Effect of heat treatment on in situ rumen degradability and in vitro gas production of full-fat soyabeans and soyabean meal

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the heat treatment of full-fat soyabean (FFSB) and solvent extracted soyabean meal (SBM) on the in situ dry matter (DM) and protein degradability, and in vitro gas production kinetics of the protein sources. Ruminal disappearance of DM and crude protein (CP), and in vitro gas production were determined after 0, 4, 8, 16, 24, 48 and 72 h incubation using the in situ ruminal degradation and in vitro gas production techniques, respectively. In situ DM and CP disappearances were fitted to the exponential equation p = a + b (1-e-ct), where a is the rapid degradable fraction and b is the slow degradable fraction. In vitro gas production data were fitted to the equation, y = A {1 – exp [- b (t-T) – c (√t - √T)]}. Where b and c are the initial gas production rate constant (h-1) and later gas production rate constant (h-1/2), respectively. The two protein sources were heat treated both with steam pressure in an autoclave at 120 °C and in an oven at 150 °C for 20 min. Heat treatment had a significant effect on effective DM degradability (EDMD), effective CP degradability (ECPD) and in vitro gas production. Although the heat treatments reduced the EDMD, ECPD and the amount of gas produced, the results were inconsistent between protein sources. The heat treatments applied in the autoclave and the oven reduced the ECPD0.02 of FFSB by 12.5% and 10.9%, respectively. On the other hand, heat treatment applied through the autoclave decreased the ECPD0.02 of SBM by 13.9%, but by 18.7% when heat was applied through the oven. Heat treatment of SBM using the oven seemed to be more effective than using autoclaving. Heat treatments in the autoclave and oven reduced the total gas production from FFSB by 7.25 and 7.32%, respectively, and from SBM by 12.69 and 7.91%, respectively. It was concluded that heat treatment is an effective method of altering the rumen degradation characteristics of DM and CP in SBM and FFSB. Both methods could be used to increase the proportion of the rumen non-degradable protein fraction in protein sources which would then reach the small intestines unaffected by ruminal fermentation. Keywords: Full-fat soyabean; soyabean meal; heat treatment; in situ protein degradation; in vitro gas production South African Journal of Animal Sciences Vol. 35 (3) 2005: pp.186-19

Recovering 6D Object Pose: A Review and Multi-modal Analysis

A large number of studies analyse object detection and pose estimation at visual level in 2D, discussing the effects of challenges such as occlusion, clutter, texture, etc., on the performances of the methods, which work in the context of RGB modality. Interpreting the depth data, the study in this paper presents thorough multi-modal analyses. It discusses the above-mentioned challenges for full 6D object pose estimation in RGB-D images comparing the performances of several 6D detectors in order to answer the following questions: What is the current position of the computer vision community for maintaining "automation" in robotic manipulation? What next steps should the community take for improving "autonomy" in robotics while handling objects? Our findings include: (i) reasonably accurate results are obtained on textured-objects at varying viewpoints with cluttered backgrounds. (ii) Heavy existence of occlusion and clutter severely affects the detectors, and similar-looking distractors is the biggest challenge in recovering instances' 6D. (iii) Template-based methods and random forest-based learning algorithms underlie object detection and 6D pose estimation. Recent paradigm is to learn deep discriminative feature representations and to adopt CNNs taking RGB images as input. (iv) Depending on the availability of large-scale 6D annotated depth datasets, feature representations can be learnt on these datasets, and then the learnt representations can be customized for the 6D problem

Kagome silicene: a novel exotic form of two-dimensional epitaxial silicon

Since the discovery of graphene, intensive efforts have been made in search of novel two-dimensional (2D) materials. Decreasing the materials dimensionality to their ultimate thinness is a promising route to unveil new physical phenomena, and potentially improve the performance of devices. Among recent 2D materials, analogs of graphene, the group IV elements have attracted much attention for their unexpected and tunable physical properties. Depending on the growth conditions and substrates, several structures of silicene, germanene, and stanene can be formed. Here, we report the synthesis of a Kagome lattice of silicene on aluminum (111) substrates. We provide evidence of such an exotic 2D Si allotrope through scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) observations, high-resolution core-level (CL) and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements, along with Density Functional Theory calculations.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

