Effect of pre-slaughter fasting time on carcass yield, blood parameters and meat quality in broilers

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pre-slaughter fasting time on carcass yield, meat quality, blood parameters and glucose metabolism in broilers. Methods Four hundred and fifty Arbor Acres (AA) broilers at 42 days of age were divided into 5 groups with 6 replicates in each group and 15 chickens as one replicate. Following this period, broilers from each group were distributed among five groups according to pre-slaughter fasting period as 4, 8, 12, 16, or 20 h. Results With increasing fasting time, the carcass yield (p0.10), while the increase of fasting time resulted in a linear decrease of the blood glucose (p = 0.021) and, more specifically, the glycogen content of the liver and leg muscles (p<0.001). With increasing fasting time, the aspartate transaminase (p<0.01), uric acid (p<0.01), and triglycerides (p<0.01) in serum linearly downregulated, while the alanine aminotransferase was linearly upregulated. Conclusion The results of this study show a significant influence of fasting time on carcass yield and meat quality in broilers. Moderate fasting (8 to 12 h) before slaughter can reduce the weight loss of broilers. Prolonged fasting (≥16 h) increased body weight loss, decreased slaughtering performance and fluctuating blood indexes of broilers

Staged characteristics analysis of a severe convection over the Dongting Lake area based on dual-polarization Doppler weather radar data

The multi-cell storm stage and squall line stage of a severe convective weather process over the Dongting Lake on 15 May 2021 in this study are analyzed mainly based on S-band dual-polarized doppler weather radar data. The study focuses on the analysis of the supercell storm I2 in the multi-cell storm stage. The results are as follows. (1) During the initial period of the I2, the strong echo area (the horizontal reflectivity factor, ZH > 55 dBz) and the differential reflectivity factor (ZDR) column (ZDR > 2.5 dB) extend to Wet Blub Zero (WBZ) level, corresponding to the areas with large specific differential phase (KDP) (> 1.7 °·km-1) and large correlation coefficient (CC) (0.9-0.99). It indicates that during this period, the precipitation phase is dominated by water condensate mingled with large raindrops, and these supercooled raindrops provide hail embryos for the later hail development. (2) During the hail colliding-growth period of the I2, ZH intensity and height increase rapidly, and vertically integrated liquid water content (VIL) shows an obvious leap increase. The strong-echo center (ZH > 60 dBz) extends to the level of above -10 ℃. In the corresponding regions, the ZDR drops below 0, the ZDR column (ZDR> 2.5 dB) extends to the level of -10 ℃, CC drops, and a "hole" appears in the KDP value area. These indicate that the precipitation during this period is dominated by solid particles and these solid particles are in an increasing period. (3) During the mature hailfall period of the I2, the bottom of the ZH intensity center (ZH > 60 dBz) drops below the WBZ level and the CC is locally as low as 0.8. There are ZDR negative areas and KDP voids in the corresponding area. These means that the dragging effect of the falling hail further weakens the strength of the updraft, which means that the hail is about to land. Then comes the squall line stage. (4) Unlike the multi-cell storm stage, the squall line stage has anomalously large KDP values and ZDR values greater than 1. (5) Before the occurrence of extreme gales of the squall line stage, the areas with strong echo greater than 55 dBz and velocity larger than 27 m·s-1 extend below 1 km, and the KDP in the strong echo area is obviously large, corresponding to the strong downdraft. Besides, the strong precipitation dragging effect caused by the melting of descending precipitation particles intensifies the generation of extreme gales

Analysis of key warning points and environmental conditions for the '4.04'strong downburst event in Hengyang of Hunan

On the afternoon of 4 April, 2023, an intense downburst event (referred to as the '4.04' strong downburst) occurred in Hengyang, Hunan, causing serious disasters. This study analyzes the key warning indicators and environmental conditions for extreme strong winds using conventional meteorological observations, Doppler weather radar, and NCEP 1°×1° reanalysis data. The results are as follows: (1) The '4.04' strong downburst occurred under a 'baroclinic frontogenesis' weather system configuration, with a surface cold front providing the triggering conditions. The Skew-T plots clearly showed characteristics of high-level dryness and low-level moisture, unstable atmospheric convective parameters, and corrected convective available potential energy (CAPE), along with strong vertical wind shear, all conducive to the occurrence of extreme strong winds. (2) A mesoscale convective system (MCS) with bow echoes swept through Hengyang, causing regional downbursts. Extreme strong winds occurred when the corresponding storm cells moved rapidly, with maximum reflectivity factors reaching 60 dBz. The vertical integrated liquid water content and centroid height rapidly decreased. The reflectivity factors displayed a noticeable tilted structure, with clear features of bow echoes, rear-inflow jets, and radial velocity ambiguity. The low elevation asymmetric high-speed regions and velocity convergence are key warning indicators for extreme strong winds. (3) The strong downburst exhibited significant convective potential, with strong low-level moisture flux convergence and high specific humidity. There were conditions of thermal instability and vertical upward motion, along with low-level convergence and upper-level divergence. Cold air played an important role in the occurrence and development of this downburst event

