Quality of polyunsaturated fatty acids in Nile tilapias (Oreochromis niloticus) fed with vitamin E supplementation

Freshwater fish are an important source of protein, but they also contain other highly nutritive components such as fats. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential for normal growth, development and reproduction of vertebrates. The antioxidant role of vitamin E in cell membranes prevents fatty acid and cholesterol oxidation, thereby promoting PUFA and subcellular particle stabilization. The effects of vitamin E supplementation on the quality of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) carcass were investigated. The experiments were carried out in an experimental laboratory over 106 d. After sex reversal, 400 early juvenile O. niloticus were tested in a completely randomized experiment with 5 treatments (4 repetitions each), consisting of vitamin E monophosphate supplementation at 0, 50, 100, 150 or 200 mg/kg of a base diet. Treatment diets contained equal amounts of protein and energy. Tilapias supplemented with vitamin E contained arachidonic acid (20:4 omega-6; AA) which participates in inflammatory response. Nile tilapia carcasses that received vitamin E at 100 and 150 mg/kg diet had improved carcass quality by increasing the PUFA:SFA ratio and had the highest levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids from the omega-3 (linolenic acid; 18:3 omega-3) and omega-6 (linoleic acid; 18:2 omega-6) series. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

IMPROVEMENTS IN SUSTAINABILITY OF GRAVITY-FED WATER SYSTEMS IN THE COMARCA NGÄBE-BUGLÉ, PANAMA: SPRING CAPTURES AND CIRCUIT RIDER MODEL

Gravity-flow aqueducts are used to bring clean water from mountain springs in the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, Panama, to the homes of the indigenous people who reside there. Spring captures enclose a spring to direct the flow of water into the transmission line. Seepage contact springs are most common, with water appearing above either hard basalt bedrock or a dense clay layer. Spring flows vary dramatically during wet and dry seasons, and discharge points of springs can shift, sometimes enough to impact the capture structure and its ability to properly collect all of the available water. Traditionally, spring captures are concrete boxes. The spring boxes observed by the author were dilapidated or out of alignment with the spring itself, only capturing part of the discharge. An improved design approach was developed that mimics the terrain surrounding the spring source to address these issues. Over the course of a year, three different spring sites were evaluated, and spring captures were designed and constructed based on the new approach. Spring flow data from each case study demonstrate increased flow capture in the improved structures. Rural water systems, including spring captures, can be sustainably maintained by the Circuit Rider model, a technical support system in which technical assistance is provided for the operation of the water systems. During 2012-2013, the author worked as a Circuit Rider and facilitated a water system improvement project while exploring methods of community empowerment to increase the capacity for system maintenance. Based on these experiences, recommendations are provided to expand the Circuit Rider model in the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé under the Panamanian Ministry of Health’s Water and Sanitation Project (PASAP)

Physicochemical and microbial analysis of feces from horses fed diets containing citrus pulp.

This study aimed to evaluate the e ect of diets containing increasing levels of citrus pulp on the physic-chemical and microbiological characteristics of horses feces. Five mares, at an average age of 3.5 years old and body weight of 492 ± 44.5 kg were arranged in a 5 x 5 Latin Square. The experimental diet consisted of 60% coast-cross hay and 40 % of concentrate with increasing levels of citrus pulp (0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 %). To determine the fecal pH, samples were collected directly from the oor, immediately after defecation, in the rst feces the day at 07:00 a.m., and color and fecal consistency were evaluated. For microbiological analysis, an aliquot was reserved in plastic bags, frozen, and sent to the microbiological laboratory for further analysis. Lactic acid bacteria were counted for Lactobacillus spp. and Streptococcus spp. from fecal samples under anaerobic conditions. The diet produced di erences (P<0.05) in feces consistency 98% had normal and rm stools, while 2% had loose ruminant-type feces. We observed no di erence (P<0.05) for color, verifying 100% of greenish feces, normal for equines. There was no e ect (P>0.05) on pH and on the number of Lactobacillus spp. and Streptococcus spp. The inclusion of up to 28% citrus pulp concentrates for horses did not promote change in the physio-chemical characteristics and on the population of lactic acid-producing bacteria in feces.

Ingestive behavior of sheep fed Brazil nut cake in the diet.

Avaliou-se o comportamento ingestivo de ovinos alimentados com níveis de inclusão (0, 15, 30 e 60%) de torta de castanha-do-pará (TC) (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl.), na dieta à base de silagem de milho. Foram utilizados 16 cordeiros, sem raça definida e peso médio de 33 ± 6.04 kg, distribuídos aleatoriamente nos quatro tratamentos. Os dados foram analisados quanto à normalidade, submetidos à análise de variância, ajustados em equações de regressão e ao teste de Williams, estimando-se o ponto W. Os consumos voluntários de matéria seca (MS) e fibra insolúvel em detergente neutro (FDN), reduziram linearmente (P=0,013 e P=0,002) em 5,0 g e 2,41 g dia-1, respectivamente, para cada 1% de TC inclusa na dieta. O tempo despendido em alimentação (288,75 min dia-1) não foi afetado significativamente, o tempo em ócio cresceu linearmente (P=0,002) em 3,10 minutos, e o tempo gasto em ruminação decresceu (P=0,001) em 2,62 minutos, para cada 1% de inclusão do coproduto. O número de bolos ruminados (NBR) sofreu efeito decrescente (P=0,004) em 4,61 nº dia-1. Quanto às mastigações merícicas, o tempo gasto por bolo (37,5 seg) e o número por bolo (56,14) não diferiram (P>0,05) entre os tratamentos, mas o tempo total de mastigação (TTM) reduziu linearmente (P=0,002) em 0,05 h dia-1 e o número de mastigações por dia apresentou efeito quadrático (P=0,008), com máximo estimado em 17,5% de TC. A eficiência de ruminação não diferiu entre os tratamentos (101,95 g MS h-1 e 36,76 g FDN h-1) e a eficiência de alimentação (EAL) sofreu redução linear (P=0,045) em 0,42 g FDN h-1, mas foi semelhante para g MS h-1 (172,5). Os consumos diários de MS e FDN apresentaram pontos W estimados em 51,96 e 30,67% de TC, respectivamente. As variáveis NBR, TTM e EAL (g FDN h-1) tiveram os pontos W estimados em 56,64, 56,19 e 56,33% de TC. A torta de castanha-do-pará, em níveis superiores a 56% da MS da dieta, afeta o comportamento ingestivo dos animais, principalmente em variáveis relacionadas à ruminação, sendo que a partir de 30,67% já passa a afetar o consumo de FDN, tendo como principais fatores o teor de extrato etéreo e a fonte de fibra das dietas.

Growth, parasitic infection and hematology in Colossoma macropomum Cuvier, 1818 fed diets containing Allium sativum.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a dietary Allium sativum (garlic) addition on growth, parasite infestation and blood parameters in Colossoma macropomum (tambaqui) using 12 net-cages (1 m3).

Ractopamine depletion through urine in swine fed increasing doses of contaminated meat and bone meal.

