Grass silage thickening technology using centrifugal undirected action vibrator

A vibratory device to thicken silage was designed and tested, experimental research was carried out using the device for thickening chopped mass of red clover and maize. Dependences of grass mass density variation on duration of thickening by the device and dependences of relative grass pressure on vibration frequency have been examined and assessed. The research has showed that during vibratory thickening grass layer thickens intensively for 5-10 min and this vibrator is advisable for thickening grass layers of 0.5-0.6 m thickness. After investigation of dependence of grass thickening and grass comparative pressure on vibration frequency it was established that most effectively vibrator works at 43.96 s-1 frequency. Consequently, it is reasonable to thicken grass using undirected action vibrator at the mentioned frequency or close to it. Experimental research has established that red clover density of 350 kg/m3 can be achieved by centrifugal-undirected action vibrator. That is insufficient density for grass silage. This vibrator is much more efficient for maize thickening when nearly double mass density is achieved. Therefore, this type of vibrator is advisable for thickening of big stems plants such as maize and its mixture with red clover. It was established, that thickening of maize – Caucasian goat’s rue (Galega orientalis Lam.) mix (2:1 ratio) by undirected action vibrator – after 20 min of thickening (2×60 kg) gave 425 kg/m3 and 124 kg/m3 of dry matter density respectively. It is not sufficient density for grass thickening. Such vibrator is much more efficient in thickening maize, it reaches bigger mass density – 730 kg/m3 and 223 kg/m3 of dry matter. On the grounds of the research results it can be stated that the vibratory thickener of investigated design (undirected action vibrator) is reasonable to use in thickening maize and maize-red clover mixture. This vibrator is not suitable for thickening of red clover, Caucasian goat’s rue and maize-Caucasian goat’s rue mixtur

Grass silage thickening technology using centrifugal undirected action vibrator

A vibratory device to thicken silage was designed and tested, experimental research was carried out using the device for thickening chopped mass of red clover and maize. Dependences of grass mass density variation on duration of thickening by the device and dependences of relative grass pressure on vibration frequency have been examined and assessed. The research has showed that during vibratory thickening grass layer thickens intensively for 5-10 min and this vibrator is advisable for thickening grass layers of 0.5-0.6 m thickness. After investigation of dependence of grass thickening and grass comparative pressure on vibration frequency it was established that most effectively vibrator works at 43.96 s-1 frequency. Consequently, it is reasonable to thicken grass using undirected action vibrator at the mentioned frequency or close to it. Experimental research has established that red clover density of 350 kg/m3 can be achieved by centrifugal-undirected action vibrator. That is insufficient density for grass silage. This vibrator is much more efficient for maize thickening when nearly double mass density is achieved. Therefore, this type of vibrator is advisable for thickening of big stems plants such as maize and its mixture with red clover. It was established, that thickening of maize – Caucasian goat’s rue (Galega orientalis Lam.) mix (2:1 ratio) by undirected action vibrator – after 20 min of thickening (2×60 kg) gave 425 kg/m3 and 124 kg/m3 of dry matter density respectively. It is not sufficient density for grass thickening. Such vibrator is much more efficient in thickening maize, it reaches bigger mass density – 730 kg/m3 and 223 kg/m3 of dry matter. On the grounds of the research results it can be stated that the vibratory thickener of investigated design (undirected action vibrator) is reasonable to use in thickening maize and maize-red clover mixture. This vibrator is not suitable for thickening of red clover, Caucasian goat’s rue and maize-Caucasian goat’s rue mixtur

Grass silage thickening technology using centrifugal undirected action vibrator

A vibratory device to thicken silage was designed and tested, experimental research was carried out using the device for thickening chopped mass of red clover and maize. Dependences of grass mass density variation on duration of thickening by the device and dependences of relative grass pressure on vibration frequency have been examined and assessed. The research has showed that during vibratory thickening grass layer thickens intensively for 5-10 min and this vibrator is advisable for thickening grass layers of 0.5-0.6 m thickness. After investigation of dependence of grass thickening and grass comparative pressure on vibration frequency it was established that most effectively vibrator works at 43.96 s-1 frequency. Consequently, it is reasonable to thicken grass using undirected action vibrator at the mentioned frequency or close to it. Experimental research has established that red clover density of 350 kg/m3 can be achieved by centrifugal-undirected action vibrator. That is insufficient density for grass silage. This vibrator is much more efficient for maize thickening when nearly double mass density is achieved. Therefore, this type of vibrator is advisable for thickening of big stems plants such as maize and its mixture with red clover. It was established, that thickening of maize – Caucasian goat’s rue (Galega orientalis Lam.) mix (2:1 ratio) by undirected action vibrator – after 20 min of thickening (2×60 kg) gave 425 kg/m3 and 124 kg/m3 of dry matter density respectively. It is not sufficient density for grass thickening. Such vibrator is much more efficient in thickening maize, it reaches bigger mass density – 730 kg/m3 and 223 kg/m3 of dry matter. On the grounds of the research results it can be stated that the vibratory thickener of investigated design (undirected action vibrator) is reasonable to use in thickening maize and maize-red clover mixture. This vibrator is not suitable for thickening of red clover, Caucasian goat’s rue and maize-Caucasian goat’s rue mixtur

