One of the latest trends in the market for food products is the desire amongst consumers to know the origin of the products they purchase and to feel physically or emotionally connected to the farm and the producer. However, given the many efforts by producers and retailers to mislead consumers about the origin of products, for consumers to have faith in the origin of food products, they need to have some guarantee about the true origin of products. Thus, to be able to successfully guarantee the origin of food products, traceability systems need to be in place and they need to comply with the necessary legislation. This consumer need for origin-based food is now playing out in a variety of ways as food processors and retailers are labelling their products according to the origin of the product. Quite often, regional names are used for that identification. One iconic South African example of a product with regional identity is Karoo Lamb. In July this year producers from the Karoo region launched Karoo Lamb, a certification scheme, with a chain-wide traceability system in place to guarantee the Karoo origin of sheep meat in South African retail stores. The question, though, is whether all abattoirs and meat processors in South Africa are able to deliver origin-guaranteed products. The key factor here is the traceability system they have in place. The general objective of this study is therefore to assess current traceability systems in the sheep meat industry and to establish their ability to guarantee the origin of a carcass. This traceability system should be able to protect, manage and govern the food of origin attributes of a product in the sheep meat industry. The specific objectives of the study are: i) to create a high level process map to indicate the flow of Karoo Lamb products; ii) to share information by developing a detailed description of current and potential traceability systems in the Karoo Lamb supply chain; iii) to identify critical control points for maintaining product information and to test if these systems are in line with best practices; iv) to investigate the decision-making factors impacting on the implementation of a traceability system; and v) to develop recommendations for effectively implementing a traceability system that protects, manages and governs food of origin attributes. In response to these objectives, five hypotheses were developed and tested. The five hypotheses basically aimed to identify the tipping factor in the traceability implementation decision-making process. The population of South African sheep slaughtering abattoirs was used to draw a random sample of 55 abattoirs selected to participate in the research survey by means of interview administrated, structured questionnaires. The data was then processed and analysed to include a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis. The results obtained by the research indicate that 92 % of the abattoirs in South Africa have proper traceability systems in place that enable them to market and deliver origin-guaranteed products. The 3 (8 %) abattoirs that do not have traceability systems are in the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape. This might become problematic, since sheep from these regions are often marketed as Karoo lamb. Without proper traceability systems, this credence attribute cannot be guaranteed. According to the hypothesis test, the fact that an abattoir delivers to a retailer is the single most significant factor, compared to the other factors tested, for abattoirs to implement a traceability system. Research showed that 95 % of retail delivering abattoirs have traceability systems in place, and the other 5 % of abattoirs are those situated in remote rural areas and their retail customers have little other choice than to buy from these abattoirs. However, the study identified poor knowledge on the costs and benefits of a traceability system as a potential drawback in doing a proper cost benefit analysis and therefore proper research on the economics of traceability systems was almost impossible. At the abattoir level, traceability systems are quite easily implemented because it is much easier to trace a single carcass in an abattoir than to trace different pieces of one carcass in the processing plant. Since this study did not include detail pertaining to the downstream tiers; meat processors, packers, wholesalers and retailers, it is not possible to conclude that the entire sheep supply chain can guarantee a product’s origin in the case of Karoo Lamb. The integrity of these role players will play a vital role in their ability to guarantee the origin of a sheep meat product especially when sheep carcasses are moved outside the Karoo boundaries for processing and packaging. It is therefore clear that the downstream tiers play a vital part in the South African sheep meat industry in terms of chain-wide traceability and transparency in order to guarantee the origin of a sheep meat product such as Karoo Lamb. Further research is therefore required to