Net Weight Research Articles

Differential Responses to Integrated Nutrient Management of Cabbage–Capsicum–Radish Cropping Sequence with Fertilizers and Plant-Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria

The present investigation was carried out to study the differential responses to assimilated nutrient management in the cabbage–capsicum–radish cropping system to develop an integrated plant nutrient supply. The experimental trial was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replicates and included assimilations of 15 various combinations: T1—recommended dose of fertilizers (RDFs) + farmyard manure (FYM) (Control); T2—nitrogen and phosphorus (NP) + vermicompost (VC) (75% + 2.5 t/ha); T3—NP + VC (50% + 2.5 t/ha); T4—NP + enriched compost (EC) (75% + 2.5 t/ha); T5—NP + EC (50% + 2.5 t/ha); T6—NP + plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) (75% + 5 kg/ha); T7—NP + PGPR (50% + 5 kg/ha); T8—NP + VC + PGPR (75% + 2.5 t/ha + 5 kg/ha); T9—NP + VC + PGPR (50% + 2.5 t/ha + 5 kg/ha); T10—NP + EC + PGPR (50% + 2.5 t/ha + 5 kg/ha); T11—NP + EC + PGPR (50% + 2.5 t/ha + 5 kg/ha); T12—NP + VC and EC (75% + 2.5 t/ha and 2.5 t/ha); T13—NP + VC and EC (50% + 2.5 t/ha and 2.5 t/ha); T14—NP + VC and EC + PGPR (75% + 2.5 t/ha and 2.5 t/ha + 5 kg/ha); T15—NP + VC and EC + PGPR (50% + 2.5 t/ha and 2.5 t/ha + 5 kg/ha) for two consecutive years. Seedlings of the cabbage cultivar were transplanted with a spacing of 45 × 30 cm, whereas the capsicum seedlings were transplanted with a spacing of 60 × 45 cm. The radish cultivar was sown directly in the field with a spacing of 30 × 7.5 cm. The yield and growth attributes of all three crops were notably impacted by the INM modules. The utilization of a combination of 75% of the recommended quantity of NP + VC and EC, along with PGPR, at a rate of 2.5 t/ha, during cabbage cultivation, led to a noteworthy rise in plant height, equatorial diameter, gross head weight, net head weight, and ultimately, the maximum head yield, as per the statistical analysis. In the case of capsicum, the treatment (T14) module demonstrated superior performance in terms of the major yielding components, namely, fruit size, fruit weight, and number of fruits per plant, resulting in the highest yield compared to the other modules, including RDFs. The cabbage exhibited high protein content and inorganic modules in terms of quality traits, whereas ascorbic acid and total soluble solids (TSSs) levels were high due to strong organic support across all three crops. Thus, it can be inferred that the integrated combination of 75% NP, VC, and EC at 2.5 t/ha, and PGPR, along with the basic application of the full recommended potash and farmyard manure (FYM), led to a reduction of 25% in fertilizers (NP), improved growth and yield, and higher annual net returns. Thus, this incorporation can be suggested as an economically efficient strategy for consistently attaining increased productivity with enhanced excellence.

Analysis Of The Business Of Kelor Pleret Crackers In Singojuruh Village, Banyuwangi Regency

Crackers are a food that is very popular with the people of Indonesia. One type of crackers that exist are kelor pleret crackers. Kelor pleret crackers are a type of food made from the basic ingredients of Moringa leaves which are processed through steaming the dough, molding, drying, and frying. This study aims to determine the production process, analyze the business feasibility and marketing mix strategy for the Moringa pleret cracker product. This study uses the BEP (Break Event Point) analysis method, R/C Ratio (Revenue Cost Ratio), and ROI (Return On Investment). 25 packages, while the BEP value (price) is IDR 6,300.32 with a predetermined selling price of IDR 10,000 per package, while the value of the R/C ratio is 1.58 and the ROI value is 9.3%. has been done, it can be said that the kelor pleret cracker business is profitable and can be run.The marketing strategy analysis carried out on the kelor pleret cracker business uses 4P marketing mix analysis (Product, Price, Place, Promotion).The product offered is packaged moringa pleret crackers with a net weight of 100 grams per package Marketing activities for kelor pleret crackers are carried out directly by producers to consumers through social media such as Instagram and Whatsapp.

