The use of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) for prediction of the nutritive value of barley for growing pigs

peer-reviewedThere is a need in the feed industry for a rapid means of evaluating the nutritive value of feeds and feed ingredients. Chemical analysis provides only basic information and most of the laboratory techniques take too long for this information to be of use in feed formulation at the feed mill. Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) has been proposed as an alternative means of predicting nutritive value. In this study, NIRS was used to predict the digestible energy (DE) concentration and in vitro ileal digestibility of crude protein (CP) and total-tract digestibility of energy of locally produced barley. The calibration and validation statistics were developed using modified partial least squares (MPLS). Derivatisation and scatter correction procedures were carried out to reduce interference from external effects. The correlations between actual and predicted DE values, based on both calibration (R2 0.93) and validation (R2 0.69), were strong with corresponding low standard errors of calibration (SEC) and cross validation (SECV) (SEC 0.128, SECV 0.279). Strong correlations were also observed between predicted and actual in vitro digestibility values for both calibration and validation exercises. It was noted that validation weakened the correlations (R2 0.73 vs. 0.50 for in vitro ileal digestibility of CP and 0.80 vs. 0.68 for in vitro total tract digestibility of energy) and fractionally increased the standard errors (0.016 vs. 0.020 for in vitro ileal digestibility of CP and 0.018 vs. 0.024 for in vitro total tract digestibility of energy). The correlations obtained by cross validation of the lowest SECV equations were not significantly different to those obtained by the scatter correction treatments. The strong relationships and low standard errors obtained between the actual and predicted values indicates that NIRS may be of use in predicting the nutritive value of barley for growing pigs, although more research is required to include larger sample sets

Greenhouse gas emissions from land application of manure

Non-Peer ReviewedGreenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agricultural activities such as land application of livestock manure cannot be ignored when assessing overall emissions from anthropogenic sources. The magnitude of these emissions will be influenced by management practices such as manure placement during land application. The objective of this work was to compare GHG fluxes resulting from the surface and subsurface application of liquid and solid manure. For this comparison, all measurements were made 24 hours after application. The results showed that subsurface application significantly increased carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) fluxes for both solid and liquid manure. The overall CO2-e fluxes from the injected treatments were 3.2 times higher than CO2-e fluxes from the surface applied plots, mainly due to a pronounced increase in N2O fluxes which was likely caused by increased denitrification rates. The CO2-e fluxes from the liquid manure applications were also higher than the CO2-e fluxes from the solid manure applications, probably due to higher levels of ammonium available for nitrification and subsequent denitrification. For this particular study, the measured specific fluxes (total flux per kg N applied) remained relatively constant with application rate, indicating that GHG emissions from manure applications were approximately proportional to the amount of land applied manure

A Taylor Model Based Description of the proof stress of magnesium AZ31 during hot working

A series of hot-compression tests and Taylor-model simulations were carried out with the intention of developing a simple expression for the proof stress of magnesium alloy AZ31 during hot working. A crude approximation of wrought textures as a mixture of a single ideal texture component and a random background was employed. The shears carried by each deformation system were calculated using a full-constraint Taylor model for a selection of ideal orientations as well as for random textures. These shears, in combination with the measured proof stresses, were employed to estimate the critical resolved shear stresses for basal slip, prismatic slip, ⟨c+a⟩ second-order pyramidal slip, and { } twinning. The model thus established provides a semianalytical estimation of the proof stress (a one-off Taylor simulation is required) and also indicates whether or not twinning is expected. The approach is valid for temperatures between ∼150 °C and ∼450 °C, depending on the texture, strain rate, and strain path

A Comprehensive Pan-Cancer Molecular Study of Gynecologic and Breast Cancers

We analyzed molecular data on 2,579 tumors from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) of four gynecological types plus breast. Our aims were to identify shared and unique molecular features, clinically significant subtypes, and potential therapeutic targets. We found 61 somatic copy-number alterations (SCNAs) and 46 significantly mutated genes (SMGs). Eleven SCNAs and 11 SMGs had not been identified in previous TCGA studies of the individual tumor types. We found functionally significant estrogen receptor-regulated long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and gene/lncRNA interaction networks. Pathway analysis identified subtypes with high leukocyte infiltration, raising potential implications for immunotherapy. Using 16 key molecular features, we identified five prognostic subtypes and developed a decision tree that classified patients into the subtypes based on just six features that are assessable in clinical laboratories. By performing molecular analyses of 2,579 TCGA gynecological (OV, UCEC, CESC, and UCS) and breast tumors, Berger et al. identify five prognostic subtypes using 16 key molecular features and propose a decision tree based on six clinically assessable features that classifies patients into the subtypes

