The effect of cadmium on the bovine in vitro oocyte maturation and early embryo development

Common pollutants such as heavy metals and cadmium is among those with high environmental concerns. In vivo studies had shown that cadmium (Cd) causes oocyte degeneration and embryo mortality, and lowers pregnancy rates in mammals. However, there is limited information available about direct effects of Cd on oocyte maturation and/or embryo development. This study was aimed to investigate if Cd has any effect on the oocyte maturation and/or embryo development in vitro. Bovine COCs were collected from the slaughter house and cultured for 24 h in serum-free media only (Controls) or supplemented with 0.2, 2.0 and 20.0 μM CdCl2. At 24 h cumulus cell expansion was assessed in all COCs. COCs were either denuded and stained for determination of nuclear maturation or fertilized for assessment of subsequent embryo development. Cd at the lowest concentration (0.2 μM) did not affect any of the parameters studied. However, at higher concentrations (2.0 and 20.0 μM) it significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the percentage of fully-expanded COCs and significantly (P < 0.05) increased the percentage of partially and/or non-expanded COCs compared to controls and 0.2 μM. Cadmium at higher concentrations (2.0 and 20.0 μM) also significantly (P < 0.01) reduced the percentage of oocytes reaching metaphase II stage compared to controls and 0.2 μM. Post-fertilization cleavage rate in presumptive zygotes and blastocyst development significantly (P < 0.05) reduced 0.2, 2.0 and 20.0 μM CdCl2 compared to the controls (0.0 μM). In conclusion, these results suggest that Cd had direct detrimental effects on the bovine oocyte maturation and its developmental competence

Livestock Market Integration and Price Discovery: Case of Mali

Replaced with revised version of paper 02/22/11.cointegration, structural breaks, market integration, Agricultural and Food Policy, Demand and Price Analysis, International Development, Livestock Production/Industries,

Emerging Near-Real Time Forage Monitoring Technology with Application to Large Herbivore Management in Mongolia

Large herbivore livestock and wildlife in Mongolia depend almost entirely for substance on forage standing crop produced each year on natural pastureland. Consequently, both livestock and wildlife are continuously subject to environmental risk, especially drought and severe winter storms, while livestock are also subject to financial risk. As consumption-based livestock production changes to commercialized livestock production, steps taken by the livestock herder to avert both environmental and financial risk to livestock can increase environmental risk to large wild herbivores. A realistic and workable pastureland and risk management system will be critical for conservation of large herbivore habitat. New technologies are becoming available to facilitate understanding of risk and resource allocation. Texas A&M University has developed a suite of innovative technologies that facilitate resolving risk and resource allocation issues. A pre-parameterized rangeland model (i.e., PHYGROW) provides daily estimates of forage available to a mixed population of herbivores. Near Infra-Red Spectroscopy (NIRS) allows prediction of diet quality of free-ranging large herbivores via fecal scans which, when coupled with advanced nutritional management software (i.e., NUTBAL), can predict performance of animals. Oregon State University has developed a computerized multi-criteria decision-making tool (i.e., KRESS) that can take landscape parameters and determine the suitability of each cell or unit of the landscape for use by large herbivores. Emerging near real-time technologies can help clarify habitat needs, identify habitat improvements, and enable better management of large herbivore wildlife and livestock

Influence of nano-reinforcements on the mechanical properties and microstructure of titanium matrix composites

The goal of this work is the evaluation of nanoscaled reinforcements; in particular nanodiamonds (NDs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on properties of titanium matrix composites (TiMMCs). By using nano sized materials as reinforcement in TiMMCs, superior mechanical and physical properties can be expected. Additionally, titanium powder metallurgy (P/M) offers the possibility of changing the reinforcement content in the matrix within a very wide range. In this work, TiMMCs have been produced from titanium powder (Grade 4). The manufacturing of the composites was done by hot pressing, followed by the characterisation of the TiMMCs. The Archimedes density, hardness and oxygen content of the specimens in addition to the mechanical properties were compared and reported in this work. Moreover, XRD analysis and SEM observations revealed in situ formed titanium carbide (TiC) phase after hot pressing in TiMMCs reinforced with NDs and CNTs, at 900 °C and 1100 °C respectively. The strengthening effect of NDs was more significant since its distribution was more homogeneous in the matrix

Emerging Near-Real Time Forage Monitoring Technology with Application to Large Herbivore Management in Mongolia

