Effects of Stocking Density and Group Size on Thermoregulatory Responses of Laying Hens under Heat Challenging Conditions

Sectors of the US cage layer industry have begun adopting practices of reduced stocking density (i.e., increased cage floor space) and varying group sizes. This study was conducted with 24 groups of 48 W-36 laying hens (39 to 46 weeks old) to assess the effects of cage floor space or stocking density (SD) (348, 387, 465, or 581 cm2/bird; 54, 60, 72, or 90 in2/bird) and group size (GS) (8 or 16 birds/cage) on the ability of the hens to cope with heat challenge. Data were collected at thermoneutral (24oC or 76oF) and warm conditions (32oC or 90oF and 35oC or 95oF). No differences in core body temperature (CBT) of the hens were observed among the treatment regimens at 24oC. In general, mean CBT increased with heat exposure duration (P\u3c0.0001) but leveled off after the 32oC phase. At 32oC, CBT was higher for GS of 16 vs. 8 (42.3 vs. 42.1oC, P=0.05); higher for SD of 348 and 387 cm2/bird than for 465 or 581 cm2/bird (42.4 and 42.2oC vs. 41.9 and 42.1oC, respectively, P=0.009). Bird body mass decreased as heat exposure duration increased (P\u3c0.0001), but no differences were observed among the treatments. No mortalities were observed during the thermoneutral period, and the mortality rate increased with heat exposure duration. The results indicate that, while CBT was lower for lower stocking density, the increased space was not sufficient to offer a clear benefit for coping with heat challenge of 32oC or 35oC

Equine thermoregulatory responses during summertime road transport and stall confinement

Thermoregulatory responses of horses subjected to summer-time road transport and stall confinement were investigated in this study. Six mature geldings were transported 168 km in a 4-horse trailer and were monitored while tethered in their stalls, on alternate days. Core body temperature (GT) demonstrated negligible response during transport, but GT following transport was higher than GT for non-transport. GT tended to increase with increased temperature humidity index (THI). THI within the trailer was greatest for positions near the front, and was influenced by daily weather which varied over experiment days from heat stress conditions to moderate discomfort

The engine reformer: Syngas production in an engine for compact gas-to-liquids synthesis

Methane (CH[subscript 4]) reforming was carried out in an internal combustion engine (an “engine reformer”). We successfully produced syngas from the partial oxidation of natural gas in the cylinder of a diesel engine that was reconfigured to perform spark ignition. Performing the reaction in an engine cylinder allows some of the exothermicity to be captured as useful work. Intake conditions of 110 kPa and up to 480 °C allowed low cycle-to-cycle variability (COV[subscript nimep]  2.4, but < 1 mg/L below these equivalence ratios. These results demonstrate that the engine reformer could be a key component of a compact gas-to-liquids synthesis plant by highlighting the operating conditions under which high gas conversion, high H[subscript 2]-to-CO ratios close to 2.0, and low soot production are possible.United States. Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (Award DE-AR0000506)Research Triangle InitiativeMIT Energy InitiativeMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Tata Center for Technology and Desig

Antagonism of STAT3 signalling by Ebola virus

Many viruses target signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) 1 and 2 to antagonise antiviral interferon signalling, but targeting of signalling by other STATs/cytokines, including STAT3/interleukin 6 that regulate processes important to Ebola virus (EBOV) haemorrhagic fever, is poorly defined. We report that EBOV potently inhibits STAT3 responses to interleukin-6 family cytokines, and that this is mediated by the interferon-antagonist VP24. Mechanistic analysis indicates that VP24 effects a unique strategy combining distinct karyopherin-dependent and karyopherin-independent mechanisms to antagonise STAT3-STAT1 heterodimers and STAT3 homodimers, respectively. This appears to reflect distinct mechanisms of nuclear trafficking of the STAT3 complexes, revealed for the first time by our analysis of VP24 function. These findings are consistent with major roles for global inhibition of STAT3 signalling in EBOV infection, and provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of STAT3 nuclear trafficking, significant to pathogen-host interactions, cell physiology and pathologies such as cancer

Microbial rRNA sequencing analysis of evaporative cooler indoor environments located in the Great Basin Desert region of the United States

Recent studies conducted in the Great Basin Desert region of the United States have shown that skin test reactivity to fungal and dust mite allergens are increased in children with asthma or allergy living in homes with evaporative coolers (EC). The objective of this study was to determine if the increased humidity previously reported in EC homes leads to varying microbial populations compared to homes with air conditioners (AC). Children with physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis living in EC or AC environments were recruited into the study. Air samples were collected from the child's bedroom for genomic DNA extraction and metagenomic analysis of bacteria and fungi using the Illumina MiSeq sequencing platform. The analysis of bacterial populations revealed no major differences between EC and AC sampling environments. The fungal populations observed in EC homes differed from AC homes. The most prevalent species discovered in AC environments belonged to the genera Cryptococcus (20%) and Aspergillus (20%). In contrast, the most common fungi identified in EC homes belonged to the order Pleosporales and included Alternaria alternata (32%) and Phoma spp. (22%). The variations in fungal populations provide preliminary evidence of the microbial burden children may be exposed to within EC environments in this region

Mangroves enhance the biomass of coral reef fish communities in the Caribbean

Mangrove forests are one of the world's most threatened tropical ecosystems with global loss exceeding 35% (ref. 1). Juvenile coral reef fish often inhabit mangroves, but the importance of these nurseries to reef fish population dynamics has not been quantified. Indeed, mangroves might be expected to have negligible influence on reef fish communities: juvenile fish can inhabit alternative habitats and fish populations may be regulated by other limiting factors such as larval supply or fishing. Here we show that mangroves are unexpectedly important, serving as an intermediate nursery habitat that may increase the survivorship of young fish. Mangroves in the Caribbean strongly influence the community structure of fish on neighbouring coral reefs. In addition, the biomass of several commercially important species is more than doubled when adult habitat is connected to mangroves. The largest herbivorous fish in the Atlantic, Scarus guacamaia, has a functional dependency on mangroves and has suffered local extinction after mangrove removal. Current rates of mangrove deforestation are likely to have severe deleterious consequences for the ecosystem function, fisheries productivity and resilience of reefs. Conservation efforts should protect connected corridors of mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs