The impact of LHC jet data on the MMHT PDF fit at NNLO.

We investigate the impact of the high precision ATLAS and CMS 7 TeV measurements of inclusive jet production on the MMHT global PDF analysis at next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO). This is made possible by the recent completion of the long-term project to calculate the NNLO corrections to the hard cross section. We find that a good description of the ATLAS data is not possible with the default treatment of experimental systematic errors, and propose a simplified solution that retains the dominant physical information of the data. We then investigate the fit quality and the impact on the gluon PDF central value and uncertainty when the ATLAS and CMS data are included in a MMHT fit. We consider both common choices for the factorization and renormalization scale, namely the inclusive jet transverse momentum, p ⊥ , and the leading jet p ⊥ , as well as the different jet radii for which the ATLAS and CMS data are made available. We find that the impact of these data on the gluon is relatively insensitive to these inputs, in particular the scale choice, while the inclusion of NNLO corrections tends to improve the data description somewhat and has a qualitatively similar though not identical impact on the gluon in comparison to NLO.

Ring-opened aminothienopyridazines as novel tau aggregation inhibitors.

Aminothienopyridazines (ATPZs) have demonstrated efficacy, in vitro, as tau protein aggregation inhibitors. Modifications were made to the ATPZ scaffold to determine the importance of certain structural features for activity. More specifically, ring-opened analogues detached at the nitrogen-nitrogen bond of the pyridazine, were synthesized and their inhibitory activity evaluated. Preliminary data suggests that the ring-opened structures retain inhibitory activity, independent of tau oxidation. The structures detailed represent the beginnings of a deconstruction-reconstruction-elaboration study, with the aim of identifying simpler scaffolds, which retain activity and can be optimized in terms of physiochemical properties.

Automated activity monitoring and visual observation of estrus in a herd of loose housed Hereford cattle: Diagnostic accuracy and time to ovulation.

A prospective cohort study was performed in the purebred Hereford herd at Götala Beef and Lamb Research Centre, Sweden. The study's first objective was to assess the ability of an automatic activity monitoring system (AAMS) to detect estrus in beef suckler cows, and its second objective was to estimate the time from estrus to ovulation. The study sample (n = 38) consisted of 14 Hereford heifers and 24 Hereford cows. Standardized visual observation of estrus was performed for 20 minutes thrice daily, and animal activity was recorded with an AAMS system, Heatime (SCR Engineers Ltd., Israel). Cows in estrus underwent transrectal ultrasonography every 8 hours, to estimate the time of ovulation. Blood samples for progesterone analysis were collected thrice weekly throughout the study period. A cutoff value of 1-ng progesterone/mL of serum was used to define luteal activity. The AAMS had a 90% (95% confidence interval [CI] 77%-97%) sensitivity and 100% specificity (95% CI 94%-100%), and visual detection of estrus had a 77% sensitivity (95% CI 62%-88%) and a 89% specificity (95% CI 79%-95%) for identifying estrus when compared to the gold standard defined by temporal pattern of serum progesterone concentration. When both methods were used in parallel, the sensitivity increased to 96% (95% CI 86%-99%), and the specificity increased to 90% (95% CI 80%-96%). The time of ovulation after estrus was determined on 50 occasions. The median estrus (AAMS detected) to ovulation interval was 25 hours for heifers and 23 hours for cows (interquartile range 11-29 hours and 19-25 hours, respectively). The median estrus (visually detected) to ovulation interval was 28 hours for heifers and 21 hours for cows (interquartile range 13-29 hours for both categories). In conclusion, the AAMS had both a higher sensitivity and specificity for estrus detection than thrice-daily visual observation. The time from detection of estrus to ovulation observed in this study indicates that reproductive performance might be improved if Hereford cattle are inseminated sooner after detection of estrus than is currently recommended.

Charm and beauty quark masses in the MMHT2014 global PDF analysis.

We investigate the variation in the MMHT2014 PDFs when we allow the heavy-quark masses [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] to vary away from their default values. We make PDF sets available in steps of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], and present the variation in the PDFs and in the predictions. We examine the comparison to the HERA data on charm and beauty structure functions and note that in each case the heavy-quark data, and the inclusive data, have a slight preference for lower masses than our default values. We provide PDF sets with three and four active quark flavours, as well as the standard value of five flavours. We use the pole mass definition of the quark masses, as in the default MMHT2014 analysis, but briefly comment on the [Formula: see text] definition.

The impact of the final HERA combined data on PDFs obtained from a global fit.

We investigate the effect of including the HERA run I + II combined cross section data on the MMHT2014 PDFs. We present the fit quality within the context of the global fit and when only the HERA data are included. We examine the changes in both the central values and the uncertainties in the PDFs. We find that the prediction for the data is good, and only relatively small improvements in [Formula: see text] and changes in the PDFs are obtained with a refit at both NLO and NNLO. PDF uncertainties are slightly reduced. There is a small dependence of the fit quality on the value of [Formula: see text]. This can be improved by phenomenologically motived corrections to [Formula: see text] which parametrically are largely in the form of higher-twist type contributions.

The effects of building design on hazard of first service in Norwegian dairy cows.

Reproductive inefficiency is one of the major production and economic constraints on modern dairy farms. The environment affects onset of ovarian activity in a cow postcalving and influences estrus behavior, which in turn affects a stockperson's ability to inseminate her at the correct time. This study used survival analysis to investigate effects of building design and animal factors on the postpartum hazard of first service (HFS) in freestall-housed Norwegian Red cows. The study was performed on 232 Norwegian dairy farms between 2004 and 2007. Data were obtained through on farm measurements and by accessing the Norwegian Dairy Herd Recording System. The final data set contained data on 38,436 calvings and 27,127 services. Univariate Cox proportional hazard analyses showed that herd size and milk yield were positively associated with HFS. Total free accessible area and free accessible area available per cow year were positively associated with the HFS, as was the number of freestalls available per cow. Cows housed on slatted floors had a lower HFS than those housed on solid floors. Conversely, cows housed on rubber floors had a higher HFS than cows on concrete floors. Dead-ending alleyways reduced the hazard of AI after calving. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards model, accounting for herd management by including a frailty term for herd, showed relationships between hazard of postpartum service and explanatory variables. Animals in herds with more than 50 cows had a higher HFS [hazard ratio (HR)=3.0] compared with those in smaller herds. The HFS was also higher (HR=4.3) if more than 8.8 m(2) of space was available per cow year compared with herds in which animals had less space. The HFS after calving increased with parity (parity 2 HR=0.5, parity ≥3 HR=1.7), and was reduced if a lactation began with dystocia (HR=0.82) or was a breed other than Norwegian Red (HR=0.2). The frailty term, herd, was large and highly significant indicating a significant proportion of the variation resides at herd level. The hazard of first insemination decreased with time for all predictive variables, except dystocia. This study shows that providing adequate environmental conditions for estrus behavior is imperative for reproductive efficiency and after herd management factors and time from calving have been accounted for. Thus, optimizing building design for reproductive efficiency is of significant importance when constructing new cattle housing.

Uncertainties on [Formula: see text] in the MMHT2014 global PDF analysis and implications for SM predictions.

We investigate the uncertainty in the strong coupling [Formula: see text] when allowing it to be a free parameter in the recent MMHT global analyses of deep-inelastic and related hard scattering data that was undertaken to determine the parton distribution functions (PDFs) of the proton. The analysis uses the standard framework of leading twist fixed-order collinear factorisation in the [Formula: see text] scheme. We study the constraints on [Formula: see text] coming from individual data sets by repeating the NNLO and NLO fits spanning the range 0.108 to 0.128 in units of 0.001, making all PDFs sets available. The inclusion of the cross section for inclusive [Formula: see text] production allows us to explore the correlation between the mass [Formula: see text] of the top quark and [Formula: see text]. We find that the best-fit values are [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] at NLO and NNLO, respectively, with the central values changing to [Formula: see text] and 0.1178 when the world average of [Formula: see text] is used as a data point. We investigate the interplay between the uncertainties on [Formula: see text] and on the PDFs. In particular we calculate the cross sections for key processes at the LHC and show how the uncertainties from the PDFs and from [Formula: see text] can be provided independently and be combined.

Parton distributions in the LHC era: MMHT 2014 PDFs.

We present LO, NLO and NNLO sets of parton distribution functions (PDFs) of the proton determined from global analyses of the available hard scattering data. These MMHT2014 PDFs supersede the 'MSTW2008' parton sets, but they are obtained within the same basic framework. We include a variety of new data sets, from the LHC, updated Tevatron data and the HERA combined H1 and ZEUS data on the total and charm structure functions. We also improve the theoretical framework of the previous analysis. These new PDFs are compared to the 'MSTW2008' parton sets. In most cases the PDFs, and the predictions, are within one standard deviation of those of MSTW2008. The major changes are the [Formula: see text] valence quark difference at small [Formula: see text] due to an improved parameterisation and, to a lesser extent, the strange quark PDF due to the effect of certain LHC data and a better treatment of the [Formula: see text] branching ratio. We compare our MMHT PDF sets with those of other collaborations; in particular with the NNPDF3.0 sets, which are contemporary with the present analysis.