2016

Performance of Mojosari Alabio Males Ducks Fed Complete Ration Silage

Abstract. The experiment was conducted to determine the effect of complete diet silage on feed consumption, body weight gain, feed conversion, water consumption and mortality. The materials used were 75 Mojosari Alabio male ducks, commercial diet plus rice bran (16.50% CP, 2900 kkal GE/kg), silage with 30-60% water content. Data were subject to Completely Randomized Design with five treatments and three replications. The treatments were S0 (commercial feed), S1 (silage with 30% water content), S2 (silage with 40% water content), S3 (silage with 50% water content) and S4 (silage with 60% water content). Data were subject to analysis of variance followed by orthogonal contrast test. The result showed that silage with 50% water content has significantly increased body weight gain and decreased water consumption, but there were no  effect in feed conversion. Complete diet silage was safe for Mojosari Alabio male duck. Key words : complete ration silage , duck, performance Abstrak. Penelitian ini untuk mengetahui pengaruh pemberian silase ransum komplit terhadap konsumsi pakan, pertambahan bobot badan, konversi pakan, konsumsi air dan persentase kematian. Bahan yang  digunakan adalah 75 ekor itik Mojosari Alabio jantan, ransum komersial ditambah dedak padi (16,50% CP, 2900 kkal GE/kg), silase dengan kadar air 30-60%. Percobaan ini menggunakan Rancangan Acak Lengkap dengan lima perlakuan dan tiga ulangan. Perlakuan S0 (pakan komersial), S1 (silase dengan kadar air 30%), S2 (silase dengan kadar air 40%), S3 (silase dengan kadar air 50%) dan S4 (silase dengan kadar air 60%). Data dianalisis menggunakan analisis ragam dan dilanjutkan dengan uji kontras orthogonal. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa silase dengan kadar air 50% memiliki peningkatan berat badan dan penurunan konsumsi air yang signifikan, tetapi tidak mempengaruhi konversi pakan. Silase ransum komplit pakan aman untuk itik Mojosari Alabio jantan. Kata kunci : silase ransum komplit, itik, performans

Nitrogen Metabolim in Sheep Fed Hay-Based Diet Supplemented with Yucca schidigera with or without Nisin

Empat ekor domba yang berfistula pada bagian rumen digunakan pada rancangan Bujur sangkar latin 3 x 3. penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh suplementasi Yucca schidigera dengan atau tanpa nisin terhadap penggunaan nitrogen, konsentrasi amonia dalam rumen, konsentrasi nitrogen urea dalam plasma, suplai nitrogen mikroba pada domba yang diberi pakan basal hay rumput timothy dan konsentrat. Tiga perlakuan pakan yaitu pakan basal (kontrol), pakan basal + Yucca schidigera 240 ppm (yucca), pakan basal + Yucca schidigera 240 ppm + nisin 6 mg/kg BW 0.75 (yucca+nisin). Ekskresi nitrogen dalam urin domba yang diberi perlakuan yucca+nisin lebih rendah (P<0.05) dibandingkan perlakuan kontrol. Perlakuan yucca+nisin meningkatkan keseimbangan nitrogen sebesar 8 % dibandingkan kontrol. Konsentrasi amonia  dalam rumen pada perlakuan yucca dan yucca+nisin lebih rendah (P<0.05) daripada perlakuan kontrol, dan konsentrasi tersebut masih berada diatas konsentrasi minimal untuk pertumbuhan mikroba dalam rumen. Konsentrasi nitrogen urea dalam plasma tidak dipengaruhi oleh perlakuan dan bervariasi antara 20.8 – 22.0 mg/dl. Suplai nitrogen mikroba pada perlakuan yucca dan yucca+nisin lebih tinggi (P<0.05) dibandingkan perlakuan kontrol. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa suplementasi yucca atau kombinasi yucca dan nisin dapat menurunkan konsentrasi amonia dalam rumen, sehingga menurunkan ekskresi nitrogen pada urin dimana hal ini berimplikasi positif dalam mengurangi pencemaran nitrogen di lingkungan. (Animal Production 7(1): 34-39 (2005) Kata kunci : Yucca schidigera, Nisin, Penggunaan N, N Mikroba

Voluntary Feed Intake and Growth of Local Sheep Fed on Road Side Grasses Following A 6-Week Feed Restriction Period

