Western Canadian dairy farmers' perspectives on the provision of outdoor access for dairy cows and on the perceptions of other stakeholders

The provision of pasture and outdoor access for dairy cattle differs around the globe. For example, in Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, dairy farms are largely pasture based, whereas dairy farms in the United States and Canada are largely confinement based. There is a high level of public support for pasture and outdoor access for dairy cows, and the available evidence shows that dairy cattle are highly motivated to access pasture, especially at night. The decision as to whether to provide outdoor access is typically made by farmers, but little is known about dairy farmers' perspectives on this topic. We investigated perspectives of Western Canadian dairy farmers on outdoor access, as well as how they believe different stakeholders (i.e., the dairy industry, the dairy cows, and the general public) regard outdoor access for dairy cows. Data were collected via (1) 11 focus group discussions with a total of 50 Western Canadian dairy farmers, and (2) semi-structured individual interviews with an additional 6 dairy farmers of Hutterite colonies. Data were analyzed using template analysis. Although most participants in this study did not provide outdoor access on their farms, or only provided outdoor access to certain cow groups, participants generally mentioned that they enjoyed seeing cows on pasture or outdoors. However, participants shared that the Canadian supply management system (including processors) required a consistent flow of production, which was thought to be easier and more economically realized with indoor housing of lactating cows. Participants believed that pasture or outdoor access for dairy cows was desired by the public. Some participants believed that dairy cows prefer to spend time outside under favorable weather conditions, but others felt that cows preferred to stay indoors in modern, ventilated freestall barns. The results of this study describe the perspectives of dairy farmers regarding the views of dairy industry stakeholders as they relate to outdoor access, helping to inform conversations around the provision of outdoor access for dairy cattle.     

Establishment of a color tolerance for yarn-dyed fabrics from different color-depth yarns

Yarn-dyed fabric is often woven from warp and weft yarns in the same color depth to ensure a uniform color appearance. The difference in color depth between warp and weft tends to result in the uneven color of the yarn-dyed fabric. This article aims to establish a color tolerance for yarn-dyed fabric that can be woven with a qualified color appearance but from the warp and weft yarns in different color depths. A total of 27 yarn-dyed fabric samples in three color series (red, yellow, and blue) were evaluated by using the yarn-dyed fabric from warp and weft yarns in the same color depth of 2% (on weight of fabric, owf) as the standard. Visual assessment and instrumental measurement of color were carried out to establish the color tolerance ellipse that was defined as CMC (Color Measurement Committee) color differences (2:1) of no more than 1.00. It was found that the color strengths (K/S) and color differences (ΔE_CMC(2:1)) of these fabric samples for each color series had linear relationships with the color depths of warp and weft yarns. The color tolerance ellipses indicated that, even though the warp and weft yarns had an apparent color difference, they could be woven in fabrics with relatively uniform color appearance and meet the requirements for yarn-dyed fabric. This work provided valuable insight into the production of qualified yarn-dyed fabrics from unqualified dyed yarns.     

Understanding enhancing mechanism of Pr6O11 and Pr(OH)3 in methanol electrooxidation

The presence of oxygen vacancies and hydroxyl groups are both favorable for the methanol electrooxidation on Pt-based catalysts.Understanding and differentiating the enhancing mechanism between oxygen vacancies and hydroxyl groups for high activity of Pt catalysts in methanol oxidation reaction(MOR)is essential but still challenging.Herein,we developed two kinds of co-catalyst for Pt/CNTs,Pr₆O₁₁is rich in oxygen vacancies but contains substantially no hydroxyl groups,while Pr(OH)₃ possesses abundant hydroxyl groups without oxygen vacancies.After a seque nce of designed experiments,it can be found that both oxygen vacancies and hydroxyl groups can improve the performance of Pt/CNTs electrocatalysts,but the enhancing mechanism and improving degree of oxygen vacancies and hydroxyl groups for the MOR are different.Since the oxygen vacancies are more conducive to increasing the intrinsic activity of the Pt catalyst,and the hydroxyl groups play a decisive role in dehydrogenation and deproto nation of methanol,the co-catalysts with both oxygen vacancies and hydroxyl groups mixed with Pt/CNTs have higher catalytic performance.Therefore,hydroxyl-rich Pr₆O₁₁·xH₂O was prepared and used as MOR electrocatalyst after mixed with Pt/CNTs.Benefiting from the synergistic effect of oxygen vacancies and hydroxyl groups,the Pr₆O₁₁·xH₂O/Pt/CNTs shows a high peak current density of 741 mA/mg,which is three times higher than that of Pt/CNTs.These new discoveries serve as a promising strategy for the rational design of MOR catalysts with low cost and high activity.     

