816 research outputs found
Pig, F1 (wild boar x pig) and wild boar meat quality
Sixteen carcasses of wild boars, pigs, hybrids F1 (wild boar x pig) and reared wild boar have been examined to study the meat quality and the fatty acid composition. Four carcasses came from hunted wild boars and twelve from animals reared in outdoor pens till nine months of age. The meat produced by the hunted wild animals, although not marketable, offers the best quality and nutritional characteristics. The use of hybrids reared in outdoor pens can approximate or equalize the hunted wild boars meat traits. Reared wild boar meat has, in the complex, better compositional characters than hybrids and domestic groups, but acidic quality of fat is not particularly useful for human feeding
evaluation of animal welfare and milk production of goat fed on diet containing hydroponically germinating seeds
Hydroponic fodder is a particularly nutritious feed, rich in protein and vitamins such as Ă-carotene, trace elements and enzymes. It may also offer the advantage of a continuous availability. A pilot plant for hydroponically production of germinating seeds was built in an area of the same farm where the trial took place. Three homogeneous groups of 30 Jonica breed goats in lactation (4th-5th parity) were used to evaluate the effects of two different levels of partial dietary substitution with hydroponically germinating (h.g.) oat on plasma levels of cortisol and milk production. Germinated oat was used after 7 days of hydroponic growth. Control group (T) received only feed (fodder and oat integrated with complement feed). The other 2 groups were fed on diet containing different levels (1,5Kg - group A; 3Kg - group B) of hydroponically germinating oat. Goats showed a small interest in fresh feed during the trial period. The integration with hydroponically germinating oat in partial substitution of the traditional feed in the diet of goat did not significantly affect biochemical and haematological parameters
Cosmic variance of galaxies: Prediction from BlueTides
In the coming decade, a new generation of telescopes, including JWST and
WFIRST, will probe the period of the formation of first galaxies and quasars,
and open up the last frontier for structure formation. Recent simulations as
well as observations have suggested that these galaxies are strongly clustered
(with large scale bias ), and therefore have significant cosmic
variance. In this work, we use \texttt{BlueTides}, the largest volume
cosmological simulation of galaxy formation, to directly estimate the cosmic
variance for current and upcoming surveys. Given its resolution and volume,
\texttt{BlueTides} can probe the bias and cosmic variance of galaxies
between magnitude to over survey areas
to . Within this regime,
the cosmic variance decreases with survey area/ volume as a power law with
exponents between to . For the planned
field of WFIRST, the cosmic variance is between to
. Upcoming JWST medium/ deep surveys with areas up to $A\sim100\
\mathrm{arcmin}^2\sim 20-50\%\gtrsim 40\%M_{UV}\lesssim-16\lesssim100\%z\sim11z\sim12~(14)\gtrsim(8~\mathrm{Mpc}/h)^3\gtrsim(12\ \mathrm{Mpc}/h)^3100\%$. Finally, we find that cosmic
variance is larger than Poisson variance and forms the dominant component of
the overall uncertainty in all current and upcoming surveys. We present our
calculations in the form of simple fitting functions and an online cosmic
variance calculator (CV_AT_COSMIC_DAWN) which we publicly release
Primacy of effective communication and its influence on adherence to artemether-lumefantrine treatment for children under five years of age: a qualitative study.
BACKGROUND\ud
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Prompt access to artemesinin-combination therapy (ACT) is not adequate unless the drug is taken according to treatment guidelines. Adherence to the treatment schedule is important to preserve efficacy of the drug. Although some community based studies have reported fairly high levels of adherence, data on factors influencing adherence to artemether-lumefantrine (AL) treatment schedule remain inadequate. This study was carried-out to explore the provider's instructions to caretakers, caretakers' understanding of the instructions and how that understanding was likely to influence their practice with regard to adhering to AL treatment schedule.\ud
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METHODS\ud
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A qualitative study was conducted in five villages in Kilosa district, Tanzania. In-depth interviews were held with providers that included prescribers and dispensers; and caretakers whose children had just received AL treatment. Information was collected on providers' instructions to caretakers regarding dose timing and how to administer AL; and caretakers' understanding of providers' instructions.\ud
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RESULTS\ud
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Mismatch was found on providers' instructions as regards to dose timing. Some providers' (dogmatists) instructions were based on strict hourly schedule (conventional) which was likely to lead to administering some doses in awkward hours and completing treatment several hours before the scheduled time. Other providers (pragmatists) based their instruction on the existing circumstances (contextual) which was likely to lead to delays in administering the initial dose with serious treatment outcomes. Findings suggest that, the national treatment guidelines do not provide explicit information on how to address the various scenarios found in the field. A communication gap was also noted in which some important instructions on how to administer the doses were sometimes not provided or were given with false reasons.\ud
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CONCLUSIONS\ud
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There is need for a review of the national malaria treatment guidelines to address local context. In the review, emphasis should be put on on-the-job training to address practical problems faced by providers in the course of their work. Further research is needed to determine the implication of completing AL treatment prior to scheduled time
New experimental limit on the Pauli Exclusion Principle violation by electrons
The Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP) is one of the basic principles of modern
physics and, even if there are no compelling reasons to doubt its validity, it
is still debated today because an intuitive, elementary explanation is still
missing, and because of its unique stand among the basic symmetries of physics.
