Effects of diet composition on growth performance and feed conversion efficiency in Alphitobius diaperinus larvae

Alphitobius diap]erinus has been recommended for mass-production as feed in a rearing facility because of its small size and short biological cycle. This study evaluated the effects of wheat bran and casein or their blend as insect diets on growth performance and feed conversion efficiency of A. diaperinus larvae in the laboratory. Casein and wheat bran were the protein and carbohydrate sources of choice, respectively, for diet preparation. Five experimental diet treatments to be tested were designed as follows: control (100% casein), T1 (75% casein +25% wheat bran), T2 (50% casein +50% wheat bran), T3 (25% casein +70% wheat bran), and T4 (100% wheat bran). A total of 150 new hatched larvae were randomly allotted to one of the five dietary treatments, with three replicates (10 hatched larvae per replicate). The standard colonies were composed of 10 hatched larvae, without distinction of sex, reared in a plastic box (14×8×5 cm) provided with aeration holes on the top. The evaluation of A. diaperinus larvae included growth performance and feed efficiency. Using casein and wheat bran blends for diet had a positive effect on weight gain and feed conversion ratio of A. diaperinus larvae, including an increase in average larval survival and average larval weight. Using casein and wheat blends (75% casein +25% wheat bran or 25% casein +70% wheat bran) as insect-rearing diet will allow effective utilization of the feed for poultry when using the edible portion of mealworms before reaching the pupae stage

Structure of Full-Length SMC and Rearrangements Required for Chromosome Organization.

Multi-subunit SMC complexes control chromosome superstructure and promote chromosome disjunction, conceivably by actively translocating along DNA double helices. SMC subunits comprise an ABC ATPase "head" and a "hinge" dimerization domain connected by a 49 nm coiled-coil "arm." The heads undergo ATP-dependent engagement and disengagement to drive SMC action on the chromosome. Here, we elucidate the architecture of prokaryotic Smc dimers by high-throughput cysteine cross-linking and crystallography. Co-alignment of the Smc arms tightly closes the interarm space and misaligns the Smc head domains at the end of the rod by close apposition of their ABC signature motifs. Sandwiching of ATP molecules between Smc heads requires them to substantially tilt and translate relative to each other, thereby opening up the Smc arms. We show that this mechanochemical gating reaction regulates chromosome targeting and propose a mechanism for DNA translocation based on the merging of DNA loops upon closure of Smc arms

Parity nonconservation in deuteron photoreactions

We calculate the asymmetries in parity nonconserving deuteron photodisintegration due to circularly polarized photons gamma+d to n+p with the photon laboratory energy ranging from the threshold up to 10 MeV and the radiative capture of thermal polarized neutrons by protons n+p to gamma+d. We use the leading order electromagnetic Hamiltonian neglecting the smaller nuclear exchange currents. Comparative calculations are done by using the Reid93 and Argonne v18 potentials for the strong interaction and the DDH and FCDH "best" values for the weak couplings in a weak one-meson exchange potential. A weak NDelta transition potential is used to incorporate also the Delta(1232)-isobar excitation in the coupled-channels formalism.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures (18 eps files), LaTeX2

Measurement of Γ(Kμ3)/Γ(Ke3)\Gamma(K_{\mu 3})/\Gamma(K_{e3}) ratio using stopped positive kaons

The ratio of the $K^{+}\to \pi^{0} \mu^{+} \nu$ ($K_{\mu3}^+$) and $K^{+}\to \pi^{0} e^{+} \nu$ ($K_{e3}^+$) decay widths, $\Gamma(K_{\mu 3})/\Gamma(K_{e3})$, has been measured with stopped positive kaons. $K_{\mu3}^+$ and $K_{e3}^+$ samples containing 2.4$\times 10^4$ and 4.0$\times 10^4$ events, respectively, were analyzed. The $\Gamma(K_{\mu3})/\Gamma(K_{e3})$ ratio was obtained to be 0.671$\pm$0.007(stat.)$\pm$0.008(syst.) calculating the detector acceptance by a Monte Carlo simulation with the assumption of $\mu$-$e$ universality in $K_{l3}^+$ decay. The coefficient of the $q^2$ dependent term of the $f_0$ form factor was also determined to be $\lambda_0$=0.022$\pm$0.005(stat.)$\pm$0.004(syst.).Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

Glycoprotein gene truncation in avian metapneumovirus subtype C isolates from the United States

The length of the published glycoprotein (G) gene sequences of avian metapneumovirus subtype-C (aMPV-C) isolated from domestic turkeys and wild birds in the United States (1996–2003) remains controversial. To explore the G gene size variation in aMPV-C by the year of isolation and cell culture passage levels, we examined 21 turkey isolates of aMPV-C at different cell culture passages. The early domestic turkey isolates of aMPV-C (aMPV/CO/1996, aMPV/MN/1a-b, and 2a-b/97) had a G gene of 1,798 nucleotides (nt) that coded for a predicted protein of 585 amino acids (aa) and showed >97% nt similarity with that of aMPV-C isolated from Canada geese. This large G gene got truncated upon serial passages in Vero cell cultures by deletion of 1,015 nt near the end of the open reading frame. The recent domestic turkey isolates of aMPV-C lacked the large G gene but instead had a small G gene of 783 nt, irrespective of cell culture passage levels. In some cultures, both large and small genes were detected, indicating the existence of a mixed population of the virus. Apparently, serial passage of aMPV-C in cell cultures and natural passage in turkeys in the field led to truncation of the G gene, which may be a mechanism of virus evolution for survival in a new host or environment

