Establishing an Ideal Inclusion Rate of Fermented Soybean Meal and Sodium Butyrate on Growth Performance, Complete Blood Cell Count, and Nutrient Utilization in Nursery Pigs

To evaluate increasing levels of sodium butyrate (SB) in nursery diets on growth performance (Experiment 1 & 2), complete blood cell count (Experiment 2), and the optimal level of fermented soybean meal for maximum performance in weanling pigs (Experiment 3), weaned pigs were blocked with initial body weight (BW) and allotted to dietary treatments. Treatments were: 1) Control (C) moderately complex corn-soybean-meal based supplemented with 0.05% benzoic acid (BA), but devoid of SB; C diet supplemented with 0.05%, 0.10%, or 0.15% SB (Experiment 1). Treatments in experiment 2 consisted of 1) a moderately complex corn-soybean-meal based diet devoid of SB and BA (NC), 2) The NC diet supplemented with 0.5% BA, 3, 4 and 5) NC diet supplemented with 0.5% BA and 0.05%, 0.10% or 0.15% SB, respectively. Treatments in experiment 3 consisted of 1) a fermented soybean protein-poultry by-product diet (C), 2, 3, and 4) C diet was replaced with 5%, 10%, or 15% fermented soybean meal, respectively (FSBM; Experiment 3). Blood was collected at the beginning and end of each phase to determine complete blood cell count (Experiments 2 & 3). Data were analyzed by MIXED procedures of SAS (SAS Inst., Cary, NC) with dietary treatment as a fixed effect, while facility by treatment interactions (Experiment 1 & 2) and initial BW blocks as random effects (all experiments). In exp. 1 & 2, increasing dietary SB increased weight gain (P \u3c 0.05), ADFI (P ≤ 0.05), and final BW (P \u3c 0.05). For exp. 2, total white blood cell (P = 0.07) and eosinophil cell count increased with increasing SB (P = 0.08). Lymphocyte cell count decreased (P = 0.09) with increasing SB. In exp. 3, with increasing FSBM in the diet, overall feed efficiency (d 0-40; P = 0.07) increased, and ADG (P = 0.05) and ADFI (P = 0.04) increased during phases 1 & 2 (d 0-29). The heaviest BW was observed in pigs fed 10% FSBM on d 29 (P = 0.06), but the difference diminished by the end of the trial. Pigs fed 10% FSBM had the lowest WBC, neutrophil, and red blood cell count. These experiments suggest that feeding SB and 10% FSBM during the nursery phase improves growth performance and alters blood cell characteristics in weanling pigs

Influence of surface on impact shock experienced during a fencing lunge

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of sports surface on the magnitude of impact shock experienced during a lunge movement. Thirteen experienced, competitive fencers (age 32.4 +/- 4.6 years; Height 178.4 +/- 7.2 cm; Mass 74.4 +/- 9.1 kg) performed ten lunges on four different surfaces: concrete with an overlaid vinyl layer (COVL); wooden sprung court surface (WSCS); metallic carpet fencing piste overlaid on the WSCS and: aluminium fencing piste overlaid on the WSCS. An accelerometer measured accelerations along the longitudinal axis of the tibia at 1000Hz. The results identified a significantly (P < 0.05) larger impact shock magnitude was experienced during a lunge on the COVL (14.88 +/- 8.45g) compared to the WSCS (11.61 +/- 7.30g), WSCS with metallic carpet piste (11.14 +/- 6.38g) and WSCS with aluminium piste (11.95 +/- 7.21g). Furthermore, the two types of piste used had no significant effect the impact shock magnitude measured when overlaid on the WSCS compared to the WSCS on its own. The results of this investigation suggest that occurrences of injuries related to increased levels of impact shock, may be reduced through the utilization of a WSCS as opposed to a COVL surface, during fencing participation

From 1000 to 100 Years in Solving the Humanitarian Demining Problem

This paper serves two purposes: (1) to introduce the Mine Warfare Association (MINWARA) and (2) to discuss how the Humanitarian Demining problem might be solved in less than a century. MINWARA is an international focal point for Mine Warfare (MIW), Mine CounterMeasures (MCM), and Humanitarian Demining (HMD)