Network analysis of quantitative proteomics on asthmatic bronchi: effects of inhaled glucocorticoid treatment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Proteomic studies of respiratory disorders have the potential to identify protein biomarkers for diagnosis and disease monitoring. Utilisation of sensitive quantitative proteomic methods creates opportunities to determine individual patient proteomes. The aim of the current study was to determine if quantitative proteomics of bronchial biopsies from asthmatics can distinguish relevant biological functions and whether inhaled glucocorticoid treatment affects these functions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Endobronchial biopsies were taken from untreated asthmatic patients (<it>n </it>= 12) and healthy controls (<it>n </it>= 3). Asthmatic patients were randomised to double blind treatment with either placebo or budesonide (800 μg daily for 3 months) and new biopsies were obtained. Proteins extracted from the biopsies were digested and analysed using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation combined with a nanoLC-LTQ Orbitrap mass spectrometer. Spectra obtained were used to identify and quantify proteins. Pathways analysis was performed using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis to identify significant biological pathways in asthma and determine how the expression of these pathways was changed by treatment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>More than 1800 proteins were identified and quantified in the bronchial biopsies of subjects. The pathway analysis revealed acute phase response signalling, cell-to-cell signalling and tissue development associations with proteins expressed in asthmatics compared to controls. The functions and pathways associated with placebo and budesonide treatment showed distinct differences, including the decreased association with acute phase proteins as a result of budesonide treatment compared to placebo.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Proteomic analysis of bronchial biopsy material can be used to identify and quantify proteins using highly sensitive technologies, without the need for pooling of samples from several patients. Distinct pathophysiological features of asthma can be identified using this approach and the expression of these features is changed by inhaled glucocorticoid treatment. Quantitative proteomics may be applied to identify mechanisms of disease that may assist in the accurate and timely diagnosis of asthma.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov registration <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01378039">NCT01378039</a></p

T-cell-based diagnosis of tuberculosis infection in children in Lithuania: a country of high incidence despite a high coverage with bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccination

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Lithuania is a country with a high incidence of tuberculosis (TB), despite a high coverage with bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination. Until now the only method used to detect latent TB infection was the tuberculin skin test (TST). However, TST may have a cross reactivity to the BCG vaccine and to environmental mycobacteria. The aim of this study was to conduct assessments of the diagnostic accuracy of the T-cell based test (T SPOT TB) for TB in children who had previously been BCG vaccinated and compare these with the results of the TST.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Between January 2005 and February 2007, children with bacteriologically confirmed TB, children having contacts with a case of infectious pulmonary TB and children without any known risk for TB were tested with both the TST and T SPOT TB.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The TST and T SPOT TB tests were positive for all patients in the „culture-confirmed TB“ group. Whereas, in the „high risk for TB“ group, the TST was positive for 60%, but the T SPOT TB test, only for 17.8%. Meanwhile the results for the „low risk for TB“ group were 65.4% and 9.6%, respectively. A correlation between the TST and T SPOT TB was obtained in the "culture-confirmed TB" group where the TST ≥15 mm (r = 0.35, p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The T-cell based method is more objective than the TST for identifying latent TB infection in children who had been previously BCG vaccinated. This method could be useful in countries like Lithuania where there is a high incidence of TB despite a high coverage with BCG vaccination. It may also help to avoid unnecessary chemoprophylaxis when TST reactions are false-positive.</p

On complex-valued 2D eikonals. Part four: continuation past a caustic

Theories of monochromatic high-frequency electromagnetic fields have been designed by Felsen, Kravtsov, Ludwig and others with a view to portraying features that are ignored by geometrical optics. These theories have recourse to eikonals that encode information on both phase and amplitude -- in other words, are complex-valued. The following mathematical principle is ultimately behind the scenes: any geometric optical eikonal, which conventional rays engender in some light region, can be consistently continued in the shadow region beyond the relevant caustic, provided an alternative eikonal, endowed with a non-zero imaginary part, comes on stage. In the present paper we explore such a principle in dimension $2.$ We investigate a partial differential system that governs the real and the imaginary parts of complex-valued two-dimensional eikonals, and an initial value problem germane to it. In physical terms, the problem in hand amounts to detecting waves that rise beside, but on the dark side of, a given caustic. In mathematical terms, such a problem shows two main peculiarities: on the one hand, degeneracy near the initial curve; on the other hand, ill-posedness in the sense of Hadamard. We benefit from using a number of technical devices: hodograph transforms, artificial viscosity, and a suitable discretization. Approximate differentiation and a parody of the quasi-reversibility method are also involved. We offer an algorithm that restrains instability and produces effective approximate solutions.Comment: 48 pages, 15 figure