The purpose of this experiment was to investigate an adaptation time sheep to eat at a normal amount required by the local experiencing liveweight loss due to feed restriction, to investigate feed intake and feed digestibility and to investigate sheep growth following feed restriction. The experiment was conducted in The Experimental Farm of Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Unsoed. Twelve local sheep were randomly assigned to two different groups of treatment: namely, control (C) and restrictively Fed Animal (R). there were two periods through out the experiment, Period I (PI) and II (PII). During P I (6 week), Animals in group R were restrictively fed so that they lost live weight of approximately 15%. During P II Animals in group  R were than offered ad libitum. Whereas, animal in group C were fed ad libitum through out the experiment. The results of this experiment showed that animals in group R needed 17 days for adaptation to consume feed at a normal amount after they had experienced feed restriction for 6 weeks. Dry matter intake was not different between group C dan R. However, when it was expressed per metabolic live weight (g/Kg0,75), Dry matter intake for group R was significantly higher than that for group C (102.35 vs 91,79). Dry matter digestibility value for group R was higher than that for group C either during PI (62 vs 57%) or during PII (70 vs 61%). The rate of live weight gain was not different between C and R during period II. In conclusion, local sheep had capability of consuming more feed after resumption of full feeding for 17 days. (Animal Production 2(2): 47-52 (2000) Key words : local sheep, dry matter, organic matter, period, restriction, digestibility

Sexual selection in a tropical fruit fly : role of a plant derived chemical in mate choice

The specific mechanisms by which selective pressures affect individuals are often difficult to resolve. In tephritid fruit flies, males respond strongly and positively to certain plant derived chemicals. Sexual selection by female choice has been hypothesized as the mechanism driving this behaviour in certain species, as females preferentially mate with males that have fed on these chemicals. This hypothesis is, to date, based on studies of only very few species and its generality is largely untested. We tested the hypothesis on different spatial scales (small cage and seminatural field-cage) using the monophagous fruit fly, Bactrocera cacuminata. This species is known to respond to methyl eugenol (ME), a chemical found in many plant species and one upon which previous studies have focused. Contrary to expectation, no obvious female choice was apparent in selecting ME-fed males over unfed males as measured by the number of matings achieved over time, copulation duration, or time of copulation initiation. However, the number of matings achieved by ME-fed males was significantly greater than unfed males 16 and 32 days after exposure to ME in small cages (but not in a field-cage). This delayed advantage suggests that ME may not influence the pheromone system of B. cacuminata but may have other consequences, acting on some other fitness consequence (e.g., enhancement of physiology or survival) of male exposure to these chemicals. We discuss the ecological and evolutionary implications of our findings to explore alternate hypotheses to explain the patterns of response of dacine fruit flies to specific plant-derived chemicals.

Experimental Infection of Culex Annulirostris, Culex Gelidus, and Aedes Vigilax With a Yellow Fever/Japanese Encephalitis Virus Vaccine Chimera (Chimerivax TM-JE)

Australian mosquitoes from which Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) has been recovered (Culex annulirostris, Culex gelidus, and Aedes vigilax) were assessed for their ability to be infected with the ChimeriVax-JE vaccine, with yellow fever vaccine virus 17D (YF 17D) from which the backbone of ChimeriVax-JE vaccine is derived and with JEV-Nakayama. None of the mosquitoes became infected after being fed orally with 6.1 log(10) plaque-forming units (PFU)/mL of ChimeriVax-JE vaccine, which is greater than the peak viremia in vaccinees (mean peak viremia = 4.8 PFU/mL, range = 0-30 PFU/mL of 0.9 days mean duration, range = 0-11 days). Some members of all three species of mosquito became infected when fed on JEV-Nakayama, but only Ae. vigilax was infected when fed on YF 17D. The results suggest that none of these three species of mosquito are likely to set up secondary cycles of transmission of ChimeriVax-JE in Australia after feeding on a viremic vaccinee.

