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Optimum Requirement of Arginine for Growth of the French Guinea Fowl Broiler
No full textThis study aimed to determine the optimal arginine requirement for the growth performance of the French guinea fowl broiler. 200-day-old French guinea keets were fed standard diets containing 1.30, 1.22, 1.10, and 0.98% arginine (arg.) from hatch to 7 WOA. Each dietary treatment was replicated five times. Feed consumption (FC), body weight gain (BWG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were measured and calculated weekly for 7 weeks. At 7 weeks of age, 20 percent of the experimental birds were slaughtered, and carcass characteristics were determined. Results revealed that birds fed 0.98% arginine had the poorest FC, BWG, and FCR in comparison to all other treatments. Birds fed 1.30% dietary arginine had the highest total BWG in comparison to all other treatments. Birds fed 1.22% arginine had the highest FC and BWG from hatch to 4 WOA. Birds fed 1.10% arginine had the highest overall total FC and BWG from 5-7 WOA in comparison to the other treatments. Birds fed dietary arginine at 1.10%, 1.22%, and 1.30% maintained lower FCR than birds fed 0.98% arginine. Birds fed 1.22% arginine had low FCR, better FC, and high BWG from hatch to 4 WOA, than all other treatments. Birds fed 1.10% arginine had lower FCR, high FC, and BWG from 5-7 WOA than all other treatments, suggesting a shift in dietary arginine concentration requirement with age for the French guinea fowl. The outcome of this research benefits the guinea fowl production industry by improving growth performance and feed efficiency of the guinea fowl
Effect of nitrogen fertilization on central tendency and spatial heterogeneity of soil moisture, pH and dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen in two bioenergy croplands
Get PDFBackground
Soil moisture, pH, dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen (DOC, DON) are important soil biogeochemical properties in switchgrass (SG) and gamagrass (GG) croplands. Yet their spatiotemporal patterns under nitrogen (N) fertilization have not been studied. Aims
The objective of this study is to investigate the main and interactive effects of N fertilization and bioenergy crop type on central tendencies and spatial heterogeneity of soil moisture, pH, DOC and DON. Methods
Based on a 3-year long fertilization experiment in Middle Tennessee, USA, 288 samples of top horizon soils (0–15 cm) under three fertilization treatments in SG and GG croplands were collected. The fertilization treatments were no N input (NN), low N input (LN: 84 kg N ha−1 in urea) and high N input (HN: 168 kg N ha−1 in urea). Soil moisture, pH, DOC and DON were quantified. And their within-plot variations and spatial distributions were achieved via descriptive and geostatistical methods. Results
Relative to NN, LN significantly increased DOC content in SG cropland. LN also elevated within-plot spatial heterogeneity of soil moisture, pH, DOC and DON in both croplands though GG showed more evident spatial heterogeneity than SG. Despite the pronounced patterns described above, great plot to plot variations were also revealed in each treatment. Conclusion
This study informs the generally low sensitivity of spatiotemporal responses in soil biogeochemical features to fertilizer amendments in bioenergy croplands. However, the significantly positive responses of DOC under low fertilizer input informed the best practice of optimizing agricultural nutrient amendment
Examining Farm Financial Management: How Do Small US Farms Meet Their Agricultural Expenses?
Get PDFSmall farms in the US have significant challenges in financial management. This study examines how small farmers undertake farm financial management to meet their agricultural and farm-related spending and expenses. Using primary survey data from Tennessee, the study investigates the factors influencing the extent of use of five financing sources to meet the spending and expenses: cash/fund directly generated from the sale of agricultural products, farmer’s past savings, farm household’s off-farm income, income/incentives from government payments, and external loans. Using negative binomial regression estimation of generalized linear models, findings suggest that the decision on the use of financing sources is significantly influenced in general by age, education, income and land acreage holdings, off-farm work, and risk factors related to farmer or farm household. However, the associated factors and their effects on the extent of use are different depending on the financing source
Is the Use of Oral Contraceptive Beneficial to Female Athletes in the Prevention of Anterior Cruciat Ligament Injury?