The relationship between fatty acid profiles in milk identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and onset of luteal activity in Norwegian dairy cattle.

To investigate the feasibility of milk fatty acids as predictors of onset of luteal activity (OLA), 87 lactations taken from 73 healthy Norwegian Red cattle were surveyed over 2 winter housing seasons. The feasibility of using frozen milk samples for dry-film Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) determination of milk samples was also tested. Morning milk samples were collected thrice weekly (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) for the first 10 wk in milk (WIM). These samples had bronopol (2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol) added to them before being frozen at -20°C, thawed, and analyzed by ELISA to determine progesterone concentration and the concentrations of the milk fatty acids C4:0, C14:0, C16:0, C18:0, and cis-9 C18:1 as a proportion of total milk fatty acid content using dry-film FTIR, and averaged by WIM. Onset of luteal activity was defined as the first day that milk progesterone concentrations were >3 ng/mL for 2 successive measurements; the study population was categorized as early (n=47) or late (n=40) OLA, using the median value of 21 DIM as the cutoff. Further milk samples were collected 6 times weekly, from morning and afternoon milkings, these were pooled by WIM, and one proportional sample was analyzed fresh for fat, protein, and lactose content by the dairy company Tine SA, using traditional FTIR spectrography in the wet phase of milk. Daily energy-balance calculations were performed in 42 lactations and averaged by WIM. Animals experiencing late OLA had a more negative energy balance in WIM 1, 3, 4, and 5, with the greatest differences been seen in WIM 3 and 4. A higher proportion of the fatty acids were medium chained, C14:0 and C16:0, in the early than in the late OLA group from WIM 1. In WIM 4, the proportion of total fatty acid content that was C16:0 predicted late OLA, with 74% sensitivity and 80% specificity. The long-chain proportion of the fatty acids C18:0 and cis-9 C18:1 were lower in the early than in the late OLA group. Differences were greatest in WIM 4 and 5. Differences in concentrations of cis-9 C18:1 were seen between the groups from WIM 1. No relationship was seen between OLA and milk concentrations of either protein or fat, or between OLA and the milk fat:protein ratio. The differences in milk fatty acid proportions between the 2 groups are most likely related to differences in energy balance. The study shows that frozen milk samples can be tested for fatty acids by FTIR spectroscopy and that FTIR spectroscopy of milk can be used to provide real-time information about cow reproductive function.

The status of bovine brucellosis in Ethiopia with special emphasis on exotic and cross bred cattle in dairy and breeding farms.

A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the seroprevalence of brucellosis and identify risk factors in exotic and cross bred cattle in Ethiopia. A total of 2334 cattle from 273 farms were tested serially for Brucella antibodies using the Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and the Compliment Fixation Test (CFT). The overall animal level seroprevalence was 1.9% (95% CI: 1.2, 2.6), with urban and peri-urban dairy 2.4% (95% CI: 1.4, 3.4), commercial 1.5% (95% CI: 0.5, 2.5) and breeding farms 1.5% (95% CI: 0.2, 3.2). The overall farm level prevalence was 10.6% (95% CI: 6.9, 14.3), with 8.6% (95% CI: 4.8, 12.4) in urban and peri-urban dairy followed by 16.9% (95% CI: 7.3, 26.6) in commercial and 20.0% (95% CI: 0.0, 59.4) in breeding farms. At individual animal level, purchased cows and adult age groups were observed to associate with Brucella seropositivity while presence of small ruminants on the farm was the only factor associated with increased risk of herd level Brucella infection. The lack of association between reproductive disorders and Brucella seroprevalence suggest that other causes largely outweigh as causes of the aforesaid disorder in studied production systems and demands an investigation. Finally, the need for isolation and characterization of circulating Brucella spp. and institution of regulatory measures to reinforce farm biosecurity was suggested.

Reproductive disorders in relation to Neospora caninum, Brucella spp. and bovine viral diarrhoea virus serostatus in breeding and dairy farms of central and southern Ethiopia.

