396 research outputs found
Comparison of standardised versus non-standardised methods for testing the in vitro potency of oxytetracycline against mannheimia haemolytica and pasteurella multocida
The in vitro pharmacodynamics of oxytetracycline was established for six isolates of each of the calf pneumonia pathogens Mannheimia haemolytica and Pasteurella multocida. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and bacterial time-kill curves were determined in two matrices, Mueller Hinton broth (MHB) and calf serum. Geometric mean MIC ratios, serum:MHB, were 25.2:1 (M. haemolytica) and 27.4:1 (P. multocida). The degree of binding of oxytetracycline to serum protein was 52.4%. Differences between serum and broth MICs could not be accounted for by oxytetracycline binding to serum protein. In vitro time-kill data suggested a co-dependent killing action of oxytetracycline. The in vitro data indicate inhibition of the killing action of oxytetracycline by serum factor(s). The nature of the inhibition requires further study. The outcome of treatment with oxytetracycline of respiratory tract infections in calves caused by M. haemolytica and P. multocida may not be related solely to a direct killing action
Mercury emissions and stable isotopic compositions at Vulcano Island (Italy)
Sampling and analyses methods for determining the stable isotopic compositions of Hg in an active volcanic
system were tested and optimized at the volcanic complex of Vulcano (Aeolian Islands, Italy). Condensed
gaseous fumarole Hg(fum)
T , plume gaseous elemental Hg(g)
0 and plume particulate Hg(p)
II were obtained at
fumaroles F0, F5, F11, and FA. The average total Hg emissions, based on HgT/SO2 in condensed fumarolic gases
and plumes, range from 2.5 to 10.1 kg y−1, in agreement with published values [Ferrara, R., Mazzolai, B.,
Lanzillotta, E., Nucaro, E., Pirrone, N., 2000. Volcanoes as emission sources of atmospheric mercury in the
Mediterranean Basin. Sci. Total Environ. 259(1–3), 115–121; Aiuppa, A., Bagnato, E., Witt, M.L.I., Mather, T.A.,
Parello, F., Pyle, D.M., Martin, R.S., 2007. Real-time simultaneous detection of volcanic Hg and SO2 at La Fossa
Crater, Vulcano (Aeolian Islands, Sicily). Geophys. Res. Lett. 34(L21307).]. Plume Hg(p)
II increases with distance
from the fumarole vent, at the expense of Hg(g)
0 and indicates significant in-plume oxidation and
condensation of fumarole Hg(fum)
T .
Relative to the NIST SRM3133 Hg standard, the stable isotopic compositions of Hg are δ202Hg(fum)
T =−0.74‰±0.18
(2SD, n=4) for condensed gaseous fumarole Hg(fum)
T , δ202Hg(g)
0 =−1.74‰±0.36 (2SD, n=1) for plume gaseous
elemental Hg(g)
0 at the F0 fumarole, and δ202Hg(p)
II =−0.11‰±0.18 (2SD, n=4) for plume particulate Hg(p)
II . The
enrichment of Hg(p)
II in the heavy isotopes and Hg(g)
0 in the light isotopes relative to the total condensed fumarolic
Hg(fum)
T gas complements the speciation data and demonstrates a gas-particle fractionation occurring after the gas
expulsion inambient T° atmosphere. A first order Rayleigh equilibriumcondensation isotope fractionation model
yields a fractionation factor αcond-gas of 1.00135±0.00058
Exoplanets or Dynamic Atmospheres? The Radial Velocity and Line Shape Variations of 51 Pegasi and Tau Bootis
Because of our relatively low spectral resolution, we compare our
observations with Gray's line bisector data by fitting observed line profiles
to an expansion in terms of orthogonal (Hermite) functions. To obtain an
accurate comparison, we model the emergent line profiles from rotating and
pulsating stars, taking the instrumental point spread function into account. We
describe this modeling process in detail.
We find no evidence for line profile or strength variations at the radial
velocity period in either 51 Peg or in Tau Boo. For 51 Peg, our upper limit for
line shape variations with 4.23-day periodicity is small enough to exclude with
10 sigma confidence the bisector curvature signal reported by Gray & Hatzes;
the bisector span and relative line depth signals reported by Gray (1997) are
also not seen, but in this case with marginal (2 sigma) confidence. We cannot,
however, exclude pulsations as the source of 51 Peg's radial velocity
variation, because our models imply that line shape variations associated with
pulsations should be much smaller than those computed by Gray & Hatzes; these
smaller signals are below the detection limits both for Gray & Hatzes' data and
for our own.