Evaluation of functional performance in commercial buildings

This report fully summarises a project designed to enhance commercial real estate performance within both operational and investment contexts through the development of a model aimed at supporting improved decision-making. The model is based on a risk adjusted discounted cash flow, providing a valuable toolkit for building managers, owners, and potential investors for evaluating individual building performance in terms of financial, social and environmental criteria over the complete life-cycle of the asset. The ‘triple bottom line’ approach to the evaluation of commercial property has much significance for the administrators of public property portfolios in particular. It also has applications more generally for the wider real estate industry given that the advent of ‘green’ construction requires new methods for evaluating both new and existing building stocks. The research is unique in that it focuses on the accuracy of the input variables required for the model. These key variables were largely determined by market-based research and an extensive literature review, and have been fine-tuned with extensive testing. In essence, the project has considered probability-based risk analysis techniques that required market-based assessment. The projections listed in the partner engineers’ building audit reports of the four case study buildings were fed into the property evaluation model developed by the research team. The results are strongly consistent with previously existing, less robust evaluation techniques. And importantly, this model pioneers an approach for taking full account of the triple bottom line, establishing a benchmark for related research to follow. The project’s industry partners expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the project outcomes at a recent demonstration seminar. The project in its existing form has not been geared towards commercial applications but it is anticipated that QDPW and other industry partners will benefit greatly by using this tool for the performance evaluation of property assets. The project met the objectives of the original proposal as well as all the specified milestones. The project has been completed within budget and on time. This research project has achieved the objective by establishing research foci on the model structure, the key input variable identification, the drivers of the relevant property markets, the determinants of the key variables (Research Engine no.1), the examination of risk measurement, the incorporation of risk simulation exercises (Research Engine no.2), the importance of both environmental and social factors and, finally the impact of the triple bottom line measures on the asset (Research Engine no. 3).

Power sharing and stability enhancement of an autonomous microgrid with inertial and non-inertial DGs with DSTATCOM

This paper proposes a method of enhancing system stability with a distribution static compensator (DSTATCOM) in an autonomous microgrid with multiple distributed generators (DG). It is assumed that there are both inertial and non-inertial DGs connected to the microgrid. The inertial DG can be a synchronous machine of smaller rating while inertia less DGs (solar) are assumed as DC sources. The inertia less DGs are connected through Voltage Source Converter (VSC) to the microgrid. The VSCs are controlled by either state feedback or current feedback mode to achieve desired voltage-current or power outputs respectively. The power sharing among the DGs is achieved by drooping voltage angle. Once the reference for the output voltage magnitude and angle is calculated from the droop, state feedback controllers are used to track the reference. The angle reference for the synchronous machine is compared with the output voltage angle of the machine and the error is fed to a PI controller. The controller output is used to set the power reference of the synchronous machine. The rate of change in the angle in a synchronous machine is restricted by the machine inertia and to mimic this nature, the rate of change in the VSCs angles are restricted by a derivative feedback in the droop control. The connected distribution static compensator (DSTATCOM) provides ride through capability during power imbalance in the microgrid, especially when the stored energy of the inertial DG is not sufficient to maintain stability. The inclusion of the DSATCOM in such cases ensures the system stability. The efficacies of the controllers are established through extensive simulation studies using PSCAD.

Investigation of shaft voltage in wind turbine systems with induction generators

This paper presents the analysis of shaft voltage in different configurations of a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) and an induction generator (IG) with a back-to-back inverter in wind turbine applications. Detailed high frequency model of the proposed systems have been developed based on existing capacitive couplings in IG & DFIG structures and common mode voltage sources. In this research work, several arrangements of DFIG based wind energy conversion systems (WES) are investigated in case of shaft voltage calculation and its mitigation techniques. Placements of an LC line filter in different locations and its effects on shaft voltage elimination are studied via Mathematical analysis and simulations. A pulse width modulation (PWM) technique and a back-to-back inverter with a bidirectional buck converter have been presented to eliminate the shaft voltage in a DFIG wind turbine.

Different approaches to reduce shaft voltage in AC generators

This paper presents several shaft voltage reduction techniques for doubly-fed induction generators in wind turbine applications. These techniques includes: pulse width modulated voltage without zero vectors, multi-level inverters with proper PWM strategy, better generator design to minimize effective capacitive couplings in shaft voltage, active common-mode filter, reducing dc-link voltage and increasing modulation index. These methods have been verified with mathematical analysis and simulations.