A Nomogram to Predict the Risk for MACCE within 1 Year after Discharge of Patients with NVAF and HFpEF: A Multicenter Retrospective Study

Background: To develop and validate a nomogram prediction model for assessing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) within one year of discharge. Methods: We enrolled 828 patients with NVAF and HFpEF from May 2017 to March 2022 in Zhongda Hospital as the training cohort, and 564 patients with NVAF and HFpEF in Taizhou People’s Hospital between August 2018 and March 2022 as the validation cohort. A total of 35 clinical features, including baseline characteristics, past medical records, and detection index, were used to create a prediction model for MACCE risk. The optimized model was verified in the validation cohort. Calibration plots, the Hosmer-Lemeshow test, and decision curve analyses (DCA) were utilized to assess the accuracy and clinical efficacy of the nomogram. Results: MACCE occurred in 23.1% of all patients within one year of discharge. The nomogram identified several independent risk factors for MACCE, including atrial fibrillation duration ≥6 years, poor medication compliance, serum creatinine level, hyperthyroidism, serum N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide level, and circumferential end-diastolic stress. The DCA demonstrated the excellent efficacy of the prediction model for the MACCE end-point, with a wide range of high-risk threshold probabilities in both cohorts. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test confirmed that momogram predictions fit for both the training (p = 0.573) and validation (p = 0.628) cohorts. Conclusions: This nomogram prediction model may offer a quantitative tool for estimating the risk of MACCE in patients with NVAF and HFpEF within one year of discharge

Unraveling the Prominent Existence of Trace Metal in Photocatalysis: Exploring Iron Impurity Effects

Metal impurities can complicate the identification of active catalyst species in transition metal catalysis and electrocatalysis, potentially leading to misleading findings. This study investigates the influence of metal impurities on photocatalysis. Specifically, we explore the photocatalytic reaction of inert alkanes using chlorides without the use of an external photocatalyst, achieving successful C(sp3)-H functionalization. Our observations reveal that Fe and Cu impurities are challenging to avoid in a typical laboratory environment and are prominently present in normal reaction systems, and iron impurities play a dominant role in the aforementioned apparent "metal-free" reaction. Additionally, iron exhibits significantly higher catalytic activity compared to Cu, Ce, and Ni at low metal concentrations in the photocatalytic C(sp3)-H functionalization using chlorides. Considering the widespread presence of Fe and Cu impurities in typical laboratory environments, this study serves as an important reminder of their involvement in reaction processes

Iron Catalyzed C-C Single Bond Cleavage of Alcohols

An iron-catalyzed deconstruction/hydrogenation reaction of alcohols through C-C bond cleavage is developed under the irradiation of visible light, to produce ketones or aldehydes as the products. Linear alcohols and cycloalkanols with different ring sizes are suitable substrates, containing tertiary, secondary, and primary alcohols bearing a wide range of substitutes. Complex natural alcohols can also perform the transformation selectively. The mechanism investigation reveals an unpresented reaction procedure that involves chlorine radical as a key intermediate, which is generated from [FeCl4]- through ligand to metal charge transfer (LMCT). The study illustrates new possibilities for iron photocatalysis, especially for various deconstruction/functionalization reactions

Deconstructive diversification through C-C single bond cleavage

Deconstructive functionalization through C-C bond cleavage can generate structures with modified carbon skeletons, which are challenging or even inaccessible to achieve otherwise. The highly desired transformations through C-C single bond cleavage are underexplored. Herein, we report a general procedure to produce halides from readily accessible alkyl alcohols through C-C single bond fragmentation. Catalyzed with iron chloride under visible light, this reaction performed efficiently to produce primary, secondary, and tertiary alkyl halides bearing various functional groups. The resulting halides are valuable synthons for versatile modifications. More importantly, because alcohol can be simply prepared from other functional groups including ester, aldehyde, ketone, alkene, etc., this method enabled a broadly useful C-C bond functionalization beyond using alcohol as the precursor through a two-step procedure. Through C-C single bond cleavage, the method establishes a general platform towards a highly valuable pool of unique synthons, which includes chiral fragments from abundant and inexpensive natural products