Analisis Penggunaan Cathodic Protection dengan Metode Sacrificial Anode Sebagai Pengendalian Korosi Pipa Minyak 16 Inci PT. Chevron Pacific Indonesia Simp. Perawang-Minas Area

Cathodic protection is a thermodynamic corrosion control method using metal as the cathode. There are two methods of cathodic protection, namely Sacrificial Anode Cathodic Protection (SACP) and Impressed Current Cathodic Protection (ICPP). This study will analyze the use of Cathodic Protection with the Sacrificial Anode method as corrosion control on a 16 inch oil pipe at PT. Chevron Pacific Indonesia. Carbon steel pipe (API 5L Grade B) with cast magnesium anode material. Calculation of anode requirement for corrosion prevention will be compared with actual field data within 10 years. The calculation results show that the number of calculation parameters used affects the results of the anode requirement on an oil pipe with a length of 16 meters, a diameter of 16 inches, anode with a length of 0.648 m, net weight of anode 7.7 Kg, magnesium anode material with an anode output of 10.8 A/m2, anode density 1765 Kg/m3, wear and tear (volume) 2296 x 10-3 m3 A/y, and a life time of 10 years. Theoretical calculations get 6 anode rods while the actual data requires 8 anode rods.

Computational Systems Design of Low-Cost Lightweight Robots

With the increased demand for customisation, developing task-specific robots for industrial and personal applications has become essential. Collaborative robots are often preferred over conventional industrial robots in human-centred production environments. However, fixed architecture robots lack the ability to adapt to changing user demands, while modular, reconfigurable robots provide a quick and affordable alternative. Standardised robot modules often derive their characteristics from conventional industrial robots, making them expensive and bulky and potentially limiting their wider adoption. To address this issue, the current work proposes a top-down multidisciplinary computational design strategy emphasising the low cost and lightweight attributes of modular robots within two consecutive optimisation problems. The first step employs an informed search strategy to explore the design space of robot modules to identify a low-cost robot architecture and controller. The second step employs dynamics-informed structural optimisation to reduce the robot’s net weight. The proposed methodology is demonstrated on a set of example requirements, illustrating that (1) the robot modules allow exploring non-intuitive robot architectures, (2) the structural mass of the resulting robot is 16 % lower compared to a robot designed using conventional aluminium tubes, and (3) the designed modules ensure the physical feasibility of the robots produced.

Effect of Fish Meal Substitution with Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) on Growth Performance, Feed Stability, Blood Biochemistry, and Liver and Gut Morphology of Siamese Fighting Fish (Betta splendens)

Insects such as black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are gaining interest among researchers and the aquafeed industry due to the fluctuating price and supply of fish meal (FM). This study evaluated the growth performance, feed stability, blood biochemistry, and liver and gut morphology of Betta splendens using BSFL as an alternative to FM. Five formulated diets were prepared: 0% BSFL, 6.5% BSFL, 13% BSFL, 19.5% BSFL, and 24.5% BSFL. The expansion rate, pellet durability index, floatability, bulk density, and water stability of the prepared feed have been assessed. Except for the diameter of the feed, all the parameters studied differed significantly ( p < 0.05 ) across the experimental diets. After 60 days, the fish fed with 13% BSFL had the highest final length, final weight, net weight gain, specific growth rate, weight gain, and gastrointestinal weight, with mean and standard deviation values of 3.97 ± 0.43 cm, 3.95 ± 0.1 g, 2.78 ± 0.1 g, 4.63 ± 0.17 , 4.65 ± 0.13 , 237.26 ± 7.9 % , and 0.04 ± 0.01 mg, respectively. Similar blood haematology and biochemical properties, including corpuscular volume, lymphocytes, white blood cells, red blood cells, haematocrit, albumin, and alkaline phosphatase, were the highest ( p < 0.05 ) in the 13% BSFL diet group compared to the other treatment groups. In addition, BSFL had a significant impact ( p < 0.05 ) on villus length, width, and crypt depth for the anterior and posterior guts of B. splendens. The 13% BSFL diet group had an intact epithelial barrier in the goblet cell arrangement and a well-organized villus structure and tunica muscularis, compared to the other treatment groups. Furthermore, the liver cell was altered with different BSFL inclusions; the 13% FM group demonstrated better nuclei and cytoplasm structure than the other treatment groups. In conclusion, replacing 13% FM with BSFL could improve the growth performance, blood parameters, and liver and intestine morphology of B. splendens, thus providing a promising alternative diet for ornamental freshwater fish.

