The reports of questionnaire about the diagnosis and prevention of weak calf syndrome in calves

A questionnaire survey aiming to elucidate the perception among veterinarians on the association between diarrhea in calves and Weak Calf Syndrome (WCS) was conducted in Japan, and 248 veterinarians in 39 prefectures answered the questionnaire. Among the respondents, 85.5% belonged to NOSAI (Farmers’ Mutual Aid Association), 3.2% were independent veterinarians, 5.2% were herd management service veterinarians, and 6.5% answered others. Male were 83.5%, and female 16.5%. Questionnaire covered reasons of WCS, diagnosis and prevention, characteristics of well-managed farms with fewer cases of diarrhea, and collection of information on calf diarrhea. Regarding the contribution of WCS on diarrhea, 77.8% answered that the contribution is large or non-negligible, and 56.3% answered that the proportion of diarrhea with WCS is less than 5%, and 22.1% answered that the proportion is more than 10%. According to the cattle breeds which the veterinarian deals with mainly, the proportion of answering that WCS affects diarrhea greatly or non-negligibly was significantly higher among those who deal with Holstein (Hol, 64/92, 69.5%) breed than Japanese Black (JB, 91/110, 82.7%, x2 = 4.2, df = 1, p = 0.04). The most common two answers for the cause of WCS were pedigree and nutritional status at the late stage of pregnancy, and especially veterinarians of 40s and 50s age raised pedigree. Nutrition status at fetus stage, and history of colostrum feeding were second and third common answers. When the respondents are stratified by main breeds dealing with, both groups dealing with Hol and JB prioritized pedigree and nutritional status at the late stage of pregnancy. However, Hol group tended to raise accidents at delivery and infection in fetus, while JB group pedigree and nutrition at fetus stage, in the second place. Most common criterion of diagnosis with WCS was light body weight, and low vitality, weak suckling of colostrum followed, and as higher age, larger proportion answered light body weight. Most common counter major against WCS was nutrition management around delivery, which accounted more than 50%, and selection of pedigree at insemination and colostrum management followed. Common answers as the second rank were suckling and environmental hygiene management after delivery. Veterinarians chose hygiene, delivery - colostrum management, skill for observation, and feeding management commonly as characteristic of good practice farms with fewer diarrhea; however the proportions varied. For the same question, Hol group tended to answer delivery – colostrum management, while JB group feeding management. As shown above, the perception of WCS among veterinarians differed according to their age and the main cattle breeds dealing with

Desperate housewives: An analysis of the characterisations of female gamblers portrayed in gambling movies in Hong Kong

This article examines portrayals of female gamblers in recent Hong Kong movies. The authors report that the depiction of female gamblers is very different from that of male gamblers in the movies made in the same period. Whereas the male gamblers are pitching a lonely and desperate battle against the evil opponent, the female gamblers portrayed in the movies are housewives or small-time players who gamble only for their personal gain. A general negative overtone in portrayals of female gamblers was interpreted as a reflection of the traditional view that discourages women from gambling. The shift of gambling themes in the Hong Kong movies has been identified to reflect the most salient concerns among Hong Kong residents. Such changes are attributed to particular social and cultural changes in the community

Heavy Ion Collisions and the Density Dependence of the Local Mean Field

We study the effect of the density dependence of the scalar and the vector part of the nucleonic self-energy in Relativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics (RQMD) on observables like the transversal flow and the rapidity distribution. The stability of nuclei in RQMD is greatly improved if the density dependence is included in the self-energies compared to a calculation assuming always saturation density of nuclear matter. Different approaches are studied: The main results are calculated with self-energies extracted from a Dirac-Br\"uckner-Hartree-Fock G-matrix of a one boson exchange model, i.e. the Bonn potential. These results are compared with those obtained by a generalization of static Skyrme force, with calculations in the simple linear Walecka model and results of the Br\"uckner-Hartree-Fock G-matrix of the Reid soft core potential. The transversal flow is very sensitive to these different approaches. A comparison with the data is given.Comment: LaTex-file, 13 pages, 5 figures (available upon request), submitted to Nuclear Physics

Apollo asteroids (1566) Icarus and 2007 MK6: Icarus family members?

