The fall, recovery, orbit, and composition of the Tagish Lake meteorite: a new type of carbonaceous chondrite

The preatmospheric mass of the Tagish Lake meteoroid was about 200,000 kilograms. Its calculated orbit indicates affinity to the Apollo asteroids with a semimajor axis in the middle of the asteroid belt, consistent with a linkage to low-albedo C, D, and P type asteroids. The mineralogy, oxygen isotope, and bulk chemical composition of recovered samples of the Tagish Lake meteorite are intermediate between CM and CI meteorites. These data suggest that the Tagish Lake meteorite may be one of the most primitive solar system materials yet studied.     

A component of primitive nuclear composition in carbonaceous meteorites

The oxygen of anhydrous, high-temperature minerals in carbonaceous meteorites is strongly depleted in the heavy stable isotopes (17)O and (18)O. The effect is the result of nuclear rather than chemical processes and probably results from the admixture of a component of almost pure (16)O. This component may predate the solar system and may represent interstellar dust with a separate history of nucleosynthesis.     

Characterization of selenium species in Brazil nuts by HPLC-ICP-MS and ES-MS

Brazil nuts have been classified as the foodstuffs that contain the highest level of unadulterated selenium, an essential trace element that appears to prevent cancer. To date, characterization of the selenium species in brazil nuts has not yet been investigated. In this work, various sample preparation approaches, including microwave extractions and enzymatic treatments, are examined with the goal of species preservation and subsequent selenium speciation; of these approaches, an enzymatic treatment with Proteinase K proved most effective. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation strategies and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) detection schemes will also be presented. Extracts are evaluated against available standards for the commercially obtainable seleno-amino acids, selenomethionine (SeMet), selenoethionine (SeEt), and selenocystine (SeCys); selenomethionine was demonstrated to be the most abundant of these seleno-amino acids. Further characterization of unidentified selenium-containing peaks is attempted by the employment of several procedures, including electrospray-mass spectrometry (ES-MS). A peptide structure was identified; however, this was considered a tentative proposal due to the large background produced by the extremely complicated brazil nut matrix.     

Variations in the acid content of rain water in the course of a single precipitation

The major acid components in the rain water collected during five different rainfall events in July and August 1977, were found to be a strong acid, the weak acid NH _in4 ^su+ and dissolved CO₂ from the atmosphere. Variations in their concentrations were determined as a function of time in the course of each of the rainfall events. Two experimental methods were used in this investigation, a microtitrim etric method and a coulometric method, and the data were analyzed by the use of modified Gran functions. Both methods gave the same results. The most significant observation was that the strong acid concentration increased from very low values to a maximum and then decreased in the course of a single rainfall event.     

Ascarids. Recent advances

P. equorum is a common and ubiquitous parasite that persists for many years in stables and on pasture in spite of good hygiene and anthelmintic control programs. Foals are usually infected early in life. During the migratory phase of the infection, clinical signs include coughing and a nasal discharge followed by depression and unthriftiness as the worms mature in the gut. Some foals die as a result of intestinal impaction or rupture. Patency is established around 3 months of age, and fecal egg counts may rise to very high levels. From 6 months of age onwards, the ascarid burden diminishes as the foals become immune. Patent infections are seldom found in mature horses and, when present, they tend to be of low magnitude. Preventive measures are aimed at treating foals frequently enough to prevent the development of a large mass of ascarids in the intestine. This is achieved by a 6-weekly dosing regimen using an anthelmintic with proven and reliable efficacy against P. equorum.     

Selection for circadian eclosion time in Drosophila melanogaster

Early and late eclosion strains were developed from Drosophila melanogaster cultures. The Oregon-R parent strains (isolated in 1925) showed significantly more selectability than the W(2) parent strain collected at the beginning of this study (1971). This is consistent with the hypothesis that the selective advantage of circadian behaviors is reduced in laboratory conditions.     

Investigation of the immediate analgesic effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy for treatment of navicular disease in horses

OBJECTIVES: To measure the acute analgesic properties of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) in horses with navicular disease using objective ground reaction forces (GRF). STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study. ANIMALS: Nine client-owned horses with unilateral forelimb lameness caused by navicular disease. METHODS: Horses were trotted at 3 m/s over a force plate to record pre-treatment GRF of the lame and contra-lateral forelimbs. After ESWT of the lame limb, applied with a radial unit to each of the frog and heel bulb areas with 1500 pulses at 4 bar and 10 Hz, GRF measurements were repeated at 15 minutes and 24-hour intervals for 7 days. From the 5 trials recorded at each time, peak vertical force (PVF) was calculated and averaged. Data were compared between limbs and over time using a 2-way repeated-measures ANOVA. RESULTS: Mean (+/-SD) PVF was significantly different between lame (day 1; 4339+/-626 N) and contra-lateral (day 1; 5236+/-515 N) limbs pre-treatment (P<.05). After ESWT treatment, this difference remained unchanged at 15 minutes and from days 1 to 7. To confirm navicular disease, palmar digital analgesia significantly reduced the lameness (lame 5144+/-430 N; contralateral 5082+/-586 N; P>.05). CONCLUSIONS: Single ESWT treatment applied in this manner does not influence lameness in horses with navicular disease. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Although many equine regulatory commissions currently ban the use of ESWT before competition, our results suggest that such regulations may be unfounded. Further research is required to determine the long-term analgesic properties of this frequently used treatment modality in equine athletes.