evaluate the other role players in the sheep meat industry for chain-wide traceabiltiy systems, in order to test the readiness of this chain and industry to guarantee the origin of a product like Karoo Lamb. / Dissertation (MSc(Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Ce travail de thèse concerne la focalisation des ondes élastiques se propageant dans une plaque mince ou à la surface d’un milieu semi-infini, au travers de lentilles acoustiques planes. Les dispositifs que nous avons étudiés sont basés sur des cristaux phononiques 2D, constitués d'inclusions d'air dans une matrice solide. Ces hétérostructures présentent un gradient de leurs propriétés élastiques le long d'une direction de la lentille. Le gradient d'indice est obtenu en modulant soit la taille des inclusions d'air, soit la distance entre deux inclusions consécutives. L’approche que nous avons adoptée est basée principalement sur la simulation numérique par éléments finis. Cependant une partie significative du travail concerne le calcul analytique de la trajectoire des rayons acoustiques ainsi que la vérification expérimentale des résultats théoriques.L’approche analytique a consisté à calculer la trajectoire des rayons acoustique dans la lentille, en tenant compte de l'anisotropie le long de chaque ligne d'inclusions. L'analyse analytique, appliquée à une onde de Lamb antisymétrique (A0), ainsi que les résultats numériques et les données expérimentales, expliquent parfaitement les caractéristiques du champ de déplacement dans la zone focale, y compris la position, la forme et les dimensions latérales de la tâche focale. Le formalisme s’applique quelle que soit la symétrie du cristal phononique et peut être étendu à des ondes élastiques présentant une autre polarisation. Nous montrons dans ce travail qu’une largeur à mi-hauteur aussi petite que 0.64 peut être obtenue lorsque la focalisation intervient au sein de la lentille.Le formalisme s’applique également à la focalisation derrière la lentille. Dans ce cas, la résolution au point focal est déterminée par le "nombre d'onde transversal maximal" à la sortie de la lentille, en bon accord avec les résultats numériques et expérimentaux. Ensuite, nous avons conçu une lentille à gradient d’indice avec des piliers résonnants érigés entre les inclusions d'air. L'analyse numérique prévoit une résolution légèrement au-delà de la limite de diffraction. Expérimentalement, nous mesurons une largeur à mi-hauteur de la tâche focale juste au-dessus de la limite de diffraction.Enfin, nous avons étudié la focalisation d’une onde de Rayleigh par une lentille à gradient d’indice. Nous avons trouvé un bon accord entre le calcul des trajectoires des rayons, les simulations numériques et les expériences. En outre, nous avons analysé la transmission de l’énergie élastique lorsque la focalisation intervient derrière la lentille. / This manuscript is about the focusing of elastic beams propagating in a plate or on the free surface of a semi-infinite medium, using flat acoustical lenses. The devices we have studied are based onto 2D phononic crystals that are made of air inclusions in a solid matrix and featuring a gradient of their elastic properties along one direction of the lens. The gradient index (GRIN) is obtained by modulating either the size of the air inclusions or the distance between two consecutive inclusions.We primarily adopted a computational approach but a significant part of the work concerns the analytical calculation of the ray trajectories as well as the experimental check of the theoretical findings. The analytical approach consists to calculate the ray trajectories of an elastic waves within the lens while accounting for the anisotropy along each lines of inclusions. The analysis applied to the lowest-order flexural Lamb wave (A0), together with both the numerical results and the experimental data, well explains the features of the displacements field in the focus area, including the location, shape and lateral width. The formalism applies whatever the symmetry of the phononic crystal is and can be extended to other polarization of the elastic wave. We show in this work that FWHM as small as 0.64 may be obtained when focusing inside the lens.The formalism applies also to the focusing behind the lens. In that case, the resolution at the focus is determined by the “maximum transverse wavenumber” at the exit of lens, in good agreement with the numerical and experimental results. Then we designed a GRIN phononic lens featuring resonant pillars in addition to the constitutive air inclusions. The numerical analysis foresees the resolution at the focus beyond the diffraction limit, while experimentally we measured the resolution to be just above the diffraction limit. Lastly, we turned to the subwavelength focusing of Rayleigh waves through GRIN lenses. We found a good agreement between the ray trajectories calculation, the numerical simulations and the experiments. We further analysed the influence of energy transmission when the focus is located behind the lens.

