Effect of prostagladin F2 alpha on the bovine fetal ruminal wall in vitro

Strips of rumen wall from bovine fetuses were incubated in an organ bath with prostaglandin F₂ alpha (0.13 to 33.76 g/ml). The highest reactivity with a submaximal dose (17.03 g/ml) was observed in the period between 3.0 and 7.9 months of fetal age. A smaller response, but higher than in 1.0 to 2.9 months old fetuses, was observed in the 8.0 to 8.9 months fetuses. The period of the highest reactivity to prostaglandin F₂ alpha coincides with the age of onset of papillary morphogenesis and the period of highest reactivity to autonomic and putative transmitter drugs.     

Geology of the athabasca oil sands

In-place bitumen resources in the Alberta oil sands are estimated at 1350 billion barrels. Open-pit mining and hot water extraction methods, which involve the handling of huge tonnages of earth materials, are being employed in the two commercial plants now operating. In situ recovery methods will be required to tap the 90 percent of reserves that are too deeply buried to be surface mined. Development of in situ technologies will be painstaking and expensive, and success will hinge on their compatibility with extremely complex geological conditions in the subsurface.