Intelligent power distribution live‐line operation robot systems based on stereo camera

Abstract Maintenance tasks in distribution networks are often accompanied by hazards associated with high altitudes and high voltages. By utilising robots instead of human operators to perform these tasks, potential risks can be avoided, while productivity can be increased. This research proposes an intelligent power distribution live‐line operation robot (PDLOR) system based on a stereo camera to replace human to complete work. The PDLOR system consists of several key components, including dual manipulators, wireless tools, a visual perception system, an insulated bucket truck, and a ground control terminal. Once the task is confirmed, the real‐time vision system identification and positioning enable the adjustment of the insulated bucket to position the robot correctly for its intended work. The stereo camera plays a crucial role in accurately recognising and estimating the object's orientation. Additionally, a simplified reconstruction is performed within a virtual simulation environment, which aids in collision detection during path planning. After obtaining the optimal path, it is then communicated to the real manipulator for execution. To validate the feasibility of the PDLOR system, field experiments were conducted in actual distribution network scenarios. The results demonstrate that the PDLOR effectively completes single‐phase power‐line connection tasks within a remarkable 10‐min timeframe

6-DOF Bilateral Teleoperation Hybrid Control System for Power Distribution Live-Line Operation Robot

In the master-slave heterogeneous teleoperation, the workspace of the slave manipulator is usually much larger than that of the master manipulator. This paper proposes a 6-DOF bilateral hybrid teleoperation control strategy to map the workspace of the manipulators without changing the operation accuracy. The hybrid control includes the admittance and force control based on the feedback of the force sensor at the end of the manipulator. The two control strategies switched autonomously through the positioning of the Sigma.7 handle in the workspace. Compared with the classic bilateral teleoperation control, it overcomes the limitation of pre-matching the workspace of the master and slave. When the tool contacts a rigid environment, the robot can make adaptive compensation through the admittance controller even if the operator has not responded. We conduct extensive experiments to evaluate the changes in displacement and velocity before and after the switching process and under different admittance controller parameters. Finally, teleoperation is applied to live-line operation in distribution networks. The experiment proved that the control strategy is more consistent with human operation habits and can improve assembly success rate and efficiency

Early Addition of Evolocumab to Statin Treatment in Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome and Multivessel Disease Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Background: Evolocumab has been demonstrated to significantly reduce ischemic cardiovascular events in patients with stable coronary heart disease. However, it is currently unclear whether this benefit extends to patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and multivessel disease (MVD) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The objective of this study was to assess the safety, efficacy and feasibility of the early addition of evolocumab to statin treatment for ACS patients with MVD undergoing PCI. Methods: The authors conducted a multicenter, retrospective cohort study involving 1199 ACS patients with MVD undergoing PCI and with elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. Patients were divided into an evolocumab group or a standard-of-care group based on evolocumab use or not. The 18-month primary efficacy endpoint was a composite of ischemic stroke, death from cardiac causes, recurrent myocardial infarction (MI), unplanned coronary revascularization or unstable angina requiring hospitalization. The principal secondary efficacy endpoint was a composite of ischemic stroke, death from cardiac causes or recurrent MI. Results: After propensity score matching, the addition of evolocumab to statin treatment lowered LDL-C levels by 42.62% compared with statin therapy alone at 18 months, from a mean baseline level of 3.37–0.75 mmol/L (p < 0.001). Relative to standard therapy, evolocumab added to statins was associated with significant reductions in the primary efficacy endpoint (8.3% vs. 13.3%; adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.39 to 0.91; p = 0.017) and the principal secondary efficacy endpoint (6.1% vs. 10.2%; adjusted HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.37 to 0.99; p = 0.048) after multivariable Cox regression adjustment. The treatment effect of evolocumab was consistent across all prespecified subgroups. There were no significant between-group differences in terms of adverse events. Conclusions: In ACS patients with MVD taken for PCI, early initiation of evolocumab along with statin treatment was associated with a significant reduction in LDL-C levels and a reduced risk of recurrent cardiovascular events. Clinical Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trials Registry, identifier ChiCTR2000035165. Date: 2 August 2020. URL: https://www.chictr.org.cn/