Determination of bacterial N portions in feces and differently collected ileum chymus from swine]

In faeces and ileal digesta samples of 31 intact (INT) as well as 73 surgically differently prepared pigs bacterial fractionations and 2.6-diaminopimelic acid (DAP) estimations were carried out in order to calculate the bacterial N proportion in faeces N and digesta N after feeding various diets. Because of a high individual variability and the analytical variation width of the DAP/N-ratios no distinct influences of the fed diets could be found. The average DAP/N-values in the faeces (0.224) of INT pigs ranged in the same magnitude as in the digesta (0.0272) of ileorectostomized (IRA) pigs with open colon descendens (IRAo), where a digesta backflow is possible. Distinct lower DAP/N-ratios (0.0125 resp. 0.0043), however, were found in the digesta of pigs with ileo-caecal cannulae (IZB) or IRA pigs with closed colon (IRAg). On the base of various premises (N of the "bacterial fraction" C is only bacterial N; the DAP found in fraction A originates from intestinal bacteria adhering to feed particles) conducted calculations of the bacterial N proportions (in per cent of total N) led to the following data: Faeces of INT pigs: 43.0 ... 68.2 vs. 69.6 ... 89.0; digesta of operated pigs (except protein free diet) IRAo: 22.3 ... 57.0 vs. 46.2 ... 73.8; IZB: 17.0 ... 35.7 vs. 25.2 ... 53.6; IRAg (only 3 pigs): 23.6 vs. 24.2. The proportion of bacterial N in the digesta N of protein free fed IRAo pigs was 22.0 vs. 22.6%.     

Polymer brushes

Polymers attached by one end to an interface at relatively high coverage stretch away from the interface to avoid overlapping, forming a polymer "brush." This simple picture may serve as the basis for models in diverse interfacial systems in polymer science, such as polymeric surfactants, stabilized suspensions of colloidal particles, and structures formed by block copolymers. The structure and dynamics of polymer brushes have been the subject of considerable theoretical and experimental activity in recent years. An account is given of recent advances in theoretical understanding of stretched polymers at interfaces, and the diverse experimental probes of systems modeled by brushes are briefly reviewed.     

Covalently protein-bound bilirubin conjugates in cholestatic disease of dogs

We investigated the occurrence of covalently protein-bound bilirubins in the plasma of dogs with hyperbilirubinemia attributable to hepatobiliary diseases or Coombs test-positive hemolysis. The bilirubins in plasma were measured with the conventional Van den Bergh reaction, by treatment with diazotized p-iodoaniline, and by high-performance liquid chromatography of bilirubin and its methylesters after alkaline methanolysis. All but one dog had covalently protein-bound bilirubin conjugates. The concentration and the fraction of total bilirubins varied in all diseases investigated, but they tended to be low in primary hemolysis. The "biliprotein" complex accounted for 2 to 94% of total plasma bilirubins. Because biliprotein usually is not cleared by the liver, but has a half-life comparable with that of albumin, it prevents the evaluation of the actual state of the underlying disease. Measurement of the total bilirubin concentration exclusively with the Van den Bergh reaction, therefore, is clinically useless. Other methods should be introduced for routine bilirubin assays, permitting the measurement of noncovalently bound pigment as a meaningful estimate of the course of the disease.     

Turbulence and change--the veterinary profession in a competitive environment

This paper examines the views of members of the veterinary profession towards the change in orientation of professional practice that is occurring. It contrasts the values of veterinarians with those of doctors, dentists, lawyers and accountants. Particular attention is given to the areas of business efficiency, competition and advertising. Data was derived from self-completion questionnaires containing 40 Likert scales which were mailed to 300 members of each of the five professions.     

Thermodynamic efficiency of brittle frictional mountain building

An active fold-and-thrust belt in unchanging tectonic and climatic conditions attains a dynamic steady-state in which the influx of accreted material at the toe is balanced by the erosive efflux off the top. The overall balance of energy in such a steady-state fold-and-thrust belt is described by the equation E = W(G) + Q, where E is the rate at which both mechanical and heat energy are added from external sources, W(G) is the rate of work performed against gravitational body forces, and Q is the rate at which waste heat flows out of the upper and lower boundaries. The total amount of power being supplied to the active Taiwan fold-and-thrust belt by the subducting Eurasian plate and in situ radioactivity is 4.2 gigawatts. Because only 0.5 gigawatts are expended in doing useful work against gravity and the remaining 3.7 gigawatts are ejected as heat, the efficiency of brittle frictional mountain building in Taiwan is 11 percent.