The present paper reports a new limit on the probability that PEP is violated
by electrons, in a search for a shifted K line in copper: the presence
of this line in the soft X-ray copper fluorescence would signal a transition to
a ground state already occupied by 2 electrons. The obtained value, , improves the existing limit by almost two
orders of magnitude.Comment: submitted to Phys. Lett.
Adherence to yoga and exercise interventions in a 6-month clinical trial
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To determine factors that predict adherence to a mind-body intervention in a randomized trial.</p> <p>Design</p> <p>We analyzed adherence data from a 3-arm trial involving 135 generally healthy seniors 65â85 years of age randomized to a 6-month intervention consisting of: an Iyengar yoga class with home practice, an exercise class with home practice, or a wait-list control group. Outcome measures included cognitive function, mood, fatigue, anxiety, health-related quality of life, and physical measures. Adherence to the intervention was obtained by class attendance and biweekly home practice logs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The drop-out rate was 13%. Among the completers of the two active interventions, average yoga class attendance was 77% and home practice occurred 64% of all days. Average exercise class attendance was 69% and home exercise occurred 54% of all days. There were no clear effects of adherence on the significant study outcomes (quality of life and physical measures). Class attendance was significantly correlated with baseline measures of depression, fatigue, and physical components of health-related quality of life. Significant differences in baseline measures were also found between study completers and drop-outs in the active interventions. Adherence was not related to age, gender, or education level.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Healthy seniors have good attendance at classes with a physically active intervention. Home practice takes place over half of the time. Decreased adherence to a potentially beneficial intervention has the potential to decrease the effect of the intervention in a clinical trial because subjects who might sustain the greatest benefit will receive a lower dose of the intervention and subjects with higher adherence rates may be functioning closer to maximum ability before the intervention. Strategies to maximize adherence among subjects at greater risk for low adherence will be important for future trials, especially complementary treatments requiring greater effort than simple pill-taking.</p
Graphene-based photovoltaic cells for near-field thermal energy conversion
Thermophotovoltaic devices are energy-conversion systems generating an
electric current from the thermal photons radiated by a hot body. In far field,
the efficiency of these systems is limited by the thermodynamic
Schockley-Queisser limit corresponding to the case where the source is a black
body. On the other hand, in near field, the heat flux which can be transferred
to a photovoltaic cell can be several orders of magnitude larger because of the
contribution of evanescent photons. This is particularly true when the source
supports surface polaritons. Unfortunately, in the infrared where these systems
operate, the mismatch between the surface-mode frequency and the semiconductor
gap reduces drastically the potential of this technology. Here we show that
graphene-based hybrid photovoltaic cells can significantly enhance the
generated power paving the way to a promising technology for an intensive
production of electricity from waste heat.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Shape-dependence of near-field heat transfer between a spheroidal nanoparticle and a flat surface
We study the radiative heat transfer between a spheroidal metallic
nanoparticle and a planar metallic sample for near- and far-field distances. In
particular, we investigate the shape dependence of the heat transfer in the
near-field regime. In comparison with spherical particles, the heat transfer
typically varies by factors between 1/2 and 2 when the particle is deformed
such that its volume is kept constant. These estimates help to quantify the
deviation of the actual heat transfer recorded by a near-field scanning thermal
microscope from the value provided by a dipole model which assumes a perfectly
spherical sensor
Disease acceptance and adherence to imatinib in Taiwanese chronic myeloid leukaemia outpatients
Background The launch of imatinib has turned chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) into a chronic illness due to the dramatic improvement in survival. Several recent studies have demonstrated that poor adherence to imatinib may hamper the therapeutic outcomes and result in increased medical expenditures, whilst research on exploring the reasons for non-adherence to imatinib is still limited. Objective This study aimed to explore the experience of patients as they journey through their CML treatments and associated imatinib utilisation in order to understand the perceptions, attitudes and concerns that may influence adherence to imatinib treatment. Setting This study was conducted at oncology outpatient clinics in a medical centre in southern Taiwan. Methods CML patients who regularly attended the oncology outpatient clinics to receive imatinib treatment from October 2011 to March 2012 were invited to participate in the study. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were used to explore patientsâ experiences and views of their treatment, their current CML status and CML-related health conditions, their concerns about imatinib treatment and imatinib-taking behaviours. Patient interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed using the constant comparison approach. Main outcome measure Themes related to patientsâ views of the disease and health conditions, worries and concerns influencing imatinib utilisation behaviours are reported. Results Forty-two CML patients participated in the interviews. The emerging themes included: acceptance of current disease and health status, misconceptions about disease progression, factors associated with adherence to imatinib, concerns and management of adverse drug effects. Participants regarded CML as a chronic disease but had misconceptions about disease progression, therapeutic monitoring, resistance to imatinib and symptoms of side effects. Participants were generally adherent to imatinib and favoured long-term prescriptions to avoid regular outpatient visits for medication refills. Experiencing adverse effect was the main reason influencing adherence and led to polypharmacy. Most participants altered medicine-taking behaviours to maintain long-term use of imatinib. Conclusion Taiwanese CML patients are adherent to imatinib but report changing their medication-taking behaviour due to adverse drug effects and associated polypharmacy. Patientsâ misconceptions of the disease and medication suggests that it is necessary to improve communication between patients and healthcare professionals. Routinely providing updated information as part of the patient counselling process should be considered as a means of improving this communication
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