The effects of varying gossypol intake from whole cottonseed and cottonseed meal on lactation and blood parameters in lactating dairy cows

Effects of varying amounts of gossypol from whole Upland cottonseed (WCS) and cottonseed meal (CSM) were evaluated in 40 midlactation Holstein cows. After 14 d of pretreatment, cows were assigned to 1 of the 5 treatments for 84 d: control (no gossypol), 931 mg/kg total gossypol (TG) and 850 mg/kg free gossypol (FG) from WCS (moderate TG and high FG); 924 mg/kg TG and 91 mg/kg FG from CSM (moderate TG and low FG), 945 mg/kg TG and 479 mg/kg FG with equal amounts of TG from WCS and CSM (moderate TG and FG), or 1894 mg/kg TG and 960 mg/kg FG with equal amounts of TG from WCS and CSM (high TG and FG). Concentrations of plasma gossypol (PG) and its isomers were directly proportional to FG intake. Concentrations of PG reached a plateau after 28 d on treatment, and they were highest in cows receiving a diet with high TG and FG. Erythrocyte fragility differed among treatments and increased with increasing FG intake. Plasma gossypol returned to negligible concentrations 28 d after withdrawal of cottonseed products from the high TG and FG diet. Serum vitamin A was similar among treatments, but vitamin E increased with increasing FG intake. Serum enzymes were generally unaffected by treatments, but urea N increased in diets higher in TG and FG. Intake of dry matter was higher for the diet high in TG and FG than for the control diet, but was similar for other treatments. Cows receiving the high TG and FG diet produced more milk and 3.5% fat-corrected milk, with no changes in milk composition. Feeding a diet containing 1894 mg/kg TG and 960 mg/kg FG for 84 d increased PG concentrations and erythrocyte fragility and resulted in minor changes in blood metabolites and enzymes, but no detrimental effect on lactation performance was observed. Indicators of liver, kidney, and muscle cell viability suggest that the higher amounts of gossypol consumed in this study had only minor effects on those tissues in lactating dairy cows.     

Flexible active-matrix displays and shift registers based on solution-processed organic transistors

At present, flexible displays are an important focus of research. Further development of large, flexible displays requires a cost-effective manufacturing process for the active-matrix backplane, which contains one transistor per pixel. One way to further reduce costs is to integrate (part of) the display drive circuitry, such as row shift registers, directly on the display substrate. Here, we demonstrate flexible active-matrix monochrome electrophoretic displays based on solution-processed organic transistors on 25-microm-thick polyimide substrates. The displays can be bent to a radius of 1 cm without significant loss in performance. Using the same process flow we prepared row shift registers. With 1,888 transistors, these are the largest organic integrated circuits reported to date. More importantly, the operating frequency of 5 kHz is sufficiently high to allow integration with the display operating at video speed. This work therefore represents a major step towards 'system-on-plastic'.     

Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) glazed with hydrocolloids as alternative of edible coatings and storaged at -10 degrees C

Numerous studies have been focused to natural ingredients to maintain the quality and shell life of foods. Edibles coating, biodegradable ingredients, such as hydrocolloids and proteins can be used for coating fish with the purpose to suppress changes of quality during frozen storage. At the present time several developing of edibles packing, like glaze using hydrocolloids, (gelatin, carrageen, starch), that besides acts as protective film for food, they are economic, can be ingested by the consumer without toxicity risk, help to preserve organoleptics and nutritional characteristics of the product and, being biodegradable they contribute to the conservation of the atmosphere. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the incorporation ofhydrocolloids in the glazing tuna process as alternative of packing, to enhance its physical and chemical characteristics. Samples of tuna was glazed incorporating to its solutions of carrageen at 0.05, 0,1 and 0.15%, and gelatin at 0.5, 1%. The samples were shaped as square (15 cm3), frozen al -30 degrees C and glazed incorporating hydrocolloids submerging the sample its solutions at 0 degrees C by 30 seconds and storage at -10 degrees C by 0, 15 and 30 days. Proximal analysis results, soluble proteins, TBA, and color showed that all the samples glazed with hydrocolloids decrease deterioration of the tuna products respect to samples glazed without hydrocolloids; concluding that glazing adding hydrocolloids protects tuna for loss humidity and delays degradation of proteins. Moreover, carrageen shows to a better performance at the concentrations of 0.05% compared with the gelatin and the starch.     