Abortion and stillbirth are important reproductive disorders in the dairy industry and are often caused by infectious agents. This study investigated whether bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV), Brucella spp., and Neospora caninum are associated with abortion and/or stillbirth in dairy cattle in Ethiopia. Dairy cattle from 99 farms were categorized as cases (n=134) or controls (n=268) according to reproductive data. Blood samples were screened for antibodies for these infectious agents. The overall proportion of cattle that were seropositive for BVDV, Brucella spp., and N. caninum was 11∙7%, 3∙2%, and 17∙2%, respectively. Seropositivity for BVDV and Brucella spp. was similar for cases and controls, but significantly more cases were seropositive for N. caninum (29∙8%) than controls (10∙8%). This is the first report demonstrating N. caninum is common in dairy cattle in Ethiopia, and is probably a greater impediment to reproductive success in Ethiopian dairy farms than either BVDV or Brucella spp.

Quantum and thermal effects of dark solitons in a one-dimensional Bose gas.

We numerically study the imprinting and dynamics of dark solitons in a bosonic atomic gas in a tightly confined one-dimensional harmonic trap both with and without an optical lattice. Quantum and thermal fluctuations are synthesized within the truncated Wigner approximation in the quasicondensate description. We track the soliton coordinates and calculate position and velocity uncertainties. We find that the phase fluctuations lower the classically predicted soliton speed and seed instabilities. Individual runs show interactions of solitons with sound waves, splitting, and disappearing solitons.

Characterization of progesterone profiles in fall-calving Norwegian Red cows.

Progesterone profiles in Norwegian Red cows were categorized, and associations between the occurrence of irregularities in the profiles and the commencement of luteal activity were investigated. The cows were managed in 3 feeding trials from 1994 to 2001 and from 2005 to 2008 at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. The cows were followed from calving, and the milk samples collected represented 502 lactations from 302 cows. Milk samples for progesterone analysis were taken 3 times weekly from 1994 throughout 1998 and from 2005 to 2008 and 2 times weekly from 1999 to 2001. Commencement of luteal activity was defined as the first day of 2 consecutive measurements of progesterone concentration >or=3 ng/mL not earlier than 10 d after calving. Delayed ovulation type I was defined as consistently low progesterone concentration, <3 ng/mL for >or=50 d postpartum. Delayed ovulation type II was defined as prolonged interluteal interval with milk progesterone measurements <3 ng/mL for >or=12 d between 2 luteal phases. Persistent corpus luteum (PCL) type I was defined as delayed luteolysis with milk progesterone >or=3 ng/mL for >or=19 d during the first estrous cycle postpartum. Persistent corpus luteum type II was defined as delayed luteolysis with milk progesterone >or=3 ng/mL for >or=19 d during subsequent estrous cycles before first artificial insemination. Delayed ovulation type I was present in 14.7%, delayed ovulation type II in 2.8%, PCL type I in 6.7%, and PCL type II in 3.3% of the profiles. Commencement of luteal activity was related to milk yield, parity, PCL type I, and the summated occurrence of PCL type I and II. The least squares means for the interval to commencement of luteal activity were 24.2 d when PCL type I and II were present and 29.5 d when PCL type I and II were absent. The likelihood of pregnancy to first service was not affected in cows with a history of PCL when artificial insemination was carried out at progesterone concentrations <3 ng/mL (i.e., during estrus); however, cows that had experienced PCL were more likely to be inseminated during a luteal phase. The occurrence of delayed ovulation and PCL in Norwegian Red cows was less than that reported in most other dairy populations.

Resting energy expenditure and body mass changes in women during adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Weight gain is a commonly reported side effect of adjuvant chemotherapy. A change in resting energy expenditure during treatment has been a suggested mechanism for weight gain. We prospectively measured resting energy expenditure, weight change, and body composition (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry) in 10 women undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. There was no change in resting energy expenditure across cycles of chemotherapy (P =.78) or from baseline to the end of treatment (1,189.68 +/- 80.27 vs 1,205.76 +/- 56.71 kcal/d; P =.74). Overall, participants did not gain weight across treatment. However, there was an overall trend toward weight gain (66.3 +/- 5.1 vs 68.2 +/- 5.0 kg; P =.09), and participants did show an increase in total fat mass (24.2 +/- 3.8 vs 26.5 +/- 3.2 kg; P =.04), whereas muscle mass remained the same. Although no change in resting energy expenditure was seen, the observed increase in total fat mass is consistent with a decrease in physical activity level commonly reported with adjuvant chemotherapy treatment of breast cancer, and these body composition changes may have important health implications for survivors.

