Field Evaluation of a Sprinkling System for Cooling Commercial Laying Hens in Iowa

An economical, low–pressure (276 kPa, 40 psi) sprinkling system was tested for its efficacy of cooling laying hens in a commercial high–rise layer house [14 Ü 130 m (46 Ü 426 ft)] in Iowa. The sprinklers, rated at 2.1 mL/s (2 gal/h) each, were equally spaced at 3 m (10 ft) apart and 2.4 m (8 ft) above the floor in each cage aisle of the layer house. They were controlled to operate 10 s every 10 min when the inside temperature exceeded 32 _ C (90 _ F). The system was shown to improve egg production by 2.6% overall and 5.6% for the top deck (P \u3c 0.01). There was no sign of sprinkling damage to eggshell integrity. Autocorrelation analysis has the potential to quantify the impact of heat stress history on subsequent egg production response of the hen. Work is needed to optimize the layout of the sprinklers for uniform water distribution and water application rate as a function of environmental conditions

Japan: coastal communities, a tsunami is coming!

Local fishers played an important role in keeping rural coastal economies alive after the worst tsunami in Japan’s history

Multidimensional replica-exchange method for free-energy calculations

We have developed a new simulation algorithm for free-energy calculations. The method is a multidimensional extension of the replica-exchange method. While pairs of replicas with different temperatures are exchanged during the simulation in the original replica-exchange method, pairs of replicas with different temperatures and/or different parameters of the potential energy are exchanged in the new algorithm. This greatly enhances the sampling of the conformational space and allows accurate calculations of free energy in a wide temperature range from a single simulation run, using the weighted histogram analysis method.Comment: 13 pages, (ReVTeX), 9 figures. J. Chem. Phys. 113 (2000), in pres

Disparity in outcomes of melanoma adjuvant immunotherapy by demographic profile

Background: Randomized comparisons have demonstrated survival benefit of adjuvant immunotherapy in node-positivemelanoma patients but have limited power to determine if this benefit persists across various demographic factors. Materials & methods: We assessed the impact of demographic factors on the survival benefit of adjuvant immunotherapy in a database of 38,189 node-positive melanoma patients using the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards models. Results: All assessed demographic factors other than race significantly impacted survival of node-positive melanoma patients in univariate analysis. In multivariable analysis, only the age group interacted with immunotherapy. Conclusion: Analysis of this large database of unselected node-positive melanoma patients demonstrated a positive survival benefit of immunotherapy across all demographic factors assessed and the impact was greater for patients 65 years of age and older

Functioning transferred free muscle innervated by part of the vascularized ulnar nerve connecting the contralateral cervical seventh root to themedian nerve: case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The limited nerve sources available for the reconstruction and restoration of upper extremity function is the biggest obstacle in the treatment of brachial plexus injury (BPI). We used part of a transplanted vascularized ulnar nerve as a motor source of a free muscle graft.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 21-year-old man with a left total brachial plexus injury had received surgical intercostal nerve transfer to the musculocutaneous nerve and a spinal accessory nerve transfer to the suprascapular nerve in another hospital previously. He received transplantation of a free vascularized gracilis muscle, innervated by a part of the transplanted vascularized ulnar nerve connecting the contralateral healthy cervical seventh nerve root (CC7) to the median nerve, and recovered wrist motion and sensation in the palm. At the final examination, the affected wrist could be flexed dorsally by the transplanted muscle, and touch sensation had recovered up to the base of each finger. When his left index and middle fingers were touched or scrubbed, he felt just a mild tingling pain in his right middle fingertip.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Part of the transplanted vascularized ulnar nerve connected to the contralateral healthy cervical seventh nerve root can be used successfully as a motor source and may be available in the treatment of patients with BPI with scanty motor sources.</p