The use of chestnuts (Castanea sativa Mill.) as a source of resistant starch in the diet of the weaned piglet

tTwenty-four piglets, with a mean weight of 6.11 kg, were allocated to three experimentaldiets (8 piglets per diet). The starch content of the experimental diets was 39% consistingeither of 100% wheat starch (CD), 50% wheat starch and 50% chestnut starch (CN50) or 100%chestnut starch (CN100). The piglets received these diets for 35 days. Total tract apparentdigestibility (TTAD) was measured when piglets were aged 32–39 days and 46–53 days.Afterwards, the animals were sacrificed, their gastrointestinal compartments weighed, andthe contents of their caecum and colon collected. Diet did not influence the feed intakeor growth rate of the piglets, but had a significant effect on their feed conversion ratiowhich was 1.27, 1.30 and 1.37 for diets CD, CN50 and CN100, respectively (P=0.042). Pigletsreceiving the CN50 diet exhibited lower faecal scores compared to CD and CN100 groups( 2= 39.31, P<0.001). There was a trend (P=0.067) towards an increase in the TTAD of drymatter (DM) in the two chestnut-containing diets, but only when piglets were younger(32–39 days). The TTAD of crude protein (CP) was decreased (P<0.001) in CN100 group rel-ative to CD and CN50 groups, independently of age. Relative to the CD group, the coefficientof TTAD of NDF was increased by 0.18 units in the CN50 group and 0.25 units in the CN100group, when the piglets were aged 32–39 days. These differences were reduced to 0.09 and0.17 units, respectively, when the piglets were aged 46–53 days. There were tendencies(P<0.10) towards increases in the full and empty weights of the large intestine in CN100group. Moreover, diet had no significant effect on villus height and width. In the jejunum,crypt depth was reduced in CN100 group (P=0.006), while the villus height:crypt depth ratiowas increased with the CN50 and CN100 diets (P=0.018). Diet had no significant effect onDM and pH of the caecal or colonic contents. In the caecum, the concentration (mmol l−1) ofpropionic acid was 5.15, 9.43 and 14.7 (P=0.042) for diets CD, CN50 and CN100, respectively.The concentration (mmol l−1) of butyric acid was 3.50, 4.90 and 9.84 (P=0.025). Conversely,diet had no significant effect on the concentration of short chain fatty acids in the colon.In conclusion, chestnuts could be used as an alternative source of RS in the diet of weanedpiglets, although their feed conversion ratio (FCR) may be worsene

Multi-electrode Detection In Voltammetry. Part 3. Effects Of Array Configuration On The Hadamard Multiplexed Voltammetric Technique

The effect of the number of electrodes and their relative distribution on the gain of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in a multiplexed voltammetric measurement was evaluated. A voltammetric multi-channel instrument was constructed capable of operating with up to 63 ultramicroelectrodes (mercury coated copper discs, diameter 55 μm). The gain in the SNR was investigated as a function of the number of electrodes (15, 31 and 63) in the array. For each array a design matrix was employed for the multiplexed measurements. The results show that the detection limit for Pb(II) can be improved 5.1-fold by employing 63 electrodes. The overlapping effect of diffusion layers was also evaluated and the results allow the conclusion that, for multiplexed readings obtained at 100 per second, and when the distance between adjacent electrodes is less than 20 times their diameter, the radial component is disturbed, causing a reduction in the faradaic current. On the other hand, by keeping the distance greater than this limit, the multiplex gain can be fully achieved with a substantial reduction in data acquisition time.1241116571660Wightman, R.M., (1981) Anal. Chem., 53, pp. 1125ABond, A.M., (1994) Analyst, 119, pp. R1Bond, A.M., Fleischmann, M., Robinson, J., (1984) J. Electroanal. Chem., 172, p. 11Bond, A.M., Fleischmann, M., Robinson, J., (1984) J. Electroanal. Chem., 168, p. 299Bond, A.M., Fleischmann, M., Robinson, J., (1984) J. Electroanal. Chem., 180, p. 257Lawrence, C.M., Slater, J.M., (1992) Anal. Proc., 29, p. 12Wightman, R.M., Wipf, D.O., (1989) Electroanal. Chem., 15, p. 267Bond, A.M., Oldham, K.B., Zoski, C.G., (1989) Anal. Chim. Acta., 216, p. 89Stojek, Z., (1991) Mikrochim. Acta, Part II, p. 353Wightman, R.M., Wipf, D.O., (1989) Electroanal. Chem., 15, p. 267Fitch, A., Evans, D., (1986) J. Electroanal. Chem., 202, p. 83Caudili, W.L., Howell, J.O., Wightman, R.M., (1982) Anal. Chem., 54, p. 2532Magge L.J., Jr., Osteryoung, J., (1989) Anal. Chem., 61, p. 2124Niwa, O., Horiuchi, T., Morita, M., Huang, T., Kissinger, P.T., (1996) Anal. Chim. Acta, 318, p. 167Fang, T., McGrath, M.J., Diamond, D., Smyth, M.R., (1995) Anal. Chim. Acta, 305, p. 347McGrath, M.J., Fang, T., Diamond, D., Smyth, M.R., (1995) Anal. Lett., 28 (4), p. 685Niwa, O., Tabei, H., Solomon, B.P., Xie, F., Kissenger, P.T., (1995) J. Chromatogr. B, 670, p. 21Sanderson, D.G., Anderson, L.B., (1985) Anal. Chem., 57, p. 2388Niwa, O., (1995) Electroanalysis, 7, p. 606Brearly, T.H., Dishi, A.K., Fielden, P.R., (1989) Anal. Proc., 26, p. 389Anderson, J.L., Ou, T.Y., Moldoveanu, S., (1985) J. Electroanal. Chem., 196, p. 213Aoki, A., Matsue, T., Uchida, I., (1990) Anal. Chem., 62, p. 2206Van Der Linden, W.E., Bos, M., Bos, A., (1989) Anal. Proc., 26, p. 329Rohwedder, J.J.R., Pasquini, C., (1998) Analyst, 123, p. 1641Rohwedder, J.J.R., Pasquini, C., (1998) Analyst, 123, p. 1861Reller, H., Eisner-Kirowa, E., Gileadi, E., (1982) J. Eletroanal. Chem., 138, p. 65Scharifker, B.R., (1988) J. Electroanal. Chem., 240, p. 6

