Trajectories of the mount st. Helens eruption plume

The plume of the major eruption of Mount St. Helens on 18 May 1980 penetrated 10 to 11 kilometers into the stratosphere, attaining heights of 22 to 23 kilometers. Wind shears rapidly converted the plume from an expanding vertical cone to a thin, slightly inclined lamina. The lamina was extruded zonally in the stratosphere as the lower part moved eastward at jet stream velocities, while the upper part slowly moved westward in the region of nonsteady transition from the westerlies to the summer stratospheric easterlies. Trajectories computed to position the NASA U-2 aircraft for sampling in the plume are described. Plume volume after 8 hours of strong volcanic emission is estimated at 2 x 10(6) cubic kilometers. Only about 1 percent of this volume is attributed to the volcano; the rest was entrained from the environment.     

Dispersal distances for airborne spores based on deposition rates and stochastic modeling

ABSTRACT A new modeling framework for particle dispersal is explored in the context of the particles being fungal spores dispersed within a field. The model gives rise to both exponentially decreasing and polynomially decreasing two-dimensional densities of deposited fungal spores. We reformulate the model in terms of time to deposition, and show how this concept is equivalent to the deposition rate for fungal spores. Special cases where parameter values for wind and gravitation lead to exponentially or polynomially decreasing densities are discussed, and formulas for one- and two-dimensional densities of deposited spores are given explicitly in terms of parameters for diffusion, wind, gravitation, and spore release height.     

Forms and plant-availability of sulfur in cattle and pig slurry

The contribution of animal slurry to the supply of S to plants was studied. The total-S content of cattle and pig slurry was significantly correlated to DM and nitrogen content and was composed of sulfide, sulfate and C-bonded S. During 42 weeks of storage sulfate concentrations decreased and sulfide and C-bonded S concentrations increased. In a pot experiment plant-availability of S in slurry was found to be low, 5 to 7% of total-S.     

Glutathione Peroxidase Activity and Erythrocyte Lipid Peroxidation as Indices of Selenium and Vitamin E Status in Young Pigs

A randomized, blocked 2³ factorial experiment was conducted with 48 pigs from sows fed a diet low in selenium and vitamin E. From 3 to 12 weeks of age the piglets were kept in single pens and fed a basic diet consisting mostly of barley, dried skim milk, soybean meal and dried yeast, and containing 55 µg selenium and 3 mg vitamin E per kg. The treatment factors — i.e. feed supplements — were 2 levels of Se (nil, 60 µg/kg), 2 levels of vitamin E (nil, 50 mg/kg), and 2 levels of the feed antioxidant ethoxyquin (nil, 150 mg/kg). Blood samples, collected at termination of the experiment, were examined for glutathione peroxidase activity (GSH-Px) and resistance against erythrocyte lipid peroxidation (ELP) to evaluate Se and vitamin E status, respectively. Analysis of variance showed the GSH-Px activity to be litter-dependent (P < 0.001) and influenced by selenium supplementation (P < 0.001) but not by the other supplements or by interactions between supplements. Resistance against ELP was influenced only by vitamin E supplementation (P < 0.001). GSH-Px and ELP thus seem to be valuable and simple methods for evaluating, respectively, Se status and vitamin E status in growing pigs.     

Selenium and vitamin E deficiency in pigs. II. Influence on plasma selenium, vitamin E, ASAT and ALAT and on tissue selenium.

The effect of dietary selenium (Se) and vitamin E (Vit. E) in pigs on Se and Vit. E in plasma and on Se in tissue from liver, heart, m. long, dorsi and m. psoas major was studied; and furthermore was the influence on the enzymes ASAT and ALAT studied.Two levels of Se were used, 0.03 and 0.06 mg Se per kg feed. Within each Se level 2 levels of Vit. E were used, 15 and 45 i. u. per kg feed. This resulted in 4 groups: 1. low Se and low Vit. E; 2. low Se and high Vit. E; 3. high Se and low Vit. E; 4. high Se and high Vit. E.Ten% of all pigs fed low Se, and 4% of the pigs fed low Se and high Vit. E diet died with severe symptoms of Se deficiency. None of the pigs fed the high Se diet died with such symptoms. Plasma Se determinations have been shown to indicate the Se status in pigs almost as accurately as liver Se determination. ASAT and ALAT enzyme determinations were not of any diagnostic value.There was a good agreement between dietary Vit. E level and the corresponding levels in plasma. Oxidized herring oil seems to enhance the Vit. E need.     