Constraints from Solar and Reactor Neutrinos on Unparticle Long-Range Forces

We have investigated the impact of long-range forces induced by unparticle operators of scalar, vector and tensor nature coupled to fermions in the interpretation of solar neutrinos and KamLAND data. If the unparticle couplings to the neutrinos are mildly non-universal, such long-range forces will not factorize out in the neutrino flavour evolution. As a consequence large deviations from the observed standard matter-induced oscillation pattern for solar neutrinos would be generated. In this case, severe limits can be set on the infrared fix point scale, Lambda_u, and the new physics scale, M, as a function of the ultraviolet (d_UV) and anomalous (d) dimension of the unparticle operator. For a scalar unparticle, for instance, assuming the non-universality of the lepton couplings to unparticles to be of the order of a few per mil we find that, for d_UV=3 and d=1.1, M is constrained to be M > O(10^9) TeV (M > O(10^10) TeV) if Lambda_u= 1 TeV (10 TeV). For given values of Lambda_u and d, the corresponding bounds on M for vector [tensor] unparticles are approximately 100 [3/Sqrt(Lambda_u/TeV)] times those for the scalar case. Conversely, these results can be translated into severe constraints on universality violation of the fermion couplings to unparticle operators with scales which can be accessible at future colliders.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. Minor changes due to precision in numerical factors and correction in figure labels. References added. Conclusions remain unchange

Mechanical and Electronic Properties of MoS2_2 Nanoribbons and Their Defects

We present our study on atomic, electronic, magnetic and phonon properties of one dimensional honeycomb structure of molybdenum disulfide (MoS$_2$) using first-principles plane wave method. Calculated phonon frequencies of bare armchair nanoribbon reveal the fourth acoustic branch and indicate the stability. Force constant and in-plane stiffness calculated in the harmonic elastic deformation range signify that the MoS$_2$ nanoribbons are stiff quasi one dimensional structures, but not as strong as graphene and BN nanoribbons. Bare MoS$_2$ armchair nanoribbons are nonmagnetic, direct band gap semiconductors. Bare zigzag MoS$_2$ nanoribbons become half-metallic as a result of the (2x1) reconstruction of edge atoms and are semiconductor for minority spins, but metallic for the majority spins. Their magnetic moments and spin-polarizations at the Fermi level are reduced as a result of the passivation of edge atoms by hydrogen. The functionalization of MoS$_2$ nanoribbons by adatom adsorption and vacancy defect creation are also studied. The nonmagnetic armchair nanoribbons attain net magnetic moment depending on where the foreign atoms are adsorbed and what kind of vacancy defect is created. The magnetization of zigzag nanoribbons due to the edge states is suppressed in the presence of vacancy defects.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, first submitted at November 23th, 200

COAUTHOR - a MoU to create a COnsortium of Academics from Universities promoting the use of THORium

This paper describes the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the authors to create a future consortium of academics from universities to promote the utilization of thorium (COAUTHOR). Besides the description of the MoU, also results of the research conducted in each participating partner or collaborative work performed among them will be described. Finally, the future work planned in the framework of the MoU, will be discussed

A MoU to create a COnsortium of Academics from Universities promoting the use of THORrium (COAUTHOR)

Nuclear Energy, primarily to produce electricity and other use, and the enveloping Nuclear Technology, as inherited from the XX Century, constitutes a controversial issue for political and economic reasons. On the one hand, the energy source is promoted in several Countries and an unavoidable mean to ensure growth for the human civilization ad suitable living standard with reduced or no impact upon the environment, on the other hand it is abandoned or going to be abandoned in other Countries which did benefit of stable economic growth. Thorium is an emblem for such a situation: huge reserves are available all over the world (primarily India, Turkey, and Brazil, but not only) and its technological worth for exploitation in current generation of thermal fission reactors is demonstrated, on the other hand no industrial use is ongoing or planned for the near future (with an exception constituted by situation in India). Moreover, research on thorium utilization in nuclear reactors and associated fuel cycles has been of academic interest for many researchers around the world. These researches are being conducted to increase the natural resource utilization, reduces the radiotoxicity, and other criteria of sustainability, by using thorium in the present time advanced reactors (Generation III), as well for the future Generation IV, mainly in Molten Salt Reactors (MSR) and in hybrid fusion/ accelerators driven system. Here we are going to describe a MoU signed by the authors to promote the utilization of thorium as nuclear fuel, and shortly describe the research activities conducted by the MoU partners

