Beef carcasses with larger eye muscle areas, lower ossification scores and improved nutrition have a lower incidence of dark cutting

This study evaluated the effect of eye muscle area (EMA), ossification, carcass weight, marbling and rib fat depth on the incidence of dark cutting (pH u>5.7) using routinely collected Meat Standards Australia (MSA) data. Data was obtained from 204,072 carcasses at a Western Australian processor between 2002 and 2008. Binomial data of pH u compliance was analysed using a logit model in a Bayesian framework. Increasing eye muscle area from 40 to 80cm 2, increased pH u compliance by around 14% (P<0.001) in carcasses less than 350kg. As carcass weight increased from 150kg to 220kg, compliance increased by 13% (P<0.001) and younger cattle with lower ossification were also 7% more compliant (P<0.001). As rib fat depth increased from 0 to 20mm, pH u compliance increased by around 10% (P<0.001) yet marbling had no effect on dark cutting. Increasing musculature and growth combined with good nutrition will minimise dark cutting beef in Australia

Mathematical modelling of chemical agent removal by reaction with an immiscible cleanser

When a hazardous chemical agent has soaked into a porous medium, such as concrete, it can be difficult to neutralise. One removal method is chemical decontamination, where a cleanser is applied to react with and neutralise the agent, forming less harmful reaction products. There are often several cleansers that could be used to neutralise the same agent, so it is important to identify the cleanser features associated with fast and effective decontamination. As many cleansers are aqueous solutions while many agents are immiscible with water, the decontamination reaction often takes place at the interface between two phases. In this paper, we develop and analyse a mathematical model of a decontamination reaction between a neat agent and an immiscible cleanser solution. We assume that the reaction product is soluble in both the cleanser phase and the agent phase. At the moving boundary between the two phases, we obtain coupling conditions from mass conservation arguments and the oil–water partition coefficient of the product. We analyse our model using both asymptotic and numerical methods, and investigate how different features of a cleanser affect the time taken to remove the agent. Our results reveal the existence of two regimes characterised by different rate-limiting transport processes, and we identify the key parameters that control the removal time in each regime. In particular, we find that the oil–water partition coefficient of the reaction product is significantly more important in determining the removal time than the effective reaction rate

Detecting a stochastic background of gravitational radiation: Signal processing strategies and sensitivities

We analyze the signal processing required for the optimal detection of a stochastic background of gravitational radiation using laser interferometric detectors. Starting with basic assumptions about the statistical properties of a stochastic gravity-wave background, we derive expressions for the optimal filter function and signal-to-noise ratio for the cross-correlation of the outputs of two gravity-wave detectors. Sensitivity levels required for detection are then calculated. Issues related to: (i) calculating the signal-to-noise ratio for arbitrarily large stochastic backgrounds, (ii) performing the data analysis in the presence of nonstationary detector noise, (iii) combining data from multiple detector pairs to increase the sensitivity of a stochastic background search, (iv) correlating the outputs of 4 or more detectors, and (v) allowing for the possibility of correlated noise in the outputs of two detectors are discussed. We briefly describe a computer simulation which mimics the generation and detection of a simulated stochastic gravity-wave signal in the presence of simulated detector noise. Numerous graphs and tables of numerical data for the five major interferometers (LIGO-WA, LIGO-LA, VIRGO, GEO-600, and TAMA-300) are also given. The treatment given in this paper should be accessible to both theorists involved in data analysis and experimentalists involved in detector design and data acquisition.Comment: 81 pages, 30 postscript figures, REVTE

Altered functional brain network connectivity and glutamate system function in transgenic mice expressing truncated Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia 1

Considerable evidence implicates DISC1 as a susceptibility gene for multiple psychiatric diseases. DISC1 has been intensively studied at the molecular, cellular and behavioral level, but its role in regulating brain connectivity and brain network function remains unknown. Here, we utilize a set of complementary approaches to assess the functional brain network abnormalities present in mice expressing a truncated Disc1 gene (Disc1tr Hemi mice). Disc1tr Hemi mice exhibited hypometabolism in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and reticular thalamus along with a reorganization of functional brain network connectivity that included compromised hippocampal–PFC connectivity. Altered hippocampal–PFC connectivity in Disc1tr Hemi mice was confirmed by electrophysiological analysis, with Disc1tr Hemi mice showing a reduced probability of presynaptic neurotransmitter release in the monosynaptic glutamatergic hippocampal CA1–PFC projection. Glutamate system dysfunction in Disc1tr Hemi mice was further supported by the attenuated cerebral metabolic response to the NMDA receptor (NMDAR) antagonist ketamine and decreased hippocampal expression of NMDAR subunits 2A and 2B in these animals. These data show that the Disc1 truncation in Disc1tr Hemi mice induces a range of translationally relevant endophenotypes underpinned by glutamate system dysfunction and altered brain connectivity

