Effects of hourly, daily and seasonal variation of hazardous gases and climatic factors on the welfare of sheep housed in solid-floor confinement barns

Ambient air quality in livestock buildings is one of the most important factors affecting environmental pollution and global warming. Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S) are among the most hazardous gases in terms of human and animal health. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of hourly, daily and seasonal variations in the levels of hazardous gases, such as CO2, CH4, NH3 and H2S in a solid-floor confinement sheep barn; as well as the effect of climatic parameters, temperature (T), relative humidity (RH) and air flow (AF) on animal welfare. The correlation between hazardous gases and climatic factors in the barn was also determined. The study was carried out on a sheep farm between July 2012 and June 2013 in Konya (Turkey) where few data are currently available on this subject. Climatic data were measured at intervals of five minutes at different points during this study, while hazardous gases were measured at the same intervals during the experimental periods (10 days for each season). All data were analysed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s method was used to reveal intergroup differences. Cross-bilateral correlation between all data and different time periods was examined. There were significant differences between hourly and daily mean values of CO2, NH3, T, RH and AF. CO2 and NH3 levels showed a significant correlation with T and RH. Unfortunately, H2S and CH4 were below the level of detection in the study. Reducing the formation of these harmful gases, which have negative effects on animal production and cause environmental pollution, will be carried out with new sheep barn designs that take into account ambient air quality appropriate for animal welfare.Keywords: Ambient air quality, animal production, CH4, CO2, environmental pollution, H2S, NH3, sheep bar

Identification of genetic variation in the major histocompatibility complex gene region in Turkish sheep breeds

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in sheep, Ovar-Mhc, remains poorly characterized relative to other domestic animals. However, its basic structure is similar to that of other mammals, comprising class I, II and III regions. In this study, the Ovine MHC class II DRB1 and DRB3 genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction in eight sheep breeds reared in Turkey. Informative restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) were obtained with five restriction enzymes for DRB1 and with two restriction enzymes for DRB3. The digestion of DRB1 exon 2 with NciI, SacI, SacII, Hin1I each produced three genotypes and two alleles (viz., a and b) with frequencies of 0.69 and 0.31; 0.65 and 0.35; 0.91 and 0.09; 0.57 and 0.43, respectively. The digestion of DRB1 exon 2 with DdeI produced four genotypes and three alleles (viz., a, b and c) with frequencies of 0.62, 0.28 and 0.10, respectively. On the other hand, the digestion of DRB3 exon 2 with NdeII and BsaI each produced three genotypes and two alleles (viz., a and b) with frequencies of 0.72 and 0.28; 0.96 and 0.04, respectively. This study presents the genetic profiles of the exon 2 region of the MHC DRB1 and DRB3 genes in native Turkish sheep breeds.Keywords: DRB1, DRB3, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP

Photoluminescence and concentration quenching of Pr3+ doped BaTa2O6 phosphor

The pure and Pr3+ doped TTB-BaTa2O6 phosphors were obtained by the solid state reaction method at 1 425 °C for 20hours. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analyses confirmed a single phase of BaTa2O6up to 10 mol % Pr2O36. SEM analysis also shows that BaTa2O6 grain size decreased with the increasing Pr2O36 concentration.The chemical composition of Pr3+ doped BaTa2O6 structures was confirmed by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy(EDS) analysis. BaTa2O6:Pr3+ phosphors exhibited on a strong red emission at 620,9 nm, a green emission at 548,3 nm and a red emission at 655,2 nm. Emission intensity increased with Pr3+ doping concentration up to 1,5 mol %, then decreased due to concentration quenching

Serum immone complexes in renal amyloidosis

Böbrek Hastalıkları ve Hipertansiyon VakfıAnkara Tıp Fakültesi Nefroloji Bilim Dalında, tanılan histolojik olarak konulmuş olan 32 renal amiloidozisli hasta ile 20 normal kişide serum immün kompleks değerleri ölçüldü. Serum immün kompleks değerleri amiloidozisli hastalarda normale göre belirgin olarak yüksek bulundu. Ayrıca primer, sekonder, ailevi akdeniz humması ve nedeni kesinlikle saptanamayan hastalar kendi aralarında karşılaştırıldı. Bu gruplar arasında, serum immün kompleks yoğunluğu açısından anlamlı bir farklılık bulunamadı.Serum immune complexes were measured in 32 patients with renal amyloidosis diagnosed histologically and 20 control subjects in the Section of Nephrology of Ankara Medical School. Serum immune complexe concentration in the patients with renal amyloidosis was higher than that normal subjects. There was no diagnostic value of serum immune complexes in the classification of the systemic amyloidosis

Highly porous and mechanically strong ceramic oxide aerogels

Structurally stable and mechanically strong ceramic oxide aerogels are provided. The aerogels are cross-linked via organic polymer chains that are attached to and extend from surface-bound functional groups provided or present over the internal surfaces of a mesoporous ceramic oxide particle network via appropriate chemical reactions. The functional groups can be hydroxyl groups, which are native to ceramic oxides, or they can be non-hydroxyl functional groups that can be decorated over the internal surfaces of the ceramic oxide network. Methods of preparing such mechanically strong ceramic oxide aerogels also are provided

Highly porous and mechanically strong ceramic oxide aerogels

Structurally stable and mechanically strong ceramic oxide aerogels are provided. The aerogels are cross-linked via organic polymer chains that are attached to and extend from surface-bound functional groups provided or present over the internal surfaces of a mesoporous ceramic oxide particle network via appropriate chemical reactions. The functional groups can be hydroxyl groups, which are native to ceramic oxides, or they can be non-hydroxyl functional groups that can be decorated over the internal surfaces of the ceramic oxide network. Methods of preparing such mechanically strong ceramic oxide aerogels also are provided