Four new HgMn stars: HD 18104, HD 30085, HD 32867, HD 53588

We have detected four new HgMn stars, while monitoring a sample of apparently slowly rotating superficially normal bright late B and early A stars in the northern hemisphere. Important classification lines of Hg II and Mn II are found as conspicuous features in the high resolution SOPHIE spectra of these stars (R = 75000). Several lines of Hg II, Mn II and Fe II have been synthesized using model atmospheres and the spectrum synthesis code SYNSPEC48 including hyperfine structure of various isotopes when relevant. These synthetic spectra have been compared to high resolution high signal-to-noise observations of these stars in order to derive abundances of these key elements. The four stars are found to have distinct enhancements of Hg and Mn which show that these stars are not superficially normal B and A stars, but actually are new HgMn stars and should reclassified as such.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted in A&

Microbial Load Monitor

The Microbial Load Monitor (MLM) is an automated and computerized system for detection and identification of microorganisms. Additionally, the system is designed to enumerate and provide antimicrobic susceptibility profiles for medically significant bacteria. The system is designed to accomplish these tasks in a time of 13 hours or less versus the traditional time of 24 hours for negatives and 72 hours or more for positives usually required for standard microbiological analysis. The MLM concept differs from other methods of microbial detection in that the system is designed to accept raw untreated clinical samples and to selectively identify each group or species that may be present in a polymicrobic sample

Effects of increasing the farm produced content in organic feeds on pig performances

In three experimental facilities (Exp.1, 2 and 3), two organic diets, one complex including processed feedstuffs as wheat bran and heat-treated soya beans (control), the other simplified and containing over 80 % of cereal and pulses (CP), were compared for growing-finishing pigs. The base components of the CP diets were moist maize grain, wheat and faba beans in Exp.1, triticale plus coloured-flowered peas in Exp.2, and triticale, oats, white-flowered peas and faba beans in Exp.3. The diets were formulated with similar energetic values and a lysine content (0.70 g ileal digestible lysine /MJ NE) 20 % lower than the conventional mean requirement for growing pigs. However, the CP diet had a lysine proportion 30% lower than requirement in Exp.1 and did not achieve the ideal protein pattern in Exp. 2 and 3. Diets were given in all experiments from 35 to 115 kg according to a feeding plan. Respectively 96, 100 and 80 pigs were used in Exp.1, 2 and 3 and were blocked in straw bedded pens of 4, 25 and 40. In Exp.1, pigs receiving the control diet had a lower average feed intake than those offered the CP diet (p0.05), 760 and 719 in Exp.2 (p=0.04) and 684 and 677 in Exp.3 (p>0.05). The feed conversion rate (g/g) was high and reached respectively 3.28 and 3.41 in Exp.1 (p=0.01), 3.2 and 3.,4 in Exp.2, 3.3 and 3.4 in Exp.3. The lean meat rate did not differ significantly in Exp.1, 2 and 3, for pigs given control and CP diets. The study underlines that with a moderate growth objective, an organic feed with a low energetic and protein concentration can yield a satisfying lean meat rate. In spite of a tendency for lower performances, especially concerning the feed conversion rate, a simplified diet based on cereal and pulses can be used, taking into account its economical interest for organic pig production

Japan\u27s East China Sea Ocean Boundaries: What Solutions Can a Confused Legal Environment Provide in a Complex Boundary Dispute?

This Note addresses the ocean boundary delimitation conflict between Japan, China, Taiwan, and South Korea in the East China Sea. The author considers international law on boundary delimitation and concludes that the law is unclear on delimitations between states within four hundred nautical miles of one another. The International Court of Justice has held that equity is the norm to be applied to boundary delimitation disputes but it has not resolved the competition between the natural prolongation theory of delimitation and a theory based upon the Exclusive Economic Zone. The geology of the East China Sea brings this issue to the fore. The author concludes that regardless of how this conflict is resolved, equidistance, proportionality, and other equitable concerns will apply to any boundary delimitation. The Note accounts for the political situation in the East China Sea area and concludes that the possibility of reaching a solution is greater than it has been in the past. The author nevertheless argues that it will be necessary to look to alternatives to existing legal precedents to develop a solution to the dispute in the East China Sea. These alternatives include the creation of joint development zones, a compromise of the best legal position advanced by each side and an approach based on strict proportionality