The occurrence of a negative energy balance (NEB) and concurrent metabolic changes may be responsible for impaired reproductive performance. A characteristic metabolic feature of NEB is the mobilization of body fat, reflected in an increased plasma non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) concentration. High plasma concentration of NEFA is reflected in elevated NEFA follicular concentrations. The aim ...

The effects of breakfast type on body weight and blood lipids were evaluated in university freshman. Seventy-three subjects were instructed to consume a breakfast with eggs (Egg Breakfast, EB, n = 39) or without (Non-Egg Breakfast, NEB, n = 34), five times/week for 14 weeks. Breakfast composition, anthropometric measurements and blood lipids were measured at multiple times. During the study, me...

We develop a novel peak detection algorithm for the analysis of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-TOF MS) data using normal-exponential-Bernoulli (NEB) and mixture probability models. The algorithm first performs baseline correction and denoising simultaneously using the NEB model, which also defines peak regions. Peaks are then picked usin...

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of retained fetal membranes (RFM) on serum minerals and energy- and protein-related metabolites in dairy cows at a herd with a recent history of fatty liver syndrome. Forty-seven multiparous Holstein cows were selected during transition period. Nine cows had RFM longer than 24 h after calving. Blood samples were obtained on prepartum days 21 a...

Electronic business (EB) on the Internet has been promoted as a revolutionary technology that will transform “the way we do business.” This paper presents the results of an exploratory study, which compares the financial performance (FP) of 73 publicly held U.S. corporations from the retail industry over a ten-year period. The study analyzes the financial statements of these companies to determ...

A scalable parallel algorithm has been designed to study long-time dynamics of many-atom systems based on the nudged elastic band method, which performs mutually constrained molecular dynamics simulations for a sequence of atomic configurations (or states) to obtain a minimum energy path between initial and final local minimum-energy states. A directionally heated nudged elastic band method is ...

O(2)-sensing in the carotid body occurs in neuroectoderm-derived type I glomus cells where hypoxia elicits a complex chemotransduction cascade involving membrane depolarization, Ca(2+) entry and the release of excitatory neurotransmitters. Efforts to understand the exquisite O(2)-sensitivity of these cells currently focus on the coupling between local P(O2) and the open-closed state of K(+)-cha...

Light-metal hydrides, like MgH2, remain under scrutiny as prototypes for reversible H-storage materials. For MgH2, we assess hydrogen desorption/adsorption properties (enthalpy and kinetic barriers) for stepped, catalyst-doped surfaces occurring, e.g., from ball-milling in real samples. Employing density functional theory and simulated annealing in a slab model, we studied initial H2 desorption...

We describe properties of an IgM monoclonal antibody (NEB-D1E5) raised against the human filarial parasite Brugia malayi. The antibody reacts with a stage- and species-specific determinant located on the surface of the infective-stage larva, as determined by indirect immunofluorescence. To use this reagent in epidemiological field studies, we developed an enzyme-linked immunoassay with which B....

The size distribution of saline and bronchodilator (terbutaline) aerosol droplets generated from four widely used jet nebulisers (Acorn, Upmist, Turret, and Inspiron Mini-neb) has been measured with a Malvern 2200 Laser Particle Sizer. The mass median diameter of aerosol droplets generated by each nebuliser was strongly influenced by the driving flow rate of compressed air. By increasing the fl...