Lead and cadmium in teeth,bone and kidneys of rats with a standard Pb‐Cd supply

Male Wistar rats received a combination of 25 ppm PbCl₂ and 5 ppm CdCl₂ in drinking water at different developmental stages. Pb and Cd levels of incisors, molars, epiphyses, diaphyses and kidney cortex were recorded by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results confirmed that Pb has an affinity for hard tissue and especially to teeth, but it also accumulated in soft tissues under the above conditions. In addition, the results indicated none or only a moderate placental or mammary barrier for Pb, and suggested a high absorption of lead from the intestine of sucklings. The results also confirmed that kidney cortex is a primary target for Cd, and indicated that Cd has crossed the placental and mammary barriers to some degree. The positive significant correlation between Cd levels in molars and kidney cortex suggested that rodent molars indicate a degree of Cd absorption, whereas incisors do not. It is supposed that rodent molars are comparable to human deciduous teeth. It is thus confirmed that human deciduous teeth indicate previous lead exposure. It is further inferred that they also can be used as indicators of previous Cd‐exposures.     

Milk quality on Danish farms with automatic milking systems

The bulk-milk quality of 98 Danish farms with automatic milking systems was analyzed from 1 yr before introduction of automatic milking until 1 yr after. Bulk-milk total bacterial count, spores of anaerobes, somatic cell count (SCC), and freezing point increased when automatic milking was introduced and the frequency of milk-quality failures almost doubled. Milk-quality failures were most frequent in the first 3 mo after the start of automatic milking. The increase in spores of anaerobes indicated that the increase in total bacterial count originated partly from contamination of milk from the teat surface and partly from lack of cleaning of the milking equipment or cooling of the milk. The increase in bulk-milk SCC indicated that milk from clinically infected cows and cows with high cell counts was not diverted to the same degree, milking automatically rather than milking conventionally. A self-monitoring program including survey of the bulk-milk quality was established to help farmers in the transition period going from conventional to automatic milking. The program was introduced on 84 farms. Farms on the self-monitoring program reduced bulk-milk cell count. Application of the program did not reduce the frequency of high total bacterial counts and freezing points of the bulk milk to the level of conventional milking. However, the program reduced the overall frequency of milk-quality failures.     

Effects of dietary protein supply on caseins, whey proteins, proteolysis and renneting properties in milk from cows grazing clover or N fertilized grass.

The objective of this work was to examine whether variation in the amino acid supply to cows could be a reason for the reduced casein content and poorer renneting properties of milk that often occur in late summer, or whether these effects are related to proteolysis in the raw milk. In a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design, we investigated the effects of sward (clover v. rye-grass) and supplementary feed with a high or low level of rumen-soluble N or of rumen undegradable protein on milk protein composition during the grazing season. A total of 32 Danish Holstein cows were included in the experiment. Milk protein and casein contents and the ratios casein N:total N and casein:true protein were at a minimum in late summer, whereas the contents of urea, non-protein N and whey protein were higher during this period. These seasonal effects were unrelated to either the type of supplementary feed or the type of sward; neither were they clearly related to proteolysis, although casein: true protein was related to the proteose peptone content. The results indicated that whey proteins other than alpha-lactalbumin or beta-lactoglobulin accounted for the higher proportion or concentration of whey protein in late summer. Based on a principal component analysis including variables such as citric acid, lactose and non-protein N, we suggest that the cows' energy supply during this period may be a critical factor in determining the milk protein composition, although our results were not conclusive. There was an interaction between the supplement of rumen undegradable protein and type of sward. When clover was grazed, a high supplement increased the concentrations of protein and casein in milk and the kappa-casein: total casein ratio. When rye-grass was grazed, the opposite response was found, and overall milk protein yield was not affected. The very low N content of clover in early summer reduced milk protein and casein protein during this period.     

Upper bounds on the number of errors corrected by a convolutional code

We derive upper bounds on the weights of error patterns that can be corrected by a convolutional code with given parameters, or equivalently we give bounds on the code rate for a given set of error patterns. The bounds parallel the Hamming bound for block codes by relating the number of error patterns to the number of distinct syndromes.     

Critical lengths of error events in convolutional codes

If the calculation of the critical length is based on the expurgated exponent, the length becomes nonzero for low error probabilities. This result applies to typical long codes, but it may also be useful for modeling error events in specific codes     

Microwaves and behavior.

Discusses the study of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields, especially microwaves, in psychology, noting the involvement of Soviet scientists in this area. Some fundamental principles of wave theory and historical developments in the field are summarized, and methodological and instrumentation issues are examined. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Double series representation of bounded signals

Series representations of the form f(t)~Σ_n=-∞^∞Σ _k=-∞^∞a_n,kν(t-n)_e ^2πkts/ for bounded signals f(t) are studied, as are conditions on the unit function ν(t), such that coefficients a_n,k reveal the energy content of f(t) in the time interval n-(1/2)⩽t⩽n+(1/2) and frequency interval 2π(k-(1/2))⩽ω⩽2π(k+(1/2)). These conditions turn out to be orthogonality and integrability. Based on these conditions a number of properties of the expansion are derived, including summability of the double series and energy and power estimations. Some examples of the expansion are presented