Tau Boo's large radial velocity amplitude and v*sin(i) make it easier to test
for pulsations in this star. Again we find no evidence for periodic line-shape
changes, at a level that rules out pulsations as the source of the radial
velocity variability. We conclude that the planet hypothesis remains the most
likely explanation for the existing data.Comment: 44 pages, 19 figures, plain TeX, accepted to ApJS (companion to
letter astro-ph/9712279
Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic integration and modelling of florfenicol for the pig pneumonia pathogens Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and Pasteurella multocida
Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) integration and modelling were used to predict dosage schedules for florfenicol for two pig pneumonia pathogens, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and Pasteurella multocida. Pharmacokinetic data were pooled for two bioequivalent products, pioneer and generic formulations, administered intramuscularly to pigs at a dose rate of 15 mg/kg. Antibacterial potency was determined in vitro as minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and Mutant Prevention Concentration in broth and pig serum, for six isolates of each organism. For both organisms and for both serum and broth MICs, average concentration:MIC ratios over 48 h were similar and exceeded 2.5:1 and times greater than MIC exceeded 35 h. From in vitro time-kill curves, PK/PD modelling established serum breakpoint values for the index AUC24h/MIC for three levels of inhibition of growth, bacteriostasis and 3 and 4log10 reductions in bacterial count; means were 25.7, 40.2 and 47.0 h, respectively, for P. multocida and 24.6, 43.8 and 58.6 h for A. pleuropneumoniae. Using these PK and PD data, together with literature MIC distributions, doses for each pathogen were predicted for: (1) bacteriostatic and bactericidal levels of kill; (2) for 50 and 90% target attainment rates (TAR); and (3) for single dosing and daily dosing at steady state. Monte Carlo simulations for 90% TAR predicted single doses to achieve bacteriostatic and bactericidal actions over 48 h of 14.4 and 22.2 mg/kg (P. multocida) and 44.7 and 86.6 mg/kg (A. pleuropneumoniae). For daily doses at steady state, and 90% TAR bacteriostatic and bactericidal actions, dosages of 6.2 and 9.6 mg/kg (P. multocida) and 18.2 and 35.2 mg/kg (A. pleuropneumoniae) were required. PK/PD integration and modelling approaches to dose determination indicate the possibility of tailoring dose to a range of end-points
Solar-like oscillations in the metal-poor subgiant nu Indi: II. Acoustic spectrum and mode lifetime
Convection in stars excites resonant acoustic waves which depend on the sound
speed inside the star, which in turn depends on properties of the stellar
interior. Therefore, asteroseismology is an unrivaled method to probe the
internal structure of a star. We made a seismic study of the metal-poor
subgiant star nu Indi with the goal of constraining its interior structure. Our
study is based on a time series of 1201 radial velocity measurements spread
over 14 nights obtained from two sites, Siding Spring Observatory in Australia
and ESO La Silla Observatory in Chile. The power spectrum of the high precision
velocity time series clearly presents several identifiable peaks between 200
and 500 uHz showing regularity with a large and small spacing of 25.14 +- 0.09
uHz and 2.96 +- 0.22 uHz at 330 uHz. Thirteen individual modes have been
identified with amplitudes in the range 53 to 173 cm/s. The mode damping time
is estimated to be about 16 days (1-sigma range between 9 and 50 days),
substantially longer than in other stars like the Sun, the alpha Cen system or
the giant xi Hya.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, A&A accepte
PHIL photoinjector test line
LAL is now equiped with its own platform for photoinjectors tests and
Research and Developement, named PHIL (PHotoInjectors at LAL). This facility
has two main purposes: push the limits of the photoinjectors performances
working on both the design and the associated technology and provide a low
energy (MeV) short pulses (ps) electron beam for the interested users. Another
very important goal of this machine will be to provide an opportunity to form
accelerator physics students, working in a high technology environment. To
achieve this goal a test line was realised equipped with an RF source, magnets
and beam diagnostics. In this article we will desrcibe the PHIL beamline and
its characteristics together with the description of the first two
photoinjector realised in LAL and tested: the ALPHAX and the PHIN RF Guns
Fourier Analysis of Gapped Time Series: Improved Estimates of Solar and Stellar Oscillation Parameters
Quantitative helio- and asteroseismology require very precise measurements of
the frequencies, amplitudes, and lifetimes of the global modes of stellar
oscillation. It is common knowledge that the precision of these measurements
depends on the total length (T), quality, and completeness of the observations.
