Study of a static screen, jig, spiral, and a compound water cyclone in a placer gold recovery plant

During the 1986 mining season both laboratory and field test work were conducted to study the performance efficiencies of a wedge-wire static screen, a Pan-American jig, a Reichert Mark VII spiral, and a 12" compound water cyclone. This work was conducted at EVECO, Inc.'s placer gold operations near Fox, Alaska, and funded by the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources. The Mineral Industry Research Laboratory of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks perfomed the test work.Funded by the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources

Medical student experiences in clinical reproductive medicine: dual-cohort assessment of a new learning module at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

Aims: Exposure to a structured curriculum in reproductive medicine during medical school is helpful given the high frequency of fertility and pregnancy-related issues that future physicians will encounter. This study sought to evaluate a new reproductive medicine module for medical students. Study Design: Prospective cohort study. Place and Duration of Study: Dublin, Ireland; 2008-2010. Methodology: A new educational module in reproductive medicine for upper-level medical students was initiated in 2008 at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). The module included reproductive endocrinology lectures, laboratory sessions, and direct observation of clinical consultations as a required component of an obstetrics and gynaecology rotation. Students were assigned to this module on the basis of random allocation by departmental administration. The current investigation used an anonymous questionnaire and a MCQ exam to measure academic performance and student acceptance of this module, at launch and again two years later. The first sampling was from the pilot class in 2008 and a second group was evaluated in 2010. No student was in both groups. Results: 42 of 66 students completed the evaluation in 2008, and 71 of 98 did so in 2010. Mean±SD medical student age and average examination scores were comparable for the two groups. In both samples, most students (95.5%) had no prior lectures on reproductive endocrinology, and most indicated improvement in their level of understanding after the module. Both laboratory and clinical features were scored highly by students. Conclusion: At present, there is no standardised medical student curriculum for reproductive medicine in Ireland. This report is the first to describe a structured learning experience in this subspecialty area for medical students in Ireland. Additional studies are planned to track knowledge acquisition and career impact specific to reproductive medicine based on this module

Bivariate analysis of basal serum anti-Müllerian hormone measurements and human blastocyst development after IVF

Background To report on relationships among baseline serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) measurements, blastocyst development and other selected embryology parameters observed in non-donor oocyte IVF cycles. Methods Pre-treatment AMH was measured in patients undergoing IVF (n = 79) and retrospectively correlated to in vitro embryo development noted during culture. Results Mean (+/- SD) age for study patients in this study group was 36.3 ± 4.0 (range = 28-45) yrs, and mean (+/- SD) terminal serum estradiol during IVF was 5929 +/- 4056 pmol/l. A moderate positive correlation (0.49; 95% CI 0.31 to 0.65) was noted between basal serum AMH and number of MII oocytes retrieved. Similarly, a moderate positive correlation (0.44) was observed between serum AMH and number of early cleavage-stage embryos (95% CI 0.24 to 0.61), suggesting a relationship between serum AMH and embryo development in IVF. Of note, serum AMH levels at baseline were significantly different for patients who did and did not undergo blastocyst transfer (15.6 vs. 10.9 pmol/l; p = 0.029). Conclusions While serum AMH has found increasing application as a predictor of ovarian reserve for patients prior to IVF, its roles to estimate in vitro embryo morphology and potential to advance to blastocyst stage have not been extensively investigated. These data suggest that baseline serum AMH determinations can help forecast blastocyst developmental during IVF. Serum AMH measured before treatment may assist patients, clinicians and embryologists as scheduling of embryo transfer is outlined. Additional studies are needed to confirm these correlations and to better define the role of baseline serum AMH level in the prediction of blastocyst formation

Reduced muscle strength (dynapenia) in women with obesity confers a greater risk of falls and fractures in the UK Biobank