Cation-exchange performance of a citric-acid esterified cellulose nanofibrous membrane for highly-selective proteins' permeability and adsorption capacity

The usage of low-cost, readily available, or even disposable, single-use membranes in macromolecules’ purification and separation is still in the development phase. In this research, highly porous (>95 %), water- and compression stable cation-exchange membranes were prepared by freeze-casting using cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) and citric acid (CA) acting as a crosslinker and source of weak anionic (carboxylic) surface groups arising from the mono-esterified CA. The membranes were characterized by different analytical techniques, and evaluated for the ionic adsorption efficacy of different proteins in dead-end filtration mode using a Tri-buffer of pH 8. The membrane's internal microstructure (porosity and density) with the available (quantity and access) carboxylic groups was confirmed, to determine not only the proteins' specific (related to the net charged and molecular weight) adsorption dynamic (>52 % of positive Lysozyme/Cytochrome, <8 % of negative BSA/Myoglobin; ≤0.5 g/L) at extremely high flow rates (>3.000 hL/h*MPa*m2), but also their desorption (>97 %) and re-equilibration (using NaCl) with flux recovery (>80 %). Such efficiency was achieved with up to 5 consecutive filtering cycles. The high permeability (>87 %) of the spherical and negatively surface charged microparticles (used as models) also suggests the likelihood of removing larger microbial species, which, while retaining relatively smaller and positively charged proteins, further increases their potential in biopharma applications.

PENGUJIAN BUCKET ELEVATOR GEN.01 TM

Post-harvest agricultural products are all activities carried out from the process of handling agricultural products to the process that produces semi-finished products. Improper post-harvest handling will result in yield loss, both weight and product quality. Readiness of mature harvest and post-harvest technology will improve the quality of rice and the understanding of farmers and technology users in efforts to reduce crop losses. Bucket elevator is a tool for moving material that can be used to lift grain during the grain milling process, which can help work to move grain from the surface into the milling machine. In the Bucket Elevator test results, the effective rotational speed is 352.5 Rpm using a 1 hp 3 phase motor. The design of model 1 is the optimal bucket for lifting grain, resulting in a net weight of 243 gr/bucket contents with a maximum capacity of 280 gr/bucket. When attached to the Bucket carrier belt with 3 test results with different 1 hp motors get test results 1 = 22.5 kg/m , test 2 = 21.3 kg/m , and test 3 = 22.7 kg/m , with average result– average 22.1 kg/m. The noise test on the Bucket Elevator gets the results of noise intensity at 3 different points with an average value of point 1 (front) = 77.7 dBA, point 2 (side) = 72.0 dBA, and point 3 (top) = 77, 1dBA.

Efficacy of Organic Manure and age of Seedling on Growth and Yield of Hybrid Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)

