Turnover of Se in adequately fed chickens using Se‐75 as a tracer

Inorganic selenium (Se) in the form of selenite is applied to livestock to avoid Se deficiency. Selenite is, however, an artificial Se source in diets of unsupplemented chickens. It is therefore hypothesized that organic Se sources, such as Se‐enriched yeast and wheat, could be a more suitable Se supply in animal nutrition, although information on the transition of Se from organic Se sources in fast‐growing chickens is scarce. In this work, chickens were fed a low Se diet (0.27 ± 0.01 mg Se/kg, Se‐enriched yeast) until 20 days of age, after which the Se concentration was increased to maximum concentration allowed by the poultry industry in Europe (0.5 p.p.m. Se). At the same time, a daily contribution of carrier‐free ⁷⁵Se tracer from labelled wheat was administered from day 20 to 27. The chickens showed S and Se homeostasis, as the concentration of S and Se in liver, blood or kidney remained about constant, and steady state of S and Se in the other organs was reached 1 day after the diet shift. The uptake of ⁷⁵Se was readily seen in all organs. After 1 week, the depuration of the ⁷⁵Se tracer was followed, and biological half‐lives and retention in individual organs were determined. The shortest biological half‐lives were observed in major metabolic organs, the liver, kidney and pancreas with half‐lives close to 4 days. There was a significant (p < 0.05) uptake in lung, brain and muscle that reached steady state when the administration of ⁷⁵Se was terminated. The half‐life of ⁷⁵Se in heart was 9 days and 7 days in blood. The longest half‐lives were observed in muscle (12 days), brain and lungs (13 days). All half‐lives were shorter than in Se deplete animals.     

Minimum space allowance for transportation of swine by road

Space allowance for animals in transit is a consistent concern in many countries that are developing codes of practice and regulations to assure humane treatment of food producing animals. The minimum space allowance requirements for a broad size range of swine in transit has not been well described or scientifically substantiated. A maximal loading pressure recommendation for pigs weighing from 5 to 250 kg was derived by a consultative process involving the swine transportation industry, animal welfare groups, and a literature review. The recommended maximal loading pressure under ideal conditions for swine loaded in groups can be described as a hoerl model y = (37.53)(0.9969)w(W0.5008), where y = loading pressure in kg body weight/m2 and W = average animal body weight in kilograms.     

A Qualitative Study of State‐Level Zoonotic Disease Surveillance in New England

Zoonotic diseases are infectious diseases transmittable between animals and humans and outbreaks of these diseases in animals can signify that humans are also infected (or vice versa). Thus, communication between animal and human health agencies is critical for surveillance. Understanding how these agencies conduct surveillance and share information is important for the development of successful automated zoonotic monitoring systems. Individual interviews were conducted with 13 professionals who perform animal or human zoonotic disease surveillance in one of the New England states. Questions centred on existing surveillance methods, collaborations between animal and human health agencies, and technological and data needs. The results showed that agencies routinely communicate over suspected zoonotic disease cases, yet there are barriers preventing automated electronic linking of health data of animals and humans. These include technological barriers and barriers due to sensitivity and confidentiality of information. Addressing these will facilitate the development of electronic systems for integrating animal and human zoonotic disease surveillance data.     

Small intestinal starch digestion in steers: effect of various levels of abomasal glucose, corn starch and corn dextrin infusion on small intestinal disappearance and net glucose absorption

Eight Holstein steers (four at 300 kg, four at 406 kg) fitted with an elevated carotid artery, hepatic portal and mesenteric venous catheters, and abomasal and ileal cannulas were used in several 4 x 4 Latin square experiments to evaluate small intestinal starch digestion. They were fed alfalfa hay at 1.5% of BW and abomasally infused with water or glucose, corn starch or corn dextrin (one carbohydrate per Latin square) at 20, 40 or 60 g/h, with subsequent determination of small intestinal disappearance and net portal glucose absorption. Increasing the amount of all three carbohydrates infused abomasally increased the amount of carbohydrate disappearing in the small intestine. Increased infusion of glucose caused a continual increase (linear, P less than .01) in net glucose absorption, whereas net glucose absorption for starch and dextrin was maximal at the 20 g/h infusion (quadratic, P less than .05). With the 60 g/h infusion, 94% of the glucose but only 38% of starch and 29% of small intestinal dextrin disappearance could be accounted for as net glucose absorption, leaving a large portion of starch and dextrin disappearance unaccounted for. Of the infused starch and dextrin passing the ileum, 5.8 and 7.3%, respectively, was unpolymerized glucose, indicating that, at least in the distal small intestine, complete starch hydrolysis exceeded the capacity for glucose disappearance. It is concluded that only about 35% of the raw corn starch disappearing in the steer's small intestine resulted in net portal glucose absorption.     

Flower induction in seedlings of Aster novi-belgii and selection before and after vegetative propagation

Bolting and flowering of Aster novi-belgii seedlings as well as correlations between characteristics within seedling populations and between seedlings and their vegetatively propagated offspring were investigated in order to improve breeding efficiency. In seedlings of A. novi-belgii, flower induction was observed without vernalization. Seedlings initially formed a rosette, but bolting was a prerequisite for development of a normal flowering shoot. Bolting was promoted by long photoperiods as compared to short days. The shortest time from sowing to anthesis was recorded when plants were grown under long photoperiods until the main stem was at least 5 cm long, and then moved to short photoperiods. A large variation in time to anthesis, plant height, branching ability, and flower size and color was found among the seedlings within all crosses. Magnitude and significance of correlations between some characteristics varied among crosses. The more consistent correlations seem mainly to be due to natural courses of plant growth and development. High correlations between seedling characteristics and their vegetatively propagated offspring were only found for flower hue. Lower, but significant correlations were found for flower color intensity, plant height and branching ability. There were no significant correlations for the time-to-anthesis between the two groups of plants. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Polyphenols from Honeybush tea (Cyclopia intermedia)

The fermented leaves and stems of Cyclopia intermedia are used to brew Honeybush tea, a herbal tea indigenous to South Africa. The plant is also used to manufacture a sweet herbal infusion used for restorative properties such as soothing coughs and alleviating bronchial complaints including tuberculosis, pneumonia, and catarrh. It is claimed to have a low tannin content and no caffeine and contains various antioxidants. Continued investigations into the phenolic content of the leaves and stems of C. intermedia yielded tyrosol and a methoxy analogue, 2-[4-[O-alpha-apiofuranosyl-(1' '-->6')-beta-d-glucopyranosyloxy]phenyl]ethanol, 4-[O-alpha-apiofuranosyl-(1' '-->2')-beta-d-glucopyranosyloxy]benzaldehyde, five glycosylated flavonols, two isoflavones, four flavanones, two isoflavones, and two flavones. Structure elucidation was done by NMR, CD, and MS methods. Because flavonoids are presumed to contribute significantly toward the scavenging effects of active oxygen species, our results indicate that the tentative claimed health-promoting properties may be attributed to the presence of these and other phenolics in C. intermedia.     

Levitation in physics

Several physical effects allow free floatation of solid and even liquid matter. Materials may be levitated by a jet of gas, by intense sound waves, or by beams of laser light. In addition, conductors levitate in strong radio-frequency fields, charged particles in alternating electric fields, and magnets above superconductors or vice versa. Although levitation by means of ferromagnets is unstable, supper-conductors may be suspended both above and below a magnet as a result of flux pinning. Levitation is used for containerless processing and investigation of materials, for frictionless bearings and high-speed ground transportation, for spectroscopy of single atoms and microparticles, and for demonstrating superconductivity in the new oxide superconductors.