Large herbivore livestock and wildlife in Mongolia depend almost entirely for substance on forage standing crop produced each year on natural pastureland. Consequently, both livestock and wildlife are continuously subject to environmental risk, especially drought and severe winter storms, while livestock are also subject to financial risk. As consumption-based livestock production changes to commercialized livestock production, steps taken by the livestock herder to avert both environmental and financial risk to livestock can increase environmental risk to large wild herbivores. A realistic and workable pastureland and risk management system will be critical for conservation of large herbivore habitat. New technologies are becoming available to facilitate understanding of risk and resource allocation. Texas A&M University has developed a suite of innovative technologies that facilitate resolving risk and resource allocation issues. A pre-parameterized rangeland model (i.e., PHYGROW) provides daily estimates of forage available to a mixed population of herbivores. Near Infra-Red Spectroscopy (NIRS) allows prediction of diet quality of free-ranging large herbivores via fecal scans which, when coupled with advanced nutritional management software (i.e., NUTBAL), can predict performance of animals. Oregon State University has developed a computerized multi-criteria decision-making tool (i.e., KRESS) that can take landscape parameters and determine the suitability of each cell or unit of the landscape for use by large herbivores. Emerging near real-time technologies can help clarify habitat needs, identify habitat improvements, and enable better management of large herbivore wildlife and livestock

Examining the Impact of Patch Burning on Livestock Grazing Patterns in Edwards Plateau, Texas

Production of sheep, goat, and cattle are major agricultural enterprises on West Texas rangelands, especially in the Edwards Plateau. In this region, the use of fire as a management tool was suppressed until recently. Although previous studies have been conducted to evaluate cattle use of burned versus unburned patches, there has been a lack of studies where combinations of livestock species grazing together on patch burned areas have been evaluated. The objective of this study is to examine grazing patterns of cattle, sheep and goats, both spatially and temporally, on areas where patch burning has been implemented. The study site is the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Ranch, Martin Ranch, located in Mesquite-Oak-Savanna ecosystem in Menard County of Texas, USA. In February 2019 and September 2020, patch burns were implemented on the ranch and represented about 29% of the total ranch area (480 out of 1655 ha). After the burns, animals from the resident herd were randomly selected and GPS collars were placed on 34 goats, 33 sheep, and 8 cows to reflect the proportion of animals in the resident herd. The GPS collars were set to collect movement data every 10 minutes during a fourteen-month period. Gates and fences for the entire ranch were opened and livestock were free to choose areas to graze. Data from the GPS’s were evaluated to determine locations where the animals grazed and their preferences for different areas of the landscape. Initial observations indicate that cattle and sheep were more attracted by recent burned patches compared to goats. Livestock forage use patterns and time spent by species in the burned and unburned areas and among different vegetation land cover classes are presented. Information from this study will assist in providing information to producers on how implementation of patch burning would influence their management of these grazing lands

Исследование влияния природы растворителя, используемого при получении электродной мембраны, на работу Ni-селективного электрода при определении ионов никеля (LL) в водных средах

Исследовано влияние природы растворителей (бензиловый спирт и хлорфенол), используемых для изготовления полимерной электродной мембраны твердофазного никельселективного электрода на основе никельгексационоферратов ({Ni2[Fe(CN)6]}), иммобилизованных в полиэтилентерефталатную (ПЭТФ) матрицу для определения ионов никеля в водных средах. Установлено, что мембраны, полученные на основе бензилового спирта имеют более высокие электродные показатели по сходимости и воспроизводимости потенциалов, стабильности работы, низком дрейфе и времени отклика электрода по сравнению с мембранами на основе хлорфенола и могут быть рекомендованы к использованию в никель селективных электродах.The influence of the nature of the solvents (benzyl alcohol and chlorophenol) used to fabricate a polymer electrode membrane of a solid-phase nickel selective electrode based on nickelhexacetanoferrates ({Ni2 [Fe (CN) 6]}) immobilized in a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) matrix for the determination of nickel ions in aqueous media . It has been established that membranes obtained on the basis of benzyl alcohol have higher electrode indices for the convergence and reproducibility of potentials, stability of operation, low drift and electrode response time compared to chlorophenol-based membranes, and can be recommended for use in nickel selective electrodes

Long-term declines in dietary nutritional quality for North American cattle

With over 1 billion cattle in the world as well as over 2 billion sheep, goats and buffalo, these animals contribute approximately 15% of the global human protein supply while producing a significant proportion of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and global nutrient fluxes. Despite increasing reliance on grazers for protein production globally, the future of grazers in a changing world is uncertain. Factors such as increased prevalence of drought, rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and sustained nutrient export all have the potential to reduce cattle performance by reducing the nutritional quality of forage. However, there are no analyses to quantify changes in diet quality, subsequent impact on cattle performance and cost of supplementation necessary to mitigate any predicted protein deficiency. To quantify the trajectory of nutritional stress in cattle, we examined more than 36 000 measurements of dietary quality taken over 22 yr for US cattle. Here, we show that standardizing for spatial and temporal variation in drought and its effects on forage quality, cattle have been becoming increasingly stressed for protein over the past two decades, likely reducing cattle weight gain. In economic terms, the replacement costs of reduced protein provision to US cattle are estimated to be the equivalent of $1.9 B annually. Given these trends, nitrogen enrichment of grasslands might be necessary if further reduction in protein content of forages is to be prevented