The present study was carried out to assess the Efficacy of organic manure and age of seedling on growth, yield and quality of hybrid cabbage (Brassica oleracea var capitata) at the Farm, Department of Horticulture, Naini Agricultural Institute, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Science, Prayagraj, during winter season of 2020-2021 and 2021-2022. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with factorial concept three replicated three times the result of the present investigation highlighted that incorporation of and Age of seedling T18(Farm yard manure 15 (t/ha) + Vermicompost 15 (t/ha) + 35 Days age of seedling) in response to Number of leaves plant-1, Plant height (cm), Stem diameter (cm), Leaf area (cm2), Net head weight (g), Polar diameter (cm), Equatorial diameter (cm), Whole plant fresh weight in (kg), Gross head yield (t ha-1) and Net head yield (t ha-1). Could able to cause beneficial response on the above attributes. The treatment combination comprised of FYM 15 t /ha + Vermicompost 15 t/ha+35 DAT (F2VC2D2) recorded highest gross return (Rs. 59922.00), maximum net return (Rs. 59922.00) and also benefit: cost ratio (B:C ratio 1:5.76). The highest benefit: cost ratio (B:C ratio 1:6.17) was observed by the treatment comprising of FYM 15 t /ha + Vermicompost 15 t/ha+ 25DAT (F2VC2D1).

Impact of Various Organic Manure and Age of Seedling on Yield and Quality of Hybrid Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.)

An investigation entitled “Impact of Various Organic Manure and age of Seedling on Yield and Quality of Hybrid Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) under field conditions was conducted in winter season of 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 at Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj, (U.P.), India. The investigation was laid out in Factorial RBD with eighteenth treatments replicated three times with spacing 60×45 cm. The eighteenth treatments combinations were T1:FYM 0 t/ha + VC 0 t/ha D1 25th , T2:FYM 0 t/ha + VC 10 t/ha D1 25th , FYM 0 t/ha + VC 15 t/ha D1 25th , T4:FYM 10 t/ha + VC 0 t/ha D1 25th , 5:FYM 10 t/ha + VC10 t/ha D1 25th , T6:FYM 10 t/ha + VC 15 t/ha D1 25th , T7:FYM 15 t/ha + VC 0 t/ha D1 25th, T8:FYM 15 t/ha + VC 10 t/ha D1 25th , T9:FYM 15t/ha + VC15 t/ha D1 25th, T10:FYM 0 t/ha + VC 0 t/ha D2 35th, T11:FYM 0 t/ha + VC10 t/ha D2 35th T12:FYM 0 t/ha + VC 15t/ha D2 35th, T13:FYM 10t/ha + VC 0 t/ha D2 35th, T14:FYM 10 t/ha + VC10 t/ha D2 35th, T15:FYM10 t/ha + VC15 t/ha D2 35th, T16:FYM 15 t/ha + VC 0 t/ha D2 35th, T17:FYM 15 t/ha + VC 10 t/ha D2 35th and T18:FYM 15t/ha + VC 15 t/ha D2 35thDAT. Among various treatments T1 (RDF) proved to be significantly superior over rest of the treatments as it registered maximum growth parameters. Maximum Net head weight (g), Polar diameter (cm), Equatorial diameter (cm),Whole plant fresh weight in (kg), Gross head yield (t ha-1) and Net head yield (t ha-1), Moisture in leaf, Ascorbic acid (mg/100g) and TSS (0Brix) was obtained in T18:[FYM 15t/ha + VC 15 t/ha D2 35th], which further improved the yield and quality of cabbage and also gave maximum returns as compared to other combinations.

OPTIMIZATION OF INJECTION MOLDING PROCESS PARAMETER SETTINGS USING 3k GENERAL FACTORIAL DESIGN AND DATA VISUALIZATION

This paper discusses an experimental design approach to optimize injection molding process parameter settings according to quality targets. The method used is general factorial design, so that it can investigate the effect of each predictor variable (factor) and its interaction effect. In this study, front barrel temperature, injection pressure, holding pressure, and holding time were selected as control factors. Before testing the hypothesis, the results of the experiment are also illustrated to summarize what main characteristics phenomena the data visualization can convey us. Hypothesis testing used linear regression analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a significance level (a) of 0.05. The results demonstrated that front barrel temperature (A), injection pressure (B), holding pressure (C), and holding time (D) had a significant effect on tensile strength, but only the front barrel temperature factor had a significant effect on net weight. Front barrel temperature is the most influencing factor on the response variables. There are a significant effect of the interaction between factors, namely AB, AC, BC, ABC, ABD, BCD, on tensile strength, whereas only AB interaction has a significant effect on net weight. The optimal settings could be adjusted according to the required quality target.

