A set of LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2/graphite lithium-ion cells underwent 750 charge-discharge cycles during about 8 months at 55°C to upper cutoff potentials of 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, and 4.4 V. The ...electrolyte in these cells was extracted using a centrifuge method and studied using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to determine the changes to the solvents and by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry to determine the changes to the salt content in the electrolyte. The negative electrodes from the cells were harvested and studied by micro-X-ray fluorescence to quantify the amount of transition metals which migrated from the positive electrode to the negative electrode during the testing. Emphasis is given to a detailed description of the quantitative methods used in the hope that others will adopt them in similar studies of different types of aged lithium-ion cells. The cells studied here initially had 1.1 molal LiPF6 ethylene carbonate (EC): ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC) (3:7 by weight) electrolyte. The aged cells showed increasing amounts of dimethyl carbonate and diethyl carbonate created by transesterification as the upper cutoff potential increased. Only extremely small amounts of Mn, less than 0.1% of the total Mn in the positive electrode, were found on the negative electrode after this aggressive testing.
Abstract The Canadian Hypertension Education Program reviews the hypertension literature annually and provides detailed recommendations regarding hypertension diagnosis, assessment, prevention, and ...treatment. This report provides the updated evidence-based recommendations for 2015. This year, 4 new recommendations were added and 2 existing recommendations were modified. A revised algorithm for the diagnosis of hypertension is presented. Two major changes are proposed: (1) measurement using validated electronic (oscillometric) upper arm devices is preferred over auscultation for accurate office blood pressure measurement; (2) if the visit 1 mean blood pressure is increased but < 180/110 mm Hg, out-of-office blood pressure measurements using ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (preferably) or home blood pressure monitoring should be performed before visit 2 to rule out white coat hypertension, for which pharmacologic treatment is not recommended. A standardized ambulatory blood pressure monitoring protocol and an update on automated office blood pressure are also presented. Several other recommendations on accurate measurement of blood pressure and criteria for diagnosis of hypertension have been reorganized. Two other new recommendations refer to smoking cessation: (1) tobacco use status should be updated regularly and advice to quit smoking should be provided; and (2) advice in combination with pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation should be offered to all smokers. The following recommendations were modified: (1) renal artery stenosis should be primarily managed medically; and (2) renal artery angioplasty and stenting could be considered for patients with renal artery stenosis and complicated, uncontrolled hypertension. The rationale for these recommendation changes is discussed.
Gold mineralization at Williams Brook in northern New Brunswick is hosted within the Siluro-Devonian, bimodal, volcano-sedimentary rocks of the Tobique-Chaleur Zone (Wapske Formation). Gold ...mineralization occurs in two styles: (1) as disseminations (refractory gold) in rhyolite, and (2) in cross-cutting quartz veins (free gold). Dating of the felsic volcanic host rocks by in situ LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb geochronology returned ages of 422 ± 3, 409 ± 2, 408 ± 3, 405 ± 2, and 401 ± 9 Ma. Zr/Y of subvolcanic felsic intrusion (<8 for syn-mineralization and >8 for post-mineralization) suggests evolution from transitional to more alkalic affinities. Two mineralizing events are recognized; the first is a disseminated mineralization style formed at ∼422-416 Ma and the second consists of quartz-vein-hosted gold emplaced at 410-408 Ma. Felsic rocks from Williams Brook and elsewhere in the Tobique Group (i.e., Wapske, Costigan Mountain, and Benjamin formations), and the Coastal Volcanic Belt have similar Th/Nb ratios of ∼0.1 to 1, reflecting similar levels of crustal contamination, and similar Nb and Y content, suggesting A-type affinities. These data indicate a similar environment of formation. Regionally, mafic rocks show similar within-plate continental signatures and a E-MORB mantle source that formed from partial melts of 10%-30%. Mafic volcanic rocks from Williams Brook have a more alkaline affinity (based on Ti/V) and derivation from lower percentage partial melting (∼5%). The chemical and temporal variations in the Williams Brook rocks suggest that they were erupted in an evolving transpressional tectonic setting during the oblique convergence of Gondwana and Laurentia.
