Growth hormone response to growth hormone-releasing factor in selected and control Holstein heifer calves

Holstein heifer calves from selected and control lines were treated with growth hormone-releasing factor to determine whether the magnitude of the pituitary growth hormone response is associated with genetic potential for milk yield. Cows in the selected line were bred to highest Predicted Difference milk sires available each year, while control line cows were bred to bulls that were average for 1964 milk production. Eight calves from each line of similar age (206 to 210 days) and weight (205 kg average) were injected intravenously with .1 microgram/kg growth hormone-releasing factor. Dams' first lactation 305-day mature equivalent records were 10,192 +/- 495 kg for selected calves and 6,908 +/- 376 kg for control calves. Before treatment, GH tended to be higher in selected than control calves (mean +/- SE: selected = 7.5 +/- 1.8, control = 4.6 +/- .4 ng/ml). After injection, peak GH were reached within 20 min and were similar in selected and control calves, averaging 66 +/- 16 and 73 +/- 13 ng/ml, respectively. Results indicate that the magnitude of the growth hormone response to growth hormone-releasing factor is not related to future performance of dairy calves.     

Qualitative aspects of the Bradford distribution

A study was performed to determine whether the quality of journal articles declines as one moves through successively less productive Bradford zones. Two measures of qualityrate of citation and expert judgement-were used. It was found that articles in the least productive zone were cited significantly less than those in the most productive zone. However, experts did not judge them to be of lesser quality.     

关于中国放射源管理的建议

1　放射性废物管理方面( 1 )应当建立一个国家级的废放射源管理战略。此战略应包括过去、现在和将来产生的所有放射性废物。此废物管理战略可以由国家指定的委员会来制订。该委员会可以包括来自主要废物的产生单位、废物管理机构和相应的审管部门的代表。此战略应当涵盖技术选择 (处理和处置 )和基础架构 (废物管理机构和基金 )。( 2 )放射性废物管理 ,包括废密封源管理。要求有专门的技术设施和特别训练的人员。为避免基础结构和人力资源重复设置 ,可以考虑单一的废物管理机构。该机构可设有区域性的分支机构 ,也可以设有专门的部门管理来…     

A lower bound for structuring element decompositions

A theoretical lower bound on the number of points required in the decomposition of morphological structuring elements is described. It is shown that the decomposition of an arbitrary N-point structuring element will require at least [3 ln N/ln 3]points. Using this lower bound it is possible to find the optimal decompositions (in terms of the minimum number of unions or the minimum number of points) for all one-dimensional connected line segments. L-dimensional rectangles may be decomposed by optimally decomposing the L one-dimensional line segments that describe the rectangle     

Ultimate strength analysis of structural components using the continuum damage mechanics approach

In this study, an analytical model is developed to include the effect of material fracture on the overall behavior of a structure. The continuum damage mechanics approach is used to describe the continuous deterioration of the material stiffness that leads to total failure. The damage evolution is assumed to be anisotropic and the effect of the triaxiality of stress on the fracture criterion is included in the analysis. The above modifications were applied to an existing finite element program which is capable of including both geometric and material nonlinearities in the analysis. The program was used to analyze a welded tubular connection (T-joint). This joint was chosen because fracture was shown experimentally to control its ultimate behavior. Solid finite elements were used to model the chord and the branch in the intersection region, wedge elements were used for the weld profile, and the rest of the geometry was modeled using shell elements. The joint was subjected to an increasing amount of displacement at the far end of the branch. The loading was continued until total failure. During this process, the evolution of the damage and its propagation were monitored. Divergence of the solution was obtained at a failure load of 42.4 kips compared to 44.0 kips obtained experimentally. In addition, the failure mode of the joint predicted by the analysis was identical to that observed experimentally.     

Involution of the bovine mammary gland: histological and ultrastructural changes

Bovine mammary tissue was collected by surgical biopsy at intervals during involution for histological and ultrastructural observation. In lactating tissue (d 0 of involution, collected 8 h after the final milking), alveolar epithelial cells had marked ultrastructural evidence of lactation, including protein-containing secretory vesicles, lipid droplets, extensive rough endoplasmic reticulum, and numerous mitochondria. By d 2 of involution, alveolar epithelial cells contained large vacuoles apparently formed by coalescing of protein-containing secretory vesicles and lipid droplets. Large vacuoles were observed in epithelial cells until about the 3rd wk of involution. By d 2 of involution, the Golgi apparatus generally was not apparent. Rough endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria were observed throughout the period studied, although in reduced amounts compared with their presence in lactating tissue. A marked increase in lysosomal or cytosegresomal structures in epithelial cells was not observed. There was no evidence of extensive sloughing of epithelial cells from the basement membrane. There was a progressive increase in the interalveolar area and a concurrent decrease in the alveolar luminal area as involution progressed. Ultrastructural examination showed that alveolar epithelial cells at d 21 and 30 of involution appear to be functionally active but not secreting milk components.     

Lower bound limit analysis using non‐linear programming

This paper describes a new formulation, based on linear finite elements and non‐linear programming, for computing rigorous lower bounds in 1, 2 and 3 dimensions. The resulting optimization problem is typically very large and highly sparse and is solved using a fast quasi‐Newton method whose iteration count is largely independent of the mesh refinement. For two‐dimensional applications, the new formulation is shown to be vastly superior to an equivalent formulation that is based on a linearized yield surface and linear programming. Although it has been developed primarily for geotechnical applications, the method can be used for a wide range of plasticity problems including those with inhomogeneous materials, complex loading, and complicated geometry. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.