A multi-class deep learning model for early lung cancer and chronic kidney disease detection using computed tomography images.

Lung cancer is a fatal disease caused by an abnormal proliferation of cells in the lungs. Similarly, chronic kidney disorders affect people worldwide and can lead to renal failure and impaired kidney function. Cyst development, kidney stones, and tumors are frequent diseases impairing kidney function. Since these conditions are generally asymptomatic, early, and accurate identification of lung cancer and renal conditions is necessary to prevent serious complications. Artificial Intelligence plays a vital role in the early detection of lethal diseases. In this paper, we proposed a modified Xception deep neural network-based computer-aided diagnosis model, consisting of transfer learning based image net weights of Xception model and a fine-tuned network for automatic lung and kidney computed tomography multi-class image classification. The proposed model obtained 99.39% accuracy, 99.33% precision, 98% recall, and 98.67% F1-score for lung cancer multi-class classification. Whereas, it attained 100% accuracy, F1 score, recall and precision for kidney disease multi-class classification. Also, the proposed modified Xception model outperformed the original Xception model and the existing methods. Hence, it can serve as a support tool to the radiologists and nephrologists for early detection of lung cancer and chronic kidney disease, respectively.

Early identification of “Gudeg” product characteristics in High Barrier Retort Grade (HBRG) packaging

Food packaging is needed to reduce the risk of food spoilage caused by physical, chemical, and biological factors. Based on the recent development, it is necessary to use a type of packaging that can be applied as food packaging while still having the durability to meet the feasibility level of the sterilization process. This study aims to identify the character of gudeg packaged with HBRG packaging procedure. In this study, the heat penetration, proximate and metal contamination analysis were done as an initial identification step for the characteristics of the gudeg in HBRG packaging. In this study, two variants of gudeg were made, namely egg gudeg and non-egg gudeg. The results obtained in this study are gudeg products packaged in HBRG packaging with a net product weight of 235 g per package. The lethality value of egg gudeg is 3.51 minutes and 4.94 minutes for non-egg gudeg. The energy value of non-egg gudeg and egg gudeg in HBRG packaging is 149.38 kcal/100g and 160.25 kcal/100g respectively. The metal contamination analysis being done in this study has stated that no heavy metal contamination was detected in all variants of products. HBRG packaging procedure can be applied for gudeg by following food safety requirements.

Weight variability, physical functioning and incident disability in older adults.

This study aimed to determine if greater variability in body mass index (BMI) is associated with declines in physical functioning and incident disability in older adults. Included were participants from the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study who had semi-annual BMI data during the first 3years of follow-up. Participants were categorized into quintiles of BMI variability, using two methods. The first method used average successive variability, whereas the second method adjusted these values to remove the variability due to net change in BMI over the 3-year period. Linear regression was used to assess the relationship between the two measures of BMI variability and net changes in BMI, fat mass index, appendicular lean mass index, and Health, Aging and Body Composition Physical Performance Score during the first 3years of the study. Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the relationship of BMI variability with the subsequent incidence of new disability, adjusting for confounding factors. Among 2121 participants, those in the highest BMI variability quintile were more likely to lose both body mass (β: -0.086 [95% confidence interval, CI: -0.133, -0.040], P<0.01) and fat mass (β: -0.059 [95% CI: -0.117, -0.002], P=0.04) and had greater declines in physical performance score (β: -0.094 [95% CI: -0.162, -0.026], P<0.01) compared to participants with the least variability in BMI. Participants with high BMI variability also had higher rates of incident disability (hazard ratio: 1.36 [95% CI: 1.07, 1.72], P=0.01), independent of net BMI change. BMI variability in older adults is associated with decline in physical performance and incident disability. This relationship cannot be explained by net weight loss alone, supporting it as an independent feature of frailty.