Nitrogen balances in farmers fields under alternative uses of a cover crop legume: a case study from Nicaragua

Canavalia brasiliensis (canavalia), a drought tolerant legume, was introduced into the smallholder traditional crop-livestock production system of the Nicaraguan hillsides as green manure to improve soil fertility or as forage during the dry season for improving milk production. Since nitrogen (N) is considered the most limiting nutrient for agricultural production in the target area, the objective of this study was to quantify the soil surface N budgets at plot level in farmers fields over two cropping years for the traditional maize/bean rotation and the alternative maize/canavalia rotation. Mineral fertilizer N, seed N and symbiotically fixed N were summed up as N input to the system. Symbiotic N₂ fixation was assessed using the ¹⁵N natural abundance method. Nitrogen output was quantified as N export via harvested products. Canavalia derived in average 69% of its N from the atmosphere. The amount of N fixed per hectare varied highly according to the biomass production, which ranged from 0 to 5,700 kg ha^?1. When used as green manure, canavalia increased the N balance of the maize/canavalia rotation but had no effect on the N uptake of the following maize crop. When used as forage, it bears the risk of a soil N depletion up to 41 kg N ha^?1 unless N would be recycled to the plot by animal manure. Without N mineral fertilizer application, the N budget remains negative even if canavalia was used as green manure. Therefore, the replenishment of soil N stocks by using canavalia may need a few years, during which the application of mineral N fertilizer needs to be maintained to sustain agricultural production.     

Differential Domain Distribution of gnomAD- and Disease-Linked Connexin Missense Variants

Twenty-one human genes encode connexins, a family of homologous proteins making gap junction (GJ) channels, which mediate direct intercellular communication to synchronize tissue/organ activities. Genetic variants in more than half of the connexin genes are associated with dozens of different Mendelian inherited diseases. With rapid advances in DNA sequencing technology, more variants are being identified not only in families and individuals with diseases but also in people in the general population without any apparent linkage to Mendelian inherited diseases. Nevertheless, it remains challenging to classify the pathogenicity of a newly identified connexin variant. Here, we analyzed the disease- and Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD, as a proxy of the general population)-linked variants in the coding region of the four disease-linked α connexin genes. We found that the most abundant and position-sensitive missense variants showed distinct domain distribution preference between disease- and gnomAD-linked variants. Plotting missense variants on topological and structural models revealed that disease-linked missense variants are highly enriched on the structurally stable/resolved domains, especially the pore-lining domains, while the gnomAD-linked missense variants are highly enriched in the structurally unstable/unresolved domains, especially the carboxyl terminus. In addition, disease-linked variants tend to be on highly conserved residues and those positions show evolutionary co-variation, while the gnomAD-linked missense variants are likely on less conserved residue positions and on positions without co-variation. Collectively, the revealed distribution patterns of disease- and gnomAD-linked missense variants further our understanding of the GJ structure–biological function relationship, which is valuable for classifying the pathogenicity of newly identified connexin variants.     

Assessment of total body stores of vitamin A in Guatemalan elderly by the deuterated-retinol-dilution method

