Bioavailability of Calcium Citrate Malate Added to Microbial Phytase-Treated, Hydrothermally Cooked Soymilk

Effects of microbial phytase on bioavailability of calcium added to corn/soy diets were investigated in chickens. No effect (P > 0.17) of phytase was found for weight gain, feed intake, tibia/body weight, ash%, and ash Ca% when calcium citrate malate (CCM) was added to corn/soybean meal and corn/hydrothermally cooked (HTC) soymilk diets. Using calcium carbonate in corn/HTC soymilk diets, means for weight gain, feed intake, tibia/body weight, and ash% were less (P < 0.05) without phytase. We hypothesize that CCM is less amenable to the formation of calcium phytate complexes than are other calcium salts and, therefore, should be more effective for fortification of soymilk products.     

Flat field correction for high‐throughput imaging of fluorescent samples

Vignetting of microscopic images impacts both the visual impression of the images and any image analysis applied to it. Especially in high‐throughput screening high demands are made on an automated image analysis. In our work we focused on fluorescent samples and found that two profiles (background and foreground) for each imaging channel need to be estimated to achieve a sufficiently flat image after correction. We have developed a method which runs completely unsupervised on a wide range of assays. By adding a reliable internal quality control we mitigate the risk of introducing artefacts into sample images through correction. The method requires hundreds of images for the foreground profile, thus limiting its application to high‐throughput screening where this requirement is fulfilled in routine operation.