Field age determination in the european badger

Les critères utilisés antérieurement pour établir l'âge des blaireaux sont évalués pour les études pratiques d'écologie ou d'épidémiologie. L'usure des dents d'adultes vivants et les critères de développement du crâne et des os de membres adolescents (crête sagittale, et fermeture des sutures et des épiphyses) sont des caractères utiles dans certaines population

A workbook to develop the ability to detect bias: a study in connotation

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston UniversityThe purpose of this thesis is to construct a workbook to develop the ability of high- school students to detect bias in writing through the study of connotation

Acidosis slows electrical conduction through the atrio-ventricular node

Acidosis affects the mechanical and electrical activity of mammalian hearts but comparatively little is known about its effects on the function of the atrio-ventricular node (AVN). In this study, the electrical activity of the epicardial surface of the left ventricle of isolated Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts was examined using optical methods. Perfusion with hypercapnic Tyrode's solution (20% CO2, pH 6.7) increased the time of earliest activation (Tact) from 100.5 ± 7.9 to 166.1 ± 7.2 ms (n = 8) at a pacing cycle length (PCL) of 300 ms (37°C). Tact increased at shorter PCL, and the hypercapnic solution prolonged Tact further: at 150 ms PCL, Tact was prolonged from 131.0 ± 5.2 to 174.9 ± 16.3 ms. 2:1 AVN block was common at shorter cycle lengths. Atrial and ventricular conduction times were not significantly affected by the hypercapnic solution suggesting that the increased delay originated in the AVN. Isolated right atrial preparations were superfused with Tyrode's solutions at pH 7.4 (control), 6.8 and 6.3. Low pH prolonged the atrial-Hisian (AH) interval, the AVN effective and functional refractory periods and Wenckebach cycle length significantly. Complete AVN block occurred in 6 out of 9 preparations. Optical imaging of conduction at the AV junction revealed increased conduction delay in the region of the AVN, with less marked effects in atrial and ventricular tissue. Thus acidosis can dramatically prolong the AVN delay, and in combination with short cycle lengths, this can cause partial or complete AVN block and is therefore implicated in the development of brady-arrhythmias in conditions of local or systemic acidosis

Effect of a single dose of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii on the occurrence of porcine neonatal diarrhoea

Piglet neonatal diarrhoea is an important issue in modern pig production and is linked to increased mortality and poor growth rates, affecting long-term pig health, increasing use of medication and cost of production. Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii (SB) is a probiotic yeast with documented clinical efficacy in the prevention and treatment of diarrhoeal diseases in humans. The objectives of the current study were to evaluate the effect of SB on occurrence and severity of neonatal diarrhoea in piglets, mortality and growth rate. Forty-six litters (606 piglets) were randomly allocated to a control or SB treatment (n=23 per treatment). Within 24 h of farrowing, piglets assigned to the SB treatment received a single oral dose of a paste containing 3.3×109 CFU of SB CNCM I-1079. Piglets from the control litters received a placebo paste. Piglet weight, mortality and diarrhoea were recorded up to day 7 of age. It was shown that numbers of diarrhoea days were significantly correlated with increased mortality rate and reduced weight gain (P<0.05). SB treatment had no effect on growth or mortality in diarrhoeic litters. However, SB-supplemented litters had significantly lower faecal scores, indicating firmer faeces (P<0.01) and fewer numbers of diarrhoeic days (P<0.01) during the 1st week of life. Reduction in the number of diarrhoeic litters compared with the control group was observed following the probiotic administration (P<0.05). These results highlight the detrimental effects of neonatal diarrhoea on pre-weaning performance and suggest that SB, by reducing diarrhoea duration and severity, has the potential of improving enteric health in the early stages of life in pigs

Optimization of a high work function solution processed vanadium oxide hole-extracting layer for small molecule and polymer organic photovoltaic cells

We report a method of fabricating a high work function, solution processable vanadium oxide (V2Ox(sol)) hole-extracting layer. The atmospheric processing conditions of film preparation have a critical influence on the electronic structure and stoichiometry of the V2Ox(sol), with a direct impact on organic photovoltaic (OPV) cell performance. Combined Kelvin probe (KP) and ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) measurements reveal a high work function, n-type character for the thin films, analogous to previously reported thermally evaporated transition metal oxides. Additional states within the band gap of V2Ox(sol) are observed in the UPS spectra and are demonstrated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to be due to the substoichiometric nature of V2Ox(sol). The optimized V2Ox(sol) layer performance is compared directly to bare indium–tin oxide (ITO), poly(ethyleneoxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), and thermally evaporated molybdenum oxide (MoOx) interfaces in both small molecule/fullerene and polymer/fullerene structures. OPV cells incorporating V2Ox(sol) are reported to achieve favorable initial cell performance and cell stability attributes

Dihydrolevoglucosenone (Cyrene™) as a bio-renewable solvent for Cu(0)wire-mediated reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) without external deoxygenation

Biorenewable dihydrolevoglucosenone (Cyrene™) is used as an effective dipolar aprotic solvent for Cu(0) wire-mediated RDRP of various monomers without external deoxygenation being applied