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) techniques are widely used in a number of Non – destructive Evaluation (NDE) applications. There is a need to develop effective techniques for SHM, so that the safety and integrity of the structures can be improved. Two most widely used SHM methods for plates and rods use either the spectrum of the impedances or monitor the propagation of lamb waves. Piezoelectric wafer – active sensors (PWAS) were used for excitation and sensing. In this study, surface response to excitation (SuRE) and Lamb wave propagation was monitored to estimate the integrity of the round objects including the pipes, tubes and cutting tools. SuRE obtained the frequency response by applying sweep sine wave to surface. The envelope of the received signal was used to detect the arrival of lamb waves to the sensor. Both approaches detect the structural defects of the pipes and tubes and the wear of the cutting tool.

Las estructuras periódicas macroscópicas han sido objeto de una intensa investigación durante las dos últimas décadas debido a su capacidad de imitar fenómenos ondulatorios que son inherentes a la escala atómica. Aunque las placas perforadas son estructuras muy comunes en acústica, éstas parecen guardar propiedades de transmisión de sonido inexploradas, cuyo estudio ha sido impulsado por el descubrimiento de la Transmisión Óptica Extraordinaria en láminas de metal perforadas con agujeros distribuidos periódicamente cuando interactúan con la luz. En el presente trabajo se muestra que las placas perforadas no sólo presentan máximos de transmisión total resonante y mínimos de la anomalía de Wood cuando los agujeros están distribuidos de forma periódica, sino también apantallamiento acústico extraordinario debido al cortocircuito hidrodinámico producido por el acoplamiento entre la placa y el fluido. También se detalla el rol de los parámetros geométricos de las placas perforadas en las características de transmisión, ilustrando diferentes estrategias para moldear el espectro de transmisión. La transmisión acústica a través de placas de aluminio con perforaciones regulares sumergidas en agua presenta una alta complejidad tanto a incidencia normal como cuando se varía el ángulo de incidencia del sonido. Aparecen ondas de superficie radiantes provenientes de la vibración de la placa, lo cual es demostrado usando un nuevo modelo teórico que incluye el acoplamiento elastoacústico completo. Gracias al estudio complementario de la transmisión y la propagación en placa de una placa fonónica sólido-sólido se retrata una perspectiva completa del efecto del acoplamiento. Como consecuencia directa, se observan fenómenos de plegamiento y bandas de propagación prohibida en modos tipo Scholte-Stoneley sin necesidad de corrugaciones o de agujeros. Finalmente, se comparan las propiedades de transmisión de agujeros individuales y redes de agujeros para luz, electrones y sonido analizando y comentando sus diferencias. Se ha encontrado que, aunque para la luz la red de agujeros en sí misma lleva a transmisiones del 100% y modos atrapados a la superficie, esto no se produce ni para electrones ni para sonido. En consecuencia, las resonancias del agujero constituyen el mecanismo clave que posibilita la existencia de fenómenos exóticos en sonido. Los resultados principales aquí mencionados son explicados de manera detallada y comentados sobre la base de datos teóricos y experimentales. El objetivo general de esta tesis es dilucidar por medios teóricos y experimentales los fenómenos físicos que se hayan involucrados en la transmisión acústica a través de placas perforadas. En este estudio se usa esencialmente el método de transmisión de ultrasonidos bajo el agua. Los modelos teóricos desarrollados tienen en cuenta la configuración experimental para poder establecer comparaciones precisas entre las medidas y los cálculos. Se toman en cuenta diversos factores que pueden modificar la transmisión de sonido a través de placas perforadas tales como: - La orientación de la onda incidente con respecto a la placa. .