Estimation of sustained peak yield interval of dairy cattle lactation curves using a broken-line regression approach

A broken-line regression model with three straight lines and two breakpoints was used to estimate the sustained peak yield of the lactation curve. A sample of 1548 lactation records of 425 Holstein-Friesian cows was provided by the Research and Application Farm of the Agriculture Faculty of Çukurova University in Adana, Turkey. A total of 13463 test-day milk yields (kg/day), recorded once a month with electronic identification and automatic milking recording systems, between November 1994 and January 2006, were used. The data was classified as first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh parity, and included 4105, 3238, 2495, 1800, 1113, 641 and 71 test-day records, respectively. Times (days) at the beginning and end of sustained peak yield per parity were 73.9 - 160.2, 70.6 - 131.9, 70.8 - 130.7, 71.0 - 130.3, 71.3 - 130.4, 71.2 - 128.2 and 71.1 – 129.8, respectively. The peak yields of lactation curves were 19.1 kg/d, 21.8 kg/d, 23.8 kg/d, 24.2 kg/d, 24.2 kg/d 24.4 kg/d and 21.3 kg/d, and days in milk (DIM) at peak yields of lactation curves per parity were 126, 103, 102, 104, 106, 103 and 104, respectively. Persistency values (days) and total lactation milk yields (kg/lactation) per parity were 86.4, 61.3, 59.9, 59.3, 59.1, 57.0, 58.7 and 4852.2, 5105.7, 5503.5, 5503.7, 5449.3, 5416.3, 4802.4, respectively. Results showed that the first parity had a lactation curve with the lowest milk yield at peak that reached the peak point at the latest time (DIM) after parturition, but the largest interval between the beginning and end of the sustained peak yield among all parities. This means that the cows in the first lactation were more persistent than those in the later lactations

Exploring English as an Additional Language Students’ Perceived Engagement in and Experience of Content Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention Through Immersive Virtual Reality Games

This thesis aimed to explore whether headset-mounted display virtual reality (HMD VR) games could serve as an innovative approach to enhance content vocabulary learning and foster subject content knowledge of Years 7 and 8 Middle Eastern students. Specifically, it aimed to measure these students’ content specific vocabulary acquisition and retention, examine their perceptions of and attitudes towards VR game-based learning, and offer best practices for educational institutions that support culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) learners

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of the essential oil and various extracts of Inula graveolens (L.) Desf.

In this study, chemical composition and in vitro antioxidant activity potential of the essential oil and various extracts of Inula graveolens (L.) Desf. were evaluated. While identifying the phytochemical composition of the essential oil and extract, GC-MS analyses were used. Chromatographic analysis of the essential oil resulted in identifying twenty compounds representing 99.5% of the total oil. Main constituents of the oil were determined as bornyl acetate (68.5%), borneol (7.7%), camphene (4.6%), epi-alpha-cadinol (4.0%) and eicosane (3.2%), respectively. Antioxidant activity was determined using four complementary test systems named beta-carotene/linoleic acid, DPPH free radical scavenging, reducing power, and chelating effect. A strong correlation between the antioxidant activity and phenolic acid contents of the samples was determined. The methanol extract was the most active one in all tested systems. The weakest activity was exhibited by chloroform extract. While methanol extract showed 88.34%, 91.38, and 63.43 activities in beta-carotene bleaching, DPPH radical scavenging, and chelating effect tests, respectively, the absorbance value in reducing power assay was measured as 0.273 nm

Effects of feed refreshing frequency on growth and carcass characteristics of Awassi lambs

Sixty, two-month old male Awassi lambs were used in this study to investigate the effects of feed refreshing (FR) frequencies on their growth and carcass characteristics over a period of 65 days. Treatments were: Feed refreshing at 2 h (FR2), 4 h (FR4), 8 h (FR8), 12 h (FR12) and 24 h (FR24) intervals. The lambs were fed individually. At the onset of each refreshing period the lambs were offered fresh feed ad libitum. Daily feed intakes, weekly live weights and carcass characteristics were recorded. Daily feed intakes per lamb per treatment were: 1.13 kg, 1.05 kg, 1.00 kg, 0.98 kg and 0.95 kg; daily gains were 193.6 g, 180.6 g, 148.6 g, 169.3 g and 146.4 g; feed conversion ratios (kg feed/kg gain) were 6.1, 6.7, 7.2, 7.2 and 7.5; hot carcass weights were 13.0 kg, 13.1 kg, 12.1 kg, 13.3 kg and 13.1 kg; dressing percentages were 42.3%, 42.4%, 39.9%, 40.2% and 41.2%; the proportion of muscle in the carcass was 52.0%, 55.2%, 55.6%, 55.8% and 54.8%; bone ratio was 20.4%, 20.3%, 21.9%, 21.1% and 20.9%; subcutaneous fat ratio was 16.9%, 14.2%, 12.9%, 12.7% and 14.0% and intramuscular fat ratio was 8.8%, 7.1%, 6.8%, 8.7% and 7.7% in FR2, FR4, FR8, FR12 and FR24 treatments, respectively. Results showed that frequent feed refreshing stimulated feed intake and daily gain without affecting carcass characteristics. Keywords: Lamb, feeding system, daily gain, body componentsSouth African Journal of Animal Science Vol. 37 (4) 2007: pp. 248-25

