Effects of mill type (hammer vs roller) and particle size uniformity on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and stomach morphology in finishing pigs

Two experiments were conducted to determine the effects of mill type and particle size uniformity on finishing pigs. In Exp. 1, 120 pigs, with an average initial weight of 105 lb, were fed corn-soybean meal-based diets for 57 d. The corn was milled so that all diets had an average mean particle size of 800 11m (± 20), yet differed in particle size uniformity (Sgw). To obtain the most uniform treatment (1.9 Sgw), corn was milled through a roller mill. The intermediate treatment (2.3 Sgw) was obtained by milling corn through a hammermill. The least uniform treatment (2.7 Sgw) was obtained by blending coarsely and finely ground corn. Growth performance of pigs was not affected by Sgw of the diet. However, digestibilities of DM, N, and GE increased as Sgw was reduced. In Exp. 2, 128 pigs, widl an average initial weight of 150 lb, were fed diets with corn milled to 450 JLm (± 7) in a hammermill or a roller mill. The hammermilled corn had an Sgw of 1.8 and the rollermilled corn had an Sgw of 2.0. The diets were fed in meal or pelleted form. There were no interactions among mill type and diet form. Digestibilities of DM and N were greater for the hammermilled treatments, but no growth performance differences were due to mill type. Pelleting increased ADG 9% and improved efficiency of gain by 5 %. Pelleting also increased the severity of stomach lesions. In conclusion, at 800 and 450 p.m, mill type did not affect growth performance. However, nutrient digestibilities were improved by decreasing variability in particle size, a response that merits further investigation.; Swine Day, Manhattan, KS, November 19, 199

Effect of a vitamin/mineral supplement on children and adults with autism

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vitamin/mineral supplements are among the most commonly used treatments for autism, but the research on their use for treating autism has been limited.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>This study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled three month vitamin/mineral treatment study. The study involved 141 children and adults with autism, and pre and post symptoms of autism were assessed. None of the participants had taken a vitamin/mineral supplement in the two months prior to the start of the study. For a subset of the participants (53 children ages 5-16) pre and post measurements of nutritional and metabolic status were also conducted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The vitamin/mineral supplement was generally well-tolerated, and individually titrated to optimum benefit. Levels of many vitamins, minerals, and biomarkers improved/increased showing good compliance and absorption. Statistically significant improvements in metabolic status were many including: total sulfate (+17%, p = 0.001), S-adenosylmethionine (SAM; +6%, p = 0.003), reduced glutathione (+17%, p = 0.0008), ratio of oxidized glutathione to reduced glutathione (GSSG:GSH; -27%, p = 0.002), nitrotyrosine (-29%, p = 0.004), ATP (+25%, p = 0.000001), NADH (+28%, p = 0.0002), and NADPH (+30%, p = 0.001). Most of these metabolic biomarkers improved to normal or near-normal levels.</p> <p>The supplement group had significantly greater improvements than the placebo group on the Parental Global Impressions-Revised (PGI-R, Average Change, p = 0.008), and on the subscores for Hyperactivity (p = 0.003), Tantrumming (p = 0.009), Overall (p = 0.02), and Receptive Language (p = 0.03). For the other three assessment tools the difference between treatment group and placebo group was not statistically significant.</p> <p>Regression analysis revealed that the degree of improvement on the Average Change of the PGI-R was strongly associated with several biomarkers (adj. R²= 0.61, p < 0.0005) with the initial levels of biotin and vitamin K being the most significant (p < 0.05); both biotin and vitamin K are made by beneficial intestinal flora.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Oral vitamin/mineral supplementation is beneficial in improving the nutritional and metabolic status of children with autism, including improvements in methylation, glutathione, oxidative stress, sulfation, ATP, NADH, and NADPH. The supplement group had significantly greater improvements than did the placebo group on the PGI-R Average Change. This suggests that a vitamin/mineral supplement is a reasonable adjunct therapy to consider for most children and adults with autism.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p><b>Clinical Trial Registration Number: </b><a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01225198">NCT01225198</a></p

Graphical interface for the physics-based generation of inputs to 3D MEEC SGEMP and SREMP simulations

A graphical user interface (GUI) is under development for the MEEC family of SGEMP and SREMP simulation codes [1,2]. These codes are ''workhorse'' legacy codes that have been in use for nearly two decades, with modifications and enhanced physics models added throughout the years. The MEEC codes are currently being evaluated for use by the DOE in the Dual Revalidation Program and experiments at NIF. The new GUI makes the codes more accessible and less prone to input errors by automatically generating the parameters and grids that previously had to be designed ''by hand''. Physics-based algorithms define the simulation volume with expanding meshes. Users are able to specify objects, materials, and emission surfaces through dialogs and input boxes. 3D and orthographic views are available to view objects in the volume. Zone slice views are available for stepping through the overlay of objects on the mesh in planes aligned with the primary axes

Optimization of high performance evaporator tubes through structural modifications for pool boiling heat transfer

The present study provides a factorial experiment on the optimization of horizontally oriented reentrant type evaporator tubes with respect to pool boiling heat transfer through surface topology modifications. During this experiment the pool boiling heat transfer performance of three tubes with reentrant structures of 0.4 mm, 0.5 mm and 0.6 mm channel height were investigated in comparison to a plain reference tube. The used working fluids were R134a and FC-72 under saturation conditions at a reduced pressure of p \star = 0.086. The investigated heat flux range was 1 kW/m2 to 240 kW/m2 in case of R134a and 1 kW/m2 to to critical heat flux of each tested surface in case of FC-72. Based on the obtained experimental results it was found that heat transfer enhancement of the reentrant type test tubes is strongly affected by the channel height, the applied heat flux and the used working fluid. Furthermore it was found that apparently different heat transfer enhancement mechanisms take place at the reentrant structures in different ranges of the applied heat flux. In order to evaluate the combined effects of the variation parameters on heat transfer performance a factorial data reduction method was applied to the experimental data. As a result of this approach it was possible to identify the combination of investigated variation parameters that leads to the best pool boiling heat transfer performance. Using the data from the factorial data processing method it was additionally possible to draw preliminary conclusions about the dominant heat transfer enhancement mechanism in each investigated heat flux range. Especially the observed heat transfer enhancement in the heat flux range above 100 kW/m2 is discussed under the assumption of a two phase flow in the reentrant channels, that is driven by pressure gradients due to impulsive working fluid evaporation in the channels