Predicting the Concentration of Total Mercury in Mineral Horizons of Forest Soils Varying in Organic Matter and Mineral Fine Fraction Content

In this study, an artificial neural networks (ANN) model was developed to predict the removal of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), namely, naphthalene from marine oily wastewater by using UV irradiation. The removal rate was used as model output and simulated as a function of five independent input variables, including fluence rate, salinity, temperature, initial concentration and reaction time. The configuration of the ANN model was optimized as a three-layer feed-forward Levenberg–Marquardt backpropagation network with log-sigmoid and linear transfer functions at the hidden (12 hidden neurons) and output layers, respectively. By considering goodness-of-fit and cross validated predictability, the ANN model was trained to provide good overall agreement with experimental results with a slope of 0.97 and a correlation of determination (R ²) of 0.943. Sensitivity analysis revealed that fluence rate and temperature were the most influential variables, followed by reaction time, salinity and initial concentration. The findings of this study showed that neural network modeling could effectively predict the behavior of the photo-induced PAH degradation process.     

Japanese Quince Seeds as a Promising Rich Source of Proteins and Essential Amino Acids

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - The Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica) seeds (JQS) are generated in large amounts as a by-product in considerable quantities during industrial quince fruit...     

SUITMAs as an archive of the human past: educational implications

Journal of Soils and Sediments - The relics of the industry are widely used for educational and touristic purposes. There are many examples of brownfield sites turned into tourist attractions....     

Numerical modelling of moisture movement and related stress field in lime wood subjected to changing climate conditions

Numerical modelling was used to follow the evolution of the moisture content gradient and the stress field resulting from the restrained differential dimensional response across a wooden cylinder, simulating sculptures, in response to variations in temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH). Material properties of lime wood (Tilia sp.) were used in the modelling as this wood species was historically widely used. The allowable RH variations, below which mechanical damage will not occur, were derived as functions of the amplitude, time period and starting RH level of the variation. Lime wood can endure step RH variations of up to 15% in the moderate RH region, but the allowable domain narrows when RH levels shift from the middle range. The allowable amplitude of the variations increases when time allowed for the change increases. The stress field does not vanish even for slow, quasi-static changes in RH due to structural internal restraint resulting from the anisotropy in the moisture-related dimensional change.     

Potential animal feed allergens

The aim of this article is to present the interdisciplinary area that concerns both animal feed allergy and human food allergy. The following problems are presented: definition of animal feed allergy, mechanism of food/feed allergy, contemporary paradigm of immune response, nature of epitopes, neoallergens, nutrigenomics and animal holistic feeding. Finally, it is noted that the present view on food/fodder and nutrition of people and animals have more and more in common. Their common ground is the idea of nutritional genomics as an idea of individual nutrition, prevention and therapy.     

Assessment of chosen semen characteristics of two colour morphs of the Arctic fox Alopex lagopus L.

The aim of the study was to evaluate semen quality in the two most popular colour morphs of the Arctic fox Alopex lagopus L., blue and white, based on ejaculate parameters, acrosin activity and analysis of sperm morphology. The research material consisted of ejaculates collected once by manual stimulation from 20 one‐year‐old male Arctic foxes (10 individuals of the blue morph and 10 of the white morph). Ejaculates were evaluated in terms of volume, sperm concentration, total number of spermatozoa and the percentage of spermatozoa with major and minor defects. The study revealed that male blue Arctic foxes produce ejaculates with much higher concentration (148.75 × 10⁶/ml) and total number of spermatozoa (98.16 × 10⁶) compared to white Arctic foxes (42.88 × 10⁶/ml and 35.2 × 10⁶ respectively). The level of acrosin activity from white foxes seemed to be higher compared to blue foxes but the difference was not statistically confirmed. Semen from Arctic foxes is characterized by high inter‐individual variability in sperm morphology. The frequency of morphological changes in sperm from Arctic foxes does not significantly depend on ejaculate volume, sperm concentration or the total number of spermatozoa in the ejaculate, but is associated with acrosin activity.     

The use of inulin in poultry feeding: a review

Since the European Union enforced the ban on antibiotic growth promoters in 2006, the research has been focused on natural feed additives which would have a proven positive impact on both production and animal health. Inulin is both the most commonly used and the most effective probiotic additive. The mechanism of inulin interactions with the avian body is complex, multidirectional and not fully understood. Despite a number of unresolved issues, many authors have demonstrated the positive impact of inulin on the host organism. Dietary supplementation of poultry feeding with inulin contributes to the modulation of intestinal microbiota through favouring a quick proliferation of beneficial Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus strains and inhibiting the growth of pathogenic microbes. There are indications that inulin‐provoked changes in the host gut microbiota in poultry may alter the structure and histomorphology of the intestinal mucosa and improve its absorption capacity in poultry. It has also been demonstrated that inulin may affect the immune system and the systemic metabolism of minerals and lipids. The reports on inulin effects on the body and performance of poultry are often contradictory, as the effectiveness of this prebiotic is strongly dependent on the type and dose used, and the duration of its administration.     

Comparison of the mineral and fatty acid profiles of ostrich,turkey and broiler chicken livers

1. The aim of this study was to determine the mineral and lipid profiles in ostrich, turkey and broiler chicken livers.

2. The highest concentrations of phosphorus, potassium and magnesium were found in turkey livers, at 3751.50, 2153.05 and 363.98 mg/kg fresh weight (FW), respectively, whereas ostrich livers were the richest in calcium (82.77 mg/kg FW).

3. Ostrich liver was the richest source of iron, calcium, zinc and silicon, at 947.8, 82.77, 47.50, 36.69 mg/kg FW, respectively.

4. Ostrich livers proved to be the richest source of long-chain fatty acids (5.18% C20:4n+6, 0.48% EPA and 1.08% DHA)

     

The effect of inulin supply to high‐fat diet rich in saturated fatty acids on pork quality and profile of sarcoplasmic protein in meat exudate

The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of inulin supply to high‐fat diet rich in saturated fatty acids (SFA) on pork quality and profile of sarcoplasmic protein in drip loss. At 50 days of age, twenty cross‐bred pigs (gilts) were randomly allotted to four groups: the control (C) group fed a standard diet, and three experimental (D1, D2 and D3) groups fed a high‐fat diet rich in SFA. Moreover, pigs from the groups D2 and D3 consumed an extra inulin supply (7% of daily feed intake) from 85 to 120 days of age (for 5 weeks) and from 50 to 120 days of age (for 10 weeks) respectively. The addition of inulin to the diet reduced meaty odour and flavour significantly, improved tenderness and overall sensory quality of pork and additionally influenced ultimate pH, L* colour parameter, lactate level and protein content in meat. The diets also affected the profile of sarcoplasmic proteins. Significant effects were observed for the following enzymes—PK/PGI (pyruvate kinase/phosphoglucose isomerase) and ALD (aldolase), which are related to the intensity of post‐mortem glycolysis. Presented data indicate that long‐term inulin supply to high‐fat diet has a positive effect on technological and sensory quality as well as protein profile of pork.