Intramural duodenal hematoma secondary to pancreatitis: case report and review of the literature

sem informaçãoSpontaneous intramural duodenal hematoma is uncommon and is usually associated with coagulopathy, anticoagulant therapy and endoscopic procedures. The aim here was to describe a case of intramural duodenal hematoma caused by chronic exacerbation of pancre1366597601sem informaçãosem informaçãosem informaçã

An Improved Description of the Dielectric Breakdown in Oxides Based on a Generalized Weibull distribution

In this work, we address modal parameter fluctuations in statistical distributions describing charge-to-breakdown $(Q_{BD})$ and/or time-to-breakdown $(t_{BD})$ during the dielectric breakdown regime of ultra-thin oxides, which are of high interest for the advancement of electronic technology. We reobtain a generalized Weibull distribution ($q$-Weibull), which properly describes $(t_{BD})$ data when oxide thickness fluctuations are present, in order to improve reliability assessment of ultra-thin oxides by time-to-breakdown $(t_{BD})$ extrapolation and area scaling. The incorporation of fluctuations allows a physical interpretation of the $q$-Weibull distribution in connection with the Tsallis statistics. In support to our results, we analyze $t_{BD}$ data of SiO$_2$-based MOS devices obtained experimentally and theoretically through a percolation model, demonstrating an advantageous description of the dielectric breakdown by the $q$-Weibull distribution.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Seasonal occurrence of balanomorph barnacle nauplius larvae in the region of the Antarctic Peninsula

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2010. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 392 (2010): 125-128, doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2010.04.016.Plankton samples taken along the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula and in Bransfield Strait show widespread occurrence of Bathylasma corolliforme nauplius larvae during the austral spring, mid-October to the third week of December. During autumn, between the first week of May and early June there was a complete absence of balanomorph nauplii. This evidence shows periodicity in reproduction. There is a seemingly close correlation between the presence of these nauplii and the published data on phytoplankton biomass and seawater surface temperature.The research was supported by grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs

Pulsar Timing and its Application for Navigation and Gravitational Wave Detection

Pulsars are natural cosmic clocks. On long timescales they rival the precision of terrestrial atomic clocks. Using a technique called pulsar timing, the exact measurement of pulse arrival times allows a number of applications, ranging from testing theories of gravity to detecting gravitational waves. Also an external reference system suitable for autonomous space navigation can be defined by pulsars, using them as natural navigation beacons, not unlike the use of GPS satellites for navigation on Earth. By comparing pulse arrival times measured on-board a spacecraft with predicted pulse arrivals at a reference location (e.g. the solar system barycenter), the spacecraft position can be determined autonomously and with high accuracy everywhere in the solar system and beyond. We describe the unique properties of pulsars that suggest that such a navigation system will certainly have its application in future astronautics. We also describe the on-going experiments to use the clock-like nature of pulsars to "construct" a galactic-sized gravitational wave detector for low-frequency (f_GW ~1E-9 - 1E-7 Hz) gravitational waves. We present the current status and provide an outlook for the future.Comment: 30 pages, 9 figures. To appear in Vol 63: High Performance Clocks, Springer Space Science Review