Stability and partitioning of closantel and rafoxanide in ruminal fluid of sheep

The stability and the partitioning of closantel and rafoxanide in ruminal fluid (RF) was examined in vitro. Stability was evaluated in two studies in a ruminal fluid-artificial saliva (RF-AS) mixture containing either drug. Drug concentrations were measured in samples collected sequentially from four batches of RF-AS fortified with either closantel or rafoxanide in one study and in four separately incubated aliquots of a RF-AS mixture of each drug in the second study at the start and at various intervals during a 24 h incubation period. The viability of the in vitro RF-AS incubation model was validated by the presence of digoxin degradation (T1/2 of 39.1±13 h) and by the absence of significant time related differences (P>0.5) in volume of gas produced, pH and methylene blue reduction time of the RF-AS drug mixture. Partitioning of closantel and rafoxanide was determined by measuring the relative drug concentration of the fluid and particulate phases in RF fortified with either drug at different concentrations. Closantel and rafoxanide were shown to be stable in a RF-AS mixture and were not subjected to any significant biodegradation. An initial marked reduction in drug concentration measured in the RF-AS mixture during the first 2 h of incubation was attributed to the attachment of both drugs onto particulate matter. This was subsequently confirmed in the partitioning study. More than 80% of closantel and rafoxanide was shown to be associated with the particulate phase of RF.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.Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria.mn2012ab201

The ArgoNeuT Detector in the NuMI Low-Energy beam line at Fermilab

The ArgoNeuT liquid argon time projection chamber has collected thousands of neutrino and antineutrino events during an extended run period in the NuMI beam-line at Fermilab. This paper focuses on the main aspects of the detector layout and related technical features, including the cryogenic equipment, time projection chamber, read-out electronics, and off-line data treatment. The detector commissioning phase, physics run, and first neutrino event displays are also reported. The characterization of the main working parameters of the detector during data-taking, the ionization electron drift velocity and lifetime in liquid argon, as obtained from through-going muon data complete the present report.Comment: 43 pages, 27 figures, 5 tables - update referenc

Cryogenic CMOS Cameras for High Voltage Monitoring in Liquid Argon

The prevalent use of large volume liquid argon detectors strongly motivates the development of novel readout and monitoring technology which functions at cryogenic temperatures. This paper presents the development of a cryogenic CMOS camera system suitable for use inside a large volume liquid argon detector for online monitoring purposes. The characterisation of the system is described in detail. The reliability of such a camera system has been demonstrated over several months, and recent data from operation within the liquid argon region of the DUNE 35tcryostat is presented. The cameras were used to monitor for high voltage breakdown inside the cryostat, with capability to observe breakdown of a liquid argon time projection chamber in situ. They were also used for detector monitoring, especially of components during cooldown

Summary of the second workshop on liquid argon time projection chamber research and development in the United States

The second workshop to discuss the development of liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs) in the United States was held at Fermilab on July 8-9, 2014. The workshop was organized under the auspices of the Coordinating Panel for Advanced Detectors, a body that was initiated by the American Physical Society Division of Particles and Fields. All presentations at the workshop were made in six topical plenary sessions: i) Argon Purity and Cryogenics, ii) TPC and High Voltage, iii) Electronics, Data Acquisition and Triggering, iv) Scintillation Light Detection, v) Calibration and Test Beams, and vi) Software. This document summarizes the current efforts in each of these areas. It primarily focuses on the work in the US, but also highlights work done elsewhere in the world

Genetic parameters for eating quality traits of Australian lamb

Genetic parameters were estimated for 5 sensory (overall liking, tenderness, juiciness, flavour and liking of odour) and 2 objective eating quality (EQ) traits (intramuscular fat, IMF, and shear force, SF), measured on loin and topside meat cuts (except IMF) produced by progeny from the Information Nucleus of the CRC for Sheep Industry Innovation. Heritabilities for sensory traits were low to moderate for loin and moderate to high for topside cuts. Loin IMF was highly heritable while SF was moderately heritable in both cuts. Genetic correlations among the sensory EQ traits were all positive and high (0.72-1.00). Genetic correlations between loin IMF and sensory traits were moderately positive and lowly positive for loin and topside respectively. SF had stronger, negative correlations with sensory EQ traits in the topside than in the loin. Overall liking may be improved more so through selection on IMF in the loin and SF in the topside

Genetic correlation estimates for lamb carcass composition

Genetic correlations were estimated among lamb carcass composition traits recorded on progeny of the Information Nucleus program of the CRC for Sheep Industry Innovation. Genetic correlations among carcass muscle dimensions (depth, width and area) and muscle weights (loin, topside and round) were positive and generally moderate to strong, as were genetic correlations among carcass fat traits (at the 5th rib, GR and C sites and weight of trimmed loin fat). The eye muscle dimensions had weak genetic correlations with the fat traits and bone weight, whereas the fat traits had favourable moderate to strong genetic correlations with topside and round weights, plus hind leg bone weight. Use of index selection in a simple terminal sire breeding program based on live animal traits is expected to yield improvements in most carcass composition traits