- Los parámetros geométricos que definen la placa, es decir, la distancia entre agujeros, el diámetro de los mismos y el espesor de la placa. .- Los parámetros elásticos relacionados con el contraste de impedancia entre el sólido y el fluido. .- El material contenido en los agujeros, de modo que se estudian no sólo placas fonónicas constituidas por un fluido y un sólido sino también aquellas formadas por dos sólidos distintos. Para el caso particular de una placa fonónica constituida por dos sólidos se emplea además una técnica para medir las vibraciones de la placa directamente en su superficie con el fin de complementar las medidas de transmisión de ultrasonidos. Desde una perspectiva teórica, el problema ha sido abordado para estructuras infinitas partiendo de diversas hipótesis. / Estrada Beltrán, HA. (2011). Ultrasonic transmission through periodically perforated plates [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/14119 / Palancia

A case study of the conservative and allegedly climate denying think tank American Enterprise Institute and its usage of climate policy delaying discourse. By applying William Lamb et al.'s model of the discourse climate delay, this essay seeks to describe and analyse if and how American Enterpise Institute uses climate delaying discourse. The study is based on published texts from the American Enterprise Institute and the analysis is performed in two steps. Firstly, by conducting an argumentation analysis using the Toulmin model on the material to discern the main arguments of the texts. Secondly, by applying Lamb et al.'s model on the arguments to discern if any of the climate policy delaying discourses are used. This study finds that almost all of Lamb et al.'s described discourses are used by the think tank and that they are used in several different ways and with different implications. This study can expand the understanding of how climate denial focused on climate policy manifests and how climate delaying discourse is used. Moreover, the results of this study further proves what previous research has indicated: That climate denialists are changing tactics and are focusing on how to affect climate policy for their own benefit.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間健康科学) / 甲第19970号 / 人健博第38号 / 新制||人健||3(附属図書館) / 33066 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科人間健康科学系専攻 / (主査)教授 杉本 直三, 教授 精山 明敏, 教授 黒田 知宏 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human Health Sciences / Kyoto University / DFAM

Stoffwechsel und antioxidativer Status bei Merinofleischschafen im peripartalen Zeitraum Medizinische Tierklinik, Veterinärmedizinische Fakultät, Universität Leipzig Eingereicht im Juni 2010 (99 Seiten, 28 Abbildungen, 38 Tabellen, 357 Literaturangaben) Problem- und Zielstellung: Dem antioxidativen System wird im Rahmen von Stoffwech-seluntersuchungen bei Schafen nur wenig Bedeutung geschenkt, jedoch gewinnt es als Schutz- und Regulationssystem zunehmend an Bedeutung. Besonders die Trächtigkeit und die Frühlaktation bei Mutterschafen sowie die postnatale Entwicklung der Lämmer stellen enorme Anforderungen an die Energieversorgung und an das antioxidative System. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist, die Bewältigung dieser Anforderungen darzustellen und zu zei-gen, ob und wie stark Zwillingsträchtigkeiten ein Belastung für Mutterschafe darstellen, und ob Lämmer aus einer Zwillingsträchtigkeit möglicherweise benachteiligt sind. Tiere, Material und Methoden: Untersucht wurden insgesamt 23 trächtige Merinofleisch-schafe und zwölf Merinofleischschaflämmer. Bei 13 Muttertieren wurde sonografisch eine Einlingsträchtigkeit (M1) und bei zehn eine Zwillingsträchtigkeit (M2) festgestellt. Bei den Lämmern stammten sechs Tiere aus einer Einlingsgeburt (L1) und sechs aus Zwillingsge-burten (L2). Den Muttertieren wurden