The effect of an energy additive on the metabolism of cattle

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of an energy additive on the metabolism of cattle. This article provides information on the analysis of the diet of young cattle calculated for when the animals were both indoors and outdoors. The ration was prepared for 40 heifers, divided into 4 groups consisting of 10 animals in each group. Three of these groups were fed different amounts of a high-energy additive, which was not fed to the control group. The effectiveness of the additive was analyzed according to the balance experiment and by calculating digestibility coefficients. It was determined that the percentage of nitrogen use in young animals was higher in the groups that were fed the additive than in the control group. Increasing the dose of the additive increased the level of nitrogen use. Comparative analysis of live weight indicated intergroup differences in favor of heifers in the groups that were fed the additive of 1.34% to 2.41% at the age of 9 mo; 2.51% to 4.16% at 12 mo; 3.14% to 5.46% at 15 mo; and 3.57% to 6.30% at 18 mo. The average daily growth dynamics indicated a gradual increase in all animals up to 15 mo, with a slight decrease by 18 mo of age. The difference among the groups ranged from 5.08% to 8.85% at 6 to 9 mo of age; 7.08% to 10.79% at 9 to 12 mo; 5.64% to 10.97% at 12 to 15 mo; and 6.05% to 11.11% at 18 mo. It was concluded that feeding the energy additive Tanrem to heifers increased their metabolism so that nitrogen use was improved, and feed was digested more efficiently, which in turn improved the growth of animals. Using an energy additive at the mid-range dose of 500 g a day per animal is recommended, since the effect was similar at the mid-range and maximum dosages.     

Adjuvant effect of green propolis on humoral immune response of bovines immunized with bovine herpesvirus type 5

Despite recent technological advances in vaccine production, most vaccines depend on the association with adjuvant substances. In this study, propolis, which has been attracting the attention of researchers due to its bioactive properties, was evaluated as an immunological adjuvant. The association of 40mg/dose of an ethanolic extract of green propolis with an inactivated oil vaccine against bovine herpesvirus type 5 (BoHV-5), resulted in a significant increase (P<0.01) in the neutralizing antibody levels, comparing to the bovines that received the same vaccine without propolis. Besides, propolis increased the percentage of animals with high antibody titers (above 32). Phenolic compounds such as artepillin C (3,5-diprenyl-4-hydroxycinnamic acid) and the derivatives of cinnamic acid besides other flavonoid substances were abundant in the propolis extract used, and they could be the main substances with adjuvant action. The effect of the green propolis extract on the humoral immune response can be exploited in the development of new vaccines.     

Recultivation of Agricultural Land Impaired by Construction of a Hydropower Plant on the Sava River,Slovenia

Hydropower plants on the lower river Sava, Slovenia, were developed without sealing the underground upstream. As a consequence, without the countermeasures of elevating and recultivating, the agricultural land on the river banks would be inundated because of the water‐table increase of the river. To remedy this, the fields were elevated and recultivated. The goal of this study was to assess soil quality and production potential after land raising and recultivation and to answer the question whether it is possible to recover soil quality and crop yield after large‐scale mass manipulation, such as land raising. After recultivation and after the second year of land reuse for the two cultures grass–clover mixture and corn on two sites, Middle Pijavsko and Lower Pijavsko, soil physical and chemical characteristics and crop yields were evaluated. Mixing of topsoil with the second horizon during removal and during backfill with filling material resulted in uneven soil fertility, plant growth and decreased yield. Driving on the refilled second layer with heavy machinery caused soil compaction in the Middle Pijavsko in spite of favourable soil texture (loam, 38·7% sand). On the areas with very high sand content (over 55%) and low clay content (10%), soil compaction was not as severe or persistent. Recultivation measures restored the agricultural land almost to the production potential prior to powerplant construction. Immediate intensive land use (corn) showed less favourable effect on soil characteristics. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

RAPD analysis of interspecific relationships in presumably apomictic Cotoneaster species

A few of the approximately 300 Cotoneaster species described are diploid but the majority appear to be polyploid. The occurrence of apomixis inpolyploid Cotoneaster species has been reported but never proven with genetic markers. We have used 76 polymorphic RAPD markers to investigate the breeding system and phenetic grouping of some critical taxa, including a total of 19 plant accessions representing 13 mostly European species in the series Cotoneaster. Three to four individual plants, raised from seed from the same original plant, were analyzed for each of three accessions to investigate the possible occurrence of apomictic seed set. Absolutely congruent RAPD profiles were encountered among seedlings from one accession, whereas we found one or two marker differences among seedlings from the other two accessions. Genetic similarities among the different accessions were analyzed with a UPGMA-derived dendrogram. The most deviant taxon was the Chinese C. albokermesinus. A group withC. soczavianus and C. tomentosus was rather isolated from the remainder, as was also C. kullensis. Among the remaining taxa, two well supported clusters were found: (1) C. antoninae and C. uralensis, and (2) C. integerrimus and C. raboutensis, whereas the other five species (C. canescens, C. niger, C. scandinavicus, C. juranus, C. cambricus) formed a poorly supported cluster with no clear substructuring. A principal coordinate analysis yielded results that were in good correspondence with the dendrogram. Again C. albokermesinus appears to be totally isolated from the other species. In addition, two well-defined and rather isolated groups were found: (1) C. tomentosus and C. soczavianus, and (2) C. antoninae and C. uralensis, with the remainder comprising a loosely defined group. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Herbage utilisation efficiency of continuously stocked pastures during periods of restricted pasture growth

