Prevalence and clinical signs of postpartum dysgalactia syndrome at the first day after farrowing in farmed sows in the Republic of Macedonia

The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of postpartum dysgalactia syndrome (PDS) and associated clinical signs in farmed sows in the Republic of Macedonia (RM) in the first 12-24 h postpartum. A total of 202 sows of different parity and different genetic lines from 5 pig farms in RM were included in the study. The sows and their litters were clinically examined 12-24 hours after farrowing. Postpartum dysgalactia syndrome was detected in 23.3% of all clinically examined sows, while prevalence between farms ranged from 14.8% to 38.1%. Altered piglet’s behavior was the most frequent clinical pattern observed in 68.1% of the PDS–affected (PDSA) sows. Regarding the clinical signs in PDSA sows detected among farms, significant differences were observed in the altered piglet’s behavior (p lt 0.05) and hypogalactia (p lt 0.05). Endometritis was more often detected in older sows (90%) compared to endometritis in younger animals (44.4%). In addition, fever was also more frequently diagnosed in higher parity (≥3 parity) sows (55.0%) in contrast to other PDSA sows (22.2%). This study has demonstrated the presence of PDS in farmed sows in RM. High frequency of altered piglet’s behavior found in this study could be an useful indicator for early detection of lactation problems in sows. Frequent pathological vaginal discharge in older sows indicates that endometritis plays an important role in the clinical manifestation of PDS. Further investigations should be conducted in order to identify specific risk factors associated with clinical PDS in farmed sows in RM

Homologous Seminal Plasma and Glutathione Promote Pre-capacitation Motility and Structural Stability of Cryopreserved Ram Spermatozoa

Reduced glutathione (GSH) and homologous ram seminal plasma (HSP), used as additives in cryopreserving (CP) media prior to freezing, showed conflicting results in retaining structural integrity and progressive motility in post-thawed ram spermatozoa. The aims of this research were (1) to assess the effect of GSH and/or HSP supplementation via soybean-lecithin CP extender on cryopreserved ram spermatozoa viability, morphology and motility pattern; and (2) to assess the effect of incubation in the context of the previous aim. Quantitatively and qualitatively, homogenized and pooled ram ejaculates (N=10) were extended with one of the following extenders Control (C)-tris-based, GSH and HSP-free, experimental-1 (E1)-C + GSH 5 mM, experimental-2 (E2)-C + HSP 20 % and experimental-3 (E3)-GSH 5 mM + HSP 20 %. Following thawing, samples were taken at 0-A nd 3-hours from each group (n=10) and were assessed for spermatozoa viability, morphology, and motility pattern. C-0h samples yielded a spermatozoa population with low viability, altered head morphology and highly deviated motility pattern. E3-3h samples yielded spermatozoa with unaffected viability, head morphology and high progressive motility. In conclusion, E3 extender added to cryopreserved-thawed ram spermatozoa is most efficient in obtaining high viability, unaltered head morphology, and progressive motility

Определение энергосберегающих режимов сушки в аппарате виброкипящего слоя

The traditional pectin production technology is highly energy-intensive and environmentally unsafe. One of the possible ways to improve the technological process of pectin production is to dry directly the petine hydrolyzate before it is precipitated with ethyl alcohol. The most effective method of drying pectin hydrolyzate is drying in a vibrofluidized layer of an inert material, which provides high productivity in terms of evaporated moisture per unit volume of the chamber and the quality of the resulting dry product. This paper proposes a method for optimizing the drying process of pectin hydrolyzatein the apparatus of a vibrofluidized layer of an inert material, which makes it possible to determine the values of regime parameters at which the drying process proceeds with minimal costs for thermal and electrical energy. The technique is based on the experimentally obtained relationship between the specific productivity of the drying unit and the following operating parameters of the drying process: the air velocity in the drying chamber, the initial air temperature, the specific load related to the area of the gas distribution grid, the initial concentration for dry substances. On the basis of this experimental dependence, the criteria for assessing the reduced costs for heat and electric energy are formalized. A complex criterion for optimizing the drying process in a vibrofluidized bed is formulated, the minimization of which makes it possible to increase the efficiency of the drying process. Restrictions on the ranges of variation of the operating parameters of the drying process are formulated  as well. The posed problem of optimization of the drying process in a vibrofluidized  bed is solved numerically using the method of sequential quadratic programming and recommendations are formulated on the values of operating parameters for conducting the process in the optimal mode.Традиционная технология производства пектина – высокозатратная, энергоемкая и экологически небезопасная. Одним из возможных способов совершенствования технологического процесса производства пектина является сушка непосредственно пектинового гидролизата до его осаждения этиловым спиртом. Наиболее эффективный способ сушки пектинового гидролизата – сушка в виброкипящем слое инертного материала, обеспечивающая высокую производительность по испаренной влаге с единицы объема камеры и качеству получаемого сухого продукта. В данной работе предложена методика оптимизации процесса сушки пектинового гидролизата в аппарате виброкипящего слоя инертного материала, позволяющая определить значения режимных параметров, при которых процесс сушки протекает с минимальными затратами на тепловую и электрическую энергию. Методика основана на полученной экспериментально зависимости между удельной производительностью сушильной установки и следующими режимными параметрами процесса сушки: скоростью движения воздуха в сушильной камере, начальной температурой воздуха, удельной нагрузкой, отнесенной к площади газораспределительной решетки, начальной концентрацией по сухим веществам. На основе этой экспериментальной зависимости формализованы критерии оценки приведенных затрат на тепловую и электрическую энергию. Сформулирован комплексный критерий оптимизации процесса сушки в виброкипящем слое, минимизация которого позволяет повысить эффективность ведения процесса сушки. Сформулированы ограничения на диапазоны изменения режимных параметров процесса сушки. Поставленная задача оптимизации процесса сушки в виброкипящем слое решена численно с использованием метода последовательного квадратичного программирования, сформулированы рекомендации по значениям режимных параметров для ведения процесса в оптимальном режиме

The effect of caffeine, metronidazole, and ibuprofen on continuous flow activated sludge process

BACKGROUND: The aim of this work was to study the biological treatment of a synthetic wastewater containing emerging contaminants. The 95-day experiment was conducted in an 81 L continuous flow conventional activated sludge apparatus consisting of anoxic and aerobic reactors with internal recycling, and a clarifier with activated sludge recycling. Real activated sludge from the municipal wastewater treatment plant in the Nur-Sultan city was used. The degradation efficiencies of caffeine, metronidazole, and ibuprofen in the synthetic wastewater were studied either separately or in combination. RESULTS: When treated separately at the concentration of 30 mg/L, the degradation of caffeine and ibuprofen was up to 100%, while the degradation of metronidazole was in the range of 12–27%. Caffeine and ibuprofen inhibited the nitrification process, while the presence of metronidazole in the system suppressed the activity of denitrifying microorganisms. The biological treatment of the synthetic wastewater containing all three compounds (at the concentration of 10 mg/L each) resulted in degradation of caffeine and ibuprofen up to 100%, and 56% in the case of metronidazole. As both nitrification and denitrification processes were affected, the total nitrogen removal was significantly reduced from 53% to 22%. CONCLUSION: Complete degradation of caffeine and ibuprofen, and partial degradation of metronidazole were observed in a synthetic wastewater using the activated sludge process. As the presence of emerging pollutants in a wastewater affects the general efficiency of the wastewater treatment plants, other physical or chemical pre-treatment should be utilized to minimize the harmful effect of contaminants on the biological processes

Effect of dimethylamine on the gas phase sulfuric acid concentration measured by Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Sulfuric acid is widely recognized as a very important substance driving atmospheric aerosol nucleation. Based on quantum chemical calculations it has been suggested that the quantitative detection of gas phase sulfuric acid (H2SO4) by use of Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometry (CIMS) could be biased in the presence of gas phase amines such as dimethylamine (DMA). An experiment (CLOUD7 campaign) was set up at the CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets) chamber to investigate the quantitative detection of H2SO4 in the presence of dimethylamine by CIMS at atmospherically relevant concentrations. For the first time in the CLOUD experiment, the monomer sulfuric acid concentration was measured by a CIMS and by two CI-APi-TOF (Chemical Ionization-Atmospheric Pressure interface-Time Of Flight) mass spectrometers. In addition, neutral sulfuric acid clusters were measured with the CI-APi-TOFs. The CLOUD7 measurements show that in the presence of dimethylamine (Peer reviewe

Two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations in central Pb-Pb collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76 TeV

The first measurement of two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations in central Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV at the Large Hadron Collider is presented. We observe a growing trend with energy now not only for the longitudinal and the outward but also for the sideward pion source radius. The pion homogeneity volume and the decoupling time are significantly larger than those measured at RHIC.Comment: 17 pages, 5 captioned figures, 1 table, authors from page 12, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/388

Suppression of charged particle production at large transverse momentum in central Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76 TeV

Inclusive transverse momentum spectra of primary charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\rm NN}}}$ = 2.76 TeV have been measured by the ALICE Collaboration at the LHC. The data are presented for central and peripheral collisions, corresponding to 0-5% and 70-80% of the hadronic Pb-Pb cross section. The measured charged particle spectra in $|\eta|<0.8$ and $0.3 < p_T < 20$ GeV/$c$ are compared to the expectation in pp collisions at the same $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$, scaled by the number of underlying nucleon-nucleon collisions. The comparison is expressed in terms of the nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm AA}$. The result indicates only weak medium effects ($R_{\rm AA} \approx$ 0.7) in peripheral collisions. In central collisions, $R_{\rm AA}$ reaches a minimum of about 0.14 at $p_{\rm T}=6$-7GeV/$c$ and increases significantly at larger $p_{\rm T}$. The measured suppression of high-$p_{\rm T}$ particles is stronger than that observed at lower collision energies, indicating that a very dense medium is formed in central Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC.Comment: 15 pages, 5 captioned figures, 3 tables, authors from page 10, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/98