Bright matter-wave soliton collisions in a harmonic trap: regular and chaotic dynamics.

Collisions between bright solitary waves in the 1D Gross-Pitaevskii equation with a harmonic potential, which models a trapped atomic Bose-Einstein condensate, are investigated theoretically. A particle analogy for the solitary waves is formulated and shown to be integrable for a two-particle system. The extension to three particles is shown to support chaotic regimes. Good agreement is found between the particle model and simulations of the full wave dynamics, suggesting that the dynamics can be described in terms of solitons both in regular and chaotic regimes, presenting a paradigm for chaos in wave mechanics.

The effect of codeine on the Urge-to-Cough response to inhaled capsaicin.

We have shown previously in normal subjects that a sensory measure, the Urge-to-Cough rating, increases at concentrations of inhaled capsaicin that are lower than those necessary to elicit reflex cough. This finding suggests that the Urge-to-Cough may represent an index of the cough response. Research on cough in the human has most often employed challenge with inhaled capsaicin to induce reflex cough. Current measures of cough sensitivity in the human provide no information regarding the intensity of cough. The influence of codeine on cough perceptual sensitivity and the relationship to cough intensity with capsaicin-induced cough in normal subjects has not been evaluated. This study determined the effect of codeine on capsaicin-induced cough perceptual sensitivity and motor response in normal subjects in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. This approach investigated the relevance of cough sensitivity, intensity, and sensory modalities in the assessment of cough suppression in humans. This study consisted of three experimental trials: administration of placebo, 30 mg codeine and 60 mg codeine. The study was double-blinded. The order of the three trials was randomized. Respiratory motor pattern was recorded with EMGs from the rectus abdominis, lateral abdominal muscles and eighth intercostal space. The subjects leaned into a fume hood to inspire deeply for 2 s once through a mouthpiece connected to the nebulizer. A modified Borg scale was used to estimate their Urge-to-Cough. The experimental trial consisted of eight test solutions of 0-200 microM capsaicin. Each solution was presented three times in a randomized block order for a total of 24 presentations. The lowest capsaicin concentration to elicit a cough was determined. The lowest capsaicin concentration to elicit an Urge-to-Cough greater than zero was identified. The Urge-to-Cough sensitivity was determined from the log-log slope. For placebo, the Urge-to-Cough was zero with inhalation of the vehicle and no coughs were observed. The threshold capsaicin concentration for subjects to report an Urge-to-Cough was 15.6 microM (+/-2.6 SEM). The capsaicin concentration threshold for eliciting a cough was significantly greater, 39.3 microM (+/-5.6 SEM). As the capsaicin concentration increased, the magnitude estimation of the Urge to-Cough increased. The slope of the log-log relationship for the Urge-to-Cough was 0.94 (+/-0.07 SEM). As the capsaicin concentration increased, the number and intensity of the coughs increased. The administration of 30 and 60 mg codeine had no significant effect on the threshold capsaicin concentration for the Urge-to-Cough. There was also no significant codeine effect on the slope of the log-log Urge-to-Cough relationship. Thirty and sixty milligram codeine had no significant effect on the relationship between the capsaicin concentration and the number and intensity of the coughs. The results of this study demonstrate that the threshold for a subject to perceive an Urge-to-Cough was less than the capsaicin concentration that elicits the cough motor response. There was a direct relationship between the sensory intensity (magnitude estimation of the Urge-to-Cough) and the cough number and intensity. Thus, as the sense of an Urge-to-Cough increased the cough motor response increased. Neither the 30 nor 60 mg codeine affected the perceptual or motor sensitivity to capsaicin-induced cough. These results showed that the initial threshold for responding to capsaicin-induced cough is the perception of an Urge-to-Cough, followed by a motor cough response if the capsaicin is increased above the perceptual threshold. As the capsaicin concentration increases, both the perceptual need to cough and the cough motor response increase. The response of subjects to inhalation of capsaicin consisted of both a sensory component leading to perception of an Urge-to-Cough and motor cough behavior.

Capsaicin exposure elicits complex airway defensive motor patterns in normal humans in a concentration-dependent manner.