Finite volume simulation of 2-D steady square lid driven cavity flow at high reynolds numbers

In this work, computer simulation results of steady incompressible flow in a 2-D square lid-driven cavity up to Reynolds number (Re) 65000 are presented and compared with those of earlier studies. The governing flow equations are solved by using the finite volume approach. Quadratic upstream interpolation for convective kinematics (QUICK) is used for the approximation of the convective terms in the flow equations. In the implementation of QUICK, the deferred correction technique is adopted. A non-uniform staggered grid arrangement of 768x768 is employed to discretize the flow geometry. Algebraic forms of the coupled flow equations are then solved through the iterative SIMPLE (Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure-Linked Equation) algorithm. The outlined computational methodology allows one to meet the main objective of this work, which is to address the computational convergence and wiggled flow problems encountered at high Reynolds and Peclet (Pe) numbers. Furthermore, after Re > 25000 additional vortexes appear at the bottom left and right corners that have not been observed in earlier studies

Effects of a physical activity intervention on physical fitness of schoolchildren: The enriched sport activity program

Background: Physical fitness in youth is a predictor of health in adulthood. The main objective of the present study was to understand if an enriched sport activity program could increase physical fitness in a population of schoolchildren. Methods: In a sample of 672 children aged 10.0 ± 1.90 years, different motor skills were tested by the 1 kg and 3 kg ball throw (BT), the standing broad jump (SBJ), the 30 m sprint (30mS), the leger shuttle run (LSR), the illinois agility test (IGT), and the quadruped test (QT). Within the controlled-trial, the intervention group (ESA) underwent an additional warm-up protocol, which included cognitive enhancing elements, for 14 weeks while the control group continued with ordinary exercise activity. Results: A significant increase was present regarding the 1 kg and 3 kg BT, the SBJ, the 30mS, and the IGT, while no significant difference was shown regarding the QT and the LSR in the ESA group between pre and post intervention. In the control group, no differences were present for any test except for the QT and the LSR post-test. Conclusion: A 14-week structured physical intervention had moderate effects regarding throwing, jumping, sprinting, and agility in a sample of schoolchildren

Thoracic and Lumbar Vertebral Bone Mineral Density Changes in a Natural Occurring Dog Model of Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis

Ankylosing spinal disorders can be associated with alterations in vertebral bone mineral density (BMD). There is however controversy about vertebral BMD in patients wuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). DISH in Boxer dogs has been considered a natural occurring disease model for DISH in people. The purpose of this study was to compare vertebral BMD between Boxers with and without DISH. Fifty-nine Boxers with (n=30) or without (n=29) DISH that underwent computed tomography were included. Vertebral BMD was calculated for each thoracic and lumbar vertebra by using an earlier reported and validated protocol. For each vertebral body, a region of interest was drawn on the axial computed tomographic images at three separate locations: immediately inferior to the superior end plate, in the middle of the vertebral body, and superior to the inferior end plate. Values from the three axial slices were averaged to give a mean Hounsfield Unit value for each vertebral body. Univariate statistical analysis was performed to identify factors to be included in a multivariate model. The multivariate model including all dogs demonstrated that vertebral DISH status (Coefficient 24.63; 95% CI 16.07 to 33.19; p <0.001), lumbar vertebrae (Coefficient -17.25; 95% CI -23.42 to -11.09; p < 0.01), and to a lesser extent higher age (Coefficient -0.56; 95% CI -1.07 to -0.05; p = 0.03) were significant predictors for vertebral BMD. When the multivariate model was repeated using only dogs with DISH, vertebral DISH status (Coefficient 20.67; 95% CI, 10.98 to 30.37; p < 0.001) and lumbar anatomical region (Coefficient -38.24; 95% CI, -47.75 to -28.73; p < 0.001) were again predictors for vertebral BMD but age was not. The results of this study indicate that DISH can be associated with decreased vertebral BMD. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the clinical importance and pathophysiology of this finding