Ruminant methane yield (MY) is positively correlated with mean retention time (MRT) of digesta. The hormone triiodothyronine (T₃), which is negatively correlated with ambient temperature, is known to ...influence MRT. It was hypothesised that exposing sheep to low ambient temperatures would increase plasma T₃concentration and decrease MRT of digesta within the rumen of sheep, resulting in a reduction of MY. To test this hypothesis, six Merino sheep were exposed to two different ambient temperatures (cold treatment, 9 ± 1 °C; warm control 26 ± 1 °C). The effects on MY, digesta MRT, plasma T₃concentration, CO₂production, DM intake, DM digestibility, change in body weight (BW), rumen volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations, estimated microbial protein output, protozoa abundance, wool growth, water intake, urine output and rectal temperature were studied. Cold treatment resulted in a reduction in MY (p < 0.01); digesta MRT in rumen (p < 0.01), hindgut (p = 0.01) and total digestive tract (p < 0.01); protozoa abundance (p < 0.05); and water intake (p < 0.001). Exposure to cold temperature increased plasma T₃concentration (p < 0.05), CO₂production (p = 0.01), total VFA concentrations (p = 0.03) and estimated microbial output from the rumen (p = 0.03). The rate of wool growth increased (p < 0.01) due to cold treatment, but DM intake, DM digestibility and BW change were not affected. The results suggest that exposure of sheep to cold ambient temperatures reduces digesta retention time in the gastrointestinal tract, leading to a reduction in enteric methane yield. Further research is warranted to determine whether T₃could be used as an indirect selection tool for genetic selection of low enteric methane‐producing ruminants.
Accurate cause of death assignment is crucial for prostate cancer epidemiology and trials reporting prostate cancer-specific mortality outcomes.
We compared death certificate information with ...independent cause of death evaluation by an expert committee within a prostate cancer trial (2002-2015).
Of 1236 deaths assessed, expert committee evaluation attributed 523 (42%) to prostate cancer, agreeing with death certificate cause of death in 1134 cases (92%, 95% CI: 90%, 93%). The sensitivity of death certificates in identifying prostate cancer deaths as classified by the committee was 91% (95% CI: 89%, 94%); specificity was 92% (95% CI: 90%, 94%). Sensitivity and specificity were lower where death occurred within 1 year of diagnosis, and where there was another primary cancer diagnosis.
UK death certificates accurately identify cause of death in men with prostate cancer, supporting their use in routine statistics. Possible differential misattribution by trial arm supports independent evaluation in randomised trials.
Summary
Reasons for performing study
Hoof lamellar pathology in horses with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) has not been described previously.
Objectives
To describe the histomorphometry ...and pathological lesions in hoof lamellar tissue of animals that had PPID with or without concurrent laminitis, with reference to age‐matched controls. We hypothesised that lamellar lesions consistent with laminitis would be associated with PPID, even in animals without current or historical laminitis.
Study design
Prospective case–control study.
Methods
Mid‐dorsal hoof histological sections were obtained post mortem from the forelimbs of 16 PPID‐affected animals either with (n = 6) or without laminitis (n = 10) and 10 age‐ and breed‐matched controls. Sections were examined by a blinded veterinary pathologist. The length and width of 10 primary epidermal lamellae were measured using image analysis software. The morphology and pathology of primary and secondary epidermal lamellae were then typed or graded in axial, middle and abaxial regions. Fasting serum insulin, plasma adrenocorticotropin and blood glucose concentration were measured from blood samples taken prior to euthanasia.
Results
All animals with PPID and laminitis had fasting hyperinsulinaemia (median 74.1 miu/l, interquartile range 49.9–349.5 miu/l) whereas PPID animals without laminitis had serum insulin concentrations below the upper limit of the reference range (<20 miu/l). Lamellar pathology in PPID animals with laminitis was variable in severity and unrelated to the reported duration of laminitis (range 2 months–5 years). Most lesions were located abaxially within the lamellar tissue and included increased length and width of the lamellae, chronic abnormal keratinisation, interlamellar epidermal bridging and cell death with more acute lamellar tearing in some cases. The lamellae of PPID animals without laminitis were normal referent to the relevant control group.