Effect of Dietary Fat Quality and Vitamin E on the Antioxidant Potential of Pigs

A randomized blocked factorial experiment was conducted with 90 young pigs. From 4 to 11 weeks of age the pigs were kept in individual pens and fed a selenium supplemented basal diet consisting mostly of propionic acid treated barley, soybean meal and dried skim milk, and containing < 0.5 mg vitamin E per kg. The treatment factors during this period were 3 dietary levels of added vitamin E (nil, 10 and 30 mg/kg) and a 6 % supplement of fresh or oxidized fat (2/3 lard and 1/3 herring oil). From 11 weeks of age until slaughter at 90 kg the pigs received the vitamin E supplements but no fat or dried skim milk. The basal diet for this later experimental period was based on untreated dry barley. Blood samples collected during the period of investigation were examined for vitamin E and for resistance against erythrocyte lipid peroxidation (ELP) in order to evaluate the antioxidant status.Analysis of variance and Student’s t-test on least squares means showed the ELP to be influenced independently by the vitamin E supplement and, during the fat feeding period, by the quality of the fat supplement, with the highest peroxidation resistance (low ELP) in the groups fed fresh fat and a high level of vitamin E. Blood vitamin E level was only influenced — positively — by the vitamin E supplement although variations in the feed vitamin E level below 10–15 mg vitamin E per kg did not result in corresponding variations in measurable blood vitamin E concentrations. In the same low range of vitamin E in the feed there was a statistically significant difference in ELP values between the different vitamin E treatment groups. No clinical manifestations of selenium-vitamin E deficiency were observed in the pigs.The ELP and the plasma vitamin E levels observed would seem to suggest that a total of 15 mg vitamin E per kg barley-based feed will not always be sufficient for growing pigs.     

Dietary structured lipids for post-weaning piglets: fat digestibility, nitrogen retention and fatty acid profiles of tissues

In four groups of post-weaning piglets the effects of triacylglycerol structure and fatty acid profiles of four dietary fats on apparent faecal nutrient digestibility, nitrogen retention and fatty acid profiles of platelet and erythrocyte membranes, liver, adipose tissue and skeletal muscle were examined. Dietary fats included as 10% (w/w) of the diets were two structured fats of rapeseed oil interesterified with tridecanoin (R1) or coconut oil (R2), respectively, one mixture of rapeseed oil and coconut oil (R3) and rapeseed oil as control (R4). Faeces and urine from piglets weaned at 28 days of age were collected quantitatively during three periods each of 5 days, in which the piglets were kept in metabolism cages for measurement of apparent faecal nutrient and energy digestibility and nitrogen retention. Apparent faecal fat digestibilities were significantly improved in groups fed interesterified fats or the physical mixtures (R1, R2 and R3) compared with rapeseed oil (R4). Apparent faecal nitrogen digestibility and retention were similar in all four groups in the three periods, but increased with time. Apparent faecal fat digestibilities were significantly improved from the first to the third week in the groups R1 and R2. Fatty acid profiles in platelet and erythrocyte membranes and in tissues reflected the fatty acid profile of the dietary fat, except for medium-chain fatty acids, which were only found in low proportions, indicating that 10:0 was mainly used as an energy source.     

Estimation of Milk Production in Lactating Sows by Determination of Deuterated Water Turnover in Three Piglets per Litter

The milk intake in piglets from four lactating sows was measured in three 48 h periods, starting on days 3, 10 and 17 of lactation, using the deuterium oxide (D 2 O) dilution technique. The milk intake was estimated from the water turnover in the piglets corrected for the production of metabolic water. The water turnover was estimated from the water dilution space and the fractional turnover of body water, determined by the rate of D 2 O dilution. To determine the magnitude of isotopic recycling, a randomly selected piglet in each litter was not enriched with D 2 O. Milk production of the four lactating sows was also measured by the weigh-suckle-weigh (WSW) method on days 4, 11 and 18 of lactation. The average daily milk production determined by the D 2 O dilution technique (9.91 - 0.69 kg) was higher ( P <0.05) than that determined by the uncorrected WSW method (8.65 - 0.81 kg). Different procedures for selecting piglets were evaluated to obtain the best possible estimation of total milk production from three piglets in each litter. The total milk production of a sow based on three piglets in the litter was obtained from a quadratic model of the relationship between milk intake and daily gain. When the daily gain of all piglets were known the Pearson correlation between milk production determined for the whole litter ( n -1) and only three median piglets was 0.98.     

Determination of Total Ammonium Nitrogen in Pig and Cattle Slurry: Sample Preparation and Analysis

Abstract

In order to supply the correct amount of ammonium to the crop when slurry is spread on the field, it is necessary to know the ammonium concentration. Slurry is a heterogeneous substance and there is a risk that organic N-compounds and the ionic strength will interfere with the determination of ammonium. The usability of five different methods for the determination of ammonium in solution has been tested on 18 different cattle and pig slurries and compared to a manual distillation titration technique. Colorimetric determination using an autoanalyzer and an automatic titration distillation device using MgO were highly accurate, and the precision was close to 1%. Distillation with NaOH caused interference from hydrolysable organic compounds. An ammonium electrode could be used, but the accuracy was not good. When using the automatic titration distillation device, samples should immediately be transferred to Kjeldahl flasks with water or acidified to prevent loss of volatile ammonia, unless they are to be distilled within 30 min.