BACKGROUND: Deuterated retinol dilution (DRD) gives quantitative estimates of total body stores of vitamin A. OBJECTIVES: In elderly people, we studied 1) the time when an oral dose of deuterated vitamin A equilibrates with body stores, 2) whether serum ratios of deuterated to nondeuterated retinol (D:H) at 3 or 6 d postdosing predicted body stores, and 3) the ability of DRD to detect changes in the size of the body vitamin A pool. DESIGN: A 10-mg oral dose of [2H4]retinyl acetate was administered to 60-81-y-old Guatemalans (n = 47); percentage enrichment of serum retinol with deuterated retinol was determined at 1-3 time points per subject at 3, 6, 7, 14, 20, 21, and 54 d. In subjects from whom blood was obtained at 3 and 21 d (n = 15) and at 6 and 20 d (n = 9), total body stores were calculated by using the formula of Furr et al (Am J Clin Nutr 1989;49:713-6) with 21- or 20-d data and correlated with serum D:H at 3 or 6 d postdosing. Nine subjects received diets containing 982+/-20 microg RE (x+/-SEM) plus 800 microg RE as retinyl acetate supplements for 32 d. DRD, serum retinol, and relative dose response were used to assess vitamin A status before and after the intervention. RESULTS: Deuterated retinol equilibrated with the body pool by 20 d postdosing. Vitamin A supplementation for 32 d increased body stores, although unexplained exaggerated increases were seen in some subjects. An inverse linear relation was found between estimates of body stores and serum D:H at 3 d postdosing (r = -0.75, P = 0.002); at 6 d postdosing, the correlation was weaker. CONCLUSIONS: DRD can detect changes in total body stores of vitamin A, although factors affecting serum D:H need to be elucidated. Serum D:H 3 d postdosing might be used as an early indicator of total body stores of vitamin A, although a predictive equation will need to be developed.     

Testing New In-Kiln Meter for Monitoring Lumber Moisture Content during Drying

The objective of this study was to test a new in-kiln sensor for monitoring lumber moisture content during industrial drying. The theoretical foundation of the technology was already known, because it is based on electrical conductivity, but the mechanism of implementation was new and required validation. For this reason, the technology was compared with two other widely used methods for assessing lumber moisture content, namely, the oven-drying and electrical capacitance methods. The tests were performed in a 120-m³ industrial kiln operated by a sawmill in the eighth region of Chile, and the results showed that the average moisture content at the end of drying was satisfactorily determined by the new in-line sensor. As predicted by theory, the sensor was not able to accurately measure moisture content above 25%, but it was still able to provide the equivalent of a drying curve for monitoring of the drying process.     

Role of essential fatty acids in the function of the developing nervous system

The basis for n-3 fatty acid essentiality in humans includes not only biochemical evidence but functional measures associated with n-3 deficiency in human and nonhuman primates. Functional development of the retina and the occipital cortex are affected by α-linolenic acid deficiency and by a lack of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in preterm infant formulas and, as reported more recently, in term diets. Functional effects of n-3 supply on sleep-wake cycles and heart rate rhythms support the need for dietary n-3 fatty acids during early development. Our results indicate that n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids should be considered provisionally essential for infant nutrition. DHA may also be required by individuals with inherited metabolic defects in elongation and desaturation activity, such as patients with peroxisomal disorders and some forms of retinitis pigmentosa.     

Computerized tomographic assessment of the composition of gallstones

We present the results of an in vitro study of biliary lithiasis (n = 106) with computerized tomography (CT). We analyzed the correlation between composition of gallstones (crystallographic analysis of thin sections and atomic absorption spectrophotometric analysis of total calcium content) with CT patterns (densitometry) and their corresponding attenuations. Six main CT patterns were distinguished: hypodense (homogeneous and heterogeneous), dense, homogeneous hyperdense, ringed hyperdense and irregular hyperdense. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were found between attenuations for cholesterol (mixed and pure) and pigmentary stones. We found a good inverse correlation between attenuations and cholesterol content; the contents of pigment, inorganic calcic salts and total calcium content also showed significant direct correlations (p < or = 0.01). Of the samples classified as pure cholesterol type stones, 86.4% showed hypodense patterns, and the remaining 13.6% showed irregular hyperdense patterns. Of the pigmentary stones, 80% showed homogeneous hyperdense images. All stones that contained more than 3% calcium produced hyperdense patterns, whereas 72.4% of the stones that contained less calcium produced hypodense images. Tomodensitometric measurements provided more information than simple radiography, and made it possible to distinguish a greater variety of gallstone types based on structural complexity.