Objective This study aimed to determine the independent effects of obesity and dynapenia on falls risk, areal bone mineral density, and fracture risk (lower extremity or all other fractures). Methods A total of 16,147 women (aged 60-82 years) from the UK Biobank were categorized by handgrip strength (HGS; dynapenia status: HGS ≤ 21 kg) and body weight (BMI: normal weight, overweight, or obesity). Multiple logistic regression models examined the association among dynapenia and obesity and self-reported falls (previous 12 months), lower extremity fractures, and all other fractures (previous 5 years). Results A total of 3793/16,147 women fell, and 1413/15,570 (9.1%) eligible women experienced fall-related fractures. Obesity (odds ratio [OR] 1.25; 95% CI: 1.12-1.38) and dynapenia (OR 0.87; 95% CI: 0.77-0.98) were both independently associated with greater lower extremity fracture risk, independently of areal bone mineral density. However, considering all other fracture sites, obesity conferred protection (OR 0.77; 95% CI: 0.61-0.96), except in those with low HGS, who had an equivalent fracture risk to those with normal weight (OR 1.06; 95% CI: 0.82-1.38). Conclusions Dynapenia further increases the increased risk of leg and ankle fractures in obesity and counteracts the protective effects of obesity on fracture risk at all other sites (wrist, arm, hip, spine, other bones)

Studies on Pre-slaughter Handling of Pigs and its Relationship to Meat Quality

End of Project ReportsTwo quality defects of pork which are affected by preslaughter handling are PSE (Pale Soft Exudative) and DFD (Dark Firm Dry) meat. The incidence of PSE pork is mainly a function of the breed of pig but short-term stressful handling before slaughter and feeding too close to slaughter are also involved. DFD meat is a result of prolonged stressful handling. PSE meat is pale and uneven in colour and exudes fluid making it unattractive in the retail display while dark meat appears stale and is prone to bacterial spoilage. After slaughter muscle metabolism continues and muscle glycogen is converted to lactic acid reducing meat pH. Prolonged stress results in glycogen depletion, pre-slaughter feeding results in elevated levels. Colour may be assessed subjectively by eye or objectively by a meter colour but pH of the meat is closely related to colour and measurement of pH at 45 minutes post-slaughter is frequently used to predict ultimate colour and pH. The objective of this study was to examine pre-slaughter handling practices and their relationship with meat quality (pH, colour). In the first trial, a survey of the amounts of stomach contents in pigs at slaughter in two factories found similar amounts to comparable surveys in France and the UK. It was concluded that most pigs had been fasted for an adequate time before delivery. The relationship between the amount of stomach contents and meat quality in this survey was poor. In the second trial, pigs from the Moorepark herd fed by either a computerised wet feeding system or an ad libitum dry feed system were slaughtered after overnight fasting or with feed available up to loading for transport to the factory, two to three hours before slaughter. There was no difference between feeding systems in meat colour or pH but fasted pigs, on both feeding systems, had darker meat and meat of a higher pH. In the third and fourth trials a survey of transport vehicles was carried out and meat quality of pigs delivered in modern and old-type vehicles was compared. Most trucks examined (78%) were four years old or more. Few had modern hydraulic lifting gear for the top decks. Space allowances during transportation were generally adequate but delays in unloading could, in warm weather, cause stress on pigs. There was little evidence for an effect of vehicle on meat quality parameters but day to day variation in carcass temperature and pH suggested a need for further research on factory influences on meat quality. Feeding of Magneium Aspartate to pigs for the last 5 days prior to slaughter has been shown, in Australia, to have a beneficial effect on meat colour and drip loss. In the final trial in this study Mg Asp had no effect on meat quality parameters.European Union Structural Funds (EAGGF

On parton distributions in a photon gas

In some cases it may be useful to know parton distributions in a photon gas. This may be relevant, e.g., for the analysis of interactions of high energy cosmic ray particles with the cosmic microwave background radiation. The latter can be considered as a gas of photons with an almost perfect blackbody spectrum. An approach to finding such parton distributions is described. The survival probability of ultra-high energy neutrinos traveling through this radiation is calculated.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, EPJ style files. Some changes in the text. Two new sections discussing ultra-high energy neutrino damping in the cosmic microwave background radiation are include

An Interaction between KSHV ORF57 and UIF Provides mRNA-Adaptor Redundancy in Herpesvirus Intronless mRNA Export

The hTREX complex mediates cellular bulk mRNA nuclear export by recruiting the nuclear export factor, TAP, via a direct interaction with the export adaptor, Aly. Intriguingly however, depletion of Aly only leads to a modest reduction in cellular mRNA nuclear export, suggesting the existence of additional mRNA nuclear export adaptor proteins. In order to efficiently export Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) intronless mRNAs from the nucleus, the KSHV ORF57 protein recruits hTREX onto viral intronless mRNAs allowing access to the TAP-mediated export pathway. Similarly however, depletion of Aly only leads to a modest reduction in the nuclear export of KSHV intronless mRNAs. Herein, we identify a novel interaction between ORF57 and the cellular protein, UIF. We provide the first evidence that the ORF57-UIF interaction enables the recruitment of hTREX and TAP to KSHV intronless mRNAs in Aly-depleted cells. Strikingly, depletion of both Aly and UIF inhibits the formation of an ORF57-mediated nuclear export competent ribonucleoprotein particle and consequently prevents ORF57-mediated mRNA nuclear export and KSHV protein production. Importantly, these findings highlight that redundancy exists in the eukaryotic system for certain hTREX components involved in the mRNA nuclear export of intronless KSHV mRNAs

Tidal Evolution of Close Binary Asteroid Systems

We provide a generalized discussion of tidal evolution to arbitrary order in the expansion of the gravitational potential between two spherical bodies of any mass ratio. To accurately reproduce the tidal evolution of a system at separations less than five times the radius of the larger primary component, the tidal potential due to the presence of a smaller secondary component is expanded in terms of Legendre polynomials to arbitrary order rather than truncated at leading order as is typically done in studies of well-separated system like the Earth and Moon. The equations of tidal evolution including tidal torques, the changes in spin rates of the components, and the change in semimajor axis (orbital separation) are then derived for binary asteroid systems with circular and equatorial mutual orbits. Accounting for higher-order terms in the tidal potential serves to speed up the tidal evolution of the system leading to underestimates in the time rates of change of the spin rates, semimajor axis, and mean motion in the mutual orbit if such corrections are ignored. Special attention is given to the effect of close orbits on the calculation of material properties of the components, in terms of the rigidity and tidal dissipation function, based on the tidal evolution of the system. It is found that accurate determinations of the physical parameters of the system, e.g., densities, sizes, and current separation, are typically more important than accounting for higher-order terms in the potential when calculating material properties. In the scope of the long-term tidal evolution of the semimajor axis and the component spin rates, correcting for close orbits is a small effect, but for an instantaneous rate of change in spin rate, semimajor axis, or mean motion, the close-orbit correction can be on the order of tens of percent.Comment: 40 pages, 2 tables, 8 figure

Identification and characterization of stimulator of interferon genes as a robust adjuvant target for early life immunization

Immunization is key to preventing infectious diseases, a leading cause of death early in life. However, due to age-specific immunity, vaccines often demonstrate reduced efficacy in newborns and young infants as compared to adults. Here, we combined in vitro and in vivo approaches to identify adjuvant candidates for early life immunization. We employed newborn and adult bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) to perform a screening of pattern recognition receptor agonists and found that the stimulator of interferon genes ligand 2'3'-cGAMP (hereafter cGAMP) induces a comparable expression of surface maturation markers in newborn and adult BMDCs. Then, we utilized the trivalent recombinant hemagglutinin (rHA) influenza vaccine, Flublok, as a model antigen to investigate the role of cGAMP in adult and early life immunization. cGAMP adjuvantation alone could increase rHA-specific antibody titers in adult but not newborn mice. Remarkably, as compared to alum or cGAMP alone, immunization with cGAMP formulated with alum (Alhydrogel) enhanced newborn rHA-specific IgG2a/c titers ~400-fold, an antibody subclass associated with the development of IFN\uce\ub3-driven type 1 immunity in vivo and endowed with higher effector functions, by 42 days of life. Highlighting the amenability for successful vaccine formulation and delivery, we next confirmed that cGAMP adsorbs onto alum in vitro. Accordingly, immunization early in life with (cGAMP+alum) promoted IFN\uce\ub3 production by CD4+T cells and increased the proportions and absolute numbers of CD4+CXCR5+PD-1+T follicular helper and germinal center (GC) GL-7+CD138+B cells, suggesting an enhancement of the GC reaction. Adjuvantation effects were apparently specific for IgG2a/c isotype switching without effect on antibody affinity maturation, as there was no effect on rHA-specific IgG avidity. Overall, our studies suggest that cGAMP when formulated with alum may represent an effective adjuvantation system to foster humoral and cellular aspects of type 1 immunity for early life immunization