295 Topical Tranexamic Acid in Burn Surgery – A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract Introduction Early excision and grafting of large burn wounds can result in considerable bleeding. Systemic use of tranexamic acid (TXA) generally reduces surgical bleeding by 30-40%, but its safety in burn surgery has not been studied. Topical use may provide a sufficient wound concentration with negligible risk of systemic adverse events. However, it is unclear whether topical use may delay wound re-epithelialization. This pilot double-blinded randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of topical TXA for reducing blood loss and the effect on wound re-epithelialization in burn surgery. Methods Between Jan 2021 – April 2022, burn patients at a single national burn center who needed at least two separate donor sites for split-thickness skin grafting were included. In total, 36 wound pairs in similar anatomical areas were made in 23 patients. Donor sites were infiltrated with tumescence containing epinephrine before harvesting. Paired wounds were randomized to topical application of standard epinephrine solution, with or without added TXA 25 mg/ml, before coverage with vaseline and dry gauze. Endpoints were time to re-epithelialization and surrogate bleeding estimates defined as net weight gain of dressings per cm2 wound area, bloodstain area per wound area, and visual rating of the amount of blood in dressings on the first postoperative day. Results There was no difference in healing time between wounds. The results trended towards less increase in dressing weight gain per cm2 of wound area in the TXA group, though not significant (p=0.12). However, when dividing the results in two at the median bleeding volume, there was a significant reduction in bleeding in the high-bleed group (p=0.012). Similar observations were made for the other two bleeding endpoints, but the differences did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions Moistening a superficial wound surface with TXA 25 mg/ml does not impair wound re-epithelialization. Topical TXA may reduce bleeding from graft donor sites with low risk of systemic complications. Applicability of Research to Practice This pilot study suggests that topical TXA is of value in reducing bleeding in burn surgery without delaying donor site healing. The effect may be larger in wounds not prepared with epinephrine infiltration. More research is warranted regarding the optimal mode of topical drug delivery and systemic concentrations after topical application in burns. Furthermore, it remains to investigate whether topical TXA affects graft take.

Studies on the growth, immunomodulation and gut morphometry of Labeo rohita fed pectin

<br />The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of pectin supplemented feeds on the growth, gut morphology and immunology of <i>Labeo rohita</i>. Experimental feeds containing various concentrations of pectin including control (0%), T1 (0.5%), T2 (1.0%), T3 (2.0%), and T4 (4.0%) were administered to <i>L. rohita</i> twice per day at a rate of 3% body weight. There was a significant (<i>P</i> < 0.05) decrease in average final weight, weight gain%, net weight gain and specific growth rate observed in treatment groups in order of control > T1 > T2 > T3 > T4 while feed conversion ratio was significantly (<i>P </i>< 0.05) higher in T4 compared to the other groups T3 > T2 > T1 > control. Immunological parameters of peroxidase, protease and antiprotease (trypsin) showed significant (<i>P </i>< 0.05) results between control and treated groups. Peroxidase activity was significantly (<i>P </i>< 0.05) higher in T4 group fish compared to T3 > T2 > T1 > control group. Total protein, protease and antiprotease activity were significantly (<i>P </i>< 0.05) higher in the control compared to treatment groups T1 > T2 > T3 > T4. An increased level of the non-starch polysaccharide pectin in feed caused acute effects on gut morphometry. Villus length, villus width, and an increase in mucosal folds were abnormal but no significant (<i>P</i> > 0.05) abnormality was observed in the control group. In the submucosal part of the intestine, hyperplasia was shown in loose connective tissues and in adipose tissue cells in the treated groups. In conclusion, dietary pectin supplementation from 0.5% to 4% had negative effects on the growth, immunological parameters and gut histomorphology of <i>L. rohita</i>.

Morphological characterization, combining ability and heterosis for important horticultural traits in snowball cauliflower (B. oleracea var. botrytis L.)

