Lactobacillus rhamnosus as additive for maize and sorghum ensiling

The effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus AT195, a potential probiotic microorganism cultured in buffalo "scotta" whey, on chemical and microbiological composition in maize and sorghum ensiling were evaluated. Both crops were harvested, chopped, and treated or not with the selected strain prior to ensiling in fiberglass vertical silos; 90 days after ensiling, silages were sensorially evaluated and sampled. Different chemical components were evaluated both on fresh crops and silages: in particular, the water-soluble carbohydrates content was investigated by high-field NMR spectroscopy and the carbohydrate fermentation profile was performed by GC. Besides phenotypic identification and typing, microbiological studies included Lb. rhamnosus genotype typing by RAPD-PCR. All silages, inoculated or not, were well preserved, as their chemical and microbiological data along with the fermentation profiles showed. The selected strain used as inoculum influenced the lactic acid population of silages and evidenced a good survival performance during the ensiling process of both maize and sorghum. Moreover, the use of Lb. rhamnosus strain efficiently improved the quality of the multifactorial ensiling process by significantly reducing the ammonia nitrogen content of both maize and sorghum silages.     

Productivity and energy balance of forest plantation harvesting in Uganda

The study evaluated the productivity and energy balance of the harvesting and the extraction of wood in plantation of exotic tree species, i.e., Pinus patula (Schiede ex Schlectendahl et Chamisso) and Cupressus lusitanica (Mill.). The harvesting and extraction operations concerned clear-cut felling on two different types of terrain (gentle and steep terrain) and two levels of pruning. The results show that cutting is not affected by the terrain gradient whereas the pruning condition shows a significant effect on the delimbing operation. The productivity of cutting is evaluated at 28.1 m3·d-1 for unpruned trees and at 30.2 m3·d-1 for pruned trees. For the extraction phase, rolling was significantly affected by terrain conditions. On steep terrain, the gross productivity can be evaluated at 22.5 m3·d-1 for an extraction distance of 40 m, while for the same distance on gentle terrain the productivity decreases to 14.1 m3·d-1 . As a result, the steep terrain condition showed higher energy efficiency, suggesting that it is the more efficient system of extraction. The productivity model and the energy balance resulting from the study provide a better understanding of the variables affecting motor-manual cutting and rolling extraction in exotic plantations in Uganda.     

Determining the shape of the productivity function for mechanized felling and felling-processing

Productivity studies in forest operations are often carried out on new equipment, or on equipment being used in new conditions. Understanding how stand and terrain parameters impact the productivity of harvesting machines is important for determining their optimum use. Such information is normally presented as a productivity or efficiency function; that is, a regression equation that best represents the data. Most studies establish that piece size is the dominant predictor that impacts overall productivity. A common concept known as the “piece-size law” is that productivity increases at a decreasing rate with increasing piece size. What is not well understood is the upper limit to this piece-size law. That is, as the trees get “too” large, we can expect the machine to start to struggle, resulting in a decrease in productivity. Four different data sets—two based in New Zealand and two in Italy—are presented that clearly show an “optimum” piece size for maximum productivity. On average, productivity tended to decrease gradually, not drop off suddenly beyond the optimum. Using more complex statistical functions, it was possible to correctly correlate piece size to productivity.     

Quantum cascade surface-emitting photonic crystal laser

We combine photonic and electronic band structure engineering to create a surface-emitting quantum cascade microcavity laser. A high-index contrast two-dimensional photonic crystal is used to form a micro-resonator that simultaneously provides feedback for laser action and diffracts light vertically from the surface of the semiconductor surface. A top metallic contact allows electrical current injection and provides vertical optical confinement through a bound surface plasmon wave. The miniaturization and tailorable emission properties of this design are potentially important for sensing applications, while electrical pumping can allow new studies of photonic crystal and surface plasmon structures in nonlinear and near-field optics.     

Integrated harvesting for conventional log and energy wood assortments: a case study in a pine plantation in Western Australia

Biomass or energy wood harvesting can be integrated with conventional log harvesting (saw log or pulpwood production) to allow more cost-effective energy wood supply. The efficiency of an integrated energy wood harvesting system was evaluated and compared with conventional log harvesting in a 32-year-old Pinus radiata plantation (radiata pine) located in south-west Western Australia. The harvesting system consisted of a harvester and a forwarder. The study included two treatments: a conventional log-harvesting operation where merchantable sawlogs and pulp logs were produced at the stump by the harvester and extracted by the forwarder; and an integrated energy wood operation where the harvester produced sawlogs, pulp logs and energy wood at the stump that were extracted by the forwarder. In the integrated energy wood harvesting plot, 37 m3 ha?1 of energy wood was extracted in addition to the sawlog and pulp log volumes. Extracting the additional energy wood reduced the productivity of the forwarder and increased the cost of extraction (AU$2.7?m?3) compared with the control plot (AU$2.2?m?3). Harvesting system cost was not significantly impacted, with a cost of AU$3.18?m?3 in the control plot and AU$3.23?m?3 in the integrated energy wood harvesting plot. Diameter at breast height (DBH) was a significant factor influencing the working time of the harvester, whereas load volume, extraction distance and extraction type (sawlog, pulp logs, and pulp log/energy wood) significantly impacted forwarding time. Increasing DBH resulted in longer working cycles for the harvester. Heavier loads and longer forwarding distances increased forwarding cycle time, while extracting sawlogs was least expensive and energy wood extraction was the most expensive. The marginal cost of the energy wood was approximately AU$10.2?m?3 (AU$7.0 extraction and AU$3.2 harvesting), which is about double the cost of the sawlogs. Additional material recovered in the integrated energy wood plot resulted in less residual residues on the plot (103.2 green metric tonnes per hectare [GMt ha?1]) than the control plot (144.2 GMt ha?1).     

