Effects of diet composition on growth performance and feed conversion efficiency in Alphitobius diaperinus larvae

Alphitobius diap]erinus has been recommended for mass-production as feed in a rearing facility because of its small size and short biological cycle. This study evaluated the effects of wheat bran and casein or their blend as insect diets on growth performance and feed conversion efficiency of A. diaperinus larvae in the laboratory. Casein and wheat bran were the protein and carbohydrate sources of choice, respectively, for diet preparation. Five experimental diet treatments to be tested were designed as follows: control (100% casein), T1 (75% casein +25% wheat bran), T2 (50% casein +50% wheat bran), T3 (25% casein +70% wheat bran), and T4 (100% wheat bran). A total of 150 new hatched larvae were randomly allotted to one of the five dietary treatments, with three replicates (10 hatched larvae per replicate). The standard colonies were composed of 10 hatched larvae, without distinction of sex, reared in a plastic box (14×8×5 cm) provided with aeration holes on the top. The evaluation of A. diaperinus larvae included growth performance and feed efficiency. Using casein and wheat bran blends for diet had a positive effect on weight gain and feed conversion ratio of A. diaperinus larvae, including an increase in average larval survival and average larval weight. Using casein and wheat blends (75% casein +25% wheat bran or 25% casein +70% wheat bran) as insect-rearing diet will allow effective utilization of the feed for poultry when using the edible portion of mealworms before reaching the pupae stage

Cognitive Ability and Cardiovascular Control in Intellectually and Developmentally Disabled People

Earlier, we examined positive effects of hyperoxic air on the cognitive ability of intellectually and developmentally disabled people (IDDP). In this study, correlation between cognitive performance in the visual matching task and heart rate (HR) was investigated under normal air conditions. Eighteen men (mean age 28.7 ± 5.0 year) and 22 women (mean age 35.5 ± 6.9 year) with an assessed disability level of 2.3 ± 0.6 participated. The experiment consisted of three phases, a total of 7 min, including the rest (3 min), control (2 min), and visual matching task 2 min phases. The HR in visual matching task phase increased, compared to those in the rest and control phases. The cognitive ability in the visual matching task correlated with the HR values; the response time showed a negative correlation with HR, while the accuracy rate showed a positive correlation. Thus, adaptive changes in cardiovascular regulation probably related to cognitive efforts and emotional excitation should be considered a noticeable factor influencing brain supply with oxygen in IDDP (similarly to healthy people). The result of this study agrees with the earlier obtained indications that hyperoxic air can positively affect the cognitive performance in IDDP.Раніше ми вивчали позитивні впливи повітря, збагаченого киснем, на когнітивні здатності людей з недостатнім інтелектуальним розвитком (НІР). У нашій роботі ми досліджували кореляцію між показниками когнітивної активності в тесті візуальної відповідності та частотою серцевих скорочень (ЧСС) у таких суб’єктів в умовах дихання нормальним повітрям. У тестах брали участь 18 чоловіків (середній вік 28.7 ± 5.0 року) та 22 жінки (35.5 ± 6.9 року) з оцінкою рівня інтелектуального розвитку 2.3 ± 0.6. Експеримент (загальна тривалість 7 хв) складався з трьох фаз: стан розслаблення (3 хв), контроль (2 хв) та тест візуальної відповідності (2 хв). Величини ЧСС у межах цього тесту порівняно з величинами в умовах розслаблення й контролю зростали. Показники когнітивних здібностей корелювали з величинами ЧСС; кореляція часу відповіді була негативною, а точності відповіді – позитивною. Отже, адаптивні зміни регуляції серцево-судинної системи, мабуть, пов’язані з когнітивними зусиллями та емоційним збудженням, є істотним фактором, який впливає на постачання мозку киснем у людей із НІР (як і у здорових людей). Результати нашої роботи узгоджуються з отриманими раніше свідоцтвами про те, що дихання повітрям, збагаченим киснем, позитивно впливає на когнітивні можливості людей із НІР

Magnetic Field Generation in Stars

Enormous progress has been made on observing stellar magnetism in stars from the main sequence through to compact objects. Recent data have thrown into sharper relief the vexed question of the origin of stellar magnetic fields, which remains one of the main unanswered questions in astrophysics. In this chapter we review recent work in this area of research. In particular, we look at the fossil field hypothesis which links magnetism in compact stars to magnetism in main sequence and pre-main sequence stars and we consider why its feasibility has now been questioned particularly in the context of highly magnetic white dwarfs. We also review the fossil versus dynamo debate in the context of neutron stars and the roles played by key physical processes such as buoyancy, helicity, and superfluid turbulence,in the generation and stability of neutron star fields. Independent information on the internal magnetic field of neutron stars will come from future gravitational wave detections. Thus we maybe at the dawn of a new era of exciting discoveries in compact star magnetism driven by the opening of a new, non-electromagnetic observational window. We also review recent advances in the theory and computation of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence as it applies to stellar magnetism and dynamo theory. These advances offer insight into the action of stellar dynamos as well as processes whichcontrol the diffusive magnetic flux transport in stars.Comment: 41 pages, 7 figures. Invited review chapter on on magnetic field generation in stars to appear in Space Science Reviews, Springe

Quantum dots coordinated with conjugated organic ligands: new nanomaterials with novel photophysics

CdSe quantum dots functionalized with oligo-(phenylene vinylene) (OPV) ligands (CdSe-OPV nanostructures) represent a new class of composite nanomaterials with significantly modified photophysics relative to bulk blends or isolated components. Single-molecule spectroscopy on these species have revealed novel photophysics such as enhanced energy transfer, spectral stability, and strongly modified excited state lifetimes and blinking statistics. Here, we review the role of ligands in quantum dot applications and summarize some of our recent efforts probing energy and charge transfer in hybrid CdSe-OPV composite nanostructures

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Narrowband Searches for Continuous and Long-duration Transient Gravitational Waves from Known Pulsars in the LIGO-Virgo Third Observing Run

Isolated neutron stars that are asymmetric with respect to their spin axis are possible sources of detectable continuous gravitational waves. This paper presents a fully coherent search for such signals from eighteen pulsars in data from LIGO and Virgo's third observing run (O3). For known pulsars, efficient and sensitive matched-filter searches can be carried out if one assumes the gravitational radiation is phase-locked to the electromagnetic emission. In the search presented here, we relax this assumption and allow both the frequency and the time derivative of the frequency of the gravitational waves to vary in a small range around those inferred from electromagnetic observations. We find no evidence for continuous gravitational waves, and set upper limits on the strain amplitude for each target. These limits are more constraining for seven of the targets than the spin-down limit defined by ascribing all rotational energy loss to gravitational radiation. In an additional search, we look in O3 data for long-duration (hours-months) transient gravitational waves in the aftermath of pulsar glitches for six targets with a total of nine glitches. We report two marginal outliers from this search, but find no clear evidence for such emission either. The resulting duration-dependent strain upper limits do not surpass indirect energy constraints for any of these targets. © 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society