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to evaluate the defoliation patterns of individual tillers, efficiency of herbage utilisation, and forage production in continuously stocked Brachiaria humidicola cv. Comum swards during periods of the year of restricted pasture growth. The experiment was conducted at the Embrapa, Campo Grande-MS, Brazil, from April to October 2012. Treatments consisted of two grazing management strategies, defined by two ranges of sward height (10–15 and 20–25 cm) managed under continuous and variable stocking rates. The experiment was conducted as a completely randomised block design with three replications. During periods of resource constraints, grazing management strategies based on ‘steady state’ sward heights did not alter defoliation patterns, herbage utilisation efficiency (HUE), and forage production in Brachiaria humidicola swards under a continuous stocking method. A direct implication of our results is that grazing management strategies during the driest and coldest periods of the year in the tropics should be developed based on the conditions most suitable for better promoting faster pasture recovery and a return to production in the following spring; it is unlikely that any grazing management strategy would be successful in increasing herbage production and/or HUE in periods of restricted pasture growth.     

Zur Variabilität des Rohproteingehalts im Gaterslebener Maissortiment

Zusammenfassung Im Laufe von 16 Jahren (1968–1983) wurden für Rohproteinanalysen des Korns aus dem Gaterslebener Maissortiment zufällige Stichproben von etwa 40 bis 80 Stämmen jährlich entnommen. Für die Mittelwerte und Varianzen der Stichproben wurden die 95 %-Vertrauensbereiche geschätzt (Abb. 1 und 3). Die meisten Jahresmittelwerte für den Gehalt an Rohprotein (RP %) liegen zwischen 11,4 und 12,1 % (ohne Puff- und Zuckermais). Signifikante Abweichungen wurden nur selten beobachtet. Die jährlichen Variabilitätskoeffizienten liegen hier bei etwa 12 %, bei vielen anderen Merkmalen dagegen um 30 %. Die Schätzung der Korrelation zwischen RP % und TKM im Durchschnitt von 13 Jahren (wieder ohne Puff- und Zuckermaise) ergab einen nicht signifikanten Wert vonr _s =-0,04. Ferner wurden zahlreiche Varianzanalysen (Modell II) mit Schätzung von Varianzkomponenten (auch in %) für die Faktoren Stamm und Jahr durchgeführt, die dafür sprechen, daß für eine befriedigende Erfassung von RP %-Variabilität 3 bis 4 Kolben je Stamm in 3 bis 4 Jahren nötig sind. Am Schluß sind 40 Gaterslebener Sortimentsnummern mit mindestens vierjährigen Rohprotein-Mittelwerten über 12 % und den dazugehörigen 95 %-Vertrauensbereichen angeführt.

---

Variability of the curde protein content in the Gatersleben maize collection

Summary Random samples of a number between 40 and 80 strains out of the Gatersleben maize collection were taken every of 16 years (1968–1983) for analyses of grain crude protein. For both means and variances, 95 % confidence intervals were estimated (Figs. 1 and 3). Most of the annual means of the crude protein content are between 11.4 and 12.1 per cent (except pop and sweet corn). Significant deviations were only seldom observed. The annual coefficients of variability are here around 12 %, whereas those of many other characters are around 30 %. For the correlation between crude protein content and thousand grain weight for an average of 13 years (again except pop and sweet corn), a non-significant value of r _s =–0.04 was estimated. Furthermore, numerous analysis of variance (Model II) were made, with estimation of the components of variance (also in per cent) for the factors strain and year. They suggest that 3 to 4 ears per strain for every of 3 to 4 years are necessary, in order to ascertain satisfactorily the variability of the crude protein content. Finally, 40 strains of the Gatersleben collection are listed, which gave crude protein means above 12 % for at least four years; the corresponding 95 % confidence intervals are included.

---

16 (1968–1983) 40 80 . 95 %- (. 1 3). ( %) 11,4 12,1 % ( ). . ( 12 %), 30 %. % 1000 13 (. =–0,04). ( ) () , % 3 4 3–4 . 40 »« , 12 % ( 4-) 95 %- .

     

NMR imaging of catalytic hydrogenation in microreactors with the use of para-hydrogen

Catalysis is vital to industrial chemistry, and the optimization of catalytic reactors attracts considerable resources. It has proven challenging to correlate the active regions in heterogeneous catalyst beds with morphology and to monitor multistep reactions within the bed. We demonstrate techniques, using magnetic resonance imaging and para-hydrogen (p-H2) polarization, that allow direct visualization of gas-phase flow and the density of active catalyst in a packed-bed microreactor, as well as control over the dynamics of the polarized state in space and time to facilitate the study of subsequent reactions. These procedures are suitable for characterizing reactors and reactions in microfluidic devices where low sensitivity of conventional magnetic resonance would otherwise be the limiting factor.     

Two-dimensional nanosheets produced by liquid exfoliation of layered materials

If they could be easily exfoliated, layered materials would become a diverse source of two-dimensional crystals whose properties would be useful in applications ranging from electronics to energy storage. We show that layered compounds such as MoS(2), WS(2), MoSe(2), MoTe(2), TaSe(2), NbSe(2), NiTe(2), BN, and Bi(2)Te(3) can be efficiently dispersed in common solvents and can be deposited as individual flakes or formed into films. Electron microscopy strongly suggests that the material is exfoliated into individual layers. By blending this material with suspensions of other nanomaterials or polymer solutions, we can prepare hybrid dispersions or composites, which can be cast into films. We show that WS(2) and MoS(2) effectively reinforce polymers, whereas WS(2)/carbon nanotube hybrid films have high conductivity, leading to promising thermoelectric properties.