Adaptation to Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Enhances Resistance of Oral Cancer Cells to Cisplatin by Up-Regulating Polymerase η and Increasing DNA Repair Efficiency

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response is an adaptive program to cope with cellular stress that disturbs the function and homeostasis of ER, which commonly occurs during cancer progression to late stage. Late-stage cancers, mostly requiring chemotherapy, often develop treatment resistance. Chemoresistance has been linked to ER stress response; however, most of the evidence has come from studies that correlate the expression of stress markers with poor prognosis or demonstrate proapoptosis by the knockdown of stress-responsive genes. Since ER stress in cancers usually persists and is essentially not induced by genetic manipulations, we used low doses of ER stress inducers at levels that allowed cell adaptation to occur in order to investigate the effect of stress response on chemoresistance. We found that prolonged tolerable ER stress promotes mesenchymal–epithelial transition, slows cell-cycle progression, and delays the S-phase exit. Consequently, cisplatin-induced apoptosis was significantly decreased in stress-adapted cells, implying their acquisition of cisplatin resistance. Molecularly, we found that proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) ubiquitination and the expression of polymerase η, the main polymerase responsible for translesion synthesis across cisplatin-DNA damage, were up-regulated in ER stress-adaptive cells, and their enhanced cisplatin resistance was abrogated by the knockout of polymerase η. We also found that a fraction of p53 in stress-adapted cells was translocated to the nucleus, and that these cells exhibited a significant decline in the level of cisplatin-DNA damage. Consistently, we showed that the nuclear p53 coincided with strong positivity of glucose-related protein 78 (GRP78) on immunostaining of clinical biopsies, and the cisplatin-based chemotherapy was less effective for patients with high levels of ER stress. Taken together, this study uncovers that adaptation to ER stress enhances DNA repair and damage tolerance, with which stressed cells gain resistance to chemotherapeutics.     

High-Fat Diet Aggravates Cerebral Infarct,Hemorrhagic Transformation and Neuroinflammation in a Mouse Stroke Model

Background: Stroke in context of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with a poorer outcome than in non-diabetic conditions. We aimed at creating a new reproducible mouse model of stroke in impaired glucose tolerance conditions induced by high-fat diet. Methods: Adult C57BL6 mice were fed for 2 months with either normal diet (ND) or high-fat diet (HFD). We used a model of Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion (MCAO) for 90 min. Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) and Insulin Tolerance Test (ITT) were used to assess pre-diabetic status. Brain infarct volume, hemorrhagic transformation (HT) as well as systemic and cerebral inflammatory markers were evaluated. Results: HFD was associated with an increased body weight and glycemia following OGTT. The HFD group presented a significant increase in brain infarct volume (38.7 (IQR 30–46.7%) vs. 28.45 (IQR 21–30%); p = 0.016) and HT (HFD: 2 (IQR 1–5) vs. ND: 0 (IQR 0–1); p = 0.012) and higher levels of IL-6 and MCP-1 in infarcted hemisphere compared to the ND group. Conclusion: Two months of HFD in adult mice were sufficient to alter the lipid profile and the control of hyperglycemia. These metabolic perturbations were significantly associated with increased infarct volume and hemorrhagic complications.     

Enhancing the Photovoltaic Performance of Ladder-Type Heteroheptacene-based Nonfullerene Acceptors by Incorporating Halogen Atoms on Their Ending Groups

Ending group halogenation is an effective strategy for modulating the energy levels, bandgaps, and intermolecular interactions of nonfullerene acceptors. Understanding the influence of different halogen atoms on the acceptor properties is of great importance for designing high-performance nonfullerene acceptors. Here, three acceptor–donor–acceptor (A-D-A) type nonfullerene acceptors (M5, M6, and M7), which are constructed by using a ladder-type heteroheptacene core without the traditional sp³ carbon-bonded side chains as the electron-rich core, and 2-(3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-ylidene)malononitrile without or with halogen atoms as the ending groups. The nonfullerene acceptors with chlorinated (M6) and brominated (M7) ending groups exhibit broadened absorption spectra, down-shifted energy levels, and enhanced molecular ordering compared to the counterpart without any halogenated ending groups (M5). Among the nonfullerene acceptors, M6 has the strongest intermolecular π π interaction with its shortest π π interaction distance and the longest coherent length which are beneficial for enhancing the charge transport and therefore boosting the photovoltaic performance. An excellent power conversion efficiency of 15.45% is achieved for the best-performing polymer solar cell based on M6. These results suggest that the halogenated ending groups are essential for high-performance heteroheptacene-based nonfullerene acceptors considering their simultaneous enhancements in both the light-harvesting and the charge transport.     

A matryoshka-like CuS@void@Co3O4 double microcube-locked sulfur as cathode for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur battery cathodes still remain a challenge on capacity decay due to the shuttle effect even though a series of strategies have been tried. Here we report a novel matryoshka-like CuS@void@Co₃O₄ architecture of double micro-cubes (μ-cubes) that locks sulfur between the CuS core and the Co₃O₄ shell. Plenty of existing spaces between the μ-cubes suffice a high loading of sulfur and volumetric accommodation. The robust, double closed cubes configuration greatly enhances the confinement of polysulfides. In parallel, the CuS core increases the electronic conductivity and contributes to additional capacity, while the Co₃O₄ shell ensures a better interface activity. A high Li⁺ ion diffusion coefficient is obtained during the sulfur and lithium sulfide transformation. The constructed battery displays an initial capacity up to 1480 mAh g⁻¹, and a Coulombic efficiency (CE) exceeding 99%. A capacity retention higher than 500 mAh g⁻¹ with a CE larger than 99.8% after cycling 400 times at 0.2 C are achieved. In addition, under a temperature of −5 °C, a high capacity of 700 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.2 C after 200 cycles is achieved, indicating a good low-temperature tolerance.