AbstractCauliflower is an important vegetable crop grown worldwide. Development and characterization of suitable cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) lines and male fertile inbreds is instrumental in developing heterotic hybrids. A study was undertaken to estimate heterosis and combining ability in snowball cauliflower lines through line × tester analysis involving five Ogura CMS lines and seven male fertile testers. The assessment of F1s along with their parental lines for different horticultural traits revealed a wide range of heterosis. Ogu-13-01 was the best general combiner for leaf length, leaf width and plant height, Ogu-13-85 for number of leaves/plant, Ogu-101 for days to 50% curd initiation, days to 50% curd maturity and net curd weight and Ogu-119 for harvest index. The lines with better general combining ability (GCA) were involved in majority of the heterotic hybrids. The tester Kt-18 was the best general combiner for leaf width, DB-1305 for number of leaves/plant and DB-187 for leaf length, plant height, gross plant weight and days to 50% curd initiation. However, GCA alone was not sufficient to determine and identify the potential parental lines. Hybrids Ogu-101 × DB-1305 and Ogu-119 × Suprimax Late were the best specific combinations for marketable curd weight, marketable curd yield, net curd weight and net curd yield. The hybrid Ogu-119 × Suprimax Late was the best heterotic combination for marketable curd weight, marketable curd yield, net curd weight and net curd yield, followed by Ogu-101 × DB-1305, Ogu-119 × Sel-26 and Ogu-101 × DB-187. Our findings will be instrumental to identify suitable parental lines and developing heterotic F1 hybrids in cauliflower.

Effect of Boron and Zinc on Growth and Yield Attributes in Early Cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis L.)

The present experiment was carried out in cauliflower to study the effect of boron and zinc on growth and yield in the early cauliflower having combinations of four levels 0, 1, 2, 3 kg ha-1 of boron and four levels 0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 kg ha-1 of zinc in a factorial randomized block design with three replications during the year 2016 and 2017 respectively. The results of the experiment with applied boron and zinc had significant effect on growth and yield of cauliflower. The highest curd depth (8.88 cm) and curd equatorial diameter (16.45 cm) was found with applied boron (2 kg ha-1) and zinc (2.5 kg ha-1) respectively. While as, maximum net curd weight (410g) and marketable curd weight (695g) was found with sprayed boron and zinc (1 kg ha-1 + 2.5 kg ha-1) respectively., Maximum harvest index (62.8 %) and yield (113.89 q ha-1) was found when applied with boron (2 kg ha-1) and (2 kg ha-1+ 2.5 kg ha-1) respectively. Maximum curd compactness (34.34) and dry matter compactness (14.48) were found with the application of boron (1 kg ha-1) and zinc (2 kg ha-1+2.5 kg ha-1) respectively. Overall findings indicated that with the increase in concentration of boron and zinc the vegetative growth and the reproductive stage of cauliflower increases respectively.

Antimicrobial peptides act on the rumen microbiome and metabolome affecting the performance of castrated bulls

BackgroundMany countries have already banned the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry, making it extremely difficult to maintain animal health in livestock breeding. In the livestock industry, there is an urgent need to develop alternatives to antibiotics which will not lead to drug resistance on prolonged use. In this study, eighteen castrated bulls were randomly divided into two groups. The control group (CK) was fed the basal diet, while the antimicrobial peptide group (AP) was fed the basal diet supplemented with 8 g of antimicrobial peptides in the basal diet for the experimental period of 270 d. They were then slaughtered to measure production performance, and the ruminal contents were isolated for metagenomic and metabolome sequencing analysis.ResultThe results showed that antimicrobial peptides could improve the daily weight, carcass weight, and net meat weight of the experimental animals. Additionally, the rumen papillae diameter and the micropapillary density in the AP were significantly greater than those in the CK. Furthermore, the determination of digestive enzymes and fermentation parameters showed that the contents of protease, xylanase, and β-glucoside in the AP were greater than those in the CK. However, lipase content in the CK was greater than that in the AP. Moreover, the content of acetate, propionate, butyrate, and valerate was found to be greater in AP than those in CK. The metagenomic analysis annotated 1993 differential microorganisms at the species level. The KEGG enrichment of these microorganisms revealed that the enrichment of drug resistance-related pathways was dramatically decreased in the AP, whereas the enrichment of immune-related pathways was significantly increased. There was also a significant reduction in the types of viruses in the AP. 187 probiotics with significant differences were found, 135 of which were higher in AP than in CK. It was also found that the antimicrobial mechanism of the antimicrobial peptides was quite specific. Seven low-abundance microorganisms (Acinetobacter_sp._Ac_1271, Aequorivita soesokkakensis, Bacillus lacisalsi, Haloferax larsenii, Lysinibacillus_sp._3DF0063, Parabacteroides_sp._2_1_7, Streptomyces_sp._So13.3) were found to regulate growth performance of the bull negatively. Metabolome analysis identified 45 differentially differential metabolites that significantly different between the CK and the AP groups. Seven upregulated metabolites (4-pyridoxic acid, Ala-Phe, 3-ureidopropionate, hippuric acid, terephthalic acid, L-alanine, uridine 5-monophosphate) improve the growth performance of the experimental animals. To detect the interactions between the rumen microbiome and metabolism, we associated the rumen microbiome with the metabolome and found that negative regulation between the above 7 microorganisms and 7 metabolites.ConclusionsThis study shows that antimicrobial peptides can improve the growth performance of animals while resisting viruses and harmful bacteria and are expected to become healthy alternatives to antibiotics. We demonstrated a new antimicrobial peptides pharmacological model. We demonstrated low-abundance microorganisms may play a role by regulating the content of metabolites.