von der 5. Woche a.p. bis 1 Woche a.p. wöchentlich sowie 2 Wochen p.p., den Lämmern eine, vier und zwölf Wochen post natum Blutproben entnommen. Im Serum wurden die Konzentrationen von Betahydroxybutyrat (BHB), Glu-cose, Bilirubin, freien Fettsäuren (FFS), Gesamtprotein und Albumin, die Aktivitäten der Glutamatdehydrogenase (GLDH), sowie im Vollblut die Aktivitäten der Superoxiddismutase (SOD) und der Glutathionperoxidase (GPX) gemessen. Ergebnisse: Die SOD- und GPX-Aktivitäten stiegen gleichermaßen bei einlingsträchtigen und zwillingsträchtigen Muttertieren signifikant an. Die SOD-Aktivitäten stiegen bei M1 von 488,2 ± 28 vier Wochen a.p. auf 524,8 ± 96,1 U/g Hb eine Woche a.p. und bei M2 von 447,4 ± 65,1 fünf Wochen a.p. auf 619,4 ± 141,1 U/g Hb zwei Wochen p.p. an. Die GPX-Aktivitäten bei M1 stiegen von 782,1 ± 220,5 eine Woche a.p. auf 1037,62 ± 382,9 U/ml Hk zwei Wochen p.p.. M2 zeigten eine tendenziell niedrigere Aktivität, welche von 641,8 ± 118,4 auf 911,8 ± 168,5 U/ml Hk anstieg. Es bestanden signifikante Zusammenhänge der SOD mit FFS, BHB und Gesamtprotein sowie der GPX mit Bilirubin, FFS und GLDH. Für die SOD-Aktivität wurde ein Referenzbereich von 328,10 bis 837,25 U/g Hb und für die GPX-Aktivität von 473,38 bis 1259,05 U/ml Hk bei Muttertieren ermittelt. Ausgenommen die Glucosekonzentration eine Woche a.p. bestanden keine signifikanten Differenzen zwi-schen M1 und M2. Die BHB-Konzentrationen zeigten bis zur Lammung einen konstanten Verlauf und stiegen bei M1 eine Woche a.p. auf 0,59 ± 0,27 mmol/l sowie bei M1 und M2 zwei Wochen p.p. auf 0,76 ± 0,29 mmol/l (M1) bzw. 0,77 ± 0,25 mmol/l (M2) signifikant an. Gesicherte Korrelationen bestanden zu FFS, Gesamtprotein und Glucose. Die Gesamtprotein- und Albuminkonzentrationen verliefen über den gesamten Untersuchungszeitraum nahezu konstant. Die Albuminkonzentration sank bei M1 nach einem kontinuierlichen An-stieg von einer Woche a.p. (37,2 ± 2,9 g/l) zu zwei Wochen p.p. (35,3 ± 3,6 g/l) signifikant ab. Gesicherte Korrelationen bestanden zu Glucose, SOD, BHB, Bilirubin und FFS. Die Glucose- Konzentrationen stiegen bei M1 bis eine Woche a.p. auf 4,84 ± 1,17 mmol/l sig-nifikant an, korrelierten neben den Proteinen mit Bilirubin und fallen 2 Wochen p.p. wieder auf ihren Ausgangswert ab, der bei M2 konstant blieb. Die Bilirubinkonzentrationen verlie-fen konstant, die der FFS fielen nach einem Anstieg eine Woche a.p. (M1) signifikant ab. Die GLDH-Aktivitäten zeigten a.p. einen konstanten Verlauf und p.p. einen signifikanten Anstieg auf 20,61 ± 14,11 U/l bei M2. Zwischen L1 und L2 bestanden zu keinem Zeitpunkt signifikante Unterschiede. Die SOD zeigte abnehmende Aktivitäten mit zunehmendem Lebensalter, - bei L1 von 757,7 ± 94,4 eine Woche p.p. auf 597,8 ± 255,0 U/g Hb 4 Wochen p.p. und bei L2 von 487,17 ± 353,3 auf 464,0 ± 330,9 U/g Hb. Sie korrelierte gesichert mit Albumin und Glucose in der ersten Lebenswoche. Die GPX-Aktivitäten stiegen mit zunehmendem Lebensalter bei statistisch gesicherter Korrelation mit Glucose von 724,3 ± 199,8 auf 1011,5 ± 132,9 U/ml Hk bei L1 und von 693,3 ± 120,8 auf 1052,0 ± 146,9 U/ml Hk bei L2. Für Lämmer wurden als Refe-renzwerte 43,00 bis 932 U/g Hb für die SOD bzw. 406,00 bis 1321,00 U/ml Hk für die GPX berechnet. Die Albumin- und BHB-Konzentrationen stiegen zur vierten bzw. zwölften Le-benswoche an, die Glucose-, Bilirubin- und FFS-Konzentrationen im Serum sanken zur 12. Lebenswoche ab. Die Gesamtproteinkonzentration und die Aktivität der GLDH verlie-fen konstant. Es bestanden signifikante Korrelationen zwischen BHB und Gesamtprotein, FFS, GLDH sowie zwischen Gesamtprotein und Glucose, Albumin sowie FFS. Des Weite-ren bestanden gesicherte Korrelationen zwischen Bilirubin und FFS sowie FFS und GLDH. Fazit: Die Aktivitäten der antioxidativen Enzyme SOD und GPX sowie die Konzentrationen der klinisch-chemischen Parameter zeigen mit dem Anstieg der SOD-Aktivität von 447 auf 619 U/g Hb bei M2 einerseits die peripartalen Belastungen und andererseits mit dem An-stieg der GPX-Aktivität von 782 auf 1038 U/g Hk bei M1 die Kompensations- und Regel-mechanismen bei dieser Belastungssituation auf. Die Untersuchungen entsprechen dem Zustand einer ausgeglichen Energiebilanz und gesundheitlich stabilen Bedingungen. Ein Einfluss der Lämmerzahl auf das antioxidative System bzw. den Stoffwechsel kann weder bei Mutterschafen noch bei Lämmern statistisch signifikant belegt werden. / Metabolism and antioxidative status of merino sheep for meat production in the peripartum time period Large Animal Clinic for Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig Submitted in June 2010 (100 pages, 28 figures, 38 tables, 357 references) Definition of the problem and objective: Until now, the research regarding the metabol-ism of sheep focussed very little on the importance of the antioxidative system, but the significance of its function as a protective and regulative system is increasing. Especially the pregnancy and the early lactation of the ewes as well as the postnatal development of the lambs places enormous demands upon the energy supply and the antioxidative sys-tem. The objective of this study is to show how these demands are met and to determine whether a twin-pregnancy represents an additional stress for the ewes, and whether lambs from a twin-pregnancy are possibly disadvantaged. Animals, materials and methods: 23 pregnant merino ewes and twelve merino lambs were analyzed. Sonographic tests showed that 13 ewes were pregnant with one lamb (M1), and ten showed a twin-pregnancy (M2). Six of the lambs were born as single lambs (L1), six as twins (L2). Blood samples were taken from the ewes every week from the fifth until the week before the birth, as well as two weeks after birth, the blood samples from the lambs were taken one, four and twelve weeks postpartum. The concentration in the serum of the following components was measured: betahydroxybutyrate (BHB), glucose, biliru-bine, free fatty acids (FFS), total protein and albumine, the activity of the glutamatedehy-drogenasis (GLDH), as well as the activity in whole- blood of superoxidedismutasis (SOD) and glutathionperoxidasis (GPX). Results: The SOD- and GPX-activities rose significantly at the same rate for mother sheep pregnant with one lamb or with twins. The SOD-activity rose for M1 from 488,2 +/- 28 four weeks prepartum to 524 +/- 96,1 U/g Hb one week prepartum, and for M2 from 447,4 +/- 65,1 five weeks prepartum to 619,4 +/- 141,1 U/g Hb two weeks prepartum. The GPX-activity for M1 rose from 782,1 +/- 220,5 one week prepartum to 1037,62 +/- 382,9 U/ml two weeks postpartum, while M2 showed a tendency towards lower activity, which rose from 641,8 +/- 118,4 to 911,8 +/- 168,5 U/ml Hk. There were significant correlations between the SOD and the FFS, the BHB and the total protein as well as the GPX with bili-rubine, FFS and GLDH. For the ewes, an SOD-activity reference range between 328,10 and 837,25 U/g Hb was determined, and a GPX-activity reference range between 473,38 and 1259,05 U/ml Hk. There were no significant differences between M1 and M2 except for the concentration of glucose. The BHB-concentration stayed constant up to birth and then rose significantly to 0,59 +/- 0,27 mmol/l for M1 one week postpartum and for both M1 and M2 to 0,76 +/- 0,29 mmol/l (M1) and 0,77 +/- 0,25 mmol/l (M2) two weeks postpartum. A reliable correlation could be determined with FFS, total protein and glucose. The total protein and the albu-mine concentration stayed almost constant during the whole analyzed time period. After a continuous increase between one week prepartum (37,2 +/- 2,9 g/l) and two weeks post-partum (35,3 +/- 3,6 g/l), the albumine concentration dropped considerably. Here, reliable correlations could be determined with glucose, SOD, BHB, bilirubine and FFS. For the group M1, the glucose concentrations rose significantly until one week prepartum to 4,84 +/- 1,17 mmol/l, correlated with