Global Warming Effects on Faecal Coliform Bacterium Watershed Impairments in Portugal

Impairment of surface water quality by faecal coliform bacteria is an issue of great importance across the globe. A water quality model, Hydrological Simulation Program FORTRAN, was used to predict the impacts of farming and climate change on faecal coliform loads and concentrations in streams of the Lis River watershed, in the Leiria region, Portugal. The calibrated faecal coliform model simulated well the patterns and range of observed faecal coliform concentrations. The accuracy of the model was evaluated by the per cent bias coefficient and the coefficient of determination. The results indicate a general deterioration of the water quality regarding faecal contamination in Lis River. Maximum daily loads were calculated for each of the impaired streams; an average of 77% reduction in the current faecal coliform load from the watershed is necessary to achieve the established water quality goals by the Council Directive 75/440/EEC ( 1975 ). Climate change scenarios (increments on temperature and precipitation) were assumed to predict the behaviour of faecal coliform bacteria in the watershed. The simulated results showed that an increase of 1°C in air daily temperature results in an increase of water temperature of 1.1°C and a 1.5% decrease on faecal coliform bacteria in stream concentration. The combined effect of air temperature (+1°C) and precipitation (+7%) increment leads to an increase of ~2% in bacteria inflow to the basin. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Short communication: Drying-off practices and use of dry cow therapy in Finnish dairy herds

The objective of this study was to survey drying-off practices and use of dry cow therapy (DCT) in Finland through an online questionnaire. The questionnaire was accessible to all dairy farmers of the Finnish dairy herd recording system in 2016 (approximately 5,400 farms). In total, 715 dairy producers across the country, representative of the Finnish dairy industry, participated in the survey. Cows were dried off gradually in most of the farms. Most farms (78%) reported using selective DCT, whereas 9% of farms did not use any DCT, and 13% of farms applied blanket DCT. A significant trend was observed with increasing herd size and proportion of farms using blanket DCT. Percentage of farms using blanket DCT was also higher in farms with automatic milking system. Farmer's own experience was the most commonly reported reason for choosing a particular approach to DCT. Microbiological testing of milk samples at dry-off was the preferred method of selecting cows for DCT; 82 and 64% of farms using selective and blanket DCT approach, respectively, reported testing milk samples before treatment. The second most common criteria for using antibiotic DCT were clinical mastitis history and high somatic cell count. A high number of farms using selective DCT reported treating only up to one-fourth of their cows at dry-off. Information acquired on drying-off practices in Finland allows for future monitoring of prudent antimicrobial usage at dry-off.     

Study of pulsed-current loading of direct methanol fuel cells using a new time-domain model based on bi-functional methanol oxidation kinetics

This work describes a non-linear time-domain model of a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) and uses that model to show that pulsed-current loading of a direct methanol fuel cell does not improve average efficiency. Unlike previous system level models, the one presented here is capable of predicting the step response of the fuel cell over its entire voltage range. This improved model is based on bi-functional methanol oxidation reaction kinetics and is derived from a lumped, four-step reaction mechanism. In total, six states are incorporated into the model: three states for intermediate surface adsorbates on the anode electrode, two states for the anode and cathode potentials, and one state for the liquid methanol concentration in the anode compartment. Model parameters were identified using experimental data from a real DMFC. The model was applied to study the steady-state and transient performance of a DMFC with the objective to understand the possibility of improving the efficiency of the DMFC by using periodic current pulses to drive adsorbed CO from the anode catalyst. Our results indicate that the pulsed-current method does indeed boost the average potential of the DMFC by 40 mV; but on the other hand, executing that strategy reduces the overall operating efficiency and does not yield any net benefit.     

Quality evaluation of broom honey (Spartocytisus supranubius L) produced in Tenerife (The Canary Islands)

The qualities of 24 samples of broom (Spartocytisus supranubius L) honey from Mount Teide National Park (Tenerife) were evaluated. A total of 33 pollen types was identified. The study demonstrated the predominance of Spartocytisus supranubius, and minor incidence of Echium wildpretii, Descurainia bourgaeana, Erysimum scoparium and Pteocephalus lasiospermus, which are major edemic plants of this zone. The low electrical conductivity was typical of pale honeys. Most samples showed a proper maturity indicated by the low water content. Since the hydroxymethylfurfural content was also low, good freshness was indicated. The free acidity (below 16.8 meq kg^?1) indicated the absence of undesirable fermentation, and the mean pH (around 3.89) is usual for this kind of honey. The fructose/glucose ratio was 1.29 ± 0.07 and sucrose content averaged 9.9 ± 9.3 g kg^?1, with significance presence of erlose (24.4 ± 16.8 g kg^?1). Among the 12 organic acids detected, gluconic, isobutyric and butyric acids were identified in the majority of samples at high concentrations. Malic acid which was also present can be used as an marker for the differentiation of broom honey. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

