Performance and ruminal function development of young calves fed diets with Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract.

Neonatal Holstein heifer (n = 72) and bull (n = 40) calves were used to study the effects of Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract (Amaferm) on their performance and on rumen development. The starter diets were formulated to achieve Amaferm consumption of 0, .5, 1, or 3 g per calf daily. Calves were fed milk daily and allowed to consume starter and a mixture of alfalfa and bromegrass hay ad libitum. Weaning was when calves consumed 550 g of starter on 2 consecutive d. Weight gain and feed consumption were recorded weekly. Forty of the heifer calves, 10 from each treatment, were selected randomly to study the effects of Amaferm on ruminal fermentative development. Ruminal fluid samples were collected for pH, ruminal fermentation products, and for bacterial enumerations. Overall, Amaferm-supplemented calves were weaned 1 wk earlier than unsupplemented calves. They had higher total VFA, propionate, and acetate concentrations in the rumen than unsupplemented calves. Total anaerobic, hemicellulolytic, and pectinolytic bacterial counts were higher; cellulolytic bacterial counts tended to be higher for the Amaferm-supplemented calves than for controls. In general, Amaferm-supplemented calves had greater ruminal microbial activity than those not fed Amaferm.     

Quality characteristics of edible vegetable oil blends

Two edible oil blends, namely groundnut oil:rice-bran oil and mustard oil:rice-bran oil, were prepared in different proportions and stored for a period of three years. Their physicochemical characteristics were determined. The results agreed with expected values except for free fatty acid percents and butyrorefrac-tometer readings, presumably due to rancidity. Fatty acid compositions of the blends were determined and ratios of characteristic fatty acids, like lignoceric to palmitic for groundnut oil:rice-bran oil blends, and erucic to palmitic for mustard oil:rice-bran oil blends, were calculated to identify individual oils in the blend.     

Normality and Finite-State Dimension of Liouville Numbers

Liouville numbers were the first class of real numbers which were proven to be transcendental. It is easy to construct non-normal Liouville numbers. Kano (1993) and Bugeaud (2002) have proved, using analytic techniques, that there are normal Liouville numbers. Here, for a given base k ≥ 2, we give a new construction of a Liouville number which is normal to the base k. This construction is combinatorial, and is based on de Bruijn sequences.     

Inter-satellite calibration linkages for the visible and near-infared channels of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer on the NOAA-7, -9, and -11 spacecraft

The post-launch degradation of the visible (channel 1:≈0· 58–0·68μm) and near-infrared (channel 2: ≈ O·72–1·1 μm) channels of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) on the NOAA–7, –9, and –11 Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) was estimated using the south-eastern part of the Libyan desert as a radiometrically stable calibration target. The relative annual degradation rates, in per cent, for the two channels are, respectively: 3·6 and 4·3 (NOAA–7) 5·9 and 3·5 (NOAA–9); and 1·2 and 2·0 (NOAA–11). Using the relative degradation rates thus determined, in conjunction with absolute calibrations based on congruent path aircraft/satellite radiance measurements over White Sands, New Mexico (U.S.A.), the variation in time of the absolute gain or ‘slope’ of the AVHRR on NOAA–9 was evaluated. Inter-satellite calibration linkages were established, using the AYHRR on NOAA–9 as a normalization standard. Formulae for the calculation of calibrated radiances and albedos (AYHRR usage), based on these interlinkages, are given for the three AYHRRs.     

Carbohydrates of Red Gram dhal in Varieties Having Differences in Cooking Time

Twelve varieties of red gram with varying cooking times were studied for chemical make-up and carbohydrate profile. Water-soluble polysaccharides and pectic complexes were isolated from a easy-cooking (HY-3C) and a difficult-cooking (GS-1) variety of red gram and their chemical composition was studied. Content of xylose, mannose and uronic acid was more in difficult-cooking variety. The pectic complex obtained from both the varieties was subjected to chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. Fractionation profile and composition of the isolated fractions were different and were mainly due to xylose and mannose. Starches were isolated from these two varieties and their physicochemical characteristics showed that the solubility and swelling power of starches in water and solubility in DMSO were more in easycooking variety. Brabender viscograph studies of the flours showed linear relationship between viscosity and cooking time. Poor-cooking varieties showed higher viscosity.     

Escherichia coli O157:H7 genetic diversity in bovine fecal samples

Escherichia coli O157:H7 causes foodborne illness in humans; cattle are considered a primary reservoir for the organism, and transmission is often through contaminated food products or water. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic diversity of E. coli O157:H7 within a single individual bovine fecal sample based on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing. Fecal samples (n=601) were collected from dairy and beef cattle at three separate facilities, and E. coli O157:H7 was isolated by enrichment, immunomagnetic separation, and plating on selective medium. The prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 was 46 (7.7%) of 601. From each positive fecal sample, up to 10 putative colonies were tested, and isolates from samples with at least seven positive colonies were subtyped using PFGE and tested for six major virulence genes by multiplex PCR. A total of 254 E. coli O157:H7 isolates from 27 samples met these criteria and were included in PFGE analysis. Fifteen PFGE subtypes (<100% Dice similarity) were detected among the 254 isolates, and there were no common subtypes between the three locations. Seven (26%) of 27 fecal samples had E. coli O157:H7 isolates with different PFGE subtypes (mean=2.1) within the same sample. The virulence gene profiles of different isolates from the same sample were always identical, regardless of the number of PFGE types. The results of this study suggest that determining the PFGE pattern of a single isolate from a bovine sample may not be sufficient when comparing isolates from feces, hides, or carcasses, because multiple PFGE subtypes are present.     

Photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B dye under UV/solar light using ZnO nanopowder synthesized by solution combustion route

Nano-sized ZnO powder with crystallite size in the range 12 to 50 nm were prepared by solution combustion route. The product was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine B (RB) dye was carried out with ZnO nanopowder. The effect of parameters such as the crystallite size, amount of catalyst, concentration of the dye, pH and irradiation on photocatalytic degradation of RB is studied. The results reveal that the maximum decolorization (more than 95%) of dye occurred with ZnO catalyst in 8 min of stirring at basic pH under solar light irradiation. It was also found that chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction takes place at a faster rate under solar light as compared to that of UV light. The results suggest that, the ZnO solar photocatalytic irradiation is better than the calcined ZnO/solar and UV light irradiation.     

Multidrug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 in poultry

Salmonella Typhimurium isolates from feed ingredients or poultry sources isolated during 1995 to 1997 from different geographical locations within Minnesota were examined for the presence of Salmonella Typhimurium definitive type 104 (DT104). Antibiotic susceptibility studies indicated that 15 of 50 isolates of Salmonella Typhimurium had an antibiotic resistance pattern (ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfonamides, and tetracycline) that is usually observed with multidrug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium DT104. Of the 15 isolates showing the antibiotic resistance pattern, 8 isolates were phage type 104, 3 isolates were typed as phage type 104 complex, and the remaining 4 isolates belonged to phage types 193, 81, and 126. DT104 was recovered from both feed ingredients and poultry samples. Of the seven feed ingredient-associated Salmonella Typhimurium isolates, four were DT104, whereas only 7 of 43 poultry-associated Salmonella Typhimurium isolates were DT104. A repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR) of 50 isolates of Salmonella Typhimurium representing 13 phage types identified seven distinct fingerprint profiles. No correlation between phage type and rep-PCR type was noticed. Eleven Salmonella Typhimurium isolates belonging to DT104 and its complex were grouped into two closely related rep-PCR types.     

Endotoxic activity of cell-free rumen fluid from cattle fed hay or grain

The cell-free rumen fluid from cattle fed hay or grain exhibited the following biological characteristics which strongly suggest the presence of endotoxin or a toxic principle similar to endotoxin of gram-negative bacteria: proved lethal to mice when injected with actinomycin D; proved extremely lethal to chick embryo; induced biphasic pyogenic response in rabbits; enhanced susceptibility to bacterial infection in mice; evoked positive epinephrine skin reaction in rabbits and phenol-water or aqueous ether proved lethal to mice and chick embryos. A quantitative difference in concentrations of endotoxin was observed on LD50 in mice and chick embryos and response to the epinephrine skin test in rabbits. Cell-free rumen fluid of grain-fed cattle contained at least twice as much endotoxin as that of hay-fed cattle. Endotoxin in cell-free rumen fluid and in higher concentration in cattle fed grain than in those fed hay support the hypothesis that rumen bacterial endotoxins may participate in the pathogenesis of diseases associated with high grain feeding such as lactic acidosis and the sudden-death syndrome.