Conclusions
Whether PPID and hyperinsulinaemia have a causal inter‐relationship or not, it may only be the hyperinsulinaemia that is associated with lamellar morphological alteration and pathology consistent with laminitis.
Limited knowledge of year-round seabird distributions hinders efforts to assess consequences of anthropogenic threats and climate-induced changes in the marine environment. In particular, there is ...urgent need to understand how populations from different breeding colonies share and partition ocean habitat. Using geolocators, we identified winter habitat use patterns of 115 adult murres Uria spp. from 7 colonies, spanning the eastern Canadian coast from the high Arctic to Newfoundland, during 2007 to 2010. Thick-billed murres U. lomvia dispersed throughout the region (Davis Strait, Labrador Sea, Orphan Basin, Grand Bank) with 0 to 45% overlap of core wintering areas (50% kernel home range) among breeding populations. Common murres U. aalge concentrated on the Grand Bank and Orphan Basin, with 50 to 67% overlap among breeding populations. For both species, most individuals (up to 70%) wintered offshore, in shelf (≤500 m deep) and oceanic zones (>500 m); fewer than one-third (30%) of individuals used nearshore zones (≤50 km to shore). Tracked common murres representing >80% of the eastern Canadian breeding population converged in winter in areas of high risk from hydrocarbon exploration and extraction activity. In contrast, tracked thick-billed murres, representing ~34% of the eastern Canadian population, dispersed over a larger area and displayed more variable wintering strategies. Thus population vulnerability to spatially constrained risks may be greater for common than thick-billed murres. Populations from several colonies of both species converged on the Grand Bank and Orphan Basin, with the implications for each breeding population depending on its particular dispersal pattern. We demonstrate the utility of tracking data for highlighting areas of risk, and improving the targeting of broad-scale marine conservation efforts.
Questions remain about the long-term health impacts of the 1991 Gulf War on its veterans.
To measure psychological disorders in Australian Gulf War veterans and a military comparison group and to ...explore any association with exposure to Gulf War-related psychological stressors.
Prevalences of DSM-IV psychological disorders were measured using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Gulf War-related psychological stressors were measured using a service experience questionnaire.
A total of 31% of male Gulf War veterans and 21% of the comparison group met criteria for a DSM-IV disorder first present in the post-Gulf War period. The veterans were at greater risk of developing post-Gulf War anxiety disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder, affective disorders and substance use disorders. The prevalence of such disorders remained elevated a decade after deployment. The findings can be explained partly as a 'war-deployment effect'. There was a strong dose-response relationship between psychological disorders and number of reported Gulf War-related psychological stressors.
Service in the 1991 Gulf War is associated with increased risk of psychological disorders and these are related to stressful experiences.
Geolocators provide information on the year-round movements of birds. The effect of the year-round deployment of such devices has, however, largely been examined via measures that are relatively ...insensitive to small changes in nutritional condition, such as return body mass, return rate and reproductive success. To address this issue, we equipped 34 common murresUria aalgeand 35 thick-billed murresU. lomviaat 6 colonies in the eastern Canadian Arctic and sub-Arctic with geolocators for 1 yr and measured baseline corticosterone levels (4 colonies) and body mass (6 colonies) upon device retrieval. Across all colonies, birds equipped with geolocators averaged higher levels of corticosterone and lower body mass than controls, although there were substantial differences among colonies. Despite effects of the devices on corticosterone and body mass, survival (90%) in equipped birds was no different than in control birds at the one colony where long-term resighting data were available, and chick feeding rates were also similar between equipped and unequipped birds. We suggest that even very small devices can cause chronic stress when applied over long periods, at least for a diving bird with a very high wing loading, but effects on birds in the present study were not sufficiently pronounced to influence adult survival or chick provisioning rates.
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