Through the analysis of blood and hair samples, this study evaluated the effects of grazing in alpine areas on welfare indices and indicators of stress in dairy cows. Twenty-one Holstein dairy cows ...(body weight: 637 ± 21.5 kg; days in milk: 133 ± 17.7, and second parity) were randomly assigned to 3 groups: control (nongrazing), 12 h of alpine grazing (12 hG), and 24 h of alpine grazing (24 hG). Blood samples for plasma collection were taken for 3 consecutive days at the end of the experiment. Hair samples were collected at the beginning and end of the experiment. Hormone measurements included cortisol, serotonin, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) in both plasma and hair samples. Plasma cortisol and DHEA levels did not differ among the 3 groups, whereas the plasma serotonin level was higher in the 24 hG group than that in the other groups. The plasma cortisol to DHEA ratio was lower in the 24 hG group than that in the control and 12 hG group. The hair samples taken at the end of the experiment showed that the cortisol level was significantly higher in the control group than that in both of the grazing groups and also higher in the 12 hG than that in the 24 hG group. Hair DHEA and serotonin levels were highest in the 24 hG group. The hair cortisol to DHEA ratio was significantly higher in the control group than that in the 12 hG and 24 hG groups and in the 12 hG group than that in the 24 hG group. Our study showed that grazing dairy cows in alpine areas for 24 h improved their welfare, as indicated by increased serotonin levels in hair and plasma, increased hair DHEA level, and decreased stress indicators, including the hair cortisol level and cortisol to DHEA ratio. Farm facilities should allocate optimal grazing time for optimal welfare of dairy cows.
•Providing dairy cows with pasture grazing is a good approach to improving their welfare.•For reliable assessment of animal welfare, hormones in both blood and hair should be measured.•Results of endocrinological analyses are consistent with improved welfare.•Grazing dairy cows in an alpine area for 24 h improves their welfare.
Isotopic distributions of fragments from fission of the neutron-deficient ^{178}Hg nuclide are reported. This experimental observable is obtained for the first time in the region around lead using an ...innovative approach based on inverse kinematics and the coincidence between the large acceptance magnetic spectrometer VAMOS++ and a new detection arm close to the target. The average fragment N/Z ratio and prompt neutron M_{n} multiplicity are derived and compared with current knowledge from actinide fission. A striking consistency emerges, revealing the unexpected dominant role of the proton subsystem with atomic number between the Z=28 and 50 magic numbers. The origin of nuclear charge polarization in fission and fragment deformation at scission are discussed.
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Abstract
We report the identification of metastable isomeric states of
$$^{228}$$
228
Ac at 6.28 keV, 6.67 keV and 20.19 keV, with lifetimes of an order of 100 ns. These states are produced by the
...$$\beta $$
β
-decay of
$$^{228}$$
228
Ra, a component of the
$$^{232}$$
232
Th decay chain, with
$$\beta $$
β
Q-values of 39.52 keV, 39.13 keV and 25.61 keV, respectively. Due to the low Q-value of
$$^{228}$$
228
Ra as well as the relative abundance of
$$^{232}$$
232
Th and their progeny in low background experiments, these observations potentially impact the low-energy background modeling of dark matter search experiments.
First measurement of the Λc+→ pη′ decay Li, S. X.; Shen, C. P.; Adachi, I. ...
The journal of high energy physics,
03/2022, Volume:
2022, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
A
bstract
We present the first measurement of the branching fraction of the singly Cabibbo-suppressed (SCS) decay
Λ
c
+
→ pη
′ with
η
′
→ ηπ
+
π
−
, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated ...luminosity of 981 fb
−
1
, collected by the Belle detector at the KEKB
e
+
e
−
asymmetric-energy collider. A significant
Λ
c
+
→ pη
′ signal is observed for the first time with a signal significance of 5.4
σ
. The relative branching fraction with respect to the normalization mode
Λ
c
+
→ pK
−
π
+
is measured to be
B
Λ
c
+
→
pη
′
B
Λ
c
+
→
pK
−
π
+
=
7.54
±
1.32
±
0.73
×
10
−
3
,
where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. Using the world-average value of
B
Λ
c
+
→
pK
−
π
+
= (6
.
28
±
0
.
32)
×
10
−
2
, we obtain
B
Λ
c
+
→
pη
′
=
4.73
±
0.82
±
0.46
±
0.24
×
10
−
4
,
where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic, and from
B
Λ
c
+
→
pK
−
π
+
, respectively.
