Feeding value of black soldier fly larvae compared to soybean in methionine- and lysine-deficient laying hen diets

To increase the sustainability of egg production, alternatives to soybean in poultry nutrition are intensively searched for. Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) could have a great potential, but the comparative protein value to soybean is not well known. The main objective of this study was to facilitate this comparison by using experimental diets clearly limited in calculated supply of sulphurous amino acids and lysine. Fifty laying hens (Lohmann Brown Classic), aged 40 weeks, were fed one of five diets for 7 weeks (n=10). Two diets were based on soybean cake and oil (SS, SS-) as protein and energy sources, and three diets contained partially defatted BSFL meal and fat from two different origins (AA-, AB-, BB-). Different from SS, all other diets were designed to be deficient in methionine and lysine in relation to requirements by >20%. The realised supply with total sulphurous amino acids and lysine was indeed superior with SS even though this diet was analysed to be more deficient in methionine than the BSFL-based diets. Despite the calculated deficiency in limiting amino acids, laying performance of the hens of all groups was similar and ranged between 93 and 97%. Similarly, egg mass, daily feed intake and feed efficiency were not influenced by the BSFL-based diets. The yolks of group BB- were more intensely coloured compared to the others indicating a difference between BSFL origins. Yolks of SS-, but not of the BSFL-based diets, had lower contents of dry matter and ether extract than those of SS. Including BSFL into the diet did not influence the odour of the eggs tested in scrambled form. The results show that soybean-based feeds for laying hens may be completely replaced by BSFL- based feeds and suggest that the recommendations for amino acid supply of laying hens might need revision

Thermochemistry of Alane Complexes for Hydrogen Storage: A Theoretical and Experimental Comparison

Knowledge of the relative stabilities of alane (AlH3) complexes with electron donors is essential for identifying hydrogen storage materials for vehicular applications that can be regenerated by off-board methods; however, almost no thermodynamic data are available to make this assessment. To fill this gap, we employed the G4(MP2) method to determine heats of formation, entropies, and Gibbs free energies of formation for thirty-eight alane complexes with NH3-nRn (R = Me, Et; n = 0-3), pyridine, pyrazine, triethylenediamine (TEDA), quinuclidine, OH2-nRn (R = Me, Et; n = 0-2), dioxane, and tetrahydrofuran (THF). Monomer, bis, and selected dimer complex geometries were considered. Using these data, we computed the thermodynamics of the key formation and dehydrogenation reactions that would occur during hydrogen delivery and alane regeneration, from which trends in complex stability were identified. These predictions were tested by synthesizing six amine-alane complexes involving trimethylamine, triethylamine, dimethylethylamine, TEDA, quinuclidine, and hexamine, and obtaining upper limits of delta G for their formation from metallic aluminum. Combining these computational and experimental results, we establish a criterion for complex stability relevant to hydrogen storage that can be used to assess potential ligands prior to attempting synthesis of the alane complex. Based on this, we conclude that only a subset of the tertiary amine complexes considered and none of the ether complexes can be successfully formed by direct reaction with aluminum and regenerated in an alane-based hydrogen storage system.Comment: Accepted by the Journal of Physical Chemistry

Black soldier fly larvae meal and fat can completely replace soybean cake and oil in diets for laying hens

Currently, there is a great interest in finding alternative protein and energy sources to replace soybean-based feeds in poultry diets. The main objective of the present study was to completely replace soybean in layer diets with defatted meal and fat from black soldier fly larvae without adverse effects. For this purpose, 5 × 10 Lohmann Brown Classic hens were fed either a soybean-based diet or diets based on defatted black soldier fly larvae meal and fat from 2 producers (1 commercial, 1 small-scale) operating with different rearing substrates, temperatures, and larvae processing methods (10 hens/diet). The data obtained included nutrient composition of larvae meals and diets, amino acid digestibility (6 hens/diet), and metabolizability, performance and egg quality (all 10 hens/diet). In addition, the acceptance of the 4 larvae-based diets was tested against the soybean-based diet in a 6-day choice feeding situation (10 hens/treatment). The nutritional value of the larvae-based diets was equivalent to the soybean-based diet in hens with a laying performance of 98%. Although average feed intake was not significantly different over the 7 experimental weeks, the diets based on larvae feeds from the small-scale production appeared to be slightly less accepted in a choice situation than the soy-based diet and those with larvae from commercial origin. This was more likely the effect of the larvae fat rather than that of the larvae protein meal. In addition, the commercial larvae material was superior to that from the small-scale production concerning supply with digestible sulfur-containing amino acids (548 vs. 511 mg/day) and lysine (792 vs. 693 mg/day), egg weight (67 vs. 63 g), daily egg mass (66 vs. 61 g/day) and, in tendency, feed efficiency. The results indicate that soybean-based feeds can be replaced completely by black soldier fly meal and fat in diets of high-performing layers. However, because of nutritional differences between the larvae materials of different origin the quality of the larvae has to be closely monitored before being used