Biocontrol endophytes Bacillus subtilis R31 influence the quality, transcriptome and metabolome of sweet corn.

During colonization of soil and plants, biocontrol bacteria can effectively regulate the physiological metabolism of plants and induce disease resistance. To illustrate the influence of Bacillus subtilis R31 on the quality, transcriptome and metabolome of sweet corn, field studies were conducted at a corn experimental base in Zhuhai City. The results show that, after application of B. subtilis R31, sweet corn was more fruitful, with a 18.3 cm ear length, 5.0 cm ear diameter, 0.4 bald head, 403.9 g fresh weight of single bud, 272.0 g net weight of single ear, and 16.5 kernels sweetness. Combined transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses indicate that differentially expressed genes related to plant-pathogen interactions, MAPK signaling pathway-plant, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and flavonoid biosynthesis were significantly enriched. Moreover, the 110 upregulated DAMs were mainly involved in the flavonoid biosynthesis and flavone and flavonol biosynthesis pathways. Our study provides a foundation for investigating the molecular mechanisms by which biocontrol bacteria enhance crop nutrition and taste through biological means or genetic engineering at the molecular level.

Dietary Intakes, Anthropometric Measurements and Pregnancy Outcomes

The relationships of maternal prenatal dietary intakes and anthropometric measurements to pregnancy outcomes were investigated in a prospective observational study of urban African American women. The 322 subjects, a subset of the 744 women recruited for the study using purposive sampling, were all nulliparous, free of diabetes mellitus and abnormal hemoglobins, and delivered term, singleton infants. Sociodemographic data and monthly quantitative 24-hour food recalls were collected by trained interviewers. Maternal anthropometric measurements were obtained from the subjects' hospital records. Pregnancy outcome data were obtained by physical examinations of the newborn infants by the project pediatrician. With the exception of vitamin C, average maternal dietary intakes were within the ranges of intakes obtained in previous studies. Mean intakes of protein, vitamins A and C, thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin exceeded the 1989 RDA, while those of food energy, vitamin B-6, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc were below the RDA. Underweight prior to pregnancy and low pregnancy weight gains were found among 12.9% and 44.4% of the subjects respectively. Dietary intakes were not significantly correlated with pregnancy outcomes. Maternal anthropometric measurements significantly correlated with pregnancy outcomes included delivery weight, pregnancy weight gain, weekly weight gain, prepregnancy weight, net weight gain, height, prepregnancy body mass index, and % ideal prepregnancy body weight (P < 0.05). Using the stepwise selection procedure in multiple regression analysis, delivery weight, % ideal prepregnancy body weight, and prepregnancy body mass index were selected as being predictive of infant birth weight. It was concluded that anthropometric measurements were better nutritional predictors of pregnancy outcome than dietary intake.