Effect of Bt-cottonseed meal feeding on performance, fermentation, ciliates population and microbial hydrolytic enzymes in lamb

Effect of the Bt- or conventional cottonseed meal was assessed as well as the performance, fermentation, ciliate protozoa population and microbial enzyme of lambs. Three feed mixture (FM, forage: concentrate ration of 35: 65) contained groundnut oilmeal (GNM), insect protected Btcottonseed meal (Bt-CM) or conventional whole cottonseed (C-CM) as protein source, were fed for 123 days to the control, C-CM and Bt-CM group of lambs, respectively. Whole seed meal Bt- and C-CM had similar nutrient composition. The Ca was higher while Zn content was lower in C-CM. Both CM had similar metabolizable energy (MJ/kg DM). Lambs of three groups had similar daily gain, DM intake and nutrient digestibility. Rumen fluid pH and TVFA were similar, while ammonia-N (mg/l) was higher (p<0.001) in control lambs. Cottonseed feeding eliminated (p<0.001) rumen protozoa; protozoa were 101.1, 59.0 and 39.6 ×104/ ml in rumen fluid respectively in control, C-CM and Bt-CM diet fed lambs. Rumen enzymes activities of xyalanase, β-glucosidase and β-xylosidase were similar, while Bt-CM feeding reduced (p=0.010) carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase) activity by 47% and increased proteases activity by 22%. The study concludes that inclusion of Bt-CM produced pronounced defaunation with reduced rumen ammonia concentrations, which improved daily gain. Therefore, Bt-CM can be incorporated at 180 g/kg in lamb diet.Keywords: Cottonseed, genetically modified feed, performance, fermentation, rumen enzymesAfrican Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 13(3), pp. 509-522, 15 January, 201

Clinical outcome of endonasal KTP laser assisted dacryocystorhinostomy

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the clinical outcome of primary endonasal laser assisted dacryocystorhinostomy (ENL-DCR) using the potassium-titanyl-phosphate laser. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed all primary ENL-DCRs performed within a period of twelve months by the same combined Ophthalmology and Otorhinolaringology team in Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. The main outcome measure for success was resolution or significant improvement of epiphora. Details of surgery, intraoperative and postoperative complications, as well as pathology associated with failure were also studied. Patients were followed up for at least 12 months. RESULTS: A total of 41 consecutive ENL-DCRs on 29 patients (22 females, 7 males, mean age 75 years) were analysed. All patients had bicanalicular silicone intubation for at least 4 months. The success rate at 12 months postoperatively was 78.1%. Pathology associated with failure included: intranasal pathology (12.2%), mucocele (7.3%), and systemic sarcoidosis (2.4%). No significant intra-operative complications were recorded. CONCLUSION: The ENL-DCR with potassium-titanyl-phosphate laser can be considered as a safe and efficient primary procedure for the treatment of nasolacrimal duct obstruction

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase dentified as a key enzyme in erythrocytic Plasmodium falciparum carbon metabolism

Phospoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) is absent from humans but encoded in thePlasmodium falciparum genome, suggesting that PEPC has a parasite-specific function. To investigate its importance in P. falciparum, we generated a pepc null mutant (D10Δpepc), which was only achievable when malate, a reduction product of oxaloacetate, was added to the growth medium. D10Δpepc had a severe growth defect in vitro, which was partially reversed by addition of malate or fumarate, suggesting that pepc may be essential in vivo. Targeted metabolomics using 13C-U-D-glucose and 13C-bicarbonate showed that the conversion of glycolytically-derived PEP into malate, fumarate, aspartate and citrate was abolished in D10Δpepc and that pentose phosphate pathway metabolites and glycerol 3-phosphate were present at increased levels. In contrast, metabolism of the carbon skeleton of 13C,15N-U-glutamine was similar in both parasite lines, although the flux was lower in D10Δpepc; it also confirmed the operation of a complete forward TCA cycle in the wild type parasite. Overall, these data confirm the CO2 fixing activity of PEPC and suggest that it provides metabolites essential for TCA cycle anaplerosis and the maintenance of cytosolic and mitochondrial redox balance. Moreover, these findings imply that PEPC may be an exploitable target for future drug discovery

Spermidine-mediated hypusination of translation factor EIF5A improves mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation and prevents non-alcoholic steatohepatitis progression

Spermidine is a natural polyamine that has health benefits and extends life span in several species. Deoxyhypusine synthase (DHPS) and deoxyhypusine hydroxylase (DOHH) are key enzymes that utilize spermidine to catalyze the post-translational hypusination of the translation factor EIF5A (EIF5AH). Here, we have found that hepatic DOHH mRNA expression is decreased in patients and mice with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and hepatic cells treated with fatty acids. The mouse and cell culture models of NASH have concomitant decreases in Eif5aH and mitochondrial protein synthesis which leads to lower mitochondrial activity and fatty acid β-oxidation. Spermidine treatment restores EIF5AH, partially restores protein synthesis and mitochondrial function in NASH, and prevents NASH progression in vivo. Thus, the disrupted DHPS-DOHH-EIF5AH pathway during NASH represents a therapeutic target to increase hepatic protein synthesis and mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and prevent NASH progression

Theoretical study of Oldroyd-b visco-elastic fluid flow through curved pipes with slip effects in polymer flow processing

The characteristics of the flow field of both viscous and viscoelastic fluids passing through a curved pipe with a Navier slip boundary condition have been investigated analytically in the present study. The Oldroyd-B constitutive equation is employed to simulate realistic transport of dilute polymeric solutions in curved channels. In order to linearize the momentum and constitutive equations, a perturbation method is used in which the ratio of radius of cross section to the radius of channel curvature is employed as the perturbation parameter. The intensity of secondary and main flows is mainly affected by the hoop stress and it is demonstrated in the present study that both the Weissenberg number (the ratio of elastic force to viscous force) and slip coefficient play major roles in determining the strengths of both flows. It is also shown that as a result of an increment in slip coefficient, the position of maximum velocity markedly migrates away from the pipe center towards the outer side of curvature. Furthermore, results corresponding to Navier slip scenarios exhibit non-uniform distributions in both the main and lateral components of velocity near the wall which can notably vary from the inner side of curvature to the outer side. The present solution is also important in polymeric flow processing systems because of experimental evidence indicating that the no-slip condition can fail for these flows, which is of relevance to chemical engineers

Group II Intron-Anchored Gene Deletion in Clostridium

Clostridium plays an important role in commercial and medical use, for which targeted gene deletion is difficult. We proposed an intron-anchored gene deletion approach for Clostridium, which combines the advantage of the group II intron “ClosTron” system and homologous recombination. In this approach, an intron carrying a fragment homologous to upstream or downstream of the target site was first inserted into the genome by retrotransposition, followed by homologous recombination, resulting in gene deletion. A functional unknown operon CAC1493–1494 located in the chromosome, and an operon ctfAB located in the megaplasmid of C. acetobutylicum DSM1731 were successfully deleted by using this approach, without leaving antibiotic marker in the genome. We therefore propose this approach can be used for targeted gene deletion in Clostridium. This approach might also be applicable for gene deletion in other bacterial species if group II intron retrotransposition system is established

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO