1,163 research outputs found
Acorns for fattening free-range pigs (OK-Net Ecofeed Practice Abstract)
- The fattening performance is very much influenced by the age of pigs and their compensatory growth; hence, pigs should be as old as possible (≥1 year) and adapted to grazing.
- Grass is necessary as a source of protein to compensate for the low protein levels in acorns.
- The food conversion rate is 10.5 kg of whole acorns of Q. i. rotundifolia to gain 1 kg, besides the contribution of grass; to establish the stocking rate, consider that an adult evergreen oak produces ≈11 kg of acorns/year).
- Iberian pigs peel acorns to avoid the high content of tannins in the shell. However, during peeling, approxi-mately 20% of the kernel can be wasted
Short-term variability of comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) at 4.8 AU from the Sun
We observed comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) during six nights in February 2013 when it
was at 4.8 AU from the sun. At this distance and time the comet was not very
active and it was theoretically possible to detect photometric variations
likely due to the rotation of the cometary nucleus. The goal of this work is to
obtain differential photometry of the comet inner coma using different aperture
radii in order to derive a possible rotational period. Large field of view
images were obtained with a 4k x 4k CCD at the f/3 0.77m telescope of La Hita
Observatory in Spain. Aperture photometry was performed in order to get
relative magnitude variation versus time. Using calibrated star fields we also
obtained ISON's R-magnitudes versus time. We applied a Lomb-Scargle periodogram
analysis to get possible periodicities for the observed brightness variations,
directly related with the rotation of the cometary nucleus. The comet light
curve obtained is very shallow, with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 0.03
0.02 mag. A tentative synodic rotational period (single-peaked) of 14.4
1.2 hours for ISON's nucleus is obtained from our analysis, but there are other
possibilities. We studied the possible effect of the seeing variations in the
obtained periodicities during the same night, and from night to night. These
seeing variations had no effect on the derived periodicity. We discuss and
interpret all possible solutions for the rotational period of ISON's nucleus.Comment: 15 pages, 3 Figures, 2 Tables, accepted for publication in A&
Activity of (2060) Chiron possibly caused by impacts?
The centaur 95P/(2060) Chiron is showing comet-like activity since its
discovery, but the mass-loss mechanisms triggering its activity remained
unexplained. Although the collision rates in the centaur region are expected to
be very low, and impacts are thought not to be responsible for the mass-loss,
since the recent indications that Chiron might possess a ring similar to
Chariklo's, and assuming that there is debris orbiting around, the impact
triggered mass-loss mechanism should not be excluded as a possible cause of its
activity. From time series observations collected on Calar Alto Observatory in
Spain between 2014 and 2016, we found that the photometric scatter in Chiron's
data is larger than a control star's scatter, indicating a possible
microactivity, possibly caused by debris falling back to Chiron's surface and
lifting small clouds of material. We also present rotational light curves, and
measurements of Chiron's absolute magnitudes, that are consistent with the
models supporting the presumption that Chiron possesses rings. By co-adding the
images acquired in 2015, we have detected a 5 arcsec long tail, showing
a surface brightness of 25.3 mag(V)/arcsec.Comment: Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical
Society (MNRAS) on 2017 December 2
Brewer’s yeast for organic pigs (OK-Net Ecofeed Practice Abstract)
Benefits
• Yeast has a high content of protein (> 47% DM) of high biological (3.6% of lysine) and digestible value (> 85%), thus reducing the cost of feed.
• Yeast is rich in B vitamins, especially biotin and folic acid (besides vitamin B1, B2, B6, B12, PP, B5) and in vitamin D, with a content of 2000 - 5000 IU /g DM.
• The content of phosphorus in the yeast is up to 0.8-1.3%.
• Yeast promotes animal performance and health.
• Yeast improves the quality of the carcass.
Practical recommendation
• Two holding tanks are needed for hygiene reasons.
