Whole-plant forage and grain sorghum silages for growing cattle

Four trials were conducted to determine the feeding value of whole-plant forage and grain sorghum silages. In general, growing cattle fed grain sorghum hybrids (NK2778, Funk\u27s 550, DeKalb 42Y, DeKalb E67) out performed those fed forage sorghum silages. Only moderate to high grain-content, forage sorghums (Buffalo Canex, Pioneer 947, Acco 351) gave performances that approached the grain sorghums. Low grain-content and nonheading forage sorghums (DeKalb 25E, Funk\u27s G-1990) resulted in the poorest cattle performance. These studies indicate that grain content of a sorghum silage is the major determinant of cattle performance and that whole-plant grain sorghums should produce the fastest and most efficient gains in growing programs

T-DNA insertion mutants reveal complex expression patterns of the aldehyde dehydrogenase 3H1 locus in Arabidopsis thaliana

The Arabidopsis thaliana aldehyde dehydrogenase 3H1 gene (ALDH3H1; AT1G44170) belongs to family 3 of the plant aldehyde dehydrogenase superfamily. The full-length transcript of the corresponding gene comprises an open reading frame of 1583 bp and encodes a protein of 484 amino acid residues. Gene expression studies have shown that this transcript accumulates mainly in the roots of 4-week-old plants following abscisic acid, dehydration, and NaCl treatments. The current study provided experimental data that the ALDH3H1 locus generates at least five alternative transcript variants in addition to the previously described ALDH3H1 mRNA. The alternative transcripts accumulated in wild-type plants at a low level but were upregulated in a mutant that carried a T-DNA insertion in the first exon of the gene. Expression of the transcript isoforms involved alternative gene splicing combined with an alternative promoter. The transcript isoforms were differentially expressed in the roots and shoots and showed developmental stage- and tissue-specific expression patterns. These data support the hypothesis that alternative isoforms produced by gene splicing or alternative promoters regulate the abundance of the constitutively spliced and functional variants

Immunofluorescent Localization of RuBPCase in Degraded C\u3csub\u3e4\u3c/sub\u3e Grass Tissue

Digestion-resistant tissues found in C4 grasses may allow soluble protein to escape rumen degradation. The objective of this study was to use immunofluorescent localization to follow loss of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBPCase) from switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman) parenchyma bundle sheath cells (BSC) during rumen degradation. Fluorescent signal was observed from switchgrass and big bluestem BSC through 24 and 16 h in situ digestion, respectively, and from BSC associated with both intact tissue fragments, and isolated vascular bundles in omasal digesta and fecal material from steers (Bos tarus L.) grazing switchgrass. Immunofluorescent localization demonstrated that in certain C4 grasses (i) parenchyma BSC can protect RuBPCase from degradation through 24-h in situ incubation, (ii) BSC containing RuBPCase can exit the rumen prior to degradation, and (iii) protein protected by BSC can escape degradation in the whole gastrointestinal tract and be excreted

Operational experience in mitigating flammable gas releases from Hanford Site Tank 241-SY-101

Flammable gases consisting of hydrogen, nitrous oxide, ammonia, and methane are periodically released from Hanford Site waste tank 241-SY-101 at concentrations above the flammable limit. A large mixer pump installed in the tank in 1993 has effectively mitigated this problem by continuously releasing small amounts of the flammable gases at the rate they are generated. Tank 241-SY-101 is also equipped with multiple high-sensitivity gas monitoring systems and level detection systems to measure the quantity of gas that is retained in and released from the waste

Startup of the High-Intensity Ultracold Neutron Source at the Paul Scherrer Institute

Ultracold neutrons (UCN) can be stored in suitable bottles and observed for several hundreds of seconds. Therefore UCN can be used to study in detail the fundamental properties of the neutron. A new user facility providing ultracold neutrons for fundamental physics research has been constructed at the Paul Scherrer Institute, the PSI UCN source. Assembly of the facility finished in December 2010 with the first production of ultracold neutrons. Operation approval was received in June 2011. We give an overview of the source and the status at startup.Comment: Proceedings of the International Conference on Exotic Atoms and Related Topics - EXA2011 September 5-9, 2011 Austrian Academy of Sciences, Theatersaal, Sonnenfelsgasse 19, 1010 Wien, Austria 6 pages, 3 figure