both the proteins and bilirubine, then fell back to their initial level two weeks postpartum, while they did not change for M2. The concentrations of bili-rubine stayed constant, the FFS-concentrations fell significantly after an increase one week prepartum (M1). The GLDH-activities showed a constant trend prepartum, then rose significantly postpartum to 20,61 +/14,11 U/l for M2. There were no significant differences between L1 and L2 at any time. The SOD showed decreasing activity with increasing age, from 757,7 +/- 94,4 one week prepartum to 597,8 +/- 255,0 U/g Hb four weeks postpartum for L1 and from 487,17 +/- 353,3 to 464,0 +/- 330,9 U/g Hb for L2. A reliable correlation was determined with albumine and glucose in the first week after birth. The GPX-activities rose with increasing age with a statistically reliable correlation with glucose from 724,3 +/- 199,8 to 1011,5 +/- 132,9 U/ml Hk for L1 and from 693,3 +/- 120,0 to 1052,0 +/- 146,9 U/ml Hk for L2. The calculated reference val-ues for lambs were 43,00 to 932 U/g Hb for SOD and 406,00 to 1321,00 U/ml Hk for GPX. The concentrations of albumine and BHB rose towards the fourth and respectively the twelvth week of life, the levels of glucose, bilirubine and FFS dropped towards the 12th week. The total protein concentration and the GLDH-activities stayed constant. There were significant correlations between BHB and total protein, FFS, GLDH as well as between total protein and glucose, albumine and FFS. In addition, there were reliable correlations between bilirubine and FFS and FFS and GLDH. Conclusion: The activities of the antioxidative enzymes SOD and GPX as well as the concentrations of the clinical-chemical parameters show the prepartum stress on one side with the rise of the SOD-activity from 447 to 619 U/g for the group M2, and the compensa-tion and regulation mechanisms during this stress period on the other side with the in-crease of the GPX-activity from 782 to 1038 U/g Hk for the group M1. The results of the tests correspond to the status of a well-regulated energy balance and stable health condi-tions. An influence of the number of lambs on the antioxidative system or the metabolism for both lambs and ewes can not be shown with statistical significance.

No description available.

Résumé : Introduction : La ventilation nasale, de plus en plus utilisée chez le nourrisson, peut insuffler de l’air dans l’estomac et causer des reflux gastro-œsophagiens (RGO). Parmi les modes de ventilation nasale, l’aide inspiratoire (AIn) devrait entrainer un plus grand nombre de RGO que le neuro-asservissement de la ventilation assistée (NAVAn), où l’insufflation d’air est plus «physiologique». L’objectif principal de l’étude est de comparer le nombre de RGO en NAVAn et en AIn dans notre modèle ovin d’étude du RGO néonatal et de ventilation nasale. Méthodes : Une polysomnographie avec pH-impédancemétrie œsophagienne de 6 h a été effectuée chez 10 agneaux nouveau-nés. L’enregistrement a été répété trois jours consécutifs (une condition par jour) en respiration spontanée, AIn (15/4 cmH[indice inférieur 2]O) et NAVAn (15/4 cmH[indice inférieur 2]O) dans un ordre randomisé. Résultats : Comparé à la respiration spontanée [13 (23)], le nombre de RGO en 6 h a diminué fortement et de façon similaire en AIn [1 (3)] et en NAVAn [2 (2)] (p < 0,05), même pour des RGO faiblement acides et proximaux. De plus, le nombre d’insufflations d’air n’était pas différent entre l’AIn et la NAVAn. Conclusion : L’AIn et la NAVAn inhibent de façon équivalente les RGO chez l’agneau, incluant les RGO faiblement acides et proximaux, si la pression inspiratoire n’est pas trop élevée et malgré le fait que de l’air soit insufflé dans l’œsophage. Ce résultat est identique à celui obtenu avec l’application d’une pression positive continue nasale (6 cmH[indice inférieur 2]O). Il est possible que la pression positive appliquée lors de la ventilation diminue les relaxations transitoires du sphincter inférieur de l’œsophage, mais des études en manométrie œsophagienne sont nécessaires pour comprendre les mécanismes en jeu. // Abstract : Introduction: Nasal ventilation, increasingly used in infants, can blow air in the stomach and cause gastroesophageal reflux (GER). Among the nasal ventilation modes, pressure support ventilation (nPSV) should lead to a greater number of GER than neurally-adjusted ventilatory assist (nNAVA), where the air delivery is more "physiological". The main objective of the study is to compare the number of GER in nNAVA and nPSV in our unique sheep model of neonatal GER and nasal ventilation. Methods: A 6h polysomnographic recording with esophageal pH-impedance was performed in 10 newborn lambs. The recording was repeated for three consecutive days (one condition per day) for spontaneous breathing, nPSV (15/4 cmH[subscript 2]O) and nNAVA (15/4 cm H[subscript 2]O) in a randomized order. Results: Compared with spontaneous breathing [13 (23)], the number of GER in 6h strongly and similarly decreased in nPSV [1 (3)] and nNAVA [2 (2)] (p < 0.05), even proximal and weakly acidic GER. In addition, the number of air insufflations was not different between nPSV and nNAVA. Conclusion: nPSV and nNAVA both inhibit GER in lambs, including weakly acidic and proximal GER, if the inspiratory pressure is not too high and despite the fact that air is blown into the esophagus. This result is identical to the one obtained with the application of a nasal continuous positive airway pressure (6 cmH[subscript 2]O). It is posssible that the applied positive pressure decreases transient relaxations of the lower esophageal sphincter, but esophageal manometry studies are needed to understand the mechanisms involved.

Topic This study examines the hymnic pericopes found at Revelation 4.8-11; 5.9-14; 7.10- 12; 11.15-18; 12.10-12; 15.3,4 and 19.1-8 in light of the cosmic conflict theme. It considers that this theme is a major contributor to the development of Revelation’s plot, and thus the hymnic sections are informed by, and inform the understanding of the controversy. Purpose Recognizing that the majority of critical studies give interpretative primacy to the social and political realities that existed in the Roman Empire at the time of Revelation’s composition, there is need for an examination of the storyline from the perspective of issues that are clearly of narratival importance. This study argues that the cosmic conflict is at the center of the book’s concerns, and attempts to determine the function of the hymns in relation to the ongoing controversy. Previous examinations of the hymnic sections have either considered them to be a response and/or parody to Roman liturgy, examples of God’s unquestioned sovereignty, or expressions of thematic overtones found throughout the book. While all these approaches make a contribution to a greater understanding of the hymns, the relation of the hymns to the ever-present conflict theme has not been explored. This study allows the hymnic sections to engage with the larger narrative issue as to who is truly the rightful sovereign of the universe. Conclusion This study found that a close examination of the text confirms that the cosmic conflict is the major motif in the narrative, and that it does not simply serve as a metaphor for political realities. It also concluded that the temple/throne room imagery found throughout the storyline, should have a controlling influence upon interpretation. This setting provides the backdrop for understanding the origins and issues of the controversy. Another conclusion of the study is that the only way for the controversy to be resolved is for God to reveal Himself in such a manner that the truth about Him is manifest. Finally, it was seen that the hymns do provide commentary on the conflict, by acclaiming God’s goodness and right to rule, despite the undertones of Satan’s accusations. / New Testament / D. Th. (New Testament)