Further considerations of cosmic ray modulation of infra-red radiation in the atmosphere

Understanding effects of ionisation in the lower atmosphere is a new interdisciplinary area, crossing the traditionally distinct scientific boundaries between astro-particle and atmospheric physics and also requiring understanding of both heliospheric and magnetospheric influences on cosmic rays. Following the paper of Erlykin et al. (2014) we develop further the interpretation of our observed changes in long-wave (LW) radiation, Aplin and Lockwood (2013) by taking account of both cosmic ray ionisation yields and atmospheric radiative transfer. To demonstrate this, we show that the thermal structure of the whole atmosphere needs to be considered along with the vertical profile of ionisation. Allowing for, in particular, ionisation by all components of a cosmic ray shower and not just by the muons, reveals that the effect we have detected is certainly not inconsistent with laboratory observations of the LW absorption cross section. The analysis presented here, although very different from that of Erlykin et al., does come to the same conclusion that the events detected by AL were not caused by individual cosmic ray primaries – not because it is impossible on energetic grounds, but because events of the required energy are too infrequent for the 12 h_1 rate at which they were seen by the AL experiment. The present paper numerically models the effect of three different scenario changes to the primary GCR spectrum which all reproduce the required magnitude of the effect observed by AL. However, they cannot solely explain the observed delay in the peak effect which, if confirmed, would appear to open up a whole new and interesting area in the study of water oligomers and their effects on LW radiation. We argue that a technical artefact in the AL experiment is highly unlikely and that our initial observations merit both a wide-ranging follow-up experiment and more rigorous, self-consistent, three-dimensional radiative transfer modellin

Levels of available phosphorus and calcium for broilers from 8 to 35 days of age fed rations containing phytase Níveis de fósforo disponível e de cálcio para frangos de corte de 8 a 35 dias de idade alimentados com rações contendo fitase

Two experiments using Cobb broiler chicks from 8 to 35 days of age were carried out to evaluate the effect of reducing levels of calcium and available phosphorus in diets supplemented with 500 ftu phytase/kg on the performance of the birds, the content of ashes in the tibia, the metabolizable energy of the diet, and the metabolizability of the dry matter and crude protein. It was used 1,404 broiler chicks in the experiment 1 to evaluate feed intake, weight gain, food conversion and percentage of the ashes in the tibia. In the experiment 2, simultaneously carried out with experiment 1, a total of 390 birds were transferred to a metabolism room to determine the metabolizable energy and metabolizability of the dry matter and crude protein. It was used in the two experiments, a complete random design in a 3 × 4 + 1 factorial scheme with three levels of available phosphorus (0.375; 0.325; and 0.275%) and four levels of calcium (0.85; 0.75; 0.65 and 0.55%) in the diets, supplemented with phytase. It was also used a control diet without phytase, based on corn and soybean bran, formulated with 0.425% of available phosphorus and 0.85% of calcium. In the experiment 1, the reduction of levels of calcium and phosphorus did not cause a significant difference on the performance and percentage of bone ashes. The levels of calcium and available phosphorus used in the experiment 2 can be reduced down to 0.65 and 0.325%, respectively, because the effects are similar to those obtained with the currently suggested levels.<br>Dois experimentos com pintos de corte da linhagem Cobb no período de 8 a 35 dias de idade foram realizados para avaliar o efeito da redução dos níveis de cálcio e fósforo disponível (Pdisp) em rações suplementadas com 500 ftu de fitase/kg sobre o desempenho das aves, o teor de cinzas na tíbia, a energia metabolizável (EMAn) da dieta e a metabolizabilidade da matéria seca (MS) e da proteína bruta (PB). No experimento 1, foram utilizados 1.404 pintos de corte para avaliação do consumo de ração, do ganho de peso, da conversão alimentar e da porcentagem de cinzas na tíbia. No experimento 2, conduzido simultaneamente ao primeiro, um total de 390 aves foram transferidas para uma sala de metabolismo para determinação da EMAn e da metabolizabilidade da MS e PB. Nos dois experimentos, utilizou-se delineamento inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial 3 × 4 + 1, com três níveis de fósforo disponível (0,375; 0,325 e 0,275%) e quatro níveis de cálcio (0,85; 0,75; 0,65 e 0,55%) nas dietas, suplementadas com fitase. Também foi usada uma dieta controle sem fitase, à base de milho e farelo de soja, formulada com 0,425% de fósforo disponível e 0,85% de cálcio. No experimento 1, a redução dos níveis de cálcio e fósforo não ocasionou diferença significativa no desempenho e na porcentagem de cinzas ósseas. Os níveis de cálcio e fósforo disponível utilizados no experimento 2 podem ser reduzidos em até 0,65 e 0,325%, respectivamente, pois os efeitos são semelhantes aos obtidos com os níveis atualmente recomendados