Although it is more complicated to search for near-Earth object (NEO) families than main belt asteroid (MBA) families, since differential orbital evolution within a NEO family can cause current orbital elements to drastically differ from each other, we have found that Apollo asteroids (1566) Icarus and the newly discovered 2007 MK6 are almost certainly related. Specifically, their orbital evolutions show a similar profile, time shifted by only ~1000 yr, based on our time-lag theory. The dynamical relationship between Icarus and 2007 MK6 along with a possible dust band, the Taurid-Perseid meteor swarm, implies the first detection of an asteroidal NEO family, namely the "Icarus asteroid family".Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, to appear on Astrophysical Journal Letters (journal info added

Major histocompatibility complex (Mhc) class Ib gene duplications, organization and expression patterns in mouse strain C57BL/6

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The mouse has more than 30 <it>Major histocompatibility complex </it>(<it>Mhc</it>) class Ib genes, most of which exist in the <it>H2 </it>region of chromosome 17 in distinct gene clusters. Although recent progress in <it>Mhc </it>research has revealed the unique roles of several <it>Mhc </it>class Ib genes in the immune and non-immune systems, the functions of many class Ib genes have still to be elucidated. To better understand the roles of class Ib molecules, we have characterized their gene duplication, organization and expression patterns within the <it>H2 </it>region of the mouse strain C57BL/6.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The genomic organization of the <it>H2-Q</it>, -<it>T </it>and -<it>M </it>regions was analyzed and 21 transcribed <it>Mhc </it>class Ib genes were identified within these regions. Dot-plot and phylogenetic analyses implied that the genes were generated by monogenic and/or multigenic duplicated events. To investigate the adult tissue, embryonic and placental expressions of these genes, we performed RT-PCR gene expression profiling using gene-specific primers. Both tissue-wide and tissue-specific gene expression patterns were obtained that suggest that the variations in the gene expression may depend on the genomic location of the duplicated genes as well as locus specific mechanisms. The genes located in the <it>H2-T </it>region at the centromeric end of the cluster were expressed more widely than those at the telomeric end, which showed tissue-restricted expression in spite of nucleotide sequence similarities among gene paralogs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Duplicated <it>Mhc </it>class Ib genes located in the <it>H2-Q</it>, -<it>T </it>and -<it>M </it>regions are differentially expressed in a variety of developing and adult tissues. Our findings form the basis for further functional validation studies of the <it>Mhc </it>class Ib gene expression profiles in specific tissues, such as the brain. The duplicated gene expression results in combination with the genome analysis suggest the possibility of long-range regulation of <it>H2-T </it>gene expression and/or important, but as yet unidentified nucleotide changes in the promoter or enhancer regions of the genes. Since the <it>Mhc </it>genomic region has diversified among mouse strains, it should be a useful model region for comparative analyses of the relationships between duplicated gene organization, evolution and the regulation of expression patterns.</p

Synthesis and characterization of phenylethynylcarbonyl terminated novel thermosetting imide compound

Phenylethynyl terminated novel imide compound based on 1,3-bis(3-aminophenoxy)benzene (APB) and phenylethynyl trimellitic anhydride (PETA) were prepared. The curing behavior of phenylethynyl terminated imide compound was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. The curing reaction of phenylethynylcarbonyl end group completed at 220°C, and proceeded much faster than that of phenylethynyl end group. Glass transition temperature of the thermosetting resin from phenylethynylcarbonyl terminated novel imide compound determined by dynamic mechanical analysis was almost the same as that of o-cresolnovolac type epoxy resin. In addition, the thermosetting resin from phenylethynylcarbonyl terminated novel imide compound exhibited excellent thermal and dimensional stabilities. These excellent properties of these phenylethynyl terminated imide compound might be due to the incorporation of alkene group or aromatic ring substitutes in the backbones, which might enhance the chain interaction (molecular packing) and reduce the molecular chain mobility