Palm kernel expellers as an alternative ingredient in growing pig diets

This study evaluated the effects of palm kernel expellers in growing diets on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and carcass and meat quality characteristics of growing-finishing pigs. A total of 88 growing pigs were randomly assigned to two dietary treatment groups. The control diet (CON) was a typical growing or finishing diet based on corn-soybean meal, and the treatment diet (PKE) was formulated by replacing CON with 20% palm kernel expellers. The PKE-CON group was fed the PKE diet during the growing period (six weeks) and the CON diet during the finishing period (12 weeks). The CON-CON group was fed the CON diets during both growing and finishing periods. The PKE-CON group showed significantly depressed growth performance and lower nutrient digestibility than the CON-CON group during the growing period. However, after feeding the typical finisher diets during the finishing period, the PKE-CON group showed no difference in growth performance in comparison with the CON-CON group during both the finishing and overall experimental periods. In addition, carcass and meat quality characteristics were not significantly different between the PKE-CON and the CON-CON groups. The results of this study imply that palm kernel expellers can be an alternative ingredient in the growing diets of growing-finishing pigs if the combined feeding strategy (PKE for the growing period and CON for the finishing period) is used.Keywords: Feed alternatives, growing pig diet, growth performance, meat quality traits, palm kernel expelle

Rheological behavior of magnetic powder mixtures for magnetic PIM

Powder injection molding (PIM) is a promising manufacturing technology for the net-shape production of small, complex, and precise metal or ceramic components. In order to manufacture high quality magnets using PIM, the magneto-rheological (MR) properties of the PIM feedstock, i.e. magnetic powder-binder mixture, should be investigated experimentally and theoretically. The current research aims at comprehensive understanding of the rheological characteristics of the PIM feedstock. The feedstock used in the experiment consists of strontium ferrite powder and paraffin wax. Steady and oscillatory shear tests have been carried out using a plate-and-plate rheometer, under the influence of a uniform magnetic field applied externally. Rheological properties of the PIM feedstock have been measured and characterized for various conditions by changing the temperature, the powder fraction and the magnetic flux densit

Rheological behavior of magnetic powder mixtures for magnetic PIM

Powder injection molding (PIM) is a promising manufacturing technology for the net-shape production of small, complex, and precise metal or ceramic components. In order to manufacture high quality magnets using PIM, the magneto-rheological (MR) properties of the PIM feedstock, i.e. magnetic powder-binder mixture, should be investigated experimentally and theoretically. The current research aims at comprehensive understanding of the rheological characteristics of the PIM feedstock. The feedstock used in the experiment consists of strontium ferrite powder and paraffin wax. Steady and oscillatory shear tests have been carried out using a plate-and-plate rheometer, under the influence of a uniform magnetic field applied externally. Rheological properties of the PIM feedstock have been measured and characterized for various conditions by changing the temperature, the powder fraction and the magnetic flux densit

Performance improvement of normally off AlGaN/GaN FinFETs with fully gate-covered nanochannel

International audienceVol. 89, pp. doi: (Nov. 2013

Mapping quantitative trait loci for tissue culture response in VCS3M-DH population of Brassica rapa

Quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling callus induction and plant regeneration were identified in the VCS3M-DH population of Brassica rapa. The VCS3M-DH population showed wide and continuous variation in callus induction and shoot regeneration. Significant coefficient correlations were detected between these two parameters. Broad-sense heritability (h2) for the two traits was around 0.7, indicating genetic regulation of regeneration ability in this population. In the composite interval mapping analysis, two QTLs for callus induction ability, qCi2 and qCi7, were mapped on chromosome A02 and A07, explaining 28.6 % of phenotypic variation. For plant regeneration, four QTLs, qPr6-1 qPr6-2, qPr7, and qPr9 were identified on chromosome A06, A07, and A09, which in total explained 50.1 % of phenotypic variation. Furthermore, 15 putative candidate genes were found on the interval of the six QTLs, which were related to various plant hormones, MADS-box genes, and serine/threonine related genes. These results provide important information to identify genes related to tissue culture ability in B. rap

Enhanced photodetector performance in gold nanoparticle decorated ZnO microrods

Herein, we present a facile synthesis of ZnO microrods and surface decoration with gold nanoparticles using a low-cost deposition apparatus. The ZnO microrods were fabricated via a single-step solid-state reaction, and the gold nanoparticles were synthesized on the surface of the microrods by the deposition of gold thin films and sequential heat treatment. The size of the gold nanoparticles was controlled by varying the thickness of the gold thin films and the annealing temperature. The intensity of green emission in the photoluminescence spectra decreased with increasing gold nanoparticle size. A surface plasmon resonance peak originating from the gold nanoparticles appeared at ~570 nm in the absorption spectra, and the peak redshifted as the nanoparticle size increased. The ultraviolet (UV) on???off current ratio and response speed of single ZnO microrod photodetectors significantly increased after surface decoration by gold nanoparticles. However, the performance of the photodetector degraded as the size of the gold nanoparticles increased owing to the absorption of incident UV light. The enhanced photodetector performance of the surface-modified ZnO microrods is explained by the transfer of energetic electrons excited by surface plasmon resonance from the defect level to the conduction band of the ZnO microrods. ?? 2020 Elsevier Inc

Au-ag core-shell nanoparticle array by block copolymer lithography for synergistic broadband plasmonic properties

Localized surface plasmon resonance of metallic nanostructures receives noticeable attention in photonics, electronics, catalysis, and so on. Core-shell nanostructures are particularly attractive due to the versatile tunability of plasmonic properties along with the independent control of core size, shell thickness, and corresponding chemical composition, but they commonly suffer from difficult synthetic procedures. We present a reliable and controllable route to a highly ordered uniform Au@Ag core-shell nanoparticle array via block copolymer lithography and subsequent seeded-shell growth. Size-tunable monodisperse Au nanodot arrays are generated by block copolymer self-assembly and are used as seed layers to grow Ag shells with variable thickness. The resultant Au@Ag core-shell nanoparticle arrays exhibit widely tunable broadband enhancement of plasmonic resonance, greatly surpassing single-element nanoparticle or homogeneous alloy nanoparticle arrays. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering of the core-shell nanoparticle arrays showed an enhancement factor greater than 270 from Au nanoparticle arrays. © 2015 American Chemical Society156581sciescopu