The effects of particle size and pelleting on growth performance, carcass characteristics, nutrient digestibility, and stomach morphology were determined using 160 finishing pigs. The pigs were fed a ...corn-soybean meal-based diet with the corn milled to particle sizes of 1,000, 800, 600, or 400 micrometer. The diets were fed in meal or pellet form. Pelleting the diets resulted in 5% greater ADG (P 0.01) and 7% greater gain/feed (P 0.001). Also, pelleting increased digestibilities of DM, N, and GE by 5 to 8% (P 0.001). Reducing particle size increased electrical energy required for milling and decreased milling production rates, especially as particle size was decreased from 600 to 400 micrometer. Reducing particle size of the corn from 1,000 to 400 micrometer increased gain/feed by 8% (linear effect, P 0.001) and digestibility of GE by 7% (quadratic effect, P 0.03). Improved nutrient digestibility and lower ADFI resulted in 26% less daily excretion of DM and 27% less daily excretion of N in the feces as particle size was reduced from 1,000 to 400 micrometer (linear effects, P 0.001). Stomach lesions and keratinization increased with reduced particle size (P 0.003) and keratinization increased with pelleting (P 0.02), although they were unrelated to growth performance (i.e., gain/feed actually improved as lesion scores increased). Considering milling energy, growth performance, stomach morphology, nutrient digestibility, and nutrient excretion, a particle size of 600 micrometer, or slightly less, is an acceptable compromise for corn in both meal and pelleted diets for finishing pigs
Soybean hulls were subjected to thermo-mechanical extrusion pretreatment at various in-barrel moisture contents and screw speeds. Extrusion degraded the lignocellulosic structure and enhanced ...enzymatic hydrolysis of soybean hulls, with up to 155% increase in glucose yield as compared to untreated substrate. Greater glucose yields were observed at higher in-barrel moistures (45% and 50%) and lower screw speed (280 and 350 rpm). Maximum 74% cellulose to glucose conversion resulted from using a two-enzyme cocktail consisting of cellulase and β-glucosidase. Conversion increased to 87% when a three-enzyme cocktail having a cell wall degrading enzyme complex was used for hydrolysis. Fermentation inhibitors, such as furfural, 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furaldehyde (HMF), and acetic acid, were found in the extrusion pretreated soybean hulls and hydrolysate. However, their concentrations were below the known thresholds for inhibition. Fermentation of hydrolysate by Saccharomyces cerevisiae led to high yields of ethanol, with concentration ranging from 13.04 to 15.44 g/L.
Rations containing varying ratios of corn, high-oil corn, soybean meal, and mechanically expelled soybean meal were pelleted. The effects of ingredients, conditioning steam pressure, and mixing ...paddle configuration inside the conditioner on pellet quality were investigated. Ration ingredients strongly affected pellet quality. Increasing the protein content increased the pellet durability, whereas increasing the oil content above 7.5% greatly decreased pellet durability. High-oil corn and mechanically expelled soybean meal produced acceptable pellets when combined with soybean meal and regular corn, respectively. However, poor pellet quality resulted when rations containing high-oil corn and mechanically expelled soybean meal were processed. Increasing the residence time in the conditioner by changing mixing paddle pitch resulted in an average 4.5-point increase in pellet durability indices among 65:35 (wt) corn:soybean meal and 65:35 high-oil corn:soybean meal rations.
About 10 μs after the Big Bang, the universe was filled—in addition to photons and leptons—with strong-interaction matter consisting of quarks and gluons, which transitioned to hadrons at ...temperatures close to kT = 150 MeV and densities several times higher than those found in nuclei. This quantum chromodynamics (QCD) matter can be created in the laboratory as a transient state by colliding heavy ions at relativistic energies. The different phases in which QCD matter may exist depend for example on temperature, pressure or baryochemical potential, and can be probed by studying the emission of electromagnetic radiation. Electron–positron pairs emerge from the decay of virtual photons, which immediately decouple from the strong interaction, and thus provide information about the properties of QCD matter at various stages. Here, we report the observation of virtual photon emission from baryon-rich QCD matter. The spectral distribution of the electron–positron pairs is nearly exponential, providing evidence for a source of temperature in excess of 70 MeV with constituents whose properties have been modified, thus reflecting peculiarities of strong-interaction QCD matter. Its bulk properties are similar to the dense matter formed in the final state of a neutron star merger, as apparent from recent multimessenger observation.
