Hepatic Cobalt and Copper Levels in Lambs in Norway

Cobalt and copper concentrations were measured in 599 lamb livers collected at slaughter from 58 sheep flocks in 6 different parts of Norway in 1993. Information about pasture, additional feeding and mineral supplements in the flocks was obtained through a questionnaire. Average hepatic levels of cobalt in the lamb flocks varied from <0.003 to 0.22 μg/g ww, and of copper from 5 to 240 μg/g ww. Flocks with deficient or marginal cobalt status were found in all parts of southern Norway, but primarily in the west and south-west. Some flocks with marginal copper status were found in the south-west, while flocks with signs of excessive hepatic copper concentrations were found mainly in inner parts of central and northern Norway. Hepatic copper concentrations were significantly higher in lambs that had grazed mountain pastures than in those that had grazed lowland pastures in the summer

Plasma Vitamin E and Blood Selenium Concentrations in Norwegian Dairy Cows: Regional Differences and Relations to Feeding and Health

Plasma α-tocopherol (vit E) and blood selenium (Se) concentrations in February were determined in samples from 314 dairy cows in Norway, selected to provide a representative subset of the Norwegian dairy cow population. Each sample was followed by a questionnaire with information about feeding of the cow at the time of sampling. The results were correlated to herd data and to calving and health data for each cow from the Norwegian Dairy Herd Recording System and the Norwegian Cattle Health Recording System. The mean concentrations were 6.9 μg vit E per ml plasma and 0.16 μg Se per g blood. Both levels were highest in mid lactation. Plasma vit E varied with the amount of silage fed to the cow, while blood Se varied with the amount of concentrates and mineral supplements, and with geographical region. No differences in vit E or Se levels were found between cows with recorded treatments for mastitis, parturient paresis or reproductive disorders in the lactation during or immediately prior to sampling, and those without such treatments. For ketosis, a small difference in blood Se was found between the groups with or without recorded treatments. It is concluded that winter-fed lactating cows in Norway had an adequate plasma level of vit E and a marginal-to-adequate level of Se

Are book publications disappearing from scholarly communication in the social sciences and humanities?

In the social sciences and humanities book publishing takes a prominent role, both in terms of communicating with international peers and with a broader intelligentsia (Hicks, 2004; Verleysen & Engels, 2014). Empirical evidence regarding the evolution of the share of scholarly book publications in the total volume of scholarly publications in a given country is rare. In this study we intend to fill this gap with an analysis of the comprehensive coverage data on the share of peer reviewed book publications (book chapters, edited volumes and monographs) that are available from Flanders and Slovenia for the period 2004 to 2015. We supplement these data with data on peer reviewed book chapters and monographs from Norway for the period 2005-2015 as well as data on all types of peer reviewed book publishing for the period 2009 to 2014 for Poland and 2011 to 2015 for Finland

Probing Quarkyonic Matter in Neutron Stars with the Bayesian Nuclear-Physics Multi-Messenger Astrophysics Framework

The interior of neutron stars contains matter at the highest densities realized in our Universe. Interestingly, theoretical studies of dense matter, in combination with the existence of two solar mass neutron stars, indicate that the speed of sound $c_s$ has to increase to values well above the conformal limit ($c_s^2\sim 1/3$) before decreasing again at higher densities. The decrease could be explained by either a strong first-order phase transition or a cross-over transition from hadronic to quark matter. The latter scenario leads to a pronounced peak in the speed of sound reaching values above the conformal limit, naturally explaining the inferred behavior. In this work, we use the Nuclear-Physics Multi-Messenger Astrophysics framework \textsc{NMMA} to compare predictions of the quarkyonic matter model with astrophysical observations of neutron stars, with the goal of constraining model parameters. Assuming quarkyonic matter to be realized within neutron stars, we find that there can be a significant amount of quarks inside the core of neutron stars with masses in the two solar mass range, amounting to up to $\sim 0.13M_\odot$, contributing $\sim 5.9\%$ of the total mass. Furthermore, for the quarkyonic matter model investigated here, the radius of a $1.4M_\odot$ neutron star would be $13.44^{+1.69}_{-1.54} (13.54^{+1.02}_{-1.04})$ km, at $95\%$ credibility, without (with) the inclusion of AT2017gfo.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure

Hepatic and renal concentrations of copper and other trace elements in hippopotami (Hippopotamus amphibius L.) living in and adjacent to the Kafue and Luangwa Rivers in Zambia

Hepatic and renal concentrations of the elements arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, selenium and zinc were studied in samples collected from hippopotami from the Kafue River in the Kafue National Park and the Luangwa River in the Southern Luangwa National Park in Zambia. There were no significant differences between trace element concentrations in the tissues of the hippopotami taken in the Kafue River and the Luangwa River. The concentrations of copper and other essential elements were similar to those reported in normal domestic and wild ruminants. Judging by the results obtained in this study, pollution from the mining activity around the Kafue River drainage area in the Copperbelt region has not led to any accumulation of elements in tissues of the hippopotami in the Kafue National Park. The trace element concentrations observed may serve as reference for similar future studies on hippopotami.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat v.9 was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.NUFU (Norwegian Council for Higher Education's program for development research and education).mn201