Effects of propolis and pollen supplementations on growth performance and body components of Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

Abstract The present study was carried out to investigate the effects of honey bee propolis and pollen supplementation on growth performance and body components in quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Two experiments were conducted. In the first experiment, propolis ethanolic extract (30%, PEE) was supplemented in diets at levels of 0, 5 and 10 ml PEE kg-1 while in the second experiment, pollen was supplemented in diets at four levels (0, 5, 10 and 20 g pollen kg-1). In both experiments, chicks were fed with diet containing 240 g crude protein and 3100 kcal ME per kg diet. During the experimental period, body weight, feed consumption and feed efficiency were determined weekly. At the end of the experiments, 3 female and 3 male quail from each subgroup were killed humanely to determine body components. Experimental results showed that supplementation of PEE and pollen did not significantly affect body weight gain, feed efficiency or body components (P > 0.05). It was concluded that propolis and pollen had no effect at the levels investigated on performance and body components of quail

Analysis of transurethral resection of prostate videos on YouTube™: Educational quality assessment

Background: Our aim was to evaluate the educational value of transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) videos on YouTube. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted for TURP videos on YouTube. Based on the Laparoscopic Surgery Video Educational Guidelines we created a checklist which includes 20 items for evaluation of the videos. IBM SPSS statistics was used for analysis. Results: A total of 104 surgical videos were assessed. The mean view count was 15647.3 (21-324.522, SD 47556.4). Video image quality found as low for 57.7% of videos. Both staff (76%) and resident (75%) rated most of the videos low educational quality. No statistically significant difference was found between staff’s total points (mean 4.35 ± SD 2.9) and resident’s total points (mean 4.63 ± SD 3.3) (p: 0.761). Positive correlation was found between view count and staff’s total points (r: 0.242 p < 0.05), resident’s total points (r: 0.340 p < 0.01). There was also positive correlation between number of likes and staff’s total points (r: 0.375 p < 0.01) and resident’s total points (r: 0.466 p < 0.01). Conclusions: Most TURP surgical videos on YouTube are low quality. Higher educational quality videos with detailed explanation of the procedure are needed on this subject. We believe this study could be a guide for future high quality TURP videos

Natural product propolis: Chemical composition

PubMedID: 15715264The chemical composition of propolis from East Mediterranean (Hatay, Adana and Mersin) was studied in order to determine the major compounds by using GC-MS. In this study, the ethanolic extract of propolis prepared by mixing 1900 mL 70% ethanol and 100 g propolis was used. Chemical analysis of propolis extracts indicated that the propolis samples had high concentrations of the aromatic acids, esters and other derivatives which are responsible for the anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties of propolis such as benzyl cinnamate, methyl cinnamate, caffeic acid, cinnamyl cinnamate and cinnamoylglcine besides the most common compounds as fatty acid, terpenoids, esters, alcohols hydrocarbons and aromatic acids. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Ltd

The synthesis and spectral investigation of new thiosubstituted butadienes and butenynes

Poly(thio) substituted butadienes 3a and 4b-g were synthesized from 1,1,3,3,4,4-hexa-chloro-butene and aromatic thiols in dimethylformamide (DMF) within 2 hr at room temperature in the presence of triethylamine N(C2H5)(3). Thiosubstituted butenyne compounds 5e-g and the butadiene compound 6h were synthesized from 1,1,3,3,4,4-hexa-chloro-butene and aromatic thiols in EtOH/H2O solution of NaOH. The thiosubstituted butenyne 8e, 8g and the thiosubstituted butadiene 9h were obtained from the reactions of 1-bromo-1,2,4,4-tetrachloro-1,3-butadiene and aromatic thiols in EtOH/H2O solution of NaOH. Structures of the novel compounds were characterized by microanalysis, FT-IR, UV/Vis, H-1-NMR, C-13-NMR, MS and fluorescence spectroscopy

The Synthesis of New Thiosubstituted Compounds with Butadienyl and Butenynyl Groups

Mono(thio)substituted butadiene 3a, tetrakis(thio)substituted butadiene 4b, and bis(thio)substituted butadiene 10j were synthesized from 1,1,3,3,4,4-hexachloro butene and aromatic thiols in dimethylformamide at room temperature in the presence of triethylamine. Thiosubstituted butenyne compounds 5c, 6a, 7a,h, and 11i and butadiene compounds 3f,g, 4d, 8g, 9d, and 10i were synthesized from 1,1,3,3,4,4-hexachloro butene and different thiols in EtOH with NaOH solution. The thiosubstituted butadienes 13e and 14f were obtained from the reactions of 2H-1,1,3,4,-tetrachloro-4-bromo-butadiene and thiols in EtOH/H2O solution of NaOH. The structures of the new compounds were determined by microanalysis, FT-IR, UV/Vis, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, 19F NMR, MS, and fluorescence spectrophotometry. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT[image omitted]