Effects of dietary inclusion of chromium propionate and calcium propionate on glucose disposal and gastrointestinal development in dairy calves

In experiment 1, 21 male Holstein calves (43.9 kg) were fed only milk replacer at 1.4% of their body weight as dry matter for 6 wk. Dietary treatments included a commercial milk replacer (22% protein, 15% fat) containing (dry basis) either 6.4% Ca propionate or 6.4% dextrose (control) and either 0 or 0.5 mg/kg of supplemental Cr as Cr propionate. Neither Cr nor Ca propionate affected body weight gain; however, Ca propionate tended to increase the growth of the entire foregut measured after slaughter at 6 wk of age. A Minimal Model glucose tolerance test indicated that insulin sensitivity was not affected by treatment. However, calves fed Cr had higher glucose disappearance indexes than controls when propionate was not fed (0.013 vs. 0.019 units) but similar clearance when propionate was included (0.018 vs. 0.018 units, Cr x P interaction). The area under the glucose response curves after propionate-loading tests was much greater for calves fed the Cr versus control replacer when propionate was not present; however, when propionate was included, the response was less dramatic. In experiment 2, 25 Holstein calves were used to study performance and metabolic responses when milk replacer, and then postweaning starter, were supplemented with 0.5 mg/kg of Cr as Cr propionate. The metabolic responses of these calves were not affected by treatment. Overall, combined data suggested that supplemental Cr may improve glucose effectiveness; however, these responses seemed to be attenuated by supplemental propionate.     

Phase transition and electrical conductivity in the system YMnO3-CaMnO3

Solid solution formation between the ferroelectric hexagonal compound YMnO₃ and the semiconducting perovskite compound CaMnO₃ has been studied in the Y-rich region of the pseudobinary system. The materials were prepared by reaction of the corresponding oxides and the calcium carbonate for obtaining the corresponding phases and subsequent sintering of the pressed powders in the 1400–1525 °C-temperature range. Their ceramic characteristics were established. Samples with relative density >98% D_th were obtained. The hexagonal symmetry of the pure yttrium manganite changes to an orthorhombic one, isostructural with that of the GdMnO₃ compound, for 32 mol % CaMnO₃. The incorporation of the Ca cation causes an increasing in the compactness of the lattice cell, promoting a rise in the apparent density, despite of the smaller atomic weight of the Ca cation against that of the Y one, until the transition to the orthorhombic lattice occurs. Subsequent increase in the Ca amount lead to a decrease in the theoretical density.The electrical conductivity of the solid solutions increases strongly from 100 to the 90/10 Y/Ca composition, and more moderately for higher Ca amounts. Conductivity values as high as 10^–2 S · cm^–1 were measured on the denser samples. The activation energy for conduction suffers a corresponding decrease when the Ca amount is increased.     

Endothelin-1-induced in vitro cerebral venoconstriction is mediated by endothelin ETA receptors

The in vitro effects of endothelin-1 on cerebral veins were studied using cylindrical segments, 5 mm long, from dog pial veins. Isometric responses to endothelin-1 (10(-12)-10(-7) M) and to the endothelin ET(B) receptor agonist, IRL 1620 (Suc-[Glu9,Ala11,15]endothelin-1-(8-21), 10(-12) -10(-7) M), were recorded in veins under control conditions and pretreated with the endothelin ET(A) receptor antagonist, BQ-123 (cyclo-(D-Asp-Pro-D-Val-Leu-D-Trp), 10(-8) -10(-5) M), and the endothelin ETB receptor antagonist, BQ-788 (N-[N-[N-[(2,6-dimethyl-1-piperidinyl)carbonyl]-4-methyl-L-leucyl]-1-(me thoxycarbonyl)-D-tryptophyl]-D-norleucine monosodium, 10(-6) and 10(-5) M). The response to endothelin-1 was also recorded in veins pretreated with the nitric oxide synthesis inhibitor, N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 10(-4) M), or the cyclooxygenase inhibitor, meclofenamate (10(-5) M), and in veins without endothelium or placed in medium without Ca2+ but with EDTA (0.1 mM). In control veins, endothelin-1 produced a concentration-dependent contraction (EC50 = 2.0 x 10(-10) M; maximal contraction = 113 +/- 6 mg) and IRL 1620 induced no effects or a small contraction only with high concentrations (10(-8) - 10(-6) M) (EC50 = 1.5 x 10 (-8) M; maximal contraction = 9 +/- 3 mg). BQ-123 shifted the response to endothelin-1 to the right in a parallel, concentration-dependent way, whereas BQ-788, L-NAME or meclofenamate did not modify the response to endothelin-1. Compared with the control, veins in a medium without Ca2+ had similar EC50 values, but a lower maximal contraction induced by endothelin-1 (57 +/- 10 mg, P < 0.05), and veins without endothelium exhibited similar EC50 values. Thus, endothelin-1 produces marked cerebral venoconstriction that could be mainly mediated by activation of endothelin ETA receptors, may be dependent on extracellular Ca2+, and may be independent of endothelium, nitric oxide and prostanoids.     

The Initial Thermal Stability of Poly(vinyl chloride)

The use of a fluidised bed reactor and a conductivity cell provide a technique for the study of degradation of PVC with greatly increased sensitivity. The kinetics of the reaction may be studied at 350 K and for small (1%) amounts of degradation. The effects of diffusion within the particles may be distinguished from that of diffusion in the surrounding atmosphere. The influence of temperature and particle size and sintering were examined. The catalytic effect of HCl was confirmed and an apparent activation energy of 29 kcal mol^?1 was observed.     

Definition du fond rocheux du lit du rio grijalva a Chicoasen

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - La décision de construire l'aménagement hydroélectrique de Chicoasen sur le Rio Grijalva, lorsque les recherches sur la...     

Les composants conditionant les liants hydrauliques I. Fraction ferromagnetique

The author has utilised magnetic agitators to determine the “ferromagnetic fraction” of a number of varieties of portland cement. He has been able to establish, not without some surprise, that this “ferromagnetic fraction” constitutes a significant proportion of the cement. To determine their composition, X-ray difractograms have been obtained for each of the samples. The tests described in this paper seek to determine the magnetic fraction and obtain a method of quantifying it.     

A new phase consistency criterion and its application in electron crystallography

In this work, we present the principles and potential advantages of a methodology to assess Fourier components in terms of phase consistency. We define a new phase consistency criterion among sets of spatially translated images based upon a novel conception of the spatial shift property of the Fourier transform. The article shows how this criterion can be used in the alignment stage of the 3D reconstruction process with a two-fold objective: Assessment of the frequency components and robustness in the alignment. In that sense, the article shows and analyzes the results obtained from the application of the new index of quality in the context of projection image alignment. We have focussed our attention on the electron crystallography field, by applying such a phase consistency definition over image reflections. The results that have been obtained show that the new phase-consistency definition may complement the traditional SNR-based index of quality (commonly known as IQ) of reflections. As a consequence, the reliability of the alignment may be improved by discarding those reflections judged as non-reliable according to the phase-consistency criterion.