3H]MDL 100,907 labels 5-HT2A serotonin receptors selectively in primate brain

The selective antagonist for the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor MDL 100,907, recently characterized autoradiographically in rat brain, has been characterized as a radioligand for the visualization of this receptor in human and monkey brain. In both species [3H]MDL 100,907 binding to brain sections was saturable, had sub-nanomolar affinity (Kd = 0.14-0.19 nM in human brain; Kd= 0.16-0.19 nM in monkey brain) and presented a pharmacological profile consistent with its binding to 5-HT2A receptors (rank order of affinity for [3H]MDL 100,907-labeled receptors: MDL 100,907 > spiperone > ketanserin > mesulergine). The autoradiographical signal obtained with [3H]MDL 100,907 was compared to the signal obtained with [3H]ketanserin, [3H]RP62203 and [3H]mesulergine in both species, and to the distribution of 5-HT2A receptor mRNA as determined by in situ hybridization in monkey brain. At variance with the other radioligands, [3H]MDL 100,907 showed a single population of binding sites with extremely low levels of non-specific binding. As expected, mesulergine showed low affinity for [3H]MDL 100,907-labeled receptors and the autoradiographic pattern shown by [3H]mesulergine confirmed the lack of labeling of the 5-HT2A receptor by this radioligand in primate brain. The similarity of the distribution of [3H]MDL 100,907-labeled receptors and 5-HT2A mRNA in monkey brain, supports the selectivity of this radioligand for 5-HT2A receptors and suggests a somatodendritic localization of these receptors. The present results confirm [3H]MDL 100,907 as the radioligand of choice at present for the autoradiographic visualization of 5-HT2A receptors in mammalian brain including post-mortem human brain.     

Hyper-resolution indoor channel impulse responses: multipathcomponents and k-factors

A hyper-resolution method has been used to estimate the wideband indoor channel impulse response at 1.3 GHz in a variety of environments within a building. The number of multipath components N and the Ricean k-factor have been investigated. The effect of the presence of people has also been monitored. The results show that if a 30 dB impulse response dynamic range threshold is considered. A value of N less than 7 is applicable to all cases for >90% of the time. It is also shown that the k-factor can be reliably estimated using only the three strongest components     

Phototoxic Activity and DNA Interactions of Water‐Soluble Porphyrins and Their Rhenium(I) Conjugates

In the search for alternative photosensitizers for use in photodynamic therapy (PDT), herein we describe two new water‐soluble porphyrins, a neutral fourfold‐symmetric compound and a +3‐charged tris‐methylpyridinium derivative, in which either four or one [1,4,7]‐triazacyclononane (TACN) units are connected to the porphyrin macrocycle through a hydrophilic linker; we also report their corresponding tetracationic Re^I conjugates. The in vitro (photo)toxic effects of the compounds toward the human cell lines HeLa (cervical cancer), H460M2 (non‐small‐cell lung carcinoma), and HBL‐100 (non‐tumorigenic epithelial cells) are reported. Three of the compounds are not cytotoxic in the dark up to 100 μm , and the fourfold‐symmetric couple revealed very good phototoxic indexes (PIs). The intracellular localization of all derivatives was studied in HeLa cells by confocal fluorescence microscopy. Although low nuclear localization was observed for some of them, it still prompted us to investigate their capacity to bind both quadruplex and duplex DNA; we observed significant selectivity in the tris‐methylpyridinium derivatives for G‐quadruplex interactions.     

Effect of substrate on structural and transport properties of sprayed Fe:ZnO polycrystalline thin films

ZnO thin films doped with iron have been grown by spray pyrolysis technique on glass and fused silica substrates in order to study the effect of substrate material on the structural, optical, and electro-magnetotransport properties of grown layers. The polycrystalline Fe:ZnO films have different growth orientation according to the substrate, though both films are highly transparent in the visible region of wavelength. The sample grown on glass substrate has larger magnetoresistance and lower electron mobility than that on fused silica substrate.     

Determination of dislocation density from hardness measurements in metals

For the first time the Nix-Gao model for indentation size effect (ISE) is used to estimate the dislocation density in a metal. The estimate of dislocation density obtained by this method, using Ni as a case study, is compared with the values obtained from direct observation by transmission electron microscopy. It is shown that the estimate of dislocation density from indentation hardness measurements, adjusted by the Nix-Gao model, gives values consistent with those obtained by TEM, provided that the proper procedures to minimize errors are adopted. Although the direct observation of dislocations by TEM gives additional structural information, the indirect method to estimate dislocation density based on hardness measurements is more efficient, since the sample preparation method, measurement procedure and analysis of results are easier and faster.