rats, and compared with Isoprenaline and BRL37344. Furthermore, effects of an eight-week oral administration of the newly synthesized substances on serum cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, adiponectin, resistin and weight gain were studied in C57Bl/6J mice that were fed high energy diet. The newly synthesized substance A482 (4-(2-{[2-hydroxy-3-(4-methyl-carbamoylphenoxy) propyl]amino}ethyl)phenoxy-acetic acid hydrochloride) was able to produce almost full lipolysis at a 1 × 10-7 M concentration, and its effect on the rat epididymal adipose tissue was similar to the specific β3-adrenergic agonist BRL37344. Ethyl ester of this substance significantly lowered plasma total cholesterol (p p p p p 3-adrenergic agonists. Our results suggest that the newly synthesised substance A482 may represent a potent β3-adrenergic agonist

Effects of Age and Loading Velocity on the Delamination Strength of the Human Aorta

Delamination strength is the mechanical property which plays a key role in the pathological process referred to as Arterial Dissection. This dissection, known especially for its occurrence in the thoracic aorta, is manifested by a separation of the layers of an artery wall, and may end with total rupture and internal haemorrhaging. Although its incidence is relatively rare, from 3 to 6 cases per 100 000 per year, it is a life-threating disease with a significant lethality [1-3]. The exact conditions under which the dissection is initiated, and as a crack propagates through the arterial wall, remain an open topic in computational as well as experimental mechanics. The aim of our study is to contribute to the deepening of our knowledge of Arterial Dissection, by collecting experimental data which is suitable for the purpose of showing how the delamination strength measured in the peeling experiments depends on age and anatomical location. In addition to the effects of age and location, our study also focuses on the effect of loading rate. The experimental branch of our research is complemented by a computational modelling of the delamination interface, in which we are looking for a numerical characterization of the material parameters describing discontinuity propagation. An XFEM model of the peeling experiment is built in Abaqus, which in our approach plays the role of the regression analysis, incorporating the cohesive zone (CZ) in order to model the delaminating arterial layers. The main objective is to obtain a detailed description of a set of constitutive parameters, which would be age- and location-specific. Our present data suggest that delamination strength strongly depends on age, and furthermore, the anatomical site also seems to be a significant factor. On the other hand, the loading velocity does not cause significant changes in results

The effect of inhaling concentrated oxygen on performance during repeated anaerobic exercise

This find is registered at Portable Antiquities of the Netherlands with number PAN-0001754

The effect of inhaling concentrated oxygen on performance during repeated anaerobic exercise

The objective of the pilot study was to test the effect of inhaling 99.5% oxygen on recovery. The source of concentrated oxygen was O-PUR (Oxyfit). Research subjects completed two thirty-second Wingate tests at an interval of ten minutes, and in the interval between the tests the subjects inhaled either oxygen or a placebo in random order. This procedure was then repeated. The pilot study revealed a significantly (p<0.03) smaller performance drop in the second Wingate test following the inhalation of 99.5% oxygen when compared with the placebo. The results of the study indicate that inhaling concentrated oxygen may have a positive effect on short-term recovery processes