Mathematical modelling of chemical agent removal by reaction with an immiscible cleanser

When a hazardous chemical agent has soaked into a porous medium, such as concrete, it can be difficult to neutralise. One removal method is chemical decontamination, where a cleanser is applied to react with and neutralise the agent, forming less harmful reaction products. There are often several cleansers that could be used to neutralise the same agent, so it is important to identify the cleanser features associated with fast and effective decontamination. As many cleansers are aqueous solutions while many agents are immiscible with water, the decontamination reaction often takes place at the interface between two phases. In this paper, we develop and analyse a mathematical model of a decontamination reaction between a neat agent and an immiscible cleanser solution. We assume that the reaction product is soluble in both the cleanser phase and the agent phase. At the moving boundary between the two phases, we obtain coupling conditions from mass conservation arguments and the oil–water partition coefficient of the product. We analyse our model using both asymptotic and numerical methods, and investigate how different features of a cleanser affect the time taken to remove the agent. Our results reveal the existence of two regimes characterised by different rate-limiting transport processes, and we identify the key parameters that control the removal time in each regime. In particular, we find that the oil–water partition coefficient of the reaction product is significantly more important in determining the removal time than the effective reaction rate

Diagnostic evaluation of infants with recurrent or persistent wheezing

The Pediatric Assembly of the American Thoracic Society assembled an interdisciplinary panel to develop clinical practice guidelines for the evaluation of infants with recurrent or persistent wheezing. This summary of the guideline is intended for practicing clinicians

Magnetic Fields in the Milky Way

This chapter presents a review of observational studies to determine the magnetic field in the Milky Way, both in the disk and in the halo, focused on recent developments and on magnetic fields in the diffuse interstellar medium. I discuss some terminology which is confusingly or inconsistently used and try to summarize current status of our knowledge on magnetic field configurations and strengths in the Milky Way. Although many open questions still exist, more and more conclusions can be drawn on the large-scale and small-scale components of the Galactic magnetic field. The chapter is concluded with a brief outlook to observational projects in the near future.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, to appear in "Magnetic Fields in Diffuse Media", eds. E.M. de Gouveia Dal Pino and A. Lazaria

A High Statistics Search for Ultra-High Energy Gamma-Ray Emission from Cygnus X-3 and Hercules X-1

We have carried out a high statistics (2 Billion events) search for ultra-high energy gamma-ray emission from the X-ray binary sources Cygnus X-3 and Hercules X-1. Using data taken with the CASA-MIA detector over a five year period (1990-1995), we find no evidence for steady emission from either source at energies above 115 TeV. The derived upper limits on such emission are more than two orders of magnitude lower than earlier claimed detections. We also find no evidence for neutral particle or gamma-ray emission from either source on time scales of one day and 0.5 hr. For Cygnus X-3, there is no evidence for emission correlated with the 4.8 hr X-ray periodicity or with the occurrence of large radio flares. Unless one postulates that these sources were very active earlier and are now dormant, the limits presented here put into question the earlier results, and highlight the difficulties that possible future experiments will have in detecting gamma-ray signals at ultra-high energies.Comment: 26 LaTeX pages, 16 PostScript figures, uses psfig.sty to be published in Physical Review

Analysis of microstructure effects on edge crack of thin strip during cold rolling

Edge cracks in cold rolling of the thin strip affect the strip quality and productivity significantly. In this study, an experimental and mechanical investigation on microstructures has been carried out to study the edge crack formation during cold rolling of the thin strip. The effects of the feed material microstructures on the edge crack evolution were studied employing optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Experimental observation indicates that fine grain occurs in hot-rolled microstructure and coarse grain is produced in ferritic rolled microstructure. Different grain sizes affect significantly the formation mechanics of the microcrack, crack initiation, and orientation of crack extension. The grain size and grain boundaries effects on crack retardation are discussed also during edge crack initiation. During the crack growth in coarse grain, most edge crack tips will blunt, which improves the crack toughness by causing less stress concentration. Overall, the fine microstructure shows a good crack initiation resistance, whereas the coarse microstructure has a better resistance to crack propagation. This research provides additional understanding of the mechanism of microstructure influence on edge crack evolution of cold strip rolling, which could be helpful for developing defect-free thin strip

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results