Post transplant infusion of donor-type natural killer (NK) cells has been shown to have an anti-leukemia-enhancing effect without evoking GVHD in murine hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) ...models. Here, we tested 14 patients (age, 23-65 years), 12 with acute leukemia and 2 with myelodysplastic syndrome, who underwent HLA-mismatched HCT and subsequently received donor NK cell infusions. Cell donors (age, 16-51 years), comprising seven siblings, five offspring, and two mothers of the patients, underwent growth factor-mobilized leukapheresis for 3-5 days. Cells collected on the first 2-4 days were used for HCT, whereas those collected on the last day were CD34 selected by magnetic-activated cell sorting (median, 2.22 x 10(6) cells/kg; range, 0.29-5.66). Donor NK cells were generated from the CD34(+) cells by ex vivo cell culture over a 6-week period (median, 9.28 x 10(6) cells/kg; range, 0.33-24.50; CD122/CD56(+) 64%; CD3(+) 1.0%; and viability 88%). There were no signs of acute toxicity in patients infused with these cells 6-7 weeks post transplant. Overall, one and five patients developed acute and chronic GVHD during post transplant period, respectively. These results showed that clinical-grade donor NK cell production from CD34(+) cells is feasible.
Background
Intravenous or volatile agents reduce respiratory function, which can result in respiratory complications in geriatric patients. We hypothesised that there would be no differences in lung ...function between anaesthesia established using either drug.
Methods
Elderly patients were randomly assigned to receive either propofol with remifentanil (n = 48) or desflurane (DES) with remifentanil (n = 52) for knee surgery. Spirometry tests including forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced mid‐expiratory flow (FEF25–75), and FEV1/FVC ratio were performed preoperatively, and 30 min, 60 min, and 24 h after awakening. Emergence time and post‐operative pain scores were also measured.
Results
Time to emergence was significantly longer in the propofol than in the DES group (17.0 vs. 12.5 min, P = 0.04). Post‐operative FEV1 (1.6 or 1.4 l, P = 0.68 between groups) were significantly lower than preoperative values (2.1 or 2.0 l, P = 0.001 vs. post‐operative values, respectively) in both groups. Reduced FEV1 lasted for 24 h after surgery (1.7 or 1.6 l, P = 0.001 vs. preoperative values, respectively). Post‐operative FVC or FEF25–75 were lower than preoperative values. FEV1/FVC ratio did not change during the study period in both groups. There was no difference in FEV1, FVC, FEF25–75, FEV1/FVC, and post‐operative pain between the two anaesthetic techniques.
Conclusions
Although there is a delay in awakening when using propofol, the effects of propofol on post‐operative spirometry parameters are similar to those of DES when anaesthesia duration is approximately 3 h. Decreased respiratory parameters persisted up to 24 h after anaesthesia, irrespective of the choice of anaesthetic.
Background
The long-term oncologic stability of laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer was established, and laparoscopic surgery was accepted as an alternative to conventional open surgery for colon ...cancer. However, transverse colon cancer was excluded from the majority of the previous prospective studies. As a result, debate on laparoscopic surgery for transverse colon cancer continues. This study aimed to compare the clinicopathologic outcome of laparoscopic surgery with that of conventional open surgery for transverse colon cancer.
Methods
From August 2004 to December 2007, 106 cases of transverse colon cancer were managed by resection at our institution, and 89 of these cases were included in this study. Age, sex, body mass index (BMI), operation time, blood loss, time to first flatus, time to start of diet, hospital stay, complications, tumor size, distal resection margin, proximal resection margin, and number of nodes harvested were compared between the two groups.
Results
No significant differences were found between the laparoscopic and conventional groups in terms of age, sex, BMI, operation time, or hospital stay. The mean blood loss during the operations was significantly less in the laparoscopic group (113.8 ± 128.9 ml) than in the conventional group (278.8 ± 268.7 ml;
p
< 0.05). Moreover, the time to the first flatus was shorter (2.8 ± 0.9 days vs. 4.4 ± 2.0 days;
p
< 0.00) and the diet was started earlier (3.9 ± 1.7 days vs. 5.4 ± 1.9 days;
p
< 0.00) in the laparoscopic group. No intergroup differences in tumor size, proximal resection margin, or number of lymph nodes were observed. The mean distal resection margin was longer in the laparoscopic group (12.5 ± 4.1 cm vs. 9.2 ± 6.2 cm;
p
< 0.05).
Conclusion
Laparoscopic and conventional open surgeries were found to have similar clinical outcomes in transverse colon cancer, and the oncologic quality of laparoscopic surgery was found to be acceptable compared with conventional open surgery.
Brain death is a rare situation after living-donor liver transplantation. However, the recipient who suffers from brain death and has functional liver graft is a potential liver donor. We report the ...1st case of successful reuse of extended right living-donor liver graft after brain death of the first recipient. The first recipient, who had acute liver failure caused by hepatitis A virus, experienced brain death on the 2nd day after the transplantation. The allograft had a favorable regeneration and functional recovery. On the 7th day, the allograft was procured with a patent hepatic artery, bile duct, portal vein, and reconstructed outflow (right hepatic vein and middle hepatic vein) and successfully implanted into the second recipient. The second recipient has experienced a long-term survival without any complications.
•Reuse of a living-donor liver graft is technically feasible and safe for the second recipient.•Extended right lobe graft with the use of the outflow reconstruction technique could prevent anterior section congestion, maximizing the graft function and promoting liver regeneration.•The early procurement of the allograft within 7 days could prevent severe adhesion around the allograft and keep the allograft pipelines intact.
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