The Addition of Zinc in Nutritive Rich Feed Containing Lemuru Oil to Growth and Birth Weight of Bali Cattle

An experiment was conducted to examine the addition of zinc in nutritive rich feed contained lemuru oil to growth and birth weight of Bali cattle. The experiment design used was randomized complete block design. The animal were randomly assigned into four group of treatments, i. e addition of 0, 75, 150 and 225 mg ZnSO4 kg-1 on nutritive rich feed (NRF) containing lemuru oil. The basal diet consist dried grass while NRF consisted of palm sugar, leucaena and glirisidia leaf meal, rice bran fermentation, fish meal, lemuru oil and urea. The crude protein content of NRF was 23%, while total digestible nutrient (TDN) was 70%. Addition ZnSO4 in the diet did not increase significantly zinc status, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) concentration and ME retention. However, level of ZnSO4 addition increase significantly (P<0.01) zinc absorption, N retention, growth and birth weight of Bali Cattle (P<0.01). The fastest of growth was achieved at level of ZnSO4 addition of 150 mg ZnSO4.kg-1 NRF. (Animal Production 11(1): 59-65 (2009

Magnetic properties of uncultivated magnetotactic bacteria and their contribution to a stratified estuary iron cycle

Of the two nanocrystal (magnetosome) compositions biosynthesized by magnetotactic bacteria (MTB), the magnetic properties of magnetite magnetosomes have been extensively studied using widely available cultures, while those of greigite magnetosomes remain poorly known. Here we have collected uncultivated magnetite- and greigite-producing MTB to determine their magnetic coercivity distribution and ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectra and to assess the MTB-associated iron flux. We find that compared with magnetite-producing MTB cultures, FMR spectra of uncultivated MTB are characterized by a wider empirical parameter range, thus complicating the use of FMR for fossilized magnetosome (magnetofossil) detection. Furthermore, in stark contrast to putative Neogene greigite magnetofossil records, the coercivity distributions for greigite-producing MTB are fundamentally left-skewed with a lower median. Lastly, a comparison between the MTB-associated iron flux in the investigated estuary and the pyritic-Fe flux in the Black Sea suggests MTB play an important, but heretofore overlooked role in euxinic marine system iron cycle.© 2014, Rights Managed by Nature Publishing Group

Modelling India’s coal production with a negatively skewed curve-fitting model

India’s coal demand is forecast to increase at a rapid pace in the future due to the country’s economic and population growth. Analyzing the scope for future production of India’s domestic coal resources, therefore, plays a vital role in the country’s development of sound energy policies. This paper presents a quantitative scenario analysis of India’s potential future coal production by using a negatively skewed curve-fitting model and a range of estimates of the country’s ultimately recoverable resources (URR) of coal. The results show that the resource base is sufficient for India’s coal production to keep increasing over the next few decades, to reach between 2400 and 3200 Mt/y at 2050, depending on the assumed value of URR. A further analysis shows that the high end of this range, which corresponds to our ‘GSI’ scenario, can be considered as the probable upper-bound to India’s domestic coal production. Comparison of production based on the ‘GSI’ scenario with India’s predicted demand shows that the domestic production of coal will be insufficient to meet the country’s rising coal demand, with the gap between demand and production increasing from its current value of about 268 Mt/y to reach 300 Mt/y in 2035, and 700 Mt/y by 2050. This increasing gap will be challenging for the energy security of India

Cyst formation and faecal-oral transmission of Dientamoeba fragilis - The missing link in the life cycle of an emerging pathogen

Dientamoeba fragilis is a protozoan parasite emerging as a cause of diarrhoea and "irritable-bowel-like" gastrointestinal disease in humans with a propensity for establishing long-term, chronic infections in humans. Although Dientamoeba was discovered over a century ago its life cycle and mode of transmission is not known. No cyst stage has been described and no animal models are presently available for the study of this parasite. Here we describe the establishment of an animal model using laboratory rodents, the fulfilling of Koch's postulates, and the discovery of a new cyst stage in the life cycle of D. fragilis. Our demonstration of long-term parasite carriage by rodents and prolonged shedding of cysts, together with elevated levels of calprotectin in the stool, confirms the capacity of this organism to cause disease and indicates dientamoebiasis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of gastrointestinal diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Finally, we suggest that the cyst stage described here is the vehicle that mediates faecal-oral transmission of D. fragilis between hosts. © 2013 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc

The ultrastructure of spinal cord perivascular spaces: Implications for the circulation of cerebrospinal fluid

Perivascular spaces play a pivotal role in the exchange between cerebrospinal and interstitial fluids, and in the clearance of waste in the CNS, yet their precise anatomical components are not well described. The aim of this study was to characterise the ultrastructure of perivascular spaces and their role in the transport of fluid, in the spinal cord of healthy rats, using transmission electron microscopy. The distribution of cerebrospinal fluid tracers injected into the subarachnoid space was studied using light, confocal and electron microscopy. Perivascular spaces were found around arterioles and venules, but not capillaries, throughout the spinal cord white and grey matter. They contained fibroblasts and collagen fibres, and were continuous with the extracellular spaces of the surrounding tissue. At 5 min post injection, tracers were seen in the subarachnoid space, the peripheral white matter, the perivascular spaces, basement membranes, extracellular spaces of the surrounding tissue, and surprisingly, in the lumen of blood vessels, suggesting trans-vascular clearance. These findings point out an unrecognised outflow pathway for CNS fluids, with potential implications for volume regulation in health and disease states, but also clinically for the detection of CNS-derived biomarkers in plasma, the immune response and drug pharmacokinetics

Characterisation and engineering properties of Tiller clay

A detailed characterisation of the quick clay underlying the NTNU research site at Tiller, Trondheim is presented. The objective of the work is to provide guidance on quick clay parameters to engineers and researchers working with similar clays in Scandinavia and North America especially on landslide hazard assessment. The material is lightly overconsolidated and is characterised by its high degree of structure and very high sensitivity (quick clay). Clay and water contents are both about 40%. The plasticity index is low (5%). This relates to the low active minerals of the clay and silt fractions (illite/chlorite and quartz/feldspars respectively). Undrained shear strength is of the order of 30 kPa to 50 kPa (medium stiff) and increases with depth. The deposit is consistent across the site and its properties are similar to other Norwegian quick clays. Significant efforts have been made into examining sample disturbance effects on the material. It was found that thin walled steel fixed piston samples can yield results similar to those of block samples provided the work is carried out with extreme care and storage time is minimised. The piezocone (CPTU) test proved very useful in characterising the material.Deposited by bulk impor