A fetal wave of human type 3 effector gamma delta cells with restricted TCR diversity persists into adulthood

Accumulating evidence suggests that the mouse embryonic thymus produces distinct waves of innate effector gamma delta T cells. However, it is unclear whether this process occurs similarly in humans and whether it comprises a dedicated subset of innate-like type 3 effector gamma delta T cells. Here, we present a protocol for high-throughput sequencing of TRG and TRD pairs that comprise the clonal gamma delta TCR. In combination with single-cell RNA sequencing, multiparameter flow cytometry, and TCR sequencing, we reveal a high heterogeneity of gamma delta T cells sorted from neonatal and adult blood that correlated with TCR usage. Immature gamma delta T cell clusters displayed mixed and diverse TCRs, but effector cell types segregated according to the expression of either highly expanded individual V delta 1(+) TCRs or moderately expanded semi-invariant V gamma 9V delta 2(+) TCRs. The V gamma 9V delta 2(+) T cells shared expression of genes that mark innate-like T cells, including ZBTB16 (encoding PLZF), KLRB1, and KLRC1, but consisted of distinct clusters with unrelated V gamma 9V delta 2(+) TCR clones characterized either by TBX21, FCGR3A, and cytotoxicity-associated gene expression (type 1) or by CCR6, RORC, IL23R, and DPP4 expression (type 3). Effector gamma delta T cells with type 1 and type 3 innate T cell signatures were detected in a public dataset of early embryonic thymus organogenesis. Together, this study suggests that functionally distinct waves of human innate-like effector gamma delta T cells with semi-invariant V gamma 9V delta 2(+) TCR develop in the early fetal thymus and persist into adulthood

Unusual manifestation of Erdheim-Chester disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare multisystem non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis that is characterized histologically by xanthogranulomatous infiltrates and radiologically by symmetrical sclerosis of long bones. The xanthomatous process is characterized by prominent foamy histiocytes staining positive for CD68, occasionally for PS100 and negative for S100 and CD1a. Gastroenterological involvement is exceedingly rare.</p> <p>Case Presentation</p> <p>This case report describes the case of a 69-year-old man who presented otherwise well to the gastroenterology department with unspecific abdominal symptoms, nausea, vomiting and weight loss. ECD involving the gastrointestinal tract was confirmed clinically, radiologically and histologically.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Gastroenterological manifestation of ECD is rare but should be considered in the differential diagnosis in patients presenting with evidence of multi-organ disease and typical radiological features of Erdheim-Chester disease elsewhere.</p

Measurement of the multi-TeV neutrino cross section with IceCube using Earth absorption

Neutrinos interact only very weakly, so they are extremely penetrating. However, the theoretical neutrino-nucleon interaction cross section rises with energy such that, at energies above 40 TeV, neutrinos are expected to be absorbed as they pass through the Earth. Experimentally, the cross section has been measured only at the relatively low energies (below 400 GeV) available at neutrino beams from accelerators \cite{Agashe:2014kda, Formaggio:2013kya}. Here we report the first measurement of neutrino absorption in the Earth, using a sample of 10,784 energetic upward-going neutrino-induced muons observed with the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. The flux of high-energy neutrinos transiting long paths through the Earth is attenuated compared to a reference sample that follows shorter trajectories through the Earth. Using a fit to the two-dimensional distribution of muon energy and zenith angle, we determine the cross section for neutrino energies between 6.3 TeV and 980 TeV, more than an order of magnitude higher in energy than previous measurements. The measured cross section is $1.30^{+0.21}_{-0.19}$ (stat.) $^{+0.39}_{-0.43}$ (syst.) times the prediction of the Standard Model \cite{CooperSarkar:2011pa}, consistent with the expectation for charged and neutral current interactions. We do not observe a dramatic increase in the cross section, expected in some speculative models, including those invoking new compact dimensions \cite{AlvarezMuniz:2002ga} or the production of leptoquarks \cite{Romero:2009vu}.Comment: Preprint version of Nature paper 10.1038/nature2445