Electrochemotherapy for the Treatment of Multiple Melanomas in a Horse

A 22-year-old Camargue mare was referred for showing signs of discomfort during chewing, building up of food in the mouth, and foul odor from the mouth. On physical examination, the mare presented bilateral pigmented labial masses affecting the upper and lower lips, more in the form of plaques at the mucocutaneous junction as well as multiple perivulvar and perianal lumps. The skin lesions were biopsied for histopathologic examination and the clinical suspect of melanoma was confirmed. The owner elected the lesions to be treated with electrochemotherapy using the drug cisplatin. After two sessions, the nodules were shrunk by 50% and the horse’s ability to feed normally was restored: at that time, the owner had the treatment discontinued because of financial issues. The horse is still in partial remission after 1 year from the end of the treatment. Electrochemotherapy can be successfully used to palliate large melanomas in horses.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance profiling of wine blends

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) profiling is used for characterization of monocultivar binary wine mixtures. Classification and quantification of the relative amount of wine in the mixture are made in two steps. First, each sample is classified as a mixture of a determined type by solving the appropriate classification problem using NMR profiles. The relative amount of the two corresponding monovarietal wines is then evaluated by multilinear regression of a selected set of NMR variables. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA), used in the classification step, gives a very good separation among the different mixture classes. On the other hand, a single layer artificial neural network, used to solve the multilinear problem, gives the relative amount of wine type in the mixture with a precision of about 10%.     

Effect of thermally oxidized oil and fasting status on the short-term digestibility of ketolinoleic acids and total oxidized fatty acids in rats

Western diets contain substantial amounts of lipid oxidation products. The effects of fasting status and oil oxidation on short-term digestibility of oxidized fatty acids (ox-FA) and ketolinoleic acids (keto-LA) of sunflower oils were evaluated. Twelve rats were fasted overnight for 3 days, whereas another 12 rats had free access to diet. From day 4, and for 4 days, two groups of rats, nonfasted (NFT) and fasted (FT), received 1 g/100 g body weight of sunflower oil reused from 40 deep-frying processes, and two control groups of rats, nonfasted (NFC) and fasted (FC), received the same amount of fresh oil. Ox-FA and keto-LA were determined 5 h after the last administration in the various gastrointestinal compartments together with the intraintestinal MDA. Oil digestibility was highest in NFC and lowest in FT rats. NFT and FT rats had higher (at least P < 0.05) intraintestinal MDA, ox-FA, and keto-LA than NFC and FC; MDA and keto-LA concentrations correlated with each other (P < 0.05). Ox-FA and keto-LA levels found in the gastric lumen suggest that digestion contributes to the formation of these compounds. Total ox-FA and keto-LA were efficiently absorbed during the first 5 h after test oil administration, but poorly absorbed in the case of fresh oils. Oil alteration influenced the digestibility of these compounds more than fasting, although the digestibility of oxidized oil was significantly affected by fasting.     

Harvesting alternatives for mallee agroforestry plantations in Western Australia

The authors tested two harvesting systems especially designed for mallee agroforestry plantations on farmland. Both systems were based on versatile forest technology commonly used for conventional logging operations. They differed especially for the felling technology: small-scale drive-to-tree or industrial swing-to-tree equipment. Both systems were tested side-to-side on 12 experimental plots each. The resulting harvesting cost was 22 and 27 AU$ t^?1, for the industrial and the small scale system, respectively. Chipping represented between 60 and 80 % of the overall harvesting cost, and offered much room for improvement. The industrial system always offered the lowest harvesting cost, regardless of annual usage, when equipment mobilisation costs were not considered. The productivity of conventional forestry equipment was strongly dependent on belt stocking and tree size. If the diameter at ankle height dropped below 10 cm, economic viability decreased very rapidly.     

Alternative supply chains for logging residues under access constraints

We conducted a comparative study of chipping logging residues at the roadside landing or at the yarder pad, the latter inaccessible to heavy road vehicles. Field data was collected from real operations in the Italian mountain, and it was used for building a simulation model that could generalize the results of the study. The model was built with Arena 14 and carefully reflected interaction delays between individual units along the chain. Chipping at the pad with a chipper and two shuttles was the best compromise solution of low supply cost and fuel consumption. At a mean cost of €22.7 per fresh tonne, this solution was 10% cheaper than chipping at the landing. Using three chip shuttles did not allow a meaningful reduction of supply cost over a two-shuttle chain, but resulted in a 7% increase of fuel consumption. The distance between the pad and the roadside landing was by far the most important factor in determining supply cost, and accounted for 80% of the variability in the data, for both systems. Under these circumstances, the higher speed and payload of the chip shuttles made it preferable to chip at the pad, provided enough shuttles are available.