Bioinformatics of protein bound water

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (July 17, 2006)Includes bibliographical references.Vita.Thesis (Ph. D.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2005.Dissertations, Academic -- University of Missouri--Columbia -- Genetics area program.Protein-bound water molecules are important components of protein structure, and therefore, protein function and energetics. Here we present a semi-automated computational approach for identifying conserved (i.e. structurally equivalent) solvent sites among proteins sharing a common three-dimensional structure. This method is tested on six protein families: (1) monodomain cytochrome c, (2) fatty-acid binding protein, (3) lactate/malate dehydrogenase, (4) parvalbumin, (5) phospholipase A2, and (6) serine protease. For each family, the method successfully identified previously known conserved solvent sites. Moreover, the method discovered several novel conserved solvent sites, some of which have are more conserved than previously known sites. Our results suggest that every protein family will have highly conserved solvent sites, and that these sites should be included as defining features of protein families and folds. Also detailed is the study of rat alpha parvalbumin at atomic resolution, including a study of conserved solvent sites among several members of the parvalbumin family. Also detailed is a computational comparison of 101 high-resolution ([less than or equal to]1.90 Å) enzyme-dinucleotide (NAD, NADP, FAD) complexes which was performed to investigate the role of solvent in dinucleotide recognition by Rossmann fold domains. The typical binding site contains about 9-12 water molecules, and about thirty percent of the hydrogen bonds between the protein and the dinucleotide are water-mediated. Detailed inspection of the structures reveals a structurally conserved water molecule bridging dinucleotides with the well-known glycine-rich phosphate-binding loop. This water molecule displays a conserved hydrogen bonding pattern and appears to be an inherent structural feature of the classic Rossmann dinucleotide-binding domain

Ascorbic acid oxidation: A potential cause of the elevated severity of atherosclerosis in diabetes mellitus?

AbstractThe exposure of mouse peritoneal macrophages to cholesterol linoleate-containing, artificial lipoproteins can lead to intracellular ceroid accumulation. This can be used as a model to study the role of oxidation in macrophage uptake of lipoproteins containing unsaturated fatty acids, considered by many as a primary event in atherosclerotic plaque formation. Our studies show that ascorbic acid can both inhibit and promote the formation of ceroid in such a model system. The transition metal copper (Cu(II)) further elevates ceroid accumulation and EDTA, a metal chelator, inhibits it. When trace levels of transition metals are present, low concentrations of ascorbic acid can elevate ceroid formation. This pro- and antioxidant characteristic of ascorbic acid was confirmed by monitoring the generation of oxidants by various concentrations of ascorbic acid, assessed by benzoic acid hydroxylation or the fragmentation of BSA. We discuss these observations in the context of an apparent increase in ascorbic acid oxidation and elevated severity of atherosclerosis in diabetes mellitus

The effect of caffeine mouth rinse on self-paced cycling performance

The aim of the study was to determine whether caffeine mouth rinse would improve 30 min self-paced cycling trial. Twelve healthy active males (age 20.5±0.7 years, mass 87.4±18.3 kg) volunteered for the study. They attended the laboratory on 3 separate occasions performing a 30 min self-paced cycling trial. On one occasion water was given as a mouth rinse for 5 s (PLA), on another occasion a 6.4% maltodextrin (CHO) solution was given for 5 s and finally a caffeine solution (containing 32 mg of caffeine dissolved in 125 ml water; CAF) was given for 5 s. Distance cycled, heart rate, ratings of perceived exertion, cadence, speed and power output were recorded throughout all trials. Distance cycled during the CAF mouth rinse trial (16.2±2.8 km) was significantly greater compared to PLA trial (14.9±2.6 km). There was no difference between CHO and CAF trials (P=0.89). Cadence, power and velocity were significantly greater during the CAF trial compared to both PLA and CHO (P0.05). Caffeine mouth rinse improves 30 min cycling performance by allowing the participant to increase cadence, power and velocity without a concurrent increase in perceived exertion and heart rate

Intake and digestibility of tall fescue supplemented with co-product feeds

Cows offered low quality hay require supplementation to meet their nutritional requirements. Our objective was to determine the impact of supplementation with soybean hulls (SH), distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), or a 50:50 mixture of each (MIX) at 0.5% of body weight on ruminal fermentation characteristics and in situ forage disappearance in lactating (n = 3) and non-lactating (n = 3) ruminally cannulated cows (679 ± 18.7 kg body weight). Tall fescue was offered free-choice from large round bales for 6, 21-d periods. Dacron bags containing ground fescue hay were placed into the rumen of each cow at specified intervals over a 7-d period and removed on d 21. Rumen fluid samples were collected on d 21 of each period at 2 h intervals from 1600-2400 h for analyses of ruminal ammonia and volatile fatty acids (VFA). Ruminal forage disappearance was not affected (P ≥ 0.44) by diets. Total VFA were greater (P \u3c 0.05) from SH but the propionate percentage was greater (P \u3c 0.05) from DDGS. Therefore, supplementation with DDGS should improve the energy status of cows fed poor-quality hay compared with SH or MIX