The use of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) for prediction of the nutritive value of barley for growing pigs

There is a need in the feed industry for a rapid means of evaluating the nutritive value of feeds and feed ingredients. Chemical analysis provides only basic information and most of the laboratory techniques take too long for this information to be of use in feed formulation at the feed mill. Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) has been proposed as an alternative means of predicting nutritive value. In this study, NIRS was used to predict the digestible energy (DE) concentration and in vitro ileal digestibility of crude protein (CP) and total-tract digestibility of energy of locally produced barley. The calibration and validation statistics were developed using modified partial least squares (MPLS). Derivatisation and scatter correction procedures were carried out to reduce interference from external effects. The correlations between actual and predicted DE values, based on both calibration (R2 0.93) and validation (R2 0.69), were strong with corresponding low standard errors of calibration (SEC) and cross validation (SECV) (SEC 0.128, SECV 0.279). Strong correlations were also observed between predicted and actual in vitro digestibility values for both calibration and validation exercises. It was noted that validation weakened the correlations (R2 0.73 vs. 0.50 for in vitro ileal digestibility of CP and 0.80 vs. 0.68 for in vitro total tract digestibility of energy) and fractionally increased the standard errors (0.016 vs. 0.020 for in vitro ileal digestibility of CP and 0.018 vs. 0.024 for in vitro total tract digestibility of energy). The correlations obtained by cross validation of the lowest SECV equations were not significantly different to those obtained by the scatter correction treatments. The strong relationships and low standard errors obtained between the actual and predicted values indicates that NIRS may be of use in predicting the nutritive value of barley for growing pigs, although more research is required to include larger sample sets

Energy metabolism of dairy cows fed on grass

Production performance of grass-fed dairy cows is often lower than expected from the estimated energy supply. To explain the overestimation of the energy content of grass for dairy cows, data from energy balance trials from three different laboratories (Wageningen, Lelystad and Hillsborough) were collected. The trials in Wageningen and Lelystad were carried out in the 1970s and those in Hillsborough in the 1990s. Regression analyses were carried out with the complete data set as well as per laboratory to identify differences per laboratory. Average net maintenance requirements per kg3/4 (NEm) were 0.573 MJ, whereas the efficiency of metabolizable energy utilization for lactation (k1) was 0.777. When NEm was fixed at the presently used value of 0.293 MJ/kg3/4, k1 was 0.60. Between-laboratory NEm varied between 0.294 (Lelystad) and 0.786 MJ/kg3/4 (Hillsborough), whereas k1 varied between 0.57 (Lelystad) and 0.84 (Hillsborough). For Wageningen and Hillsborough, NEm was high, whilst k1 was also high. With the intercept fixed at 0.293 MJ/kg3/4, efficiency varied between 0.53 (Hillsborough) and 0.62 (Wageningen). The k1 and NEm are interrelated. Based on these data we surmise that the maintenance requirements for grass-fed dairy cows are 10% higher than presently assumed, with no change in k1. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Mood, mileage and the menstrual cycle

Forty women took part in a study to determine the effects of high-intensity training and the menstrual cycle on mood states. Half of the sample were competitive distance runners following a training load of between 50 km and 130 km running per week. Seven athletes were amenorrhoeic and 13 either eumenorrhoeic or oligomenorrhoeic. The remaining 20 subjects were inactive women who menstruated regularly. The mean age of all 40 subjects was 29 years. Each subject completed two identical Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaires. The 33 menstruating subjects completed both a premenstrual and a midcycle form and the amenorrhoeic athletes completed the questionnaires at a 3-week interval, which acted as a control for the potential effects of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) among the menstruating females. Results showed highly significant differences in mood profiles among amenorrhoeic athletes, non-amenorrhoeic athletes and inactive women. The greatest difference was between premenstrual and midcycle measures for the inactive group. PMS appears to cause marked negative mood swings among menstruating women which the POMS inventory is sensitive in detecting. While the lowerintensity- training runners appeared to benefit psychologically from a training distance of approximately 50km week-', high-intensity training had an adverse effect on mood