• Yeast deteriorates very easily, do not use the product stored over 2 days.
• It is necessary to deactivate (kill) the yeast before transporting and using it on the farm. Hence, autolyzed yeast should be used.
• Yeast is a quite seasonal product, and it cannot be stored; however, it can be added to silage mixtures as an alternative to avoid its deterioration
Phases I–III Clinical Trials Using Adult Stem Cells
First randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that stem cell therapy can improve cardiac recovery after the acute phase of myocardial ischemia and in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease. Nevertheless, some trials have shown that conflicting results and uncertainties remain in the case of mechanisms of action and possible ways to improve clinical impact of stem cells in cardiac repair. In this paper we will examine the evidence available, analyze the main phase I and II randomized clinical trials and their limitations, discuss the key points in the design of future trials, and depict new directions of research in this fascinating field
Randomized Clinical Trials in Stem Cell Therapy for the Heart - Old and New Types of Cells for Cardiovascular Repair
Cell Expansion-Dependent Inflammatory and Metabolic Profile of Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Stem cell therapy has emerged as a promising new area in regenerative medicine allowing the recovery of viable tissues. Among the many sources of adult stem cells, bone marrow-derived are easy to expand in culture via plastic adherence and their multipotentiality for differentiation make them ideal for clinical applications. Interestingly, several studies have indicated that MSCs expansion in vitro may be limited mainly due to cell aging related to the number of cell divisions in culture. We have determined that MSCs exhibit a progressive decline across successive passages in the expression of stem cell markers, in plasticity and in the inflammatory response, presenting low immunogenicity. We have exposed human MSCs after several passages to TLRs ligands and analyzed their inflammatory response. These cells responded to pro-inflammatory stimuli (i.e., NOS-2 expression) and to anti-inflammatory cytokines (i.e., HO1 and Arg1) until two expansions, rapidly declining upon subculture. Moreover, in the first passages, MSCs were capable to release IL1β, IL6 and IL8, as well as to produce active MMPs allowing them to migrate. Interestingly enough, after two passages, anaerobic glycolysis was enhanced releasing high levels of lactate to the extracellular medium. All these results may have important implications for the safety and efficacy of MSCs-based cell therapies
Possible ring material around centaur (2060) Chiron
We propose that several short duration events observed in past stellar
occultations by Chiron were produced by rings material. From a reanalysis of
the stellar occultation data in the literature we determined two possible
orientations of the pole of Chiron's rings, with ecliptic coordinates
l=(352+/-10) deg, b=(37+/-10) deg or l=(144+/-10) deg, b=(24+/-10) deg . The
mean radius of the rings is (324 +/- 10) km. One can use the rotational
lightcurve amplitude of Chiron at different epochs to distinguish between the
two solutions for the pole. Both imply lower lightcurve amplitude in 2013 than
in 1988, when the rotational lightcurve was first determined. We derived
Chiron's rotational lightcurve in 2013 from observations at the 1.23-m CAHA
telescope and indeed its amplitude is smaller than in 1988. We also present a
rotational lightcurve in 2000 from images taken at CASLEO 2.15-m telescope that
is consistent with our predictions. Out of the two poles the l=(144+/-10) deg,
b=(24+/-10) deg solution provides a better match to a compilation of rotational
lightcurve amplitudes from the literature and those presented here. We also
show that using this preferred pole, Chiron's long term brightness variations
are compatible with a simple model that incorporates the changing brightness of
the rings as the tilt angle with respect to the Earth changes with time. Also,
the variability of the water ice band in Chiron's spectra in the literature can
be explained to a large degree by an icy ring system whose tilt angle changes
with time and whose composition includes water ice, analogously to the case of
Chariklo. We present several possible formation scenarios for the rings from
qualitative points of view and speculate on the reasons why rings might be
common in centaurs. We speculate on whether the known bimodal color
distribution of centaurs could be due to presence of rings and lack of them
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