Except in a few simple cases, the effect of gaps in the data on measurement
precision is poorly understood, in particular in Fourier space where the
convolution of the observable with the observation window introduces
correlations between different frequencies. Here we describe and implement a
rather general method to retrieve maximum likelihood estimates of the
oscillation parameters, taking into account the proper statistics of the
observations. Our fitting method applies in complex Fourier space and exploits
the phase information. We consider both solar-like stochastic oscillations and
long-lived harmonic oscillations, plus random noise. Using numerical
simulations, we demonstrate the existence of cases for which our improved
fitting method is less biased and has a greater precision than when the
frequency correlations are ignored. This is especially true of low
signal-to-noise solar-like oscillations. For example, we discuss a case where
the precision on the mode frequency estimate is increased by a factor of five,
for a duty cycle of 15%. In the case of long-lived sinusoidal oscillations, a
proper treatment of the frequency correlations does not provide any significant
improvement; nevertheless we confirm that the mode frequency can be measured
from gapped data at a much better precision than the 1/T Rayleigh resolution.Comment: Accepted for publication in Solar Physics Topical Issue
"Helioseismology, Asteroseismology, and MHD Connections
Toxicokinetics of bisphenol-S and its glucuronide in plasma and urine following oral and dermal exposure in volunteers for the interpretation of biomonitoring data
The measurement of bisphenol-S (BPS) and its glucurono-conjugate (BPSG) in urine may be used for the biomonitoring of exposure in populations. However, this requires a thorough knowledge of their toxicokinetics. The time courses of BPS and BPSG were assessed in accessible biological matrices of orally and dermally exposed volunteers. Under the approval of the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Montreal, six volunteers were orally exposed to a BPS-d8 deuterated dose of 0.1 mg/kg body weight (bw). One month later, 1 mg/kg bw of BPS-d8 were applied on 40 cm2 of the forearm and then washed 6 h after application. Blood samples were taken prior to dosing and at fixed time periods over 48 h after treatment; complete urine voids were collected pre-exposure and at pre-established intervals over 72 h postdosing. Following oral exposure, the plasma concentration–time courses of BPS-d8 and BPSG-d8 over 48 h evolved in parallel, and showed a rapid appearance and elimination. Average peak values (±SD) were reached at 0.7 ± 0.1 and 1.1 ± 0.4 h postdosing and mean (±SD) apparent elimination half-lives (t½) of 7.9 ± 1.1 and 9.3 ± 7.0 h were calculated from the terminal phase of BPS-d8 and BPSG-d8 in plasma, respectively. The fraction of BPS-d8 reaching the systemic circulation unchanged (i.e. bioavailability) was further estimated at 62 ± 5% on average (±SD) and the systemic plasma clearance at 0.57 ± 0.07 L/kg bw/h. Plasma concentration–time courses and urinary excretion rate profiles roughly evolved in parallel for both substances, as expected. The average percent (±SD) of the administered dose recovered in urine as BPS-d8 and BPSG-d8 over the 0–72 h period postdosing was 1.72 ± 1.3 and 54 ± 10%. Following dermal application, plasma levels were under the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) at most time points. However, peak values were reached between 5 and 8 h depending on individuals, suggesting a slower absorption rate compared to oral exposure. Similarly, limited amounts of BPS-d8 and its conjugate were recovered in urine and peak excretion rates were reached between 5 and 11 h postdosing. The average percent (±SD) of the administered dose recovered in urine as BPS-d8 and BPSG-d8 was about 0.004 ± 0.003 and 0.09 ± 0.07%, respectively. This study provided greater precision on the kinetics of this contaminant in humans and, in particular, evidenced major differences between BPA and BPS kinetics with much higher systemic levels of active BPS than BPA, an observation explained by a higher oral bioavailability of BPS than BPA. These data should also be useful in developing a toxicokinetic model for a better interpretation of biomonitoring data
The non-detection of oscillations in Procyon by MOST: is it really a surprise?
We argue that the non-detection of oscillations in Procyon by the MOST
satellite reported by Matthews et al. (2004) is fully consistent with published
ground-based velocity observations of this star. We also examine the claims
that the MOST observations represent the best photometric precision so far
reported in the literature by about an order of magnitude and are the most
sensitive data set for asteroseismology available for any star other than the
Sun. These statements are not correct, with the most notable exceptions being
observations of oscillations in alpha Cen A that are far superior. We further
disagree that the hump of excess power seen repeatedly from velocity
observations of Procyon can be explained as an artefact caused by gaps in the
data. The MOST observations failed to reveal oscillations clearly because their
noise level is too high, possibly from scattered Earthlight in the instrument.
We did find an excess of strong peaks in the MOST amplitude spectrum that is
inconsistent with a simple noise source such as granulation, and may perhaps
indicate oscillations at roughly the expected level.Comment: 6 pages, accepted for publication in A&A Letter
The quest for the solar g modes
Solar gravity modes (or g modes) -- oscillations of the solar interior for
which buoyancy acts as the restoring force -- have the potential to provide
unprecedented inference on the structure and dynamics of the solar core,
inference that is not possible with the well observed acoustic modes (or p
modes). The high amplitude of the g-mode eigenfunctions in the core and the
evanesence of the modes in the convection zone make the modes particularly
sensitive to the physical and dynamical conditions in the core. Owing to the
existence of the convection zone, the g modes have very low amplitudes at
photospheric levels, which makes the modes extremely hard to detect. In this
paper, we review the current state of play regarding attempts to detect g
modes. We review the theory of g modes, including theoretical estimation of the
g-mode frequencies, amplitudes and damping rates. Then we go on to discuss the
techniques that have been used to try to detect g modes. We review results in
the literature, and finish by looking to the future, and the potential advances
that can be made -- from both data and data-analysis perspectives -- to give
unambiguous detections of individual g modes. The review ends by concluding
that, at the time of writing, there is indeed a consensus amongst the authors
that there is currently no undisputed detection of solar g modes.Comment: 71 pages, 18 figures, accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics Revie
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