Get PDFThe Therapeutic Effects of Body Modification
No full textBody modification is the act of purposeful alteration to the physical appearance. The meaning and purpose of modifying the body is unique to the individual engaging in the practice. Throughout the existing literature body modification has been linked with exposure to early life trauma and psychological distress. The present study examined the explanatory effects of body modification (i.e., tattooing, piercing, and scarification) on the relationship between early life trauma and adulthood symptomatology of posttraumatic stress, dissociation, and depression. Participants were 360 adults in the general population, who completed a body modification questionnaire, measures of early life trauma and posttraumatic stress, dissociation, and depression symptoms. Multiple mediation analyses were performed to detect effects of the models proposed in the present study. The findings of this study revealed that early life trauma significantly predicted body modification in the context of posttraumatic stress symptoms, and that body modification significantly predicted posttraumatic stress and depression. There was a trending toward significant mediation effect of body modification on the relationship between early life trauma and posttraumatic stress. There was also a trending toward significant negative mediation effect of body modification on the relationship between early life trauma and depression. Taken cautiously, these findings both support and are inconsistent with prior research
Development of an Electrochemical Sensor for the Detection of Glutathione (GSH)
No full textCopper nanoparticles were successfully electro-deposited on graphene oxide nanosheets modified glassy carbon electrodes. The GCE/GO/CuNPs electrode was then coated with chitosan to obtain the GCE/GO/CuNPs/CS sensor. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used for surface characterization of the synthesized nanomaterials. The electro-catalytic activity of the fabricated sensor towards the oxidation of glutathione was monitored using cyclic voltammetry techniques. The fabricated sensor showed an optimum anodic current peak at a low-over potential voltage (+0.25 V vs Ag/AgCl) at pH = 5.0 in acetate buffer solution. Chronoamperometric analysis was performed at +0.25 V vs Ag/AgCl constant potential to investigate/monitor the current response of the fabricated sensor to various concentrations of glutathione. The I-t curve shows the robustness of the fabricated sensor. The calibration curve, obtained from the I-t result, was linear over a wide concentration range (0 to 2.80 mM) with high sensitivity (5.721 A/mM). A low LOD (20 M) was obtained based on 3 times the standard deviation of the blank divided by the slope of the linear curve. Overall, the results showed that CuNPs and GO triggered an outstanding synergistic effect with enhanced electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of glutathione. We have shown that electrochemical sensor materials can easily be fabricated for highly sensitive glutathione detection using the electro-deposition approach
Effects of Dibutyltin Exposures on Translation Regulatory Factor S6 in Human Immune Cells
Get PDFDibutyltin is an organotin contaminating the environment through its use as a stabilizer in polyvinylchloride, PVC plastics. DBT has been found in drinking water and beverages, such as beer and wine, due to leaching from the PVC plastics used during the distribution of these drinks. Along with PVC plastics, DBT has been used as a deworming agent in poultry, infiltrating additional food products and increasing the exposure of the toxin to humans. Due to its multiple uses, it has entered the food chain and has been detected in human blood at levels as high as 0.3μM. Inflammatory cytokines are important mediators of the response to injury or infection. However, if their levels are increased in the absence of a needed immune response, chronic inflammation can occur. Chronic inflammation is associated with a number of pathologies including, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, atherosclerosis, and cancer. DBT can increase the synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interferon gamma (IFNγ), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) in human immune cells. DBT appears to use the ERK 1/2 and/or p38 MAPK pathways to stimulate pro-inflammatory cytokine production by immune cells. MAPK pathways have the capacity to regulate translation including processes leading to the phosphorylation (activation) of the S6 ribosomal subunit. The current study examines the levels and phosphorylation state of S6 after 1-hour and 6-hour exposures to DBT in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The results indicated that, within 1 hour of exposure, DBT (at several concentrations) elevated levels of phospho (P)-S6 and S6. At 6 hours of exposure, DBT caused increased levels of S6, along with significant increases at higher concentrations for P-S6. These results suggest that DBT may be elevating the synthesis of key pro-inflammatory cytokines in immune cells by its ability to activate translation