SPARC 2019 Fake news & home truths : Salford postgraduate annual research conference book of abstracts

Welcome to the Book of Abstracts for the 2019 SPARC conference. This year we not only celebrate the work of our PGRs but also our first ever Doctoral School Best Supervisor awards, which makes this year’s conference extra special. Once again we have received a tremendous contribution from our postgraduate research community; with over 90 presenters, the conference truly showcases a vibrant, innovative and collaborative PGR community at Salford. These abstracts provide a taster of the inspiring, relevant and impactful research in progress, and provide delegates with a reference point for networking and initiating critical debate. Find an abstract that interests you, and say “Hello” to the author. Who knows what might result from your conversation? With such wide-ranging topics being showcased, we encourage you to take up this great opportunity to engage with researchers working in different subject areas from your own. To meet global challenges, high impact research needs interdisciplinary collaboration. This is recognised and rewarded by all major research funders. Engaging with the work of others and forging collaborations across subject areas is an essential skill for the next generation of researchers. Even better, our free ice cream van means that you can have those conversations while enjoying a refreshing ice lolly

Utilization of phosphorus by pregnant West African dwarf goats

A total of twelve West African Dwarf (WAD) goats of about 10 months old were involved in this experiment. On attaining a body weight of 18kg, oestrus was synchronized and service affected by twin herd bucks. Does confirmed pregnant were randomly allotted to one of three isocaloric and isonitrogenous diets. These diets contained three increasing levels of phosphorus (P) as treatment A (0.28%), B (0.55%) and C (0.81%). Balance trials were carried out at weeks 8, 12, 16, and 19 of gestation. Results showed that treatment effects on P balance and apparent digestibility were highly significant (P<0.01). The trend observed showed an increase in P balance with increasing dietary level of P. There was however a decrease in apparent digestibility with increasing dietary P inclusion. Variations recorded for the mean daily gains of does on treatments A, B, C, were not significant (P<0.05). Serum P as within the range 4-6mg 100-1 recommended for the goats. Key words: Phosphorus, pregnancy, goats, requirement. &nbsp