The airway defensive response to tussive agents, such as capsaicin, is frequently assessed by counting the number of cough sounds, or expulsive events. This method does not identify or differentiate important respiratory events that occur in the respiratory muscles and lungs, which are critical in assessing airway defensive responses. The purpose of this study was to characterize the airway defensive behaviours (cough and expiration reflex) to capsaicin exposure in humans. We observed complex motor behaviours in response to capsaicin exposure. These behaviours were defined as cough reacceleration (CRn) and expiration reflex (ERn), where n is the number of expulsive events with and without a preceding inspiratory phase, respectively. Airway defensive responses were defined in terms of frequency (number of expulsive events), strength (activation of abdominal muscles) and behaviour type (CRn vs. ERn). Thirty-six subjects (15 females, 24+/-4 yr) were instrumented with EMG electrodes placed over the rectus abdominis (RA), external abdominal oblique (EO) and the 8th intercostal space (IC8). A custom-designed mouth pneumotachograph was used to assess the airflow acceleration, plateau velocity and phase duration of the expulsive phase. Subjects inhaled seven concentrations of capsaicin (5-200 microM) in a randomized block order. The total number of expulsive events (frequency) and the sum of integrated EMG for the IC8, RA and EO (strength) increased in a curvilinear fashion. Differentiating the airway defense responses into type demonstrated predominately CR1 and CR2 (i.e. inspiration followed by one and two expulsive events, respectively) with very few ER's at <50 microM capsaicin. At higher concentrations (>50 microM) ER's with one or more expulsive events (ER1) appeared, and the number of CR's with three or more expulsive events (CR3) increased. The decrease in EMG activation and airflow measurements with each successive expulsive event suggests a decline in power and shear force as the number of expulsive events increased. Therefore, the airway defensive response to capsaicin is a complex motor pattern that functions to coordinate ER's and CR's with differing numbers of expulsive events possibly to prevent aspirations and keep air moving to promote clearance.

Respiratory-related evoked potential elicited in tracheostomised lung transplant patients.

The present study investigated the role of removal of upper airway and lung vagal afferents in the respiratory-related evoked potential (RREP) response to inspiratory occlusions in two patients with a tracheostomy, who had undergone double lung transplantation (DLT). The patients were 1.5 and 3 months post-DLT and surgical placement of the tracheostomy. RREP recordings in response to inspiratory occlusions were obtained under four conditions: mouth breathing ignore trial; mouth breathing attend trial; tracheostomy breathing attend trial; and tracheostomy breathing ignore trial. The RREP peak components, Nf, P1 and N1, were present in both mouth and tracheostomy ignore breathing trials. The P300 was present in both mouth and tracheostomy attend trials. RREP peak latencies were similar between conditions. The peak amplitudes were greater with mouth breathing due to greater occlusion-related inspiratory pressure. These results demonstrate that the respiratory-related evoked potential can be elicited with inspiratory occlusion in the absence of mouth, upper airway and lung vagal afferent input. This suggests that inspiratory occlusion can elicit cortical activity with activation of inspiratory pump mechanoreceptors.

Relationships between visceral, trunk and whole-body adipose tissue weights by cadaver dissection.

BACKGROUND: Despite the important association of central adiposity and cardiovascular and other risk factors, there are only three reported values for directly weighed visceral adipose tissue (AT). All other reported values are based on medical imaging techniques. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate the relationships between visceral, trunk and total AT weights in older men and women. METHODS: Data was obtained from the combination of two studies involving the complete dissection of 15 male and 16 female cadavers (age range 55-94 years) and allowed for compartmentation into skin, AT, muscle, bone and a residual component, divided over six body segments: head, trunk, legs and arms. Visceral AT was separated from trunk subcutaneous AT. All tissues were weighed. RESULTS: Visceral AT weights ranged from 0.3 to 5.8 kg. Mean values were 3.00 +/- 1.52 kg (mean +/- SE) for the men and 3.24 +/- 1.67 kg for the women. These were not significantly different (p = 0.68), but visceral AT weight, expressed as a percentage of total body AT weight was significantly greater (p = 0.02) in the men (16.8 +/- 5.4%) than in the women (12.9 +/- 3.5%). Correlations between visceral AT weight and the weight of subcutaneous AT of the trunk were highly significant (men, r = 0.70, women, r = 0.81, p < 0.005), with similar slopes for the two sexes. The correlation coefficients of visceral with total body AT weights were even greater (men, r = 0.83 and women, r = 0.96, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In this sample of older Belgians, visceral AT is strongly related to total body adiposity, corresponding to an increment of about 200 g of visceral AT for every kilogram of total AT in men and about 180 g in women. Because of this relationship, techniques such as skinfold calipers and ultrasound for assessing whole body fatness from measurement of only the subcutaneous layer are thus able to account for visceral adiposity.