Rhodopsin, a prototypic G protein-coupled receptor responsible for absorption of photons in retinal rod photoreceptor cells, was selectively extracted from bovine rod outer segment membranes, ...employing mixed micelles of nonyl β-d-glucoside and heptanetriol. Highly purified rhodopsin was crystallized from solutions containing varying amounts of detergent and amphiphile. The crystals contained ground state rhodopsin molecules as judged by their red color and the linear dichroism originating from the 11-cis-retinal chromophore. However, when exposed to visible light, even at 4°C, rhodopsin was bleached and the crystals decomposed. Reflections in the diffraction pattern were observed out to 3.5-Å resolution at 100 K for the most ordered crystals. Diffraction data have been processed to 3.85-Å resolution. The symmetry of the diffraction pattern and the systematic absences indicate that the crystals have tetragonal symmetry, space group P4122 or P4322, a = b = 96.51 Å, c = 148.55 Å. A value of 4.12 Å3/Da for VM was obtained for one monomer in the asymmetric unit (eight molecules per unit cell). Our study is the first characterization of a three-dimensional crystal of a G protein-coupled receptor and may be valuable for future structural studies on related receptors of this important superfamily.
Flow coefficients vn of the orders n = 1 – 6 are measured with the High-Acceptance Spectrometer (HADES) at GSI for protons, deuterons, and tritons as a function of centrality, transverse momentum, ...and rapidity in Au + Au collisions at √sNN = 2.4 GeV. Combining the information from the flow coefficients of all orders allows us to construct for the first time, at collision energies of a few GeV, a multidifferential picture of the angular emission pattern of these particles. It reflects the complicated interplay between the effect of the central fireball pressure on the emission of particles and their subsequent interaction with spectator matter. The high precision information on higher order flow coefficients is a major step forward in constraining the equation of state of dense baryonic matter.
The pilot feed mill at Kansas State University was heated to temperatures of ⩾50°C for 28–35
h during August 4–6, 1999 using natural gas heaters to kill stored-product insects. A three-parameter ...nonlinear regression model satisfactorily described temperature profiles on each of the four mill floors and was useful in showing differences among floors in the number of hours taken to reach 50°C and hours above 50°C. Pitfall traps with food and pheromone lures and sticky traps with pheromone lures were used to sample adults of beetles and moths, respectively, between July 8 and December 1, 1999 to evaluate heat treatment effectiveness. A total of 32 insect species representing 26 families in seven orders were captured in traps. Immediately after heat treatment, there was 95% reduction in total beetle captures in pitfall traps and 99% reduction in moth captures in sticky traps. Trap captures of the almond moth,
Cadra cautella (Walker) and cigarette beetle,
Lasioderma serricorne (L.) were significantly reduced and remained low after heat treatment. However, trap captures of the flat grain beetle,
Cryptolestes pusillus (Schöenherr), Indianmeal moth,
Plodia interpunctella (Hübner), and red flour beetle,
Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) increased gradually after heat treatment, especially on the 1st and 4th floors. Our results indicated that traps are valuable tools for gauging the degree and duration of insect suppression obtained by heat treatment. In addition to trapping, visual inspection of the mill areas and absolute sampling of ingredients, products and spillage should be undertaken, so that areas of incipient insect reinfestation can be identified and potential problems rectified or averted.
An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of including pelleted and re-ground distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) on pellet durability and pellet mill performance in pelleted ...corn-soy based swine diets. Pelleted and re-ground DDGS have the potential to greatly improve handling and shipping of DDGS because of improvements in material flow and bulk density. The pellet manufacturing experiments were completed at the Department of Grain Science and Industry’s Feed Research Facility at Kansas State University. Pellet durability index (PDI), electrical energy consumption, production rate, and bulk density served as the response criteria. The levels of DDGS evaluated were 10%, 20%, and 30%. Diets containing pelleted and re-ground DDGS were compared to diets with unpelleted DDGS added at the same levels and to a control diet with no added DDGS. Concerning PDI, the diets containing pelleted and re-ground DDGS showed no significant differences from the control at any inclusion level, while the diets containing unpelleted DDGS at 20% and 30% had significantly lower pellet durability than the control. Concerning the production response criteria, the diets containing pelleted and re-ground DDGS were superior or equal to treatments containing unpelleted DDGS. The data demonstrates that pelleted and re-ground DDGS do not negatively impact pellet durability or pelleting performance, and in fact may offer slight benefits, and therefore can be considered as an option for improving some aspects of working with DDGS.
Cell death induced by cisplatin was studied in Chinese hamster ovary cell lines, one proficient and the other deficient (100-fold sensitive) in DNA excision repair. Previous experiments demonstrated ...that cells progressed to and arrested in the G2 phase of the cell cycle before dying. DNA double-strand breaks were detected following G2 arrest and prior to loss of membrane integrity. These DNA breaks have been studied in more detail. DNA fragments were observed consisting of multimers of approximately 180 base pairs. These fragments are consistent with internucleosomal cleavage of chromatin by an endonuclease. At LC90 concentrations, DNA digestion began 48 hr cisplatin treatment followed by loss of membrane integrity and cell shrinkage 24 hr later. High concentrations of cisplatin (170 logs of kill) induced DNA digestion 12 hr after drug treatment but loss of membrane integrity occurred 12 hr later. Both cell death and DNA fragmentation were inhibited by cycloheximide, suggesting the requirement for new protein synthesis. Cells incubated with many other agents demonstrated the same characteristic pattern of DNA degradation. At 90% lethal conditions, DNA digestion was induced within 30 min by hyperthermia, 18 hr by methotrexate, and 48-72 hr by all other agents tested. DNA digestion always preceded loss of membrane integrity and cell shrinkage. These observations are consistent with cell death occurring by the process of apoptosis, or prorammed cell death, and demonstrate the importance of DNA digestion as an early and presumably essential step in cell death. The results suggest that, irrespective of the primary site of action of a drug, cell death by most pharmacologic agents is mediated by activation of the signal transduction pathway for apoptosis. The results also suggest two signal pathways for apoptosis, one directly associated with drug action and a second that requires cell cycle-related events.
The effects of particle size uniformity and mill type used to grind corn were determined in three experiments. In Exp. 1, 120 pigs (47.8 kg initial BW) were used. Treatments were 1) a 40:60 blend of ...coarsely rolled (in a roller mill) and finely ground (in a hammermill) corn with a large standard deviation (s(gw)) of particle size (s(gw) of 2.7), 2) hammermilled corn with an s(gw) of 2.3, and 3) roller-milled corn with an s(gw) of 2.0. Mean particle size of the corn was approximately 850 micrometers for all treatments. Growth performance was not affected (P 0.11); but, stomach keratinization tended to be less severe (P 0.08) and apparent nutrient digestibilities were greater (P 0.008) when the s(gw) was smaller. In Exp. 2,128 pigs (56.3 kg initial BW) were used. Treatments were corn ground in a hammermill and a roller mill to 800 and 400 micrometers. Pigs fed corn ground to 400 micrometers were more efficient (P 0.004) and had greater apparent digestibilities of DM, N, and GE (P 0.001) than pigs fed corn ground to 800 micrometers. Mill type did not affect growth performance (P 0.40), but pigs fed corn ground in the roller mill had greater apparent nutrient digestibilities (P 0.008). In Exp. 3, 128 pigs (67.3 kg initial BW) were used. Treatments were corn ground to 400 micrometers in a hammermill and a roller mill fed in meal and pelleted forms. Pigs fed pelleted diets had greater ADG (P 0.003) and gain/feed (P 0.03) but also had greater incidence of ulcers (P 0.04). Pigs fed roller-milled corn were more efficient (P 0.05) and had a lower incidence of ulcers (P 0.04), but diets with hammermilled corn had lower s(gw) and greater apparent digestibilities of nutrients (P 0.02). Our results suggest that mill type had inconsistent effects on growth performance, but more uniform particle sizes consistently gave greater nutrient digestibilities
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