Azimuthally anisotropic emission of pions in symmetric heavy-ion collisions

Triple differential cross sections d3 sigma /dp3 for charged pions produced in symmetric heavy-ion collisions were measured with the KaoS magnetic spectrometer at the heavy-ion synchrotron facility SIS at GSI. The correlations between the momentum vectors of charged pions and the reaction plane in 197Au+197Au collisions at an incident energy of 1 GeV/nucleon were determined. We observe, for the first time, an azimuthally anisotropic distribution of pions, with enhanced emission perpendicular to the reaction plane. The anisotropy is most pronounced for pions of high transverse momentum in semicentral collisions

Mapping subnational HIV mortality in six Latin American countries with incomplete vital registration systems

BackgroundHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a public health priority in Latin America. While the burden of HIV is historically concentrated in urban areas and high-risk groups, subnational estimates that cover multiple countries and years are missing. This paucity is partially due to incomplete vital registration (VR) systems and statistical challenges related to estimating mortality rates in areas with low numbers of HIV deaths. In this analysis, we address this gap and provide novel estimates of the HIV mortality rate and the number of HIV deaths by age group, sex, and municipality in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico.MethodsWe performed an ecological study using VR data ranging from 2000 to 2017, dependent on individual country data availability. We modeled HIV mortality using a Bayesian spatially explicit mixed-effects regression model that incorporates prior information on VR completeness. We calibrated our results to the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017.ResultsAll countries displayed over a 40-fold difference in HIV mortality between municipalities with the highest and lowest age-standardized HIV mortality rate in the last year of study for men, and over a 20-fold difference for women. Despite decreases in national HIV mortality in all countries-apart from Ecuador-across the period of study, we found broad variation in relative changes in HIV mortality at the municipality level and increasing relative inequality over time in all countries. In all six countries included in this analysis, 50% or more HIV deaths were concentrated in fewer than 10% of municipalities in the latest year of study. In addition, national age patterns reflected shifts in mortality to older age groups-the median age group among decedents ranged from 30 to 45years of age at the municipality level in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico in 2017.ConclusionsOur subnational estimates of HIV mortality revealed significant spatial variation and diverging local trends in HIV mortality over time and by age. This analysis provides a framework for incorporating data and uncertainty from incomplete VR systems and can help guide more geographically precise public health intervention to support HIV-related care and reduce HIV-related deaths.Peer reviewe

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 provides an up-to-date synthesis of the evidence for risk factor exposure and the attributable burden of disease. By providing national and subnational assessments spanning the past 25 years, this study can inform debates on the importance of addressing risks in context. Methods: We used the comparative risk assessment framework developed for previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease Study to estimate attributable deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and trends in exposure by age group, sex, year, and geography for 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks from 1990 to 2015. This study included 388 risk-outcome pairs that met World Cancer Research Fund-defined criteria for convincing or probable evidence. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from randomised controlled trials, cohorts, pooled cohorts, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. We developed a metric that allows comparisons of exposure across risk factors—the summary exposure value. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk level, we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We decomposed trends in attributable burden into contributions from population growth, population age structure, risk exposure, and risk-deleted cause-specific DALY rates. We characterised risk exposure in relation to a Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Findings: Between 1990 and 2015, global exposure to unsafe sanitation, household air pollution, childhood underweight, childhood stunting, and smoking each decreased by more than 25%. Global exposure for several occupational risks, high body-mass index (BMI), and drug use increased by more than 25% over the same period. All risks jointly evaluated in 2015 accounted for 57·8% (95% CI 56·6–58·8) of global deaths and 41·2% (39·8–42·8) of DALYs. In 2015, the ten largest contributors to global DALYs among Level 3 risks were high systolic blood pressure (211·8 million [192·7 million to 231·1 million] global DALYs), smoking (148·6 million [134·2 million to 163·1 million]), high fasting plasma glucose (143·1 million [125·1 million to 163·5 million]), high BMI (120·1 million [83·8 million to 158·4 million]), childhood undernutrition (113·3 million [103·9 million to 123·4 million]), ambient particulate matter (103·1 million [90·8 million to 115·1 million]), high total cholesterol (88·7 million [74·6 million to 105·7 million]), household air pollution (85·6 million [66·7 million to 106·1 million]), alcohol use (85·0 million [77·2 million to 93·0 million]), and diets high in sodium (83·0 million [49·3 million to 127·5 million]). From 1990 to 2015, attributable DALYs declined for micronutrient deficiencies, childhood undernutrition, unsafe sanitation and water, and household air pollution; reductions in risk-deleted DALY rates rather than reductions in exposure drove these declines. Rising exposure contributed to notable increases in attributable DALYs from high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, occupational carcinogens, and drug use. Environmental risks and childhood undernutrition declined steadily with SDI; low physical activity, high BMI, and high fasting plasma glucose increased with SDI. In 119 countries, metabolic risks, such as high BMI and fasting plasma glucose, contributed the most attributable DALYs in 2015. Regionally, smoking still ranked among the leading five risk factors for attributable DALYs in 109 countries; childhood underweight and unsafe sex remained primary drivers of early death and disability in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation: Declines in some key environmental risks have contributed to declines in critical infectious diseases. Some risks appear to be invariant to SDI. Increasing risks, including high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, drug use, and some occupational exposures, contribute to rising burden from some conditions, but also provide opportunities for intervention. Some highly preventable risks, such as smoking, remain major causes of attributable DALYs, even as exposure is declining. Public policy makers need to pay attention to the risks that are increasingly major contributors to global burden. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation