Nährstoffverfügbarkeit und Nährstoffnutzung von klee- und kräuterreichen Aufwüchsen ökologisch bewirtschafteten Grünlandes entlang der Produktionskette Erzeugung - Konservierung - Verdauung

Ziel des Vorhabens war es, kräuterreiche Grünlandaufwüchse, die im Ökologischen Landbau eine große Bedeutung haben, im Hinblick auf die Futterqualität und die Tierernährung zu bewerten. Für Frühjahrs- und Sommeraufwüchse wurden die Futterqualitäts- und Konservierungseigenschaften eines ungedüngten kräuterreichen Grünlandes und eines ungedüngten Weißklee-Weidelgrasbestandes mit dem eines mit mineralischem Stickstoff gedüngten reinen Weidelgrasbestandes (konventionelle Vergleichsvariante) verglichen. Beim kräuterreichen Grünland bestand der Kräuteranteil aus den feinblättrigen Arten Löwenzahn und Spitzwegerich. Futter wurde im Labormaßstab einsiliert und die Gärfähigkeit sowie die Silagequalität ermittelt. Die Verdauungsphysiologie wurde anhand der Pansensimulationstechnik ‚Rusitec’ studiert. Die kräuterreichen Aufwüchse wiesen eine im Vergleich zum reinen Grasbestand gute Siliereignung und Silagequalität auf mit geringen Ammoniakgehalten und niedrigem Proteinabbau. Kräuterreiches Futter enthielt weniger Rohprotein und Gerüstsubstanzen. Bei der Enzymlöslichkeit der organischen Substanz (ELOS) und der energetischen Bewertung (HFT) traten keine signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen den Varianten auf. Dagegen erwiesen sich die Silagen aus kräuterreichen Aufwüchsen in der Pansensimulation als geringer abbaubar, die mikrobielle Zell- bzw. Proteinsynthese war im Vergleich zur Gras-Klee- und insbesondere gegenüber der Grasvariante vermindert. Die Ergebnisse weisen auf ein hohes, N-effizientes Verwertungspotential kräuterreicher Grünlandaufwüchse in der Wiederkäuerfütterung hin. Es bleibt zu klären, ob die nicht mikrobiell im Pansen abbaubaren Futterbestandteile postruminal zur Energie- und Nährstoffversorgung des Wiederkäuers beizutragen vermögen

Effects of fermentation time and pH on soursop (Annona muricata) vinegar production towards its chemical compositions

Vinegar is a liquid product that undergoes both alcoholic and acetous fermentation of sugar (carbohydrate) sources. Soursop (Annona muricata) is easily available in Malaysia throughout the year. However, it is also highly perishable and has a short shelf-life. Therefore, in this research, soursop was used in the production of vinegar, to increase its utilisation and reduce wastage. The objectives of this research were to determine the effects of fermentation time and pH on soursop vinegar using a 3 × 5 factorial design and to determine its chemical compositions. It was found that pH and fermentation time showed significant (p0.05). It was evident that the sugar concentration reduces over time and it was inversely proportional to the ethanol and acetic acid concentrations, due to the conversion of sugar to ethanol and subsequently acetic acid. It was found that higher pH (pH5.5) gave significantly (p0.05) effect on ethanol production. There were no significant differences (p>0.05) in vitamin C content in all vinegar samples. Thus, it can be established that at fermentation time of 120 h and pH5.5, more sugar was used and more ethanol and acetic acid were produced

Global Analysis of Circulating Immune Cells by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

Background: MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry is currently used in microbiological diagnosis to characterize bacterial populations. Our aim was to determine whether this technique could be applied to intact eukaryotic cells, and in particular, to cells involved in the immune response. Methodology/Principal Findings: A comparison of frozen monocytes, T lymphocytes and polymorphonuclear leukocytes revealed specific peak profiles. We also found that twenty cell types had specific profiles, permitting the establishment of a cell database. The circulating immune cells, namely monocytes, T lymphocytes and polymorphonuclear cells, were distinct from tissue immune cells such as monocyte-derived macrophages and dendritic cells. In addition, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry was valuable to easily identify the signatures of monocytes and T lymphocytes in peripheral mononuclear cells. Conclusions/Significance: This method was rapid and easy to perform, and unlike flow cytometry, it did not require any additional components such as specific antibodies. The MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry approach could be extended t

Increased Hepatic Insulin Action in Diet-Induced Obese Mice Following Inhibition of Glucosylceramide Synthase

Obesity is characterized by the accumulation of fat in the liver and other tissues, leading to insulin resistance. We have previously shown that a specific inhibitor of glucosylceramide synthase, which inhibits the initial step in the synthesis of glycosphingolipids (GSLs), improved glucose metabolism and decreased hepatic steatosis in both ob/ob and diet-induced obese (DIO) mice. Here we have determined in the DIO mouse model the efficacy of a related small molecule compound, Genz-112638, which is currently being evaluated clinically for the treatment of Gaucher disease, a lysosomal storage disorder.DIO mice were treated with the Genz-112638 for 12 to 16 weeks by daily oral gavage. Genz-112638 lowered HbA1c levels and increased glucose tolerance. Whole body adiposity was not affected in normal mice, but decreased in drug-treated obese mice. Drug treatment also significantly lowered liver triglyceride levels and reduced the development of hepatic steatosis. We performed hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps on the DIO mice treated with Genz-112638 and showed that insulin-mediated suppression of hepatic glucose production increased significantly compared to the placebo treated mice, indicating a marked improvement in hepatic insulin sensitivity.These results indicate that GSL inhibition in obese mice primarily results in an increase in insulin action in the liver, and suggests that GSLs may have an important role in hepatic insulin resistance in conditions of obesity

Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes

Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale(1-3). Here we report the integrative analysis of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We describe the generation of the PCAWG resource, facilitated by international data sharing using compute clouds. On average, cancer genomes contained 4-5 driver mutations when combining coding and non-coding genomic elements; however, in around 5% of cases no drivers were identified, suggesting that cancer driver discovery is not yet complete. Chromothripsis, in which many clustered structural variants arise in a single catastrophic event, is frequently an early event in tumour evolution; in acral melanoma, for example, these events precede most somatic point mutations and affect several cancer-associated genes simultaneously. Cancers with abnormal telomere maintenance often originate from tissues with low replicative activity and show several mechanisms of preventing telomere attrition to critical levels. Common and rare germline variants affect patterns of somatic mutation, including point mutations, structural variants and somatic retrotransposition. A collection of papers from the PCAWG Consortium describes non-coding mutations that drive cancer beyond those in the TERT promoter(4); identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation(5,6); analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution(7); describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity(8,9); and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes(8,10-18).Peer reviewe

High density SNP and DArT-based genetic linkage maps of two closely related oil palm populations

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is an outbreeding perennial tree crop with long breeding cycles, typically 12 years. Molecular marker technologies can greatly improve the breeding efficiency of oil palm. This study reports the first use of the DArTseq platform to genotype two closely related self-pollinated oil palm populations, namely AA0768 and AA0769 with 48 and 58 progeny respectively. Genetic maps were constructed using the DArT and SNP markers generated in combination with anchor SSR markers. Both maps consisted of 16 major independent linkage groups (2n = 2× = 32) with 1399 and 1466 mapped markers for the AA0768 and AA0769 populations, respectively, including the morphological trait “shell-thickness” (Sh). The map lengths were 1873.7 and 1720.6 cM with an average marker density of 1.34 and 1.17 cM, respectively. The integrated map was 1803.1 cM long with 2066 mapped markers and average marker density of 0.87 cM. A total of 82% of the DArTseq marker sequence tags identified a single site in the published genome sequence, suggesting preferential targeting of gene-rich regions by DArTseq markers. Map integration of higher density focused around the Sh region identified closely linked markers to the Sh, with D.15322 marker 0.24 cM away from the morphological trait and 5071 bp from the transcriptional start of the published SHELL gene. Identification of the Sh marker demonstrates the robustness of using the DArTseq platform to generate high density genetic maps of oil palm with good genome coverage. Both genetic maps and integrated maps will be useful for quantitative trait loci analysis of important yield traits as well as potentially assisting the anchoring of genetic maps to genomic sequences

Effects of liquid natural rubber (LNR) on the mechanical properties of LNR toughened epoxy composite

The effects of liquid natural rubber (LNR) on the morphology and mechanical properties of rubber modified epoxy were investigated. Epoxy composites were prepared in four different compositions of LNR (3, 5, 7 and 9phr) by using twin screw extruder. The samples for tensile, fracture toughness and impact tests were prepared according to ASTM D 638, D 5045 and D 256. The elastomeric nature of rubber can act as energy dissipating centre to cause the ductile fracture for the rubber modified epoxy. They was an obvious increment of fracture toughness where maximum value was observed with 3 phr LNR. A clear increment of impact strength at 3 phr LNR was observed, followed by a small increment at 5 phr and no further increment at 7 and 9 phr LNR. The tensile strength showed a similar trend with impact strength and Young’s modulus. SEM micrographs showed an increment of rubber particle size when the amount of LNR was increased and caused the mechanical properties to drop